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Elon Musk promised Twitter employees generous compensation in the form of shares, but fired those who criticized him publicly.
November 15, 2022

The urgency of Twitter's cuts was initially thought to be due to Elon Musk's desire to avoid prior period compensation in the form of company stock. The new business owner later clarified that all due payments would be made. He now adds that even as a private company, Twitter will continue to reward its employees with equity stakes.

Musk borrowed a similar employee incentive model from SpaceX, which he also leads, as CNBC explains. Having remained private for more than twenty years of its existence, the aerospace company SpaceX regularly trades in its shares, allowing employees to receive additional income from such transactions. SpaceX share rewards are paid out twice a year, on May 15 and November 15.

In a letter to Twitter staff, the billionaire also promised to similarly reward the "exceptional merit" of the company's employees with the "exceptional amount" of shares they can receive.

At the same time, the billionaire, who advocates “absolute freedom of speech,” does not hesitate to get rid of Twitter employees who publicly criticize his actions. The open correspondence of one of the Twitter engineers, who for eight years has been developing an application for the Android operating system, has become public. Eric Frohnhoefer, as the name of the specialist, tried to convey to Musk the information that Twitter is too slow on this platform. On Monday, it became known that Musk fired this engineer, although the full rationale for such actions was not disclosed.

Another tech guy, Ben Leib, who has been with the company for over a decade, had the temerity to comment on Elon Musk's lack of understanding on certain technical issues. His new owner of the company eventually fired him last Sunday as well. The lack of full-fledged communication between the new management and the surviving Twitter team against the backdrop of abrupt and inconsistent changes causes misunderstanding and confusion among the staff, as former and current employees of the company admit.





Elon Musk admitted that he works tirelessly - seven days a week.
November 14, 2022

Elon Musk's plans to speak at the G20 summit, which is taking place these days in Indonesia, were known a few months before the start of the event, but in fact everything was limited to a video conference in which the billionaire took part, being in some room without electricity, surrounded by candles . The richest man in the world admitted that he works from morning to evening seven days a week.

Perhaps these revelations of an entrepreneur and owner of several large companies in various sectors of the economy at once were a kind of response to investors' concerns about Elon Musk's ability to effectively manage Tesla and SpaceX after buying Twitter, since the new asset objectively required the billionaire to spend not only money, but and time. He even stayed at Twitter headquarters last Friday, even though it was a holiday in the US, after thanking the company's overtime employees and inviting them to exchange views on their legal day off to his office.

“I have too much work, that’s for sure,” Elon Musk began his speech. Later, he even evaded answering the question of the ability of the latest geopolitical problems to affect the supply chain of materials and components, returning to discussing his employment. At the same time, he wished his imitators in Asia to share their own idea of ​​​​the personality of Elon Musk and the real character traits and lifestyle of a billionaire. At least, as Musk admitted, few people imagine what tests he puts himself under.

The conversation turned to the topic of reforms on Twitter by itself, and then the newly minted head of the company said that he would like to give content creators the opportunity to publish long videos on the pages of this social network and thereby earn a living. Elon Musk did not comment on the actively discussed possibility of Tesla entering into a deal with the Indonesian authorities for access to nickel reserves, but acknowledged that the country occupies an important place in the supply chain of components for electric vehicles. Along the way, he said that the aerospace company SpaceX over time, it makes sense to think about building launch pads for rocket technology around the world.

Speaking by candlelight due to the lack of electricity at his place of residence, Elon Musk expressed confidence in the ability of mankind to switch to completely renewable energy sources. The whole question is how long it will take, as the billionaire explained. Space exploration is also a priority for humanity, according to the head of SpaceX, because it "allows us to understand the nature of the universe and our place in it." Musk added that it would be incredibly interesting to find traces of the existence of alien civilizations or the ruins of ancient civilizations that existed millions of years ago.





Japan has developed the technology of ideal blue quantum dots - they are illuminated with ultraviolet light.
November 14, 2022

Quantum dot (QD) displays are very economical, provide high brightness and high-quality color reproduction. Creating a full-color image requires the ability to display red, green, and blue, but the latter is the most problematic. However, a new method developed by the University of Tokyo will help develop energy-efficient displays with high-quality blue.

Any user, if desired, can see the pixels on the display. However, they are not the smallest image elements - each consists of at least three sub-pixels - red, green and blue. The different intensity of the glow of these subpixels allows you to display billions of shades of colors. Sub-pixel technology has evolved since the advent of color television, with numerous options now available to manufacturers. One of the most advanced LED elements with quantum dots is QD-LED.

Displays based on this technology already exist, but the technology cannot yet be considered mature enough, especially in terms of producing high-quality blue sub-pixels, which are the most important and main three, since it is blue light that is used to form green as well. Because of this, it is critical that the physical parameters of blue quantum dots can be precisely controlled.

As a result, the blue elements are expensive to manufacture and have a rather complex structure, and their quality is a critical factor for any display made using this technology. However, the University of Tokyo seems to have a solution. According to project lead professor Eiichi Nakamura, the previous technologies were very different - the production of blue sub-pixels required a fairly large amount of chemicals that had to be processed through a series of processes in order to get the working material.

The new strategy calls for the team to use "knowledge of self-organizing chemistry to precisely control molecules before they form the desired structures." Nakamura suggested thinking of it like building a building out of bricks instead of carving it out of stone—you can be much more precise, design how you want, and the process is much more efficient and less expensive.

The process is made special by the use of ultraviolet illumination - quantum dots developed in Tokyo under its influence generate an almost reference blue color in accordance with the international standard BT.2020. This is possible due to the unique chemical composition of quantum dots, using a hybrid mixture of organic and inorganic components, including lead perovskite, malic acid and oleylamine, and only "self-organization" allows the formation of subpixels of the desired shape. According to scientists, the most difficult thing was to figure out that it was malic acid that plays a key role in this "chemical puzzle" - before that, they had to try to use a variety of components.

Among the tasks for forming the structure of blue subpixels was the need to track their shape - elements with a size of 2.4 nm, 190 times smaller than the wavelength they should emit, cannot be examined using conventional microscopes. To do this, they had to use the SMART-EM tool for "cinematic chemistry" created by the team.

In fact, the new instrumentation is a modified version of the electron microscope, optimized for video shooting, which allows you to track the dynamics - the blue quantum dot is "highly dynamic", so one shot will not be enough. Unfortunately for scientists and manufacturers, the blue sub-pixels are incapable of long-term survival. Now the task of researchers is to stabilize them with the support of industry participants that produce monitors, televisions and other electronics.





Chinese SMIC continues to expand staff and increase capital expenditures despite sanctions.
November 14, 2022

SMIC remains the largest semiconductor contract manufacturer in China, and the US sanctions imposed in early October will affect its business to some extent, although management is not yet ready to assess the exact extent of the impact. But it speaks of the need to increase capital expenditures for the purchase of equipment and the company has no problems with the selection of qualified personnel.

DigiTimes shared the revelations of SMIC representatives. According to Zhao Haijun, one of the company's CEOs, the human resources situation is now at its best in SMIC's history as the pandemic has reduced employee turnover and university graduates have become more interested in finding a job in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. If last year the staff of SMIC totaled up to 16,000 people, then since the beginning of this year it has already exceeded 20,000 people.

SMIC, as the source explains, did not publicly comment on its success in mastering the process technology, which is comparable in its key characteristics to TSMC's 7nm technology, but experts say that the company is already working on mastering 5nm technology in its laboratories. One of SMIC's CEOs is Liang Mong Song, who had experience at TSMC and Samsung. He retains his current position despite US sanctions.

With its five divisions, SMIC intends to increase the number of monthly processed silicon wafers by 340,000 pieces per month over the next five or seven years. This year, the amount of capital expenditures has been increased from $5 to $6.6 billion, and this is not counting the funds allocated for the development of the enterprise in Tianjin. According to SMIC management, each facility is built with a 20-year lifespan in mind, and short-term demand issues should not stop the company. Currently, up to 60% of SMIC's revenue is provided by the segment of smartphones, consumer electronics and smart home devices, so the company feels the decline in demand in some of these areas quite sharply.

In the past quarter, SMIC managed to increase the number of 200 mm silicon wafers processed monthly by 32,000 pieces, but the equipment utilization rate has consistently decreased from 97.1% to 92.1%. At the same time, the demand for components for network equipment, the Internet of things and industrial automation increased core revenue by 20-30%. In the domestic market of China, the company began to receive a larger share of revenue than a year ago - 70% against 66.7%. This was facilitated by the expansion of US sanctions. Given this factor and the weakness of the global economy, SMIC management does not undertake to predict the timing of demand recovery, although three months ago it was confident that the situation would begin to improve from mid-2023.





Twitter hurriedly got rid of a large number of contractors.
November 14, 2022

One of the first steps taken by Twitter's new cost-cutting leadership was a massive staff cut that affected about half of the company's full-time employees. As it became known over the weekend, contractors were also seriously affected - according to some reports, Twitter refused the services of up to 80% of third-party specialists serving the company's infrastructure.

Platformer was the first to report this, naming the scale of the reduction. According to the source, almost 4,400 of Twitter's 5,500 contractors lost their jobs the day before, and many of them learned about this indirectly, faced with the inability to use the company's usual information resources and internal systems. CNBC representatives were able to confirm the fact of large-scale reductions, but this source has no idea about the exact number of laid-off contractors. Third parties were typically trusted by Twitter to moderate content or maintain hardware infrastructure such as server hardware.

Some of the downsized contractors worked in India, according to CNBC. At the same time, the company's staff members, who, due to the nature of their work, had to communicate with contractors, did not receive any notifications about the upcoming changes the day before. As we learned, in previous cuts, Twitter has lost all of its full-time employee relations specialists, so the remaining staff sometimes have to learn about changes in the work of the company from the news in the media.





Elon Musk will try to return blue ticks to Twitter by the end of this week.
November 14, 2022

Elon Musk's first steps as the owner and head of the social network Twitter may have seemed chaotic, and the reforms related to the issuance of so-called "blue checkmarks" to users, indicating that the account has been verified, have caused the most questions. After a wave of abuse, these tags disappeared from the pages of Twitter, but the company's management promises to return them soon.

Last Friday, Twitter stopped subscribing to the Twitter Blue service, which automatically gave users the right to consider their account verified, and used $8 per month subscription payments as a means of verification. A wave of abuses in the first hours of issuing "blue checks" under the new rules led to the fact that "imposters" began to disseminate false information on behalf of large companies that could damage their business reputation. Even Tesla, led by the same Elon Musk, suffered. As a result, the issuance of such labels, indicating account verification, had to be stopped.

The head of Twitter on the pages of this social network on Saturday said that the Twitter Blue subscription, it is quite possible, will be again provided to users by the end of the week, which at the time of writing this material has already begun. For Twitter, the ability to charge subscription fees is of strategic importance, as Elon Musk wants to significantly reduce the social network's dependence on advertiser money.

News has also surfaced regarding the fate of the "grey checkmarks" that Twitter has attempted to issue to accounts of organizations and prominent individuals without charging a subscription fee. Without going into details, Elon Musk said yesterday that Twitter will allow organizations to independently identify those accounts that are somehow associated with them.

Last Sunday, it also became known that the new leadership of Twitter laid off 4,400 of the 5,500 employees who worked for the company in the status of contractors, and content moderation and infrastructure maintenance will suffer the most from this. So far, information about these reductions has not been confirmed in official sources.





Large investors are disappointed in cryptocurrency.
November 13, 2022

Institutional investors are becoming increasingly disillusioned with digital assets. The sudden collapse of the FTX crypto exchange may have completely undermined the prospects for including cryptocurrencies in the portfolios of large investors.

While there are enough crypto enthusiasts left in the industry, many professional investors say the case for cryptocurrencies as a portfolio diversification tool or digital gold has been debunked. In their opinion, investing in cryptocurrencies is associated with the probability of too large losses, and the market structure itself is too risky.

“It became clear that there would be no place for cryptocurrencies in institutional asset allocation. There was a period when they were seen as a potential asset class that every investor should have in their strategic asset allocation, but that is now out of the question,” said Hani Redha, portfolio manager at London-based Pinebridge Investments.

Recent scandals in the cryptocurrency market have virtually erased the notion of bitcoin as a reliable investment option. However, no recent event, whether it was the collapse of the Terra cryptocurrency or the bankruptcy of the cryptocurrency lender Celsius, has been as devastating to the industry as the news that even a serious player like the FTX crypto exchange may be insolvent.

“The collapse of FTX calls into question the viability of the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” said Salman Ahmed, chief investment strategist at Fidelity International, which manages $646 billion in assets.

A year ago, when the price of bitcoin rose above $67 thousand per coin, some investors and analysts predicted further stable growth. There were forecasts according to which, by the end of this year, the bitcoin exchange rate should have been in the region of $75-$100 thousand. Now, investors have become more restrained in their estimates, and bitcoin at the time of this writing was trading at $16,656 per coin.

Note that in the past, bitcoin managed to overcome hard times and some investors believe that the cryptocurrency market is stabilizing. However, Mark Dawding, investment director of BlueBay Asset Management, believes that the arguments about the ability of bitcoin to become a digital analogue of gold are not true. “It should be clear that an industry that produces nothing, burns money and offers tempting returns is doomed to fail,” Dowding said.





Binance Stops Accepting FTT Deposits from Bankrupt Crypto Exchange FTX.
November 13, 2022

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has stopped accepting deposits of FTT tokens on its platform from its competitor FTX, which filed for bankruptcy on Friday. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao made the announcement on Sunday, urging other competing exchanges to follow the example of his platform.

The already difficult situation for FTX deteriorated sharply when, some time after the announcement of the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings, the crypto exchange reported that unauthorized access was detected, as a result of which its applications were infected with malicious code, and experts said hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets disappeared. from the platform under "suspicious circumstances".

“(Binance) has discontinued FTT deposits to prevent the possibility of dubious additional revenue affecting the market. We will be monitoring the situation,” the head of Binance tweeted. He added in another tweet that FTT contract participants transferred all remaining $400 million worth of FTT tokens to other accounts to be unlocked in batches.

After the departure of Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto exchange was headed by restructuring specialist John J. Ray III, who previously dealt with, among other things, the bankruptcy of energy company Enron.





Elon Musk thanks Twitter employees for working overtime.
November 13, 2022

New Twitter CEO Elon Musk sent out an email to the company's employees thanking them for their overtime work since he took over on October 28. He also invited employees from Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco to visit him to discuss issues related to the further development of the social network.

Earlier this week, Twitter suspended the sale of the $7.99-per-month Twitter Blue subscription to address a problem with fake accounts impersonating famous people and brands by buying a "blue check" to confirm user verification. When exactly this feature will be available again is still unknown.

A source at the company said the changes to the Twitter platform have been slower and more cautious in the past, as the platform has to take into account various factors such as user response, security, and revenue impact. The new, more experimental approach that Musk is taking has worried not only Twitter employees, but also advertisers and even the US Federal Trade Commission.

Twitter staff also said they would like more clarity on a number of issues, including those related to the ability to work remotely. Last week, Musk changed the company's work schedule by ending the "work from home forever" rule. Musk's letter to employees also does not provide complete clarity on this issue. The head of Twitter writes that “working remotely is fine if you can’t get to the office for reasonable reasons and work at an exceptional level.” At the same time, he emphasized that he firmly believes in the corporate spirit and efficiency of working from the office.





Chief Information Security Officer Leaves Twitter, Head of Sales Returns.
November 12, 2022

Lea Kissner, director of information security at Twitter, has joined the ranks of senior executives who have left the company. However, the head of sales Robin Wheeler decided to win back her previous decision to leave Twitter. Regulators are increasingly concerned about the future of the social network.

The day before, Ms. Kissner announced that she had decided to leave Twitter, although she did not name the reasons for this decision. She also stated that she was proud of her now former colleagues and the work they had done. To date, with the arrival of Elon Musk at the head of the company, the largest reductions have been in the engineering division, product development division, content creation division, as well as specialists in machine learning ethics and human rights.

Staff instability during the transition threatens Twitter with many difficulties, including problems from regulators. In response to a query from Dark Reading, a spokesperson for the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said the agency is monitoring the company's developments with "deep concern" but will not allow non-compliance with the law or non-compliance with legitimate authorities. The platform is now under intense scrutiny by the FTC, which in May fined Twitter $150 million for abusing the personal data of users whose phone numbers and email addresses were used for targeted advertising.

But the chief sales manager at Twitter, Robin Wheeler, first decided to leave the company along with her colleagues, but then Elon Musk convinced her to stay. Since Musk's arrival, Ms. Wheeler has been Twitter's main liaison with the biggest advertisers.





Twitter canceled the distribution of gray checkmarks confirming the authenticity of the account.
November 10, 2022

Actively reforming the activity of the social network Twitter, its new owner Elon Musk is not afraid to make mistakes and then correct them. Launched the day before, the distribution of gray check "Official" labels was canceled by Wednesday evening, and the accounts that received them were again deprived of them. Twitter management made it clear that the gray checkmarks will return later, but will be distributed according to a different principle.

Esther Crawford, who is in charge of product development for Twitter, said yesterday that Twitter accounts will have to be divided into three types. Twitter Blue subscribers who are willing to pay $8 per month for a set of benefits will automatically receive blue checkmarks, replacing the previous verification process, but they will not be required to provide any personal data to verify their identity. A number of public figures, show business stars, companies and organizations will be provided with verification in the form of a gray checkmark and the status of "Official", and they will not need to pay for it. Finally, all other users will retain free access to the social network, but will not be verified in any way.

By Wednesday evening, as CNBC explains, the gray checkmarks that appeared on the morning of the same day from the names of the accounts of various media and organizations disappeared. At a meeting with advertisers, Elon Musk criticized such a system, saying that it simply divides users into two classes and does not solve a key problem. He later wrote that Twitter would be doing a lot of short-sighted things in the coming months. “We will leave what works and change what does not work,” the billionaire explained.

Esther Crawford added that gray checkmarks will return with the launch of the updated Twitter Blue service, but in the future they will be assigned mainly to accounts of government agencies and commercial organizations. According to a Twitter spokeswoman, there are “no more sacred cows” in this company, and Elon Musk is ready to try different things, some of them will lead to success, and others to failure. As Crawford added, "The challenge is to find a set of successful changes that will ensure long-term well-being and business development." Elon Musk also said on Wednesday that "the blue tick would be the best equalizer."





After the reforms of Elon Musk, Twitter will offer three types of accounts - official, with a purchased blue check mark and regular.
November 9, 2022

Esther Crawford, who is in charge of Twitter pilot products, explained this week that the new social network verification system will divide accounts into three types. Some will receive the Official label, the second will receive a blue check mark due to the paid Twitter Blue subscription, and the third will remain unverified. At the same time, Twitter Blue subscribers will not need to present documents to receive the coveted tick.

Previously, a free user verification procedure meant providing them with some personal data, such as a copy of a driver's license or information about a place of work, not to mention a banal mobile phone number. As the representative of the company explained, subscribers of the Twitter Blue service will not verify their identity in this way in order to receive a blue checkmark next to the account name in this social network. Earlier it was reported that the company will identify them by payment details, since Twitter Blue will have to pay $ 8 per month for a Twitter Blue subscription.

The Official label will be available to some of the already verified Twitter accounts at no additional cost or requirement to subscribe, but this option will be provided primarily to government organizations, officials, politicians and the media, as well as other public figures. It will not be possible to buy the right to use the Official label, but it will confirm the identity of the account owner. According to unofficial data, this option was invented specifically to identify officials around the world who would not pay on a regular basis to confirm their identity on Twitter, but at the same time expected to maintain their public status on the pages of the social network.

Naturally, all other Twitter accounts will remain unconfirmed, but it is too early to talk about the prospect of introducing paid access to the social network for all its users, which was discussed at the rumor level the day before. Twitter will continue to experiment with ways to distinguish between account types, Crawford said.





Mark Zuckerberg admitted that a wave of layoffs is coming at Meta and this is the result of his over-optimism.
November 9, 2022

Twitter will not be the only social network whose staff will have to be cut by several thousand people this year. Co-founder Jack Dorsey has already said that Twitter's almost halving staffing was partly due to his early optimism, and now Mark Zuckerberg has made a similar confession at an internal Meta Platforms meeting, according to eyewitnesses.

Their testimonies are cited by The Wall Street Journal, which claims that Meta Platforms will make official statements about the reduction of several thousand employees today, and the personnel who have been fired have already begun to receive notifications from their direct management. The scale of cuts to the Meta Platforms team, which at the end of September totaled 87,000 people, may not only be the largest in the industry this year, but also the first such measures in the 18-year history of Facebook.

In his address to subordinates, according to the source, Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged responsibility for mistakes in the development of the company and stated that it was his excessive optimism about the pace of business growth that led to too rapid expansion of its staff. Meta Platforms Human Resources Manager Lori Goler said all laid-off employees will be paid at least four monthly salaries.

According to Zuckerberg, Meta's headcount will be reduced the most, specifically hiring employees and interacting with corporate clients. Immediately after the meeting of the leaders, the latter began to send notices to their subordinates about the upcoming dismissal. Meta employees began to form communities in advance on external resources, where they discuss the best options for using severance pay.





Elon Musk recently sold nearly $4 billion worth of Tesla shares.
November 8, 2022

Elon Musk became the owner of Twitter at the end of October, which meant the simultaneous final settlement of the deal, which estimated the company's capitalization at $44 billion. During the period from November 4 to November 8, the billionaire sold 19.5 million of his Tesla shares for a total of $3.95 billion It can be assumed that part of the proceeds will go to pay for the purchase of Twitter, but in this case, Tesla shares were sold quite late.

As Barron's explains, the current structure of the deal between Elon Musk and Twitter as of late October meant that he would have to sell between $5 billion and $10 billion in shares to cover the remaining costs associated with buying Twitter assets. In the immediate period leading up to the completion of the transaction, Musk did not sell Tesla shares, but since the end of last week he has sold 38 blocks of these securities for a total of $3.95 billion. , but only in part, because over the past three days, 319 million Tesla shares have changed their owners, and the head of the company has sold only 19.5 million pieces - no more than 6% of the indicated amount.

Between April and August, Elon Musk sold a total of 17.6 million Tesla shares he owned for a total of $15 billion. The funding structure of the Twitter deal remained non-public, so it is still difficult to judge whether the Tesla CEO will sell additional shares of the company to cover associated costs. Now he has about 446 million shares of Tesla in his hands, which corresponds to a share of about 12%. The share price of this issuer has decreased by 45% since the beginning of the year.





German authorities lean towards ban on sale of Elmos chipmaker to Chinese investors.
November 8, 2022

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's attempts to mend relations with Chinese authorities will not stop German officials from blocking the sale of Elmos' semiconductor manufacturing business to Chinese investors. German officials may announce this today.

Elmos itself, headquartered in Dortmund, announced, according to the source, that the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection had informed the parties involved in the negotiation process of its decision to block the deal. Silex Microsystems, registered in Sweden and controlled by Chinese investors from Sai Microelectronics, was the company that claimed to buy Elmos in Germany, which specializes in the processing of silicon wafers for the production of electronic components for a wide range of purposes.

Economics Minister Robert Habeck said on Tuesday that Germany should develop relations with China, but that investments in critical sectors such as semiconductors should be carefully evaluated. According to the minister, the potential deal with Elmos is just such a case. Representatives of Elmos were surprised by this turn, because until now they have received signals from the relevant departments in Germany that the deal is highly likely to be approved.

Elmos products are used in the automotive industry. The deal with Silex was being prepared by negotiators since last year and was supposed to bring the sellers 85 million euros. Back in 2015, the Chinese company NavTech acquired Sweden's Silex and announced plans to build a $300 million facility in Beijing that would use technology from Swedish partners. Supporters of the sale of the Elmos plant in Germany argue that the production does not use advanced or secret technologies, and is too small in scale to seriously affect the country's economy or its security.





EU launches in-depth investigation into Microsoft's $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard.
November 8, 2022

The European Commission announced the start of the second phase of the antitrust investigation of the deal, in which Microsoft intends to buy Activision Blizzard for almost $69 billion. According to the regulator, the deal could harm competition in the gaming industry, so this issue requires in-depth consideration. The agency's investigation will end no later than March 23, 2023.

“A preliminary investigation by the European Commission showed that the deal could significantly reduce the level of competition in the distribution markets for video games for consoles and computers. The preliminary investigation indicates that there is an opportunity for Microsoft, as well as a potential economic incentive, to implement an anti-competitive strategy against third-party console game distributors,” the European Commission said in a statement.

Microsoft expressed its intention to cooperate with the regulator to resolve emerging issues. "Sony, as an industry leader, has expressed concern about Call of Duty, but we have reiterated our commitment to having the same game available on the same day on Xbox and PlayStation," a Microsoft spokesperson said, adding that the company does not intend to restrict access to games for owners of Sony consoles.

The main concerns of the European Commission are related to the fact that after the completion of the deal, Microsoft may restrict competitors' access to popular Activision Blizzard franchises, primarily for Call of Duty games. In addition to the European Union, the deal between Microsoft and Blizzard is being considered by industry regulators in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. At the moment, the takeover has been approved in Brazil and Saudi Arabia.





Under Elon Musk, Twitter's daily audience is growing at a record pace.
November 8, 2022

Elon Musk, who recently bought Twitter, said this week that the popularity of the social network has reached record heights, along the way expressing the hope that "the servers will not melt from this." During his first week at the helm of Twitter, according to advertiser-ready materials, the platform's daily user base increased by an average of 20% year-on-year.

In the United States, Twitter's largest market, The Verge notes that the growth rate of daily user audience was even higher. Since the end of the second quarter, the number of daily users eligible for monetization has increased by 15 million people and exceeded the mark of 250 million. In the second quarter, Twitter had 237.8 million active daily users, and the audience growth rate did not exceed 16.6% in annual terms.

At the same time, Musk noted last week that the social network was facing a massive outflow of advertising revenue. According to the referenced document for Twitter advertisers, hate expressions on the social network pages are now not exceeding the historical norm, remaining in the range of 0.25 to 0.45% of tweets, which are measured in hundreds of millions of tweets daily.

At the same time, Twitter representatives assure advertisers that the social network's content moderation policy will not change until a special committee is created to form and control it. The introduction of the Twitter Blue subscription, which will become a requirement for the verification of new accounts, will not affect users who already have verified accounts. For large corporate users, an additional designation "Official" will be introduced, which will be adjacent to the name of their Twitter account.





Chinese companies began to slow down their processors to avoid US sanctions.
November 8, 2022

The introduction by the United States of new export restrictions against China forced Chinese developers to change the approach to creating chips. Now they are trying to artificially slow down their chips so as not to fall under Washington sanctions and not share the fate of HiSilicon, which developed chips for Huawei and lost a significant part of its customers under US pressure.

Alibaba, startup Biren Technology and other Chinese chipmakers who have spent millions of dollars building advanced processors and accelerators (including AI-related ones) for supercomputers and data centers are now forced to slow down their chips in order to continue using the services of a Taiwanese contract manufacturer chip Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

As you know, TSMC has suspended the production of 7nm chips for Biren BR100 computing accelerators, fearing that they are subject to US export restrictions. The fact is that TSMC, like any other semiconductor factory, is difficult to accurately assess the computing capabilities of certain chips. Therefore, she invites Chinese customers to specify the parameters of their chips themselves and sign declarations of responsibility for the data provided. In the case of Biren, the developers themselves, who advertised the capabilities of their chips, are also to blame for the cessation of the release of TSMC chips.

According to Chinese experts, it is difficult to determine whether a particular chip falls under US restrictions. This is because it is determined by such an indicator as the speed of bidirectional transmission and the explanations in the documents on this item are not clear. For chips, according to US sanctions, this figure should not exceed 600 GB / s.

If Biren previously indicated a data transfer rate of 640 GB / s for the BR100 accelerator, now its website shows an indicator according to the calculations of the Bernstein research group, which is 576 GB / s. According to a Biren employee who wished to remain anonymous, the company began tweaking the design of the chips to slow them down in the hope that TSMC would make them.

Dylan Patel, principal analyst at semiconductor research group SemiAnalysis, who first noticed the Biren chip specification change, said the developers are trying to slow down the chip by turning off part of it. He expressed doubt that such a trick would be approved by US regulators, since the chip design is not is changing and there are no guarantees that it will not be launched at full capacity in the future.

Sources told the Financial Times that developers at Alibaba's T-Head division are also considering ways to modify their new 5nm AI processor to avoid US restrictions. Asked for comment by the newspaper, a spokesman for T-Head said, "T-Head's core products are for Alibaba Group's own use only and comply with all applicable regulations."





The US authorities are ready to put pressure on Japan and the Netherlands to join the anti-Chinese sanctions.
November 6, 2022

Until now, negotiations between the US authorities and counterparts in Japan regarding the consolidation of anti-China sanctions were discussed only at the level of rumors, but this week official comments on this topic were made by US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. She expressed her hope that Japan and the Netherlands would join the US in this initiative.

At the same time, the American official did not go into details about interaction with the authorities of these countries, but stated the following: “We are ahead of (China). We must maintain this position, and we must deny access to the technology they need to advance in the military. This is the most strategically bold move we've ever made." According to US media, a senior official from the US Department of Commerce will visit the Netherlands this month for talks on consolidating efforts to enforce anti-China sanctions.

Japanese officials, according to the Nikkei Asian Review, confirmed the holding of daily consultations with their American counterparts, but did not go into their content, citing diplomatic secrecy. They only made it clear that they were ready to take adequate measures in response to the requests of the American side.

In early October, additions to existing export control regulations restricted the supply to China of certain types of equipment and technologies that allow the creation of advanced semiconductor components in this country. The USA, although being the largest player in the market for the corresponding equipment, does not cover the entire range of technologies used. In particular, the ASML holding from the Netherlands formally has reason not to comply with the requirements of US export control regulations, since its equipment does not use technologies of American origin. The Japanese company Tokyo Electron is in a similar situation. Now both manufacturers have legal grounds to supply lithographic equipment to China.

Tellingly, the revenue of Japanese manufacturers of such equipment over the past ten years has tripled, only since the beginning of this year it has increased by 30%. Now, in terms of its share in the structure of Japan's export earnings, it ranks second, bypassing the automotive industry and second only to the steel industry. The export of lithographic equipment brings Japan up to 4% of all income from the supply of products outside the country. Of these, about a quarter is provided by Chinese customers, so the loss of this market as a result of US sanctions will hurt the business of specialized Japanese manufacturers.





Twitter Blue subscription for $8 per month, which gives the right to account verification, will be rolled out first in English-speaking countries.
November 6, 2022

Last Saturday, App Store users in a number of countries got the chance to see that upcoming Twitter updates will offer them $8 a month to verify their account and receive a number of other perks. Customers in the US, Canada, Australia, UK and New Zealand will be the first to get access to the new features. Officially, the service in a new form has not yet been launched, but the bill actually goes for days.

Twitter representatives confirmed, according to CNBC, that the changes will be visible to "a small group of users with early access" as the development team tests and implements updates in real time. As explained in the Twitter update for Apple device users, subscribers to the Twitter Blue service will soon be able to receive the coveted “blue checkmark” next to their names as “already famous celebrities, companies and politicians.” It will mean that the account really belongs to the person or organization that is mentioned in the signature.

Other benefits that are prepared for Twitter Blue subscribers are also confirmed. They will see half as many ads and will be able to post longer text messages or longer videos. Their comments will also appear higher in the search results. Elon Musk himself explained from the pages of his social network that following the USA, Canada, Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand, the Twitter Blue subscription will begin to be introduced in other countries. In India, for example, company management hopes to implement it in less than a month. They intend to verify their Twitter account using data from payment systems on the Apple and Android platforms, Musk called this approach quite reliable.

The billionaire also explained that solving problems with search on Twitter remains a priority for the company. Monetization of content for its creators is also included in the plans of the new leadership of Twitter. If YouTube gives creators up to 55% of advertising revenue, then Elon Musk is convinced that Twitter under his leadership will be able to offer more. All forms of content will be subject to monetization, as Elon Musk assured.





American companies fear losing initiative due to anti-China sanctions - Commerce Secretary asks them to wait.
November 6, 2022

US companies that produce equipment for the production of microcircuits fear that, due to the sanctions imposed on Beijing, competitors from other countries that have not yet supported these sanctions may take their place. In response, they were asked to wait a few months.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told companies that make manufacturing equipment that they may have to wait about nine months before Washington convinces allied countries to join sanctions targeting China's semiconductor industry. This week, it really became known that the American authorities began to work closely with Japanese, Korean and European partners, persuading them to support sanctions against Beijing.

However, the restrictive measures introduced by Washington no longer suit the American players themselves, whose place, albeit for a relatively short time, will be taken by competitors from other countries. In particular, the Californian Lam Research, which produces equipment for the production of silicon wafers, said that due to anti-China sanctions, its lost profits in 2023 could amount to $ 2.5 billion. Applied Materials, working in the same area, told investors that only in the current quarter could lose up to $0.5 billion.

In response, the US authorities said they were already working on an agreement under which the Netherlands (ASML) and Japan (Canon and others) would join anti-Chinese sanctions. However, negotiations on this agreement could take six to nine months, Raimondo said at a meeting with American manufacturers. This may take longer as the US partners will have to impose export sanctions on their own semiconductor companies, and this is very painful, as the industry is going through hard times.

Although, as practice shows, Washington usually manages to find convincing arguments - this is confirmed by the cases with the Welsh plant Newport Wafer Fab and the ban on Huawei telecommunications equipment in the UK. Already at the end of the month, an American delegation will arrive in the Netherlands for talks, which will include Deputy Minister of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez.




Financing Elon Musk's Twitter Deal Could Lose Creditors Up to $1 Billion.
November 1, 2022

As previously reported, the banks that loaned Elon Musk $12.7 billion were forced to refrain from selling the rights to these debt obligations to outside investors, as the market was unnerved by the uncertainty surrounding the deal. Now the deal to buy Twitter is closed, but banks are still in no hurry to sell debt on it, since the new management of the company has not formulated a further development strategy.

According to the Financial Times, Elon Musk's creditors intend to hold debt on the Twitter deal until early next year, at least until the billionaire and his associates publicly formulate a plan for moving forward. It is possible that the delay in the sale of debt will entail losses in the amount of up to $1 billion, but banks hope to cover them after the debt market stabilizes. If it starts to recover faster, then they will not hesitate to sell the obligations, even if it remains uncertain about the plans of the new leadership of Twitter.

So far, debt holders have previously divided them into three parts. About $6.7 billion will be sold as secured loans, $3 billion each will be secured and unsecured bonds, respectively. Investors are now generally wary of buying debt, but when it comes to Elon Musk's deal with Twitter, some of them are expressing confidence that this company has the potential to transform financially under new management. By the way, banks have already had to increase the loan amount to Elon Musk from $12.5 to $12.7 billion since April, so they are probably mentally prepared for adjustments and increased losses.





Apple left the heads responsible for managing stores and information infrastructure.
November 1, 2022

Apple's quarterly reports showed that the company completed the third quarter quite successfully against the backdrop of many competitors. At the same time, there were still some personnel changes in the leadership, and only over the past month, three vice presidents left the Apple staff. Two of them were responsible for the company's sales network and information infrastructure, respectively.

Last month, Anna Matthiasson, who was responsible for online stores in the company, lost her post. At the same time, Mary Demby, who was responsible for corporate information systems for three decades, left her position. In the latter case, CFO Luca Maestri temporarily assumed the function of head of the department, the name of Dembi's successor has not yet been named.

Earlier in October, it was reported that the head of industrial design, Evans Hankey, also left Apple. Jane Horvath, chief information security officer, also left Apple this year for a law firm.

During the pandemic, online commerce has gained particular importance for Apple, in 2021 the company upgraded the design of its branded online store. Karen Rasmussen, who was previously responsible for e-commerce and digital customer experience, has been assigned to lead this area. Since 2014, Apple's e-commerce business has been led by a handful of people, with first division chief Jennifer Bailey now overseeing the company's digital financial services business.





Bitcoin trading has lost activity, but it's not so bad, experts are sure.
October 31, 2022

The price of bitcoin has been hovering around $20,000 for the past few months with little fluctuation, which experts say is a good sign. The recent lack of volatility is not a bad thing, analysts and investors say, as it could indicate signs of a price bottom.

After a significant rise in 2021, when bitcoin traded at $68,990, its price has fallen and is holding around $20,000. According to Kaiko, the 20-day moving average volatility of the cryptocurrency fell below the Nasdaq indices for the first time since 2020. and S&P 500.

Experts attribute the sharp drop in stocks and cryptocurrencies this year to the increase in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve and the strengthening of the dollar. The cryptocurrency market has lost $2 trillion due to the collapse this year compared to the peak of 2021. In particular, bitcoin has fallen by about 70% compared to the November peak. It should also be noted that the correlation of bitcoin with stocks has increased markedly, as more and more institutional investors have invested in cryptocurrency.

Financial institutions are reportedly continuing to invest in crypto despite falling prices and declining interest from retail investors. For example, the Mastercard payment system has launched a service for cryptocurrency trading linked to bank accounts. And Visa is partnering with crypto exchange FTX to offer debit bank cards linked to user trading accounts.

Amid the stabilization of bitcoin, miners have reduced sales of cryptocurrency, suggesting that the worst for mining is over. According to Goldman Sachs, publicly traded bitcoin miners sold 12,000 bitcoins in June and only about 3,000 coins in September.

Matteo Dante Perruccio, President of Wave Financial, an international digital asset management company, predicts that the crypto winter will come to an end in the second quarter of next year. According to James Butterfill, head of research at crypto asset management firm CoinShares, this could come after the Federal Reserve announced its intention to ease interest rate regulation.





Elon Musk conceived the return of Vine - the legendary short video service.
October 31, 2022

Elon Musk, who is the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and the new owner of social networking site Twitter, asked his followers if the company's short video service Vine, which was shut down in 2016, should be restored. A poll dedicated to this appeared on the billionaire's Twitter page.

"Should I return Vine?" — Musk wrote, thus offering his subscribers to decide the fate of the once popular service. At the time of this writing, nearly 2 million Twitter users have taken part in the poll, and 70% of them voted for the return of Vine.

Recall that Twitter bought Vine in 2012. Later, he gained popularity and helped a large number of people become real Internet stars. However, over time, popular content authors began to leave the platform due to disagreements over the service's affiliate program. In 2016, Twitter management decided to stop investing in Vine, after which the service was closed.

About a year later, ByteDance, a Chinese company, bought Musical.ly, a video-making social network, for $1 billion. ByteDance later merged it with its TikTok short video service, which has become incredibly popular around the world in recent years.





Dogecoin has risen in price after Elon Musk's purchase of the social network Twitter.
October 31, 2022

Cryptocurrency Dogecoin rose by more than 70% over the weekend, helped by the news of the purchase of the Twitter social network by billionaire Elon Musk, who is a supporter of digital assets. According to the CoinDesk platform, Dogecoin has fallen in price by more than 7% over the past day. At the time of writing this note, a unit of cryptocurrency cost about $0.11.

Elon Musk, who is the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has had a significant impact on Dogecoin and Bitcoin in the past. Earlier this year, Tesla allowed its customers to pay for purchases using Dogecoin. In addition, Elon Musk's recently released Burnt Hair perfume can also be purchased using cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance, which invested $500 million in the purchase of Twitter, announced that it is working on issues related to the integration of blockchain and cryptocurrencies into the social network. According to available data, the study of blockchain integration in Twitter began under the leadership of former CEO Jack Dorsey.

Earlier this month, Musk said the purchase of Twitter would be a step towards building a universal app. A striking example of such a product is the WeChat service, popular in Asia, which can be used not only for exchanging messages and other data, but also for making payments, making purchases, ordering a taxi, etc.





On November 1, a “potentially dangerous” asteroid the size of a huge skyscraper will approach the Earth as close as possible.
October 31, 2022

According to NASA, a recently discovered "potentially dangerous" asteroid with an estimated diameter of 330-740 m at a speed of 84,500 km / h will follow as close as possible to the Earth on November 1 - 2.3 million km, only six times farther than the Moon. is away from the earth. By cosmic standards - extremely close.

NASA considers all space objects flying at a distance of 193 million km or closer from the Earth as "near-Earth", and any body flying closer than 7.5 million km from the Earth as "potentially dangerous". Once such bodies are included in a special register, they are monitored to control possible changes in predicted trajectories, which may result in a threat to the Earth. Although no particular threat is expected from the recently discovered 2022 RM4, a body with a possible diameter of 740 m, whose brightness will increase to 14.3 mag, will be clearly visible in the sky even with "home" telescopes.

Today, NASA tracks the position and orbits of approximately 28 thousand asteroids, identifying them using the so-called. Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) - a chain of four telescopes capable of completely scanning the entire starry sky every 24 hours. Since the ATLAS system went live in 2017, it has detected more than 700 near-Earth asteroids and 66 comets, and two of them - 2019 MO and 2018 LA did hit the earth - near Puerto Rico and South Africa, respectively, but their sizes were so small that nothing catastrophic happened.

According to the aerospace agency, collisions with bodies of "apocalyptic" size are not expected for at least the next 100 years, but, according to scientists, such data do not give reason to relax. Although most near-Earth objects are unlikely to end human civilization, there are quite a few catastrophic collisions in the history of the planet.

So, in March 2021, a meteor the size of a bowling ball exploded in the atmosphere over the state of Vermont in the USA (200 kg of TNT), and in 2013 a rather powerful explosion occurred over Chelyabinsk, according to some estimates, its power reached 400-500 kilotons, or 26-33 times more than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. During the explosion over Chelyabinsk, buildings were damaged, many windows were shattered, and about 1,500 people were injured of varying severity.

Space agencies are already working on creating planetary defenses. So, at the end of last month, the DART probe for the first time in history managed to change the orbit of an asteroid - the target was Dimorph, which, fortunately, did not threaten the Earth. China also announced the start of preparations for a mission to change the orbit of one of the celestial bodies. We are talking about the asteroid Bennu, which should fly at a distance of 7.4 million km from Earth's orbit between 2175 and 2199, and Chinese scientists hope to prevent a potentially dangerous collision.





Tesla is going to expand the territory of its enterprise in Berlin and has begun deforestation.
October 31, 2022

As you know, in the next couple of years, Tesla intends to increase the production of electric vehicles by an average of 50% annually. To do this, it is important not only to build new enterprises, but also to expand existing ones. According to German media, in the vicinity of Berlin on Friday, they again began to cut trees for the expansion of the existing Tesla plant.

The specialized machinery has already been spotted in the pine forest that borders the company's site on the outskirts of Berlin. According to RBB24, the automaker has received permission from local authorities to cut wood on an area of ​​nearly 70 hectares, in addition to the existing 90-hectare site. The new territory allocated for the needs of Tesla will be located to the north of the already functioning enterprise.

To lull the vigilance of conservationists are the forest restoration measures that Tesla has committed to carry out to compensate for its construction activities. It has already restored about 300 hectares of forests, although in this case we are talking about mixed vegetation, and in the case of new construction, mainly coniferous forests should suffer.

By the first quarter of next year, the company expects to increase the production of electric vehicles in Germany to 5,000 units per week from the current 2,000 units. Back in June, the company produced about a thousand cars a week. In the future, in Germany, Tesla is going to produce 500,000 cars a year, but by the beginning of next year it will only reach 50% of this level under favorable circumstances. Now the company in Germany employs more than 7,000 people, in the future the number may increase to 12,000 people.





Users may have to pay to verify their Twitter account.
October 31, 2022

Since the question of the authenticity of Twitter accounts has become a bone of contention between the former management of the social network and its current owner Elon Musk, it is easy to imagine that some reforms aimed at verifying the authenticity of accounts will be the first steps of the new head of the company. Some sources expect that users will have to pay to verify their Twitter account.

Platformer over the weekend announced Elon Musk's intention to cancel the free account verification procedure on Twitter. The billionaire wants to force those who want to keep their verified account to become subscribers of the Twitter Blue service, which expands user privileges for a subscription fee of $ 4.99 per month.

Although such information has not been officially confirmed, Elon Musk literally stated the following: “The entire verification process is now being reformed.” It is believed that the option of forcing users to switch to a subscription with a monthly fee in order to maintain verified accounts is only being considered, and the new management of Twitter may yet abandon the corresponding plans.

The Verge separately reported that Elon Musk set employees a task to develop a new verification program by November 7, according to which the user is given 90 days to proceed to a subscription after the initial verification of the account, and if after that he does not become a Twitter Blue subscriber, his status may be lost. Along the way, the possibility of increasing the subscription fee for a subscription to $ 19.99 per month is being discussed. The source reports that Twitter employees responsible for implementing these reforms have literally been given an ultimatum - if they do not implement the new feature by November 7, then they will have to leave their jobs.

Musk also suggests redirecting all Twitter users who are not logged in when visiting the social networking site to an Explore page listing the most popular tweets, according to the source.





Elon Musk has denied accusations of hastily reducing staff Twitter in order to save on payouts.
October 31, 2022

With the filing of The New York Times, information appeared yesterday about Elon Musk's intentions to expedite the dismissal of some of the employees in order not to pay them that part of the compensation package that is nominated in the shares of the social network. Twitter employees must receive shares and options on November 1st. The billionaire had to make excuses that he had no such intentions.

Musk, though he took over Twitter after buying the company, refuses to identify himself as CEO, and he is believed to have already fired his predecessor Parag Agrawal and four other executives on the first day after the deal closed last week. The reason for the hasty dismissal could be the inconsistency of Elon Musk's ideas about the number of dubious accounts in the Twitter audience with the data provided by the company's former management at the stage of preparation for the deal.

The billionaire had to say that the information published by The New York Times about the desire of the new owner of Twitter to save money on payments to reduced staff by laying off employees before November 1 is not true. It was not specified whether the five downsized Twitter executives would qualify for compensation in the form of company stock. Appropriate remuneration for top-level executives can be substantial in terms of value. Third-party experts explain that it is possible to deprive the dismissed executives of such remuneration only if it is proved that they have grossly violated either company policy or the law.





In order to reduce costs, Intel will have to reduce the range of products.
October 30, 2022

At the last quarterly reporting conference, Intel management was forced to declare that by the middle of the decade they hope to reduce annual costs by $ 8-10 billion, and next year the savings will reach $ 3 billion. , cost optimization in the field of technical support, sales and marketing.

As noted the day before, Intel representatives did not indicate how many staff could be cut, but CFO David Zinsner made it clear that the changes could reach "significant amounts." According to rumors, individual divisions of Intel will lose up to 20% of the staff. Already, the company has begun cutting costs, and incurred $664 million in related expenses in the third quarter. In essence, laying off employees means paying them severance pay, and the company will be forced to increase costs before it starts saving on the payroll. It is possible that part of this amount was just used to pay severance pay.

Already when Patrick Gelsinger was the CEO of Intel, the company began to get rid of divisions that, according to certain criteria, did not meet its strategic goals. In the summer of this year, it was decided to abandon the release of Optane memory (3D XPoint), shortly before that, Intel decided to put an end to the history of the development of drones that "rose into the sky" even under Brian Krzanich. True, Mobileye's IPO can hardly be called a branch of the core business, because Intel retains about 95% of the company's shares. But the very vector of this movement suggests that corporations would like to quickly get a return on multibillion-dollar investments in active driver assistance.

Intel is also going to look for additional resources to optimize costs in the more distant future during the transition to the “internal contract manufacturer” business model, which implies an increase in the administrative independence of the unit responsible for the production of chips. It, in fact, will have to show more independence in its interaction with full-time chip developers.

So far, Intel is not ready to retreat from its intention to master five new technical processes in four years. Patrick Gelsinger at the quarterly event even stated that success is achieved with each new quarter. By 2025, the company is still aiming to regain its technological leadership. For this reason, over the next few years, capital expenditures relative to revenues will be held at 35% before being reduced to the more familiar 25%.

Intel does not have many sources of funding for such plans in the face of deteriorating market conditions. This year, the company's revenue will decrease by $13 billion compared to the company's expectations at the beginning of the year, and compared to last year, it will fall by 20%. The construction of new enterprises requires multi-billion investments. Of course, up to two-thirds of the funds for these purposes will be covered by state subsidies and money from customers or partners, but up to 30% of the budget of each new project will be covered by Intel from its own capital.





American scientists showed how to build chips from the bottom up - now they are being created the other way around.
October 29, 2022

Traditionally, semiconductor lithography creates chips from top to bottom as the substrate is etched deeper and deeper. This is convenient, but severely limits detail at the deepest level. A group of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) proposed to build chips in reverse - from the smallest nanobrick on a clean substrate to ready-to-use complex nanostructures, which should improve the performance of electronics.

To a certain extent, the proposed technical process is stamping in the form of transferring the working material according to a template onto a silicon substrate. Such methods are already in use, but have one serious drawback: the silicon and the chip are contaminated or deformed, which leads to an increase in the level of factory defects, since glue, annealing or high pressure is used in the transfer process to fix the "building" material on the substrate.

Researchers at MIT took a different path. They were able to prudently manage the atomic and molecular forces that fixed the nanoparticles on the surface of the silicon substrate better than any glue. Strictly speaking, scientists involved two types of phenomena - the capillary movement of liquids and the van der Waals forces.

Nanoparticles of building material in the form of cubes with sides of 50 nm in a drop of liquid were applied to a template, after which the process of uniform distribution of nanobricks over the template took place. This was facilitated by capillary phenomena. Then the pattern of each layer (pattern) was transferred to an arbitrary substrate, for example, silicon. The liquid also contributed to the transfer of the nanoparticle pattern onto the substrate. When it dried out, the nanoparticles continued to be retained on the substrate, but already due to another phenomenon - due to the van der Waals force. These forces turn out to be a sufficiently reliable “cement” (acting at the interface between the substrate and nanoparticles) so that the pattern firmly adheres to the substrate with an accuracy of each nanoparticle.

“These forces are ubiquitous and can often be detrimental to the fabrication of nanoscale objects, as they can lead to the destruction of structures. But we can come up with ways to very precisely control these forces in order to use them to control manipulations at the nanoscale, ”said one of the authors of the study.

With this transfer of nanoparticles, the scrap rate is reduced to less than 5%, the scientists report. The surface of the substrate remains intact: no solvents or adhesives are used, which increases the cleanliness of production. In the future, the proposed solution will help create nanometer-sized electronic components with the highest degree of detail and accuracy, which will certainly improve the performance of semiconductor devices.





European operators require US IT giants to pay for the use of communication networks - the money will be used for modernization.
October 29, 2022

European telecommunications operators continue to insist that online service providers compensate for part of the costs of maintaining and updating the network infrastructure. They are asking European regulators to introduce a scheme whereby IT companies sending traffic over their networks would be charged a fee that could be spent on infrastructure upgrades.

Operators argue that platforms such as Amazon, Prime and Netflix process gigantic amounts of data and therefore must contribute to funding the addition of new capacity needed to cope with the increased load. And voice calling apps such as WhatsApp and Skype, for example, are accused of wanting to "ride the hare."

"The simple argument is that telcos want to be properly compensated for providing this access and traffic growth," PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore told CNBC.

This idea was supported in France, Italy and Spain, and the European Commission is likely to hold consultations on this issue in early 2023.

Meta*, Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Netflix accounted for more than 56% of network traffic in 2021, according to a report commissioned by the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO) published in May. The authors of the report argue that the tech giants' annual contribution of €20bn to operators' network costs could increase the productivity of the EU economy by €72bn. By some estimates, broadband operators are investing around €50 billion a year in their infrastructure to support 5G and next-generation fiber networks.

Disputes about this are going on not only in Europe, but also in other regions. In South Korea, for example, companies have lobbied politicians to force platforms such as YouTube and Netflix to pay for access to the network. And SK Broadband even sued Netflix over network costs related to the launch of its popular show Squid Game.

* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which a court has made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 “On Counteracting Extremist Activity”.





It will be much more difficult for Elon Musk to reform Twitter than to buy a company.
October 29, 2022

Elon Musk today became the actual owner and head of Twitter, although the closing of the company's privatization deal has not yet been officially announced. Now the businessman has a more difficult task to carry out on the platform of the reforms he spoke about earlier.

Mr. Musk recently said that he and other investors in this deal are overpaying for Twitter, buying the platform for $44 billion, but he is confident that the potential of the social network in the long term will increase its value by an order of magnitude, that is, ten times. Musk talked a lot about his intentions for Twitter, but it will not be easy to implement all the initiatives of the new owner of the platform.

One of Musk's ideas is to turn Twitter into a super app. Similar projects originated in China in the past decade, and the most striking example of a super app is WeChat: once it was a messenger, but today the service allows, in addition to messaging, to make payments, make purchases on the Internet and call a taxi. One universal service really appealed to users who do not have direct access to Google, Facebook * and other Western resources.

The businessman told investors that he plans to build a project in which premium subscriptions are sold in order to reduce dependence on advertising, there are mechanisms for material incentives for content authors, and it also has its own payment system. But in the United States, it will be extremely difficult to implement something similar - the local conjuncture is strikingly different from China, and the place of super applications is occupied by Apple and Google, which will do everything to prevent a new player from appearing. The same Apple recently blocked Spotify's intention to start selling audiobooks on its platform.

The introduction of a payment system will require the introduction of identity verification mechanisms, which directly contradicts the current Twitter ideology: in order to exercise the right to freedom of speech without fear for their future, many users preferred to remain anonymous, which made the platform a powerful political tool.

Serious concerns among the current Twitter staff are caused by Musk's plans to soften the content moderation policy, which so far complies with the norms applied by other platforms. It is assumed that the employees of the trust and security department will undergo the most numerous reductions - according to media reports, the businessman has already fired the head of this department, Vijaya Gadde. Musk also wants to dramatically transform the way ads on the platform look—he said exactly three years ago that he “hates ads.” Today, it provides 90% of Twitter's revenue, but the new owner's initiatives, such as former US President Donald Trump's return to the platform, could alienate both advertisers and non-politically aligned audiences.

Finally, Musk, who calls himself an ardent supporter of free speech, traditionally communicates with government officials in a conciliatory tone - in particular, he did not object when he was warned in the EU that even under the new rules, Twitter would not be able to work in the region without censorship. To work with tech giants in the EU, they adopted the Digital Services Act (DSA), according to which disobedience is punishable by a fine of 6% of the company's annual global turnover. In India, Twitter is actively trying to champion free speech, but Musk's overzealousness could complicate things. And the Tesla Shanghai plant owned by the businessman is of particular concern in the United States - last year China provided the electric car manufacturer with $ 14 billion in revenue. to a large amount of personal data of Americans.

* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which a court has made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 “On Counteracting Extremist Activity”.





Elon Musk Takes Over at Twitter, Fires Ex-CEO and Other Executives.
October 29, 2022

Elon Musk has become the de facto head of Twitter. Top managers of the company have left the headquarters in San Francisco and are not going to return.

Parag Agrawal's former CEO and CFO Ned Segal left the company's San Francisco headquarters with no intention of returning. Vijaya Gadde, head of legal policy and security, also lost her position, the Washington Post added.

Earlier, Judge Kathaleen McCormick, who was supposed to hear the case between Twitter and Musk, gave the parties until October 28 to close the deal to buy the company. Two days ago, the businessman visited the Twitter office with a sink in his hands, in an allegorical manner urging the public to "think about it", after which he spoke at a meeting of the company's employees and assured them that the message disseminated by the media about his intention to cut 75% of the staff was not true. Musk also listed on his profile the position of Chief Twit, which means "head of Twitter", and the New York Stock Exchange stopped trading in the company's shares.





Seagate accused of selling Huawei hard drives in circumvention of sanctions - the company does not admit guilt.
October 27, 2022

US authorities accused Seagate of selling its products to Huawei, which is under US sanctions and blacklisted by the US Department of Commerce. You can work with Huawei, but this requires a license from the US Department of Commerce, which Seagate allegedly did not have. The company, in turn, denies allegations of violating US export regulations.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released Wednesday, Seagate refuted accusations by the US Department of Commerce that it violated export control regulations by illegally supplying storage devices to a company on that agency's Entity List. We are talking about the Chinese supplier of telecommunications equipment Huawei, which was added to the black list in 2019.

US companies must obtain special licenses from the US government to sell certain items of equipment or do business with companies or individuals on the Entity List. They can be fined for breaking the rules. However, in August it was revealed that the US Department of Commerce approved 94% of requests for licenses to supply restricted technologies to China.

Seagate said it received a formal indictment (proposed charging letter, PCL) from the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the Department of Commerce, accusing it of violating US Export Administration Regulations (EAR) when supplying Huawei hard drives.

“The PCL alleges that Seagate violated the EAR by providing Seagate hard drives to an Entity List customer and affiliates between August 2020 and September 2021,” Seagate said in a filing with the SEC. The company also stated that it "did not engage in prohibited activities as claimed by BIS because, among other things, Seagate hard drives are not subject to the EAR."

If Seagate is found to have violated US export regulations, it will be fined $300,000, or twice the value of the deal, with a higher choice.





Instagram* is used by 2 billion people a month - in terms of audience it is catching up with Facebook*.
October 27, 2022

The number of monthly active users of the social network Instagram* has grown to 2 billion people worldwide. According to this indicator, the platform is catching up with Facebook*, another social network of Meta* Platforms.

This information appeared in Meta*'s financial report, after which the company's shares lost about 20% in price. It was also announced that more than 2 billion people use the WhatsApp messenger daily. The total number of monthly active users of the Meta* family of applications was 3.71 billion people.

As for the user audience of the Instagram* platform, in June 2018 it was more than 1 billion people. Over the past time, the social network has undergone one of the most significant transformations since ten years ago it became part of Meta* (at that time the company was called Facebook*). Now Instagram* shows users significantly more content based on their preferences, which contributes to the growth of the audience. TikTok-style short videos also appeared on the platform, due to which it was able to compete more successfully with the Chinese short video service.

These and other changes are being integrated into the social network in an attempt to keep Instagram* relevant in a crowded social media industry. It's important to Meta* that its services continue to keep users coming back and spending a significant portion of their time on Facebook* and Instagram*. This is because the company earns most of its revenue from ads placed on these platforms. Advertisers have been cutting spending lately amid economic uncertainty, which has made it harder for Meta* to build revenue for its advertising arm.

* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





Musk reassures Twitter employees - he does not plan to fire 75% of them.
October 27, 2022

Elon Musk told Twitter employees that he is not going to cut 75% of the staff after he takes over the company in the coming days.

Elon Musk's $44 billion deal to buy Twitter is likely to close tomorrow, a deadline set earlier by the judge who was supposed to hear the takeover case. Having visited the company's office in San Francisco the day before, the businessman turned to its employees and denied the information published by the media that he plans to fire three-quarters of the staff of the social network.

However, some of Twitter's staff is still expected to be laid off, and this is causing some concern among the company's employees. Earlier, the businessman posted a short video in which he enters the headquarters of Twitter with a shell in his hands - in an allegorical manner, he wanted to urge the public to think, but the company's employees perceived this performance as a threat. In addition, he changed the information in his social network profile, describing himself as Chief Twit, that is, the head of Twitter.





The grandson of the founder of Samsung Electronics, Lee Jae-young, finally officially took over the company.
October 27, 2022

Samsung was founded in 1938 by Lee Byung-chul, and until October 2020 it was nominally headed by his son Lee Kun-hee, although due to the latter’s long illness, the actual leadership had already passed to the grandson of the founder Lee Jae-yong. The latter's career was thwarted by two prison terms for securities fraud and bribery, and only now can he become executive chairman of Samsung Electronics.

Thus, Lee Jae Young managed to take the top position in the company founded by his grandfather. It is generally accepted that this appointment will not affect the management flexibility of Samsung Electronics so much, since while still remaining vice president of the company, Lee Jae-yong made all key decisions on his own. Only problems with the law prevented him from occupying the highest position in the hierarchy of the management structure of Samsung Electronics, although he was released back in August 2021, also as a result of a traditional amnesty, but was not fully reinstated for another twelve months.

The newly minted head of the Samsung Electronics empire himself said this week: “Without a doubt, we are at a tipping point. Now is the time to plan the next step, the time to act, to show determination and steadfastness.” Experts link the entry of the Samsung heir to the new position as hopes for implementing more drastic changes and attracting larger investments.

Lee Jae-young joined the company, then led by his father, in 1991 and rose to the position of vice president and vice chairman of the board by 2012, but faced allegations of securities fraud and bribery in 2017. After serving two incomplete terms in prison in succession, he was released in August 2021, and a year later he was finally amnestied. Now Lee Jae-yong's personal fortune is estimated at $5.9 billion, he directly owns 1.63% of the shares of Samsung Electronics and 18.13% of the holding structure of Samsung C&T Corp.





The world's first fusion power plant could be built in the US - at first it will be just a demonstrator.
October 25, 2022

Recently, General Atomics (GA) announced a new concept of experimental fusion facility (FPP) for safe and economically clean fusion energy. The issue of creating a demonstrator will soon be decided with the partners of the company. If the project is approved in the United States, the world's first fusion power plant may appear, which will show the viability of the technology.

The project is based on a unique solution proposed by General Atomics for capturing fusion energy in a silicon carbide blanket, rather than steel widely used today for making tokamaks. Blankets convert the energy of neutrons arising in the process of fusion into a form that is easy for further utilization. In particular, heating the coolant for further use in gas turbines to generate electricity.

The General Atomics GAMBL (GA Modular Blanket) solution will double the coolant temperature from about 500 °C to over 1000 °C. Also in the blanket, in the process of reactions, tritium is produced - the future fuel component, which will ensure self-sufficiency for thermonuclear fusion processes.

"The General Atomics experimental fusion facility is a revolutionary step forward for the commercialization of fusion energy," said Dr. Wayne Solomon, vice president of magnetic fusion energy at General Atomics. "Our hands-on approach to building FPP is the culmination of more than sixty years of investment in fusion research and development."

The world's largest experiment on the creation of a thermonuclear reactor (tokamak) with a stable self-sustaining energy output remains the international ITER project in the south of France. But electricity will not be generated at the ITER reactor. Therefore, the General Atomics project will compare favorably with ITER, although the capacities of the facilities will not be comparable in scale. However, it will be impossible to repeat the international project at the level of individual countries, while the relatively compact General Atomics installation may well become mass-produced if it justifies itself at the demonstrator level.





US arrests Chinese spies for allegedly interfering with Huawei investigation.
October 25, 2022

The entire American campaign against Huawei Technologies was initially based on the thesis of a close connection of this telecommunications giant with the government structures of the PRC. The new circumstances of the investigation, which was conducted in the United States, allow local authorities to accuse the Chinese side of trying to counter the investigation.

According to CNN, citing official legal documents, the US Department of Justice has filed charges against six Chinese citizens who are suspected of spying for the Celestial Empire, and two of them, according to the investigation, acted directly in the interests of Huawei Technologies. When the trial began in 2017, Gouchun He and Zheng Wang allegedly attempted to recruit one of the officials with access to the Huawei Technologies investigation, according to US investigators. In exchange for cash and jewelry, including cryptocurrency, they tried to persuade a US citizen to cooperate with the Chinese side. In reality, the American turned out to be a double agent working for the FBI, which made it possible to reveal the plans of the suspects. For only one document classified as "secret", it is believed that the defendants handed over $41,000 to the agent.

The purpose of this activity was to obtain non-public information about the progress of the investigation against Huawei, including audio recordings of court hearings held in a closed format. Payments to the double agent continued until last week, but now Chinese citizens suspected of spying have been arrested by US authorities.

Four more Chinese citizens were arrested in the United States on charges of industrial espionage in favor of their country. They tried to recruit members of the academic community and law enforcement officials to swindle valuable technical and scientific information. As compensation, valuable gifts were offered to potential accomplices, including fully paid tourist trips to China. The investigation also revealed precedents of pressure on "political immigrants" from China who are in the United States, in order to force them to return to their homeland, where they are accused of corruption.





Google Chrome browser will stop supporting Windows 7 and 8.1 next year.
October 25, 2022

Google intends to release the final version of the Chrome browser for Windows 7 and 8.1 early next year. We are talking about Chrome version 110, which is tentatively scheduled for release on February 7, 2023 - it will be the last build that supports these legacy operating systems.

The problem is much more serious than it might seem at first glance. Although Windows 7, which was released back in 2009, was officially discontinued back in 2020, the operating system still runs on a lot of devices - according to last year's statistics, there were at least 100 million computers running it.

For this huge group, the size of a fairly populous country, the changes will come as an unpleasant surprise - in addition to the fact that support for the operating system itself has long ceased, using an outdated browser can create an additional security risk.

Of course, the browser will continue to work for some time, but users of Windows 7 and 8.1 will no longer receive updates with “patches” that fix vulnerabilities. Those who are still using old hardware should consider upgrading to a newer version of Windows.

In addition, Google proposed a solution for weak / old computers quite a long time ago - those who wish can install ChromeOS Flex on them, which is supposed to work quickly on outdated hardware, including not only PCs, but also Apple computers - this will actually turn them to Chromebooks.





Hackers adopted tools for DDoS attacks on Russian companies for blackmail in other countries.
October 25, 2022

In Q3 2022, 90% more attacks were recorded worldwide than in Q3 2021. The duration of incidents also increased by 60%, StormWall experts calculated. At the same time, the tools developed for DDoS attacks on Russian companies began to be used around the world. It is expected that the new generation of tools will greatly simplify the implementation of large-scale attacks.

The largest number of DDoS attacks in the third quarter of 2022 worldwide fell on the telecom sector (43.2%), and many attacks were directed at the entertainment sector (21.3%), the financial industry (16.3%), online - retail (14.8%), education (2.1%), logistics (1.3%). The strong increase in the number of attacks was due to the high activity of politically motivated hacktivists, experts say. Also, the number of incidents has increased due to the fact that hacktivists have developed new public tools to launch attacks.

Most of the attacks on telecom companies were carried out for the sake of extortion and blackmail, as well as for political reasons. In Russia, politically motivated hacktivists have become the main initiators of attacks on banks and payment systems; in other countries, incidents against financial organizations were carried out for the purpose of extortion.

In the online retail sector, online stores of electronics, furniture and clothing were most affected. The main reason for the attacks is said to be unscrupulous competition among market participants. In the education segment, a number of attacks were also organized by politically motivated hacktivists who tried to disrupt online education or university admission campaigns in Russia.

The majority of DDoS attacks were on HTTP/HTTPS (73%), the share of attacks using TCP/UDP was 19%, and DNS - 3%. In Russia, the number of DDoS attacks in Q3 2022 increased by 180% compared to Q3 2021. The leader in the number of attacks was the financial sector (45% of the total number of attacks), followed by online retail (21%), the telecom sector (18%), the entertainment sector (9%), and education (4%).





Auroras have punched a hole in the Earth's ozone layer with a diameter of about 400 km.
October 24, 2022

Although the auroras look rather unusual and impressive, scientists have found that some types of auroras cause significant damage to the Earth's ozone layer. Caused by solar flares and coronal mass ejections of the aurora, including the so-called. isolated proton auroras, occurring far from the poles, wreak havoc on the Earth. Until recently, scientists had little information about the effects caused by these phenomena.

According to the Space portal, a team of Japanese researchers found that one of these auroras caused a hole with a diameter of about 400 km to appear in the Earth's ozone layer, most of the ozone in this place evaporated literally within 1.5 hours - no one expected such a speed and scale.

Although isolated proton auroras are not as bright as classical auroras, they are still visible to the naked eye. Charged particles from solar flares usually stay in the outer and inner Van Allen radiation belts, preventing them from reaching Earth and becoming a desert like Mars. But some particles that have overcome the radiation belts interact with the atmosphere, bypassing the protection of magnetic fields. The interaction of particles with the atmosphere leads to the formation of nitrogen and hydrogen oxides, which, in turn, destroy the ozone layer in the mesosphere. Fortunately, the stratosphere remains largely untouched.

However, although the ozone layer in the mesosphere recovers faster than the ozone holes in the stratospheric ozone layer, often caused by human activities, isolated proton aurors still cause changes in the Earth's atmosphere. Also, cataclysms in space weather can cause failures in the operation of satellites and energy infrastructure, in addition, charged particles pose a threat to astronauts.

It is expected that the discovery will help scientists predict changes in space weather and, possibly, predict how much such auroras can change the atmosphere of our planet.





Chinese YMTC forced to lay off US employees due to new US sanctions.
October 24, 2022

The US is trying to block the influx of talented workers into the Chinese semiconductor manufacturing industry. China's largest chip maker, Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC), has asked American employees to leave their positions at the company so that it can avoid new restrictions from the United States, according to the latest data.

It is not yet known exactly how many US passport holders and green card holders will have to leave YMTC, but there is evidence that some have already had to quit. According to one of the employees of the company, a number of key members of the team responsible for the breakthrough development of YMTC in the field of NAND memory have left their posts.

The layoffs began in connection with new US restrictions on Chinese businesses. It is known that the layoffs of citizens with American passports and green cards began in a number of Chinese companies, including European and American divisions.

The new rules require every U.S. citizen, resident, or organization to obtain special permission from the U.S. Department of Commerce to provide any assistance to Chinese technology companies, severely limiting China's ability to attract the most qualified American citizens to develop its technology. We are talking, among other things, about hundreds of citizens of Chinese origin who received education and experience in the United States.

Thus, the former head of YMTC, Simon Yang, who has American citizenship, was forced to leave his post in September even before the proclamation of sanctions. After that, he became vice chairman of the company, and in light of the new US restrictions, his status is unknown. The company itself does not comment on the issue.

According to lawyers, US authorities are unlikely to issue licenses to circumvent restrictions. According to one of the Chinese top managers, they will either have to leave their job or renounce American citizenship (which is also quite difficult in accordance with American laws).

According to some reports, YMTC is already negotiating the dismissal of a number of employees who did not want to part with American passports. Rumor has it that Chinese Americans have been asked to work remotely for now until the situation clears up.

Industry HR experts are confident that the new restrictions will affect China's ability to hire talented employees. According to some reports, US regulations have already "halved" the number of candidates for senior positions in the chip and hardware sectors. It was previously reported that this worsens the situation of Chinese business, which is already experiencing a shortage of qualified personnel.

It is known that the Chinese with American passports are at the head of the leading Chinese manufacturers and suppliers of semiconductors, including VeriSilicon, Montage Technology and Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (Amec), and the further fate of such employees and enterprises remains unknown.





Ton Weiss Predicts Bitcoin to Rise to $100,000 in 2023.
October 24, 2022

Quotes of the first cryptocurrency will reach $ 100,000 next year against the backdrop of the upcoming halving. This was stated by the famous trader Ton Weiss in an interview with Kitco.

He also warned of the possibility of the price of digital gold falling to the $14,000 level ahead of a bull market.

According to Weiss, capital flows from Europe to the US and the syndrome of lost profits can become the engine of growth.

“They missed their chance to catch the low in 2018. This is another possibility. If bitcoin ever drops below $10,000, investors will immediately take advantage of this,” the trader explained.

He also noted the decentralization and resistance to censorship of the first cryptocurrency. According to Weiss, these characteristics will provide the asset with mass adoption.

“We are seeing how governments, the Central Bank and ordinary banks freeze accounts. Just this year, we have witnessed how the West and the United States confiscate funds from people because of Russian passports,” he said.

Earlier, Bitcoin maximalist and founder of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor, predicted a new all-time high in the price of the first cryptocurrency in the next four years.

In October, Kevin O'Leary, an investor and star of the TV show Shark Tank, said that digital gold quotes will resume growth after the passage of a bill to regulate stablecoins.

That same month, Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz speculated that the bear market could continue for another six months.





Hong Kong authorities are thinking about easing the requirements for trading cryptocurrencies.
October 24, 2022

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is considering allowing retail investors to "invest directly in virtual assets". This was stated by the head of the financial technology department of the regulator, Elizabeth Wong, writes the South China Morning Post.

According to her, the initiative marks a departure from the position of the SFC, which allows only professional investors to trade cryptocurrencies on centralized exchanges. These include individuals with a portfolio of at least 8 million Hong Kong dollars ($1 million).

“We have four years of experience regulating the industry […]. We think this is actually a good time to carefully consider whether we will only adhere to this requirement for professional investors,” Wong explained.

According to the publication, industry participants have previously expressed concern about the current requirements for trading cryptocurrencies. In their opinion, the restrictions "frighten off companies" and the lack of regulatory clarity undermines Hong Kong's status as a "virtual asset hub".

In 2019, the SFC published rules designed to set out the regulatory environment for fund management companies that invest more than 10% of their portfolios in cryptocurrencies.

At the same time, the regulator introduced licensing requirements for "trading platforms for virtual assets." A permit to operate in Hong Kong was required if at least one security token was traded on the platform.

Later, the Commission decided to extend the regulation to all bitcoin exchanges.

In 2021, the Hong Kong Bureau of Financial Services and Treasury began drafting a bill that would ban the operation of cryptocurrency trading platforms without a license.





Neuralink event with a possible demonstration of success in the development of brain implants is delayed by a month.
October 24, 2022

In the second half of August, Elon Musk recalled the existence of the Neuralink company he founded, which is trying to develop an interface between the human brain and a computer, promising to arrange some kind of demonstration of his success on October 31 of this year. The specified date is rapidly approaching, and therefore the billionaire had to admit that the event is shifting to November 30th.

Since the founder of Neuralink did not say anything about the event program before, in the current situation it is difficult to understand why there was a delay, and what is now planned to be demonstrated at the end of November. The only thing that can be judged from the context of Musk's statement is that the event should contain not only a narrative part, but also a demonstration part.

Recall that Neuralink has already demonstrated the results of implanting a special chip into the brains of pigs and monkeys. A test monkey learned to play computer ping-pong by controlling a virtual paddle with his mind, for which he was regularly rewarded in the form of food. Later, there was a fuss in the press, as animal advocates claimed that not all attempts by Neuralink specialists to implant a special device in the skull ended harmlessly, and some of the experimental animals died.

In 2019, Elon Musk announced his intention to obtain US regulatory approval to conduct an experiment on humans by the end of 2020, but Neuralink has still not been able to do this. Musk is even rumored to have approached rival Synchron for investment as the human testing startup has moved on. According to the developers, such chips will make it possible to give mobility to people with impaired motor functions, or help in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease or dementia.





Meta* threatened to block news content in Canada.
October 24, 2022

Meta*, the parent company of Facebook*, said it could block Canadians from sharing news content on the social network if the government's earlier bill C-18, the Online News Act, is passed. This law was modeled on the Media Negotiation Code adopted in Australia in early 2021.

The Online News Act requires media platforms to pay Canadian news outlets for the content they publish. And just like in Australia, Meta* is now threatening Canadians with a ban.

In a blog post published on Friday, Meta* said it may have to decide whether to continue to allow the exchange of news content in Canada. The threat came after the House of Commons Heritage Committee failed to invite the company to discuss the law. The commission heard representatives of Google, but only after the request of the company to include it in the circle of participants in the discussion.

“We have always approached our engagement with the Canadian government on this law in the spirit of honest and fair debate, and as such have been surprised not to have been invited to participate (in the discussion), especially given lawmakers' public comments that this law aims to Facebook*,” said Meta*.

Legislator Pablo Rodriguez, head of the Canadian Department of Heritage, accused Meta* of using the same scenario as in Australia.

Among other arguments, Meta* claims that news content is not a significant source of income for her. Following the adoption of the News Media Negotiation Code in Australia, Meta* briefly restricted users' access to local news content, but ended up signing agreements with news outlets such as News Corp Australia.

* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which a court has made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 “On Counteracting Extremist Activity”.





Elon Musk's Twitter deal threatens to disrupt the leveraged buyout market.
October 23, 2022

Billionaire Elon Musk's inconsistency in pursuing the deal to buy Twitter made life difficult for Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Barclays, which agreed to finance the acquisition with a $13 billion loan. The banks delayed selling Musk's debt to investors for fear of incurring losses.

Due to uncertainty over Twitter's financial health, as well as Musk's unpredictable approach to the deal, investors have been slow to buy his debt. Therefore, according to sources, banks will not resell the debt, which is usually practiced in such transactions, but will keep it on their balance sheet until investors have a desire to buy it.

The deadline for the parties to the transaction to close it without further litigation is October 28. But so far, neither Musk's plans for a new Twitter leadership nor its future business plan are known. Therefore, many debt investors are holding back from taking action until they have more information on the matter.

In addition, the debt package on the deal with Twitter consists of loans with a "junk" rating, which also explains the caution of investors. Due to rising interest rates and higher market volatility, investors prefer not to deal with junk-rated debt. For example, a group of banks led by Bank of America posted a $700 million loss in September on the sale of about $4.55 billion in debt related to the acquisition of business software developer Citrix Systems by Vista Equity Partners and Elliott Investment using borrowed money.

Also in September, a group of banks stopped trying to sell about $4 billion of debt financing for Apollo Global Management Inc's Lumen Technologies asset purchase due to the fact that it could not find buyers.

As a rule, the bank immediately sells the debt and starts the next transaction. But since the money is used to secure the Elon Musk deal, the banks do not have free funds to support the next deal. And this means that their activity in the market of borrowed funds has noticeably decreased, which threatens its functioning.





Elon Musk and Twitter are actively preparing to close the deal to buy the company.
October 23, 2022

Bankers and lawyers for Elon Musk and Twitter are actively preparing the necessary documents in an attempt to ensure that the company's takeover deal is closed by the end of the month. The court gave the parties until October 28.

After several months of mutual attacks and accusations, the businessman and the social network managed to resolve the differences, and now the priority for them is to close the deal, not litigation. Wall Street banks, led by Morgan Stanley, who side with Musk, are preparing debt financing totaling about $13 billion. Management at one of the banks told employees that loan documents would come from the billionaire this coming Tuesday.

The reasons for the sudden warming of relations between Twitter and Musk are still unclear. Back in early October, the deal could have failed when the businessman reported some difficulties in obtaining borrowed funds, although the banks were ready to fulfill their obligations in April. He also, to the last, wanted to retain the right to take legal action against Twitter, in which the company was accused of fraud and providing false information about the share of bots on the platform.

However, Musk subsequently changed his mind, and the judge agreed to postpone and eventually cancel the hearing originally scheduled for October 17 in the businessman's purchase of Twitter if the deal is completed by October 28. Subsequently, the businessman said that the social network has "incredible potential", although at a price of $ 54.20 per share, he clearly overpays.

Musk's plans for Twitter after the closing of the deal have not yet been announced, although some sources make rather gloomy forecasts: The Washington Post, for example, is sure that the billionaire will cut up to 75% of the company's employees in order to double revenues within three years. It is assumed that he is going to return to the platform many celebrities blocked on it, including former US President Donald Trump. Musk himself initially did not rule out some reduction in staff, although the administration of the platform itself stated that there would be no mass layoffs until the deal was closed.

Finally, the banks that agreed to provide loans to buy Twitter initially intended to raise funding from outside players, but due to Musk's unpredictability and the instability of the debt markets, they seem to have to raise funds from their own funds in order to try to sell his obligations later. Since April, the situation has changed, and in relation to the current disposition, banks' losses on this loan may exceed $500 million. The only consolation for financial organizations will be the interest on the loan.





Interpol created its own meta universe.
October 23, 2022

This week, New Delhi hosted a meeting of the 90th General Assembly of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). As part of this ball event, "the world's first metaverse specifically created for law enforcement" is presented.

Interpol noted that the organization was prompted to develop the metaverse by the fact that attackers are already using this technology to commit crimes. It was also important that, according to expectations, the level of acceptance of virtual worlds by society will steadily increase over the coming years.

“As the number of Metaverse users grows and technology advances, the list of possible crimes will expand and potentially include crimes against children, data theft, money laundering, financial fraud, counterfeiting, ransomware distribution, phishing, sexual harassment,” they said. at Interpol.

The Interpol Metaverse will allow law enforcement officials from different countries to interact with each other through the use of virtual avatars. In addition, it is planned to be used for courses on forensic investigations and other activities. To interact with the metaverse, a VR headset is used, and the connection itself is carried out through a secure cloud service of the department. Interpol hopes that the use of virtual space will allow for more efficient and effective interaction between units from different countries.





The first commercial quantum computer in the United States will be received by the medical company Cleveland Clinic - it will accelerate the creation of new drugs.
October 19, 2022

IBM announced that, together with the medical company Cleveland Clinic, it began to deploy the first commercial quantum computer in the United States. The installation of IBM Quantum System One will start operating in early 2023. It will help accelerate the development of new drugs and much more, which will give a sharp impetus to research in the field of medicine and biotechnology.

“We cannot afford to continue to spend a decade or more going from a research idea in the lab to bringing drugs to market. Quantum technologies offer a future to change this pace, especially in the fields of drug discovery and machine learning,” said Lara Jehi, MD and Chief Scientific Information Officer of the Cleveland Clinic.

Up to this point, IBM has only installed its "world's first commercial quantum systems," Quantum System One, in academic institutions, one each in the US, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. In the original, this is a system of 20 superconducting qubits, of which only a few of them can be entangled at the same time. The 27-qubit system left for Japan. South Korea probably also had a 27-qubit Quantum System One computer installed. Installation options for Cleveland Clinic are not reported.

Cleveland Clinic, as one of the largest medical centers in the US, has been systematically collaborating with IBM for about 10 years. As part of the joint effort, the Discovery Accelerator has been created at the company's facilities, using advanced IBM computing technologies to accelerate critical research in the field of treatments and vaccines. These are clouds, AI, machine learning and much more, which promises to shorten the path from an idea to a finished result many times over. Quantum computing will be a new and revolutionary tool for accelerating medical research that could define the future of healthcare.





ASML says new US sanctions against China won't hurt its business.
October 19, 2022

The quarterly reports of the world's largest supplier of lithographic scanners, the Dutch holding ASML, are being studied by investors no less closely than the reports of contract chip manufacturer TSMC. ASML representatives at the reporting event announced the achievement of a number of financial records, and also stated that they do not expect a significant impact on their business from new US anti-China sanctions.

Recall that earlier this month, US authorities limited the supply to China of a certain range of lithographic equipment that is suitable for the production of 16-nm and more advanced products. In the case of RAM chips, the limitation passed along the 18 nm line, and in the case of flash memory chips, the equipment should not allow the production of chips with more than 128 layers.

ASML management, according to Reuters, does not see a threat to the existing shipments of its equipment to China, which provide the company with about 16% of revenue, according to 2021 data. The fact is that ASML lithographic scanners are produced in Europe and do not contain a large number of components of American origin. In fact, the company explained, it retains the ability to ship equipment to China that is unsuitable for ultra-hard ultraviolet (EUV) radiation.

In addition, ASML continues to lag behind the demand for its equipment, so even if it cannot offer some items to Chinese customers, they will be bought by customers from other countries. In general, the Dutch authorities have already controlled the export of such equipment to China since 2019, so ASML does not have to get used to the effect of sanctions in this area.

Among other relevant risk factors, ASML CEO Peter Wennink mentioned inflation, customer uncertainty about the future and the risk of a global recession. Demand for the company's products remains high, ASML already has an order book of around 30 billion euros. In the third quarter alone, 8.9 billion euros in orders were received. The company's net profit in the last quarter reached 1.7 billion euros, revenue amounted to 5.8 billion euros, which was higher than analysts' expectations.





Toshiba privatization delayed due to deal financing issues.
October 17, 2022

The original intention of Toshiba's management was that by November 7, potential participants in the buyout of shares of the corporation from the market will provide their letters of assurance, but the reluctance of creditors to allocate the necessary amount to the participants in the process may further delay preparations for this transaction.

Toshiba's assets, valued at $16 billion, are now being bid for by two consortiums led by Japan Industrial Partners and Japan Investment Corp. respectively. Inflation and changes in the US monetary policy have made borrowing expensive, and so far lenders are not ready to finance the purchase of Toshiba shares by the mentioned consortia of investors. Among the Japanese credit institutions, only four organizations showed their interest in financing the transaction. At the same time, creditors are not yet ready to provide complete information about the structure of the upcoming transaction, so they cannot claim the prompt allocation of the necessary funds.

Such difficulties, according to informed sources, may push Toshiba to abandon the privatization in favor of selling only part of its assets. The leadership of the Japanese corporation has already done a lot to prepare for privatization. In June, a new board of directors was approved, and representatives of hedge funds interested in restructuring Toshiba's business were included in its composition. In the summer, the company's capitalization was estimated at $22 billion, now it has decreased to $16 billion, and so far there is no certainty that Toshiba's management in the current situation will not signal intentions to postpone privatization in order to receive a larger amount.





China launches GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card with bubble level.
October 17, 2022

A small Chinese company 51RISC introduced the GeForce RTX 4090 Maximus X graphics card, which stands out for having a pair of bubble levels - perhaps this is the first graphics card in the world with such equipment. So the manufacturer took care of the problem of sagging video card. Or it can be used in construction.

As you know, many large video cards under their own weight begin to sag in the PCI Express slot. This, in general, should not harm either the card or the motherboard, but for many this is at least annoying. Yes, and there are times when a graphics accelerator can break the PCIe connector. And with the new GeForce RTX 4090, the problem seems to be especially relevant, because almost all of these video cards are very large and heavy.

To fix the problem, many users come up with their own solutions, or buy ready-made props. And 51RISC decided to simplify the task of installing the video card absolutely straight by adding bubble levels (for some reason, two at once) to the side of the accelerator.

Otherwise, this is an unremarkable GeForce RTX 4090. It is built on a reference PCB and is not factory overclocked. The cooling system here is non-standard, it has three fans and takes exactly three expansion slots. At the same time, the 51RISC GeForce RTX 4090 Maximus X is being sold for a fabulous $2827.





Arm is taking revenge on Qualcomm for criticizing NVIDIA deal by demanding compensation for using Nuvia licenses.
October 16, 2022

At the beginning of last year, Qualcomm bought the assets of Nuvia processor developer Nuvia for $1.4 billion, which used the Arm architecture and held the corresponding licenses. According to Arm itself, this deal does not give Qualcomm the right to dispose of all licenses inherited from Nuvia. A dispute broke out between the companies, which they are trying to resolve in court. Qualcomm believes that Arm is taking revenge on it for criticizing the deal with NVIDIA.

Recall that in the spring of this year, NVIDIA was forced to abandon its intention to buy Arm, as this was opposed by individual regulators, British officials and a variety of companies among Arm's customers. Among them was Qualcomm, and this summer it faced a lawsuit from a British developer who accused it of misusing licenses for processor cores inherited from Nuvia. The latter had a license for the Arm v8 architecture, which Qualcomm also had, but Arm did not like this interaction logic, and it demanded that this client stop using Nuvia developments in their products. According to Arm, after the purchase of Nuvia, Qualcomm should have concluded a new licensing agreement with the first of the companies.

Qualcomm does not consider this correct and necessary, calling Arm's claims revenge for its own position on the deal with NVIDIA, which fell apart in the spring. Arm not only demanded a surcharge for Qualcomm's right to use Nuvia's designs, but also tried to prevent Qualcomm's specialists from working on processors that use Nuvia's intellectual property. Representatives of Qualcomm also added that the original agreement between Arm and Nuvia did not provide for such control measures by the British holding. Arm also believes that after the loss of independence by Nuvia, all previous agreements have lost their force, and the new owners of the business in the person of Qualcomm must enter into new contracts.

In general, Qualcomm should pay Arm more for off-the-shelf solutions, and in the case of using their own developments based on the Arm architecture, the license fee is reduced. Apparently, in the Nuvia precedent, the British developer simply does not want Qualcomm to pay him less. The victory of Arm in this legal dispute, according to Qualcomm, can untie her hands in the abuse of her own powers in relations with licensees.





South Korea is ready to follow US anti-China sanctions, but will do so with caution.
October 16, 2022

Last week, it became known that the South Korean companies SK hynix and Samsung Electronics received the right to supply their Chinese enterprises with all the necessary equipment of American origin for the next 12 months without obtaining export licenses from the US regulatory authorities. At the same time, it is not clear from the statements of the Minister of Commerce of South Korea that the Korean side is fully satisfied with the current situation.

Korean Minister of Commerce Ahn Duk-geun admitted that the American side made sanctions relief for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in terms of anti-China sanctions, based on the understanding of the importance of the Chinese enterprises of both companies in stabilizing global supply chains. Now the efforts of Korean officials are aimed at further improving the working conditions of these companies, taking into account the continuation of US sanctions. The South Korean authorities, in particular, are trying to impress their American colleagues with the idea that the production of those components that can be used exclusively in civilian products such as the same cars should be removed from the US export restrictions. Moreover, there is still a shortage of components in this sector.

Korean manufacturers, according to the minister, are now trying to assess the scale of the impact of anti-Chinese sanctions on their business. The country's authorities would like to keep up with the pace at which the US is pursuing its plans to reform semiconductor supply chains, but they are committed to mutually beneficial cooperation that would take into account the special circumstances in which the South Korean industry finds itself. Apparently, the Korean minister is referring to the high degree of dependence of Korean exports on China. The country of morning freshness covers up to 45% of China's need for imports of memory chips, including locally produced products. South Korea as a whole accounts for up to 15.9% of the volume of imports of technical products to China. Taiwan is in first place with 25.2%, but the interests of South Korea should not be written off either. As Ahn Duk Geun admitted, "China and Korea remain very important trading partners for each other."





Scientists have recorded the most powerful burst of energy in space ever observed.
October 15, 2022

Scientists have recorded an unprecedented burst of gamma rays (GRB), which at some wavelengths looked brighter than any similar burst of energy observed before. The burst was named GRB 221009A and was first detected by the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope, a joint project between NASA and the US Department of Energy, as well as the space agencies of France, Italy, Japan and Sweden.

Gamma-ray bursts are large-scale cosmic bursts of gamma rays in the electromagnetic spectrum that can result from various phenomena, such as the death of large stars. Such events are the brightest electromagnetic events in the Universe. The recent gamma-ray burst recorded on October 9 was reported by NASA scientists working with the Fermi Gamma-ray Telescope and the Neil Gerels Swift Space Observatory. Some of them called the event "extraordinary" and potentially "the brightest GRB ever".

Astronomer Phil Evans from the University of Leicester said the latest gamma-ray burst "is clearly the brightest GRB we've seen in X-rays." “The new GRB 221009A is about 1,000 times brighter than a typical GRB and several hundred times brighter than the brightest ones observed so far, but this is only true for X-rays. In gamma rays, it is one of the brightest among all GRBs observed,” Evans said.

The gamma-ray burst detector housed in the Fermi telescope is the most prolific GRB detector. On average, it captures one gamma-ray burst per day and has collected data from thousands of such events over about 14 years of operation. “Of the thousands, the October 9 flare was by far the brightest,” said Markos Santander, an astronomer at the University of Alabama. He noted that the flash was so strong that it "blinded the instruments for a while."

Probably, GRB 221009A marks the energetic death of a massive star and its subsequent transformation into a black hole. The event is unparalleled at some wavelengths, in part because it happened about 2 billion light-years from Earth. Despite the fact that the distance seems huge, for gamma-ray bursts it is not. Scientists intend to continue studying this phenomenon in order to understand why the birth of a distant black hole gave rise to such a dazzling cosmic "fireworks".

“The key scientific point here is that we are looking at really extreme physical phenomena - very strong gravity, large masses moving at very high speeds and extremely hot - conditions that cannot be created in the laboratory. The only way to begin to understand this is to study extreme astronomical phenomena such as GRB,” says Phil Evans.





Intel is developing a space optical modem - it will provide communication between different satellites.
October 13, 2022

Intel revealed some details about its work in the Space-Based Adaptive Communications Node (Space-BACN) program of the American Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) - the company is involved in the creation of a universal optical communication system between satellites, including between civilian and military vehicles from different groupings. This is a kind of orbital internet.

Intel is working on the first phase of the program, which in turn is divided into technical areas, and the company is working with the University of Arizona in Technical Area 2 (TA2) to design a configurable optical modem that will support both existing and future standards and communication protocols.

The optical modem consists of three chiplets that will interact using the proprietary EMIB (Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge) bus and the accompanying AIB (Advanced Interface Bus) chiplet connection technology. A similar layout will get the 14th generation Core processors (Meteor Lake).

The main of the three chiplets acts as a signal processor and error correction unit (DSP / FEC) - it will be produced according to the Intel 3 process technology, which is scheduled for launch in 2023. The second chip will perform the functions of a data converter, a transimpedance amplifier and a driver, and will be produced according to Intel 16 technology standards. And the third chip will be a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) based on technologies from the Israeli company Tower Semiconductor, which is in the process of being acquired by Intel.

There are also basic data regarding other technical areas of the Space-BACN project. Technical Area 1 (TA1) provides for the development of an optical aperture - the “head” that performs pointing and tracking of the signal and is connected by fiber to the TA2 optical modem. Finally, Technical Area 3 (TA3) is devoted to the most important controls and controls for establishing communication between vehicles of different groups - SpaceX, Telesat, SpaceLink, Viasat and Kuiper Government Solutions (owned by Amazon) are selected as participants in this area of ​​the project.

The first phase will build all the necessary components and ensure their interconnection with solutions created within other technical areas. Work at the first stage will take 14 months, after which the project will undergo a technical analysis. Next, some of the companies involved in TA1 and TA2 will move on to a second 18-month phase in which optical terminal building blocks will be developed, and TA3 participants will work out a scheme that provides for more complex and dynamic scenarios. Ultimately, a system will be built that can provide communication between orbiters and any point on the planet, said Sergey Shumaraev, chief engineer and researcher of the Intel Programmable Solutions CTO Group.





Bitcoin Mining Software Receives First Major Update Since 2012.
October 13, 2022

Bitcoin mining software received its first major update since 2012 this week. This will make mining more convenient, as the update includes support for working with an unstable Internet connection, as well as improved security algorithms to ensure that miners receive proper rewards for their work.

The Bitcoin blockchain works according to the proof-of-work algorithm. This means that miners around the world need powerful hardware to mine new coins and validate transactions. In addition to productive equipment, bitcoin mining is accompanied by the consumption of a large amount of energy and the use of specialized software.

Currently, instead of directly accessing the Bitcoin protocol, the vast majority of miners work through the Stratum v1 intermediate protocol, which facilitates communication between the blockchain, miners and mining pools that combine the computing power of the equipment of thousands of people around the world. Miners use this protocol to provide proof of work and receive rewards.

This week, a coalition of developers announced the launch of a new version of the Stratum protocol v2. It will take some time to convince the cryptocurrency community to accept the new protocol, so Spiral, a subsidiary of payment company Block Jack Dorsey, has teamed up with cryptocurrency company Braiins to test and fine-tune the open source software before it goes public.

The head of Spiral Steve Lee told what miners should expect from the upcoming update. Now, as a rule, each mining rig in a large farm is connected directly to the pool, which leads to the consumption of a large amount of energy. At the same time, Stratum v2 supports the creation of a proxy that combines all available installations and establishes only one connection to the mining pool. In addition, the new protocol will reduce the amount of data transferred between miners and pools, which will make cryptocurrency mining more accessible for residents of remote regions where there is no possibility of using broadband Internet access services.

The upgrade is also designed to improve safety. The current version of the protocol is vulnerable to attacks by hackers who are able to steal the hashrate of miners, which can lead to loss of rewards. According to Steve Lee, this problem is solved in Stratum v2, which introduces a standard security mechanism with authentication and encryption when transferring data between miners and pools. At this stage, a test version of the protocol has been released, and its more stable version should appear in November. The updated protocol is likely to become more widespread next year.





Musk said that the Chinese authorities are against the launch of Starlink satellite Internet in the country.
October 12, 2022

Elon Musk delivered a series of policy advice last week that drew controversy and also showed a potential Twitter buyer's willingness to use the platform as a platform. The head of Tesla and SpaceX considers the conflict around Taiwan inevitable, and its consequences severe for the entire global economy. At the same time, the Chinese authorities are opposed to the launch of the Starlink service for Chinese customers, Musk added.

The relevant statements by Elon Musk were made during his interview with the Financial Times, and were also shown on Twitter. The richest man in the world, whom Musk is considered by a number of business publications, called the conflict over Taiwan inevitable, but the businessman is somewhat reassured by the fact that not only his business will suffer as a result. Tesla will face the negative consequences of any conflict, according to the head of the company, but even if the Chinese economy is isolated, the manufacturer expects to continue selling Shanghai-assembled cars in the domestic market of China.

As Musk added, "Apple will face huge challenges, that's for sure." In addition, the entire global economy will show a decline of up to 30% if China becomes involved in the conflict over Taiwan, according to the head of Tesla and SpaceX. Previously, Musk recommended that potential parties to the conflict should allocate Taiwan as an independent administrative zone, following the example of Hong Kong.

Tesla at one time became the only foreign automaker that was allowed to assemble cars in China without the need to create a joint venture with one of the Chinese partners. But even such preferences did not save Elon Musk from the displeasure of the Chinese authorities. According to the head of SpaceX, Chinese officials recently approached him with a demand not to deploy the Starlink satellite Internet infrastructure in China.





Joe Biden urged to organize in the United States a full cycle of production of advanced components.
October 10, 2022

Last week, US President Joseph Biden gave a twenty-minute speech at IBM's $20 billion ceremony to develop a research facility in New York State that will help it advance in the field of quantum computing. In the speech of the American president, emphasis was placed on the development of national industry and reducing dependence on other countries in the field of high technology.

First, Joseph Biden began to look back on the history of manufacturing in New York State, sorting through many local products, from World War I rifles to cough drops, which the president even said he had with him at the time of his speech. He went on to applaud IBM's decision to turn the Hudson Valley into "the epicenter of the future of quantum computing."

Some of Joseph Biden's remarks sounded quite ambitious: “There will be more changes in the next ten years than in the previous forty. Where is it written that we cannot become a global manufacturing center? There are many reasons for optimism." Emphasizing the opportunities that open up for companies that decide to create production in the United States after the adoption of a package of laws to subsidize such activities, the President of the country said: "The supply chain will begin and end here in the United States."

In his speech, Biden also lamented the resistance of some political forces to the adoption of the corresponding package of laws, suspecting China of lobbying its interests. Such rhetoric was intended to demonstrate the determination of the US authorities to strengthen national technological sovereignty.





NASA has created a solid-state battery that is significantly superior to lithium-ion counterparts.
October 10, 2022

US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) researchers working on the Solid-state Architecture Batteries for Enhanced Rechargeability and Safety (SABERS) project have made progress in developing an innovative battery that is lighter, more efficient and safer than its peers. currently used in industry. We are talking about a solid-state battery, which in terms of characteristics is significantly superior to lithium-ion counterparts.

Battery performance is a key aspect in the development of sustainable modes of transport such as electric aircraft. Batteries have to store a huge amount of energy needed to power the aircraft, while they must have a small mass and discharge at a certain rate.

To create such a battery, SABERS used innovative materials that had not previously been used in this area. As a result, researchers have made significant progress. Over the past year, they have managed to increase the rate of battery discharge, first by 10 times, and then by another 5 times, bringing development closer to the goal of creating a battery to power the aircraft.

The use of innovative materials has also enabled a number of changes to be made to the design and packaging of solid-state batteries. This helped to reduce their mass and increase their capacity. Instead of placing each individual battery cell in a separate steel case, as is the case with lithium-ion batteries, all SABERS battery cells can be stacked vertically inside one case. Using this approach, the researchers clearly showed that solid-state batteries can power cars with 500 Wh/kg, twice that of today's electric vehicles.

“This design not only eliminates 30-40% of the mass of the battery, but also allows us to double or even triple the energy that it can store, which is far beyond the capabilities of lithium-ion batteries, which are considered cutting-edge,” said Rocco Viggiano, one of the SABERS project participants.

Safety is another key requirement for using batteries in electric aircraft. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries do not catch fire when physically damaged and can continue to work even in this condition. The SABERS researchers tested their battery at different pressures and temperatures. As a result, it was found that it can operate at temperatures almost twice as high as lithium-ion batteries, and without the need for complex cooling systems.





Smaller, quieter and cheaper: Microsoft released the second version of the mini fridge in the form of Xbox Series X.
October 9, 2022

Microsoft has released the second version of the Xbox Series X-style mini fridge, said Aaron Greenberg, Vice President of Xbox Marketing. Now the refrigerator can be bought in the American distribution network Walmart.

A mini fridge at Walmart is only $79. According to Greenberg, in the future it will appear on sale in other countries. The second version of the device is smaller than the first - only 8 cans fit in it. In addition, the new refrigerator is quieter.

From a technical point of view, the Mini-Me Xbox Series X Mini Fridge is a 4.5-liter thermoelectric refrigerator for home or car. It holds up to eight soda cans and has one snack shelf inside the door. The device plugs into a standard wall or car socket and cools food down to 2 degrees Celsius. It also has a USB port (5 volts and 2.1 A) for charging your phone or controller.

The first version of the mini-refrigerator will be sold on a par with the new one for some time. Recall that it entered the market almost a year ago at a price of $99.





In new markets, NIO will focus on leasing electric vehicles.
October 9, 2022

Formally, the Chinese brand NIO already offers its electric vehicles on the European continent, having established deliveries through official channels to Norway, but further expansion in this region will not be associated with the sale of cars in ownership, but with their provision on lease. At the same time, the possibility of localizing the production of traction batteries in Europe is being considered.

NIO CEO William Li spoke about this in an interview with Reuters. Now the Chinese company is preparing to bring its electric vehicles to the markets of Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, but it will not sell them to customers, but will sell them by subscription and leasing. The monthly fee for using an electric car with a traction battery capacity of 75 kWh will vary from 1199 to 1295 euros. The minimum contract period will be one month, so customers will actually have the opportunity to take a long test drive to see if they need an electric car on a permanent basis.

In new European markets, NIO will offer three models of electric vehicles: ET7, ET5 and the EL7 crossover, which in China bears the designation ES7, but in Europe this designation is assigned to Audi. Starting production in 2018, NIO has so far sold just under 250,000 electric vehicles in China and Norway. Previously, NIO had already offered to lease traction batteries for its electric vehicles, in which case only the vehicle remained the property of the buyer, and he could regularly change the battery for a charged one at special stations. By the way, at least 120 such stations will be installed in Europe by the end of next year. The client does not even need to get out of the car to change the battery - the automation will do everything by itself in a few minutes, and the trip can be continued with an already charged battery.

Last month, NIO set up production of battery replacement stations in Hungary. If the volume of sales of electric vehicles in Europe exceeds 10 GWh in the equivalent of battery capacity, then NIO will also think about localizing the production of the batteries themselves in Europe. Now it is supplied with batteries by the Chinese company CATL, which is the world market leader, but NIO also has a team of 700 specialists responsible for organizing the production of batteries on its own. Already next year, the company may announce cooperation with new partners in this area. According to the head of NIO, all major manufacturers of electric vehicles will eventually begin to produce traction batteries on their own.

In Norway and China, the company will continue to sell electric vehicles to the property, since in the first case it is more beneficial for customers in terms of taxation, and in the second case, restrictions on the number of license plates issued by local authorities for vehicle registration remain.





Taiwan is ready to contribute in every possible way to the implementation of US sanctions against China.
October 9, 2022

The specifics of the US legal requirements in the field of export control are such that the authorities may prohibit third countries from cooperating with unwanted counterparties, and in the case of new sanctions against China, American partners may once again draw Taiwan into the orbit of their interests. The authorities of the island have already expressed their readiness to contribute in every possible way to compliance with the new US requirements.

Recall that US lawmakers ended the outgoing week by adopting a new package of sanctions against China. It limits the supply to China of components for supercomputers of a certain performance, equipment for the production of chips of a certain range, as well as components for the creation of such equipment. The list of counterparties with a dubious reputation included 31 Chinese companies that the United States suspects of using technologies and products of American origin for the needs of the Chinese defense industry. Companies are given 60 days to pass an audit conducted by American inspectors, and if the latter are not allowed to enter industrial facilities of interest to them, then the company will finally fall into the sanctions list.

Some market participants are now expressing concern that, in terms of supercomputer performance, the activities of large Chinese civil-sector companies such as Alibaba and ByteDance, for example, may be subject to restrictions. The latter is the owner of the world-famous TikTok service, creating server systems that, in terms of their parameters, are capable of approaching “sanctions”. In fact, the US authorities want to prevent the emergence in China of supercomputers capable of delivering more than 100 petaflops of computing power with a volume of less than 1178 cubic meters. On the one hand, many civilian systems that will be created in China in the next couple of years will be able to fall under this criterion. On the other hand, designers will have an incentive to be flexible in the layout of such systems. For example, the system can be divided into several smaller nodes, which will be geographically dispersed, but will communicate through a high-speed optical interface.

Expressing solidarity with the US authorities, representatives of the Taiwan Ministry of Economics demonstrated their willingness to comply with the requirements of the laws of those countries in which the headquarters of foreign customers working with Taiwanese companies are located. According to Taiwanese officials, following the requirements of the law is very important. TSMC and UMC remain the largest contract manufacturers of semiconductor components in Taiwan, but they cannot make personal statements on this topic yet, as they are preparing to publish quarterly reports. However, the example of the introduction of US sanctions against Huawei under President Donald Trump shows that TSMC will not hesitate to restrict the access of Chinese customers to its services in accordance with new US requirements. Taiwan's Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua will travel to the United States next week to meet with major clients of Taiwanese companies and discuss, among other things, the impact of geopolitical developments on business.





Memory chip makers struggle to counter declining demand and falling prices.
October 9, 2022

With several consecutive months of declining prices for electronic components, major memory chip makers, including Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology, issued gloomy forecasts and lowered their already low earnings estimates. Other companies have announced plans to cut production to avoid further saturating the market. Top managers of companies and industry analysts believe that until the middle of next year we should not expect either an end or even a slowdown in price decline.

Memory chips, which are used in smartphones, PCs and servers, are one of the key indicators of health for the semiconductor industry, and are seeing a transition from pandemic-driven growth to a sharp drop in demand. Between July and September, the average contract prices for the two main types of memory, DRAM and NAND, fell by 15% and 28%, respectively, TrendForce analysts calculated. As excess inventories accumulate, this trend will remain relevant in the fourth quarter of this year and throughout the next year, and only by the end of 2023 should we expect a slowdown or even a complete cessation of the negative dynamics.

Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker, recently reported that its third-quarter operating income fell 32%, according to preliminary data. At the end of September, its American competitor Micron presented a report that was by no means positive, and the forecast for the current quarter turned out to be rather restrained. SK Hynix, the world's second largest memory chip company in terms of revenue, is poised to report a 40% year-on-year drop in revenue, FactSet analysts are sure.

Prices for memory chips began to fall at the end of last year. Compared to other semiconductor components, they are less differentiated, so demand fluctuations are felt especially sharply here. Memory accounts for 27% of the semiconductor industry's $619 billion in 2022 revenue, Gartner analysts say — the market also includes processors and image sensors, with Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron and Intel being the biggest players. In general, the industry showed sharp growth with the advent of the pandemic, but this year the situation has changed: inflation and geopolitics have become powerful negative factors, which, in turn, have brought down the demand for PCs, smartphones and gaming devices.

Following the segment of memory chips, other areas of the electronic components market are also beginning to show negative dynamics: AMD reported that in the third quarter, revenue would be significantly lower than expected. The stock market also demonstrates pessimism: on the eve of AMD shares lost 13% of their value, NVIDIA securities fell by 7%, and Micron - by more than 3%. Another powerful negative factor was the new sanctions imposed by the United States against China. However, there is a way to stop the decline in performance - a reduction in production, and the Japanese Kioxia has already resorted to it, promising in October to reduce the production of memory chips by 30%.

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra recently said the company will cut production costs and cut shipments in the short term, though the memory market will still be poised for significant growth over the next decade. The company's capital expenditure for the current fiscal year will be $8 billion, 30% lower than a year earlier. At the same time, in the long term, the industry still expects growth - the same Micron is preparing to spend up to $ 100 billion on a new DRAM production plant in New York State. Large investments are also being considered at Intel, Samsung and TSMC.

At the same time, one of the top managers of Samsung recently noted that the company's policy does not provide for a deliberate reduction in production, and there is no need to abandon this strategy yet. SK Hynix does not give a direct answer to a similar question, but speaks of its readiness to pursue a flexible policy depending on market trends.





In terms of maintainability smartphone Pixel 7 Pro has not become better than its predecessor.
October 9, 2022

Earlier this week, Google officially unveiled the new Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro smartphones. Although a little time has passed since then, the first videos with new devices have already appeared on the Internet, including videos with disassembly of devices. On the PBKReviews YouTube channel, a blogger disassembled the Pixel 7 Pro to see how easy it is to repair the device. It turned out that in terms of maintainability, the new flagship is not much different from its predecessor.

Like the previous generation model, the new Pixel 7 Pro is equipped with a screen that is connected to the motherboard with a single cable. The design uses more screws, and access to some internal components has become more difficult. It was also found that the back cover is so securely connected to the case frame that the blogger was unable to detach it. Although the battery has notches for removing it from the case, it will not be possible to do this without isopropyl alcohol, since it is glued.

Note that the blogger did not check whether the fingerprint scanner calibration procedure is required after replacing the screen. In last year's Pixel 6 Pro, such a nuance was present. In general, for maintainability, Pixel 7 Pro received a score of 5.5 points out of 10 from the authors of the channel. A year earlier, the Pixel 6 Pro received a similar score from bloggers.





TrendForce analysts assessed the potential consequences of new US sanctions against China.
October 9, 2022

On the eve of the US Department of Commerce announced the introduction of new restrictions in the field of semiconductor production in China. Sanctions now apply not only to logic circuits, but also to memory chips. Permission to supply equipment for the production of chips must now be obtained not only by Chinese, but also by foreign enterprises located on the territory of the PRC. In addition, the policy of supplying China with chips that can be used for military purposes is being tightened.

US sanctions affected logic components manufactured according to 16, 14 nm and more advanced solutions (including FinFET and GAAFET technologies), DRAM chips from 18 nm or less, as well as 128-layer and more advanced NAND chips, TrendForce analytical company notes.

The new sanctions package will affect China-based U.S. enterprises operating at 16nm and below, a number of Chinese companies, including the HuaHong Group, and other foreign companies based in China, all of which will need to obtain approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce before delivering manufacturing equipment. Therefore, most of China's factories and TSMC's Nanjing factory will expand production to 28nm and beyond. China, on the other hand, is actually cut off from external support for solutions more progressive than 16 nm.

The new restrictive measures will expand the effect of previously imposed sanctions, due to which the American companies NVIDIA and AMD have lost the ability to supply accelerators necessary for the operation of artificial intelligence systems to China - now the restrictions also apply to central processors. At the same time, sanctioned products will probably no longer be produced in China. Now, most of the components related to the high-performance computing segment are produced by TSMC - while using technologies of 5, 7 and in some cases 12 nm. This will have a negative impact on TSMC's future contracts, TrendForce analysts are sure.

In accordance with the updated standards, equipment that allows the production of DRAM chips using technologies up to 18 nm inclusive is subject to verification. This will significantly limit the development of the DRAM sector in the country, primarily hitting the company CXMT, which leads the segment in China. In Q2, it was going to move from 19 nm to 17 nm technology, and a significant part of the equipment was purchased even before the imposition of sanctions, but its volume is insufficient; the joint project of the company with SMIC is also under threat. The sanctions will affect the C2 plant, which the Korean SK hynix built in the city of Wuxi - the plant accounts for approximately 13% of all DRAM production capacity, and each stage of its modernization must now be endorsed by Washington. At the same time, the world's three leading manufacturers of DRAM chips plan to increase production capacity in their countries in the next decade and reduce their presence in China.

The US sanctions also affected equipment used for the production of NAND memory on chips up to 128 layers inclusive. This, TrendForce analysts are sure, will affect the long-term plans of the Chinese YMTC to modernize its production facilities, as well as the development of Samsung and Solidigm factories located in the country. At the same time, YMTC will not be able to expand its customer base - it will be more difficult for foreign customers to consider it as a supplier.





Additional US export restrictions won't hurt NVIDIA's position in the Chinese market.
October 8, 2022

For NVIDIA, the main innovation of the American authorities in relation to trade with China was the restriction on the supply of components that allow creating supercomputer systems capable of delivering more than 100 petaflops from an area of not more than 600 m2. According to representatives of NVIDIA, such a rule will not significantly worsen the position of the company compared to the previous stage of export restrictions.

Last month, we recall, NVIDIA management had to admit that a ban on the supply of computing accelerators with a performance level higher than A100 to China would deprive it of about $ 400 million in revenue. In the future, the company obtained permission from the US authorities to continue deliveries of A100 accelerators to China until March 2023, and H100 accelerators until September of the same year. Thus, after the introduction of additional restrictions this week, NVIDIA's position will not be able to significantly worsen, as company representatives make clear.

NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang said during his recent speech that even after the September wave of sanctions, the Chinese market will continue to make a significant contribution to the company's revenue. This week it also became known about the decision of NVIDIA to liquidate the official representative office in Russia, offering employees the opportunity to move to another country while maintaining their jobs. In the spring, NVIDIA management estimated the degree of influence of the Russian market on the company's total revenue literally in a few percent, and the gaming direction for this supplier of graphic solutions was more important than the server one.





New US sanctions cut off China from advanced chips and equipment for their production.
October 8, 2022

The US authorities, as predicted, ended the week by expanding sanctions against the Chinese semiconductor industry, and also limited the supply of supercomputer components to China. In the latter case, any components that allow Chinese customers to create a supercomputer with a performance of more than 100 petaflops fall under the ban. Equipment for the production of chips in China will also be supplied in a limited range.

The new rules prohibit the supply to China from anywhere in the world of components manufactured using American-origin technologies if they can be used to create a computing system with a performance level of more than 100 petaflops, occupying an area of not more than 600 m2. According to experts, such a restriction will hurt many Chinese companies that are building data centers for civilian use.

Of the 31 Chinese companies and organizations that were added to the unreliable list yesterday, 28 were already under US sanctions, but now the procedure for obtaining licenses and approvals will be restarted for exporters. If within 60 days a Chinese company from the new list can prove to the US authorities that it does not abuse the imported components it receives, then it has a chance for rehabilitation. Such examples, it must be said, are available - the Chinese company Wuxi Biologics, which produces AstraZeneca vaccine components, has already passed an audit at its plant in Wuxi, and now it has to carry out a similar procedure at its plant in Shanghai in order to leave the list of dubious importers of products of American origin.

In the event that a Chinese company that has come under suspicion cannot allow American auditors to enter its enterprises, or refuses to comply with the relevant procedures, it will automatically be blacklisted. It will be difficult for US exporters to work with such companies, each of the contracts will have to apply for a special export license, and in relation to such a Chinese counterparty, the US Department of Commerce will proceed from the “presumption of guilt” when issuing licenses.

YMTC (Yangtze Memory), which is China's largest manufacturer of solid-state memory, is still on the list of companies that are prohibited from receiving equipment for the production of advanced semiconductor components from the United States. Founded in 2016, by now it has literally come one step closer to the world leaders in terms of its technological capabilities. New U.S. sanctions make it impossible for YMTC to purchase equipment that can be used to manufacture 3D NAND chips with more than 128 layers.

For chip exports to China, the new rules will come into effect on October 21. The United States reserves the right to block the delivery to China of any components that can be used in advanced computing systems, including artificial intelligence solutions. TSMC, for example, will be required to stop manufacturing processors for server systems developed by Chinese customers if they were created using US-origin technologies and software. In any case, since TSMC uses the corresponding American-made equipment, it will have to stop serving such Chinese customers.

As already noted, the export to China of equipment that allows the production of integrated circuits using 14-nm technology using the structure of FinFET transistors will be prohibited. For RAM chips, the supply of equipment that allows them to be manufactured using 18 nm technology or more modern is prohibited. In the case of solid-state memory, the number of layers in a microcircuit is limited - there should be no more than 128 of them. According to the logic of the US authorities, such restrictions should keep the Chinese semiconductor industry at the current level of technological development.

Also, US citizens are prohibited from servicing Chinese customers who are on the list mentioned above. Along the way, the supply to China of components that allow local manufacturers to create lithographic equipment for the production of chips that meet more advanced criteria than those listed in the previous paragraph will be limited. US officials note that the measures taken can only be effective if the country's foreign policy partners express solidarity in limiting the supply of relevant goods to China. In semiconductor manufacturing, almost the entire world depends on American-origin technology, but there are rare exceptions that will not be subject to US export control regulations. Ideally, the US authorities would like to block this supply channel to China as well.





Meta* reported a possible data breach of about 1 million Facebook* users.
October 8, 2022

Meta* Platforms reported on Friday that data from approximately 1 million Facebook* users may have been compromised due to security issues with third-party apps downloaded from Apple and Alphabet's online stores.

This year, the company's security service identified more than 400 malicious apps for Android and iOS (355 for Android, 47 for iOS) that, under the guise of photo editors and other services, stole Facebook login credentials from users*. About 40% of the apps were disguised as photo-editing tools, according to a security report, with the rest falling into other categories, including mobile games, lifestyle apps, health trackers, business utilities, and VPNs.

Meta* noted that it has already informed Apple and Google about the problem. In turn, Apple and Google reported that they had removed all the malicious applications in question.

The company also plans to notify more than a million users of a possible data breach. David Agranovich, Meta*'s director of threats, told reporters that his team could not determine the exact number of affected Facebook* users because the attacks took place on their personal devices.

Meta* advised users to be wary of apps that offer to set up an account using Facebook* login. “If a flashlight app requires you to sign in with Facebook* before it gives you any flashlight features, it's probably suspicious,” says Agranovic.

* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





Two Americans, a Japanese and a Russian woman arrived on the ISS as part of the SpaceX Crew-5 mission.
October 7, 2022

The international crew of the SpaceX Crew-5 mission arrived at the International Space Station. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon capsule lifted off on October 5 from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After 29 hours of flight, the ship, named Endurance, reached its goal.

The final stage of the rendezvous of the Crew-5 manned mission spacecraft with the ISS started the day before at 16:16 US East Coast time (23:16 Moscow time), and the docking took place automatically at 0:01 Moscow time already on October 7 - at this time the ship and the station flew over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa. Hatches between Endurance and the ISS and 10 minutes later the Crew-5 crew boarded the orbital laboratory.

The crew included NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina — they will stay on the ISS for five months. Commander Mann and flight specialist Kikina were pioneers in their own way: Mann is the first Native American woman in space, Kikina is the first Russian cosmonaut to fly on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. They and pilot Kasada were in space for the first time, while flight specialist Wakata had already been in orbit five times.

The reusable Dragon Endurance has already been used to send the Crew-3 mission to the ISS and return it to Earth. SpaceX has four Crew Dragon capsules, which are repaired and tested before each subsequent flight. This time, the ship received a new nose cone, heat shield and parachutes before departure. SpaceX is also famous for reusable rockets, but the Falcon 9 rocket used in the Crew-5 mission received a new first stage.

The crew of the new mission will join the seven crew members aboard the ISS, four of whom arrived as part of the SpaceX Crew-4, and are expected to return to Earth in about a week, although the exact time will depend on weather conditions.





Twitter v Elon Musk trial could be overturned if he buys the company by October 28.
October 7, 2022

The decisive hearing in the Twitter dispute with Elon Musk was scheduled to begin on October 17, and in five working days the judge had to either force the billionaire to buy the social network, or release him from this obligation. Now, after Musk re-agreed to buy Twitter at $54.20 per share, the judge is willing to cancel the mid-October meeting, but subject to the buyer's willingness to complete the deal by October 28.

Judge Kathaleen McCormick made the corresponding statement the day before, having received the necessary documents from representatives of both Twitter and Elon Musk. The first ones, it must be said, were distrustful of this initiative and stated that the cancellation of the court session would be used by Elon Musk to further delay the process of processing the transaction and the possibility of its complete failure under one pretext or another. The judge provided insurance in this regard - if by October 28 Elon Musk cannot buy Twitter, then the legal proceedings will resume in November.

Twitter lawyers exacerbated the nervousness of the situation, citing an anonymous representative of one of the investment banks involved in preparing financial resources for the deal with Elon Musk. The informant explained that initially the billionaire was supposed to receive financial guarantees by July, but then he refused the deal with Twitter, and now he still has not confirmed his readiness to make a new loan for the relevant needs, although he claims that he will buy the company's assets at the agreed in April conditions. According to representatives of Twitter, the parties were originally supposed to agree on the terms of the deal by October 10, but now a new date is not being discussed. Under these conditions, the initiative was taken by the judge, who ordered Elon Musk to complete the deal by October 28, otherwise the judicial investigation would resume. Such terms were proposed in the appeal of Musk's lawyers.





Musk's purchase of Twitter is again in doubt - you need to solve the problem with a loan of $ 13 billion.
October 7, 2022

Talks between Elon Musk and Twitter executives over a $44 billion takeover deal for the social network have partially stalled, according to people familiar with the matter, as the billionaire claims it is now dependent on getting a $13 billion bank loan.

In a letter sent by Musk's legal team to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the entrepreneur was willing to enter into a deal at a price of $54.20 per share on the original terms "with the expectation of obtaining debt financing."

The parties continue to negotiate to resolve the remaining differences in order to complete the transaction. Once agreed, they are expected to file a motion with the court to end legal proceedings in a lawsuit filed by Twitter after Musk pulled out of the deal.

Musk is also seeking to retain the right to file a fraud lawsuit over Twitter misleading him and other investors about the level of spam and the number of fake accounts, the sources said.

According to the April documentation, seven banks led by Morgan Stanley had to fully cover the loan part of the financing. Banks are unlikely to waive their obligations, even to avoid losses, as this will negatively affect their reputation and may damage their ability to enter into new transactions with investment companies in the future.

The deal could close so quickly that the banks would have to fund their own loan commitments, though they originally planned to sell much of Musk's debt to institutional money managers before the Twitter deal closed.





10 PC browsers you probably didn't know existed.
October 7, 2022

In a huge variety of browsers, there are software solutions that are interesting in their own way, but have not gained wide recognition. Despite being little known, they continue to develop, and most importantly, each of them has its own interesting features and functions.

When it comes to browsers for personal computers, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Opera immediately come to mind. There is nothing surprising in this: the listed products are among the five most popular web browsers in the world and have a huge army of admirers who sometimes do not even know about the existence of alternative solutions on the market - interesting in their own way and even somewhat original. It is these browsers that are in the shadows that our today's material is dedicated to. All of them are open source and, despite a modest user audience, are actively supported by developers.

Brave
Product website: brave.com.
Codebase: Chromium.
Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS.
HTML5test.com results: 528 points (allowable maximum is 555).

A web browser developed with an eye to ensuring confidentiality and privacy when working on the global Web. Brave blocks trackers and site counters, removes intrusive banner ads, and puts under the knife the ubiquitous monitoring systems, behavioral analyzers, cookies and JavaScript scripts that can identify the user. To make it more convincing, the browser shows visual statistics on blocked elements, which is supplemented by information about saved traffic and time for loading pages.
Brave has a lot of other distinctive features as well. Among them: the presence of a built-in crypto wallet, integration with the privacy-oriented search engine Brave Search, support for HTTPS Everywhere, WebTorrent and the decentralized IPFS file system, which functions similarly to peer-to-peer P2P networks. Special mention deserves the Tor client that comes bundled with the browser, which allows you to use online services, securely hiding behind a distributed network of routers that ensure the transfer of user information in such a way that it is impossible to determine at any point where or where the encrypted data is sent.

Browsh
Product website: brow.sh.
Codebase: Firefox.
Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD.
HTML5test.com test results: 466 points.

A text-based Internet browser with full support for HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, WebGL, and even video content, which can be viewed in pixel format solely for the sake of sports interest. To work with Browsh, you need Firefox installed on your computer, the engine of which is used by the console browser to render pages. The program is controlled from the keyboard, tabs are supported, it is possible to create screenshots of sites, and also change the User-Agent parameter in case the resource being viewed is optimized for a specific browser. For everyday use, Browsh is hardly suitable, but for working in conditions of low network bandwidth or saving traffic, a text-based web browser may well come in handy.

GNOME Web
Product site: wiki.gnome.org/apps/web.
Codebase: WebKitGTK.
Supported platforms: Linux.
HTML5test.com test results: 448 points.

A browser developed by the GNOME project team, also known by the code name Epiphany. It is positioned as an easy-to-use web browser developed in accordance with the philosophy of the GNOME community, which assumes a rational approach to building a workspace in a Linux environment. It is for this reason that there is nothing superfluous in GNOME Web, and the program interface is implemented with verified asceticism and attention to detail. Among the additional features, we note an ad blocker integrated into the browser and built-in spell checkers, which can be useful when filling out web forms on sites. There is support for PWA (Progressive Web Apps) technology, which allows you to run web services inside the browser as normal native applications - without the address bar and tabs.

LibreWolf and Waterfox
Product websites: librewolf.net and waterfox.net.
Codebase: Firefox.
Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
HTML5test.com test results: 466 and 468 points respectively.

Two browsers similar in concept and implemented ideas, which are based on the Firefox code redesigned along and across, from which all components that can be used to track user actions are removed. LibreWolf and Waterfox are not tied to Mozilla services, there are no all kinds of identifiers, tags and telemetry collection, there are no information and search hints in the address bar, as well as support for other unnecessary modules that show network activity - all this is removed in order to ensure maximum user privacy on the Internet. For greater security, both web browsers include optional settings that provide the maximum level of protection. In addition to this, DuckDuckGo, Searx and Qwant search engines are enabled by default, maintaining privacy and not tracking user preferences.

Min
Product website: minbrowser.org.
Codebase: Electron (Chromium).
Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
HTML5test.com test results: 476 points.

A browser with a minimalistic interface, the central element of which is the address bar. Through it, almost all actions with the program are carried out, whether it is entering URLs, searching the Internet, using open tabs and browsing history, as well as managing a web browser through a set of special commands. Despite the outward simplicity, Min has a rather serious filling: there is an ad blocker, behavioral trackers and images, it supports the ability to modify the User-Agent and create custom scripts to change the behavior of sites. In addition, the browser has tab grouping tools and a built-in password manager.

Nyxt
Product website: nyxt.atlas.engineer.
Codebase: WebKit and WebEngine (Blink).
Supported platforms: Windows (using the Windows Subsystem for Linux, WSL), macOS, Linux, BSD.
HTML5test.com test results: 459 points.

A browser aimed at advanced users, researchers and web developers who need to control the behavior of the Internet browser when processing network content. Nyxt allows you to redefine or reconfigure any classes, methods, variables, functions, as well as make changes to the code translated by web servers on the fly. The browser is optimized for keyboard control and supports an impressive set of commands to perform various operations and tasks. Supports work with tabs and custom scripts. There is a built-in ad blocking system.

Otter
Product website: otter-browser.org.
Codebase: QtWebEngine.
Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
HTML5test.com test results: 361 points.

A project in which enthusiasts are trying to create a web browser based on the patterns of Opera 12 - the very latest "classic" version of the Norwegian browser, warm memories of which still do not leave nostalgic Internet aesthetes. How well the work is moving in this direction can be judged by the screenshots below. On our own behalf, we add that in terms of functionality, Otter does not reach the original twelfth Opera and, with external similarity, leaves the impression of a “raw” product, and in terms of supporting modern web standards, it is completely outsiders. In general, crafts for an amateur. If you really want to turn back the clock and get something really similar to the landmark Opera 12 browser, you should take a closer look at the Vivaldi project, developed by a development team led by the former co-founder of Opera Software Jon von Tetzchner.

Qutebrowser
Product website: qutebrowser.org.
Codebase: QtWebEngine.
Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD.
HTML5test.com test results: 472 points.

A tool for working in the global network, the control of which is completely tied to the keyboard and the corresponding key combinations. There are more than a hundred of the latter, and a memo carefully created by the developer helps not to get confused in them, one glance at which is enough to understand that Qutebrowser is for strong-willed users. Brutality gives the browser a minimalistic interface with text blocks and a console with an impressive set of commands for progressive web surfing. Otherwise, Qutebrowser is not much different from its counterparts: tabbed browsing is supported, there is an ad blocker, a download manager, a PDF viewer, a private browsing mode, and other familiar features.

seamonkey
Product website: seamonkey-project.org.
Codebase: Firefox.
Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
HTML5test.com test results: 435 points.

An all-in-one product that includes, in addition to a browser, an email client with an address book, a news feed aggregator (RSS / Atom), an IRC client, a calendar, a task scheduler and a web page editor. A kind of universal “Swiss knife” for full-fledged work on the Internet and solving all kinds of problems. In terms of browser features, SeaMonkey is practically no different from Firefox, on which the product is built. The difference lies only in the classic organization of the interface, characteristic of the early releases of Mozilla software solutions.

Conclusion.
You can argue for a long time and enthusiastically about the relevance of the browsers presented in the review. Some readers will consider them banal alterations of the solutions available on the Open Source market, others will find something new and really important in them. Be that as it may, all these browsers are a clear example of how open source software creates additional competition and, as a result, contributes to the development of software products.

Of course, in terms of audience coverage and development capacities, Min, Brave, GNOME Web, Browsh, as well as other web browsers listed in the note are infinitely far from the mastodons of the market, but each of them has its own zest that distinguishes them from the general series of the same type browsers. This is their main value.





Google Chrome Named Most Vulnerable Browser of 2022.
October 6, 2022

New data provided by Atlas VPN service operator suggests that Google Chrome users should be extremely careful when browsing the web - the browser is the most vulnerable among the most famous products of this purpose.

According to the study, 303 vulnerabilities were discovered in Chrome in 2022 and 3159 in its entire history. The conclusions are based on data from the VulDB platform and take into account the “gaps” that were discovered from January 1 to October 5, 2022.

Chrome was the only browser in which new vulnerabilities were discovered in the first five days of October: CVE-2022-3318, CVE-2022-3314, CVE-2022-3311, CVE-2022-3309 and CVE-2022-3307. You can fix them by updating Chrome to 106.0.5249.61.

The second place in the “anti-rating” of 2022 is occupied by Firefox with 117 vulnerabilities, and the third is Microsoft Edge with 103 vulnerabilities, there are 61% more than there were in 2021. Finally, the fourth place is occupied by Apple Safari, and Opera is the safest. In 2022, there were no documented security holes in this browser at all, and only 344 variants were reported in the entire history.

It is noteworthy that Chrome, Edge and Opera are created on the same Chromium engine, but a different approach to “finishing” the foundation has led to results according to which the first two browsers are the most dangerous for users, and Opera is the most secure. However, vulnerabilities in Chromium could theoretically affect all variants of the above three.

To stay safe, users are advised to regularly update their browsers to the latest versions and take extra care when downloading plugins and extensions, especially from obscure sources from unknown developers.





Elon Musk tried to buy Twitter for 30% off the April offer.
October 6, 2022

For a long time, it was believed that Elon Musk's dispute with Twitter over the number of bots in the daily monetized audience was aimed at negotiating the purchase of social network assets at a lower price than agreed in April. This week, the billionaire announced his willingness to buy Twitter shares at the previous price of $54.20 a share. Sources say that several weeks before that, attempts were made to bring down the price by up to 30%.

This was reported by The New York Times, citing its own channels for obtaining information. Initially, representatives of Elon Musk tried to negotiate with Twitter to reduce the price from $44 to $31 billion, but by the end of September, the requested discount was reduced from 30% to 10%, and it was already about $39.6 billion. The current capitalization of Twitter just exceeded $39, 2 billion at the end of yesterday's trading, but in the end, Elon Musk was forced to return to the level of $44 billion, from which he started in April.

As you know, Twitter this week received an offer from representatives of Musk to conclude a deal on the terms agreed in April, but both parties have not yet filed a petition with the court to stop preparations for the meeting, which is scheduled for October 17. According to some reports, a new agreement was to be signed this week, but so far the parties are trying to settle some formalities. Among them, a clause is mentioned that frees Elon Musk from the need to buy Twitter if it is impossible to collect the required amount. If the financing terms of the deal, on which it was being prepared since April, have not changed, then Elon Musk will have to find about another $ 3 billion to buy Twitter shares owned by other investors.

Twitter representatives also insist on paying a penalty to Elon Musk for the delay in preparing the deal, which was caused by his July refusal to complete it on the original terms. The company's lawyers would also like to receive guarantees from the court to control the fulfillment by Elon Musk of his obligations to buy Twitter.

This week, Elon Musk was supposed to testify under oath in the Twitter case, but since he announced his intentions to buy the company, the corresponding hearings may not take place, or will be postponed to a later date. There are no formal reasons for canceling the October 17 hearing, as Judge Kathaleen McCormick, who is in charge of the case, explained the day before.





An alliance between the US, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan to tech contain China could hurt their economies.
October 5, 2022

At the end of September, representatives of the authorities of the United States, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan held a remote meeting on the prospects for creating a Chip 4 technology alliance, which is considered by the press to be aimed at curbing China's technological development. Taiwanese officials have already expressed concern about the possible consequences of such an alliance, saying in passing that the island's economy is highly dependent on China.

First of all, China is Taiwan's largest trading partner. Chen Chern-Chyi, Deputy Minister of Economy of the island, at a press conference on the results of this meeting, emphasized that the semiconductor industry itself involves cooperation between different countries. The production equipment comes mainly from the US and Europe, raw materials come from Japan, and technology comes from South Korea and Taiwan. Building sustainable supply chains requires active collaboration.

According to a Taiwanese official, the island's authorities are facing a difficult dilemma, since it will not be possible to completely isolate themselves from trade with China. Most likely, Taiwanese companies will continue to cooperate with Chinese companies, at least in those areas that will be allowed by the government. At the same time, Taiwan is going to strongly protect its trade secrets and advanced technologies, as well as prevent the illegal poaching of valuable personnel to China. It is quite difficult to control the export of products from Taiwan to the PRC if it is not possible to prove that the goods in question can be used by buyers for military purposes. The Taiwanese authorities, however, are ready to work tirelessly to eliminate the holes in the national security system. Last year, Taiwan's exports to China reached $188.9 billion, with industrial equipment and integrated circuits accounting for the bulk of it.

According to experts, for South Korea, an attempt to move away from China can also result in serious economic losses, since last year the Chinese direction accounted for 25% of Korean exports, and the United States in this expression was content with only 15%. China is also the largest importer of goods to South Korea. Japan receives many components and raw materials from China, so for both potential members of the Chip 4 alliance, joining this US-led alliance will entail a number of problems. On the one hand, South Korea and Japan want to build a self-sufficient semiconductor industry, and in this quest they are forced to rely on American-made technologies. On the other hand, the deterioration of relations with China will cause serious damage to Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. There are too many contradictions among the potential members of this alliance for it to become viable in a short time.





Elon Musk Says He Wants to Build Super App X on Twitter.
October 5, 2022

As it became known the day before, Elon Musk is again ready to acquire Twitter at the previously announced price of $44 billion. And he has grandiose plans for the platform - based on it, he intends to create a super application similar to the Chinese WeChat.

Once the deal closes, the richest man in the world will own one of the most influential media platforms, and end the litigation that has damaged the reputation of both Twitter and Musk himself. In April, the businessman made a takeover offer to the company, but subsequently withdrew it due to uncertainty over spambots. The day before, however, he said that the acquisition of the platform will accelerate the implementation of his intention to create an "application for everything", conventionally designated "X".

Apart from a short tweet, Musk has not yet made any statements, but there is a possibility that this is a large-scale project comparable to the Chinese WeChat super app. The head of Tesla has previously expressed admiration for how Tencent has turned the messenger into a kind of “little internet” used by more than a billion Chinese every day. Musk shared his thoughts aloud that Twitter would be more useful if it became more like WeChat and TikTok - and recalled super apps that are popular in Asia, which offer to solve various tasks in one place, from chatting to calling a taxi.

Presumably, in the implementation of his idea, Musk can build on five key theses that distinguish WeChat.

It is more than a social network. Hundreds of millions of people use WeChat every day to order taxis, order food, and make restaurant reservations. All this is implemented using a platform of mini-applications inside WeChat, connecting to a single interface.
WeChat is a fintech giant, one of the largest payment and financial systems in China. People here pay for goods and services, send money to each other and take loans.
It is one of the most popular news and entertainment portals in the country.
It's a powerful business platform: WeChat's widget economy hit $240 billion in 2021.
WeChat is a one-stop service that combines the power of Facebook*, Twitter, Uber, Instagram* and Substack.
And WeChat is also distinguished by one feature characteristic of Chinese services, which the traditionally liberal Musk is hardly ready to welcome in the public field. It's about censorship. Artificial intelligence algorithms and an army of moderators regularly clear the platform of content that official Beijing considers unacceptable, from obscene content to criticism of the authorities.

* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





Elon Musk wanted to buy Twitter again.
October 5, 2022

Elon Musk invited Twitter to resume the initial deal to buy the social network. This was told by sources familiar with the situation. Against the backdrop of this news, the value of Twitter's shares immediately jumped by 18%.

Recall that Musk announced plans to buy a controlling stake in Twitter for $44 billion ($54.2 per share) in April 2022. Later, a scandal erupted around the social network due to fake accounts on the platform. The businessman said that he was not provided with information about bots and fake accounts, after which he demanded the termination of the transaction. In response, Twitter filed a lawsuit to force Musk to complete the deal on the original terms.

The trial was scheduled for mid-October. According to one of the sources, the businessman's lawyers considered the development of events negative. Allegedly, Judge Kathleen St. Jay McCormick sided with Twitter several times in pre-trial disputes. Because of this, lawyers are not sure of the sufficient validity of the conditions necessary to terminate the transaction.

Representatives of Elon Musk have not yet commented on the situation. So far, the social network has not reported anything about the proposal.

Updated:
“We have received a letter from representatives of Musk. We intend to close the deal at $54.20 per share,” Twitter Chief Legal Counsel Sean Edgett said in an email to employees.

Shares after the resumption of trading rose even stronger - the daily increase was already 22%.





In the Twitter case against Musk, another potential witness appeared: he claimed that 20% of the accounts on the platform are bots.
October 5, 2022

Another ex-Twitter employee is considering appearing in court as part of Elon Musk's lawsuit against a $44 billion purchase of the company due in two weeks. And potentially this person can tell a lot of important details about Twitter bots.

Unlike another high-profile witness, Peiter Zatko — who never mentioned the words “bots” or “spam” during his testimony before Congress in September — a second whistleblower, a former Twitter employee, claims he was involved in the development of an internal report that allegedly concluded that at least 30% of daily active Twitter users are automated spam accounts.

"Twitter management just laughed when we gave them this report and said, 'We've always had a bot problem,'" a potential witness told The Post.

The man's testimony could be a stroke of luck for Musk, who has made the alleged Twitter bot issue the cornerstone of his legal argument about why he should be allowed to pull out of the social media deal. But there's a catch: the would-be whistleblower isn't entirely sure yet whether he should testify in court.

“I haven’t fully decided whether or not to take part in the process yet,” the potential witness said, adding that he was not sure if he could withstand all the attention that his performance at one of the most high-profile trials in recent years would attract. years.

On Wednesday, the two sides are due to exchange witness lists, which could provide an answer to the question of whether a second whistleblower will appear in the courtroom. Unlike Zatko, who was subpoenaed by Musk's team, the second informant did not receive a subpoena. Representatives for Twitter and Elon Musk have so far declined to comment.

A new witness claims that Twitter's chosen metric to measure bots - so-called monetizable daily active users, or mDAUs - is too narrow to capture the full extent of the site's spam problem. Twitter may not be lying when it says that less than 5% of its mDAUs are bots, he said, but the witness disagrees that mDAUs are used for measurement at all and claims that the company hasn't been completely upfront with its investors.

“Twitter claims to have 238 million mDAUs – but the total number of daily users is significantly higher when you include automated fake accounts that haven’t been disabled,” says the potential witness. “Spam accounts were identified because they exhibited bot-like behavior, such as posting messages every hour and responding to tweets within five seconds of being posted by another user.”

The witness also stated that he had to delete the report when he left Twitter as part of a non-disclosure agreement for confidential business information.

A source close to Twitter said the company was unaware of the study the new witness is talking about. The source also noted that not all automated accounts on the site are spambots. There are so-called "good bots" like @howsmydrivingny, which automatically searches for traffic violations based on license plates, or @met_drawings, which automatically posts public domain works from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints Department.

More importantly, a company source says, the potential witness should have nothing to do with the trial, which begins October 17 in Delaware, because his testimony does not include any alleged fraud or inconsistencies in documents filed by Twitter with the Commission. on securities and exchanges.

We add that tonight there was also information that the case may not reach the court at all. Allegedly, Musk changed his mind and is now ready to buy the company again on the same terms.





The US is preparing new sanctions against China in the high-tech sphere - they will affect AI, supercomputers and not only.
October 4, 2022

The current political leadership of the United States took over the baton of strengthening sanctions against China from the administration of President Donald Trump, but the existing restrictions on the spread of high technologies of American origin may not be enough to curb the development of China's science and defense sector, according to the authors of the new initiative. An increase in sanctions could be announced this week.

This became known to the editors of The New York Times at the suggestion of informed sources. According to the publication, the new package of anti-Chinese sanctions will expand the list of companies and organizations in China that will be denied access to technologies and components of American origin that can accelerate scientific and technological progress and the development of new types of weapons. Not only large Chinese companies, but also academic institutions of the PRC can fall under sanctions.

Along the way, restrictions will be strengthened on the sale of a certain list of semiconductor components to China, even if they are manufactured outside the United States in third countries. Recall that in relation to a certain range of NVIDIA and AMD computing accelerators, the corresponding restrictions are already in effect. The sanctions will also limit US investors' ability to invest in the development of certain Chinese companies. One of the victims of the new package of US sanctions could be the Chinese solid-state memory manufacturer YMTC (Yangtze Memory Technologies), which has made significant technological progress since 2016 and is only a step or two behind the market leaders in terms of the number of layers in 3D NAND memory chips.

The purpose of the new sanctions will be to limit the access of Chinese companies and institutions not only to advanced technologies used in the creation of supercomputers, but also to simpler semiconductor components produced according to mature lithographic standards. It cannot be ruled out that recent confirmations of China's ability to produce chips using 14-nm technology without the need to use foreign equipment or materials have increased the US authorities' concern about China's progress in the semiconductor field. The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China is due to begin in the middle of this month, and a new package of US sanctions may be adopted before this important event for the political and economic life of the PRC. U.S. regulatory officials have yet to comment on the upcoming tightening of sanctions.





Samsung promised to master the 1.4-nm process technology in 5 years.
October 4, 2022

South Korean company Samsung Electronics has long sought to reduce its reliance on its memory chip business. It is trying to achieve this by strengthening the contract manufacturing of semiconductor components. By 2027, Samsung expects to triple its manufacturing capacity using advanced manufacturing processes, as well as master the 1.4-nm process technology. By the middle of the decade, the company's customers will be able to receive 2-nm products.

The corresponding plans of Samsung Electronics were announced this week. In June, the company began delivering 3nm products to its first customers, but in the future, they may include not only Qualcomm and Tesla, but also AMD, as Samsung representatives explained during a profile briefing, according to Reuters. Most likely, the second generation of the 3nm process that Samsung will offer in 2024 will be in much higher demand, according to the company. Samsung representatives acknowledge that in terms of the development of 5-nm and 4-nm lithography, the company lagged behind its main competitor TSMC, but in the future parity should be restored. In fact, even the first generation of Samsung's 3nm products meet customer expectations. The yield rate on the Samsung assembly line is now one of the highest in the industry.

Demand for process technology down to 5 nm or less is growing rapidly even amid significant inflationary pressures, as in the long term, these components should be in demand in the field of high-performance computing, artificial intelligence systems, 5G and 6G communications networks, as well as in the automotive sector. If you do not spend money on the development of advanced lithography now, according to Samsung representatives, then in the future the semiconductor industry simply cannot cope with the demand for core products.

The pace of expansion in advanced lithographic manufacturing is currently being held back by ASML's inability to supply its customers with the required number of lithographic scanners. Samsung notes the high interest of American customers in obtaining advanced locally produced components, and from this point of view, the new facility under construction in Texas has great potential for expansion. The Taylor facility will begin operations in 2024, the company added. It is possible that 3nm components will be produced here, although nothing has been officially announced about the timing of such a migration.





Google disables Translate service for users in China.
October 3, 2022

Google has blocked the Translate service for China. It was one of the few services of an American company remaining in the Celestial Empire, for example, Google search left this, the world's largest market for Internet services, back in 2010.

According to a Google spokesperson, the company has discontinued its Translate service in mainland China due to low service usage.

In 2010, the company stopped providing search services in mainland China due to legal difficulties related to censorship of Internet content. Nevertheless, the company explored the possibility of maintaining a kind of "bridgehead" in the market - the Google Translate service became available to users in the country in 2017 both on the corresponding website and using a search mobile application. The company also considered a prototype of a separate search engine for the Chinese market, but later stated that the project was scrapped.

According to the publication, the termination of the service coincided with the escalation of tensions between China and the United States. It is worth noting that not so long ago there were massive failures in the operation of Google services in Russia, while the use of a VPN made it possible to avoid problems. Reliable information about the causes of failures is still missing.





JioBook laptops with 4G support and a price of only $184 will be released in India.
October 3, 2022

In India, mobile operator Reliance Jio intends to introduce an ultra-budget JioBook laptop worth just $184 with an integrated 4G SIM card. The company expects to repeat the success of its budget smartphone JioPhone, which is extremely popular in the country - low-cost models are in great demand here.

It is known that the JioBook notebook was developed in collaboration with Qualcomm and Microsoft. The first supplies chipsets based on the Arm-architecture, the second provides support for some popular applications with the model.

Jio is India's largest mobile operator with over 420 million customers. Starting this month, the JioBook laptop will be available to corporate customers such as schools and government departments, with a release to a wider audience expected in the next three months. Shortly after the 4G version, a fifth-generation version will also debut.

JioBook will be produced in India by contract manufacturer Flex - by March, Jio intends to sell "hundreds of thousands" of devices. In total, according to researchers from IDC, 14.8 million PCs were sold in the country last year, sales leaders are HP, Dell and Lenovo. According to experts, the release of JioBook will potentially expand the notebook market segment by at least 15%.

It is known that JioBook runs on the proprietary JioOS operating system, and applications can be downloaded from the JioStore marketplace. In addition, Jio focuses on the possibility of using an inexpensive laptop as an alternative to tablets for office workers.

Since going on sale at the end of last year, the JioPhone has become the top seller in the sub-$100 smartphone segment, accounting for about 20% of the market in the past three quarters, according to Counterpoint Research. Jio, which received about $22 billion in investments from international companies like KKR & Co and Silver Lake in 2020, managed to revive the world's second mobile market with the launch of cheap 4G data plans and free voice services in 2016. Later, an ultra-budget 4G phone with smartphone functions was also introduced.





Stellantis CEO believes that chip availability issues in the automotive industry will continue until the end of next year.
October 3, 2022

The automotive industry has been in a fever for many months due to a shortage of semiconductor components. The head of the transcontinental automaker Stellantis Carlos Tavares, in an interview with the French newspaper Le Parisien, said that "the situation will continue to be very difficult until the end of 2023, and only then there will be some improvement."

The head of the auto concern noted the increased interest of suppliers of semiconductor components in working with automakers, since prices for components have risen, and it has become more profitable for suppliers to ship them for the needs of the automotive industry. One of the reasons for the shortage of components, we recall, was the shift in the priorities of suppliers in a pandemic. When the demand for PCs and consumer electronics soared, it became more profitable for manufacturers to ship components in this direction, and the auto industry was served on a leftover basis.

In France, as the source explains, last year the number of newly registered cars increased by 5%, but in general since the beginning of this year it has been lower by 12% than in the same period last year. Toyota Motor Corporation managed to increase sales volumes by 3.8% in August, demonstrating positive dynamics for the first time in the last 12 months. Vehicle production volumes have grown by 44% compared to August last year. In August, the company was able to produce 766,683 vehicles and sell 777,047 copies. By March 2023, Toyota still hopes to produce 9.7 million vehicles over the previous 12 months. For the first time in five months, Toyota managed to increase the volume of car production in Japan in August, producing 196,038 vehicles, which is 5.6% more than the results of the same month last year.

Competitors Nissan and Honda managed to increase vehicle production volumes in August for the second and third consecutive months, respectively, the source explains. The first of the companies increased production volumes by 9% year-on-year, and the second - by 27% at once. Apparently, the shortage of components is systematically receding, and now the main thing for automakers is that demand is not crippled by global macroeconomic processes.





The first absolutely legal transaction with cryptocurrency was held in Kazakhstan.
October 2, 2022

At the Digital Bridge 2022 digital technology and business forum, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was presented with a report on the first legal cryptocurrency operation in the country. Thus, Kazakhstan opened for its citizens the legal purchase and sale of digital assets for tenge. It is noted that the own development of the Eurasian Bank made it possible to set one of the lowest commissions in the world for such an operation.

“This is the first crypto-fiat operation of a crypto-exchange-bank-client on the entire Eurasian continent,” Talgat Dosanov, director of the Intebix exchange, told the President of Kazakhstan.

Recall that on May 23, the relevant departments of Kazakhstan approved pilot rules, under which operations with cryptocurrencies are allowed in the country, subject to a number of conditions. To participate in the pilot project, exchanges need to obtain an appropriate license, and banks need to apply to join the program. The source notes that the regulatory framework was developed in accordance with the highest international standards, which provide reliable control over transactions and the security of client funds.

Along with the first operation to purchase cryptocurrency for tenge, the Eurasian Bank announced plans to issue a cryptocurrency card in Kazakhstan by the end of this year. After the implementation of this plan, residents of the country will be able to pay for purchases in stores with a cryptocurrency card. The operation itself will be carried out in tenge from the account associated with the cardholder's account on the Intebix exchange. Currently, the Eurasian Bank has completed the development of the procedure for issuing a card and is working with the National Bank of Kazakhstan on issues related to possible risks.





Neighboring dwarf galaxies have taken refuge from the Milky Way in a cocoon of hot gas, scientists have found.
October 2, 2022

A group of American scientists summed up the results of long-term observations using the Hubble and FUSE telescopes, and stated that they were able to confirm the existence of the Magellanic Crown - a cocoon of hot gas that does not allow the Milky Way to absorb two dwarf galaxies rotating around it: the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.

For years, astronomers have tried to explain why two dwarf galaxies orbit the Milky Way, and stars are still forming in them. This has been going on for billions of years: the gravitational force of the massive Milky Way is pulling gas out of them, and in theory, the process of star formation should have stopped because of this, but it continues. Scientists have suggested that the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are hidden behind some kind of cosmic "shield" or the Magellanic Crown - a giant cloud of gas with a temperature of about half a million degrees.

Until now, astronomers have not been able to obtain visual confirmation that this object exists, but a group of American scientists said that observations obtained over 30 years through the Hubble telescopes and the now decommissioned FUSE (Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer) indicate the presence of a Magellanic Crowns. The head of the research group Dhanesh Krishnarao from the Space Telescope Research Institute (USA, Baltimore) and his colleagues argue that the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are indeed surrounded by a cocoon of hot gas, which prevents the pumping of matter from them and provides dwarf galaxies with the opportunity for further formation of stars.

Finding this giant space shield was not easy: despite the fact that it stretches for 100 thousand light years, the shield is almost invisible. And this, perhaps, is good, because otherwise its appearance would block a significant part of the sky in the Southern Hemisphere. Scientists believe that formations like the Magellanic Crown are the remnants of primordial gas clouds that undergo gravitational collapse and form galaxies. Similar coronas have been repeatedly found in other galaxies, but they have never been observed at such a close distance.

Studying observations through Hubble and FUSE, astronomers decided to focus on ultraviolet images of quasars located billions of light years behind the Magellanic Crown. In modern concepts, quasars are the active nuclei of galaxies at the initial stage of development: supermassive black holes that absorb the matter surrounding them. This radiates colossal amounts of energy, and produces light that can be brighter than all the stars combined in a galaxy like ours. Scientists have suggested that the invisible Magellanic Corona should manifest itself due to the distortion of light from quasars when this light passes through it - while the distortion mechanisms should be preserved.

Astronomers have studied the characteristic distortions in the ultraviolet radiation of 28 quasars, which allowed them to describe the features of the material surrounding the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Signs of carbon, oxygen and silicon have been found in a halo of hot plasma that surrounds the dwarf galaxy, suggesting the existence of the Magellanic Crown. According to scientists, this formation prevents the destructive effects of the Milky Way and protects small galaxies from other objects that seek to penetrate their territory. As a result, the process of formation of new stars is not interrupted.





Instagram* and Facebook* now have the ability to post NFTs.
October 2, 2022

Meta* has made it possible for all US users to post to Facebook* and Instagram* "digital collectibles", i.e. non-fungible tokens or NFTs. On Instagram*, this feature is also available to users in over a hundred other countries.

For the function, until recently available to a limited number of users, to work, you need to connect a crypto wallet to your profile on the social network, after which it will be possible to create publications with NFT objects from this wallet. At the same time, the creator of the object and its owner are automatically marked in the publication. The application settings now have a special section dedicated to digital assets, and wallets created on five platforms, including Coinbase, MetaMask and Dapper, can be connected to the profile. Theoretically, this operation is available not only in the mobile application, but also in the web interface, but the authors of The Verge resource say that the second option is still malfunctioning.

It is unlikely that the function will be in demand among most users, NFT sales have plummeted this year: in September, these digital assets were sold for $466 million, which is 97% less than $17 billion. which were received in January.

* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





The head of Yangtze Memory resigned - his departure is associated with "great corruption" in China's high-tech funds.
October 2, 2022

The other day it was reported that the Chinese authorities are conducting an extensive inspection of the activities of some of the largest national funds with state funding for corruption. First of all, we are talking about funds to support semiconductor production. It has now been revealed that the CEO of Yangtze Memory (YMTC) has resigned due to personal reasons. One of the real reasons for this could be the criminal prosecution of his direct boss, the head of Tsinghua Unigroup.

Tsinghua Unigroup has built China's most advanced NAND flash memory manufacturing facility in just eight years. A subsidiary of Yangtze Memory has been and is responsible for this direction. Despite all the successes, the parent company found itself on the verge of bankruptcy, and in the winter of this year, it was forced to restructure its debts in court. Merits to the fatherland do not cancel the fact that even heroes will have to answer in case of corruption.

According to foreign media reports, and the Chinese media does not spread such news, the head of Tsinghua Unigroup Zhao Weiguo was arrested in July this year as part of a criminal case against him and several other managers for personal enrichment from national funds. Closely connected with him by business relations, the head of Yangtze Memory Yang Shining could at least partially be aware of what was happening. At least he can take part in the case as a witness.

Young had a distinguished career in the field of semiconductors. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (USA) and worked at Intel, joined GlobalFoundries as a CTO, served as COO of SMIC and CEO of Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (XMC), which he left in 2016 to become CEO of YMTC . Zhao Weiguo repeatedly called Yang a "genius". And looking at the success of YMTC, which introduced 3D NAND memory with over 200 layers in August this year, it's easy to believe. We hope everything will be cleared up soon.





Elon Musk wanted to use the word "Trump" to find fake Twitter accounts.
September 30, 2022

According to online sources, Elon Musk wanted Twitter to include the word "Trump" in searches for corporate messages and documents. According to the lawyer of the billionaire, due to this, it was planned to get a more accurate assessment of the problem with fake accounts on the social network.

“Trump is relevant for the reasons we explained, which is that the name is often associated with spam, fake accounts and bots,” Silpa Maruri, Elon Musk’s lawyer, said in an email. The information was revealed amid an ongoing legal battle over the billionaire's attempt to flag a $44 billion Twitter deal.

Musk said he decided to pull out of the deal in part because Twitter didn't tell him about the number of bots on the company's platform. At the same time, Twitter itself sued the billionaire, trying to get the court to oblige the billionaire to complete the deal. Twitter lawyer Bradley Wilson, when asked about the controversial search terms, said the company saw no need to search for "Trump."





Apple will take years and billions of dollars to reduce dependence on China.
September 30, 2022

American companies, for a number of reasons, seek to reduce their dependence on China, but in practice, completely getting rid of ties with China can be extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Apple is indeed trying to reduce its dependence on China: some of the new iPhone 14s are already being manufactured in India, and Foxconn, the company's largest supplier, has indicated its willingness to invest $300 million to expand its capacity in Vietnam. However, the withdrawal of only 10% of Apple's production capacity from China will take about 8 years - 98% of iPhones are produced in the country. China is backed not only by dozens of component suppliers, but also by modern infrastructure: efficient transport, communications and power supply.

Only toy and T-shirt manufacturers can quickly get rid of dependence, while technology companies around the world have invested tens of billions of dollars in Chinese industry over the past twenty years, forming stable production chains. Breaking those ties could take just as long, causing irreparable damage to an already weakened global economy. In recent years, the political factor has been increasingly hindering the integration of the United States and China: the disagreements that arose under the previous president have intensified with the advent of the new one; Washington imposed sanctions on the largest Chinese companies led by Huawei; the situation became even more complicated after the introduction of tough measures by Beijing to contain the pandemic; and finally everything was upset by the contradictions between the two countries on the Taiwan issue.

By the end of 2020, American companies had invested $90 billion in Chinese partners, and subsequent events did not prevent this amount from being increased by $2.5 billion in 2021. In reality, these amounts may be more, because funds are also sent through Hong Kong and classic offshore companies like Cayman and Virgin Islands. Despite the well-founded fears of American partners about the possible consequences of a trade war for the entire global economy, the United States is slowly but surely breaking off relations with China: on September 23, Goldman Sachs analysts published a report in which they stated that China's share in American technology imports since 2017 decreased by 10 percentage points, mainly due to the mobile segment.

Apple has the biggest reliance on China among US tech companies, including Amazon, HP, Microsoft, Cisco and Dell. By 2030, the overall dependence of the US technology industry on China could “in most cases” decrease by 20-40%, and in the next decade, electronics manufacturers can increase their dependence to 20-30%. The US administration is using a two-pronged approach to achieve this goal: on the one hand, it offers subsidies to American companies for moving production to the US, and on the other hand, it discourages further investment in China by raising duties and introducing export controls. The Chip Act opens up subsidies for companies manufacturing 28nm and below products in the United States, and export control rules have been extended to import equipment for the production of chips using 14nm and below technology into the PRC.

Members of the US-China Business Council (USCBC) said that the optimism of American companies regarding China has fallen to an all-time low: this was facilitated by Beijing's tough policy to prevent the spread of the pandemic, power outages in the country and geopolitical factors - because of this, more than half of those surveyed postponed or canceled their investment plans. However, it is too early to talk about the exodus of American business from the country. The "China plus one" formula remains generally accepted, assuming that the main production base is China, and new facilities are being built in South and Southeast Asia: India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Last year, American companies announced their intention to invest about $740 million in Vietnamese production, the highest since 2017 and twice as much as in 2020. A critical but vulnerable component of US supply chains is Taiwan, where TSMC manufactures more than 90% of advanced civil and military chips. Apple, MediaTek and Qualcomm, which control 85% of the mobile processor market, launch their products at TSMC. In the next five years, Taiwan will remain a key producer of advanced chips. But mainland China is on the heels of its former territory: 19 of the 20 fastest growing chipmakers in the world in the last four quarters are based in China.





SMIC started building a new chip factory with a capacity of 100,000 300mm wafers per month.
September 30, 2022

This year, the Chinese company SMIC intends to spend a record $5 billion on capital construction and increase the processing volume of 200 mm silicon wafers to 150,000 pieces per month, but the company will not stop there. The new facility in Tianjin, whose construction began on Saturday, will be able to process up to 100,000 300 mm silicon wafers per month.

Preparations for the start of construction were complicated by the fact that Tianjin is still under a partial lockdown associated with new outbreaks of coronavirus infection. Since August 27, SMIC representatives have been systematically working with the authorities of Tianjin to prepare for the start of construction of a new enterprise. In fourteen out of sixteen districts of this settlement, cases of infection with coronavirus infection have been detected so far. Even under such difficult conditions, construction started on Saturday without much delay, as the authorities realize the importance of expanding the production capacity of the Chinese semiconductor industry, of which SMIC is the flagship.

The contract manufacturer already has a facility in Tianjin that processes 200mm silicon wafers, but the new site will allow larger 300mm wafers to be processed. A breakthrough in terms of lithography at this enterprise should not be expected, since the most advanced of the used technical processes will be 28-nm. The former SMIC facility in Tianjin was taken over by Motorola in 2004. In 2016, SMIC began its expansion, which increased the monthly production volume to 150,000 silicon wafers. In total, SMIC has three plants working with 200 mm diameter inserts, as well as three plants processing 300 mm inserts. The budget for the new construction is estimated at $7.5 billion.





Bill Gates: the environmental agenda will not force people to change their lifestyle - they need comfortable conditions.
September 30, 2022

In a recent interview, billionaire Bill Gates expressed the idea that people in general cannot be forced to reduce their consumption of energy and goods in order to reduce the carbon footprint on the planet. In the mass, no one will make such sacrifices, unless people are forced to do so. Instead, Gates calls for the creation of better and cheaper alternatives in all areas of life, industry and the economy, so that the green agenda does not interfere with life and work.

“I don’t think it’s realistic to say that people will completely change their lifestyle because of climate concerns,” Gates said in an interview with Akshat Rathi on an episode of the Bloomberg Zero podcast released on Thursday. “Apart from a huge central authority that will force people to simply obey, I think that the problem of collective action is simply completely unsolvable.”

Bill Gates pays out of his own pocket about $9 million annually in compensation for his carbon footprint on Earth. His actions are repeated by a number of rich people, which is clearly not enough to solve the problem. Numerous companies and startups are trying to solve it, the most promising of which are supported by the Breakthrough Energy investment fund founded by Gates in 2015. Based on his own information, for example, Bill Gates is confident that in 10 years the world will be able to refuse to supply fossil fuels from Russia.

Nevertheless, these 10 years must be lived with minimal damage to the economies of developed countries. Therefore, Bill Gates urges not to be afraid of "dirty" initiatives in the form of the reactivation of coal-fired power plants in Europe or the discovery of gas fields in the Netherlands.

“It's a very difficult set of trade-offs. Very unexpected,” Gates said. “In the short term, any solution needs to be found, even if it means an increase in emissions.”

Obviously, there are many ways to achieve zero emissions and they cover all spheres of human life. Even such a seemingly obvious decision as the abandonment of feed-in nightly electricity tariffs in order to support intermittent daytime solar energy requires its own study, justification and preparation for it. Create new comfortable conditions for people, and the process will go by itself, Gates urges. Any other path will not lead to the desired goal.





China has begun to create the world's most powerful pulsed magnet - its field is millions of times greater than the earth's.
September 30, 2022

For breakthroughs on the scientific front in the field of semiconductors, 6G communications, materials science and pharmaceuticals, installations that create prohibitive magnetic fields are needed. All the latest records in the field of achieving the strongest magnetic fields belong to the United States. Some of them, China has already been able to beat, the rest intends to surpass in the future. In particular, China has begun construction of a complex to install the world's most powerful pulsed magnet.

It should be said that quite recently a Chinese installation for generating a stable magnetic field produced a record result, creating a field with an induction of 45.22 Tesla. The previous record was held for 23 years by the American National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, which created an installation with a constant magnetic field of 45 T. The record for creating a pulsed magnetic field belongs to the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the USA, whose installation creates a pulsed magnetic field with an induction of 100.75 T, which is 1.5–4 million times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field.

Chinese scientists set out to create a tool for obtaining a pulsed magnetic field by induction of 110 T. The installation began to be built in Wuhan, with plans to put the project into operation in five years. Investment in the facility will amount to about 2 billion yuan, or about $281 million.

Creating such super-powerful magnets is a non-trivial task in every sense. Both the most powerful local system for supplying electricity with a power of several gigawatts and the ability to translate this energy into a magnetic pulse without burning the installation are needed. In 2018, Japanese researchers tried to set an absolute record for creating a pulsed magnetic field with a force of 1200 T. According to Chinese sources, the experiment ended with the destruction of not only the installation, but also the laboratory itself, where it was installed.

Incidentally, the record-breaking facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States relies on a solenoid made from a unique composite created in Russia. An ultra-strong highly conductive copper-niobium nanocomposite was developed at the Kurchatov Institute jointly with the All-Russian Research Institute of Inorganic Materials. A. A. Bochvara. Whether Chinese scientists will follow the same path is not specified. In any case, this will be an achievement, even if the record is not set. According to Chinese sources, experiments are already being scheduled for work on the future facility.





Twitter founder Jack Dorsey offered Elon Musk a seat on the board of directors long before he announced his intentions to buy the company.
September 30, 2022

Less than three weeks left before the start of the court hearing on the dispute between Twitter and Elon Musk over the latter's intentions to buy this social network, which he now refuses. Court documents show that Twitter founder Jack Dorsey discussed with Elon Musk the idea of ​​inviting him to the company's board of directors even before the billionaire expressed his willingness to buy it.

At least, according to CNBC, from the correspondence between the two defendants in this case, it becomes known that Jack Dorsey hesitates about the success of the very idea of ​​including Elon Musk on the board of directors of Twitter. The founder of the social network, who, as of March 26 this year, still retained his seat on the board of directors, complained to Elon Musk about the “increased caution” of this governing body and the opinion among members of the board of directors that inviting Elon Musk to its composition increases existing risks. A few days later, Musk himself expressed his willingness to take a seat on the board of directors of Twitter, but then abandoned this idea in favor of buying the company's assets.

Jack Dorsey, in his revelations with Elon Musk, called the position of the other members of the Twitter board of directors "completely stupid and counterproductive." At the same time, he noted that he himself does not have sufficient influence on the situation, since he has a single vote and only 3% of Twitter shares without any kind of privileges. Dorsey and Musk also discussed the Twitter founder's idea of ​​turning the company into a kind of open-source protocol like email, according to the correspondence. Jack Dorsey was sure that Musk's assistance in this direction could contribute to the achievement of the goal. By mid-May, Jack Dorsey had left the Twitter board of directors.

Along the way, it becomes known that attempts to introduce Elon Musk to the board of directors of Twitter were made by Jack Dorsey even before this whole story with the purchase of a large stake in the company by the billionaire. Judging by Dorsey's hints, he had been hatching a similar idea since 2020, when activists from the investment company Elliot Management began to put pressure on the board of directors. At the time, the Twitter board of directors also rejected the idea of ​​inviting Elon Musk to join it, according to the published correspondence. Around the same time, as Jack Dorsey explains, he himself made the decision to step down as CEO of Twitter, although he did so only in November 2021.





Trials of cross-border payments in digital currencies completed.
September 29, 2022

The Bank for International Settlements reported on the successful completion of testing cross-border payments in the official digital currencies of four countries. One of the participants in the program was China, which is actively promoting the introduction and dissemination of the digital yuan.

The program, called mCBDC, was attended by China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. In total, 160 cross-border payments were made for a total of $22 million. The program was established to test the capabilities of official digital currencies (CBDC - Central Bank Digital Currency): this method of settlement is expected to reduce the cost, as well as increase the speed and security of international transactions.

China, meanwhile, continues to expand its domestic digital yuan project, joined by the Industrial and Commercial and Agricultural Banks of China. The new currency format is being actively tested in large cities, but is still used for small retail payments. Beijing also said that it is ready to discuss setting global standards for digital currency as this practice is implemented in different countries.

In 2023, the digital ruble will also be introduced in Russia — it will become both a method of settlement between domestic counterparties and a means of international transactions.





Forbes drops Mark Zuckerberg from top 10 richest people in the US.
September 29, 2022

Not the most favorable developments in the stock market have led Meta* (Facebook*) founder Mark Zuckerberg to lose more than half of his personal fortune in the past twelve months and move from third to eleventh position in the Forbes list of the richest people in the United States.

This authoritative business publication reported this week. Over the past twelve months, according to the source, Zuckerberg has lost about $76.8 billion amid a decline in the share price of his Meta * company. As of September 2 of this year, the value of his assets did not exceed $57.7 billion, which allowed Mark to leave the top ten richest people in America. It also held the US record for the largest financial loss in the past twelve months.

Since September 3 last year, Meta*'s stock price has fallen by 57%, and they have fallen in price more than the rest of the technology sector. In particular, Microsoft shares fell 14% during this time, Alphabet (Google) shares fell 25%, and Amazon securities sank 27%. Stock indices as a whole showed a more restrained fall against this background: Nasdaq fell by 9.8%, and S & P 500 - by 13.5%.

Meta*'s share price performance was impacted by a change in Apple's user tracking policy, which cut the former's advertising revenue. Last quarter, Meta*'s revenue for the first time in history decreased, albeit only by 1%, to $28.8 billion. According to experts, it became more difficult for advertisers to evaluate the effectiveness of advertising spending on Facebook* pages, so they began to lose interest in this site. In addition, competition is TikTok, already in February, Facebook* for the first time reported a reduction in the monthly user base, and Reels, created as an alternative to Chinese competitor Instagram*, has not yet shown due success.

Revenue losses amid significant investments in virtual reality technology and the metaverse undermine Meta*'s financial strength. On the latter, the core division of the company lost $10 billion last year. Mark Zuckerberg became a billionaire in 2008, four years after founding Facebook*. Then he was only 23 years old, which allowed Mark to be considered the youngest billionaire to create his fortune from scratch. At that time, Zuckerberg's wealth was estimated at $1.5 billion, by 2011 he was able to increase it almost 12 times to $17.5 billion. to 36th position, but it was a temporary deterioration. By last year, he was able to increase his fortune to $134.5 billion, but this year has been a disappointment for the billionaire from this point of view. The future success of the founder of Meta* will largely depend on the progress of the metaverse.

We add that the first place in the list of the richest people in the United States according to Forbes was taken by Elon Musk, whose fortune is estimated at $ 251 billion. Jeffrey Bezos with a fortune of $ 151 billion was in second place. Bill Gates closes the top three, which has $ 106 billion.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





Chinese rover detects signs of global flooding in the time of ancient Mars.
September 28, 2022

Chinese scientists in the journal Nature published an article in which they reported a significant discovery made by the Zhurong rover in the area of ​​​​its landing on the Utopia plain. According to the georadar placed on board the rover, two severe floods more than 3 and 1.5 billion years ago could have occurred in the area under study. Georadar cannot say for sure whether it was water or lava flows, but circumstantial evidence leads scientists to think about water.

The geological radar aboard the Chinese rover operates in the 11-95 MHz range. The lower the frequency, the deeper the radio waves penetrate below the surface of the planet. True, this reduces the resolution and smaller objects cease to be distinguished by the radar. The installation on Zhurong turned out to be able to distinguish the structure of the subsurface region of Mars at a depth of up to 100 m, which makes it possible to study the geological history of the Red Planet and look for an answer to the question: was there liquid water on it and the possibility for the emergence of biological life?

Radar data collected between May 25 and September 6, 2021, corresponds to a stretch of about 1171 m south of the landing site (as we progressed, the height gradually increased by 8 m or so). The first 10 m of the layer below the surface is regolith (soil formed by weathering or erosion). Below the regolith is the 20th layer with a mass of small boulders, which are most numerous in the lower part of this layer. The next 50 m is another layer with boulders, but already a meter in size. At even greater depths there is basalt.

The structure of the subsurface layer presented by observations suggests that in two prehistoric periods the region was flooded with something on a large scale, as evidenced by accumulations of stones. The first "flood" occurred between 3.5 and 3.2 billion years ago. The last is about 1.6 billion years ago. Scientists do not exclude that lava flows from the volcanoes of young Mars could lead to a similar structure of the layers. However, the encounter of lava with sediment would paint a slightly different picture than the one found by the rover, leading researchers to believe that water existed on ancient Mars.

Another indirect confirmation that there could be water on ancient Mars was the finds of hydrated minerals found on the surface of the planet by other Zhurong scientific instruments. Such minerals are formed when groundwater rises or during the melting of water ice. The rover is now in hibernation, experiencing the Martian winter in the area of ​​work. But soon he will wake up and continue his scientific work.





Unidentified people hacked Fast Company's Apple News account - the publication temporarily disabled the site.
September 28, 2022

An unknown attacker gained unauthorized access to the account of the business magazine Fast Company on the Apple News platform and sent notices of racist and obscene content to subscribers of the publication.

Apple confirmed the incident to its news service on Twitter. The hack was also confirmed by Fast Company itself. “Fast Company's Apple News account was hacked Tuesday night. Two push notifications with obscene and racist content were sent within a minute. The messages are disgusting and do not match Fast Company content. We are investigating the incident, and have also suspended feed updates and closed [website] FastCompany.com [until] we are sure that the situation has been resolved, ”the publication’s Twitter reads.

Shortly before it was shut down, a post appeared on the site, signed “postpixel,” detailing the mechanisms behind the attack and ridiculing the publisher’s attempts to protect publishing tools. The alleged hacker said that he gained access to resources thanks to a single password - it was common to many accounts, including the administrator account.

The hacker also left a link to a forum where data stolen as a result of hacks is traded. Messages about the hacking of the resources of the publication began to appear there two days ago: the attacker promised to publish the data of Fast Company employees and noted that he managed to find the customer base, but he never received access to it. Notices of obscene content came not only to subscribers of the publication, but also to other users of Apple News, according to The Verge. It is noteworthy that the hacker of such an authoritative resource limited himself mainly to hooligan publications, without trying to carry out any financial manipulations with stock markets or cryptocurrencies.





The first passenger hydrogen train in the US will be Swiss-made with Canadian engines and will be launched in 2024.
September 28, 2022

The authorities of the Californian district of San Bernardino have signed a contract for the supply of the first passenger train in the United States powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The rolling stock will be produced by the American branch of the Swiss company Stadler Rail AG, and the engines for them will be supplied by the Canadian company Ballard Power Systems. The first hydrogen trains are expected to run across California in 2024, with up to 25 trains in the future.

A significant part of harmful emissions in developed and developing countries is produced by rail transport. The USA is no exception in this regard. Moreover, they are in the forefront in terms of diesel fuel combustion in locomotives. The transfer of rolling stock to hydrogen fuel cells will significantly reduce the harmful impact on the environment. California, as the most progressive state on the green front, is ready to start this mission first in the USA.

The signed memorandum of understanding provides for the production of four Stadler FLIRT H2 passenger trains for California for intercity transportation for more than 100 passengers each. The contract can be extended to purchase up to 25 trains. Stadler produces several modifications of the FLIRT train from classic diesel to hybrid and all-electric on batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. The manufacturer has sold about 2000 trains of this type to 21 countries of the world, which reflects the colossal experience and reliable developments in the product.

Hydrogen engines under the contract for the first American FLIRT H2 trains will be manufactured by the Canadian company Ballard Power Systems. Under this contract, six 100 kW FCmove-HD+ fuel cell engines will be supplied. In operation, such an engine emits water vapor and condensed water, rather than a wide range of greenhouse gases. This practice has already found some support in Europe, where a dozen or two hydrogen-fueled trains will be put into operation in the near future.





Hacker who hacked into Optus operator base apologizes and waives $1M ransom demand.
September 28, 2022

The optusdata hacker, which claimed to have hacked the computer networks of Australia's second largest mobile operator Optus and stolen the data of 11 million subscribers, withdrew its demand for a $1 million ransom after law enforcement came to grips with it. He also apologized to the 10,200 people whose personal details he posted on the hacker forum.

The operator reported a hack on September 22, 2022. According to him, the attacker could access the personal information of customers, including names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, driver's licenses and passport numbers, but not account passwords or financial information.

On September 23, 2022, a hacker posted a small piece of the stolen data on the Breached hacking forum and demanded that Optus pay him a $1 million ransom under the threat of exposing the data of all 11 million customers. The attacker indicated an account with the Australian Commonwealth Bank (CBA) to send money, which was immediately blocked. However, the operator did not follow the hacker's lead and turned to law enforcement agencies.

In connection with the refusal of the operator to pay, the hacker published on September 26 a large selection of stolen data for 10,000 Optus customers on the same hacker forum, threatening to do this daily for another 10 thousand customers.

However, on September 27, the hacker posted a new message on Breached saying that the stolen data would no longer be sold or shared with anyone due to increased data breach controls. He also stated that he deleted the stolen data from his computer, which held a single copy, and apologized to affected Optus customers and the company.

It is worth noting that there is no official confirmation that the user under the nickname optusdata is really responsible for the Optus hack. It is believed that the decision to stop trying to extort money from the operator was made in response to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) announcement of the launch of Operation Hurricane to identify the threat actors behind the hack and extortion demands.





A bright flash and a plume of fragments: the first pictures of the consequences of the impact of the DART probe on an asteroid were obtained.
September 28, 2022

NASA and a number of terrestrial observatories have published the first images taken at the moment of impact of the NASA DART kamikaze probe on the asteroid Dimorph. The images show a bright flash and the subsequent scattering of fragments, turning the rammed asteroid into a kind of comet.

On Earth, the collision was recorded on September 27. More interesting data came from the LICIACube cubesat, which separated from the DART probe on September 11 and followed it at some distance. There are two cameras on board the cubesat - one with a wide and the second with a narrow field of view. The device must record both the volume of debris ejected as a result of the impact on the asteroid, and will try to take a picture of the resulting impact crater.

The images transmitted by LICIACube show a bright flash at the moment the DART probe collided with the asteroid and a cloud of debris raised by it. The DART probe itself could not capture much on video, although it got close enough to transmit images of 16-meter boulders on the surface of Dimorph. The speed of its approach to the asteroid reached 22,530 km / h, which did not give hope for a lot of pictures in the process of approaching the fatal final for him. Editing shots in DART is shown in the video below.

No less interesting was the view from the outside. The robotic observatory Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) for observing potentially dangerous asteroids near the Earth presented an animated image of the moment the DART hit the asteroid and the subsequent scattering of debris.

The impact and the subsequent change in the brightness of the asteroid Dimorph were recorded by the IPM robotic observatory. M.V. Keldysh RAS. The data collected with the help of the ISON-Kitab observatory located in Uzbekistan confirms an increase in the brightness of the asteroid by 7.5 times (by 2.2m) and its subsequent decrease by 2 times (by 0.8m).

It can be expected that new and more interesting pictures of this event will soon appear, which will remain in the earth's history as the first experimental attempt to repel a threat from space. The James Webb and Hubble space telescopes will have their say in this.

Recall that the asteroid Dimorph with dimensions of about 160 m in diameter and its larger pair Didymus did not represent and do not pose a danger to the Earth. The system was chosen to test the concept of kinetic impact on a celestial body in order to change its trajectory to a safe one. The impact of the DART probe into an asteroid should lead to a noticeable change in the orbit of Dimorph around Didyma, even from Earth. The blow is made, it remains to assess the degree of its impact.





Twitter representatives will try to interrogate Musk in court.
September 27, 2022

Twitter representatives are going to interrogate Elon Musk and ask a series of questions about his sudden decision to withdraw from the company's $44 billion takeover deal. The head of Tesla and SpaceX is considered a difficult witness - when testifying under oath, he has a tendency to attack opponents.

According to court documents, Musk's interrogation was scheduled to begin on Monday and could continue until Wednesday if needed. The day before, the businessman was not called to testify. The date of his call is unknown, the reason for the delay is also not reported.

Musk's eccentric behavior could be a test for Twitter's side: in 2019, at the SolarCity hearing, the businessman refused to answer an opponent's question five times because of the way it was worded.

It is believed that Twitter's lawyers will try to use the interrogation to pass off Musk's decision to pull out of the deal as being dictated by stock market price considerations. Musk wants the court to allow him to do this without penalty, and Twitter is trying to force the defendant to buy the company for $54.20 at the current $41.58.

Hearings will open on October 17 and will last 5 days. Dozens of witnesses will testify at the meetings, including the head of Twitter Parag Agrawal - by the way, he was supposed to testify the day before in the office of one of the law firms representing Musk, but this also did not happen for some reason.





India will force manufacturers to provide smartphones with local analogue GPS support from 2023.
September 26, 2022

The Indian authorities will oblige smartphone manufacturers to make important hardware changes to their products in the coming months. It is reported that models intended for the local market will have to support the NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) regional navigation system created in India from January 2023.

The country continues its course to reduce dependence on foreign navigation systems - for example, there are precedents in the history of GPS when the United States simply turned it off over certain territories in the event of military conflicts. In addition, India claims that NavIC will provide more accurate local navigation. At the same time, the costs of smartphone manufacturers are expected to increase, claiming a presence in the Indian market, the second largest after China.

So far, Russia, China, the USA, the EU and Japan have their own global or regional navigation systems. The share of NavIC, which has been operating since 2018, is minimal. For example, in India it is mandatory for satellite trackers intended for use in local public transport. Nevertheless, the Indian authorities have global ambitions. NavIC support in smartphones for India will be mandatory along with GPS.

In private meetings and discussions with authorities, vendors such as Samsung and Xiaomi have expressed concern that mandatory support for NavIC will inevitably affect the cost of developing and manufacturing smartphones for the Indian market. In addition, the authorities intend to add new bureaucratic requirements for the market from January 1, which can also lead to interruptions in supplies and disruption of planned premieres.

Samsung has reportedly expressed concern that NavIC support will require not only new chipsets, but other new smartphone components and investment in support for devices built specifically for India. These are just some of the problems associated with the possible introduction of a new navigation system in gadgets. Manufacturers are requesting the opportunity to make changes no earlier than 2025. According to Indian government sources, a final decision will be made in the coming days.

Other countries follow a similar approach. In Russia, support for GLONASS gadgets is mandatory, in China, although Beidou support is not mandatory, in 2021 it was reported that 94.5% of Chinese-made smartphones support the national navigation system.

The main participants in the smartphone market in India are Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, as well as other companies, mainly Chinese. Apple accounts for only 3% of the market. The main problem with the new requirements will be for smartphones under $200, since any increase in price in this segment is painfully perceived by buyers.

To buy chipsets, vendors will have to turn to developers like Qualcomm and MediaTek. According to ISRO as of mid-2021, only 12 smartphone models out of about 300 in the Indian market supported NavIC.

However, in early September, MediaTek representatives announced that all new chipsets for 5G smartphones will support NavIC. According to the company's calculations, in the next two years, about 80% of smartphones will be capable of working with 5G. Qualcomm says it has been collaborating with the Indian Space Agency on NavIC implementation for years and will continue to do so in the future.

One of the most important challenges for manufacturers is the need to convince the Indian authorities to move the NavIC to the L1 frequency, already used by GPS, instead of the L5 used now. This would reduce the cost of introducing new solutions. ISRO itself says that this is not yet possible - such functionality will appear only in 2024-2025, as more satellites are launched.





Head of content quits Twitch, coinciding with pay cuts for popular streamers.
September 26, 2022

Twitch Head of Content Constance Knight informed staff of her departure from the company on the same day that the change in streamer rewards policy was announced. In a letter to staff, she stated that she was embarking on "a new adventure that will provide exciting opportunities for growth both professionally and personally." Knight previously held similar roles at Instagram* and YouTube.

Knight resigned after Amazon-owned platform Twitch announced a cut in payouts to top streamers a few days ago. According to the new rules, premium streamers will receive 70% of the income only from the first $100,000, after which their earnings will be reduced to 50%. This change will take effect on or after June 1, 2023 for those whose current contracts are for a longer period. According to Twitch, this innovation will not affect 90% of the platform's streamers, given their current earnings. Company officials refrain from commenting on Knight's resignation.

The announced policy changes have exacerbated fears by current and former Twitch employees that the platform is losing touch with content creators that attract millions of viewers. Although only a small number of streamers receive increased income through a premium subscription, Twitch data suggests that about 22,000 content creators expected to interact with the platform under such conditions. According to the source, Twitch plans to focus on incentivizing streamers to show ad content.

* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





Intel to build advanced chip packaging plant in northern Italy.
September 26, 2022

The Italian government and Intel have chosen the municipality of Vigazio, located near Verona in the Venice region in the northern part of the country, as the preferred site for the construction of a large microchip manufacturing plant. This is just part of Intel's plan, announced last March, to invest 80 billion euros in new manufacturing facilities in Europe over the next ten years.

Initially, investments in the amount of 4.5 billion euros are envisaged for Italy, but in the future they may increase. Intel said that the plant in the country will create 1,500 jobs at the enterprise itself, as well as 3,500 jobs with suppliers and partners of the company. Production will start between 2025 and 2027. In particular, the company will organize the assembly and packaging of chips in accordance with new technological solutions.

The parties detailed the nuances of the agreement in early September. Representatives from Intel and Italian authorities declined to comment as negotiations are ongoing and confidential.

Located near Verona, the commune of Vigazio is located near the highway and the Brenner railway - in addition to it, another site located in the Piedmont region was included in the "short list" of potential construction sites. One of the reasons for choosing Vigasio is the region's connection with Germany, in particular Magdeburg, where, according to sources, Intel intends to build two more factories. It is known that the possibility of building the company's factories in other Italian provinces was also considered earlier.

Close associates of outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi are set to hold behind-the-scenes talks with successors to secure a deal with the semiconductor maker. Earlier it was reported that the official Rome is ready to invest 40% of all planned costs of Intel in Italy. It is necessary that the draft agreement be supported by the new government before the completion of the deal, which will probably announce the deal.

Rome is also known to be in talks with Franco-Italian STMicroelectronics, Taiwanese chip makers MEMC Electronic Materials and TSMC, and Israel's Tower Semiconductor, which Intel acquired earlier this year, to develop the semiconductor industry.





Tomorrow night, the NASA DART kamikaze probe will crash into an asteroid - you can watch it online.
September 26, 2022

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, in which a spacecraft crashes into an asteroid to change its flight path, is coming to its logical conclusion. The DART kamikaze probe will collide with the asteroid Dimorph next night, September 27th.

The DART planetary protection mission is being implemented to test the possibility of changing the flight path of space objects potentially dangerous to the Earth. The kamikaze probe went into flight in November 2021. During his journey, he approached a system of two asteroids located at a distance of about 11 million kilometers from our planet. The Didim and Dimorph objects have different sizes: the diameter of the first is 780 meters, and the second is 160 meters. They do not pose a danger to the Earth, so the DART mission is of purely scientific interest.

A kamikaze probe aims to collide with a smaller asteroid. The 550 kg craft will collide with the Dimorph at 24,000 km/h to try and change its flight path. NASA will broadcast the final stage of the mission online on its website and official social media pages. The probe design includes a Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera (DRACO) navigation camera, which will transmit approximately one image per second as it approaches the collision object. Naturally, after the probe collides with the asteroid, the data from the camera will stop coming.

The online Virtual Telescope Project, led by the Italian astrophysicist and astronomer Gianluca Masi, plans to broadcast online the consequences of the DART probe collision with the Dimorph asteroid using ground-based telescopes. Since its own Virtual Telescope telescopes are not well suited to observe the collision, the project is collaborating with two South African observatories: the Klein Karoo Observatory, operated by amateur astronomer Berto Monard, and Northwestern University's Mahikeng Observatory. Live broadcast of Virtual Telescope will begin on September 27th. Note that the view from ground-based telescopes will not be ideal, since from the surface of our planet the asteroid system appears only as a point in the sky. However, the moment of collision should be indicated by an increase in brightness, which will be noticeable even from the Earth.

It will be possible to consider the results of the collision in more detail later. The fact is that a miniature cubesat light Italian for Imaging of Asteroid (LICIACube) was disconnected from the DART apparatus, which will fly over the collision site three minutes after the impact and take several pictures. They are expected to be published later in the day. It was previously reported that the James Webb and Hubble space telescopes, as well as the Lucy probe, designed to study the Trojan asteroids of Jupiter, will observe the collision of the DART probe with the asteroid.





Elon Musk launches Starlink satellite internet in Iran.
September 26, 2022

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk announced his intention to provide Starlink Internet to Iranian residents. This happened after the US State Department issued the so-called general license. As a rule, such permits are issued in certain cases to provide products and services to individual countries under US sanctions.

It is known that the measures were taken by the US authorities after the start of protests in Iran, after which Iranian regulators took a number of measures to restrict access to Internet services. According to the TeslaRati portal, WhatsApp and LinkedIn have already been blocked in the country, and access to a number of resources is also limited. In response to Musk's announcement, Iranian authorities also blocked access to the Starlink website.

While Starlink has not previously been granted access in Iran, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted that US authorities are issuing a special general license to provide "greater access to digital communications."

On the same day, Musk posted a message: "Activating Starlink ...". A few days before Blinken's statement, the businessman had already announced that he would seek permission from the US authorities to provide Iran with its satellite communications. At the same time, it is not entirely clear how exactly it is planned to provide the inhabitants of Iran with Strlink terminals - it is unlikely that the country's authorities will allow them to be legally imported.

Most recently, US authorities denied Starlink $900 million in government funding to develop Starlink services around the world. SpaceX called the decision "grossly unfair."





Carbon dioxide-derived aviation fuel to be delivered to air carriers in 2024.
September 25, 2022

New York-based startup Air Company is promising to begin commercial shipments of carbon-neutral aviation jet fuel in 2024, which will be produced by capturing carbon dioxide from the air. The most important point of the new development will be the full compatibility of "green" fuel with existing propulsion systems. Planes don't have to be modified.

Air Company has been involved in CO2 capture and utilization technology since 2017. Over the years, vodka, disinfectant liquids, and perfumes have become by-products of pilot production. But the main work of the company remains the mass production of jet fuel based on captured carbon dioxide. Air Company's first "green" aviation fuel was tested in a US Air Force drone flight in August this year.

The successful test flight allowed Air Company to enter into a preliminary contract to supply 95 million liters of Air Company's new "AIRMADE SAF" fuel over five years to JetBlue. A similar contract has also been signed with Virgin Atlantic. To meet these orders, the Air Company began designing factory-capacity production units. Shipment of the first batches of fuel for testing by air carriers is expected in 2023, and commercial deliveries and flights - in 2024.

It should be said that at the first stage, for the production of "green" aviation fuel, "concentrated" carbon dioxide captured during various production processes will be used. It's cheaper than extracting highly rarefied CO2 from the atmosphere, although the Air Company hopes to eventually create commercially viable plants for extracting carbon dioxide from the air.

The captured CO2 is put into a hydrogen reactor where chemical reactions turn it into ready-made aviation fuel in one step. Hydrogen, in turn, the company receives by electrolysis using electricity from renewable sources. Finally, the CO2 for fuel production comes from the ethanol plant. Ethanol is obtained from plants. Aviation fuel is expensive, but 100 percent carbon neutral at all stages of the production of raw materials.

Following the governments of the advanced countries of the world, air carriers have set themselves the goal of achieving zero emissions by 2050. True, 20% of this volume will be fictitious, representing compensation and the purchase of quotas. The use of CO2 jet fuel will help to reduce the percentage of dummy indicators, because this is also a kind of compromise. Even by 2050, such “green” fuel is unlikely to be cheaper than fossil fuels, which means that airlines will overpay for it.





London police arrest teen suspected of hacking - connection to Uber and Rockstar Games incidents not officially confirmed.
September 25, 2022

London police have announced the arrest of a 17-year-old teenager in Oxfordshire. He is suspected of computer hacking and remains in custody, the agency said, but did not provide any other details.

Police officials declined to say what incidents led to the arrest, but some details match the latest high-profile break-ins. Last spring, seven teenagers were arrested and subsequently released, who were defendants in the investigation of the activities of the Lapsus $ hacker group.

Another arrest followed two high-profile incidents: materials related to the GTA VI game under development appeared on the Web - unknown people invaded the developer's network, the Uber service was also subjected to a cyber attack, as a result of which several internal systems of the service were disabled for some time.

After the Uber hack, the company blamed the Lapsus$ group, which has become extremely active over the past year. And the person who published material related to GTA VI stated that the developer was hacked by the person responsible for the attack on Uber. The London police refused to comment and disclose additional details.





TikTok now has the ability to downvote comments.
September 25, 2022

TikTok has debuted a new feature - users now have the ability to "dislike" comments. A thumbs-down icon has appeared next to “likes,” which you can tap to downvote, the platform said.

The short video service started testing dislikes back in April, and now it will be available to all users around the world. A downvote can be canceled by clicking the same icon a second time, and only the disliked user will be able to see that they have done so. Unlike the number of likes, the number of negative ratings is not publicly displayed - it will become a kind of internal tool for moderation, The Verge suggested, although TikTok did not explain what the negative votes would affect. For direct communication with the administration, the ability to leave complaints about comments has been preserved.

The ability to vote against this or that content has long been available on many other sites, for example, on Reddit: for users, this is the most accessible way to express disagreement, and for authors, to evaluate the reaction of the community. Last year, Twitter also began testing dislikes, but this feature has not become publicly available.





In the United States began to build a complex that can remove 5 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per year.
September 24, 2022

In the United States, a new Project Bison project has been launched to directly capture carbon dioxide from the air (DAC) in order to further bury it underground. Los Angeles-based startup CarbonCapture is building a modular plant in Wyoming that will remove up to 5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year from the air by 2030.

The modular plant is expected to start operating next year. In the first phase of the project, about 25 modules will be deployed, capable of removing about 12,000 tons of CO2 from the air per year. In the future, the number of modules will increase.

The process is quite expensive - capturing a ton of carbon dioxide costs more than $600. However, as technology advances, the costs should become lower. The "sorbent cartridges" in the modules, which act as filters to capture carbon dioxide, must be heated for several minutes to about 85 ° C, and this is an energy-intensive process. The authors of the project plan to receive enough energy from new wind and solar installations, but at the initial stage, energy obtained from gas combustion will be used. When Project Bison reaches full capacity in 2030, the system is expected to consume about 2 GW of solar energy per year. For comparison, according to the US Department of Energy, about 3 million photovoltaic panels together produce 1 GW of solar energy.

CarbonCapture is partnering with Dallas-based startup Frontier Carbon Solutions, which is tasked with storing the mined carbon. Project Bison will be the first direct carbon capture project in the US to use "Class VI wells" designed specifically for permanent CO2 storage. The subsurface geology in Wyoming allows the CO2 generated from the capture process to be stored in situ near the modules. The authors of the project are considering the possibility of storing carbon dioxide at a depth of 12,000 feet (3657 m).

Another similar project has been launched in Texas (USA), and as part of it, the world's first large-scale DAC plant is being built. One of its developers is the oil company Occidental. It is assumed that the plant will eventually remove 1 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year. It could start operating as early as 2024. As with Bison, the capacity of the CO2 capture plant will increase as it expands.





US, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan work together to prevent China from becoming a leader in the semiconductor industry.
September 24, 2022

Leading semiconductor manufacturing countries, including the US, are forming alliances to protect their chip supply chains and prevent China from becoming a leader in the industry, according to Western media reports. It is noted that the United States, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan are actively working to organize partnerships around critical technologies.

According to experts, the main reason for such activities is to confront China. The union of the allied countries also shows how important the chips are for the economy and national security of states.

Semiconductors are a critical technology as they are used in many products ranging from smartphones to cars. In the modern world, they are also critical in other industries, including the field of artificial intelligence and the defense industry. The importance of chips was clearly demonstrated during the coronavirus pandemic, when downtime at semiconductor manufacturing facilities led to a shortage of such products around the world.

The global shortage of chips has made it clear to the governments of several countries how important it is to ensure the continuous production of semiconductor products. In the United States, under President Joseph Biden, the authorities are pushing for the need to move chip production from abroad to the country.

The semiconductor supply chain is quite complex and includes several stages, from design to packaging and production. For the organization of such production requires sophisticated equipment. For example, ASML, based in the Netherlands, is the only company in the world that creates equipment for the production of state-of-the-art chips. The US, while strong in many market segments, has lost its dominance in the semiconductor industry. Over the past 15 years, Taiwanese TSMC and South Korean Samsung have become leaders in the production of advanced chips. Intel is the largest American player in the market, but the company is far from being an industry leader.

Due to the complexity of the chip supply chain, no country can handle this alone. Therefore, in recent years there has been a trend towards partnerships between countries in the semiconductor industry. In this regard, the American authorities are actively working together with allies from South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. In addition, semiconductors are a key part of US cooperation with India, Japan and Australia. The US has also proposed a "Chip 4" alliance to South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, which are major semiconductor suppliers.

Each of the countries has its own advantages for the development and production of chips. However, the desire for such a partnership has another common feature - the absence of China in the supply chain. In essence, these alliances are created to isolate China from global supply chains. According to some experts, in the short term, China's development in this segment will be seriously limited.

"The purpose of these efforts is to prevent China from developing the ability to produce advanced chips domestically," said Paul Triolo, head of technology policy at consulting firm Albright Stonebridge, referring to international partnerships in the semiconductor industry.

In recent years, China has invested heavily in developing its own semiconductor industry in an effort to increase self-sufficiency and reduce dependence on foreign companies. Experts believe that this will be extremely difficult to do due to the complexity of supply chains and the concentration of technology in the hands of a small number of countries and companies. China is improving in many areas, including chip design, but it is still heavily dependent on foreign tools and equipment. Even China's largest chipmaker, SMIC, is far behind TSMC and Samsung in terms of technology.

The source notes that not all US partners are keen to further restrict China's access to technology and supply chains. This is largely due to the fact that many companies have production sites in the Middle Kingdom, and the country's market plays an important role in their business. China, the world's largest importer of chips, is a key market for semiconductor manufacturers from around the world, from US-based Qualcomm to South Korean Samsung.

“Not all US allies are keen to enter into these alliances or expand their control over technology that is supplied to China, as they have large shares in both manufacturing in China and sales in the Chinese market. Most of them do not want to clash with Beijing on these issues,” Triolo said.





Alibaba to Spend $1 Billion on Cloud Customer Support to Drive Service Back to Growth.
September 23, 2022

Alibaba said it will provide $1 billion worth of support to its cloud service customers over the next three fiscal years, a measure the company believes will help restart growth in the area, which has slowed due to macroeconomic and other factors.

The program provides "financial and non-financial incentives such as investment, rebates and market entry assistance," Alibaba said in a press release from CNBC. The company also announced the launch of a program to localize the cloud resources necessary for business, depending on the market.

Alibaba is the world's third largest cloud provider after Microsoft and Amazon. Cloud services make up a small portion of the company's business, but management sees them as a critical component to growth and profit prospects. Alibaba's work is hampered by two powerful factors: the weakening of the Chinese economy with the return of the pandemic and the tightening of the regulatory framework in the country. Because of this, in the quarter from April to June, revenue growth remained significant for the first time in the company's history. Weakened quarterly dynamics in the cloud division of Alibaba.

Finally, customer support will facilitate expansion into the overseas market. Over the past few years, Alibaba has opened several data centers outside of China to attract customers in Singapore and Thailand.





Meta* sued for secret collection of user data - the company bypassed Apple's privacy policy.
September 23, 2022

A lawsuit has been filed in San Francisco federal court accusing Meta* (which owns Facebook* and Instagram*) of violating Apple's privacy policy and violating federal and California laws that restrict unauthorized collection of personal data. The lawsuit may receive the status of a class, last week the same court received a similar lawsuit on the same charges.

The lawsuits stemmed from research conducted by data privacy expert Felix Krause, who found that the Facebook* and Instagram* mobile apps for Apple iOS added JavaScript code to every page users opened. The code, according to Krause, allows apps to track "everything you do on any website," including entering passwords. There is no option in the application settings that allows you to open links through the default browser installed in the system, that is, it is impossible to avoid surveillance.

Meta* has denied all allegations. “These accusations are baseless and we will actively defend our position. We designed our in-app browser out of respect for user privacy choices, including how data can be used for advertising,” a Meta* spokesperson told MacRumors.

The plaintiffs allege that the collection of user data through the Meta* apps circumvents Apple's privacy policy introduced in 2021 - updated rules require user consent to be obtained before tracking their activities online or offline. According to Meta*’s own calculations, in 2022 alone, the company will lose $10 billion in advertising revenue because of this. The circumvention of Apple's privacy policy is manifested in the fact that links to external resources from the Facebook* and Instagram* applications open in the built-in browser, and not the default one on the system, the latest lawsuit says.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





After NVIDIA Deal Fails, Arm Seeks Partnerships with Samsung and Others.
September 22, 2022

SoftBank Group founder and CEO Masayoshi Son has announced an upcoming meeting with Samsung Electronics executives to discuss forming a "strategic alliance" between Korean manufacturer and SoftBank-owned chip developer Arm. Other interested manufacturers will also be able to join this alliance.

The upcoming visit of the billionaire to Seoul will be the first in three years. “I would like to speak with Samsung about a strategic alliance with Arm,” Mr. Son said in a statement. Earlier, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Samsung Jay Y. Lee spoke about the possibility of such a meeting, reminded Reuters.

SoftBank acquired Arm in 2016 for $32 billion, a British company that designs processor architectures that are used in almost all modern smartphones and many other devices. In 2020, NVIDIA wanted to buy the chipmaker, but the takeover attempt faced opposition from the industry and government regulators, so SoftBank set a course to bring Arm to the US stock market.

A takeover of Arm by one of the big players will not suit the rest, so the decision was reportedly made to create an industry consortium that would guarantee Arm's neutrality and become a vehicle for investment in the company. Industry participants interested in buying Arm's stake will be able to do so at a discounted pre-IPO price, BNK Investment & Securities analyst Lee Min-hee suggested.

Samsung Electronics appears to be the least likely bidder for a sole purchase of Arm - the Korean manufacturer produces many processors on this architecture as a contractor. Now customers are happy with everything, and they would not want to lose confidence in the Korean brand and stop doing business with it, fearing the disclosure of trade secrets, writes Business Korea.

In addition to Samsung, an alliance with Arm could include Intel, whose CEO Pat Gelsinger expressed interest in buying Arm along with other companies in February. A similar statement was made in March by Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of SK hynix Park Jung-ho.

Arm's only problematic partner right now is Qualcomm, with the companies now suing over alleged licensing violations. The controversy could overshadow Arm's entry into the stock market, having a negative impact on the share price.





In the United States introduced a lithographic installation with a resolution of 0.7 nm.
September 22, 2022

Zyvex Labs has announced the ZyvexLitho1 electronic lithography system with the world's highest resolution of 768 picometers. To understand the scale, this is approximately equal to the width of two silicon atoms. The installation is based on the laws of quantum physics and is intended primarily for the production of quantum processors.

“There are many challenges associated with building a scalable quantum computer. We firmly believe that high-precision manufacturing is essential to realize the full potential of quantum computing,” said Prof. Michelle Simmons, the world's leading quantum computing expert. “We are very excited about the introduction of the ZyvexLitho1, the first commercially available tool to achieve atomically precise lithography.”

The ZyvexLitho1 is based on scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) principles and devices that Zyvex Labs has been perfecting since 2007. But unlike conventional scanning tunneling microscopes, the ZyvexLitho1 includes numerous automation features and capabilities not found in any commercial STM. Zyvex Labs is now accepting orders for the ZvyvexLitho1 systems, which will ship in approximately 6 months.

One of the key elements of the ZyvexLitho1 installation is the ZyVector 20-bit digital process control system with low electronic noise and low latency. Thanks to ZyVector, users of the facility will be able to create atomically precise templates for solid-state quantum devices and other nanodevices and materials. Also included in the complete ZyvexLitho1 package is a ScientaOmicron ultra-high vacuum STM, already configured for fabrication of quantum devices.

The developers emphasize that the creation of ZyvexLitho1 would be difficult without the support of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Department of Defense), the Office of Army Research and the Advanced Manufacturing Administration of the Department of Energy. Quantum computers and devices for quantum communication are named as one of the main ones for the national security of all the leading countries of the world, and the interest of the military in them is obvious.





Google co-founder's air taxi fails to take off - startup Kittyhawk shuts down.
September 22, 2022

Founded by Google co-founder Larry Page, Kittyhawk, a startup that developed small electric-powered aircraft for passenger transportation (air taxis), has announced its closure. "We're still working out the possibilities for what's to come," the company said in a statement on LinkedIn.

Kittyhawk was founded in 2010 under the name Zee.Aero, when Mr. Page was joined by Sebastian Thrun, who previously worked at Google on self-driving cars and other experimental projects. At the new location, he began working on electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. In 2017, the company showed a video of one of its cars, and Mr. Thrun then said that someday people will be able to order flying cars on the Lyft or Uber apps.

In 2018, Kittyhawk showed a prototype of the Flyer flying car - it was single-seat and had a range of 32 km, and Thrun expressed the hope that such vehicles will begin regular flights within five years. The following year, the company announced a strategic partnership with Boeing - the joint venture was called Wisk Aero. In 2020, Kittyhawk announced its intention to close the Flyer project in order to focus on the Heaviside air taxi.

Kittyhawk stressed that the termination of the company's activities will not affect the future work of Wisk Aero, nor will it cancel Boeing's obligations to the joint venture.





French ArianeGroup will create a reusable spacecraft SUSIE for autonomous and manned missions.
September 21, 2022

French aerospace company ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran, has announced the development of a reusable space system that is designed to carry out manned and autonomous missions on Arianespace rockets in low Earth orbit and the Moon. The project was presented at the International Astronautical Congress, which is taking place this week in Paris.

The concept includes the SUSIE (Smart Upper Stage for Innovative Exploration) reusable craft designed for use with the Ariane 6 launch vehicle, which should also become reusable in the coming years.

“SUSIE is a fully reusable rocket stage project. It will be able to go into space and perform many different missions there - whether they are automatic or manned missions - and return to Earth, ”the ArianeGroup said in a recent message.

The manned version of SUSIE will be able to accommodate up to five astronauts, and the ship's carrying capacity can vary depending on the needs of customers. It is assumed that after completing the assigned tasks in space, SUSIE will be able to return to Earth, making a soft landing. After that, the necessary maintenance and preparation for the next flights will be carried out. The ArianeGroup believes that the ship is suitable for a variety of missions, including those related to maintaining satellites, building orbital facilities, working with space debris and sending emergency supplies to astronauts.

“This is a project based on all the existing innovations of ArianeGroup and European industry. It is in line with current and future technological developments in space transportation and reusability,” said Morena Bernardini, Head of Strategy and Innovation at ArianeGroup.





NASA has reported a problem with the most sensitive instrument of the telescope "James Webb"
September 21, 2022

NASA has published a report stating that there are problems with the James Webb telescope's scientific instrument, the Mid-Infrared Camera (MIRI). This is the most sensitive instrument of the space telescope, which is the only one on board that is forced to cool.

While preparing for the August 24 observations, the MIRI camera's filter wheel "experienced increased friction." To find ways to stop the anomaly, NASA convened a scientific council on September 6. The camera itself and other scientific instruments of the telescope, as well as its onboard equipment, are working normally.

As for the problem node, this is a wheel with a set of filters. Depending on the choice of filter, the light passing through the field of view of the MRS spectrometer and the MIRI camera (both devices are in the same optical channel) is filtered by wavelengths from short to long. The problem is noted on the spectrograph, while the camera works without deviations. The spectrometer allows you to learn about the objects in the field of view such details as the chemical composition and allows you to draw a conclusion about a number of observed physical phenomena. For example, medium-resolution spectroscopy (MRS) makes it possible to look for signs of life in the atmospheres of exoplanets.

The MIRI assembly, which includes the spectrometer and filter wheel, is forcibly cooled to 7 K, just a few degrees above the temperature to which matter can be cooled. Thanks to this node, the James Webb telescope has become much more sensitive and takes sharper images of distant objects. Let's hope that NASA experts will develop an algorithm for the best use of the device in the current conditions.

We also recall that the telescope received damage to one of the segments of the main mirror from a micrometeorite hit. It was not possible to fully compensate for the damage, although it is not critical. But if the MIRI filter assembly fails, then we will lose many revolutionary scientific discoveries. Telescope components are not subject to repair. It is located at a distance of 1.5 million km from the Earth. There are no modern means of delivering astronauts to such distances.





Uber blames Lapsus$ hacker group for recent attack on its IT systems.
September 21, 2022

Uber Technologies said a hacker associated with the Lapsus$ group was involved in a recent attack on the company's IT systems. The group gained notoriety last year when it carried out a series of successful attacks on the information systems of large companies, including NVIDIA, Microsoft, Samsung and Vodafone. Earlier this year, London police arrested several members of Lapsus$, all of them teenagers.

This incident occurred a few days before the attack on Rockstar Games, as a result of which the attacker stole a large number of gameplay videos and the source code of the GTA VI game. Both incidents are united by the fact that the hacker who attacked Rockstar said that he was the one who successfully penetrated Uber's internal network a few days ago.

Uber is reportedly continuing to investigate the cybersecurity incident with the FBI and the US Department of Justice. It is assumed that before the attack, the attacker stole the corporate data of the Uber contractor, having previously carried out an attack on its systems. After that, the hacker repeatedly tried to log in to the company's internal network with stolen data, but thanks to two-factor authentication, it was not possible to do this, because the compromised employee rejected authentication requests.

Ultimately, the employee accepted the authentication request, which gave the attacker access to Uber's internal systems. Later, he was able to access the records of some other employees of the company, as well as internal tools such as G Suite and Slack. It is noted that the hacker discovered himself by writing a message about the hacking directly in the Uber corporate chat in Slack. After that, Uber management temporarily banned employees from using compromised systems. The company noted that as a result of the hacker attack, the confidential data of the company's customers were not affected. The investigation into the incident continues.





The American regulator considered Ethereum American, since most of the validators are located in the USA.
September 21, 2022

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated that all transactions on the Ethereum network are made in the United States. This is stated in the statement of claim (PDF) of the department against a member of the cryptocurrency community Jan Balina Ian Balina.

The lawsuit against Mr. Balina was filed on September 19 - he is accused of violating the law while promoting the ICO (initial offering) of the Sparkster cryptocurrency in 2018 - then $ 30 million was raised from 4 thousand investors. The U.S. jurisdiction over all Ethereum blockchain transactions in the department was explained by the fact that network validators are grouped more densely here than in other states.

The lawsuit, in part, states that transactions from investors attracted by the defendant “were verified by a network of Ethereum blockchain nodes, which are clustered more densely in the United States than in any other country. So these transactions took place in the United States."

According to the Etherscan service, over 46% of Ethereum nodes are currently hosted in the US, and this is indeed the largest proportion of any country. The second place in the ranking is occupied by Germany with more than 18% of nodes, and the third is held by Russia with 5% of nodes. On September 15, the blockchain radically changed the algorithm, refusing the services of miners to certify transactions - now this task is assigned to the validators, who left a deposit to confirm their good faith.





China tests detonation hypersonic engine that runs on coal.
September 20, 2022

In a series of experiments, Chinese scientists demonstrated the operation of an engine for hypersonic aircraft, the fuel for which is ethylene vapor mixed with coal powder. At the start, the exhaust from the nozzles of such an engine is similar to the smoke from the chimney of a steam locomotive, but in general, such fuel will be 20% more efficient and cleaner than alternative mixtures.

For the first time, Russian scientists proposed to use coal powder for rocket detonation "explosive" engines about ten years ago. True, experts from the Russian Academy of Sciences recommended using liquid hydrogen as the basis for fuel. But liquid hydrogen is a complex system of onboard storage and transport of fuel cooled to ultra-low temperatures. Therefore, the Chinese went further and switched to ethylene, or rather its vapors, which are also suitable for igniting fuel and starting a continuous series of its detonations. This greatly simplified the fuel system.

In experiments, physicists at the Nanjing University of Science and Technology showed that the speed of the shock wave in the engine on coal powder and ethylene vapor reaches a speed of 2 thousand m/s, which is six times the speed of sound. Importantly, the researchers launched the engine prototype over a wide range of temperatures under conditions of oxygen deficiency and excess. In all cases, the prototype showed stable launch and detonation series. This means that this type of engine and fuel mixture will be suitable for flying at different speeds and altitudes. For example, a hypersonic aircraft with such an engine will be able to take off and land at conventional airfields at low speeds, which is impossible or difficult to implement for other types of hypersonic engines.

The same team of scientists in May of this year announced the development of a detonation hypersonic engine using kerosene and ethylene, which is also an efficient and environmentally friendly fuel. Another group of Chinese specialists is developing hypersonic ammonia engines capable of flying at speeds up to Mach 10. Also, the Chinese are developing a boron, which will allow hypersonic aircraft to move not only in the air, but even under water. This allows us to state that China, like Russia, has mastered the development of hypersonic engines to a first approximation, but is not going to stop there.





Chinese CAS Space will enter the suborbital tourism market: everything is like Blue Origin, only cheaper.
September 20, 2022

Yang Yiqiang, a veteran of the Chinese space industry and founder of the private company CAS Space, said that the country's first suborbital tourist flight will take place no later than 2025. By 2027, suborbital tourism in China will flourish and become cheaper than the offers of the American companies Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. Suborbital flights will be available to most people, which will make them in demand.

Test flights of a suborbital tourist ship without a crew, CAS Space plans to begin next year. The scheme is similar to that proposed by Blue Origin. A rocket with a passenger capsule launches vertically and, after the capsule reaches an altitude of about 100 km, makes a vertical landing on its own engines. The capsule with passengers performs a flight by inertia for about 10 minutes, during which tourists are in zero gravity, after which it lands on parachutes.

Unfortunately, Blue Origin does not disclose ticket prices for this attraction. Initially, it was assumed that the flight would cost 250,000. At the same time, the first tourist paid $ 2.8 million at the auction for the right to rise to the border of space and the Earth's atmosphere. Virgin Galactic also seeks to make suborbital tourism more accessible, providing the rise of a capsule with passengers by a carrier aircraft on a spaceplane, which then sits on its wings and engine on the runway. One seat on the spaceplane costs tourists $450,000.

According to the Chinese company CAS Space, one ticket on its suborbital ship will cost from 2 to 3 million yuan, which is equivalent to $ 285-427 thousand. It can be expected that as space tourism develops, ticket prices will fall, but there are only two or three offers is unlikely to make this process fast and noticeable before 2025 and even before 2027. Therefore, the appearance of Chinese players on the market gives hope that the rapid development of the industry and almost unlimited financial injections into the space industry of the Celestial Empire will push the development of suborbital, and then space tourism far ahead.





The American regulator indicated that Ethereum has become like a security, which has collapsed the cryptocurrency rate.
September 20, 2022

Ethereum, the world's second largest cryptocurrency, continues to fall in price after the long-awaited “merger” update, which resulted in the blockchain changing the Proof-of-Work algorithm to Proof-of-Stake. This was facilitated by the statement of the head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Gary Gensler, who believes that the transition to a new algorithm may be sufficient grounds for recognizing "ether" as a security.

A major update to the Ethereum network took place last week, as a result of which miners were replaced by validators, network participants who left at least 32 Ethereum coins as collateral. These assets have moved to a business address where they cannot be bought or sold. Collateralized tokens work like lottery tickets: the larger the pledge, the more likely it is to receive a winning ticket, as a result of which the block will be recorded in the “digital ledger” of the Ethereum network, and its owner will be rewarded. This means that with the new algorithm, the determining indicator is not computing power, but the amount of pledged assets.

The SEC believes the transition to Proof-of-Stake means that people who invest in Ether and leave their assets as collateral treat their assets as something resembling securities, and not as to cryptocurrency. This is especially true in light of the fact that very few people use Ethereum to pay for real-world purchases. In particular, this position was supported by the head of the SEC, Mr. Gensler.

“From the point of view of the coin, <…> this is another sign that, according to the Howey test, investors expect profits based on the effort of others,” Gensler said. The Howey Test was developed by the US Supreme Court to determine whether a financial transaction is an investment in a security. It is considered positive if four conditions are met: funds are invested, the investor expects to receive a profit, investments are made in a common enterprise, the expected profit is related to the activities of other persons.

This position of the official in relation to Ethereum did not add optimism to crypto investors. As a result, the exchange rate accelerated the fall that began after the transition to the Proof-of-Stake algorithm. Last week, before the "merger", the price of Ethereum reached $1740, now the second most popular cryptocurrency in the world is trading around $1350, and a little earlier the rate fell even below $1300. Since the switch last Thursday, the exchange rate has fallen by about 15%.

In addition to Ethereum, the Proof-of-Stake algorithm is currently used by Cardano and Solana cryptocurrencies. At the same time, during 2022, Cardano fell in price by 80% compared to the maximum indicators of the previous year, and Solana - by 78%.





Two earthquakes hit Taiwan: there is destruction, but semiconductor production survived.
September 19, 2022

The island of Taiwan has experienced two earthquakes in the past two days, ranging in magnitude from 5.9 to 6.8 on the Richter scale. The epicenters are located in the eastern and southeastern parts of the island, respectively, and although bridges and roads were destroyed in their immediate vicinity, the infrastructure associated with the production of semiconductor products was not damaged. Local businesses can continue to produce it without interruption.

According to UMC CFO Chi-tung Liu, some of the company's production lines were automatically shut down at the time of the tremors, but they returned to normal operation this morning. As a rule, such incidents can lead to the fact that some of the processed products become unsuitable for further use, but so far manufacturers are in no hurry to report damage.

Representatives of the Ministry of Economy of Taiwan, located in Hsinchu, Taichung and Tainan, specialized technology parks were not particularly affected. The water and electricity supply to the relevant industries did not stop either, which is critical for maintaining their continuous operation. TSMC, Micron Taiwan, Siliconware and AUO reported no earthquake damage. After a devastating natural disaster in 1999, the Taiwanese authorities impose special seismic requirements on the objects under construction on the island - they must withstand tremors of magnitude up to 6 on the Richter scale.

Chip makers in Taiwan weathered the quake relatively well, according to TrendForce. Even if memory manufacturers had to resort to emergency shutdowns, stocks of finished products built up due to reduced demand will help ensure uninterrupted supply. LCD panel manufacturers were also not significantly affected by the quake, as they, too, are suffering from oversupplied warehouses, lowering the capacity of factories in Taiwan. Some enterprises were stopped even before the earthquakes for planned repairs and modernization. A similar situation is observed in the segment of production of passive electronic components.





Gorgeous transitional spiral galaxy.
September 18, 2022

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released a stunning image of an object designated NGC 1961. The image was transmitted to Earth from the Hubble Space Telescope.

The named structure is located at a distance of approximately 180 million light-years from us in the constellation Giraffe. NGC 1961 is a transitional spiral galaxy that, when classified, falls into the region between barred and unbarred spiral galaxies.

In addition, NGC 1961 has an active core: processes take place here, accompanied by the release of a huge amount of energy. Moreover, this cannot be explained by the activity of individual stars and gas-dust complexes. It is believed that in the "heart" of such a galaxy there is a supermassive black hole, which is the source of radiation of increased intensity.





U.S. Court of Appeals reinstates Texas law banning social media from moderating content based on political opinions.
September 18, 2022

The United States Court of Appeals upheld a law passed in the state of Texas the day before, which prohibits social network administrations from moderating users' posts because of political views, as well as blocking users themselves for similar reasons. The administrations of social networks warn that the presence of dangerous content on the platforms may increase.

The unanimous decision of the three judges of the Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans leaves the country's Supreme Court the opportunity to determine the fate of the law, which, according to its authors and supporters, is necessary for tech giants to stop suppressing the expression of political views of some users on the platforms.

The document was passed by the Texas legislature and signed by the governor last September. After that, its action was repeatedly suspended and resumed by decisions of courts of various instances. Opponents were the human rights organization NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which includes Facebook*, Twitter and YouTube. They seek to retain the right to moderate content at their discretion in cases where user posts, in the opinion of platform administrators, can lead to manifestations of violence. The law, they are sure, will untie the hands of extremists: Nazis, terrorists and governments of countries hostile to the United States.

The Texas law prohibits social media administrators with more than 50 million monthly active users from censoring users based on their point of view, and allows social media users or the state's attorney general to sue to enforce it. In May, the Eleventh US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta blocked a similar law in Florida, arguing that it violates the right of social media owners to free speech. Since the decisions of the Fifth and Eleventh courts contradict each other, the losers in the latter case get grounds to appeal to the US Supreme Court.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





Security research: through the webcam, you can read the text on the screen by the reflection in the glasses.
September 18, 2022

Researchers from the University of Michigan in the US and Zhejiang University in China conducted a study that shows the possibility of inadvertent disclosure of confidential information on a computer screen due to the reflection in users' glasses. For now, interception is limited to 28pt (10mm) fonts, but as laptop cameras improve, smaller text will be able to be read.

The results of the research were reported in the article "Private Eye: On the Limits of Textual Screen Peeking through Eyeglass Reflections in Video Conferencing", which is available at the link on the ArXiv website. “Our work explores and characterizes viable threat models based on optical attacks using multi-frame super-resolution techniques for video frame sequences,” the scientists explain in their paper.

Under controlled laboratory conditions, a 720p camera was able to reconstruct and recognize screen texts about 10mm high with over 75% accuracy, which corresponds to a font size of 28 pt. This font is commonly used for headings and presentations. Obviously, in this case, the employer will be able to control what remote employees do, and there is also a security threat during negotiations.

It can be expected that neural networks will have their say in recognizing images on screens by reflection in glasses. Therefore, the threat cannot be treated coolly. Scientists advise developers of applications for teleconferencing to create filters for blurring the images of glasses, as they offer their own unique algorithm for this purpose.





Suborbital spaceplane development in China funded by science foundation for the first time.
September 18, 2022

It is no secret that everything related to hypersonic flights is primarily of interest to the military. At the same time, the civilian use of hypersound will lead to rapid intercontinental travel, as well as suborbital and space tourism. For such purposes, China is developing a hypersonic suborbital space plane, the project of which is for the first time supported not by the military, but by the civil Science Foundation of China.

Chinese sources say that on September 7, the National Natural Science Foundation of China approved an undisclosed amount of funding for a suborbital transport project to deploy a hypersonic transport system. The project participants undertake to create a reusable passenger suborbital aircraft for 10 passengers by 2035. By 2045, an aircraft for 100 passengers will be presented. In each case, we are talking about flights at speeds above Mach 5. Passengers or cargo can be delivered anywhere in the world in about one hour.

A similar project by SpaceX involves the delivery of passengers from one point on Earth to another using reusable Starship rockets. The project should be implemented by 2028, although given the regular “breakfasts” of the owner of the company, Elon Musk, this could happen much later, if at all.

In the case of the Chinese project, passengers will be delivered from airports, not from spaceports. The Chinese hypersonic transport will be lifted by a reusable carrier aircraft (or rocket boosters) to a height of about 100 km, after which the transport will separate and, at an altitude of 120 km, switch to hypersonic speed. The landing of the space plane will also be carried out at the airfield.

To implement such a revolutionary project requires a lot of parallel development and work. Such work is already underway. For example, at the end of August, China for the first time conducted a test launch of a self-developed suborbital return space rocket, and even earlier in August launched a reusable test spacecraft. There are also advances with hypersound. In July, Chinese scientists reported the successful test flight of a hypersonic transport missile that combined rocket and breathable hypersonic engines.

In conclusion, we note that when promoting hypersound, China relies on "breathing" engines, which do not need an oxygen supply on board to operate. The rocket captures the oxygen necessary for the combustion reaction from the surrounding atmosphere during the flight, which leaves more room for cargo and passengers. The SpaceX rocket cannot boast of such a thing. She will carry all the oxygen in her tanks.





With the transition of Ethereum to a new algorithm, the popularity of the Ravencoin cryptocurrency has grown.
September 15, 2022

After the long-awaited Merge update took place on the Ethereum network, and the blockchain changed from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), other cryptocurrencies began to grow in popularity, as many miners who remained out of work began to look for alternatives.

One of the leaders was the Ravencoin token, which showed decent dynamics even against the backdrop of Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Shiba Inu and Bitcoin: miners began a massive transition to a new cryptocurrency, and two weeks before the Merge, from September 1 to September 15, the hash rate of this blockchain increased by 541 %. In addition, over the past week, the digital asset itself has risen in price by 75%, which is increasingly being considered by miners as a replacement for Ethereum after its transition to PoS. Today, miners are faced with a simple choice: either abandon the traditional ways of mining cryptocurrency and become PoS validators, or switch to other blockchains.

Another positive factor for Ravencoin was the official announcement of the FTX crypto exchange on September 12 about the release of perpetual asset futures - investors got the opportunity to earn money by predicting its rate. The blockchain itself was launched in 2018 based on the PoW model - it is an alternative to Ethereum, offering tools for decentralized applications and the possibility of issuing NFTs. The token is currently trading around $0.06 and has a market capitalization of $710 million, ranking 60th among all cryptocurrencies.





The EU wants to oblige manufacturers of electronic devices to strengthen measures to protect them from hacking.
September 15, 2022

The EU may pass a law on cybersecurity, which will oblige manufacturers of any digital equipment with Internet access to ensure its protection from hacking. The European Commission insists on the adoption of this document, the Associated Press agency writes.

According to the EU, cyber attacks occur every 11 seconds. And as calculated in 2021, the annual damage from them is about 5.5 trillion euros. The European Commission notes that hundreds of millions of electronic devices, including smartphones, computers, cars, household appliances, even toys, do not have adequate protection against hacking. Most of these products are not regulated by any safety regulations. The Cyber ​​Security Act, unveiled Thursday in Brussels, aims to increase the protection of electronic devices with online access from malicious external influences.

The Commission believes that the new law will not only reduce the number of attacks, but will also benefit consumers by improving data protection and privacy.

According to Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, most hardware and software products are not currently subject to any cybersecurity obligations. If the law is passed, manufacturers will have to take cybersecurity into account when designing and developing their devices. Businesses will be responsible for the safety of devices for the entire expected life of the products, but no less than five years. Market authorities will have the power to confiscate or recall non-compliant devices and penalize companies that do not comply with the new rules.





California Twitter data center out of service due to extreme heat.
September 15, 2022

On September 5, extreme heat brought down a Twitter data center in California. According to a memo seen by CNN, Twitter lost access to its data center (DPC) in Sacramento (SMF) "due to extreme weather conditions" - the temperature in the city reached a record high of +45 ° C.

"An unprecedented event resulted in a complete shutdown of physical equipment at the SMF," according to a memo attributed to vice president of engineering Carrie Fernandez. While Twitter has backup data centers in Atlanta and Portland that can handle the traffic handled by the social network, the loss of the Sacramento data center has put it in a potentially dangerous position due to the risk of failure.

“If we lose one of the remaining data centers, we will not be able to serve traffic to all Twitter users,” Fernandez warned in a memo. In addition, a complaint filed by former head of Twitter security Peiter Zatko with US regulators questions the resilience of the Twitter data center, citing "cascading issues."

The heat wave this year has already led to failures in the London data centers of Google and Oracle. In the first case, there was a failure in the cooling system, resulting in a temporary outage of several company services, and in the second case, the operator was forced to turn off part of the infrastructure in order to prevent uncontrolled equipment failures. It is reported that because of the abnormal heat, London data centers were forced to pour water on equipment on the roof in order to somehow reduce its temperature.

According to the 2020 Uptime Institute study, The gathering storm: Climate change and datacenter resiliency, extreme temperatures pose a growing threat to data centers. “Rising summer temperatures have made cooling many data centers more difficult, and the situation is likely to get worse in the coming years,” it says.

In addition to reducing the stability of operation, high temperatures can also lead to an increase in the cost of maintaining a data center. “Rising the outdoor temperature by as little as +4°F (+2°C) can make air supply and evaporation systems inefficient on their own, and in some situations uneconomical,” the study says.






The court rejected the appeal of Google against the fine of the European Commission, reducing it to €4.1 billion.
September 15, 2022

The Court of General Jurisdiction of the European Union dismissed Google's appeal against a fine imposed by the European Commission in 2018 for violating antitrust laws by imposing "illegal restrictions" on Android phone makers to promote its mobile search engine.

The court upheld the vast majority of the European Commission's arguments, but reduced the fine to €4.1 billion on the grounds that Google's revenue-sharing schemes with manufacturers were not evidence of abuse of its market dominance, and that the company's right to a fair the trial was partially disrupted.

"The EU Court of General Jurisdiction largely upholds the panel's ruling that Google imposed unlawful restrictions on Android mobile device manufacturers and mobile network operators in order to reinforce its search engine's dominance," the Luxembourg-based EU court said in a statement.

This confirmation of the European Commission is a serious blow to Google and strengthens the position of the EU antitrust regulator, headed by Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager.

However, Google retains the right to challenge the decision again, this time to the bloc's highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union. Google will be able to appeal the decision of the European Court of General Jurisdiction in two months and ten days.





Fundamental science will “turn green”: physicists think about the energy-efficient production of Higgs bosons.
September 14, 2022

The time for cheap energy has passed, which requires scientific research in particle physics to be up to date. Modern instruments for studying particles and, above all, various accelerators, consume so much energy that they have a detrimental environmental impact on the environment. This leads to a strong opinion that all future accelerator designs should be subject to the strictest environmental impact assessment.

The accelerator complex at CERN, whose crown jewel is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), consumes 200 MW at peak, about a third of the consumption of nearby Geneva, with a population of about 200,000. In the future, CERN intends to create an even more powerful tool for the study of the Higgs boson and other elementary particles - the Future Circular Collider (FCC) with a circumference of 100 km. It is also called the "Higgs factory". This will enormously increase the energy consumption of the complex, which makes us think about the future energy efficiency of experiments.

The FCC project has not yet been approved, which makes it possible to evaluate the proposed options in terms of environmental impact. Preliminary calculations show that, depending on the chosen particle collider project, the carbon footprint of the Higgs factory can differ by a factor of 100. This conclusion was reached by European physicists who have studied the potential of successors to the LHC. And the largest project in the face of the FCC with a 100-km circumference turned out to be the most efficient in terms of the energy expended to obtain each Higgs boson.

Currently, there are five proposals for the creation of a high-energy positron-electron collider. These are three colliders on linear accelerators - the International Linear Collider (ILC) in Japan, the American C3 collider and the Compact Linear Collider at CERN, as well as two ring colliders - the CERN FCC and the Chinese Electron-Positron Collider (CEPC). Physicists from CERN analyzed each project and came to the conclusion that the Future Circular Collider will be the most energy efficient, even taking into account the impact on the environment of the collider facilities and all the necessary construction work (although all the calculations below take into account only the energy component of the work of the colliders as the most significant).

Specifically, the researchers calculated that the Future Circular Collider would consume 3 MWh for every Higgs boson produced. In second place in terms of efficiency was the Chinese CEPC - 4.1 MWh per Higgs boson. The most energy-intensive is the American C3 collider, which will consume 18 MWh for each Higgs boson.

Given the carbon footprint of electricity production in each of the countries where future and more powerful colliders are planned to be built, the Future Circular Collider is again the most environmentally friendly - the production of each Higgs boson at the FCC will be accompanied by the release of 0.17 tons of CO2 equivalent. The Japanese ILC, for example, will produce 50 times more emissions per Higgs boson (9.4 tons of CO2 equivalent). This huge difference is mainly due to the fact that the Future Circular Collider will be powered by the French power grid, which is dominated by electricity from nuclear power plants.

Moreover, if the Future Circular Collider increases the number of particle interaction points from 2 to 4, then its efficiency will increase by a factor of two - up to 1.8 MWh per Higgs boson and emissions up to 0.1 tons of CO2 equivalent.

As another option to reduce the impact of CERN colliders on the environment, it is proposed to extend the power line from solar power plants in North Africa, although that is another story. The fact is that fundamental science will not be able to move forward in all countries and regions. And it is still unclear how the current energy crisis will affect all this. CERN has already thought about reducing a number of secondary experiments, and this will have to live with.





Worst day since summer 2020: Six tech giants lose more than $500 billion in value in a day.
September 14, 2022

The statistics of the US Federal Reserve on inflation, released the day before, in August caused a collapse not only in the US, but also in the Asian stock markets. Inflation in the US in August in annual terms slowed down to only 8.3% against the expected 8.0%, and this was enough for the stock market to show the strongest drop in two years. The six largest companies in the US technology sector lost $500 billion in capitalization in one day.

If we consider the six largest companies in the technology sector in the United States, then Apple can boast of the strongest capitalization losses ($ 154 billion), whose shares fell by 5.87% - the maximum value since September 2020. Updated their anti-record for the same period and shares of Microsoft, which fell in price by 5.5% and reduced the capitalization of the corporation by $109 billion.

For Alphabet (Google), a 5.9% decline in quotes resulted in a reduction in capitalization by $ 85 billion, and the value of shares of the e-commerce giant Amazon fell immediately by 7%, which has not been observed since May of this year. At the same time, the company's capitalization decreased by $98 billion. Against this background, Meta * got off lightly, since the fall in the price of its shares by 9.37% led to a reduction in capitalization by only $42 billion. Finally, NVIDIA shares lost 9.47% in price and reached 52 - a weekly low, reducing the company's capitalization by $34 billion.

Bitcoin also succumbed to this momentum and fell by 10%, which was the strongest drop since June of this year. Now the rate of the most popular cryptocurrency does not exceed $20,338.

Fresh data on consumer price inflation in the US destroyed the hopes of market participants for its slowdown. Now experts expect that at the Fed meeting next week the key rate will be increased by 0.75 percentage points. as part of another attempt to curb inflation in the country.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





OneWeb and Arianespace agree to resume satellite launches.
September 14, 2022

The British satellite communications operator OneWeb has entered into an agreement with the French space company Arianespace - it will provide support to the provider, in addition, its rockets will be used to launch vehicles into orbit. Details of the agreement were not disclosed, according to the website of the French company.

“Following the suspension of OneWeb launches in March 2022, OneWeb and Arianespace have reached an agreement whereby the launch services agreement may be resumed in the future,” the companies said in a statement.

Arianespace will support OneWeb in upcoming launches, even if they are made by other companies - in particular, we are talking about two missions that were taken over by NewSpace India Limited, part of the Indian national space agency ISRO. In addition, Arianespace and OneWeb will continue to develop comprehensive cooperation: it is stated that the possibility of using the new Ariane 6 rockets to launch second-generation communications satellites will be explored.

OneWeb found itself in a difficult position after breaking off relations with Roskosmos in March of this year. Roskosmos signed a contract with Arianespace for 21 commercial launches of 672 communications satellites of the British OneWeb space system on Soyuz-2 launch vehicles.

European, American, Japanese and Indian players were considered as alternative operators for launching OneWeb satellites into orbit. At the end of March, the provider entered into an agreement with SpaceX, in April New Space India joined the project. In July, OneWeb agreed to merge with the French Eutelsat into a single pan-European satellite operator.




By the end of the year, Apple will increase the number of advertising spaces in the App Store.
September 14, 2022

Apple plans to add new ad spaces to the App Store for the Christmas holidays. The company announced this in a mailing to developers, inviting them to purchase new space.

Apple decided to expand the volume of advertising in the App Store: in recent years, ads were displayed only in the "Search" tab, as well as in search results on the platform. The company has not yet indicated which positions of the app store will be allocated for advertising, however, in July it became known that we are talking about a block in the “Today” tab, that is, on the main page of the App Store, and under the “You may also like” block on the application detail page.

Apple's advertising revenue in its financial statements falls under the "Services" category, which also includes warranty service, search licensing, App Store sales, and revenue from subscription services. Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan estimated that the current Apple Search Ads model alone could generate $5 billion in revenue in 2022.

Last year, Apple made changes to its privacy policy on iOS, allowing users to opt out of personalized ads that involve tracking their preferences. Meta* alone has reported a likely $10 billion drop in revenue in 2022 as a result. This also affected the App Store: in the event of a ban, Apple itself lost the ability to use user account data, including information about previous purchases, to display targeted advertising.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."




Google and Meta* Fined Millions of Dollars in South Korea for Violating Privacy Law.
September 14, 2022

US companies Google and Meta* Platforms have been fined millions of dollars by South Korean authorities for violating privacy laws. This is reported by the Reuters news agency, citing data from the local industry regulator.

The Personal Information Protection Commission said in a statement that Google was fined 69.2 billion won ($50 million) and Meta* 30.8 billion won ($22 million). Official representatives of Google have not yet commented on this issue. The representative of Meta* expressed disagreement with the opinion of the regulator on this issue and announced the company's intention to challenge this decision in court.

“We respect the decision of the commission, but we are confident that we are working with our clients in accordance with the law, following the processes required by local regulations. Therefore, we do not agree with the decision of the commission and will consider all options, including going to court, ”the Meta* representative quotes the source.

The Commission on Personal Information Protection said in a statement that US companies did not properly inform users and did not obtain their permission to collect and analyze behavioral data. The agency believes that Google and Meta* collected and processed this data to serve interest-based, personalized ads to users.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





A tech alliance between the US, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan has proven impossible, and it's not just about China.
September 14, 2022

For the first time, as the Financial Times explains, the idea of ​​creating a quadripartite technological alliance of South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, led by the United States, was expressed a year ago, but potential participants still refrain from joining this international association because of the contradictions between them. Most of all, membership in the alliance could harm South Korea, which has close economic ties with China.

Although formally the Chip 4 alliance aims to create sustainable supply chains for semiconductor components from the US point of view, its “anti-Chinese nature” is no less frequently discussed in the public space. First, not all potential participants understand why such an alliance is needed in the context of curbing China's technological development, if such goals are already achieved by US export control measures. Secondly, companies dependent on the Chinese market are not ready to sacrifice it for the sake of illusory advantages received by third countries. The leadership of Samsung Electronics, for example, stressed last week that the South Korean authorities in the process of negotiating the country's entry into such an alliance should first reach an understanding with China, and only then negotiate with the United States. The final solution should be beneficial for both countries.

South Korean business is also concerned about the need for technological cooperation with foreign competitors. For example, the same Samsung is hardly interested in revealing its secrets to its main rival in the person of the Taiwanese company TSMC. Korean businessmen are also afraid that the United States will give American companies an unreasonable advantage. At the same time, Korean companies continue to depend on both American technology and the Chinese market, which makes choosing one side or the other difficult.

South Korea leads the market for memory chips, Taiwan is the largest contract manufacturer of integrated circuits and microprocessor components, and Japan is still highly competent in the production of lithographic equipment and materials for the production of semiconductor chips. Participation in the proposed alliance of South Korea and Taiwan as an independent entity could set the PRC authorities against the first of the countries, which is also a cause for concern. Taiwan, in turn, depends on China in the supply of raw materials for the production of chips, so the local authorities also do not want to create additional reasons for intensifying the conflict with China. The commonwealth of Japan and South Korea is difficult to imagine due to historical reasons, so the formula of this alliance is too complicated for quick and effective implementation in practice.





UK and the Netherlands intend to file a lawsuit against Google for 25.4 billion euros.
September 14, 2022

Google is in serious trouble in the near future. In the UK and the Netherlands, two lawsuits are pending seeking damages totaling $25.4 billion to online publishers in connection with the company's alleged unfair advertising practices.

The advertising policy of Google, the world's largest seller of online advertising, is under scrutiny from antitrust regulators following repeated complaints from online publishers. In particular, the French regulator has already imposed a fine of 220 million euros on the company last year, and the European Commission and the competent authorities of the UK have been investigating whether Google's advertising business provides competitive advantages to all market participants.

Geradin Partners, which represents the plaintiffs, said it was time for Google to take responsibility and make amends for the industry.

Google criticized the initiative, saying that they are constructively cooperating with publishers throughout Europe, and the lawsuit itself is “speculative and opportunistic.” The company intends to actively challenge it.

The lawsuit in the UK Court of Appeal provides for compensation for all site owners with banner ads, including traditional publishers. However, those who wish can refuse to participate in the process. By contrast, due to established practice, the lawsuit in the Netherlands is open to publishers affected by Google's actions. In both cases, the claims are prepared with the assistance of Harbor, which is one of the businesses that earn on shares of compensation if they win lawsuits.

It is known that Google also has certain problems in Russia. On Monday, the court initiated a process that precedes the bankruptcy of the local division of the company.






Google is considering shifting production of some Pixel smartphones from China to India.
September 13, 2022

According to the latest data, Google Pixel series smartphones may start to be released in India. So far, Google has evaluated the proposals of manufacturers located in the country. It is planned to gradually transfer production from China to a neighboring country against the backdrop of recent lockdowns associated with outbreaks of COVID-19 in China, as well as in connection with the aggravation of geopolitical tensions between the United States and China.

Google has become the second largest company after Apple, considering India as an alternative manufacturing hub instead of China. This is reported in the material on the portal The Information, with a reference to a source "familiar with the issue."

It is alleged that Google has already considered applications from manufacturers located in India, ready to produce from 500 thousand to 1 million Pixel smartphones annually. We are talking about 10-20% of the estimated annual production volume.

In addition to health restrictions in China, which repeatedly disrupted production processes and supply chains, the worsening international situation was also cited as a reason for the postponement after US politicians, including US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan earlier this year.

It is not yet known which models of smartphones Google intends to assemble in India. It is known that in the country itself the company did not sell the Pixel 4, 5, 5a and 6, but it did sell the Pixel 4a and 6a. Data on the Pixel 7 series is not yet available.

Apple already manufactures some iPhone models in India at Foxconn and Wistron factories, and recently the Indian conglomerate Tata began negotiations with Wistron to jointly assemble Apple smartphones. According to rumors, Apple does not rule out the production of models of the iPhone 14 series here.





Majority of Twitter shareholders voted in favor of Elon Musk deal.
September 13, 2022

Preparations for Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter's assets are proceeding as planned, although the very future of this transaction remains in question in light of the buyer's unwillingness to complete it on the terms agreed in April. Back in June, the board of directors of the company recommended that shareholders approve the deal, and the voting that began this week has already gained a sufficient number of votes in favor of it.

Formally, as Reuters explains, the voting of Twitter shareholders should end today, but already on Monday, according to informed sources, the number of votes was collected, allowing us to talk about the approval of the transaction by the majority of the company's shareholders. Recall that under the terms agreed in April, Elon Musk must pay $54.20 per share. Now the exchange rate of these securities hardly exceeds $41.

The day before, Twitter's lawyers also said that the latest of the three reasons why Elon Musk considers it possible to refuse to buy assets of the social network is not convincing and serves as a basis for breaking the April agreements. The June severance payment to former Twitter chief information security officer Peiter Zatko of $7.75 million does not violate business-as-usual requirements, the company said.

Large institutional investors who own shares of Twitter, according to The Wall Street Journal, also voted in favor of the deal. Elon Musk himself, although he controls a 9.6% stake in Twitter, did not take part in the voting, and may well delegate the voting rights of his company's shares to the board of directors. The trial in the case of Twitter against Elon Musk is scheduled for October 17, and if the verdict in favor of the company is delivered within five business days, then formally the deal can still be closed by October 24, as originally planned.





Instagram*'s attempt to compete with TikTok failed - Reels never became a mainstream service.
September 13, 2022

Instagram*'s attempt to beat TikTok on its own footing has already cost its Meta* subsidiary millions of dollars. At the same time, numerous updates to the application and other steps seem to only annoy the audience, including the stars - despite all the efforts on the Reels platform, too many users publish only secondary content from other sites on it.

According to the portal The Verge, an internal Meta* report released in August, the so-called. Creators x Reels State of the Union 2022, showing that users spend a combined 197.8 million hours daily on TikTok, compared to just 17.6 million hours on Instagram* Reels. What's more, an August report indicates that Reels user engagement has dropped 13.6% over the past four weeks.

One of the main problems for Instagram* is the lack of original content in Reels. About a third of all videos published here are reposts from other platforms. At one time, TikTok videos literally flooded the service, after which Instagram* threatened to downgrade such materials in recommendations. To convince people to release content specifically for Instagram* and Facebook*, Meta* has even pledged $1 billion in creator payouts before the end of the year. So far, according to the report, Reels' authors have only been paid $120 million so far.

However, according to a Meta* representative, the information from the report is outdated and does not correspond to current realities, in fact, representing a “snapshot” of the situation at a certain point in time. Creators and businesses are seeing promising results, with Reels monetization growth higher than expected, according to the company. At the same time, more people are watching content and creating content in Reels than ever before. Moreover, the information about the allocated $120 million is no longer relevant, although Meta* did not provide any new data.

As Meta* increasingly tried to reorganize Instagram* into a kind of TikTok, this met with increasing rejection from users. So, in July, a post calling on the social network to “stop trying to be TikTok” went viral — it received the support of stars and millions of regular users, effectively forcing Instagram * to abandon some of the proposed changes. According to the report, the number of Instagram* users who believe that the social network “takes care of them” has dropped rapidly in recent years, from 70% in 2019 to around 20% in the summer of 2022.

Of course, Meta* said that the data is inaccurate and does not reflect current information, but they never shared the “correct” information.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





Google has created a startup Aalyria, which will be engaged in ultra-fast laser communication on Earth and in space.
September 13, 2022

Last Monday, Google introduced the public to a new startup, Aalyria, formed on the basis of the team behind the secret Minkowski project. According to a press release from Aalyria, the startup will operate "ultra-fast, ultra-secure, and highly efficient communications networks that span land, sea, air, and near and deep space."

Startup Aalyria announced that it has Tightbeam laser communication technology at its disposal, surpassing all existing technologies in scale and speed and "dramatically improving satellite communications, Wi-Fi on planes and ships, and cellular communications everywhere." The Aalyria software platform has already been used in several Google aerospace networking projects.

Aalyria is led by CEO Chris Taylor, a national security expert who previously ran companies that worked with the government. Aalyria's advisory board includes several former Google employees and executives. The startup already has an $8.7 million commercial contract with a division of the US Department of Defense.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, earlier this year transferred technologies, intellectual property, patents created and registered for almost a decade, as well as office space and other assets to Aalyria earlier this year, CNBC reported. At the same time, Google became the owner of a minority stake in the startup.

Due to the reduction in advertising revenue, Alphabet is abandoning individual projects that turned out to be unpromising, spinning others into separate companies in order to find sources of external funding. In particular, Alphabet closed the Makani project, which was engaged in the creation of kites for the production of electricity, as well as the Loon project, which provided high-speed Internet to remote regions of the world using balloons located in the stratosphere.





NASA has moved the launch date for the Artemis 1 mission - the flight to the Moon will take place no earlier than September 27.
September 13, 2022

NASA announced an adjustment in the timing of tests of the SLS rocket with cryogenic fueling and the launch of the Artemis I mission. Trial fueling of the rocket will take place no earlier than September 21, and the windows of September 27 and October 2 are selected for launch to the Moon.

Another attempt by NASA to launch the SLS launch vehicle with the Orion spacecraft to the Moon failed on September 2 after the discovery of a liquid hydrogen leak at the point of connection of the main fuel line to the rocket. Over the weekend, NASA engineers completed the repair of this fuel delivery unit, replacing the seals on it in the main channel and in the bleed channel. This node has already been repaired in the assembly shop, but it can only be tested under conditions of supercooled fuel supply on a mobile platform on the launch pad of the cosmodrome.

NASA decided to repair the node at the spaceport without transporting the rocket to the hangar. Testing of the refueling unit was expected on September 17th. Now it was decided to shift the test date to September 21 so that the launch team has more time to prepare and have time to rest (the team has been working in emergency mode since the end of August). Therefore, the date of the next attempt to launch the SLS launch vehicle will not be September 23, as previously thought, but September 27. The second backup date with a window of 106 minutes was chosen in October, more precisely - October 2.

Both new dates require recertification of the abort system. Traditionally, such permission was granted for 25 days after the installation of the batteries for the emergency abort system and its pre-flight testing. These works can only be carried out in the assembly shop. The last time the flight abort system on the SLS rocket for the Artemis I mission was tested and validated on August 14 or 15. To extend the certification period, NASA has filed a request, which has not yet been answered.

In addition to extending the certification of the abort system, NASA needs to agree on new flight schedules. So, the launch of the Crew-5 commercial mission to the ISS is tentatively scheduled for October 3, during which a Russian cosmonaut, namely Anna Kikina, will fly for the first time on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. Shortly thereafter, a mission is expected to return the Crew-4 crew to Earth. NASA must determine the degree of impact of some missions on others in a selected period of time.

The Artemis I mission is to send the Orion spacecraft on an unmanned flight around the moon. This is the first rung in the ladder that brings man back to the moon. The Orion spacecraft has already flown into orbit, but another test after returning from lunar orbit is a necessary test step associated with higher re-entry velocities. If the flight is completed successfully, astronauts will fly aboard the Orion on the next Artemis II mission, and the landing on the moon will take place during the Artemis III mission in 2025.





The United States again spoke about the threat from TikTok - the Chinese service faces blocking in the country.
September 13, 2022

Short video service TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has brought together representatives of the US tech sector, regardless of their stance on industry regulation and antitrust law. At the Code Conference held a few days ago in Los Angeles, employees of large IT companies, experts and officials expressed concern that the platform could pose a threat to the country's national security.

Data from the Pew Research Center shows that TikTok is aggressively poaching younger users away from the company's Meta* platforms. As of August of this year, the short video service was more popular among teenage Americans than Instagram* and Snapchat. In addition, the coronavirus pandemic has helped the platform reach an older audience.

Against this background, some representatives of the IT industry and politicians have expressed concern about the rapid growth of TikTok, noting that the service could pose a threat to the country's national security. In particular, this position is taken by the head of Snap Evan Spiegel, who said that ByteDance spends billions of dollars to promote its service in the US market.

“The reason it has been so difficult for companies in the US and around the world to respond to this is the scale of TikTok's investment. What no one expected in the US was the level of investment that ByteDance made in the US market, and of course in Europe, because it was something unimaginable - no startup could afford to invest billions and billions and billions of dollars in attracting users around the world,” Spiegel said at the Code Conference.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai also called TikTok one of YouTube's newest and biggest competitors. He noted that “competition in the technology segment is very intense” and some of the competitors, including TikTok, have appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, who is leading the development of antitrust legislation in the IT industry that aims to increase control over the activities of technology giants Google, Apple, Amazon and Meta *, warned of a possible tightening of regulation on TikTok. The senator representing Minnesota also confirmed the possibility of tightening regulation of TikTok in the United States. She did not rule out that measures could be taken against the Chinese service due to national security considerations. In her opinion, strengthening control over TikTok will become relevant when the platform reaches the size of American IT giants.

Mathias Dopfner, CEO of Axel Springer, which owns Insider, Politico and Protocol news outlets, criticized the short video service. He called TikTok the main competitor in the media, content and creative industries, and also called for the platform to be banned.

“TikTok should be banned in every democratic country. I think it's stupid not to. We cannot enter China with Facebook*, Google, Amazon and other platforms. Why should we allow them to play a dominant role in our free market economy? In the long term, we will feel the consequences of this addiction, and these will be consequences not only in business. I think there will be political repercussions with huge impact,” Dopfner said.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





Bitcoin briefly topped $22,000 and Ethereum surged 90% ahead of 'merger'.
September 13, 2022

Bitcoin briefly topped the $22,000 mark this week, continuing to rise ahead of the US inflation data and Ethereum network “merger”.

On Tuesday, the CPI report for August will be released, which will allow investors to understand in which direction inflation is moving and try to predict the future actions of the US Federal Reserve System (Fed) on interest rates.

Previous rate hikes by the Fed, which is trying to curb inflation, hit the stock market. In turn, the cryptocurrency, which belongs to the category of risky assets, has lost almost $2 trillion in capitalization since the November high. Bitcoin has lost more than 50% in price since the beginning of the year.

The “merger” of the Ethereum network, which means the transition of the Ethereum blockchain from the Proof-of-Work model to Proof-of-Stake, will significantly reduce the amount of energy spent on its operation. Ethereum supporters hope this will provide an opportunity to expand the cryptocurrency’s adoption, with experts warning that the “merger” will not necessarily speed up the Ethereum network and is unlikely to reduce the fees associated with transactions.

Against the backdrop of expectations, Ethereum, which reached an annual minimum in mid-June, was far ahead of bitcoin in terms of growth. Since June 19, it has increased by more than 90%, while Bitcoin has risen by about 20%.

However, the growth of cryptocurrencies may soon end, as next week the Fed is expected to raise interest rates again, and this will entail a reduction in the market.





The US regulator will require to promptly remove idle satellites from orbit.
September 12, 2022

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has put forward a plan to minimize the negative effects of space debris - satellites in low Earth orbit will have to be disposed of no later than 5 years after the end of their life cycle.

A vote on a proposal requiring non-geostationary satellites to be scrapped after their service ends is scheduled by the FCC on September 29. It is assumed that such measures will minimize the risk of collisions and the formation of space debris. Unlike the current NASA recommendations proposed in the 90s of the last century and providing for the disposal of satellites within 25 years, the new rule, if approved, will be mandatory. The FCC proposal emphasizes that it is no longer acceptable today to leave non-functioning satellites in space for decades.

Disposal refers to planning to fall to Earth with destruction in the atmosphere "as quickly as possible", but no later than 5 years from the end of the mission. To adapt to the new rules, a transitional period of two years is provided - they will temporarily not apply to satellites already put into orbit, as well as those that have already been approved by the commission, but have not yet been launched.

The rule will apply not only to satellites licensed from the US. It will have to be followed by operators who intend to have access to the US market, for example, to provide broadband access to US customers. In individual cases, considered individually, the five-year period may be revised. In particular, we are talking about some scientific missions.

Although the Starlink constellation is the largest in the world, no problems are expected with SpaceX satellites - when the company asked for permits for operation at altitudes of 540-570 km for its facilities, it promised the FCC that the satellites could be deorbited within a few months, and even under the worst-case scenario, this will clearly take less than five years, since at such an altitude this will be facilitated by the existing, albeit extremely rarefied, atmosphere. At the same time, hundreds of years will be required for a spontaneous departure from the orbit of a satellite located at an altitude of 1110-1325 km.

Dead satellites, spent rocket stages and other debris already pose a threat to future missions. Moreover, over 4,800 operational satellites were in orbit as of the end of the year, most of which are commercial facilities operating up to 2,000 km (the upper limit of low Earth orbit). It is expected that in the near future there will be many more satellites.

Only Starlink received permission from the US regulator for an additional launch of about 12,000 satellites. In addition, in the future, Starlink expects to launch another 30,000 devices at different altitudes. OneWeb also uses a lot of satellites, plus Amazon intends to put several thousand into space.





Apple has entered the warpath with SpaceX: the company invests in Globalstar to work satellite communications in the iPhone.
September 12, 2022

Last week, Apple announced the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus smartphones, as well as the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. One of the significant innovations in these devices was the support of satellite communications.

We are talking about the function Emergency SOS via Satellite. It is designed for emergencies: a smartphone via satellite will allow you to send messages to the emergency service indicating the location. This feature will help in cases where the user is outside the coverage area of ​​​​the cellular network. If you experience problems connecting to the satellite, iPhone will tell you how to fix the situation.

The satellite communication service in the iPhone operates on the basis of the Globalstar system, which unites 24 spacecraft. The service will be available in the United States and Canada, but not all guests from other countries will be able to use it. It is important to note that communication is two-way, so that when a message is sent in an emergency, the user will receive a notification that the message has been delivered.

“We have established relay centers that are staffed with highly trained emergency response professionals ready to receive your messages and contact emergency services on your behalf,” said Ashley Williams, Apple's manager of satellite modeling.

According to Reuters, Apple has invested $450 million in the development of satellite infrastructure, with Globalstar receiving the bulk of these funds. In particular, Apple agreed to pay 95% of the cost of new satellites responsible for the operation of the Emergency SOS via Satellite function. Analysts estimate that such spacecraft will require Apple to invest about $50 million through 2026. All told, Apple could pay Globalstar up to $110 million next year alone.

For iPhone 14 owners, the emergency satellite feature will be free for the first two years. The cost of a subscription after that, Apple has not yet disclosed.

Other companies are developing similar services. So, SpaceX recently announced its intention to connect ordinary smartphones to Starlink satellites. Users will be able to exchange data where cellular communication is not available. At first, only text messages will be sent, including through instant messengers. In the future, it is planned to add voice communication and Internet access. And at the end of last week, AST SpaceMobile's BlueWalker 3 satellite was launched into space, a test vehicle also designed to provide satellite communications to owners of ordinary smartphones.






SpaceX launches 34 Starlink satellites and BlueWalker 3 to bring satellite connectivity to smartphone owners.
September 12, 2022

SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The payload was 34 Starlink satellites to provide Internet access, as well as the AST SpaceMobile BlueWalker 3 telecommunications device.

The launch took place on September 10 at 21:20. During this mission, the first stage of the Falcon 9 was used for the fourteenth time, which was a record for a reusable rocket. Moreover, this stage returned to Earth again, landing on a special floating platform A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.

To date, SpaceX has launched more than 3,200 Starlink satellites, and intends to significantly expand this constellation in the future. The project, we recall, involves the formation of a global satellite system to provide broadband Internet access around the world. Ultimately, the Starlink infrastructure should integrate almost 12,000 small spacecraft.

As for the BlueWalker 3 satellite from AST SpaceMobile, this is a test device designed to provide satellite communications to owners of ordinary smartphones. The apparatus weighs approximately 1.5 tons; its design includes a phased antenna array with an area of ​​64 m2.





Crypto Landing Platform Hodlonaut Owes Algorand Foundation $35M.
September 11, 2022

Cryptolending platform Hodlnaut owes the Algorand Foundation $35 million in USD Coin (USDC) stablecoins. The non-profit organization said it was using "all legal remedies" to recover assets.

“As part of the organization’s mission, we sometimes invest some of our surplus capital to generate profits in the development of the Algorand ecosystem,” the statement reads.

The organization noted that Hodlnaut's debt is less than 3% of the total assets of the Algorand Foundation. According to the statement, the situation does not entail operational risks and will not cause "liquidity problems".

Most of the debt is in short-term deposits. The structure lost access to them when, on August 8, 2022, the landing platform suspended the withdrawal of funds and operations with tokens.

On August 13, the company requested a judicial office in Singapore to stabilize its financial situation. The move was explained by the desire to avoid the forced liquidation of users' assets in bitcoin and Ethereum.

The platform also laid off 80% of its employees to cut costs.

At the end of the same month, Hodlnaut reported a $193 million “hole” in its balance sheet. The firm placed client funds in the Anchor protocol of the Terra ecosystem. After the collapse of the latter, it suffered a loss of $189.7 million.





Elon Musk's dispute with Twitter has a third reason for refusing to buy the company.
September 11, 2022

At the end of the outgoing week, it became known that representatives of Elon Musk officially attached the revelations of the former head of Twitter's information security service as arguments explaining the billionaire's intentions to refuse to buy the company's assets. Musk's lawyers also believe that paying Peiter Zatko's severance pay is itself a breach of the deal by Twitter.

Initially, Musk’s lawyers, according to some sources, tried to proceed from the position that the $ 7.75 million paid by Zatko at the end of June was a kind of “silence fee”, but later the focus shifted to challenging the appropriateness of such payments during the period of the agreement with Twitter, signed in April this year. According to representatives of Elon Musk, this kind of payment violates the requirement for Twitter management to carry out the company's activities as usual, and therefore can be considered a violation of the terms of the transaction and serve as a basis for its termination.

Peter Zatko, who has been in charge of information security at Twitter for about two years, will be heard in court in the second half of October, and he also has to speak to US parliamentarians next week. In late August, Zatko filed complaints with the US federal authorities about the mediocre state of information security on Twitter, and his statements immediately attracted the attention of Elon Musk's legal representatives. The latter initially insisted on terminating the deal with Twitter due to a discrepancy between the real share of bots in the audience of the social network declared, then the focus shifted to problems with information security, and now there is a new reason for terminating the deal in the form of an unauthorized payment of “compensation” to a fired information security specialist.





After the discovery of a new mineral with helium-3 in the soil of the moon, China increased the number of lunar missions.
September 11, 2022

"The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has received government approval to send three orbiters to Earth's natural satellite as part of the Chang'e lunar program," said Liu Jizhong, director of the China Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center ).

The announcement comes a day after the discovery of a new mineral in soil samples brought from the Moon to Earth by the Chang'e-5 spacecraft.

The mineral was named Changesite-(Y). According to the description of the Xinhua news agency, it is a colorless transparent columnar crystal. It is reported that this mineral contains helium-3, which is found on Earth in very small quantities. According to scientists, "the reserves of helium-3 available on the Moon can provide earthlings with energy for at least five thousand years ahead".

In recent years, China has made significant progress in its space program, sending probes to the Moon, building its own space station and targeting Mars, becoming a direct competitor to NASA and Roscosmos.

NASA plans to land astronauts on the moon in the next few years. According to the plans of the American space agency, the Artemis-2 lunar mission will take place in 2024, and Artemis-3 a year later.

All space powers are eyeing the moon's minerals, and it is expected that there will be intense competition for their extraction. In 2024, China will attempt to obtain new samples of new lunar rock as part of the Chang'e-6 mission, this time from the South Pole-Aitken Basin, a crater located on the south side of the moon's far side.

Another mission, Chang'e-7, which will also take place in 2024, will target the south pole of the moon, where scientists believe there is the best chance of finding water. NASA also does not hide its interest in this region. The Chang'e-8 lunar mission is expected to take place in 2027. Ultimately, China plans to build an international research station on the moon, Jizhong said today.





US senators asked what Meta* is doing to combat cryptocurrency scammers on its platforms.
September 11, 2022

A group of senators reached out to Meta* Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg to ask what his company is doing to counter cryptocurrency scams on its social platforms, including Facebook* and Instagram*.

In June, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that from January 2021 to March 2022. More than 46,000 people became victims of cryptocurrency scams, and almost half of them noted that the start of fraudulent schemes was laid by an advertisement, publication or message on a social network. At the same time, the four most popular platforms for scammers included Meta*-owned platforms Instagram*, Facebook* and WhatsApp. In this regard, a group of US senators sent a letter to the company, calling it “a breeding ground for cryptocurrency fraud, which causes significant damage to consumers.”

“Scam ads violate our advertising policies and harm our business by negatively impacting how people interact with the sites. The people behind the fraudulent ads use a variety of methods and channels to communicate with victims online, and we invest significant resources in detecting and preventing fraud on our platforms,” Meta* spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed receipt of the document.

Legislators are waiting for detailed answers to their questions from Mr. Zuckerberg by October 24. Politicians, in particular, are interested in the policy of proactive detection and suppression of the actions of cybercriminals, the procedures for checking advertising on platforms for fraud, the company's cooperation with law enforcement agencies, as well as measures to help users who have become victims of illegal schemes.

* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which a court has made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 “On Counteracting Extremist Activity”.





SpaceX has challenged the FCC's refusal to provide Starlink with state subsidies to provide Internet access in hard-to-reach regions of the United States.
September 11, 2022

SpaceX has challenged the decision of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny the company-owned satellite provider Starlink in the issuance of government subsidies for the development of broadband in remote regions of the United States. In the complaint, this step of the department is characterized as “erroneous” and “extremely unfair”.

In August, the FCC denied applications from SpaceX and LTD Broadband to receive funds from the Commission's multibillion-dollar Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program. SpaceX was to receive $885.5 million to develop Internet access in regions of the United States that are partially or completely deprived of such an opportunity using standard means.

In announcing the negative decision, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said that Starlink's technology "has tangible promise" but does not meet the program's requirements. The official cited data showing that over the past year, Starlink has shown a constant decrease in speed. SpaceX, meanwhile, intended to offer 100/20 Mbps connectivity to customers at 642,925 locations in 35 states as part of the program. The company accused the FCC of misjudging Starlink's performance.

Brendan Carr, the Commissioner of the agency itself, criticized this decision in August, stressing that it was made without a vote of the commission as a whole. “To be clear, with this decision, families across the country have been told to just wait on the other side of the digital divide, even though we have the technology to improve their [quality of] life,” Carr added.





The fragments of the partially collapsed Galaxy 11 satellite may threaten other devices in orbit.
September 11, 2022

It became known that the American telecommunications satellite Galaxy 11, which was launched into orbit in 1999, partially collapsed and its fragments are potentially dangerous for other devices.

“Partial destruction of the old (launched in 1999) Galaxy 11 telecommunications device occurred in geostationary orbit,” the IPM reported. Recall that Galaxy 11 is a geostationary communications satellite, which was operated by the American company Intelsat.

The report says that “several small-sized fragments” of the Galaxy 11 satellite have been detected and followed by civilian optical means. It is noted that these fragments pose a potential danger to devices operating in geostationary orbit.

“The reason for the fragmentation of the spacecraft by the operators is not disclosed, it can be assumed that it is caused by the aging of the screen-vacuum thermal insulation of the body, solar radiation concentrators or solar panels,” scientists say.




Korean fusion reactor ignites plasma seven times hotter than the Sun's core for 30 seconds.
September 11, 2022

Korea's "artificial sun" made headlines this week. The KSTAR fusion reactor kept the plasma at a temperature of about 100 million ° C for almost 30 seconds, which is seven times hotter than in the core of the Sun, where thermonuclear reactions take place. And that in itself is reassuring. The world needs inexpensive and endless fusion energy. But this event took place almost a year ago (which we reported), and we remembered it thanks to a recent publication in Nature.

However, South Korean scientists told in the article how they achieved success in confining plasma, so we also have something to talk about without retelling the old news, as most other publications did.

KSTAR (Korea Institute of Fusion Energy) scientists set the task of achieving plasma stability at the Tokamak Advanced Research tokamak. This thermonuclear reactor, by the way, became one of the first in the world when in 2007 it put into practice the control of the magnetic field of the reactor using two groups of superconducting magnets - toroidal and poloidal (with longitudinal and transverse lines of force). The magnetic field keeps the plasma bundle from contact with the reactor walls and prevents the plasma from cooling down and damaging the reactor walls, resulting in plasma contamination and loss of its quality.

Magnetic fields can be of two types. The shape of the field with the effect of an edge transport barrier (TBB) leads to a strong decrease in pressure near the reactor wall, which prevents the plasma from touching the walls. The field of the second type creates an internal transport barrier (ITB), as a result of which the pressure at the center of plasma formation increases sharply and a plasma "core" appears. But in any case, edge instabilities of the plasma occur, which leads to a decrease in controllability and, ultimately, to contacts with the reactor walls, cooling, and stopping the reaction.

In the experiment, South Korean scientists modified the VTB approach by slightly reducing the plasma density in the reactor, so that the temperature in the center of the plasma bundle increased and decreased at the periphery. Judging by the observations, the edge instability of the plasma has become noticeably smaller. This led to the fact that the plasma in the reactor remained stable and easily controlled for as much as 20 s, and the entire reactor was able to operate in a cycle for 30 s, which became a new record for it.

The plasma temperature at the same time was at the level of 100 million ° C and it was ionic plasma, in contrast to the temperature records of Chinese thermonuclear reactors, in which they only talk about the temperature of electron plasma (and in thermonuclear reactors it should be twice as high as ionic).

“Due to the abundance of fast ions that stabilize the plasma turbulence in the core, we generate plasma at a temperature of 100 million K for up to 20 s without edge plasma instabilities or accumulation of impurities. The low plasma density, combined with a moderate input power for operation, is the key to establishing this regime by maintaining a high proportion of fast ions. This mode is rarely disturbed and can be reliably maintained even without complex controls, and thus represents a promising path to commercial fusion reactors, ”says a Nature article about this experiment.

The Koreans have found a path along which they can move forward. The global goal of the project is to keep the ion plasma at a temperature of 100 million ° C for 300 s, which they intend to achieve in 2025 or 2026.





The authorization button via Facebook * was removed by the sites of many large companies - people no longer trusted the social network.
September 10, 2022

A few years ago, the possibility of authorization on different sites using a Facebook* account was very popular. However, amid growing distrust of social networks, it has become less popular, and the authorization button using Facebook* credentials is gradually disappearing from the websites of large companies. For example, by now it has been removed from Dell, Best Buy, Ford Motor, Nike, Pottery Barn, Twitch, and others.

Dell noted that people are no longer using the social media login feature due to security and data privacy concerns. The removal of the Facebook* login feature is another sign of Meta*'s declining influence on the web after a steady rise over the years. The company's advertising business has struggled in the past due to changes to Apple's privacy policy for the iOS platform, as well as the success of competitors, chief among them TikTok, a short video service.

The company also suffered reputational damage after documents were released online indicating that Meta* knew that many of its products were harmful to users, including teenagers. Meta* revenues are expected to decline for the second straight quarter in a three-month stretch. Official representatives of the company refrain from commenting on this issue.

LoginRadius, a spokesman for the login management platform, said that this year, a Google account was the preferred login option for sites among North American users. According to available data, 38.9% of users used a Google account. For Facebook*, the social media account was used 38.7% of the time. The company noted that in the past, many companies considered the possibility of authorization through social networks as a promising way to attract an audience, but in recent years this trend has changed, including due to a decrease in trust in Facebook*.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





China can quickly create alternatives to NVIDIA and AMD accelerators, the export of which was banned by the United States.
September 10, 2022

Industry experts say the US-imposed restrictions on the supply of accelerators based on NVIDIA and AMD GPUs to China, including those used in the field of AI, will open up new opportunities for local companies vying for a share of the rapidly growing data center chip market.

The sanctions are part of a long-term US plan to prevent the use of US technology in Chinese AI solutions, high-performance computing systems and supercomputers. Last year, the US imposed restrictions on seven Chinese "supercomputer" companies and organizations, and last week banned the export of certain accelerators based on NVIDIA and AMD chips to the country.

Earlier it was reported that the accelerator Biren BR100 of a little-known Chinese startup Shanghai Biren Intelligent Technology outperformed one of the best accelerators banned for export by the US authorities - NVIDIA A100 based on the fastest Ampere chip. Anti-Chinese measures are seen as a "window of opportunity" for Chinese chip developers to provide their own solutions to local companies deprived of access to American hardware.

According to experts, quite impressive results are demonstrated in benchmarks by Chinese solutions used for graphics and natural language processing. This performance is the result of years of investment and development by the Chinese authorities, businesses, and venture capital investors, including those from the United States.

The rapid development of start-ups in the Middle Kingdom could thwart the plans of the United States to slow down the Chinese industry involved in the development of computer technology. At the same time, it is precisely such high-performance solutions that are used for military purposes, including in the development of nuclear weapons.

According to some experts from the United States, similar results of sanctions have already been observed in the past - by limiting the supply of Intel processors to some structures in China, the United States has ensured that China has created its own chips. Experts are confident that they will find a solution in the situation with NVIDIA and AMD in China. However, some industry experts believe that developing a fast chip is not enough for complete success. It also requires the creation of advanced software that can compete with the NVIDIA CUDA software platform that dominates the market.

Numerous Chinese firms other than Biren are actively developing alternatives to NVIDIA, including Cambricon, Alibaba Group PingTouGe, Iluvatar CoreX, Denglin Technology, Moore Threads, Vastai Technologies, and MetaX.

It is known that only leading startups have received billions of dollars of investments in recent years, and American venture capital companies, pension funds and even Yale University are among the partners. Some U.S. investors argue that it is inappropriate for U.S. businesses to invest in AI and Chinese military technology that could endanger U.S. national security.





Chinese scientists discover new mineral in lunar soil samples
September 10, 2022

Chinese scientists have discovered a previously unknown mineral in soil samples that were brought to Earth by the Chang'e-5 spacecraft from the moon. This was reported by the TASS news agency with reference to the data of the China National Space Administration and the State Atomic Energy Administration of the PRC, which were announced on the PRC Central Television.

It is noted that Chinese scientists first discovered a new mineral and called it "Chang'e stone". This mineral became the sixth new mineral that was discovered by man on the moon, while China became the third country in the world that managed to find a new mineral on the surface of our planet's satellite.

According to available data, scientists were able to isolate a single-crystal particle about 10 microns in size from samples of lunar soil and determine its structure. As a result, it was found that the "Chang'e stone" is a phosphate mineral in the form of a columnar crystal. Researchers believe that this mineral is found in particles of lunar basalt.

Recall that the Long March-5 carrier rocket with the Chang'e-5 apparatus was launched from the site of the Wenchang cosmodrome on November 24, 2020. The return capsule with samples of lunar soil landed in the Inner Mongolia region in northern China on December 17 of the same year. As part of this mission, 1731 grams of lunar rock were delivered to Earth. Due to this, China became the first country in the last 44 years that managed to transport geological rocks from the surface of the Moon to Earth.





North Virginia: a single US state still overtakes both Europe and China in terms of capacity of super-large data centers.
September 9, 2022

According to analysts from Synergy Research Group, by the end of Q2 2022, the number of hyperscaler data centers exceeded 800 units, and by the end of 2026 there will be one and a half times more. Moreover, not only the number of such data centers will grow, but also their capacity. At the same time, 53% of the capacity of the hyperscaler data center is in the United States, and the remaining share is almost equally divided between Europe, China and the rest of the world.

The largest players in this market are the "big three" cloud providers (Amazon, Google, Microsoft). Each of these companies has more than 130 data centers, with at least 25 in each of the three main regions, North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook*, Alibaba and Tencent are leaders in terms of data center capacity. In total, the study by Synergy Research Group took into account the data centers of 19 largest companies providing cloud and other Internet services.

Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook*, Alibaba and Tencent are leaders in terms of data center capacity. At the same time, as before, more than a third of the capacity in the United States falls on a single state - Northern Virginia, which overtakes Europe and China in this indicator. Here is the so-called Data Center Alley, covering the counties of Loudoun, Prince William and Fairfax. Data centers are mainly concentrated around the cities of Ashburn, Sterling, Manassas and Chantilly.

The total capacity of the data center in the state reached 1.7 GW. In particular, Amazon places a significant part of its data centers here. Other major players in the local market are Microsoft, Meta*, Google, ByteDance. Virginia has become so attractive for data center operators due to the availability of space and energy, developed infrastructure, as well as the peculiarities of local legislation, including tax breaks. True, now local residents are complaining about “catastrophic noise” from data centers, and the power grid is not enough.

As for other regions, Ireland and the Netherlands remain the leading markets for hyperscalers in Europe, where a crisis has also emerged recently - both countries are no longer happy with major players who, one after another, cancel or suspend projects to create and develop data centers. The Chinese market remains relatively isolated, as it includes for the most part the data centers of local IT giants: Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu. In general, analysts predict that over the next five years, the importance of the key markets at the moment will decrease somewhat.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





Chinese automaker NIO assured that the ban on the supply of NVIDIA accelerators will hardly harm it.
September 8, 2022

NIO, considered one of Tesla's three main competitors in the Chinese market, is quite actively using NVIDIA's component base - the brand's latest models of electric vehicles, for example, use on-board computers with four American-designed Orin processors. NVIDIA's recent ban on deliveries of accelerators to China will not significantly impact the company's business, founder William Li said this week.

As CNBC explains with reference to the transcript of the speech of the head of NIO at the quarterly reporting conference, the company really worked closely with NVIDIA in the development of active driver assistance systems. According to William Lee, the existing computing power of NIO is enough to continue the development of autonomous vehicle control systems in the near future.

Recall that the restrictions imposed by the US export control rules relate to the supply of NVIDIA H100 and A100 accelerators to China, and the Chinese company will continue to receive processors for NIO on-board systems without any problems. At the same time, the head of NIO emphasizes that there are several companies in China developing accelerators for artificial intelligence systems, and now the automaker is considering the possibility of cooperation with them. Last week, Geely, as well as WeRide and Pony.ai, specializing in autopilot technologies, said that the newest US bans had no effect on their business. NIO rival XPeng has expressed concern about the possible impact of a ban on the supply of NVIDIA's advanced computing accelerators to China, but the company's founder said that the stock of necessary imported components has been created for several years in advance.





China has tested the world's most powerful closed-circuit liquid-propellant rocket engine - it will be needed for flights to the moon.
September 8, 2022

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) has announced successful firing tests of a new liquid-propellant rocket engine for the future super-heavy launch vehicle Long March 9. It is reported that we are talking about a rocket engine with a thrust of 25 tons for the upper stages of the rocket, which is twice the capabilities of the current modifications of the NASA RL10 engines involved in the SLS lunar rocket for the Artemis program.

The new LRE operates in a closed circuit (or in a closed cycle), when liquid fuel in the form of hydrogen and oxygen cooled to a cryogenic state is converted into gas with the help of residual heat from the engine and is used first to support the operation of the turbine and pumps, and then burned in the working chamber like rocket fuel. Such a scheme allows not to take on board fuel for the operation of turbines and pumps, managing exclusively with rocket fuel.

At the same time, the main problem is that the processes are somewhat inertial and this threatens the stability of the engines, especially during multiple launches, which will be important when landing on the moon. And these problems are aggravated as the power of engines based on this principle increases.

Chinese developers claim that they have solved the main problems of powerful liquid-propellant rocket engines with a closed circuit. In particular, they found a way to increase traction. To do this, a new heat exchanger was invented, consisting of many finned components that can absorb heat from the surface of the combustion chamber and transfer it to liquid hydrogen with unprecedented efficiency. Interestingly, the heat exchanger components have learned how to make 3D printing, which will reduce the cost of production. Also, new titanium alloys were used for the manufacture of gas fuel pumps, which allowed them to work in extreme conditions.

The upper stage of the Chinese lunar rocket will need four of these engines, the developers say. However, the Long March 9 rocket is still in development. Moreover, there are plans to create almost a copy of SpaceX's Starship rocket based on Long March 9. What will come of it, one can only guess, but there is a backlog and it is impressive.





The head of Intel said that the company will continue to lose ground in the market, but everything will change in 2025.
September 8, 2022

In the strategic plans of Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger, 2025 is considered a turning point, because by that time the company should not only regain its technological leadership, but also stop incurring the increased costs that are inevitable in the pursuit of this goal. Until 2025, Intel will have to lose market share in the server segment, as Gelsinger realizes.

He shared his thoughts on this at the recent TMT technology conference, as Tom's Hardware explains. According to the head of the company, Intel management proceeds from the principle that its server business increases turnover every calendar year. Having bottomed in the second and third quarters of this year, Intel expects to return this business to growth, but over the next couple of years this pace will still lag behind the rest of the market, which will allow the main competitor to continue strengthening its position. Only from 2025 will Intel begin to regain lost ground in the server segment, according to Gelsinger.

By 2024, Intel expects to gain a decent competitiveness, and in 2025 to become the undisputed leader in the field of lithographic technologies. According to Gelsinger, Sierra Forest server processors, which will be released in 2024 and will be released on Intel 3 technology, will be a worthy alternative to server processors based on the competing Arm architecture. The Intel solution will offer an attractive performance-to-power ratio without the need for customers to think about porting software to the Arm platform. Perhaps the only problem for Intel can be the earlier release of 5nm AMD EPYC processors with 128 energy-efficient x86-compatible cores, which is scheduled for 2023.

At the same time, the head of Intel stressed that the company's refusal to release Optane memory is not the only step to optimize its areas of activity. He connects the future of the company mainly with logical components, and Gelsinger even sees some ironic symbolism in the refusal to release memory - forty years ago she already took a similar step, and then things went uphill for her. What type of business will fall under the reduction next, the head of Intel did not specify.





The US may create an alliance of 14 states to combat the shortage of chips and equipment.
September 8, 2022

The idea of ​​creating a more transparent system for controlling the supply of semiconductor components was expressed by many US politicians and officials, and now it can be implemented on the platform of the so-called. Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), introduced by US President Biden in May of this year. 14 countries can join the initiative, effectively addressing the lack of resources.

As the Nikkei Asian Review explains, in this alliance, the United States, as a leader, is going to create a system for the redistribution of inventories during periods of crisis, and this will concern not only semiconductor components, but also medical equipment. Crisis phenomena can be understood as a pandemic, as well as regional military conflicts. A two-day IPEF meeting is scheduled to take place this week in Los Angeles.

The alliance includes the following countries: USA, Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Fiji, Thailand and Vietnam. It should be noted that Taiwan was not included in this association, although it is a key supplier of the same semiconductor components. The inventory management system implies the appointment of responsible representatives from each of the countries. Together, they will redistribute during the crisis those or other goods that the members of the alliance are in dire need of.

In addition to semiconductors, this system will cover personal protective equipment, rare earth materials and batteries for stationary energy storage systems. If agreement on the key points of the implementation of the plan is reached, then the parties will start work next year. Some of the countries in the region, as the source explains, are not ready to join IPEF due to the absence of China in this association, since this country is an important source of supplies for many scarce goods.





NASA selects spacesuit manufacturer for the Artemis 3 moon landing.
September 8, 2022

NASA announced the choice of the American Axiom Space to create lunar spacesuits in preparation for the Artemis 3 mission, which involves landing people near the south pole of the Earth's satellite in 2025 or 2026.

Artemis 3 is set to be the first mission to land humans on the moon since 1972, if all goes according to NASA's plans. As part of the program, the agency intends to establish a populated outpost on the closest celestial body to Earth by the end of this decade.

What can be learned from Artemis 3 and other future missions will pave the way for manned missions to Mars, a NASA official said. “The suits literally allow us to take the next step,” NASA says.

In June of this year, the agency announced that it had selected Axiom and a team led by Collins Aerospace to develop and manufacture space suits for future missions to the Moon and the ISS. Two private companies were given the right to compete for a $3.5 billion contract through 2034.

The money will be distributed through a series of "special orders". In particular, $228.5 million will be allocated for the creation of spacesuits for Artemis 3. NASA itself will determine the technical requirements for spacesuits, as well as requirements for their safety.

Axiom Space will be responsible for the design, development, evaluation, certification and production of spacesuits and support equipment for the Artemis 3 mission. Before the final test on the moon, Axiom spacesuits must be tested in environments that simulate the situation on the lunar surface.





South Africa is preparing to turn off the connection of the second and third generations to free up frequencies for 5G.
September 8, 2022

The South African telecom regulator intends to cut off 2G and 3G communications in March 2025 in order to free up part of the radio spectrum for the development of 5G. Meanwhile, the initiative was rather coolly received by a number of local mobile operators.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), which oversees public broadcasting and other telecommunications services in South Africa, has prepared a draft document, and Communications Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni outlined a plan to ban the licensing of 2G devices by June 30, 2023. It is assumed that the complete shutdown of 2G networks will take place by June 30, 2024. In the case of 3G, the authorities intend to stop licensing devices by March 31, 2024, and implement a complete shutdown of networks a year later.

Ntshaweni said the ICASA planned the phase-out to cause minimal disruption to the public's access to communications. However, the final schedule has not yet been approved. The main goal of the new measures is to turn off "inefficient" and obsolete networks with an eye to using the released spectrum for the development of new services in the country.

However, it looks like the regulator may face opposition from the country's main mobile operators - Vodacom has previously stated that it won't be easy to abandon 2G. The same position is held in the local MTN and Cell C, which also widely use networks of previous generations.

The proposal of the South African authorities followed six months after the country held an auction for the distribution of spectra, having gained about $ 1 billion, the frequencies are supposed to be used for the development of 4G and 5G networks.

Measures are being taken to turn off 2G and 3G in many countries, including, for example, the United States. However, the process can be quite painful - for example, many security systems and other wireless devices work with old networks, and in developing countries such networks are also used by millions of low-cost phone subscribers.





After the update of the Ethereum blockchain, problems were discovered.
September 8, 2022

After the Bellatrix update launched the day before, problems were discovered in the Ethereum network related to the fact that blockchain participants had not yet updated their software. As a result, there is now a noticeable spike in “skipped blocks”, i.e. the frequency with which the blockchain does not process transactions scheduled for verification.

Before the update, this figure was 0.5%, and after the update it increased to 9%, or about 1700%. Ethereum developers attribute the problem to the fact that the validators of the network that support the blockchain have not updated their software - there are now 496 nodes, or about 24.5%.

In the coming days, after September 10, according to the plan set by the developers, the final Paris update will be activated, with which the network will switch to the Proof-of-Stake model - with it, the blockchain will not need classical mining. The developers have repeatedly warned that up to this point it is necessary to update the software of all node operators, otherwise there is a risk of being in an incompatible chain and losing the ability to work in the updated Ethereum network.

The exact deadline for activating the update at the last stage is not hard-coded - it will depend on when the Terminal Total Difficulty indicator (the cumulative complexity of the network to the requested block) reaches the desired value. Tentatively it will be from 13 to 15 September.





US to ban subsidized companies from building advanced chip factories in China for 10 years.
September 7, 2022

According to the BBC news portal, American technology companies receiving government funding will be banned from building high-tech industries in China for 10 years. The corresponding instructions are presented in the plan for the implementation of the Chip Act, under which more than $52 billion will be allocated from the US budget for the development of the American semiconductor industry.

Local manufacturers, faced with a shortage of semiconductors, have long pushed for government subsidies to develop local chip production to reduce dependence on foreign supplies. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the authorities intend to take action to prevent a national security threat from companies receiving government funds under the Chips and Science Act. Such companies are prohibited from investing in China, they are prohibited from developing advanced technologies in China for 10 years. At the same time, the minister said that companies can expand the capacities already operating in China, using "mature" technologies "to serve the Chinese market."

Today, the United States produces only about 10% of global semiconductors used in everything from cars to smartphones. For comparison, in 1990 the country accounted for about 40% of the corresponding production. The Chip Act is intended to rectify the situation.

The Chinese embassy in the US has already criticized the Chip and Science Act, calling it a reminder of the "Cold War mentality". Note that the United States restricts the work of its companies with China not only within the framework of the Chip Law. Earlier this month, NVIDIA and AMD were ordered to stop deliveries of GPU-based computing accelerators to China and Russia. One of the experts called such measures "a blow in the gut" NVIDIA.





Google accused of violating environmental laws for the sake of building another data center.
September 7, 2022

DataCenter Dynamics, citing data from the Nebraska Examiner resource, reported that last year Google bulldozed 2 hectares of virgin prairie in Omaha (Nebraska, USA), violating environmental laws. According to environmental experts, the local land protection law was ignored in the rush to approve the $750 million project, and the site was cleared to make way for the construction of a new Google data center.

It is said that the topic of the prairie was not even brought up during planning discussions, although in the master plan, which requires measures to be taken to protect natural features, including ravines and gorges, cliffs and prairies, wetlands, etc., this site was marked . Any damage or destruction of such areas must be compensated. At the same time, instead of one acre (0.4 ha) of destroyed land, two acres of prairie must be restored.

"The city made a big mistake," said environmental activist Glenn Pollock, who has been involved in conservation activities around Omaha for 30 years. It is no longer possible to correct the situation, since construction work began about a year ago, and Google's plans were kept secret until April of this year. Less than ten stretches of virgin prairie remain in Omaha, down from over twenty in 1980.

It is said that it is important to keep such lands intact, as the local steppe flora with deep roots is resistant to drought and other adverse conditions. Its study will allow developing methods to deal with future droughts. Similar claims were made by environmentalists against Microsoft, which received permission to cut down 2,642 trees on an area of ​​approximately 13.4 hectares in Texas.





The sale of Newport Wafer Fab to the Chinese was blocked again - the British government needs to think more.
September 7, 2022

The UK government has asked for more time to make a final decision on whether it should retroactively approve or block the sale of the Newport Wafer Fab (NWF) facility to the Chinese.

In May, UK Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng began reviewing a deal to sell the NWF plant to Nexperia (controlled by China's Wingtech Technologies) in the Netherlands for national security interests. This happened 10 months after her imprisonment. NWF operates the largest chip manufacturing facility in the UK with a production of 32,000 silicon wafers per month - because of this, the British authorities decided to check the deal for compliance with the National Security and Investment Act of 2021.

The British government said it could not comment at the moment on "commercial operations of enterprises or national security assessments" and declined to give a specific time frame for a decision on the NWF issue, reports The Register. And Nexperia said that the authorities had indeed extended the verification period, and the end of the procedure is now scheduled for October 3, 2022.

Meanwhile, according to The Wall Street Journal, the verification of the transaction was initiated by Washington, and the British authorities announced the verification after consulting with a certain representative of the US Embassy in London. At the end of July, the National Security and Investment Law blocked the licensing of machine vision technology developed at the University of Manchester to China's Beijing Infinite Vision Technology.





Charles Hoskinson called Ethereum Classic a "dead project"
September 6, 2022

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has criticized Ethereum Classic (ETC), noting that the project has not lived up to its potential.

While discussing the prospects for mining cryptocurrencies using GPUs after the transition of Ethereum to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) algorithm, one of the users recalled that Hoskinson proposed introducing a 20% “tax” on Ethereum Classic miners.

In response, he retorted that we are talking about a fund for the sustainable development of the network. The commenters added that these funds are managed in a decentralized manner by the community.

“ETC still makes me sad about what it could have become. This is a dead project that has no purpose or really strong arguments to exist, except for evil, ”said Hoskinson.

In August, JPMorgan analysts assumed that Ethereum Classic would be one of the main beneficiaries of the influx of miners after the Ethereum merger.

The largest mining pool on the Ethereum network, Ethermine, recommended that users switch to mining other cryptocurrencies, including ETC, after The Merge. Bitmain-affiliated AntPool made a similar offer.

A group of Ethereum miners led by Chandler Goh intends to launch a fork of the network, which will continue to work on the Proof-of-Work algorithm. The head of the ETC Cooperative behind the development of the Ethereum Classic ecosystem, Bob Summerville, approached them with a proposal to connect to the cryptocurrency network after the merger.

“ETC hasn't grown since it was born. Over the past five or six years, it has froze, stagnated and has not been able to create any ecosystem. It is quite possible that ETC will remain a giant child, ”the developers of the fork project said in a response.

In early September, the Ethereum Classic hashrate reached its all-time high of 46 TH/s. The indicator is approximately 19 times less than the capacity of the ether network.





Ukraine joined the EU funding agreement for AI and supercomputers.
September 6, 2022

The European Union will provide Ukraine with access to funding for projects in the field of artificial intelligence, high-precision computing and cybersecurity under the Digital Europe program.

The Digital Europe program is part of the digital visa-free regime with the European Union. It is designed for seven years and provides funding for the development of projects in five areas:
high-performance computing - 2.2 billion euros;
artificial intelligence - 2.1 billion euros;
the use of digital technologies in the economy and society - 1.1 billion euros;
digital skills - 580 million euros;
cyber security - only available to EU member states.

Starting from autumn 2022, Ukrainian companies can apply for funding. Work programmes, bids and application details will appear on the Digital Europe website shortly.

The total fund of the program is 7.5 billion euros. 6 billion euros are provided for financing projects in these areas for Ukraine. They will be allocated within seven years.

Membership of the country in the program provides for the payment of fees. However, in 2022–2023, the EU freed Ukraine from them, and provided a 95% discount for 2025–2027.

In August 2021, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Ukroboronprom signed a memorandum of intent to join forces to develop the digital economy, innovation and artificial intelligence in the country's defense sector.

In May, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the national AI development plan for 2021-2024.





Twitter Fake Bitcoin Farm Raises $100,000 in Hours.
September 6, 2022

A Twitter-popular DeFi researcher under the pseudonym FatManTerra came up with a fake investment scheme as part of an experiment and raised over $100,000 in bitcoin in a couple of hours.

Over 101,000 people have subscribed to FatManTerra. He is known as a former Terra supporter who is now actively opposing the project after its $40 billion collapse in May.

On September 5, he tweeted about allegedly gaining access to a “highly profitable bitcoin farm” from an unnamed fund, and invited subscribers to join farming.

FatManTerra deliberately did not disclose additional details of the investment scheme, but even without this information, he managed to collect over $100,000 worth of bitcoins within a couple of hours.

“I want to send a clear message to everyone in the crypto world - anyone who offers you easy money is lying. Influencers who sell quick trading training or great investment opportunities are cheating you,” he added.

FatManTerra claims to have returned all the money to users.

He added that the experiment was inspired by the account Lady of Crypto, which was accused of promoting dubious investment schemes among 257,500 subscribers.

Earlier it was reported that the attackers hacked the Twitter account of the accounting firm PwC Venezuela to promote a fake XRP giveaway on behalf of Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.





Taiwan's ProLogium to build $8 billion solid-state battery plant in Europe.
September 6, 2022

Taiwanese battery manufacturer ProLogium Technology Co. selected four European countries, in one of which in the future it will build an $8 billion plant for the production of solid-state lithium batteries. According to the source, the new production site of the Taiwanese company may appear in France, Germany, Poland or the UK.

ProLogium has commissioned Accuracy, a consulting firm, to find a suitable location for the construction of a new plant that will be able to produce batteries with a total capacity of 120 gigawatt-hours per year, the report said. The company will supply batteries for electric vehicles and provide jobs for thousands of people. The new plant is expected to be built within the next decade, but its exact location is not yet known. Recall that last year ProLogium managed to raise $326 million in the next round of financing.

Solid state batteries have the potential to significantly change the electric vehicle industry as they are able to store more energy, charge faster and are safer to use than wet lithium ion batteries. The use of solid-state batteries should accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels in transportation.





Image from the James Webb telescope used to spread the virus.
September 6, 2022

One of the first images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope turned out to be a tool for spreading malware, cybersecurity experts at Securonix said. The campaign to spread the virus was named GO#WEBBFUSCATOR.

The first stage of the attack is a phishing email with a Microsoft Office format attachment. The document's metadata contains a URL that, when navigated to, downloads an obfuscated VBS script file that runs if Word has macros enabled. When the macro is executed, a file is downloaded to the computer with a copy of the photo from "James Webb", which contains a malicious code in the Base64 format, disguised as a certificate. According to Securonix, no anti-virus program was able to detect malware in the image file.

Securonix Vice President Augusto Barros cited two reasons why cybercriminals could choose a photograph from an orbiting telescope as a weapon. Firstly, high-resolution snapshots are characterized by large file sizes and are skipped by antiviruses during scanning. Secondly, even if the antivirus signals a possible threat, the user may not pay attention to the warning, since the snapshot has been widely distributed on the Internet.

The experts noticed that the malicious code used in the attack is written in the Golang programming language created by Google - its popularity among cybercriminals is growing due to its support by different platforms and the fact that this code is more difficult to analyze. And the best defense against attack is not to open email attachments from unknown sources.





Irish regulator fines Instagram* a record €405 million for disclosing children's personal data.
September 6, 2022

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined Instagram* social networking site €405 million for violating statutory data processing practices for minors. The regulator intends to publish details next week.

The investigation into Instagram*'s violation of the European Data Protection Act (GDPR) began nearly two years ago. The company allowed children to register business accounts, which exposed their contact information to the public. In addition, Instagram* reportedly made some minors' accounts public by default.

This is the third and largest of the penalties imposed by the DPC on Meta*. The company was previously fined after it emerged that WhatsApp did not properly inform EU citizens about the collection and use of their data, in particular about sharing information with Meta*.

In a statement to reporters, Meta* representatives said that the company updated the settings for minors over a year ago, and every EU resident under the age of 18, when registering on the social network, receives a private account by default, providing access to their content only to people they know, and adults do not can write to children who are not their subscribers. Meta* disagreed with the decision of the Irish regulator and intend to file an appeal.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which a court has made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 “On Counteracting Extremist Activity”.





SK hynix to build $11bn new chip factory in South Korea.
September 6, 2022

SK hynix, one of the leaders in the memory chip market, announced its intention to spend $10.9 billion to build a semiconductor plant in South Korea. The funds will be invested over the next five years. According to the manufacturer, the construction of the M15X plant in the city of Cheongju, located south of Seoul, will begin in October and will be completed in early 2025.

A company representative declined to comment on what kind of chips the plant will produce and what capabilities the production facilities will have. It is known that SK hynix already has the capacity to produce DRAM chips in Icheon, South Korea, NAND flash memory in Cheongju, as well as factories in China's Wuxi, Chongqing and Dalian. Parent company SK Group also recently announced plans to build a chip packaging plant in the US.

Now the demand for chips is falling due to falling demand for gadgets, which is associated with inflation, the global economic crisis and disruptions in supply chains. At the same time, SK hynix noted that experts predict a market recovery from 2024 and a return to previous levels in 2025 – the cyclical nature of business has become “less volatile” compared to previous years.

The company says the plan to build the M15X factory is being implemented as part of preparing SK hynix for a market growth expected to start in 2025. At the same time, industry experts recently stated that contract prices for DDR5, which fell by 20% in July alone, will continue to fall until the end of this year.





Russia has developed an electromagnetic engine for spacecraft.
September 6, 2022

It became known that JSC "Information Satellite Systems. Academician M.F. Reshetnev" (part of the state corporation "Roscosmos") has developed an electromagnetic engine for spacecraft. This was reported by the TASS news agency with reference to these invention applications, which were distributed by the Federal Institute of Industrial Property.

The invention is "an electromagnetic space propulsion device that directly converts electrical energy from a direct current source on board a spacecraft into kinetic energy," as stated in the document.

The design of the engine provides for induction devices, which are equally located on two platforms, fixed with rods on the seats. They, in turn, are located diagonally opposite from the center of mass of the apparatus. The distance from the centers of seats to the center of mass of the apparatus produce equality of the shoulders of forces.

The engine design includes a solenoid with a non-ferromagnetic tube, a soft magnetic shield and a rigid connection of coaxial solenoid and magnetic shield. Due to its size, the screen blocks the possibility of direct interaction between the Earth's magnetic fields and the induction installation from the end of the solenoid core closest to the screen.

Recall, JSC "Information satellite systems named after. Academician M.F. Reshetnev is a manufacturer of Glonass navigation satellites, Gonets communications satellites, and Luch relay satellites. Since 2020, the enterprise has been working on the creation of the Angosat-2 satellite for Angola, which should replace the failed Angosat-1 satellite.





CERN prepares for European power outages - Large Hadron Collider needs to be protected from damage.
September 6, 2022

The energy crisis in Europe is forcing the leadership of the European Organization for Nuclear Research CERN to develop plans for an emergency shutdown of experiments. It is reported that plans to suspend a number of auxiliary accelerators will be transferred to CERN donor countries in September. The set of measures promises to protect the organization's most valuable instrument, the Large Hadron Collider, from damage. They don't plan to stop him.

In the spring of this year, the LHC completed the next stage of modernization and entered the third working cycle (Run3) with a record proton collision power of 13.6 TeV. This level promises to double the speed of research, as the intensity of collisions will increase and this will lead to an increase in the number of events. At the same time, CERN decided not to renew cooperation with Russian and Belarusian scientists after the expiration of the previous agreement, which expires in the summer and autumn of 2024. But the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine will also have repercussions for European researchers and scholars from other countries.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Serge Claudet, head of the CERN energy management commission, said: "We are really concerned about the stability of the power grid, so we are doing everything possible to prevent power outages in our region."

During peak hours, the consumption of CERN with all its installations reaches 200 MW. This is approximately 30% of the consumption of Geneva located near the complex. Electricity consumption in the region is ordered to be reduced by at least 15%, which will also affect CERN. The LHC will not necessarily stop, but some of the accelerators in the complex will have to be transferred to flexible work schedules or scheduled shutdowns. To do this, CERN is asking the energy supplier - the French company EDF SA - to warn a day before the need to reduce consumption.

Early shutdown of powerful consumers at CERN will make it possible to protect the $4.4 billion LHC from emergency shutdowns and not stop experiments on it, although the shutdown of a number of auxiliary accelerators may affect the schedule of scientific work, including work at the Large Hadron Collider. It is expected that the shutdown of other accelerators in the CERN complex will reduce energy consumption by 25%.





Action camera GoPro Hero 11 Black will receive a new 27 MP sensor and improved stabilization.
September 6, 2022

Online sources have released high-quality images and data on key technical specifications of the GoPro Hero11 Black action camera. The novelty will replace last year's Hero10 Black.

It is known that the upcoming device will receive a new CMOS sensor with 27 million pixels versus 23.6 million for its predecessor. At the same time, the video shooting modes will remain the same - a maximum of 5.3K at 60 frames per second or 4K at 120 frames per second will be supported.

The GoPro Hero11 Black will feature enhanced HyperSmooth 5.0 stabilization, while the Hero10 Black will feature HyperSmooth 4.0. But the capacity of the battery will remain the same - 1720 mAh. The novelty, as before, can be submerged under water to a depth of 10 meters.

Like the current generation model, the GoPro Hero11 Black action camera will feature a 2.27-inch rear screen and a 1.4-inch front display.

Apparently, the changes will affect the software part, but there are no details about this yet. The price of the upcoming device is also not disclosed.





Apple may introduce smart watches tomorrow that will be “cheaper than the Apple Watch SE”
September 6, 2022

Tomorrow, Apple will host an event that will be dedicated to the iPhone 14 series smartphones, as well as the announcement of the Apple Watch Pro smart watch and second-generation AirPods Pro wireless headphones. In addition to this list, according to a recent New York Times publication, a new Apple Watch model that will be “cheaper than the Apple Watch SE” may be presented at the event.

Apple currently offers five smartwatch models. The most affordable Apple Watch Series 3, introduced almost five years ago, is the cheapest at $199. If the New York Times information is correct, it will be replaced by a new smartwatch model that will be presented tomorrow. This would make sense given that Apple will no longer be supporting the Watch Series 3 with a new software update.

It is possible that the new budget model will receive an updated chip and support for cellular connectivity, which will allow for the addition of the “Family Setup” (Family Setup) feature that the Watch Series 3 does not have. Thanks to this feature, members of the shift who do not have an iPhone, such as children, will be able to use smart watches to call relatives and friends, send messages, etc.

The Apple Watch SE is currently priced at $279 for the 40mm model and $309 for the 44mm model. The addition of cellular connectivity, which is required to implement the Family Setup feature, raises the device's price to $329 and $359, respectively.





Crypto Exchange Binance to End Support for USDC Stablecoin and Forcibly Convert It to Native Binance USD (BUSD).
September 6, 2022

The world's largest crypto exchange Binance has announced an unprecedented operation. From September 29, it will stop working with the world's second most popular stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) and forcibly convert user assets from this currency into its own similar product - Binance USD (BUSD).

The same will happen with two smaller scale stablecoins - Pax Dollar (USDP) and TrueUSD (TUSD). USDC, USDP or TUSD holders will automatically receive BUSD instead on all Binance platforms. However, they will be able to receive the corresponding cryptocurrencies if they are withdrawn from the Binance exchange at a rate of 1:1.

In fact, such actions are aimed at taking USDC, with a market capitalization of about $52 million, out of the race for supremacy in the field of stablecoins, where Tether (USDT) is leading. This not only bodes inconvenience to users, but also to Circle Internet Financial, which is an issuer of USDC and was planning an IPO.

Today, stablecoin BUSD is the third in market capitalization after USDT and USDC, it is $19.5 billion. TUSD and USDP are in fifth and sixth places with a market capitalization of $1 billion and $945 million, respectively. Once the three cryptocurrencies are ousted from the world's largest exchange, it will gain a strong competitive edge against USDT.

USDT accounts for 44% of the stablecoin market today, but with Binance's new move, that could change. At the same time, stablecoins are indispensable in the crypto market and in many cases replace classic, fiat assets, primarily US dollars.





Asian Institutions Are More Interested in ZK Solutions Than GameFi.
September 6, 2022

Institutional investors from Asia are more interested in infrastructure projects than in new segments like DeFi and GameFi. Huobi Research researchers came to this conclusion after conducting a survey among more than 20 companies.

“Most large investors basically prefer to explore than to act,” the experts emphasized.

Huobi Research noted that the institutions are most looking at infrastructure projects "with a focus on ZK, new first-layer networks and cross-platform software."

“DeFi is the most preferred area for institutions, while GameFi and social networks remain controversial areas,” the researchers noted.

According to the survey, large companies see ZK solutions as "one of the main potential drivers of the next cycle." They also eschew DeFi platforms for the most part, focusing on relatively mature projects with stable cash flow.

Investors are even more skeptical about SocialFi projects that are still in the early stages of development. Many of them are characterized by "vague patterns and unstable paradigms".

“If they rely only on tokenomics and social media-based transformation of the Web2 era, they will have a hard time getting users from traditional giants,” the researchers stressed.

The perception of GameFi is also controversial: some companies believe that games can effectively attract additional users, others consider the business models on the market unsustainable.

Earlier, experts from the Fed's research group called the DeFi sector a potential threat to financial stability.





TikTok denies reports of user data being leaked.
September 6, 2022

The TikTok service team denied reports of a possible leak of users' personal data, as well as the source code of the platform, which had previously spread on the Web. The social network claims to have conducted an investigation and found no evidence of a security breach on the platform, writes The Verge.

According to Bleeping Computer, attackers on one of the hacker forums shared screenshots with information allegedly taken from the stolen TikTok database. The hackers said that in total, the hacked server contained records of more than 2 billion users of the platform, as well as 790 GB in the form of user data, statistics, platform code and other resources.

“We have confirmed that all of the data samples in question are in the public domain and do not involve compromising systems, networks or the TikTok database. We do not believe that platform users need to take any proactive action [to protect information]. The privacy and security of user data is a key priority for TikTok,” said representatives of the social platform.

Citing cybersecurity experts, The Verge writes that most of the "stolen" data is actually public information that was collected from the platform. According to Troy Hunt, regional director of Microsoft and creator of the Have I Been Pwned website, which checks the security of user data, the information provided by the hackers was "inconclusive."

The hacker group, in turn, also previously stated that it had gained access to data from the Chinese messenger WeChat. WeChat did not respond to a request for comment.





Tesla Reveals Details About Its D1 Chips That Will Power Dojo's 20-Eflops AI Supercomputer.
September 6, 2022

Tesla has already announced its own D1 processor, created in the company's laboratories, which will become the basis of the Dojo AI supercomputer. We need such a system to create a virtual training ground for the AI ​​driver, recreating real situations on the roads in detail. Naturally, such a simulator requires huge computing power: in our world, traffic conditions are very complex, changeable and include many factors and variables.

Until recently, not much was known about Dojo and D1, but at the Hot Chips 34 conference, a lot of interesting things were revealed about the architecture, design, and capabilities of this Tesla solution. The presentation was held by Emil Talpes, who previously worked at AMD for 17 years on the design of server processors. He, like a number of other prominent developers, is currently working at Tesla to create and improve the company's hardware.

The main idea of ​​D1 was scalability, so at the beginning of the development of a new chip, the creators actively reconsidered the role of such traditional concepts as coherence, virtual memory, etc. - not all mechanisms scale in the best way when it comes to building a really large computing system. Instead, preference was given to a distributed storage network based on SRAM, for which an interconnect was created that was an order of magnitude ahead of existing implementations in distributed computing systems.

The basis of the Tesla processor was an integer computing core, based on some instructions from the RISC-V set, but supplemented by a large number of proprietary instructions optimized for the requirements of the machine learning cores used by the company. The vector math block was created almost from scratch, according to the developers.

The Dojo instruction set includes scalar, matrix, and SIMD instructions, as well as specific primitives for moving data from local memory to remote memory, as well as semaphores with barriers - the latter are required to coordinate memory work throughout the system. As for the specific instructions for machine learning, they are implemented in Dojo in hardware.

The first-born in the series, the D1 chip, is not an accelerator per se - the company considers it a high-performance general-purpose processor that does not need specific accelerators. Each Dojo compute unit is represented by a single D1 core with local memory and I/O interfaces. This is a 64-bit superscalar kernel.

Moreover, the kernel supports multithreading (SMT4), which is designed to increase performance per clock (rather than isolate different tasks from each other), so this SMT implementation does not support virtual memory, and protection mechanisms are rather limited in functionality. Dojo resource management is handled by a specialized software stack and proprietary software.

The 64-bit kernel has a 32-byte fetch window, which can contain up to 8 instructions, which corresponds to the width of the decoder. He, in turn, can process two threads per cycle. The result goes to the schedulers, which send it to an integer computation unit (two ALUs) or a vector unit (64 byte wide SIMD + 8×8×4 matrix multiplication).

Each D1 core has 1.25 MB SRAM. This memory is not a cache, but is capable of loading data at a speed of 400 GB / s and storing at a speed of 270 GB / s, and, as already mentioned, special instructions are implemented in the chip that allow you to work with data in other Dojo cores. For this, the SRAM block has its own mechanisms, so that working with remote memory does not require additional operations.

As for the supported data formats, the scalar block supports integer formats from 8 to 64 bits, while the vector and matrix blocks support a wide range of floating point formats, including mixed-precision calculations: FP32, BF16, CFP16 and CFP8. The D1 developers came to use a whole set of configurable 8- and 16-bit data representations - the Dojo compiler can dynamically change the values ​​​​of the mantissa and exponent, so that the system can use up to 16 different vector formats, as long as it does not changed.

As already mentioned, the D1 topology uses a mesh structure in which every 12 cores are combined into a logical block. The entire D1 chip is an array of 18×20 cores, but only 354 cores out of 360 present on the chip are available. The 645mm2 die itself is manufactured at TSMC's facilities using a 7nm process technology. The clock frequency is 2 GHz, the total amount of SRAM is 440 MB.

The D1 processor develops 362 Tflops in BF16 / CFP8 mode, in FP32 mode this figure drops to 22 Tflops. The FP64 mode is not supported by D1 vector blocks, so this processor is not suitable for many traditional HPC workloads. But Tesla built the D1 for internal use, so it doesn't really care about compatibility. However, in new generations, D2 or D3, such support may appear if it suits the company's goals.

Each D1 die has a 576-bit external SerDes interface with a combined performance of 8 TB/s on all four sides, so it will not become a bottleneck when connecting D1. This interface combines the crystals into a single 5x5 matrix, such a matrix of 25 D1 crystals is called the Dojo training tile.

This tile is designed as a complete thermo-electromechanical module, having an external interface with a throughput of 4.5 TB / s per side, with a total of 11 GB of SRAM, as well as its own 15 kW power supply system. The processing power of one Dojo tile is 9 PFlops in BF16/CFP8 format. At this level of power consumption, the Dojo can only be liquid-cooled.

Tiles can be combined into even more productive matrices, but exactly how the Tesla supercomputer is physically organized is not entirely clear. To communicate with the outside world, DIP blocks are used - Dojo Interface Processors. These are interface processors through which tiles communicate with host systems and are assigned control functions, storage of data arrays, etc. Each DIP not only performs IO functions, but also contains 32 GB of HBM memory (not specified, HBM2e or HBM3).

DIP uses its entire transport protocol (Tesla Transport Protocol, TTP), developed by Tesla and providing a throughput of 900 GB / s, and over Ethernet - 50 GB / s. The external interface of the cards is PCI Express 4.0, and each interface card carries a pair of DIPs. There are 5 DIPs installed on each side of each row of tiles, which gives a speed of up to 4.5 TB / s from HBM stacks to tile.

In cases where tile-to-tile access in the entire system requires too many hops (up to 30 in the case of edge-to-edge access), the system can use DIPs connected externally by a 400GbE fat tree network, thus reducing the number of hops to maximum four. Throughput suffers in this case, but latency wins, which is more important in some scenarios.

In the basic version, the Dojo V1 supercomputer produces 1 Eflops in BF16 / CFP8 mode and can load models up to 1.3 TB directly into SRAM, another 13 TB of data can be stored in DIP HBM assemblies. It should be noted that the SRAM space in the entire Dojo system uses a single flat addressing. The full scale version of Dojo will have a performance of up to 20 eflops.

How much effort the company will need to launch such a monster, and most importantly, supply it with working and useful software, is unknown - but obviously a lot. The system is known to be compatible with PyTorch. Tesla is currently getting ready-made D1 chips from TSMC. In the meantime, the company is making do with the world's largest installed NVIDIA AI supercomputer.





China successfully conducted the first flight of a large solar-powered drone.
September 5, 2022

According to Chinese media, citing the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China has taken an important step towards the development of "self-sufficient" solar-powered drones designed for high-altitude flights. The QMX50 has already made its first flight.

According to the Xinhua news agency, the flight took place in the city of Yulin, located in the Shaanxi province in northwestern China. According to the participants in the experiment, the systems of the device worked normally, the flight took place and ended successfully 26 minutes after the start.

The unmanned aerial vehicle is a development of the First Aviation Institute AVIC. This is the first large-scale model that runs only on solar energy. According to Xinhua, the high-altitude, low-speed UAV has a "super-large wing aspect ratio" and is also the first large-sized UAV with a twin-body design.

According to media reports, the QMX50 model is capable of carrying out missions using only solar energy without additional power sources. The aircraft can be used for high-altitude reconnaissance, monitoring forest fires and the state of the atmosphere, mapping, it can even act as a repeater when organizing communications. Representatives of AVIC emphasize that the QMX50 flight became only the basis for further work on solar drones, including work on new composite materials, power supplies and flight control.





Chile overwhelmingly rejects new progressive constitution.
September 5, 2022

Chileans voted overwhelmingly against the proposed new constitution on Sunday, rejecting what would be one of the most progressive charters in the world.

While nearly 80% of Chileans voted in favor of the draft new constitution in 2020, nearly 62% of voters rejected the new text with 99.74% of the ballot boxes counted.

Carole Cariola, a spokeswoman for the endorsement campaign, conceded defeat late Sunday in downtown Santiago but said the mandate to develop a new text remained in place.

“We seek to create the conditions for channeling this popular will and the path that will lead us to a new constitution,” Cariola said.

President Gabriel Boric, whose government is heavily tied to the new text, said cabinet changes are coming and the government will be working on drafting a new constitution.

“We must listen to the voice of the people. Not only today, but also in the last tense years that we have experienced,” Boric said. "This anger is hidden and we cannot ignore it."

The president said he would work with Congress and various sections of society to draft a new text that would take into account the lessons of Sunday's rejection.

The center-left and right-wing parties that promoted the withdrawal campaign also agreed to negotiate a new text.

“I think there are two things that explain what just happened. One is rejection of the Boric government,” political analyst Cristobal Bellolio told Reuters, adding that the second is identity politics regarding indigenous peoples and other issues.

The proposed text, which was rejected by voters, was a response to widespread violent protests that swept the country in late 2019 and focused on social rights, the environment, gender parity and the rights of indigenous peoples, in a dramatic shift from a market-oriented constitution dating back to Augusto's rule. Pinochet. dictatorship.

MASS TURNOUT WITH MANDATORY VOTING.
Nearly 13 million of the 15 million eligible Chileans and residents voted in more than 3,000 polling stations. Among them is the National Stadium in Santiago, where Rosemary Williamson, 54, and her 85-year-old mother voted to reject the new constitution.

Williamson, who voted yes in 2020, raised concerns about several proposals.

“The main one is (indigenous) multinationality, and then pension funds,” she said. "I've been working all my life and I don't want to share it."

Diego Uribe, 35, a father of two who doesn't usually vote because he has lost faith in political parties, voted yes in Puente Alto, a poor neighborhood in southern Santiago.

"It's different," Uribe said, noting that he would have voted even if it wasn't mandatory. “Approval means real change in the future, free education, decent healthcare and more rights.”

The latest polls before the two-week blackout showed opponents leading by 47%, compared to 38% for yes and 17% undecided, but Sunday's results beat the polls by a wide margin.





Canada looking for suspects in stabbing that left 10 dead, 15 injured.
September 5, 2022

WELDON, Saskatchewan — Canadian police have tracked down two suspects in a stabbing that left 10 people dead and at least 15 injured, mostly in a sparsely populated indigenous community early Sunday morning.

The stabbing at 13 crime scenes was one of the deadliest massacres in modern Canadian history and will no doubt reverberate across a nation that is unaccustomed to bouts of mass violence more common in the United States.

"I am shocked and devastated by today's horrific attacks," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. "As Canadians, we mourn with all those affected by this tragic violence and with the people of Saskatchewan."

Police named the two suspects Damien Sanderson, 31, and Miles Sanderson, 30, providing photographs and descriptions but no more details about their motives or victims.

Indigenous leaders said in a statement that the attacks may have been drug-related.

“This is the disruption we face when harmful illegal drugs invade our communities,” the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Peoples said. The group represents the 74 indigenous peoples of Saskatchewan.

The mother of two was among 10 killed, local media reported, citing the woman's former partner.

“It's terrible how so many lives can be destroyed by imprisonment, drugs and alcohol,” said Michael Brett Burns in an interview with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.

In May, Miles Sanderson was listed as a "lawbreaker" by the Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers program, which encourages the public to cooperate with the police. There were no other details about why he was wanted.

The two men were seen in a black Nissan Rogue and were spotted in the city of Regina, about 320 km (200 miles) south of the site of the attacks on the James Smith Cree tribe and in the village of Weldon, police said.

“It appears that some of the victims may have been targeted and some may have been accidental. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to talk about motives at the moment, ”said Rhonda Blackmore, commander of the Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police. press conference.

Police said there may be additional casualties who have taken themselves to various hospitals.

The James Smith Cree Nation is an indigenous community of about 3,400 people, mainly engaged in agriculture, hunting and fishing. Weldon is a village with a population of about 200 people.

The nation's elected elders declared a state of emergency "in response to the multiple killings and attacks on Cree James Smith" and established two emergency operations centers, the nation said in a statement.

Indigenous people make up less than 5% of Canada's population of about 38 million and suffer from higher levels of poverty, unemployment and lower life expectancy than other Canadians.

Trudeau said his government was in direct contact with James Smith's Cree leadership, adding: "We are ready to help in any way we can."

The first stabbings were reported at 5:40 a.m. (1140 GMT) and within three hours, police had declared dangerous persons throughout the province. By noon, similar warnings were also issued in Saskatchewan's neighboring provinces of Alberta and Manitoba.

Police bulletins urged people to report any suspicious people and take precautions, including hiding in place, and warned against picking up hitchhikers or approaching suspicious people.

“Do not leave a safe place. Be careful when allowing others to enter your home, ”says one of the tips.

A police alert, issued shortly after noon, said they may be in Regina, one of the province's largest cities, where a large number of police officers have already been mobilized due to a Canadian football game at Mosaic Stadium near the city center.

However, Blackmore said it was not known where the suspects might be heading or if they had changed vehicles.

"What happened today in our province is appalling," Blackmore said, calling the attacks one of the largest, if not the largest, in the province's recent history.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority stepped up its emergency response by sending additional personnel to treat those affected, later announcing that "the risk of a large influx of patients due to this situation is no longer visible."

"We can confirm that several people have been triaged and received care at multiple locations and that a request has been made for additional staff to help respond to this situation," the health authority said in a statement.





Zelensky warns of harsh winter and reports on the course of the war.
September 5, 2022

Kyiv, Sept. 4 - European leaders on Sunday tried to cushion the impact of high energy prices on the continent after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of a difficult winter even as he reported progress in a counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Zelensky, in an overnight address on Sunday, thanked his forces for taking two settlements in the south and a third in the east, as well as additional territory in the east, saying he had received "good reports" from his military command and intelligence chief.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office, posted an image earlier Sunday of soldiers raising the Ukrainian flag over a village he described as the southern district, which is the main center of the counteroffensive.

"Vysokopole. Kherson region. Ukraine. Today,” Tymoshenko wrote on Facebook under a photo of three soldiers on rooftops, one of whom is attaching a Ukrainian flag to a post.

Last week, Ukraine launched a counteroffensive targeting the south, especially the Kherson region, which Russia took over at the start of the conflict.

Zelensky's announcement came a day after he warned Europeans that Russia was preparing a "decisive energy strike" in the coming cold months.

Moscow cited Western sanctions and technical problems due to power outages. European countries, which supported Kyiv with diplomatic and military support, accused Russia of using energy carriers as a weapon.

Some analysts say a housing shortage and rising costs of living as winter approaches risk undermining Western support for Kyiv as governments struggle to deal with a disgruntled population.

Separately, the US Embassy in Moscow reported that John Sullivan, the ambassador since his appointment by former President Donald Trump in 2019, has left his post and is leaving the diplomatic service. A State Department spokesman said Sullivan had completed his usual tour duration.

Last week, Moscow said it would keep the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, the main gas pipeline to Germany, closed, and the G7 countries announced a planned price cap on Russian oil exports.

The Kremlin has said it will stop selling oil to any country that imposes restrictions.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that his government had planned a complete shutdown of gas supplies in December, promising measures to cut prices and link welfare benefits to inflation.

“Russia is no longer a reliable energy partner,” Scholz said at a press conference in Berlin.

In response, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused Germany of being an enemy of Russia. “In other words, Russia has declared a hybrid war,” he said.

On Sunday, Finland and Sweden announced plans to offer energy companies billions of dollars to stave off the threat of insolvency amid the crisis.

LOOK AT THE ZAPORIZHIA NUCLEAR PLANT.
Russian authorities said the situation around the Russian-occupied Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine was calm on Sunday after UN inspectors said on Saturday that it had again lost off-site power.

The last remaining main external transmission line was cut off, although the backup line continued to supply electricity to the grid, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement.

According to him, only one of the six reactors remained in operation.

Russian troops seized the plant shortly after President Vladimir Putin moved his army across the border on February 24. It became the center of the conflict. Each side blamed the other for the shelling that raised fears of a nuclear holocaust.

In an interview with radio Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russian official Vladimir Rogov said that there had been no shelling or intrusions. According to Rogov, IAEA specialists are expected to continue working at the nuclear power plant until at least Monday.

Last week, an IAEA mission visited the plant, which still employs Ukrainian personnel, and some experts remained there pending the release of the IAEA report.

Russia is resisting international calls to demilitarize the area.

On other fronts, Ukrainian Telegram channels reported explosions on the Antonovsky Bridge near the southern city of Kherson, which is occupied by Russian troops.

The bridge has been severely damaged by Ukrainian missiles in recent weeks, but Russian troops have tried to repair it or install pontoon crossings or barges to supply Russian units on the right bank of the Dnieper.





Former Tata Sons chair Cyrus Mistry dies in road accident.
September 5, 2022

MUMBAI, Sept 4 - Cyrus Mistry, the 54-year-old former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, died in a road accident near financial capital Mumbai on Sunday, Indian police said.

Mistry was ousted as chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the $300-billion salt-to-software Tata conglomerate, in a boardroom coup in 2016, sparking a long-drawn-out legal tussle on which India's top court eventually ruled in Tata Group's favour.

The accident took place in Palghar, located about 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Mumbai, on Sunday afternoon. Mistry was travelling to Mumbai from Gujarat with three others, B. Patil, the top police official in Palghar district, said.

A senior Mumbai police official said the car in which Mistry was travelling had rammed into a divider, and that he had died at the accident site.

Several prominent politicians and industrialists tweeted their condolences after news of Mistry's passing was reported. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Mistry's demise untimely and shocking.

"He was a promising business leader who believed in India's economic prowess. His passing away is a big loss to the world of commerce and industry," Modi tweeted.

Mistry's family and Tata Sons did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

Tata Consultancy Services, in which Tata Sons owns a majority stake, said it was mourning the untimely demise of its former chairman, adding that the company was offering its "deepest condolences and prayers" to his family and friends.

"He was a warm, friendly, and congenial person who built a strong relationship with the TCS family during his time as the chairman of the company," TCS said in a statement.

Mistry was the sixth chairman of the Tata group, a conglomerate started over 150 years ago, and the second not named Tata. He was the brother-in-law of Noel Tata, half-brother of Mistry's predecessor as chair Ratan Tata.

Mistry's grandfather first bought shares in Tata Sons in the 1930s. The Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, founded by Mistry's father, currently holds a near 18% stake, making it the largest single shareholder in a firm mostly controlled by trusts.

The decades-long relationship between SP Group, one of the country's largest construction firms, and Tata Group was strained following his sacking, and SP Group has since been looking to "separate its interests" from Tata Sons.

Fund managers Reuters spoke to at the time of Mistry's appointment described him as little-known in business circles.

A graduate in civil engineering from London's Imperial College and in management from the London Business School, Mistry described himself as a voracious reader of business books and golfer, and shared his family's love of horses.

SP Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Mistry's death.





Bed Bath & Beyond CFO dies after falling from New York's Jenga tower.
September 5, 2022

Sept 4 (Reuters) - Bed Bath & Beyond Inc's (BBBYO) chief financial officer fell to his death from New York's Tribeca skyscraper known as the "Jenga" tower on Friday afternoon, police said on Sunday, days after the struggling retailer announced it was closing stores and laying off workers.

Gustavo Arnal, 52, joined Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBYO) in 2020. He previously worked as CFO for cosmetics brand Avon in London and had a 20-year stint with Procter & Gamble (PGN), according to his LinkedIn profile.

On Friday at 12:30 p.m. ET (1630 GMT), police responded to a 911 call and found a 52-year-old man dead near the building who suffered injuries from a fall. Police identified the man as Gustavo Arnal.

The police statement did not provide further details on the circumstances leading to Arnal's death and said the New York City Medical Examiner's Office would determine the cause of death. Bed Bath & Beyond confirmed his death in a press statement on Sunday but gave no details.

The big-box chain - once considered a so-called "category killer" in home and bath goods - has seen its fortunes falter after an attempt to sell more of its own brand, or private-label goods.

Last week, Bed Bath & Beyond said it would close 150 stores, cut jobs and overhaul its merchandising strategy in an attempt to turn around its money-losing business.

It forecast a bigger-than-expected 26% slump in same-store sales for the second quarter and said it would retain its buybuy Baby business, which it had put up for sale.

Arnal sold 55,013 shares in Bed Bath & Beyond in multiple transactions on Aug. 16-17, Reuters' calculations showed based on SEC filings. The sales amounted to about $1.4 million, and Arnal still had almost 255,400 shares remaining.

On Aug. 23, the company, Arnal and major shareholder Ryan Cohen were sued over accusations of artificially inflating the firm's stock price in a "pump and dump" scheme, with the lawsuit alleging Arnal sold off his shares at a higher price after the scheme.

The class action lawsuit listed Arnal as one of the defendants and was brought by a group of shareholders who claimed they lost around $1.2 billion.

The filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleged that Arnal "agreed to regulate all insider sales by BBBY's officers and directors to ensure that the market would not be inundated with a large number of BBBY shares at a given time."

The lawsuit also alleged that he issued materially misleading statements to investors.

The company said it was "in the early stages of evaluating the complaint, but based on current knowledge the company believes the claims are without merit."

Shares in Bed Bath & Beyond have been highly volatile in recent months, being viewed as a so-called "meme" stock, which trade more on social media sentiment than economic fundamentals.

Cohen, a billionaire investor, disclosed a stake of nearly 10% in early March. Cohen's RC Ventures disclosed plans to sell its stake on Aug. 17.





Kyiv Tech Summit organizers provided Unchain Fund donors with the opportunity to visit the hackathon.
September 4, 2022

The organizers of the Kyiv Tech Summit hackathon launched the Donate to Participate campaign. People who wish to join the forum but are not Web3 developers can attend the event by donating 150 USDT to the Unchain Fund.

The hackathon will be held from 6 to 9 September in Kyiv. Its participants will create a Web3 solution to deal with the consequences of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.

The forum is hosted by the Unchain Fund, a decentralized autonomous organization UkraineDAO and the social metauniverse Atlantis World.

Sponsors and partners of the Kyiv Tech Summit will be NEAR, Aurora, Nym, Aragon, Consensys Academy, Amazon, Celo and a number of other companies and blockchain projects.

Non-developers in the community can donate 150 USDT to the Unchain Fund and receive an invitation to the event. To do this, you need to fill out a special form. As part of the promotion, only 90 tickets will be distributed.

According to the organizers, the funds received as part of the donations will help cover the costs associated with the hackathon. The rest of the money will be given to Ukrainian children affected by the war.

Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, who previously sent donations to the Unchain Fund, has already paid attention to the hackathon.





Elon Musk's fraudulent deepfake posted on the South Korean government's YouTube channel.
September 4, 2022

On Saturday, September 3, unidentified individuals hacked into a YouTube channel owned by the South Korean government, renamed it SpaceX Invest, and uploaded fake videos of Elon Musk discussing cryptocurrencies. It is reported by Yonhap News Agency.

An official from the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism told the agency that control of the canal was restored the same day. At the time of writing, it is not available. According to the official, the hackers managed to compromise the account credentials.

Google confirmed to Yonhap that the government channel was indeed hacked. The company added that they are investigating the incident.

On Sunday, the media also reported on the hacking of the Twitter account of the Venezuelan division of the consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). On the night of September 4, he began posting links to a site purportedly owned by Ripple.

The site promotes the “giveaway” of the XRP cryptocurrency. To get the asset, users are offered to follow a malicious link. At the time of writing, the phishing tweets remain on the PwC Venezuela page.

In May 2022, scammers circulated a deepfake Musk on Twitter, in which he “calls for investment” in an obvious scam.





Founder of crypto exchange Hodl Hodl to launch Debifi lending platform.
September 4, 2022

Founder and CEO of the Hodl Hodl exchange, Max Keidun, will launch the Debifi landing platform. He spoke about this at the Baltic Honeybadger conference, CoinDesk reports.

According to him, the platform will start working in the first quarter of 2023. At the first stage, Debifi will offer stablecoin loans to customers. Six months after the launch, fiat loans will become available. In both cases, cryptocurrencies will act as collateral.

Keidun noted that the company has already signed agreements with several liquidity providers. He stressed that in this capacity, only institutional entities with the necessary licenses, for example, banks, will be able to join the platform.

Debifi has also entered into contracts with the Bitfinex exchange and XBTO crypto finance company. The latter provides fiat loans secured by cryptocurrencies. Both firms are investors in Hodl Hodl.

The platform will not store customer funds in a centralized wallet. Instead, the collateral will be blocked using a multi-signature.

Kaidun's project was supported by Samson Moe's Casa, Blockstream and Jan3.

In 2020, Hodl Hodl launched Lend, a non-custodial p2p platform.

In 2022, a number of centralized crypto lending platforms ran into trouble amid the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and the crypto market crash that followed.

In August, cryptocurrency lending platform Hodlnaut suspended withdrawals, swaps, and token deposits due to a liquidity crunch.





Despite the postponement of the launch of the SLS rocket, the timing of the implementation of the NASA Artemis lunar program has not changed.
September 4, 2022

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has not changed the timing of the Artemis program, which plans to land astronauts on the surface of the Moon, despite the difficulties with the first orbital flight of the Space Launch System launch vehicle. This is reported by the TASS news agency with reference to the words of the head of the aerospace department Bill Nelson.

“We still plan to launch Artemis 2 in 2024 and Artemis 3 in 2025,” said Bill Nelson, commenting on the question regarding the timing of the lunar program.

Recall that due to the identification of technical problems, NASA had to postpone the launch of the SLS rocket with the Orion spacecraft several times. The last attempt to launch was made on 3 September. It was planned that the super-heavy rocket would launch from the site of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. However, during the refueling of the carrier tanks, a leak was discovered, which could not be eliminated. Because of this, the launch had to be postponed. The next attempt to launch an SLS rocket into outer space is scheduled for October.

Artemis 1 is the first stage of the American lunar program. To implement it, the SLS rocket must launch the Orion spacecraft into space, which will automatically go on a 42-day journey, during which it will fly around the moon and return to Earth. If successful, the next flight in a similar pattern will be carried out with the participation of the crew. At the final stage, as part of the Artemis 3 mission, a crew of astronauts should land on the surface of the satellite of our planet. In the coming days, an article describing this project in detail will appear on our website.





The Fed called the DeFi sector a potential threat to financial stability.
September 4, 2022

With the growing capitalization of the cryptocurrency market, the DeFi sector may create long-term risks to financial stability. This was stated by the experts of the FRS research group.

According to analysts, the threat is related to the lack of clear rules for regulating decentralized applications. In a published study, they noted that the sector has not yet become "systemically important", but government departments need to pay more attention to it.

“The rapid growth of the role of [programmable] blockchains suggests that policymakers should begin to seriously consider the full range of financial stability issues that could arise if such activities become systemically important,” the document says.

The Fed stressed that regulators do not have the necessary tools to enforce laws and regulations in DeFi. According to experts, sector players will "seize any and all profitable opportunities, regardless of the fears of the supervisory authorities."

The Fed also published a separate study on the impact of digital assets on financial stability. Analysts noted the need for stricter control over crypto companies that work with client funds.

“Surveillance, comprehensive disclosure, and capital and liquidity requirements where appropriate can increase the resilience of organizations in the digital asset ecosystem. For example, centralized entities that act as counterparties to retail users generally do not have capital, liquidity or comprehensive disclosure requirements,” the report says.

According to analysts, the cryptocurrency industry is “prone to accumulating financial vulnerabilities.” However, the Fed called the risks to economic stability "minor". The reason is the limited relationship of digital assets with the traditional market.

“If the digital financial system becomes more interconnected with the traditional one or expands the scope of financial services, these risks could quickly become significant,” they added.

In July 2022, Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard called for tighter regulation of the cryptocurrency industry.





Aurora Labs paid white hat hackers $2 million for two bugs they found.
September 4, 2022

In June 2022, the Aurora Labs team received two bug reports with critical vulnerabilities identified. She paid the maximum rewards to the authors of the reports — $1 million each in Aurora (AURORA) tokens. This was reported on the team's blog.

The first vulnerability concerns the logic of the NEAR Rainbow Bridge cross-chain bridge for transferring assets between Ethereum and Aurora via NEAR. A hacker could trick the Aurora Engine into generating a fake token burn proof, provide it to the bridge, and steal the funds from the vault.

Aurora Labs has banned the Aurora Engine from outputting data that looks like burn proof. The team continues to work on a long-term and more robust proof of balance solution.

The second vulnerability is related to the transfer of tokens from Ethereum to Aurora. The attacker could send wrapped tokens to the recipient and charge the recipient up to 18.4 ETH.

As planned by the developers, this commission allowed to transfer tokens from Ethereum to Aurora via Rainbow Bridge without connecting the NEAR wallet. However, until the vulnerability was discovered, the fee was not available for use, since the bridge operations were subsidized by the Aurora validator on NEAR. Aurora Labs has banned setting the commission value above zero.

Aurora is an EVM blockchain based on the NEAR protocol. It is being developed by Aurora Labs, which includes the creators of NEAR itself. More than 185 projects migrated or announced the transition to Aurora: 1inch, SushiSwap, DAI, Brave and others.

In April 2022, Aurora Labs launched a bounty program to find vulnerabilities in the protocol, smart contracts, and application sites. The amount of rewards ranges from $1,000 to $1 million, depending on the level of threat.

On August 20, a hacker unsuccessfully attacked NEAR Rainbow Bridge and lost 5 ETH.





The launch of the NASA SLS lunar rocket did not take place again - now due to a fuel leak.
September 4, 2022

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States canceled the launch of the Space Launch System carrier rocket with the Orion spacecraft as part of the Artemis 1 lunar mission for the second time. Initially, the launch of the SLS rocket was supposed to take place on August 29, but it was canceled due to problems with one of the carrier's engines.

According to reports, the liquid hydrogen leak was discovered about seven hours before the launch of the rocket, which was supposed to take place at 4:17 local time. NASA engineers made several attempts to fix the leak. They tried to heat up the tank connector through which the fuel enters, in order to then cool it with liquid hydrogen. Later, they tried to pressurize the tank with helium, after which they returned to the heating and cooling method. Despite all the attempts made, it was not possible to solve the problem.

This is the second failed attempt to launch an SLS rocket this week. The next attempt could be made on Monday, September 5, if NASA engineers can fix the problem by then. NASA administrator Bill Nelson said that the launch of the rocket will take place only when everything is ready for this. He also noted that if the SLS rocket had to be rolled back to the assembly hangar for revision, then its launch would be postponed to October.

Obviously, in this case, the implementation of the Artemis 1 mission will begin after the next crew of Crew-5 astronauts leaves for the International Space Station on the SpaceX Crew Dragon ship, the launch of which is scheduled for early October. If NASA tries to launch the SLS rocket on Monday, the launch will take place during the two-hour window that opens on September 5 at 18:57 local time.





Global sales of electric vehicles in July increased by 61% and amounted to 778 thousand units.
September 3, 2022

In July 2022, 778,092 new electric vehicles were registered, up 61% from a year ago. Given the general decline in the automotive market, these figures look promising: electric vehicles now occupy 14% of the market, including 10% of “pure” electric vehicles. This was reported by the INSIDEEVs resource with reference to EV-Volumes data.

In July, about 556 thousand electric vehicles were registered in the world (an increase of 73% in annual terms, 10% of the market) and about 222 thousand hybrids (an increase of 36%, 4% of the market) - a total of 778,092 vehicles. This is 61% more than in July last year, and the total market share reached 14%. Since the beginning of the year, more than 4,928,376 million (12% of the market) plug-in electric vehicles have been registered (for the whole of 2021 there were 6.5 million of them): 3.66 million electric vehicles (8.9% of the market) and 1.27 million hybrids ( 3.1% of the market).

In July, the Chinese brand BYD performed more successfully than others, various models of which took half of the top ten best-selling in the world, and the most popular model from Elon Musk's Tesla Model Y was only the fourth - 29,829 copies were registered in a month, and the leader was BYD Song in "pure" and hybrid versions with 37,784 registrations. According to the results of the first seven months of 2022, the Tesla Model Y turned out to be the leader - 344,928 units were registered. The second place in both classifications was taken by the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV model, which is sold for only $5900.

Finally, the distribution by brand is curious. In July, more than 160,000 BYD plug-in models were registered - the Chinese manufacturer more than tripled Tesla with its 52,000 cars. Volkswagen came in third with 46,000 electric vehicles. According to the results of July, manufacturers were distributed as follows:

BYD - 160,061 units;
Tesla - 52,084 units;
Volkswagen - 46,400 units;
SAIC-GM-Wuling - 40,275 pcs.;
GAC - 25,094 pieces;
Geely - 24,599 units;
Chery - 24,498 units;
BMW - 24,175 units;
Dongfeng - 19,680 pieces;
Hyundai - 18,348 units





Regulator to review Amazon takeover of iRobot for antitrust violations.
September 3, 2022

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has begun reviewing a deal in which Amazon took over robot vacuum maker iRobot for $1.7 billion. The regulator intends to make sure that the deal does not violate the country's antitrust laws.

An audit of the deal to buy iRobot was expected as the FTC is currently pursuing a wide-ranging investigation into Amazon's monopolization. According to available data, the department intends to check whether the said transaction will lead to an illegal increase in Amazon's share of the market for connected devices and the retail market as a whole. The FTC will also assess the expansion of Amazon's smart device lineup, which includes Ring security cameras and Alexa voice assistant, through the acquisition of iRobot.

One of the questions that the FTC will look at during the investigation is related to the possible advantages that Amazon could gain relative to other retailers by processing consumer home data collected by iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaners. For example, detailed maps of the homes of owners of robotic vacuum cleaners can be used to sell them furniture and other interior items selected according to the layout of the premises. Officials from the FTC, Amazon and iRobot refrain from commenting on the upcoming regulator investigation.





Today NASA will again try to launch the SLS rocket as part of the Artemis 1 lunar mission.
September 3, 2022

NASA today will make another attempt to launch the Orion spacecraft on the super-heavy Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle - the device must enter unmanned lunar orbit. The agency's assigned two-hour time window opens at 14:17 US East Coast time; The rocket will launch into space from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The launch was originally scheduled for August 29, but had to be canceled because a liquid hydrogen leak was discovered during fueling of the first stage of the SLS. The Artemis 1 mission is a test one - it involves sending the Orion spacecraft into lunar orbit, where it will spend about a month. During this time, it will launch several satellites, each of which has its own task: from studying craters in the permanent shadow, in which the researchers believe there may be water, to measuring the background radiation and its potential impact on people who will go to the Moon in the coming missions of the Artemis program. Part of the research will also be carried out using the Orion spacecraft, which will also measure the background radiation and allow testing the heat shield - when returning to Earth, the speed of the device will be about 40,000 km / h, and the temperature will be about 5000 ° C.

The SLS launch vehicle developed by Boeing Corporation is today the most powerful in the world - its basic version allows you to send up to 95 tons of payload into orbit, and in the future this figure can be increased to 130 tons.

If the weather forecast is favorable, the refueling of the SLS with ultra-cold fuel in the amount of 2.8 million liters will begin at approximately 5:45 local time. According to NASA experts, favorable weather conditions will be established today with a probability of 60%. If today's launch does not take place, the agency may make two more attempts, on September 5 and 6 - otherwise it will have to return the rocket to the hangar to re-check the protective equipment and recharge the batteries on the satellites. NASA is going to stream the SLS launch live on YouTube.





Samsung has been hacked: the personal data of users of its products are stolen.
September 3, 2022

Samsung admitted that in July its servers were hacked, and hackers stole users' personal data. The South Korean tech giant issued a brief statement announcing the incident, noting "illegal access to user data on some US Samsung servers by an unauthorized third party."

The fact that the data of some users of the company were compromised, Samsung learned on August 4th. At the same time, the company notes that information about users' credit card numbers did not fall into the hands of hackers. We are talking only about some personal data - name, date of birth, demographic data, contact information, as well as registration data for Samsung products.

“The amount of information affected for each individual user may vary. We are now notifying them of what happened,” the company said in a statement.

A Samsung representative in a conversation with TechCrunch explained that the company understands demographic data as information that is used for marketing purposes. However, he did not explain exactly what types of data are included. He added that user registration data provided by Samsung customers to access technical support and warranty services includes information about the date of purchase of a particular product, device model, as well as its ID number. At the same time, he declined to talk about how many Samsung users could end up affected by a hacker attack on the company's servers, and also did not comment on why the manufacturer did not inform its consumers about it for so long.

This is the second hack of Samsung's servers this year. In March, the South Korean giant was attacked by the Lapsus$ hacker group. These hackers also attacked NVIDIA, Microsoft and T-Mobile. In total, the attackers stole almost 200 GB of confidential information from the South Korean electronics manufacturer, including data on new technologies and algorithms for biometric control systems.





Gadget advertising identifiers adapted for surveillance - American law enforcement officers are already in business.
September 3, 2022

US police and other law enforcement agencies have found an inexpensive tool to track mobile devices even in communities with a population of less than 100,000 people, according to the Associated Press (AP) and the human rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). We are talking about a system called Fog Reveal.

US authorities have been using the Fog Reveal system since at least 2018, using the resource to investigate predominantly serious crimes such as murders and riots in the Capitol. The system was developed by Fog Data Science in Virginia, USA - according to local laws, its use is allowed without a warrant, and the results come instantly. Typically, a warrant and contact with Apple or Google is required to locate a mobile device, and in some cases it takes weeks to get a response.

To track the geolocation of gadgets, Fog Reveal uses advertising identification numbers that are unique to each mobile device. Data enters the system from aggregators that receive it from applications that provide targeted advertising, such as Waze and Starbucks customers. At the same time, the coffee chain and the Google-owned service predictably deny that they gave their partners explicit consent to share data with Fog Reveal.

Information about the service was received by EFF employees, who subsequently handed over the materials to AP. Human rights activists describe the tool as “a kind of budget-friendly mass surveillance program” – the license costs from $7,500 a year, and some departments buy one for several departments to save money. AP reporters found that Fog sold about forty licenses to two dozen government agencies, whose employees, in turn, made several hundred search queries in a database of 250 million devices.

The data in the service database is anonymized, but the investigating authorities always have the opportunity to analyze the information and recreate the “life model” of a person. The creator of the service provides an archive of geolocation for each object for the last 180 days, although Fog's managing partner Matthew Broderick admitted that a retrospective "for three years ago" is technically available.

Fog Reveal has been used by US authorities with varying degrees of success over the past years. Washington County (Arkansas) Attorney Kevin Metcalf admitted that he used the system in circumstances where, in the absence of a warrant, it was necessary to act quickly, such as investigating murders or searching for missing children. “I think people will have to decide if we want all this free technology, if we want all this freebies, if we want all these selfies. But we cannot use them and at the same time say: “I am a private person, and you cannot watch all this,” Mr. Metcalf concluded.





Subsea Cloud to build first commercial underwater data center off US coast.
September 3, 2022

Subsea Cloud intends to offer commercial users the capacity of its first underwater data center, Jules Verne, which is planned to be built off the coast of the United States. According to The Register, a 1MW data center is expected to be 90% more profitable than comparable ground structures. Commissioning of Jules Verne is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022. Construction of other facilities is also planned - in the Gulf of Mexico (Njord01) and the North Sea (Manannán). And by 2026, the company intends to completely switch to the use of renewable energy.

The main advantage of the new data center will be its location near the urban agglomerations off the coast of Port Angeles, Washington, which will reduce the level of latency and at the same time save money, since land in the cities is expensive. The object was named Jules Verne in honor of the famous classic science fiction writer Jules Verne. The data center will be open for review to all potential customers, but there will hardly be many of them, since it is being created mainly for demonstration purposes.

The data center will be cooled by ambient water, which will reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by 40% compared to land-based sites. The servers will be placed in a dielectric coolant, and the entire system will focus on passive heat dissipation without the use of pumps. The Jules Verne capsule will fit in the dimensions of a standard 20-foot container and will be located in shallow water. Capsules in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea are intended to be located at depths of up to 300 m, but Subsea Cloud initially designed unattended systems capable of operating at depths of up to 3000 m.

Inside each capsule there will be 16 racks that can accommodate up to 800 servers. The total power is up to 1 MW. The speed of communication with land is 100 Gbps. Such an underwater campus is scaled by adding additional capsules, up to 100 pcs. If a breakdown occurs or a customer wants to replace their equipment, it will take a maintenance team 4-16 hours to get to the site and carry out the replacement. The operator is currently negotiating cooperation with two unnamed hyperscalers, although specific agreements have not yet been reached.

Subsea Cloud itself, despite its name, only provides collocation services and is responsible for servicing the capsules. In addition, it sells and licenses its solutions. It is curious that, apparently, the company already has at least one customer who chose the second path, taking care of self-service capsules. It now takes 10 weeks to build and test one capsule, and another two weeks to install and commission it.

The effectiveness of underwater data centers has already been proven by Microsoft, which has built several relevant facilities as part of the Project Natick experiment. Unlike the Subsea capsules, the Microsoft facilities are filled with nitrogen. According to the tech giant, only a few servers failed during the experiment. There is also a similar Chinese project Highlander. Immersion cooling is expected to avoid contamination by dust and other fragments.





Google removes Chrome extensions that spoof user cookies.
September 3, 2022

Google has removed several malicious plugins from the Chrome Web Store, with over 1.4 million installs in total. They not only tracked users, but also allowed attackers to earn on referral links.

The malicious extensions were identified by McAfee. The plugins performed all sorts of functions, from streaming Netflix videos to multiple users at the same time, to the ability to take screenshots or automatically search for and apply coupons when making purchases. Meanwhile, they also recorded visits to all sites and performed additional actions when visiting marketplaces.

A study by McAfee experts showed that extensions sent site addresses to the server of attackers, along with the user's browser unique identifier, information about its geolocation. If the site being visited was related to e-commerce, the server sent instructions to allow JavaScript code to be integrated into the pages being viewed. As a result, the code modified cookies, and extension developers received their own percentage from each purchase through affiliate programs operating on many marketplaces.

In order to hide activity, some of the extensions were programmed to "sleep" for 15 days after installation so as not to draw too much attention.

Netflix Party
Netflix Party2
FlipShope - Price Tracker Extension
Full Page Screenshot Capture - Screenshotting
AutoBuy Flash Sales

The names of malicious extensions are given above. All of them have already been removed from the Chrome Web Store. If you have any of the add-ons mentioned above installed, it is recommended to remove them yourself - you can do this in your browser settings.





Google has added third-party payment methods to the Play Store for a number of countries.
September 3, 2022

Google quietly expanded its User Choice Billing pilot to allow non-gaming app developers to use alternative payment systems as an alternative to the Google Play service in a number of new countries. At the same time, the commission, which in the basic version ranges from 15% to 30%, is reduced by 4%.

The new billing rules are effective September 1, with a choice of alternative payment methods available to developers in the European Economic Area, India, Japan, Indonesia, and Australia, according to the Google support page. The company claims that 99% of developers can claim a 15% commission, with 30% payout players such as Spotify making the most of their revenue, understandably the most dissatisfied.

It was the music streaming service Spotify that became Google's first partner in the User Choice Billing pilot project, which was launched in March. Previously, Google was forced to offer alternative payment methods for developers from South Korea - a corresponding law was passed there a year ago. The emergence of such a project can be considered a response not only to legislative initiatives, but also to the criticism that Apple and Google are subjected to for what is sometimes regarded as a monopolization of the mobile software market: until recently, there was no possibility of using alternative payment systems at all, and the commission for transactions still seem too high.

So far, nothing has been said about Google's intentions to expand the project to the United States - the company wants to collect feedback on its work. Recently, alternative payment methods have been added for Russian developers.





A year ago, Amazon had to turn off all the solar power plants on the roofs of warehouses due to a series of fires.
September 2, 2022

Last year, Amazon was forced to turn off solar power generation systems at all of its US facilities - a large number of them, for various reasons, had fires that jeopardized the e-commerce giant's environmental program.

One of these incidents occurred on April 14, 2020 - a fire was recorded on the roof of a FAT1 warehouse in Fresno, California. Then about 220 solar panels and other electrical equipment were damaged, but firefighters who arrived at the scene were able to cope with the fire. About a year later, a similar incident was recorded at an Amazon facility in Perryville, Maryland. Between these two events, four more fires were recorded in the warehouses of the company, according to internal documents of Amazon, which journalists were able to see CNBC. In other words, from April 2020 to June 2021. 6 of the company's 47 solar-equipped sites in North America experienced major outages—that is, 12.7% of its order processing centers.

It would be a mistake to think that only Amazon is experiencing such problems: in one form or another, they have affected all companies trying to implement environmental programs, reducing their environmental impact and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Although Amazon may have been the most active along the way. In 2019, its founder, Jeff Bezos, promised to take the company to zero emissions by 2040, including by introducing renewable energy sources and abandoning combustion vans.

Last June, Amazon had to turn off solar power generation at all facilities in the US - the company's management decided to make sure that all systems are designed, deployed and maintained properly in order to re-commission them. Company spokeswoman Erika Howard clarified to CNBC that technical failures occurred on systems managed by its partners, and Amazon made the decision to disable them on its own initiative. However, all this information was not in the company's official environmental reports - it said that in mid-2021, 90 order processing centers were provided with energy from solar panels, by the end of the year there were 115, and in April 2022 - already 176. energy was launched in 2017.

From the published reports, the company also excluded information about the costs incurred in such incidents. But one Amazon employee calculated that the average cost is $2.7 million per major outage, including the costs of technical inspections and the repair or replacement of faulty equipment. On the other hand, downtime of solar panels is also expensive - $20,000 for each of the 47 American facilities per month, or $940,000 for all combined.

Technical inspections for Amazon are carried out by its partner, Clean Energy Associates (CEA). She is entrusted with the inspection of objects not only in the United States, but also in other regions of the presence of the retailer: in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa. Moreover, CEA worked not only with Amazon facilities, but also with the centers of its Whole Foods network. As of the end of 2021, four years after the takeover of the supermarket chain, the new owner still did not have a technical report on the state of renewable energy systems at Whole Foods facilities. However, the report submitted to the CEA at the end of 2021 contained 259 standard comments and one critical note. The concerns included mismatched connectors between modules, misplaced connectors, wiring maintenance errors, and signs of water intrusion into solar-to-electricity inverters. By the way, a fire inspector in Fresno concluded that the fire at the FAT1 facility “originated at or near two inverters.”

It seems that the end of 2021 was a turning point in this story - then Amazon divisions asked the company's management for funding in the amount of $3.6 million to conduct repeated technical inspections that would establish that solar energy systems can be put back into operation. Employees have also called on management to reduce Amazon's reliance on outside suppliers and replace them with in-house workers. Over time, the company has indeed begun to hire more solar specialists for offices around the world.

However, in some cases, the leadership reacted unacceptably slowly. A number of departments have asked "upstairs" for approval of plans to hire, re-inspect and restart solar systems, and in response, Kara Hurst, Amazon's VP of Environmental Affairs, and Alicia Boler-Davis, Senior Vice President of Customer Services, have suspended all work in this direction for several months. In June 2022, Hirst and Boler-Davies left the company.

At the official level, Amazon, of course, denies that members of the management are delaying work at the request of employees - solar energy specialists are still on the company's job listings. Now Amazon management understands that the change of environmental strategy at the colossal scale of operations is inevitably fraught with obstacles. “But we at Amazon don’t shy away from big challenges. We don’t have all the answers today, but we believe in the need to act now,” wrote Cara Hirst in a cover letter to the 2021 Environmental Report.





Banning NVIDIA AI Accelerator Shipments to China Won't Hurt Electric Vehicle Manufacturers.
September 2, 2022

The ban on the sale of NVIDIA chips to China will not affect Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers that actively use the company's solutions for autonomous driving systems, since the restrictions only affect high-performance computing accelerators.

Many Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers are using NVIDIA Drive Orin and Xavier processors as the basis for driver assistance systems. These semi-autonomous driving systems are one of the key technologies that enable automakers to do business in a very competitive market in China. Therefore, the introduction by the US authorities of restrictions on the supply of certain products to China caused some concern among Chinese companies.

However, there is no reason for it - the new restrictions of the US authorities are aimed at banning the supply of AI computing accelerators A100 and H100, which belong to a different line of activity for NVIDIA. “There should be no restrictions related to [NVIDIA] Xavier and Orin. Thus, Xpeng, Nio and others will be able to continue to purchase these chips,” Bevin Jacob of Shanghai-based investment advisory company Automobility told CNBC.

However, in his opinion, the US authorities in the future may still pay close attention to American chips related to the work of artificial intelligence in autonomous driving systems. Therefore, there is still a certain risk in the cooperation of Chinese automakers with NVIDIA. Xpeng declined to comment. Nio, Li Auto, Huawei, and Jidu (the new car brand of Baidu and Geely) did not respond to inquiries from reporters.

In its latest financial report, NVIDIA noted that its automotive revenue for the second quarter was $220 million, up 45% from a year earlier.

NVIDIA shares fell about 13% after reports of restrictions on the export of certain types of its products - A100 and H100 accelerators - to China and Russia. The manufacturer risks losing about $400 million in revenue in the current quarter.





WhatsApp suspended 2.4 million accounts in India, 1.4 million of them proactively, without waiting for complaints.
September 2, 2022

The WhatsApp communications service has released a report showing that 2.39 million accounts were suspended in India in July. The data is made public in accordance with India's strict IT laws, which require digital platforms to publish such data every month.

The important thing is that of all the blocked accounts, 1.42 million were sent into oblivion proactively - before users complain. WhatsApp says that in addition to handling complaints, it is taking its own steps to identify "malicious behavior" on the platform - the company is focused on preventing incidents before things get out of control.

“First of all, we believe that it is much better to prevent malicious activity before the event itself than to detect it after the harm has already been done,” the messenger team says. How the potential maliciousness of messages protected by end-to-end encryption is detected is not specified.

In addition to proactive blocking, WhatsApp traditionally allows you to complain about users. In this case, the moderators get the contents of the last few messages sent by the offender to the user or group, as well as some information about the recent contacts of the complainers and the user against whom the accusation has been made.

Users and security experts often criticize the WhatsApp messenger, calling it a vehicle for spreading fake news and misinformation. However, this is not surprising - today it is the most popular messenger on the planet, used by more than 2 billion people, so the number of attackers on the platform can be expected to be quite high.





Indian Court Orders Telegram to Disclose Information About Infringing Channels.
September 2, 2022

An Indian court ordered the Telegram administration to disclose details about the owners of the channels involved in the copyright infringement case. Before that, representatives of the messenger said that this would violate the privacy policy of the service regarding users.

Telegram's privacy policy has previously caused claims from the authorities of various countries: not so long ago, a Brazilian court was going to block the messenger in the country if it did not take measures to combat "disinformation" - then the administration of the service nevertheless complied with its requirements. In India, a precedent may have been set in which the court required the platform to disclose the data of users directly related to copyright infringement.

The Delhi High Court ordered the Telegram administration to provide mobile phone numbers, IP addresses and email IDs belonging to individuals who uploaded infringing content to the platform. The company that owns the platform said that disclosing this information would violate not only the privacy policy of the messenger, but also the laws of Singapore, where the servers that store user information are physically located. In response, the court said it could not leave copyright holders "completely defenseless against real infringers" just because Telegram decided to locate its servers in Singapore. The administration of the platform has not yet made response statements.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Neetu Singh - she indicated a list of channels through which her lectures and books on exam preparation were distributed, and the materials were offered at a reduced price. The court ordered to inform the Telegram administration within a week of the requirement to disclose information about copyright infringers, and the information itself must be provided within two weeks from the date of the decision.

India is considered the largest market for Telegram, with 700 million users of the platform. The growth in popularity of the messenger was facilitated by the statements of its administration that the privacy of users is a priority issue, as well as the policy of WhatsApp updated in 2021. However, Meta*'s instant messaging service still holds the lead in South Asia.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





Google Chrome browser found a bug that allows malicious sites to control the clipboard.
September 2, 2022

Google Chrome version 104 introduced a bug that could compromise user privacy by writing to the clipboard normally at the user's explicit command, but cybersecurity expert Jeff Johnson found that this safeguard was actually not enforced.

Working on computers, people use the clipboard dozens and even hundreds of times a day to transfer information from one program to another, and often this information is confidential: phone numbers, addresses, passwords for entering various systems and payment data. By exploiting the error, attackers can create fake cryptocurrency service sites and manipulate wallet addresses, the expert suggested.

Mr. Johnson also noted that Safari and Firefox also allow writing to the clipboard, but they have additional protection, which, however, is not always effective: the expert argues that all web browsers in active use today lack adequate protection measures. The common keyboard shortcut for writing data to the clipboard is "CTRL+C" (or "CMD+C" on macOS), but in practice this system resource can be accessed in other ways that are completely non-obvious to the user, such as pressing the arrow key to scroll the page.

You can check if the browser is susceptible to this error by visiting the site at webplatform.news and trying to paste data from the clipboard into any other program: if the browser is vulnerable, a warning text will be inserted. Google Chrome developers are already aware of the problem, but they have not yet provided a solution.





Elon Musk ready to push for Twitter hearing to be postponed until early December.
September 2, 2022

It recently became known that the legal representatives of Elon Musk's interests in a dispute with Twitter management over a collapsing deal changed their defense tactics. Instead of disagreements about the share of bots among the audience, the general problems with the security of the social network, which became known with the filing of the whistleblower, are now taken as the basis. The billionaire is now inclined to seek a postponement of the hearing from mid-October to early December.

Elon Musk's intentions were announced on the last day of summer. As you know, now the court session is scheduled for October 17, and five working days are mentioned as the maximum duration of the hearing. This week, Musk's lawyers have already asked the court to postpone the start of the hearing to November, but these dates can be revised. Recall that Musk originally asked to schedule a court hearing for February, so shifting the deadline to December would bring it closer to the original date.

The revelations of the former head of the Twitter information security division Peiter Zatko are intended to be used by Musk's side as additional arguments proving the legitimacy of the billionaire's decision to refuse to purchase social network assets on the terms agreed in April. The company's management, according to Musk's lawyers, did not provide him with information about Zatko's concern about the state of affairs with information security at the time of preparation of the initial agreement between the parties, thereby hiding significant circumstances that could affect the outcome of the transaction. Twitter management continues to insist that Musk's side of the argument for pulling out of the deal is "incorrect and inappropriate."





Apple, Google and others are gradually shifting production from China to neighboring countries.
September 2, 2022

Less and less time remains before the presentation of new smartphones by Apple and Google. One of the major changes that will go unnoticed by many consumers is that not all of these devices will be made in China. The fact is that Apple, Google and other companies are gradually transferring production facilities from China to neighboring countries.

According to the source, a small part of the new iPhones will be produced in India, and some of the new Pixel smartphones in Vietnam. The trend to move manufacturing capacity out of China is a result of geopolitical tensions and disruptions in supply chains that periodically arise due to the coronavirus pandemic.

China has long been the largest manufacturer of high-tech electronics. However, American companies see certain risks due to the growing tensions between the US and China in recent years. The trade war, which was launched during the period when Donald Trump was the President of the United States, and the aggravation of the situation around Taiwan, may draw IT giants into this conflict.

Because of this, large companies are gradually transferring part of their production capacities from China to neighboring countries. And this applies not only to smartphones, but also to other devices of different categories. For example, Apple makes part of the iPad and Microsoft makes part of the Xbox consoles in Vietnam; Amazon makes some of the Fire TV devices in India. A few years ago, all these products were made in China.

This week it became known that manufacturing activity at Chinese factories has been declining for the second month in a row. “China's manufacturing empire is shattered. More and more companies will withdraw production from China and look for an alternative, ”says Lior Susan, founder of the investment company Eclipse Venture Capital.

Supply chain problems have affected many Asian countries. In Vietnam, this has fueled a sharp rise in the value of industrial land, in Malaysia it has boosted production, and in India it has boosted the demand for low-wage workers. According to some experts, many companies are thinking about moving production from China, even if they have not yet taken any action in this direction.

When the first coronavirus outbreak shut down factories in China in early 2020, many companies' sales plans were disrupted, including Apple, which had to cut its quarterly sales forecast. As a result, the IT giant began to look for alternative production facilities in order to avoid similar situations in the future.

Vietnam, where Apple has been producing AirPods since 2020, has become one of the countries that the company is considering as an alternative to China. Apple has since launched production of smartwatches and iPads in Vietnam. Apple's top 200 suppliers have manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, while only 155 suppliers use factories in China, the source said.

It is noted that this year Apple will begin to release part of the latest iPhone 14 in India for the first time. Although the bulk of the company's new smartphones will continue to be made in China, the tech giant will move some production capacity to assess future prospects.

Foxconn, the largest contract manufacturer of Apple devices, recently signed an agreement to expand its manufacturing capacity in Vietnam with the construction of a $300 million plant that will also create about 30,000 jobs, according to the source. According to some reports, Foxconn previously invested $1.5 billion to develop its business in Vietnam.

Against the backdrop of the current situation, Google was also forced to look for alternatives to China. According to reports, the company will move part of the production of new Pixel smartphones to Vietnam this year. It is noted that next year up to half of Pixel smartphones will be produced in Vietnam.

Over the past two decades, the technology industry has developed an extensive network of suppliers who supply various components and equipment for the production of end products. The concentration of suppliers close to production reduces shipping costs, simplifies logistics and facilitates maintenance. This means that it will not be easy for IT giants to completely abandon Chinese manufacturing facilities.





Micron invests $15 billion to build US semiconductor factory.
September 2, 2022

Micron Technology will invest about $15 billion over the next 10 years in a new memory chip facility in Boise, Idaho. The investment includes federal grants and loans under the Chip Act (CHIPS) and the Science Act and will create about 17,000 jobs.

Last month, President Joe Biden signed a bill to provide $52.7 billion in subsidies for semiconductor manufacturing and research and to step up efforts to improve US competitiveness.

"Today's announcement by Micron is another big win for America," Biden said in a statement. “We will make electric vehicles, chips, fiber optics and other critical components here in America, and we will have a self-sustaining broad-based economy.”

Micron did not provide details about the new facility's capacity or what kind of chips it would produce.

The expansion comes as Micron cut its fourth-quarter earnings forecast due to weak demand. A similar situation is with Seagate, which also predicts a decline in its revenues in the first quarter of next year.

“Micron is playing within the rules that the government requires of it, which is building its manufacturing facilities in the US,” said Kinngai Chan, an analyst at Summit Insights Group.

Overall, Micron plans to invest $40 billion in phases by the end of this decade to build manufacturing facilities in the United States.





US authorities allow NVIDIA to continue development of H100 accelerators in China.
September 2, 2022

NVIDIA announced on Thursday that the US government has given it permission to continue developing the H100 series server accelerators in China, CNBC reports. Earlier it was reported that the US authorities imposed restrictions on the supply of advanced computing accelerators from AMD and NVIDIA to China and Russia. Against the backdrop of this decision, the same NVIDIA risks losing $ 400 million in revenue in the current quarter.

"The US government has authorized the export, re-export, and domestic shipments required by NVIDIA Corporation to continue development of the H100 accelerators [in China]," NVIDIA said.

The H100 Server Accelerator is NVIDIA's new Hopper architecture product, expected to ship by the end of this year. Its development and production takes place partly in China, so the restrictions introduced the day before could call into question their timely release. Now this problem has been solved - NVIDIA has received the right to move accelerators for its needs across the Chinese border until at least September 2023.

The administration of US President Joe Biden is trying to restrict the export of certain types of high-tech products and equipment to China because they believe they can be used for military purposes. For example, NVIDIA and AMD graphics processors can be used in supercomputers to develop new types of weapons, personal identification systems, and other tasks.

NVIDIA's server segment is one of the fastest growing. The company recently reported that for the past quarter its revenue in this area was $3.8 billion, which is 61% higher than in the same period last year.

Some analysts believe that NVIDIA, in cooperation with the US government, could achieve an easing of restrictions on the export of its products to China, writes CNBC. However, at the moment there is a danger that the Chinese government may take any retaliatory measures against the United States.

After the news about the restriction on the supply of advanced computing accelerators NVIDIA and AMD to China and Russia, the shares of the former fell by more than 11%, and the latter by more than 7%.





Roche Freedman founder drops out of lawsuits against Tether and Tron.
September 1, 2022

Roche Freedman law firm founding partner Kyle Roche has filed a waiver of class action lawsuits against Bitfinex, Tether, Tron Foundation and HDR Global Trading. Earlier, the lawyer was accused of participating in contract cases.

In late August, a series of videos appeared on CryptoLeaks in which Roche says he used "the lawsuit as a tool to disrupt [Ava Labs'] competitors and a way to bring them to the attention of regulators."

On the tapes, the lawyer also admitted to using litigation as a “strategic support tool” for the company behind the Avalanche blockchain.

Ava Labs founder Emin Gün Sirer denied CryptoLeaks allegations. The lawyer himself called the published recordings "illegally obtained, heavily edited video clips that are not presented with the exact context."

"The videos are taken out of context and edited in a covert filming process by Norwegian investor Kristen Ager-Hansen, who works for Dfinity founder Dominic Williams," Roche wrote.

Williams is the subject of a securities fraud and insider trading lawsuit initiated by Roche Freedman, he said, and Kristen Ager-Hansen set up a meeting to discredit him.

The lawyer also added that his company has been cooperating with Ava Labs since 2019. He denied the fact of collusion with Gun Sirer.

Roche Freedman still has several open lawsuits against other players in the cryptocurrency market. In particular, Nexo, Solana Labs, Dfinity, BAM Trading and Celsius Network.

CryptoLeaks has been accused of ties to Roche Freedman and Ripple. Its head, Brad Garlinghouse, stated that he "never met or spoke" with Roche.





The media learned about LG's plans to release a crypto wallet based on Hedera Hashgraph.
September 1, 2022

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics is preparing to launch a Wallypto cryptocurrency wallet based on the Hedera Hashgraph network in the third quarter of 2022. It is reported by News1.

In August, the corporation began beta testing of the application as the last stage of verification.

According to the publication, LG has registered the name and logo of the wallet as trademarks in Korea and abroad.

Initially, Wallypto supports Hedera-based HTS and NFT tokens. It is expected that after the official release, developers will expand the list of integrated networks and assets.

The journalists recalled that in March the company included “the development and sale of blockchain-based software” in the founding documents.

In their opinion, the new direction can create a synergy effect with such core activities of the company as household appliances and electronics. Presumably, the wallet will be able to interact with IoT devices built on the LG ThinQ platform.

“From the point of view of an electronics manufacturer, they are more than anyone interested in the payment system, because they can control it and receive high-quality data,” commented Kim Seung-joo, professor at the Graduate School of Information Security at Korea University.

Such information is extremely useful for developing new business models and services, he stressed.

In 2019, LG Electronics filed a patent application for a crypto wallet and announced the production of blockchain smartphones. The company exited the mobile device market in 2021.

In January 2022, LG, following Samsung, introduced a line of smart TV models with NFT support. The corporation has also partnered with a division of the auction house Seoul Auction to implement projects in the field of digital collectible assets.





Indonesia launches state-owned bitcoin exchange.
September 1, 2022

The Indonesian authorities will establish a platform for trading cryptocurrencies before the end of the year. According to Deputy Commerce Minister Jerry Sambuaga, the initiative is aimed at protecting investors in the face of growing interest in digital assets, writes DealStreetAsia.

Initially, the crypto exchange was going to be launched in 2021, but the project was postponed.

Sambuag explained the decision by scrupulousness in the preparation of all processes - the selection and verification of participants for compliance with the requirements.

According to local regulator BAPPEBTI, by June, the number of cryptocurrency users in the country reached 15.1 million people. The turnover of digital assets for 2021 amounted to 859.4 trillion rupees ($57.6 billion).

CEO of Tokocrypto (one of the 25 regulated platforms in the country) Pang Hue Kai called the project a catalyst for the Indonesian crypto ecosystem. He expects the growth of investors, including among the institutional ones.

Previously, Jump Capital specialists included Indonesia among the most promising countries for cryptocurrencies.

From May 1, the country will levy VAT on transactions with crypto assets and income tax on capital gains from such investments at rates of 0.1% in both cases.

The legislation equates digital currencies to exchange goods, but prohibits their use as a means of payment.





World's largest 1.3 GW offshore wind farm launched.
September 1, 2022

Located in the North Sea, the world's largest offshore wind farm, Hornsea 2, is fully operational. It will provide electricity to more than 1.4 million households in the UK. This was stated in a press release from Orsted, which was involved in the implementation of the project.

The Hornsea 2 power plant is located 89 km off the Yorkshire coast and is designed to generate clean energy. On an area of ​​462 km² (equivalent to the area of ​​64,000 football fields), there are 165 wind turbines manufactured by Siemens Gamesa. In total, the station can generate up to 1.3 gigawatts of energy.

To implement the Hornsea 2 project, massive turbines with a capacity of 8 megawatts each were used. The blade of such a turbine has a length of 81 meters, and the tip of the blade at the top reaches a height of 200 meters above sea level. One turn of the turbine is enough to power a British household with energy for 24 hours, while in total the station is able to provide energy to more than 1.4 million households. The energy collected by the station will be transmitted via a 390 km submarine cable to Lincolnshire, where it will be stored and distributed.

“Current global events highlight more than ever the importance of iconic renewable energy projects such as Hornsea 2, which are helping the UK improve the reliability and sustainability of its energy supply and lower consumer costs by reducing reliance on expensive fossil fuels.” commented on this issue, the head of the British division of Orsted Duncan Clark.





The second tour to the ISS NASA and Axiom Space will carry out in 2023.
September 1, 2022

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and private aerospace company Axiom Space have signed an agreement under which a private mission will be delivered to the International Space Station next year. A message about this appeared on the official page of NASA.

"NASA and Axiom Space have signed a contract to conduct a second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, due in the second quarter of 2023," the aerospace department said in a statement.

The upcoming mission is called Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2). Four astronauts will fly to the ISS on SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, which will be launched into outer space using a Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The launch is scheduled to take place from the Kennedy Space Center site in Florida. The crew will spend 10 days aboard the ISS, after which they will return to Earth on the Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Axiom Space, which is the mission operator, must submit four candidates for the main crew, as well as their backups, to NASA. After that, the candidacies of all crew members must be approved by the commission, which will include representatives of the countries participating in the ISS project. When the crew is approved, its members will begin preparations for the flight in order to go on a trip to the orbital station next year.





The European Commission is going to fight for the availability of spare parts for smartphones and more reliable batteries.
September 1, 2022

Smartphone manufacturers supplying their models to the European Union may soon face new rules. According to a draft law proposed yesterday by the European Commission, for smartphones entering the market, vendors will be required to ensure the availability of 15 critical components for five years. In addition, the battery must be able to survive at least 500 charge cycles while maintaining at least 83% capacity.

Smartphones will receive an efficiency label similar to that already applied to washing machines and dishwashers, according to The Financial Times. In addition, the "resistance" of the batteries and other characteristics, including resistance to drops, will be indicated. Recall that in June the European Commission has already adopted a law according to which by 2024 a single standard for chargers should appear.

According to a study by the European Environment Bureau, extending the life cycle of smartphones sold in the EU to five years would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The draft of the new law concerns not only smartphones, but also tablets and push-button mobile phones. According to the publication, citing one of the high-ranking officials from Brussels, products that do not meet the requirements for environmental sustainability will "leave the market." In response, smartphone makers argue that making more spare parts available will increase plastic consumption. In particular, the industry association Digital Europe argues that such an overproduction of components will lead to resource overruns, reduced material efficiency and increased cost of goods for consumers.

Some manufacturers, including Apple, have already been forced to expand repair programs under pressure from activists and authorities around the world. In April, the Apple company for the first time released the first DIY iPhone repair schemes, rented or sold smartphone repair tools, and supplied parts to customers in the United States, and promises to expand the corresponding program to the European Union in the coming months.

In addition to hardware, the new offerings also apply to software - security updates will be released within five years after the release of the model on the market, and updates related to the modernization of functionality - within three years. In particular, this may affect most manufacturers of Android smartphones, which usually provide OS updates only in the first years after the release.

In addition, enthusiasts say that improving maintainability and extending battery life will make it easier for customers to compare devices and mark the end of the "era of disposable gadgets."

Brussels has previously said that energy labels on light bulbs have motivated manufacturers to produce much more efficient products, and a survey conducted among EU residents showed that 79% of respondents considered labeling data when making a purchase decision.





Twitter began testing the function of editing messages - so far it is only available for money.
September 1, 2022

Microblogging service Twitter will start testing the long-awaited post editing feature this month. Only users with a paid Twitter Blue subscription will be able to participate in the program, and the edit history will be available for edited tweets, according to the company's blog.

Posts can only be edited within the first 30 minutes of being posted, and will be marked with a special icon and timestamp to indicate that the post has been edited. At the initial stages, the service plans to involve a small group of subscribers in testing the function in order to quickly resolve potential problems. Once the initial phase is completed at the end of the month, the feature will become available to more Twitter Blue users as the developers want to find out how people will use the feature in practice.

Twitter vice president of consumer products Jay Sullivan said in April that the post-editing feature is the most requested in years, while former CEO Jack Dorsey feared abuse and said in 2020 that it would "probably never" appear on the platform.

A month ago, Twitter raised the price of a premium subscription. Today, it includes the ability to unsend a message, a customizable navigation bar, collections of content from those the user follows, and hexagonal user pictures when loading an NFT. It is possible that editing tweets will never be available to users of the free version of the service.





UK may launch in-depth investigation into Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard.
September 1, 2022

In early July, it became known that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was checking a deal to take over the gaming giant Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. Today, September 1, British regulators have announced the need to take a closer look at this transaction.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has expressed concern that the massive $68.7 billion acquisition could hurt Microsoft's competitors, which could do nothing to restrict access to games from Activision Blizzard's vast library. CMA officials also fear that "the combined company will stifle competition in the emerging cloud gaming market."

The British authorities have given both companies five days to come up with proposals to address their concerns, otherwise they will conduct a more thorough investigation. Microsoft President Brad Smith said his company is "ready to work with the CMA on the next steps and resolve any issues."

Regulators around the world are scrutinizing the deal, which was announced in January. So far, only Saudi Arabia has announced approval of the purchase of Activision Blizzard.





The Perseverance rover has confirmed the ability to produce oxygen like a small tree seven times.
September 1, 2022

The Perseverance rover's MOXIE device was launched seven times on the surface of the Red Planet, producing oxygen from a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere with the productivity of a small tree.

Since the beginning of the experimental work of the Perseverance Mars rover in April 2021, mission operators have launched the MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment) device seven times in various external conditions: day and night, and also at different times of the year, Science Advances reports. Each time the device was launched, it reached its nominal performance levels of 6 g of oxygen per hour - like a small tree.

The MOXIE is a small device about the size of a toaster - modest dimensions help it fit on board the Perseverance. The device is designed for short-term inclusions within the framework of a scientific mission. In the future, it is possible to create an enlarged version of it, capable of producing oxygen on an industrial scale, like hundreds of trees - it will be needed to support the life of the first people on Mars, as well as for the rocket fuel needed to return them to Earth.

The scientists say that the stable operation of MOXIE as part of the Perseverance mission can be regarded as a promising first step towards this goal, although it is already clear that the device needs some adjustments to work at dawn and dusk, that is, at times when the temperature of the atmosphere changes dramatically. The rarefied Martian atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide, which a person cannot breathe, and it is much more changeable than the Earth's: during the year, its density can change twice, and its temperature can change by 100 degrees.

MOXIE separates oxygen atoms from carbon dioxide molecules, producing carbon monoxide as a waste product. Testing of the device continues. The researchers plan to increase its power and performance by carrying out launches in the Martian spring, when the density of the atmosphere is especially high. MOXIE also demonstrates increased endurance: the device continues to work despite a series of switching on and off with test runs at high operating temperatures, which did not harm it. Perhaps the industrial version will be able to work for several thousand hours in a row.





Cryptocom Withdraws €500M UEFA Champions League Sponsorship.
September 1, 2022

Cryptocom cryptocurrency platform has pulled out of a five-year €500 million sponsorship deal with the UEFA Champions League at the last minute, SportBusiness reports.

According to the publication, the company was supposed to replace Gazprom as the title sponsor of the tournament. The European football organization terminated the contract with the Russian holding in March after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Arrangements with Cryptocom implied the payment of €100 million per season by the platform, compared to about €40 million from Gazprom.

According to SportBusiness sources, the parties agreed on the deal in principle and were close to signing the agreement. Supposedly, in the history of the football union, this turned out to be the most advanced stage of negotiations, at which a commercial contract fell apart.

The interlocutors of the publication emphasized that the refusal of Cryptocom from sponsorship is not connected with the crisis that has gripped the cryptocurrency market. The company has faced legal challenges in some key European countries, including the UK, France and Italy, regarding the scope of its licenses.

Phil Carling, managing director of Octagon, drew attention to the reduction in financial flow to sports from the crypto industry: “Three months ago it was a hot sector, and they offered crazy money for premium rights. Now we do not observe this in any of the processes that we support. I'm not saying it's forever, everything can come back. But for now, the big money deals and breakthroughs in terms of commissions we've been getting are gone."

According to the publication, Cryptocom has recently allocated more than $1 billion for sports sponsorship. Among other things, this includes agreements with:

the Staples Center in Los Angeles ($700 million);
auto racing series "Formula 1";
the UFC mixed martial arts league ($175 million over 10 years);
Australian Football League;
FIFA World Cup in Qatar;
French club Paris Saint-Germain (at least $25 million over three years).

In February, Cryptocom, along with Coinbase and FTX, showed a record number of ads during the Super Bowl. A 30 second post cost $6.5 million.





Babylon Finance protocol to stop working due to Rari Capital hack.
September 1, 2022

The Babylon Finance protocol will shut down its activities due to an attack on the Rari Capital DeFi project, which resulted in several liquidity pools affected by the BABL token.

Clients were advised to withdraw funds by November 15th. The team will return the remaining assets in the coming weeks. Until September 4, management will provide additional information.

The decision comes after Rari canceled a planned refund to users affected by the attack.

The damage to Babylon Finance amounted to $3.4 million. In the following days, its users withdrew more than 75% of their assets.

“The Rari exploit […] led to a ‘point of no return’ for Babylon as a sustainable protocol. […] The price of BABL fell from $20 to $5, making it impossible to raise funds. The supply of tokens is limited, not subject to inflation. Only 10% remains in the treasury,” the message says.

The project team sought to restore TVL at the expense of commissions from users.

Babylon Finance's management fee is 0.5% of AUM. The protocol also collects a success fee of 5% of the income from transactions where user-provided BABLs served as collateral.

To continue the activity, the TVL indicator must be at least $50 million, the team noted.

Rari Capital was hacked on April 30th. The attacker withdrew $80 million that was stored in his Fuse credit pools. Users could create their own variants of baskets of ERC-20 tokens, including those involving BABL.

At its peak, TVL Babylon Finance reached $30 million. Prior to the incident, about 1,500 users contributed BABL tokens with a total value of $10 million to Rari Capital pools. This allowed the asset to enter the top 10 of the project.

The market reacted nervously to the message from the project team. According to CoinGecko, BABL has fallen in price by 92% over the past 24 hours, to $0.403.

In the first half of the year, hackers stole assets worth $1.97 billion from crypto projects.





Celsius filed a new class action lawsuit in the US.
September 1, 2022

A group of custodial account holders at Celsius Network have petitioned the Bankruptcy Court for permission to withdraw their funds.

The lawsuit brings together 64 investors who own $22.5 million worth of cryptocurrencies in the custodial service Celsius. The group is represented by the law firm Togut, Segal & Segal.

On June 13, the crypto lender suspended withdrawals, exchanges and transfers between accounts. A month later, on July 14, Celsius and some of its affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The platform presented a business reorganization plan focused on using the income of the mining subsidiary to pay off the claims of creditors. Celsius' liabilities exceed the company's assets by $2.85 billion.

In a class action lawsuit filed by Togut, Segal & Segal, a group of clients are asking the court to issue a declaratory judgment requiring the platform to allow withdrawals from custodial accounts.

According to the document, these assets are separated from other Celsius products under the "Terms of Use" and customers retain permanent ownership of them.

In various hearings, the court "made it clear" that the assets in the custodial service are not the property of the company and should be returned to the investors, the plaintiffs said.

Account holders noted that the platform has the necessary volume and types of cryptocurrencies to meet their requirements, but it does not.

"The debtor's continued refusal to execute the seizure of all assets held in the custodial service has created enormous hardship for its users, as evidenced in hundreds of letters and pleadings filed during the hearing," the lawsuit says.

Cryptocurrency from custodial accounts cannot be used to cover the claims of investors in other platform products like Earn, the document says.

In July, law firm Bragar Eagel & Squire filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of investors against Celsius. The company was accused of misleading users about "its financial products."

The platform also faced accusations from former DeFi contractor KeyFi of default, but countersued the firm and its founder in August.





South Korea arrests suspects linked to 'Kimchi premium'
September 1, 2022

South Korean authorities have arrested 16 people who are suspected of facilitating illegal foreign exchange transactions as part of the kimchi premium arbitrage. Seoul Daily News writes about it.

According to the publication, 75% of offenses in the field of withdrawal of capital from the country and money laundering are associated with cryptocurrencies.

Two of those arrested face prosecution, seven face fines, and no decision has yet been made on the rest.

One of the detainees is suspected of creating several shell companies in order to send funds abroad. In fact, we are talking about the transfer of digital assets from foreign accounts and their profitable sale on local exchanges thanks to the "kimchi premium", the journalists say.

Another arrested person is suspected of using import operations to mask transactions with cryptocurrencies.

In August, the FSS, in the course of investigating such violations, estimated the volume of foreign transfers to crypto exchanges at $6.5 billion.

For the first time, the problems associated with the “kimchi premium” were reported by the country’s authorities in October 2021.





Charles Hoskinson Explains Cardano's Lack of Token Burning Mechanism.
September 1, 2022

Unlike a number of other cryptocurrency projects, burning ADA tokens to create scarcity is not possible, as it would be “theft” of someone else’s property, said Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson.

He replied to a user who rebuked him for his ignorance. According to a commentator named PerAsperaVinco, the destruction of part of the property increases the value of the rest.

Hoskinson clarified during the discussion that some other projects have a team-controlled pool of tokens.

“There are usually several large premines that the founders control and destroy in order to manipulate the price during periods of low liquidity. ADA doesn’t have that,” he wrote.

According to Hoskinson, all ADA tokens are owned by their holders and staking pool operators. They are rewarded in a coin and taking away their ADA for burning will be nothing more than theft of property, the founder of Cardano emphasized.

On the Ethereum network, the mechanism for burning coins as part of transaction fees was activated in August 2021 during the London hard fork.

At the time of writing, the total number of liquidated tokens exceeded 2.6 million ETH. According to the forecast, after updating The Merge and switching to the Proof-of-Stake algorithm, the network will go into deflation mode.

One of the commentators recalled that Ethereum is technically unlimited. ADA, by analogy with bitcoin, has a limit on the market supply of the coin, he noted.

Cardano overtook Bitcoin in the global brand rankings, ranking 26th. Digital gold was on the 30th position.





OpenSea drops support for potential Ethereum forks.
September 1, 2022

In the event of a potential fork after The Merge update, non-fungible tokens in the Ethereum PoW network will not receive support on the OpenSea marketplace. This was reported by the platform management.

“We are committed to exceptional token support on the upgraded PoS [Proof-of-Stake] chain. We are preparing the product to ensure a smooth transition. […] We will monitor, manage and communicate throughout the process,” the statement said.

According to Cryptoslam, the volume of NFTs issued on the Ethereum blockchain is estimated at $29.6 billion.

In early August, some exchanges, including Poloniex and MEXC, launched trading tokens of potential ETHPoS (ETHS) and ETHPoW (ETHW) forks. The assets are traded as IOUs issued at a 1:1 peg to Ethereum.

Opinions regarding support for a possible PoW fork of Ethereum in the crypto community are divided. For example, crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX offered a futures based on ETHPoW. Huobi, Digifinex, and OKX said they would look into listing the asset.

The Chainlink decentralized oracle network has refused to support a potential fork. The Frax Finance team urged the community not to issue the FRAX algorithmic stablecoin on the PoW network.

CoinShares experts were skeptical about the prospects of the proposed fork.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin noted that stablecoin issuers will determine the future of Ethereum’s controversial hard forks.





California legislature approves cryptocurrency regulation project.
September 1, 2022

The California legislature has approved a bill that provides for the licensing of companies to provide crypto-financial services in the state. The document has been sent for Gov. Gavin Newsom's signature.

By September 30, Newsom must either sign the bill or veto it. If approved, the document will enter into force in January 2025.

The California Digital Financial Assets Act is based on the New York State BitLicense rules introduced in 2015.

“While the novelty of cryptocurrencies is part of what makes investing exciting, it also carries risks for consumers as companies in the space are not adequately regulated and do not have to follow many of the same rules that apply to everyone else,” said the author of the bill. Timothy Grayson.

Among the requirements of the California document is a ban on the issuance of stablecoins by issuers that do not have the status of a bank or have not received a license from the State Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. The restriction will be phased out by 2028.

Another stablecoin rule requires issuers holding securities to hold them for at least the “total value of outstanding coins issued or sold in the United States.”

In general, the bill introduces stricter regulation and supervision of the industry. The NYC BitLicense Code of Practice has been repeatedly criticized for being too strict. His action led to the departure of some crypto companies from the state. The need for easing the rules was even announced by the State Financial Services Authority.

The California option was opposed by the industry lobbying organization Blockchain Association.

“The bill introduces short-sighted and unhelpful restrictions that will hinder the work of crypto innovators and push many out of the state,” the group said in a statement.

In July, amid a market crash, the US Federal Reserve called for tighter regulation and supervision of the crypto industry at the federal level.





NASA will allocate $ 1.4 billion to SpaceX for the implementation of five more missions to deliver astronauts to the ISS.
September 1, 2022

SpaceX will receive funds from NASA to deliver five more missions to the International Space Station (ISS) under a new $1.4 billion contract, an addition to an agreement already in place between the two organizations. So far, SpaceX is the only private company allowed to deliver astronauts to the station.

According to NASA, the deal provides for the use of Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, and provides the aerospace agency with uninterrupted crew access to the ISS until 2030. We are talking about missions from Crew-10 to Crew-14. For example, the crew of Crew-4 is currently on the station, and Crew-5 is expected to leave for the ISS in early October.

While NASA is poised to bet on Boeing's Starliner in the future, which is slated to go into space fairly soon, SpaceX is currently the only business certified to fly crewed missions for the agency. It is also scheduled to complete three qualifying missions in December as part of a 2014 Commercial Crew Transportation Capabilities (CctCap) contract change - the company's transportation system is the only one that meets the security requirements for private companies. In total, the CCtCap deal is valued at $4.9 billion.

It is known that NASA plans to carry out missions to organize crew flights to the ISS until at least 2030, most recently the agency received US President Joe Biden's approval to use the station for another six years after 2024.

According to reports, the largest US partner in the ISS project, Russia, which has the means to adjust the ISS orbit, has already announced a possible withdrawal from the project after 2024. However, it is likely that the new Russian station will start operating no earlier than 2028.





Georgia to update crypto regulation to comply with EU rules.
September 1, 2022

The Georgian authorities have approved an updated regulatory framework for the financial sector that regulates cryptocurrency trading in the country. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister Levan Davitashvili, Business Media Georgia reports.

The package of legislation provides for convergence with three EU directives - on payment services, capital requirements and virtual asset service providers. Davitashvili called the latter “particularly important” for the formation of sustainable regulation of the cryptocurrency industry in the country.

According to him, the document has been sent to the parliament. The amendments are planned to be adopted during the autumn session.

In April, the chairman of the Central Bank of Georgia, Koba Gvenetadze, announced the preparation of a legislative framework focused on the digital asset industry. A month later, the vice president of the regulator, Papuna Lezhava, announced that the final version of the document would be published in the summer or fall of 2022.

In early July, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament tentatively agreed on the provisions of the MiCA cryptocurrency regulation bill. It describes the rules that apply to issuers of unsecured crypto assets, stablecoins, trading and custodial platforms.

Later, members of the European Green Party and Socialists proposed extending the standards of AML/CFT procedures to decentralized organizations, DeFi sites and NFT platforms.

The EU authorities also decided to create a new regulatory body, which will be entrusted with the direct supervision of the cryptocurrency business.





NVIDIA risks losing $400 million due to new anti-China sanctions.
September 1, 2022

Based on the level of performance provided by the A100 computing accelerators, the US authorities banned NVIDIA from supplying not only them, but also more modern H100s to China and Russia. The company expressed concern not only with the ability to complete the development of a new generation of accelerators on schedule, but also with a loss of up to 10% of revenue in the server direction.

The fact is, as Reuters explains, that NVIDIA has already concluded contracts with Chinese customers for the supply of computing accelerators from the “prohibited nomenclature” for a total of $400 million, and if Chinese companies do not switch to alternative brand products that are not subject to new restrictions, then a proportionate portion of third-quarter revenue may be lost. NVIDIA has expressed its willingness to apply for an export license that would allow it to continue shipping accelerators to China, but it is unsure of the success of this venture.

From the point of view of the spread of these restrictions on the supply of accelerators to Russia, the impact on NVIDIA's business is unlikely to be significant. Firstly, the company stopped official deliveries of its products to the Russian market in the spring. Secondly, she explained that in the total structure of revenue, our country formed no more than two percent, and only in the gaming segment, Russian clients provided it with four percent of revenue. Apparently, in the server segment, NVIDIA's dependence on the Russian market was even weaker.

It is noteworthy that NVIDIA's 10-Q quarterly report published yesterday demonstrates its high dependence on the Chinese market as a whole. For example, in the last quarter, it gained almost 24% of the total amount of $6.7 billion here. a serious blow. The news sent the company's stock down 6.56%.





US authorities have imposed restrictions on the supply of advanced AMD and NVIDIA computing accelerators to China and Russia.
September 1, 2022

The last day of the calendar summer brought bad news to Chinese and Russian customers of AMD and NVIDIA. The US authorities have banned both companies from supplying GPU-based accelerators that meet certain performance criteria to these countries. In the case of NVIDIA, we are talking about products of the A100 and H100 series, and AMD included the Instinct MI250 accelerators in the list of “sanctions”.

According to AMD representatives, as Reuters explains, the supply of Instinct MI100 accelerators has not been banned. At the same time, AMD believes that the new restrictions will not have a significant impact on the company's business, since trading volumes in this direction were not large enough. Shares of NVIDIA against the backdrop of these news lost more than 6% in price, in the case of AMD, the decline did not exceed 3.8%. It is believed that the speed of the NVIDIA A100 solution with the Ampere architecture is taken as the performance level that determines the need to ban the accelerator supplies to China and Russia.

According to the intention of US officials, advanced US-origin components should not be used by Chinese and Russian clients to improve military technology. The banned AMD and NVIDIA accelerators can theoretically be used in speech recognition systems for listening to conversations and recognizing military targets in terrain images received from reconnaissance satellites.





Vulnerability found in TikTok that allowed accounts to be hijacked via a malicious link.
September 1, 2022

A “high-severity” vulnerability has been discovered in the TikTok short video service, which could allow attackers to gain access to a user’s account with a single click.

The vulnerability was discovered in the TikTok Android app by the Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team, who shared the details of the vulnerability on their blog. The user only had to click on a malicious link, and the attacker took control of his account with the ability to upload and publish videos, send messages to other users, and view private videos stored in the account.

Microsoft reported a vulnerability to TikTok that affected deep linking functionality in the Android app, and the service promptly fixed it. “TikTok responded quickly, and we appreciate the efficient and professional response from the security team,” said Tanmay Ganacharya, partner director of security research at Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.

TikTok spokeswoman Maureen Shanahan noted that the TikTok Android app has received more than 1.5 billion downloads on the Google Play Store, so the damage from this vulnerability could potentially be enormous. However, there is no evidence that anyone took advantage of this bug.





Arm sues Qualcomm and Nuvia over license violations.
September 1, 2022

Arm is suing Qualcomm and Nuvia. They are accused of violating licensing agreements signed with Arm, as well as the trademark rights of the British chip designer.

Qualcomm has dominated the mobile chipset market for years. However, things in the PC segment are not working out for her. To boost its potential in the PC market, Qualcomm last year acquired Nuvia, a startup that has been developing Arm computer processors that could theoretically compete with Apple's solutions in the mobile and desktop segments.

The British Arm cooperates with two types of clients: companies that use its designs as the basis for their own chips, as well as companies that license only Arm instruction sets for their own processors. Qualcomm and Nuvia have had agreements with Arm on both fronts for years. However, licenses do not provide for the possibility of their transfer from company to company and differ in details.

Therefore, according to Arm, Qualcomm, with the acquisition of Nuvia, "attempted to intercept Nuvia's licenses without Arm's consent." From this, the British developer concluded that the licensing agreements signed between him, Qualcomm and Nuvia separately are violated in this way. In this regard, in March 2022, Arm revoked licenses from Nuvia to use its technologies. However, the latter continued to develop chips with a set of its software instructions.

As a result, Arm has filed a lawsuit to ban the development of certain Nuvia chips that can still use its technology. In addition, the company seeks compensation for violation of the rights to its trademark. The Arm lawsuit could set back Qualcomm and Nuvia's efforts to develop chips for laptops, desktops and servers for months to come. In addition, for both companies, this can result in large fines.





Twitter wanted to make money as OnlyFans, but failed to cope with moderation.
September 1, 2022

In the spring of 2022, Twitter wanted to make a radical change. For many years, the service has been calm about the abundance of adult content on the platform, and the company has seriously thought about monetizing this content on the basis of paid subscriptions, as is done on OnlyFans. However, the plans were not destined to come true due to the inability of the platform to promptly remove prohibited content, according to The Verge.

If the project were successful, Twitter would certainly lose many advertisers, but this could more than be compensated by revenue from adult content creators: OnlyFans revenue could reach $ 2.5 billion this year alone - about half of Twitter's revenue in 2021 . The management of the microblogging service initially considered the idea successful, especially since many OnlyFans authors promote their channels on Twitter. Therefore, resources were allocated to implement the idea, and the project itself was called ACM (Adult Content Monetization - “Monetization of adult content”).

To work on the project, a Red Team department of 84 people was formed. And very quickly, already in April 2022, the staff of the department came to the conclusion that Twitter was unable to ensure the safe sale of subscriptions to adult content, because the platform did not and still does not control the publication of illegal content. As it turned out, the company simply does not have tools with which to check whether both the creators and consumers of adult content have reached the age of majority. And in May, that is, after the start of the epic with the purchase of Twitter Elon Musk, the project was postponed indefinitely.

Red Team employees said that the launch of ACM would only exacerbate the problem, as more adult content would be posted on the platform, which would increase the amount of illegal content. However, after the suspension of work on the project, the management, perfectly aware of the essence of the problem, still does nothing to solve it. It became known about it 15 months earlier, when the company commissioned another team of experts to begin work on the improvement of content on Twitter. Then it turned out that the company's means of detecting materials containing child abuse had lost their relevance and effectiveness.

At the same time, tech giants like Google and Facebook* take the problem much more seriously: in 2019, Mark Zuckerberg boasted that Facebook* controlled by him only spends more on security than Twitter earns. Technology platforms support each other in this fight: one of the main tools is the PhotoDNA service, created by Microsoft in 2009. However, this system only responds to known banned materials.

Unlike other large companies that have already developed their own solutions, Twitter employees have to manually try to detect content that PhotoDNA missed, and the company's main working tool is a certain RedPanda complex, which is now outdated and has lost support. The machine learning-based systems at Twitter's disposal are still unable to detect prohibited content in any of the available formats. And moderators don’t always do their job — in one case, a video with illegal content remained on the platform for more than 23 hours, even after users filed complaints about it. Although, according to company spokeswoman Katie Rosborough, Twitter significantly increased its investment in identifying such materials in February 2021, and even today, when the company has tightened its personnel policy, four vacancies appear for this profile.

However, the company may not be able to keep what has been achieved. On August 23, Twitter announced that the anti-malicious content department was merging with the department responsible for fighting spambots. The company took this measure, of course, due to the fact that Elon Musk accused Twitter management of providing false information on the issue of spam on the platform. Perhaps the businessman wrongly decided that this issue was the most important. And it's possible that Twitter's problems with Elon Musk are just beginning.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





The ban on sales of cars with internal combustion engines from 2035, following California, will be introduced by other states.
August 31, 2022

Following the introduction last week by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) of new regulations that would put a statewide ban on sales of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in 2035, several states have announced about the intention to follow the example of California.

The U.S. Clean Air Act gives California the ability to set tougher emissions standards for new vehicles than national standards that other states can then impose. Moreover, the states do not require the approval of the federal government if their new regulations are identical to those approved in California.

This week, the state of Virginia announced that under a 2021 state law, Virginia, too, must phase out sales of new ICE vehicles by 2035. However, the office of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares expressed hope that the state would repeal this law in order not to follow the policy of California.

California's decision was supported by 15 states, and Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts and New York intend to legislate a similar decision.

Like Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington have so-called trigger laws (laws that take effect when circumstances change). In Washington, the 2020 law is tied to California emissions regulations, meaning that whenever California tightens energy regulations, Washington will follow suit.

The proposed bill in Massachusetts indicated that the state would follow California's lead, meaning the state's Department of Environmental Protection now has to introduce similar rules before 2035. The bill also proposes to increase discounts for those who buy new electric vehicles.

Oregon has said it plans to introduce regulations that would ban the sale of new non-zero-emission vehicles in the state by 2035.

Recall that last year, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill that would require all cars and trucks sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035. For medium and heavy duty vehicles, the deadline is 2045.





Snap to lay off 20% of employees.
August 31, 2022

Snapchat, the owner of Snapchat, plans to lay off a fifth of its more than 6,400 employees, reports The Verge, citing its own sources. The reduction program has been worked out over the past few weeks, and its implementation will begin today.

Some Snap departments will lose more employees than others. In particular, the division responsible for the platform for developing mini-applications inside the messenger, as well as the Zenly geolocation service team, the project was absorbed by Snap in 2017, will be strongly affected. The number of units responsible for the release of devices will be significantly reduced - the company previously demonstrated Spectacles augmented reality glasses and Pixy selfie drone.

The scale of the cuts is no doubt significant, but since the beginning of the year, Snap shares have lost almost 80% in price. The financial report for the second quarter was so depressing that the company decided not to make forecasts for the third quarter. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Snap has been actively increasing its staff: in March 2020, the company had 3,427 employees, and as of the end of the second quarter of 2022, already 6,446. At the same time, WaveOptics, specializing in augmented reality displays, was acquired in May for $500 million.

Snap didn't weather the pandemic very well, and the situation was subsequently made worse by the new iOS privacy policy, which dealt a heavy blow to Snapchat's advertising business. At the same time, the service's user base continues to grow: today it is 347 million people a day, that is, more than Twitter. However, the company has made a profit only once since 2017, when it went public.





Japanese government to stop requiring digital content on CDs and floppy disks.
August 31, 2022

Japan's Digital Minister Taro Kono has vowed to scrap regulations requiring data to be sent to government departments on CDs or floppy disks. The official made this statement during a speech at a conference where a strategy for the development of digital public services was discussed, writes The Register.

Digital government services, by their very nature, involve sending data to government departments, and the minister promised to start reviewing the rules governing the provision of information. As it turned out, there are more than 1900 acts in the country that determine the transfer of data to government agencies, and many of them require the use of outdated drives today. At the same time, relevant methods, and primarily downloading information via the Internet, are not described in the documents, which means that they are not technically allowed. Mr. Kono promised to rewrite these norms as soon as possible, which impede the implementation of the country's digital program.

Mr. Kono is not the first member of the government to try to provide Japan with adequate mechanisms for digital transformation. Last year, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga intended to eliminate printing and faxes from circulation as much as possible, but he did not stay in office for long and did not have time to implement his plan. Kono is younger and more tech-savvy: at the conference, he approved a plan to overcome the lack of technical skills, modernize communications systems, and implement Web3 solutions.

Unfortunately, Japan isn't the only one using obsolete technology due to outdated legislation: just last year, South Korea stopped using ActiveX controls on government websites, an antiquated decision that embodied Microsoft's attempt to counter Java applets. In China, they still use seals, which the former head of the Arm China division successfully played on for a long time. The US Internal Revenue Service still accepts declarations only in paper form, and department employees manually enter data into a computer, not even being able to resort to OCR technologies.





The police caught the founder of the Thodex crypto-exchange, who escaped with $ 2 billion - now he faces 40 thousand years in prison.
August 31, 2022

It became known about the detention in Albania of the founder of the largest Turkish crypto exchange Thodex Faruk Fatih Özer. According to the portal Decrypt, in Turkey, state prosecutors previously demanded a sentence of 40,564 years in prison for him.

According to the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ozer was included in the so-called. an Interpol red notice is a request to law enforcement agencies around the world to search for and pre-arrest this or that inhabitant of the planet. The identity of Ozer is associated with the sudden shutdown of the crypto exchange, as a result of which thousands of users lost access to their accounts and funds. 390 thousand people became victims, and the total losses of investors are estimated at $2 billion.

According to the Turkish authorities, the process of Ozer's extradition to Turkey was initiated by Interpol. A harsh trial awaits him in the country - according to reports, all top managers of the closed exchanger face thousands of years in prison.

The Thodex exchange has been operating since 2017, but unexpectedly stopped trading in April 2021. Its leadership referred to some external investment, which required a halt in trading for 4-5 days. A day later, Ozer said that the company was forced to stop trading due to cyber attacks, but continued to insist that client funds were safe and promised to return investors' money as soon as possible. On the same day, the Turkish police detained 62 people associated with the activities of the exchange, seized the company's computers and froze its accounts, and Ozer himself had already flown to Albania by that time.

Although Turkey requested the extradition of the founder of Thodex, the process dragged on - it took months to find the perpetrator. In the end, he was found in the city of Vlore, the identity was established based on biometric data.

Back in April 2021, it was revealed that Thodex transferred $125 million in bitcoins to the accounts of the American crypto exchange Kraken before closing. According to Whitestream, which identified the transaction, it was an attempt to cash out funds stolen by the management of the exchange from customers.

The cryptocurrency market is already going through difficult times: the other day, the bitcoin rate fell below $20,000. However, some experts are optimistic and are sure that this state of affairs opens up opportunities for purchasing crypto assets at a low price.





Apple to leave Jane Horvath, who since 2011 was responsible for the safety and security of the iPhone.
August 31, 2022

Apple's head of privacy Jane Horvath is preparing to leave her high-paying position at the company to join law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, according to online sources. Bloomberg writes about this, citing its own informed sources.

Curiously, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, of which Horvath is due to join soon, has partnered with Apple on numerous occasions. The companies last worked together as part of a lawsuit with Epic Games, which accused Apple of illegally charging a 30% fee for transactions conducted in iOS applications.

Horvath herself works at Apple in 2011. Along with Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, she was the face of the company in the segment of security and privacy measures. In recent years, Apple has implemented many features that help users fight against unauthorized tracking and securely protect their data from being processed by third parties. Over time, privacy has become one of the central elements of Apple's marketing campaign.

Although Horvath's dismissal has not yet been officially announced, the source notes that she has already notified the legal department of the company about her departure. Prior to joining Apple, Horvath worked on privacy issues at Google and also worked for the US Department of Justice.





Starlink internet comes to cruise ships: SpaceX signs first contract with cruise ship operator.
August 31, 2022

Royal Caribbean Cruises will offer guests access to high-speed internet during their travels, which will be provided by SpaceX with its Starlink satellite network. This will bring the quality of rest to a new level.

The partnership between Royal Caribbean and SpaceX is an attempt to change the traditional situation when cruise liners lack high-quality and inexpensive Internet access. It is reported that the implementation of the technology has already begun on all ships of the company, and the end of equipping the liners will end at the beginning of next year.

According to Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty, the technology will provide "game-changing" Internet connectivity on ships. In particular, this will improve the quality and availability of some Internet services that require a large bandwidth - such as the use of video streaming services and video calls.

According to SpaceX, the company's Internet service will make Royal Caribbean cruises "even more luxurious." It is known that the Starlink constellation in low Earth orbit today has about 2,800 satellites.

In June, the US Federal Communications Commission approved the provision of Starlink satellite Internet to passengers and crews of ships and aircraft, as well as truck drivers. The announcement of Royal Caribbean came shortly after SpaceX partnered with T-Mobile to provide Starlink satellites with smartphones, potentially allowing them to communicate anywhere in the world.

In addition to the cruise line, SpaceX has already signed tentative agreements with some commercial carriers to provide Wi-Fi onboard airliners. In particular, while we are talking about Hawaiian Airlines and JSX.





TSMC's 5nm Fab Construction Lures Over 20 Taiwanese Tech Companies to Arizona.
August 31, 2022

By 2024, TSMC is set to launch a new 5nm contract manufacturing facility in Arizona that will be the most advanced outside of Taiwan. The authorities of this US state emphasize that the ecosystem of suppliers of TSMC is reaching for this company in Arizona, more than 20 Taiwanese companies express intentions to invest in the state's economy.

This was announced by Governor Doug Ducey during his visit to Taiwan. The program of his trip included a meeting not only with the top political leadership of the island, but also with representatives of TSMC and other companies expressing interest in expanding their presence in Arizona. The main manufacturing facility for TSMC's new facility in the state is now under construction, the governor said, just two years after the announcement of intent.

Business ties between Arizona and Taiwan have been developing for many decades. For example, Taiwan Air Force pilots have been training at the Phoenix military base for the past 25+ years. The Governor stressed that TSMC will face a shortage of qualified personnel when looking for personnel for its new facility in Arizona, but according to him, this problem is not specific to this territory, but is characteristic of the current stage of development of the global semiconductor industry as a whole.

Last year, trade between Arizona and Taiwan reached $1.92 billion, with more than 100 Taiwanese companies investing in the state's economy. With South Korea, Arizona's trade reached $882 million last year, after visiting Taiwan, the state governor will head to the Land of Morning Calm.





NASA will try again to launch the SLS lunar rocket into space on September 3.
August 31, 2022

This week, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) planned to launch the Space Launch System super-heavy launch vehicle into space with the Orion spacecraft as part of the Artemis 1 lunar mission. However, due to a technical malfunction, the launch was canceled. Now it has become known that the aerospace department will repeat the launch attempt on September 3.

If all goes according to plan, the launch of the SLS rocket from pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida will take place on September 3rd. Everyone will be able to watch the launch online on the official website of NASA and the YouTube channel of the aerospace department.

Recall that initially the launch of the SLS rocket with the Orion spacecraft was to take place on August 29. During refueling of the carrier tanks, a hydrogen leak was detected. Refueling was later resumed, but it turned out that one of the engines could not provide the required hydrogen flow rate during the pre-launch pumping procedure. Because of this, it was not possible to bring the temperature of all engines to the required temperature. Ultimately, it was decided to postpone the launch.

As part of the Artemis 1 mission, an SLS rocket will be launched with an uncrewed Orion spacecraft. During the 42-day mission, Orion must fly around the moon and return to Earth. If this stage is completed successfully, then as part of the Artemis 2 mission, a crew of astronauts will go flying around the satellite of our planet. This mission is planned to be carried out in 2024. As for the landing of astronauts on the surface of the moon, it is supposed to be part of the Artemis 3 mission, which will take place no earlier than 2025.





HP Inc cuts PC shipments by 25% and lowers earnings forecast.
August 31, 2022

In the HP Inc. calendar. the third quarter has already ended, which allowed the company to publish reports for the past three-month period. Revenue fell 4.1% to $14.7 billion and fell short of market expectations, while consumer PC shipments brought the company 20% less cash than a year earlier. According to the management of HP Inc., the unfavorable situation with the decline in demand will continue over the next two quarters.

Along the way, the company cut its full-year earnings guidance to $4.02 per share from $4.24 previously. CEO Enrique Lores explained that HP Inc. following the example of many other companies, it faced a decrease in consumer demand, and in the fourth quarter it is unlikely that anything will change for the better.

Personal systems revenue fell 3% to $10.1 billion, although it grew 7% in the commercial segment. In quantitative terms, PC shipments decreased by 25%, and the company delivered 32% less laptops than a year earlier. Until now, demand in the commercial segment has allowed HP Inc. more or less successfully resist the decline in demand for laptops, but now there is deterioration.

Printing devices revenue fell 6% to $4.6 billion, falling short of analysts' forecasts. The company's ability to supply a sufficient number of printing devices is still limited by the shortage of components. It is noteworthy that the volume of shipments of desktop systems in kind in the past quarter increased by one percent.





South Korean chip makers face a drop in product shipments for the first time in three years.
August 31, 2022

As reported with reference to the statistical authorities of South Korea, suppliers of semiconductor products from this country for the first time in three years in July faced a decrease in shipments - in an annual comparison, it amounted to 22.7%, although shipments increased by 5.1% in June. Warehouse stocks in July increased by 80% compared to the same period last year.

All this, according to the source, indicates a decrease in demand for the products of Korean chip suppliers, the main type of which remains memory chips. Production volumes have been declining for the fourth month in a row, but this does not cancel the trend towards increasing inventories. The problem is not exclusive on a geographical basis - the American company Micron Technology also warned investors about the upcoming decrease in demand for memory.

In July, for the first time in more than two years, exports of high-tech products from South Korea fell. Shipments of memory chips decreased by 13.5%, although in general, July export earnings in the country increased by 9.4%. In general, industrial production in South Korea grew in July by 1.5% compared to the same month last year, which is below the forecast of 2.6%.





Trump's Truth Social banned from Google Play Store due to poor content moderation.
August 31, 2022

Former US President Donald Trump's social networking app Truth Social has yet to be approved for distribution on the Google Play Store due to inefficient content moderation, a Google spokesperson said on Tuesday.

This delay reflects badly on the development of the social network. Android-based smartphones make up about 40% of the US market, and without the Google Play Store, this part of the users do not have the opportunity to download Truth Social on their devices. The Truth Social app is currently only available on the Apple App Store (as of February 21 this year).

“On August 19, we notified Truth Social of several standard policy violations in their app and reiterated that having effective user-generated content moderation systems in place is a condition for any app to run on Google Play. We have also raised concerns with Truth Social about violations of Play Store policies that prohibit content such as physical threats and incitement to violence,” Google said in a statement. “Last week, Truth Social sent a response letter acknowledging our concerns and saying that they are working to address these issues.”

Truth Social allowed Trump to resurface on social media more than a year after he was banned from Twitter, Facebook* and YouTube due to the riots at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when he was accused of posting messages inciting violence.

Developer TMTG has promised to provide Truth Social with "engaging and uncensored communication" for those segments of the audience who feel their views on sensitive topics such as the outcome of the 2020 presidential election have been intentionally removed from mainstream social platforms.

TMTG is actively partnering with Hive, a San Francisco-based company that is developing an AI-based moderation system to filter explicit content, hate speech, bullying, and violence in the app.

The live moderators decide what to do with the content marked by Hive AI. While the overall scope of TMTG's work on moderation is unclear, according to an announcement on the site, the company is actively recruiting for a "content administrator" position whose job it will be to review "content posted by users on Truth Social for compliance with established community guidelines."


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





Fireblocks adds support for DeFi apps and NFTs powered by Solana.
August 31, 2022

Cryptocurrency custodian Fireblocks has added support for decentralized applications and the Solana NFT ecosystem for users and developers, reports The Block.

“The Fireblocks web3 engine offers Solana developers the highest level of security when it comes to accessing the blockchain and its ecosystem of applications,” said CEO Michael Shaulov.

The Solana ecosystem is in 6th place in the DeFi Llama ranking, behind Ethereum, Tron, BNB Chain, Avalanche and Polygon. Her TVL is $1.37 billion.

Solana is second only to Ethereum in terms of NFT trading volume.

In early August, unknown persons hacked about 8,000 Solana-based wallets and withdrew millions of dollars. Before that, there were other serious problems with the cryptocurrency network, such as clock desynchronization and prolonged outages.

In January, Fireblocks raised $550 million in a Series E funding round. Investors valued the company at $8 billion.





Former head of Turkish crypto exchange Thodex detained in Albania.
August 31, 2022

Law enforcement officers of Albania, at the request of the Turkish authorities, detained the founder and former CEO of the Thodex cryptocurrency exchange, Faruk Fatih Ozer.

According to a statement by the Turkish Interior Ministry, the identity of the detainee was confirmed by a biometric examination.

The country's Interpol branch initiated the extradition procedure for Ozer, for whom a "red notice" was issued.

On April 20, 2021, Thodex unexpectedly stopped trading. Initially, the platform cited technical work, but then claimed to be transferring the business to a "major partner", which would supposedly take 4-5 days. Users were concerned about the closure of social media accounts by the company.

As part of the investigation into the alleged exit scam, authorities issued arrest warrants for 78 people associated with the platform. Most of the suspects were arrested.

However, according to media reports, Ozer flew to Albania on April 20. He had previously assured Twitter users that he had no plans to go into hiding.

In April 2022, it became known that the court had asked for 40,564 years in prison for Ozer and 20 others suspected of implementing a fraudulent scheme.

The investigation estimated the damage from the activities of the exchange at 356 million Turkish liras (~$24 million). According to Chainalysis analysts, this figure was $2.6 billion.

In April 2021, the Turkish exchange Vebitcoin stopped working, in relation to which the authorities launched an investigation.





Glassnode: Bitcoin Holds $20,000 Despite Weak Metrics.
August 30, 2022

Speculators are using bounces to sell bitcoin amid weakness in on-chain metrics. The price is not returning to lows due to the lack of serious selling pressure, according to analysts at Glassnode.

Bulls are still unable to establish a sustainable uptrend due to low demand, and spending patterns indicate continued bearish sentiment.

The hodlers remain steadfast. Glassnode is counting on reaching a range of bottom formation, as has been the case in previous cycles of downward momentum.

The seven-day moving average of the spent exit in terms of its "lifetime" (ASOL) after a recent spike (hodler spending) continues to decline. Together with the fall in the price of bitcoin, this indicates the absorption of current demand by supply.

The Average Coin Dormancy metric, which takes into account the amount of coins spent, shows that the recent activity of long-term investors was insignificant in terms of volume. This confirms extremely weak demand against the backdrop of low activity of hodlers.

The seven-day moving average of the number of active addresses (excluding interconnected ones) is testing the lower limit of the bearish channel. A further decline in the metric would mean "a sad deterioration in the user base, which has not been observed for many years," the specialists emphasized.

While hodlers have reduced activity, and among speculators the position “return their money without loss” prevails (sell at a price not lower than the purchase price), market participants as a whole record daily losses of $220 million.

This is a relatively modest figure compared to recent capitulations, when the figure reached several billion dollars.

The return of the Net Realized Profit/Loss metric (30-day moving average) to positive territory will be a sign of potential market strength and a recovery in demand.

The Adjusted Spent Exit Profit Ratio (SOPR) did not break the bar of 1 when the price of bitcoin was testing the $24,000 mark. Speculators are closing positions without loss or with relatively small losses. A return of the metric above 1 will confirm a recovery in demand.

The LTH-SOPR indicator, which filters out coins less than 155 days old, remains in the range of 0.6-0.65. This indicates the highest sales activity from buyers in the period 2021-2022. A return of a metric above 1 would be a constructive signal, but it could take months, the experts concluded.

Joshua Lim, head of derivatives division at Genesis Trading, named three reasons for the weak dynamics of bitcoin.

Earlier, the founder of Look Into Bitcoin, Philip Swift, pointed to a possible fall in the price of the first cryptocurrency based on the Whale Shadows indicator.





Immunefi experts estimated the value of the stolen 134 BAYC at $13.6 million.
August 30, 2022

The cost of 143 tokens from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, which were marked with suspicious activity by the OpenSea marketplace, is $13.58 million, according to Immunefi bug bounty platform specialists.

134 out of 143 tokens worth $12.64 million retain this status.

The most expensive BAYC in this sample was last traded at 194 ETH ($267,914).

Such NFTs cannot be bought, sold, or transferred using the OpenSearch feature.

OpenSea does not store tokens on the platform. Attackers can use other services to transfer or sell stolen NFTs, or interact with interested users directly.

After the transfer of ownership, the token may lose such marking. Immunefi cited Bored Ape #9988 as an example. The NFT changed hands as a result of a 6.13 ETH swap to Bored Ape #753 in the NFTX liquidity pool.

The experts recalled that the best protection of tokens from intruders is the cold storage of assets. Users fall prey to hackers through phishing, malicious links and programs, and viruses.

In the event of an attack on the NFT marketplace, experts recommended canceling any access to the platform and moving the tokens to a hardware wallet.

Immunefi estimated the loss of crypto projects from hacks in the second quarter at $670.7 million.

According to the results of January-March 2022, the indicator amounted to $1.22 billion.





The 10,000 BTC that came into motion are linked to the Mt. gox.
August 30, 2022

A connection has been established between 10,000 BTC, which began to move on August 29 for the first time since 2013, and the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Mt. gox. This is reported by the GFiS Telegram channel.

Each of the transaction chains associated with both withdrawals reportedly featured the same wallet that accepted 134,000 BTC from Mt. Gox, during a cyberattack on the stock exchange in the summer of 2011.

The founders of the later BTC-e exchange and its successor Wex were suspected of organizing the hack.

“Given the events taking place now with the leaders of these two exchanges, if they were involved in the summer cyber attack, it is possible that the old piggy banks are opened under the influence of law enforcement agencies. If these were other persons, then such a coincidence in dates still looks quite curious, ”wrote the authors of GFiS.

Earlier it was reported that historically the movement of large sums dormant for a long time preceded significant corrections.

Once the largest bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox collapsed in early 2014. This happened after information appeared about her alleged hack and theft of 800,000 BTC ($480 million at the time). In December 2018, the former head of the platform, Mark Karpeles, during the closing speech in a Tokyo court, pleaded not guilty to the events that caused the loss of millions of customers and the collapse of the company.

The investigation found that almost half of those stolen in 2014 from Mt. Gox bitcoin, subsequently ended up on a competing platform - BTC-e, behind which is the supposedly front London company Always Efficient LLP with an opaque ownership structure.

Recently, the exchange's creditors denied rumors about the reimbursement of funds as part of the civil rehabilitation process.





Binance climbs to sixth place in the global unicorn rankings.
August 30, 2022

The $45 billion Bitcoin exchange Binance ranked sixth in the global unicorn ranking, according to Hurun Research's semi-annual Global Unicorn Index 2022 report.

The cryptocompany has risen immediately by 15 positions. Six months ago, its capitalization was $15 billion.

The first line in the list was retained by Douyin ($200 billion). Media platform operator TikTok down $150 billion.

Elon Musk's SpaceX ($125 billion) moved up to second place, ahead of Ant Group ($120 billion).

In total, Hurun counted 1312 non-public companies with a valuation of more than $1 billion in 48 countries. Their combined value is $4.2 trillion, with the top 10 accounting for 17.6% of the total.

“In the first six months of the year, 369 new unicorns were identified – two per day. Almost a third of them are engaged in fintech, SaaS and blockchain. 80% provide services and only 20% have physical products. 65% sell to businesses and 35% to consumers,” said Hurun Principal Researcher Rupert Hugewerf.

The US leads with 625 companies in the ranking. Over the past six months, their number has grown by 138. China is next with 312 unicorns (+11).

Third place was retained by India with 68 positions in the list. Outside the country, the Indian founders created another 56 "unicorns".

Among the cities, the title of "Unicorn Capital of the World" was retained by San Francisco - 176 companies. New York has overtaken Beijing in the ranking - 120 against 90 startups.

The top 10 "new faces" in the ranking since the beginning of the year were two representatives of the blockchain industry: the operator of the Upbit exchange, Dunamu ($8 billion) and the KuCoin platform ($6.3 billion).

In March, Forbes ranked the founder and CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, as the number one billionaire in the cryptocurrency industry. The publication credited him with a fortune of $19 billion.

In November 2021, China Caijing journalists estimated Zhao's wealth at $90 billion. In January, Bloomberg named a similar figure - $96 billion.





The Whale Shadows indicator indicated a likely fall in the price of bitcoin.
August 30, 2022

Approximately 5,000 BTC, which had been “hibernating” for the past 7-9 years, began to move. This was announced by the founder of Look Into Bitcoin Philip Swift, referring to the data of the Whale Shadows indicator.

The description of the on-chain tool states that historically, such bursts of activity preceded significant corrections. This is clearly shown in the chart attached to the next tweet. https://twitter.com/PositiveCrypto

At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading in the $20,450 region. Over the past seven days, its price has dipped by 4.3%. The total capitalization of the cryptocurrency market is ~$1 trillion.

Earlier, the head of Capriole Investments, Charles Edwards, stated the passage of the capitulation phase of bitcoin miners.





Experts have discovered a campaign of hidden mining that affected 11 countries.
August 30, 2022

Nitrokod's stealth mining campaign allegedly infected thousands of computers in 11 countries with malware. This was reported by experts at Check Point Research (CPR).

The attackers introduced stealth mining utilities into free apps based on popular services like Google Translate or YouTube Music.

The campaign is associated with the Turkish software developer Nitrokod, which has been operating since 2019. The company offers ostensibly free programs, the official desktop versions of which do not exist.

Most of these applications are easily created using the Chromium-based framework from official web pages without the need for development, the experts noted.

The popularity of the underlying source ensures high positions in the search results. The firm's software is distributed through popular free software platforms like Softpedia or uptodown, CPR experts noticed.

Attackers managed to go unnoticed for a long time due to the complex and multi-stage infection stage. The hidden module for installing the mining utility was activated a few weeks after installing the program on the computer.

The process of introducing malware was divided into six stages spaced apart in time, disguised as updates. At all stages, the installer removed traces in the logs, making it difficult to detect.

After running XMRig's Monero stealth mining tool, the malware activated it daily via scheduled tasks in case the computer's protection stopped it.

According to experts, the use of the XDR solution from CPR made it possible to detect a large-scale hidden mining campaign. The tool was able to identify each individual malware action, track it over time, and correlate it with a single attack.

In December 2021, cybercriminals distributed Monero mining malware via a torrent file containing a pirated version of Spider-Man: No Way Home.





AI finds 20,000 undeclared swimming pools in France.
August 30, 2022

The French tax authorities have used artificial intelligence to search for undeclared private pools from aerial photographs. As a result of the checks, the owners were issued fines totaling about 10 million euros, writes The Guardian.

Developed by Google and Capgemini, the system can identify basins in aerial photographs and check them against land registry databases. As a result of the experiment, she identified 20,356 unregistered objects.

According to regulators, any changes to property, including the addition of swimming pools, must be declared by citizens within 90 days of completion. A typical 30 sq. m involves an additional fee for the owner of about 200 euros per year, experts said.

The IRS is currently considering using the system to detect undeclared outbuildings, porches and permanent terraces.

“We are especially focused on extensions to the house like porches. But we need to be sure that the software can find buildings with a large area, and not a dog kennel or a children's playhouse, ”said Antoine Magnat, deputy general director for public finance.

According to the technical team of the tax authorities, they cannot yet distinguish the extension from an awning, terrace or tarp on the ground. The software error is 30%, they added.

In April 2022, it was reported that artificial intelligence mistook solar panels for swimming pools and also failed to find taxable outbuildings hidden behind trees or in the shade.

According to the developers, they are conducting tests to improve the technology.

“This is our second round of research, which will also allow us to check whether the property is empty and should no longer be taxed,” Magnant added.

A pilot project to identify undeclared real estate was launched in 2021 in nine departments of France. In 2023, they plan to expand the system to the entire country, as well as increase the number of detected objects.

The authorities expect that the technology will help increase tax revenue from the construction of private pools by 40 million euros per year.

In February, the US Internal Revenue Service stopped using the ID.me facial recognition system.

In the same month, American citizens were allowed not to use biometric authentication when receiving online fiscal services.





Leaked documents reveal the cost of hacking Android and iOS services.
August 30, 2022

According to the portal Dark Reading, not so long ago, a scan of a commercial offer put up by the Israeli developer of spyware Intellexa appeared on one of the online forums. The company offered a complete suite of zero-day exploit solutions designed to compromise both Android and iOS devices.

Spyware development is a fairly lucrative business that involves not only the infamous NSO Group with its Pegasus, but also other companies. According to the data received, last month an unknown buyer was offered to pay about €8 million for the provision of a "bundled" service for remote attacks on mobile devices using zero-day vulnerabilities.

Judging by the screenshot, the negotiations were conducted on July 14 - the information indicates that Intellexa offered the Nova Suite package with software for hacking mobile operating systems, including Android 12 and iOS 15.4.1, to an unknown counterparty.

Intellexa promised the possibility of hacking "with one click" using a browser version of the software from the attacker to infect mobile devices. The price of the transaction includes data analysis, access to a store with additional software and support services, as well as a one-year warranty.





The FBI named popular attack vectors for the DeFi segment.
August 30, 2022

The FBI has issued a warning about the most common vulnerabilities used by cybercriminals to attack DeFi platforms.

According to a report by analytics firm Chainalysis, between January and March 2022, cybercriminals stole $1.3 billion in cryptocurrencies. Of these, almost 97% are stolen from DeFi platforms.

The FBI identified three common tactics for carrying out attacks on this segment of the crypto market: initiating an instant loan (according to this scheme, they carried out an attack on the bZx DeFi platform in November 2021 with $55 million in damage);
using a vulnerability in cross-chain bridges (hacking the Nomad protocol in early August, more than $90 million was stolen);
manipulating the prices of cryptocurrencies by exploiting a number of vulnerabilities, including the use of a single price oracle (Deus Finance exploit in April 2022, $13.4 million stolen).

“Cybercriminals are looking to take advantage of increased investor interest in cryptocurrencies, as well as the complexity of cross-chain functionality and open source DeFi platforms,” the agency added.

Blockchain security companies note that the most dangerous vulnerabilities are related to the compromise of smart contracts.

“Smart contract code usually cannot be changed to fix security flaws. Assets stolen from smart contracts cannot be recovered and are extremely difficult to trace,” the Ethereum Foundation said.

For its part, the FBI recommends carefully studying DeFi platforms, protocols, and smart contracts for independent audit, as well as assessing the potential risks of investing in this segment.

Earlier, analysts from Elliptic reported that since 2017, the attackers have laundered more than $8 million through NFT marketplaces, which is 0.02% of the total trading turnover.

From July 2021 to July 2022, over $100 million worth of tokens were stolen.

The most popular tool for laundering funds from the NFT scam was the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency mixer.





Twitter has crashed.
August 30, 2022

Twitter has experienced a major outage. At the same time, the social network was available to owners of the mobile application, but users of the browser version for desktop computers experienced significant problems in many regions of the world.

Ironically, it was on Twitter that dozens of posts appeared with messages that the social network was not working. However, it was unhindered access from mobile devices that allowed users to complain about the lack of connection.

This is also evidenced by the DownDetector service, which collects statistics on complaints about failures in the operation of certain web sites. The problem has reportedly affected the US, UK, EU and other countries, regardless of whether users use a PC or Mac platform, and the #TwitterDown tag, according to some reports, even trended on social networks.

At the moment, access to Twitter has been restored. The company does not report the reasons for the failure.





Cryptocom accidentally transferred $10.5 million to a user instead of $100.
August 30, 2022

In May 2021, cryptocurrency platform Cryptocom accidentally transferred $10.5 million to a Melbourne woman instead of returning $100. It is reported by Ticker News.

The erroneous transaction was discovered after more than seven months as a result of an audit at the end of the year.

The platform sued for a refund. During the hearing, a representative of Cryptocom explained the error with the transfer by saying that in the payment field, instead of the amount of $100, the employee entered the account number.

However, before the company attempted to return the funds, the recipient, along with her sister, bought a luxurious mansion with a gym and a cinema in the suburbs of Melbourne.

The judge ruled to sell the property and return the remaining money to the platform.

In January, Cryptocom became the sponsor of the Australian men's and women's soccer leagues. The company noted that they were attracted to the deal by the interest of Australians in digital assets.

In March, it became known that the platform would become the official sponsor of the World Cup in Qatar.





Remaining Canon toner from recycled cartridges is being used to paint industrial asphalt.
August 30, 2022

Within the framework of "green" projects, the most unexpected components of high-tech equipment find unexpected applications. Although there is very little toner in the used cartridges, they do have some, and Canon has found a new use for it - when recycled, the substance will be turned into granules for use as a coloring and binder for asphalt.

Based in Virginia, USA, Canon Environmental Technologies is the company's largest cartridge recycling center. As part of the Recycled Toner Pellet project, the cartridges are first sorted by the type of materials used, then automatically disassembled and the plastic components are converted into granules to create new cartridges, the metal parts are transferred to the company's partners for further processing, and the toner has found a new use.

The toner extracted from the cartridges is also granulated in the so-called. Recycled Toner Pellets (RTP) and then used by Canon partner Basic Construction Company as a colorant and binder in asphalt. This is quite justified, since the toner itself consists mainly of microparticles of plastic, carbon powder and silica.

After several years of studying the safety of this formulation, the Virginia Department of Transportation has finally approved the use of pellets in Basic Construction asphalt, used in local roads, for example. After evaluating the technology, the construction company began purchasing 100% of the toner pellets from the recycling center.

However, this is not the first time attempts to find a new use for the corresponding waste have been made. In 2013, a toner-containing binder TonerPave was used as an experiment in asphalt used in Melbourne.





The timing of the implementation of support for satellite communications in the iPhone largely depends on the pliability of operators.
August 30, 2022

The closer the official presentation of the new iPhone models, the more actively discussed are the rumors about Apple's intentions to finally implement satellite communications support for emergency voice and text messages. As well-known industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo explains, the success of this initiative is largely determined by the compliance of satellite operators, and not by the hardware capabilities of Apple products.

The expert in his new publication recalled that he expected this functionality to appear last year at the time of the announcement of the iPhone 13 family, and satellite communications were indeed supported by these devices at the prototype level, but in the end, Apple refused to implement it a year ago, because the business model of the service has not been worked out with partners.

Ming-Chi Kuo claims that at the development stage of the iPhone 14, the possibility of working in satellite networks was also actively tested. It is not a fact that it will be implemented in a serial implementation this year, but the relevance of the function has recently grown due to geopolitical conflicts and natural disasters, according to the author of the analytical note. Customizes Apple and profile activity of competitors. MediaTek has developed the appropriate components to realize the transmission of information from a smartphone to a satellite, and Huawei may introduce the Mate 50 smartphone in early September, capable of transmitting emergency text messages via the BeiDou satellite system. It is expected that Apple's partner in the implementation of a similar service will be the satellite communications operator Globalstar. The design of the splash screen inviting you to follow the broadcast from the Apple event also makes you think about it - the image beats the theme of the starry sky.





Elon Musk and Twitter will ask for more data from the company's former head of security.
August 30, 2022

The revelations of the former head of the Twitter division responsible for information security interested not only Elon Musk, but also the former employer Peter Zatko, so both sides of the litigation requested additional data from him that could be useful to them. In addition, in September, Peter Zatko will address the US parliamentarians.

The former head of information security at Twitter will have to submit documents to the justice authorities confirming his concern about the state of affairs in the company with the determination of the number of bots among the daily user audience. Musk's lawyers, according to Bloomberg, went to court demanding to request this data from Zatko last week, but confirmation of these actions appeared only this week. Peter Zatko stated that during his time at Twitter, the company's management did not pay enough attention to the accuracy of identifying questionable accounts, but at the same time they feared that information about their too high share, if disclosed, could damage the company's reputation.

Twitter management still insists that the share of bots does not exceed 5%, but Elon Musk is convinced that this figure reaches one third of the total audience of 230 million users. On this basis, he is trying to avoid entering into a deal to acquire Twitter assets at a price of $ 54.20 apiece for a total of $ 44 billion. Twitter representatives consider this position of Musk to be without legal grounds, since the company has repeatedly stressed that the data on the number of bots are approximate. . The court hearing in the case should begin on October 17 and last no more than five working days, so the parties to the dispute actively form the evidence base, sometimes involving the same witnesses to testify.





Singapore authorities decided to limit speculation with cryptocurrencies.
August 30, 2022

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) intends to develop the digital asset ecosystem while limiting “speculative trading in cryptocurrencies.” This was stated by the head of the regulator Ravi Menon.

“Cryptocurrencies have taken on a life of their own outside of a distributed ledger – and that’s the source of the industry’s problems. […] Cryptocurrency speculation is something that the MAS frowns upon and seeks to limit,” Menon emphasized at the Green Shoots seminar.

According to him, the task of the regulator is to create an innovative and responsible ecosystem of digital assets in Singapore. The official added that the agency considers cryptocurrencies “unusable as money and extremely dangerous for retail investors.”

“MAS sees good potential in stablecoins, provided they are securely backed by high-quality reserves and well regulated,” Menon added.

The regulator also welcomes wholesale CBDCs, “especially for cross-border payments and settlements.” At the same time, the head of MAS emphasized that he did not hear convincing arguments in favor of retail digital currencies of the central bank in Singapore.

“I hope this presentation made it clear that MAS's stimulating rhetoric regarding digital asset transactions and the restrictive stance regarding cryptocurrency speculation do not contradict each other. It is truly a synergistic and holistic approach to developing Singapore as an innovative and responsible global digital asset hub,” Menon concluded.

In July, the agency announced tighter regulation of cryptocurrencies in order to limit the risks of investors. Prior to this, the authorities promised to "cruelly and relentlessly" fight violations in the industry.

In August, Bloomberg sources reported that MAS sent out inquiries to crypto companies about their activities and assets.





Meta expands NFT integration project on Facebook.
August 30, 2022

Meta Corporation has expanded a pilot project for the integration of non-fungible tokens (NFT) to the social network Facebook.

“[…] we have made it possible for people to post the digital collectibles they own on both Facebook and Instagram,” the post reads.

According to the company, this will allow users to "connect their digital wallet to any app" to share NFTs.

In May, Meta launched a pilot project to integrate NFT into Instagram. Selected users were allowed to set non-fungible tokens as their profile photo.

In August, the initiative was expanded to an additional 100 countries.





VMware Introduces Blockchain for Ethereum Platform for Enterprises.
August 30, 2022

Despite the wide possibilities, the Ethereum platform has a number of drawbacks that make it difficult for large companies to use it, such as the lack of increased privacy, enterprise-class scalability and manageability. To address these gaps, VMware is launching the VMware Blockchain for Ethereum platform, now available in beta.

The VMware Blockchain for Ethereum Beta builds on VMware's enterprise blockchain platform, enabling enterprises to build, operate, and rapidly scale Ethereum-based blockchain solutions. With the ability to work with Ethereum, in addition to the existing support for a cross-platform DAML smart contract solution, customers have the flexibility to choose options.

The VMware CTO noted that the IT market is on the verge of a new evolution in application architecture: decentralized applications running on the blockchain will support new multi-party workflows. To enable enterprise clients to benefit from this evolution, the company created the VMware Blockchain for Ethereum. It is the first enterprise-focused Ethereum stack with built-in privacy protection features, he said. He added that the Bank of Israel and Infosys were the first to implement this VMware technology.

The VMware Blockchain Platform for Ethereum is EVM compatible, supports ZKP and standard Ethereum APIs, and popular tools such as Truffle, Hardhat, Remix, MetaMask, etc. Developers using Solidity will be able to deploy the VMware Blockchain for Ethereum Developer Kit both locally and in vSphere and AWS cloud environments.





WSJ: Tether will be "technically insolvent" if assets fall by 0.3%
August 29, 2022

A fall in the value of reserve assets by 0.3% could lead the issuer of the stablecoin Tether (USDT) to "technical insolvency". These conclusions were reached in The Wall Street Journal.

Such a “thin cushion of equity capital” threatens chaos in the market if Tether’s liabilities exceed its assets, the publication admitted. Journalists warned that under such circumstances, trust could dwindle, leading to a wave of people wanting to convert stablecoins to fiat.

According to the Tether Limited website, the organization's capital stock is estimated at $190.9 million with assets of $67.74 billion.

79.62% of USDT reserves are backed by cash, cash equivalents, other short-term deposits and commercial paper.

The remainder consists of other investments with a share of 8.36% including unspecified digital tokens, 6.77% in secured loans to non-affiliates, and 5.25% in corporate bonds, funds and precious metals.

In an interview with CTO Tether Limited, Paolo Ardoino predicted "substantial growth [of capital] over the next few months" in the form of a percentage of investments. He recalled that during the collapse of Terra, the company processed the conversion of 7 billion tokens into fiat (~ 10% of total assets) in 48 hours.

“I don’t think we present a systemic risk in the [crypto]system,” he said.

The top manager confirmed his intention to increase the frequency of publication of audit reports - now they will be released monthly, rather than once a quarter.

On August 19, the world's fifth largest auditor BDO Italia confirmed the provision of Tether.

The USDT issuer has confirmed plans to reduce commercial paper stock to $200 million by the end of August with a full disposal of these assets before the end of the year. For the second quarter, the position decreased by 58%, to $8.5 billion.

Earlier, Tether called the idea of ​​shorting USDT by hedge funds “categorically wrong”.

Prior to this, in mid-May, the stablecoin deviated from its peg to the US dollar, testing the $0.94 level. Subsequently, its rate returned to parity.





Lithium prices set another record, pushing battery prices up.
August 29, 2022

At the end of July, Elon Musk cautiously announced that the prices of materials for the manufacture of traction batteries began to decline, although he explained that he was not yet ready to reduce the prices of electric vehicles. Moreover, some sources expect prices to rise again in September. Prices for lithium, which is also used in the production of batteries, yesterday updated another record.

As Business Korea explains, by the end of last week, the cost of a tonne of lithium had risen to $69,259, while the previous record of $68,822 per tonne was recorded in April this year. Back in July last year, the price of lithium did not exceed $11,652 per ton, and other minerals for the production of traction batteries were much more expensive - $50,500 per ton of cobalt and $18,082 per ton of nickel. Lithium has now become the most expensive mineral used in the manufacture of traction batteries.

Fortunately, the amount of lithium in the average battery is not so high, and the situation is favorable for South Korean manufacturers in that they use less lithium than Chinese competitors. This means that the rise in the cost of lithium will have less effect on the costs of South Korean companies than in the case of Chinese manufacturers. According to experts, the rise in the cost of lithium was influenced by the adoption by the US authorities of a package of laws aimed at combating inflation. First, this country will provide subsidies to buyers for the purchase of electric vehicles for ten years, and the increase in demand has just warmed up the price of lithium. Secondly, lithium suppliers from unfriendly countries such as China will not be eligible for subsidies under this package, which further reduces supply in the US market.

It should be borne in mind that the heat in Sichuan province undermined the ability of local producers to rhythmically produce lithium carbonate, and for this raw material, this region of China controls 28% of the world market. Batteries based on iron phosphate (LFP), which Chinese manufacturers specialize in, have a higher specific content of lithium, while batteries based on nickel, cobalt and manganese contain lithium only in the electrolyte, and not in the cathode and electrolyte at the same time, as in LFP batteries.

If in March of this year the difference in price between LFP and NCM batteries of the same capacity reached 26%, now it has decreased to 11%, mainly due to the increase in the cost of lithium. Elon Musk has repeatedly urged companies from various fields of activity to switch to the mining of lithium compounds, since the billionaire compares such a business in terms of profitability with minting coins. The problem in supply chains is not the lack of sufficient reserves of lithium on the planet, but the limited capacity for its extraction and processing.





"Wolf of Wall Street" criticized high-risk cryptocurrencies.
August 29, 2022

Former American broker Jordan Belfort, known as the "Wolf of Wall Street", in an interview with The Crypto Mile compared small-cap digital assets to "junk" stocks.

“I don’t think there is any research you can do to protect yourself against these ultra-low-cap assets, except for a very early entry,” he said.

There is a lot of money to be made in this segment, Belfort said, but most buyers of junk stocks will lose their money.

He warned investors against acquiring such assets only if they are not willing to commit a certain amount of their portfolio to gambling.

The “Wolf of Wall Street” said that he considers Bitcoin and Ethereum primarily as reliable digital assets due to their strong foundation.

“I think it’s only a matter of time before […] bitcoin reaches maturity for it to start trading more as a store of value than as a growth stock,” he explained.

In 2018, Belfort said that retail investors in the first cryptocurrency were brainwashed. A few years later, he changed his mind, like many other investors and financiers.

In July 2022, The Wolf of Wall Street called Bitcoin a long-term hedge against inflation.

Previously, he criticized meme-cryptocurrencies Shiba Inu and Dogecoin for lack of value. In his opinion, the creators of these projects use an unregulated market and should go to jail.





CoinSwitch announces cooperation with Indian authorities after news of searches.
August 29, 2022

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinSwitch Kuber is cooperating with the Indian Enforcement Authority (ED), and the previous searches of the company's offices are not related to money laundering. This was stated by the head of the platform Ashish Singhal.

According to Singhal, ED is interested in “the operation of crypto platforms/exchanges.” He did not disclose details and stated that the company is "fully cooperating" with the authorities.

“Cryptocurrency is a new asset class. Being in its early stages, cryptocurrencies are not yet clearly classified in most parts of the world. Right now, the law (in India and elsewhere) is still evaluating whether a cryptocurrency is a “commodity,” “security,” “currency,” or “something new,” wrote the CEO of the exchange.

He added that the company is “committed to building a responsible crypto ecosystem that contributes to the Indian economy.”

Previous investments in the Bengaluru-based platform include Paradigm, Sequoia and Tiger Global. In October 2021, CoinSwitch achieved unicorn status with a $260M funding round led by Coinbase Ventures and a16z.

In the spring of 2022, CoinSwitch, among other Indian digital asset platforms, faced accusations of tax evasion. On August 26, Bloomberg reported searches in the offices and homes of the CEO and directors of the company.

In early August, it became known that ED accused WazirX, another major crypto exchange in the country, of violating currency rules and laundering money in the amount of $ 350 million.





This afternoon, NASA will launch the SLS lunar rocket into space with the Orion spacecraft - anyone can watch it.
August 29, 2022

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is ready to conduct the first orbital flight of the giant Space Launch System launch vehicle and the Orion spacecraft as part of the Artemis 1 lunar mission. The launch of the SLS system will be carried out within a two-hour window.

The launch vehicle lifts off from pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Everyone will be able to follow the preparation of the rocket for flight and directly its launch. The online broadcast will be conducted on the official website of NASA and on the YouTube channel of the aerospace department.

Although the Artemis 1 mission is uncrewed, it is critical to the entire US lunar program. A few minutes after launch, the SLS rocket will deliver the Orion spacecraft into outer space, after which it will separate from the carrier and go on a 42-day journey. During this time, the ship must automatically fly around the moon and return to Earth. It should be noted that in addition to the Orion spacecraft, the SLS rocket will deliver 10 miniature satellites into outer space, designed to conduct various studies.

If the mission is successful and the SLS system proves its viability in practice, a crew of astronauts will go on the next flight as part of the Artemis 2 mission on the Orion spacecraft. The Artemis 2 mission, in which the Orion ship with the crew will fly around the satellite of our planet and return to Earth, is scheduled for 2024. In 2025, NASA plans to launch the Artemis 3 manned mission, which involves landing astronauts on the moon. For this, it is planned to use the SpaceX Starship HLS descent module. Already, the aerospace department has selected 13 sites in the region of the south pole of the moon, where a landing can be carried out.





Honda and LG Energy Solution to build traction battery joint venture in US.
August 29, 2022

For Honda Motor Company, the US market is the largest in terms of product sales (30%), so it is concerned about creating the infrastructure for the local production of electric vehicles and components for them. As it became known this week, LG Energy Solution and Honda will start building a joint venture in the US next year to produce traction batteries.

For Honda Motor, this will be the first enterprise of this profile, its construction should be completed by 2025, when it can begin to produce serial products. The design capacity of the enterprise is not specified, but such LG Energy Solution projects involve the annual production of batteries with a total capacity of up to 30 GWh, which is enough to produce from 500 to 600 thousand mid-size electric vehicles. The partners will invest several billion US dollars in the construction of the joint venture.

LG Energy Solution is the second largest manufacturer of lithium batteries for the automotive industry, second only to China's CATL. Last year, Honda Motor bought a one percent stake in the Chinese battery maker, but the move was more about providing the company with the necessary infrastructure in the Chinese market, where Honda aims to introduce ten new electric vehicle models by 2027. From a political point of view, it is more profitable for Honda to cooperate in the US market with the South Korean LG Energy Solution.

In the next couple of years, Honda Motor is going to rely on General Motors' Ultium platform powered by LG Energy Solution batteries to produce electric vehicles for the US market. In addition to GM, the Korean battery supplier is working with local Stellantis in the US, also hoping to establish a joint production of traction batteries with this partner.

By 2026, Honda Motor intends to start producing electric vehicles on its own platform, and then it will need batteries from the Ohio plant. In this state, Honda already has a car assembly plant, but in the future, the Japanese company intends to build another plant in the United States that will specialize in assembling electric vehicles. Honda aims to build 800,000 electric vehicles annually in the US by 2030. By 2040, the company is going to completely abandon the production of cars with internal combustion engines, so the decision taken by the California authorities at the end of this month to ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines from 2035 fits well into Honda's plans.

At the same time, the Japanese company independently develops batteries with a solid state electrolyte; a research center in Japan is focused on these purposes. About $310 million will be spent on the creation of a pilot line, which will master the production of this type of batteries. It will begin work in the spring of 2024. It can be said that, unlike rival Toyota Motor, Honda is showing more determination in mastering the production of battery electric vehicles, while being skeptical about the idea of ​​using hydrogen fuel cells in passenger vehicles.





Rivian starts supplying R1S electric crossovers to third-party customers.
August 29, 2022

Technically, the young American company Rivian began deliveries of serial R1S crossovers back in December last year, but the CEO and CFO of this manufacturer became the recipients of the first two copies, and other copies were distributed among employees until recently. It was only recently that non-Rivian customers announced their R1S.

According to Electrek, ordinary customers began to share their impressions of receiving previously ordered R1S electric vehicles on the pages of the Rivian Stories profile community. At least, they were not connected with the automaker in any way, and the delivery dates of their cars generally coincided with the promises of Rivian, which in June indicated its readiness to start shipping customer crossovers by August. However, this period originally fell on March or April of the current year, so formally there was no delay.

The R1S crossover debuted in November 2018, so Rivian customers had to be patient to get a salable car. Soplatform pickups R1T began to be delivered earlier, in the secondary market their cost often exceeds the recommended twice. In the face of rising prices for raw materials and components, Rivian was forced to increase prices this year in March, and in August it stopped accepting orders for the most affordable configuration of its electric vehicles. In fact, without $75,000 in your pocket, cars of this brand are now difficult to approach.





Ericsson closes representative office in Russia.
August 29, 2022

The Swedish Ericsson, which produces telecommunications equipment, including for mobile networks, intends to close the Russian representative office by the end of the year with a general dismissal of employees, including those who provide technical support for the networks of domestic telecom operators. This is the first company of its kind to announce its readiness to leave the Russian market completely. Such a step may affect the quality of communication in the networks of mobile operators.

According to Kommersant, citing sources in the industry, on August 22, the parent company sent a notice to the Russian division, in which it announced its readiness to close it before the end of this year - the activity will be curtailed "as obligations to customers are fulfilled," and former employees will be provided financial and social support.

If in April the company announced the suspension of activities in Russia, and now it is leaving the market completely, competing Nokia and Huawei have not yet made such statements. Ericsson Corporation JSC was established in the country in 1994 and today its share in the domestic telecom equipment market is about 20%. It is known that the largest customers of the vendor are MTS and Tele2.

According to Kommersant, citing sources in the industry, it is possible that Ericsson will separate the support service into an independent legal entity with founders from among the top managers of the Russian representative office. However, no official data of this kind has been received from the vendor, and sources admit that mobile operators could have accumulated their own competencies to operate networks. In addition, they can take on employees who are downsizing at Ericsson.

The main problem is still the limited stock of spare components and the lack of new deliveries in the future. In addition, operators will not be able to receive new parts under warranty. According to a representative of Rostec, the useful life of telecom equipment is five to seven years, after which part of it must be replaced. Also critical is the lack of support and updates to proprietary software. Rostec believes that in the future, Russian equipment, which is being developed by the state corporation, may become an alternative.





Tesla began to actively hire specialists to develop engines for the actuators of a humanoid robot.
August 29, 2022

At the end of next month, Tesla intends to demonstrate a workable prototype of the humanoid robot Optimus (aka Tesla Bot), but this does not mean that all of its components and components are ready for mass production, which will begin next year. Now the company is actively hiring specialists who will help create the actuators of this robot.

If we turn to Tesla’s presentation a year ago, we can recall that the design of the humanoid robot Optimus provides for forty servos: six in each of the four limbs, six in each of their hands, two more in the torso and two in the neck. The company certainly has experience in the development of electric motors, but unlike traction motors, those used in the design of the robot must have different specifics and be of a stepping type.

No one expects significant dynamic characteristics from these robots. On outstretched arms, he will be able to carry a load weighing no more than 4.5 kg, and in a more suitable position - up to 20 kg. Without cargo, the robot will be able to reach speeds of up to 8 km/h. According to Electrek, Tesla's head of electric motors Konstantinos Laskaris posted a list of at least nine vacancies related to the development of servos and actuators for a humanoid robot. Most of the jobs are concentrated in Palo Alto, California, but there is also a vacancy in Greece, from where the head of this division of the company originally came to the United States. Tesla is challenging industry professionals to create electric motors that are optimized for energy efficiency, performance, cost and manufacturability.





In the United States, for the first time, a project is being implemented to place solar panels over water channels.
August 29, 2022

Last year, American scientists published a feasibility study on the benefits of building solar panels over water channels. Now it has become known that a Nexus pilot project is being implemented in California, in which solar panels will be placed over two spans of canals in the Turlok irrigation district to collect energy.

According to available data, California authorities have allocated $20 million to implement the Nexus project. The construction of new power facilities above the canals is scheduled to begin in October this year. Solar panels will appear over the 150-meter span of the canal in Hickman. Similarly, the panels will be placed over a 1.6-kilometer canal span in another part of the state.

“If it works for the first two miles of the Nexus project that we are implementing now, it could potentially spread to many places,” said Josh Wymer, manager of Turlock Water & Power.

The length of the California channels is about 6.5 thousand km. If they were all covered in solar panels, that would generate 13 gigawatts of renewable energy. It is noted that 1 gigawatt is enough to power 750,000 households. Thus, about 9.75 million families can be provided with energy. As of July 2021, there were 13.1 million households in California.





The logo of the Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family tariff appeared on the network.
August 28, 2022

A Twitter user posted on his page the logo for a new Xbox Game Pass plan called Friends & Family, which allows you to share the benefits of the Ultimate subscription with friends and family. Earlier this month, Microsoft started testing the new tariff in Ireland and Colombia.

In the current version, the cost of a new subscription in Ireland is €21.99, while the price of the Game Pass Ultimate plan is €12.99. By paying more, users can connect up to four people to the tariff, thereby sharing with them all the benefits of the Ultimate subscription. Microsoft hasn't made any announcements that only family members can share a subscription. Currently, it is only known that all subscribers must be located in the same country.

Microsoft offers an Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass subscription for $9.99 per month. None of these plans provide access to online multiplayer features. At the same time, users can opt for Game Pass Ultimate for $14.99, which will give access to the library for console and PC, as well as allow you to interact with games in multiplayer mode. Obviously, the new Game Pass Friends & Family plan will offer the same benefits, but for up to four people.





Creditors Mt. Gox denies bitcoin refund rumors.
August 28, 2022

Contrary to rumors, the trustee of Mt. Gox Nobuyaki Kobayashi has not started distributing funds as part of the civil rehabilitation process. This was stated by one of the creditors of the bankrupt bitcoin exchange, Eric Wall.

"Mt. Gox is not distributing coins - not this week, not next, not next. Source: I am a [platform] lender. The redemption system has not been launched yet. […] Currently, you can’t even specify where (to which exchange) you want to send your BTC and BCH,” he wrote.

Earlier, rumors appeared on the network about the distribution of 140,000 BTC between the platform's creditors, which will take place on August 28. This is probably due to Kobayashi's July statement - then he pointed to the "end of August" as the beginning of the "restrictive period."

Voll stressed that payments will be made in tranches, and no final dates have yet been announced. He added that some participants in the process sold their claims to Mt. Gox by Fortress.

This information was confirmed by another exchange creditor, the founder of the Metallicus project, Marshall Heiner.

“I am a lender to Mt. Gox and I can confirm that we are not close to receiving our bitcoins. Most people, like me, are not going to sell. Don't believe what influencers on Twitter tell you," he wrote.

Some have cited potential payouts to creditors as one of the reasons for the recent decline in the price of digital gold. At the same time, some community members are confident that the influx of an additional 140,000 BTC into the market will not be able to exert significant pressure on quotes.

The last day, bitcoin quotes have been moving in the range of $19,800-$20,280. At the time of writing, the asset is trading near $20,000.

Mt.Gox filed for bankruptcy in 2014. The civil rehabilitation process was launched in 2018.

A few years later, in 2020, Kobayashi filed a plan to recover funds from creditors in a Tokyo court, which approved the document. At that time, 137,891 BTC were stored on the Mt.Gox wallet.

Concerns have been repeatedly expressed in the community that the start of payments to Mt.Gox creditors will put pressure on the price of bitcoin, as many of them may start selling assets after receiving.





Google has released an SDK for developing applications for different types of devices.
August 28, 2022

Google is trying to simplify the process of developing Android applications that can be used on different types of devices. For this purpose, the company has created a new software development kit (SDK), which contains the tools necessary to implement the functionality of Android applications not only in smartphones and tablets, but also in TVs and even cars.

Ultimately, developers will be able to make mobile applications that can run not only on Android devices, but also on other operating systems, including Windows and iOS. At this stage, the new SDK will allow developers to perform three key tasks with their applications: discover nearby devices, establish a secure connection between them, and host applications on multiple devices. To enable connection of multiple devices, it is proposed to use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or ultra-wideband communication (Ultra-Wide Band).

Google describes different use cases for the new SDK. For example, with its help, several users on different devices will be able to simultaneously order food in the corresponding application, thereby forming a common order without the need to pass the smartphone to each other in turn. Users will also be able to continue reading any article from where they left off when switching from a smartphone to a tablet.

At this stage, a preliminary version of the new SDK is available to developers, which works with Android smartphones and tablets. In the future, Google plans to expand SDK support to other software platforms, including Windows and iOS, but when this will happen is still unknown.





Tesla unexpectedly offered European customers a budget version of the Model Y for 42,000 euros.
August 28, 2022

The trend of recent months is the increase in prices for electric vehicles, in the secondary market since July last year, prices have increased one and a half times, as statistics show. In this context, a surprise was the appearance in the configurator on the Tesla website for European markets of a new version of the Model Y crossover with rear-wheel drive and a range of 455 km at a price of 42,000 euros excluding taxes.

Formally, as Electrek explains, in the Netherlands such an electric car costs 50,000 euros including VAT, but it is a whopping 16,000 euros cheaper than the most affordable option that has so far been offered to local Tesla customers. Previously, the crossover was available here only with a drive on both axles, and the power reserve of the most affordable version in the WLTP cycle reached 533 km.

As the authors of the publication argue, at the current conditional parity of the euro and the dollar, such a rear-wheel drive electric car would cost $20,000 less in the US than the most affordable Model Y crossover for the local market. In some European markets, the new Model Y version is even cheaper than the younger Model 3 version. The company is ready to deliver the new Model Y variant to Europe by December this year or February 2023.

This electric car has two most likely sources of supply. Either Tesla will assemble the most affordable version of the Model Y at a new facility in Berlin by December, or the Shanghai facility will be able to export them in sufficient quantities, provided they are equipped with cheaper CATL-branded LFP batteries, which are commonly used in the production of basic versions of Tesla in China. The second option seems more likely so far.

It is interesting that the company at one time refused to supply the Model Y Standard Range in the United States, since Elon Musk called the range of no more than 393 km achieved by an electric car according to the EPA cycle too modest, and sales were quickly curtailed. Apparently, on the European continent, such distances overlap with the ability to replenish the charge of the traction battery more successfully, so this version of the Model Y is offered to local customers. Moreover, in Europe, a more “optimistic” WLTP cycle is used, which ultimately gives 455 km of conventional cruising range without recharging.





Changes in US law will affect the activities of Samsung and SK hynix in China.
August 28, 2022

It is known that the American authorities are ready to provide subsidies for the development of production in the United States, provided that companies refuse to expand the production of 28-nm and more advanced products in China for a period of ten years. The largest South Korean manufacturers of memory chips are expressing concern about this situation, since they have large enterprises in China.

As Business Korea explains, it is still difficult to clearly understand how the new provisions of US laws relate to the activities of Samsung and SK hynix in China. The recently adopted package of laws CHIPS and Science Act does not specify whether applicants for government subsidies in the US are prohibited from producing memory chips in China using 28-nm technology, or they are excluded from this list. The US Department of Commerce is due to clarify at a later date, but in the meantime, SK hynix and Samsung Electronics are going to apply for government subsidies in the US to build their new facilities in the country.

Now Samsung Electronics produces solid-state memory in China in Xi'an, as well as testing and packaging memory chips in Suzhou. SK hynix has a RAM chip manufacturing facility in Wuxi and a solid-state memory manufacturing facility in Dalian, the latter from Intel Corporation, which, as you can now understand, made the deal very timely in light of its high interest in obtaining subsidies in the United States.

SK hynix risks being left without US subsidies any longer as its Wuxi plant uses lithographic standards of less than 20nm to manufacture memory chips. In the case of Samsung, the risk is lower, since the number of layers, not nanometers, is decisive in the production of solid-state memory. Another feature of the requirements of the US authorities is the need for applicants for subsidies to regularly inform about their investment activity and plans, which is usually considered a commercial secret.






Bitcoin falls below $20,000 again, analysts say it's good.
August 28, 2022

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell 3.4% to $19,947.32 on Saturday, dropping below $20,000 for the first time since July 14, widening the year-to-date drop to 57%. Last week, Bitcoin traded in a range of $19,950 to $22,000.

In turn, Ethereum fell 5.5% to $1471.41. Solana and Avalanche fell the most, with prices down 6.4% and 6.9%, respectively.

Thus, Bitcoin, along with other cryptocurrencies, repeated the fall of global stock markets in response to the statement of Jerome Powell, who warned against premature easing of monetary policy. Speaking at the Jackson Hole annual economic symposium of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Powell said the Fed must continue to raise its benchmark interest rate to curb inflation.

However, some analysts argue that the current situation opens up opportunities for buying cryptocurrency. For example, Mark Newton, technical strategist at Fundstrat, pointed out in a note to investors that Friday's drop is negative in the short term but suggests a buying opportunity in early September "as cycles remain bullish and suggest higher prices in November 2022."





The head of Intel bought a large stake in the company, while they fell in price.
August 28, 2022

Things are not going well for Intel this year. After its last quarterly report, which disappointed investors and, according to CEO Patrick Gelsinger, was "below the standards set for the company earlier," the value of the shares fell immediately by 10%, and since the beginning of the year their price has fallen by a total of 41%. And while the shares are cheap, the head of the company buys them.

According to a report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gelsinger purchased 14,800 Intel shares last Wednesday at an average price of $33.86 per unit for a total of $501,153. This was his third purchase of Intel shares on the open market in 2022. For Gelsinger, it turned out to be the largest open market purchase of Intel shares since he took office in February 2021.

Under Gelsinger's leadership, the company has invested heavily in expanding manufacturing facilities in the US and Europe. However, the decline in demand for PCs had a negative impact on Intel and other chip makers. This is the reason for Intel's decline. but Gelsinger is sure he is on the right track. Perhaps, by buying shares, among other things, the head of the company is trying to inspire confidence in investors.

Last week, on Tuesday, Intel announced an agreement with Canada's Brookfield Asset Management to jointly invest up to $30 billion in two state-of-the-art chip factories in Arizona. As part of the deal, Intel plans to pay for 51% of the project, receiving a controlling stake.





CATL Develops M3P Technology to Increase Capacity and Lower Price of Electric Vehicle Batteries.
August 28, 2022

China's CATL has reported work on new materials for electric vehicles that will provide a 10% to 20% increase in capacity over existing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. This was reported by Reuters, citing company chairman Zeng Yuqun.

The new technology, dubbed M3P, will give electric vehicles a range of up to 700 km when the battery is fully charged, a company executive said during his speech at the World New Energy Vehicle Congress in Beijing. He added that the new materials will reduce the cost of batteries compared to batteries based on nickel and cobalt. Unfortunately, Mr. Zeng did not specify what metals are used in M3P batteries, and when their mass production will start.

CATL, whose customers include Volkswagen, BMW and Ford, is the world's largest manufacturer of traction batteries, accounting for more than a third of the global electric vehicle battery market. The company sees further prospects for its growth and an opportunity to increase its lead over competitors represented by LG Energy Solution and BYD in the expansion of production and new technologies for the production of batteries.

The Chinese giant recently announced Qilin technology, which will provide a 13 percent increase in energy storage density compared to standard Tesla 4680 cells. Geely's Zeekr electric vehicle brand will be the first buyer of the new battery model and will hit the market in early 2023.





Meta* Agrees to Settle in Complaint over Transfer of Cambridge Analytica User Data.
August 27, 2022

Meta* Platforms entered into an out-of-court settlement in a lawsuit in which Facebook* was accused of illegally transferring user data to research company Cambridge Analytica.

During the court session held the day before, Meta* announced its intention to settle the claims of the plaintiffs out of court. The company made concessions after its head, Mark Zuckerberg, was called in for questioning: he had to answer questions from representatives of the plaintiffs for six hours, Bloomberg claims. Facebook* users decided to sue the social network in 2018 when it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a company associated with one of the US presidential candidates, had accessed the personal data of 87 million people registered on the platform.

American justice regularly approved plaintiffs' requests for internal Facebook* documentation confirming that the social network administration failed to protect users' personal data. A lost case could cost Meta*, the company that owns the platform, several hundred million dollars. In addition to Mr. Zuckerberg, the once second person of the company, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, who recently announced her intention to leave the company, was also wanted to testify. In court, her testimony was expected on September 20.

The day before, representatives of both parties petitioned the judge to suspend the consideration of the case in order to “facilitate the process of completing the preparation of a settlement agreement” and submit it to the court for preliminary approval.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 "On countering extremist activity."





US court upholds SpaceX's plan to put Starlink satellites into low orbit.
August 27, 2022

The US Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which previously approved SpaceX's plan to place up to 2,824 Starlink Internet satellites into low Earth orbit, although the company had previously planned to place fewer vehicles into the indicated orbit. The new plan was opposed by other satellite operators.

Initially, the FCC approved the launch of 4409 Starlink satellites, of which 2825 vehicles were to be located in 1100 and 1300 km orbits, and another 1584 satellites in 550 km orbit. However, SpaceX later requested permission to deploy up to 2,824 vehicles in low orbit, saying that this would reduce network delays and increase data transfer rates.

Last April, the US regulator approved SpaceX's new plan, but the initiative was opposed by other market participants, including satellite operator Viasat. According to opponents, the large-scale Starlink orbital constellation has a negative impact on the environment, and failed devices will increase the amount of space debris.

However, the appeals court sided with SpaceX, upholding the FCC's decision. The ruling, in particular, states that Viasat operates only one satellite, which is located in relative proximity to the Starlink constellation, and therefore the arguments about a possible collision are not substantiated.

Viasat, in turn, said that it considers this decision an obstacle to both space security and environmental protection. Another opponent of SpaceX's plan, satellite TV provider Dish Network, said it would monitor how the Starlink constellation affects the quality of TV services.





Businesses in Sichuan reopen after power cuts.
August 27, 2022

Initially, the authorities of the Chinese province of Sichuan planned to limit energy consumption in the region by disconnecting large industrial enterprises from the power grids for a period from August 14 to 20 inclusive, but as a result, the savings regime was extended until last Thursday. Local businesses are now back to life as the region's heatwave has passed.

Recall that the Sichuan power system is tied to hydroelectric power plants, which could not generate enough electricity due to an unprecedented drought caused by the steady hot weather. The air temperature exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, as a result, energy consumption in the residential sector increased sharply due to the use of air conditioning systems, and there was not enough electricity for all consumers. The authorities of the region in such conditions made a difficult choice in favor of infringing the interests of industrial consumers of electricity, ordering them to stop work for the period from 14 to 25 August.

As the Nikkei Asian Review notes, this past week's rains brought not only the long-awaited coolness to the region, but also the hope of replenishing water supplies needed to operate hydroelectric power plants. In the capital city of Chengdu, Foxconn and Toyota have not only begun to return to work, but the planned opening of a car show, which demonstrates new models of electric vehicles, took place. Instead of waiting until Thursday to start assembling cars at a local facility, Toyota Motor Corp. has been gradually rolling out production lines using diesel power generators in consultation with local authorities. Foxconn assembles Apple iPads in the city, and operations resumed as normal on Thursday.





SMIC will spend $7.5 billion to build a new facility in Tianjin.
August 27, 2022

Analysts' fears about declining demand for consumer electronics do not appear to be intimidating by the leadership of the Chinese company SMIC, which has committed itself to doubling production volumes by 2025 compared to 2021. A new SMIC facility will appear in Tianjin, the construction of which will cost $7.5 billion.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, the new facility will be able to produce 100,000 300mm silicon wafers per month. When it will start its work is not specified. For obvious reasons, the enterprise will be forced to specialize in the 28 nm and coarser process technology. First, SMIC simply cannot obtain equipment with US-origin technologies suitable for the production of chips using the 14nm process and thinner ones - these are the updated requirements of US export control legislation.

Secondly, there is still a shortage of semiconductor components manufactured according to mature technical processes in the world market. In recent years, the bulk of manufacturers' investment has been in the field of advanced lithography, and mature lithography has been underfunded. According to manufacturers of telecommunications equipment, in this area, the shortage of components may continue until next summer. However, it is unlikely that the new SMIC enterprise will be put into operation by that time - the source does not say anything about the timing of the project. By the way, SMIC already has an enterprise in Tianjin that works with 200 mm silicon wafers. This region of China attracts the manufacturer with the presence of a special economic zone. It is assumed that the PRC authorities will assist in the construction of a new enterprise with targeted subsidies.





The US Department of Justice is preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple.
August 27, 2022

This year in the US, legal proceedings may begin in connection with Apple's accusation of violating antitrust laws. According to Politico, the US Justice Department's antitrust arm is in the "early stages" of preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and plans to "file a lawsuit by the end of the year."

Politico clarified that despite the preparation of the lawsuit, the Justice Department has not yet decided whether a case against Apple will be opened. “It is still possible that the case will not be initiated at all,” the resource explained.

Currently, Department of Justice officials are collecting all the information necessary to file a formal lawsuit against Apple on charges of anti-competitive behavior. The DOJ investigation reportedly initially focused on the App Store, but now investigators have expanded their search for possible wrongdoing.

All aspects of Apple's business are considered, including the question "is Apple's control of its physical devices harming competitors other than app developers, and if so, in what way." Specifically, the investigation builds on public complaints from companies such as Tile and Spotify that Apple's control of the platform gives it an unfair advantage over other market players in Apple Music and AirTag.

Lawyers from the San Francisco Department of Justice are leading the investigation, Politico sources say. Recently, they have been reaching out to companies that partner with Tile about location-tracking technology on the company's devices, also making it clear that both the Apple App Store and the mobile phone operating system in general are under scrutiny from the DOJ.

According to Politico, the issue of filing an antitrust suit by the Department of Justice against Apple largely depends on the outcome of its proceedings with Epic Games. A federal judge ruled that Apple does not have a monopoly but unfairly limits the actions of third parties under certain circumstances. Both Apple and Epic Games have appealed the decision, with a hearing set for October 21.





Chinese server processors KaiSheng KH-40000 turned out to be noticeably slower than modern desktop Intel and AMD.
August 27, 2022

The performance data of the KaiSheng KH-40000 processors from the Chinese company Zhaoxin appeared in the Geekbench 5 synthetic test database. Formally, this series of chips has not yet been presented. It will include models with up to 16 cores. As the first tests show, against the background of its predecessors, the performance of KaiSheng KH-40000 has increased, but it does not reach the modern desktop processors from AMD and Intel.

Zhaoxin, owned by Via Technologies and the Shanghai government, has continued to use microarchitectures from Via (or more specifically, Centaur Technology, which was taken over by Via) in its products since the middle of the last decade. The upcoming KaiSheng KH-40000 data center processor series uses the CentaurHauls microarchitecture, which some technology experts say resembles Intel's Haswell architecture from 2013.

In Geekbench 5 tests, the 16-core KaiSheng KH-40000/16 and the 12-core KaiSheng KH-40000/12 were noted. Both chips operate at a frequency of 2.20 GHz. It is known that the older model has 32 MB of L3 cache, the younger one has 24 MB of L3 cache. The older model supports SMT technology, so the processor has 32 virtual threads. Based on the data collected by Geekbench 5, the Zhaoxin KaiSheng KH-40000/16 and KaiSheng KH-40000/12 models are very similar to the unreleased Centaur CHA processor that was previously reported. Nevertheless, there is a difference between the chips. It consists in half the number of cores in Centaur CNS, its lack of SMT support, as well as the use of a more mature technological process for the production of TSMC N16. The new KaiSheng KH-40000 chips are believed to use the more modern TSMC N7 process technology.

Although the new KaiSheng KH-40000 CentaurHaul architecture processors operate at 2.20 GHz, they are significantly faster than the previous generation LuJiazui architecture chips, which operate at a higher frequency of 2.70 in single-threaded performance tasks. GHz. This statement is true both for integer operations, where the new chips are 22% faster, and for floating point operations, where their performance is 75% faster.

Against the background of their predecessors, which are represented in the comparative test (the results are below in the table) by the eight-core model Zhaoxin KX-U6780A, the KaiSheng KH-40000 processors perform much better. However, when compared with any modern AMD and Intel processors, they lose outright. For example, their single-threaded performance is even lower than AMD's Bulldozer/Piledriver architecture chips from 2012.

Noteworthy is the very significant difference in multi-threaded performance between the 12- and 16-core KaiSheng KH-40000 models. In theory, a chip with 16 cores supporting 32 threads can indeed handle 2.66 times more threads compared to a processor that has 12 cores with 12 threads. However, as the results above show, KaiSheng KH-40000/16 is even faster: 2.69 times faster in Integer tasks and 2.84 times faster in Float operations. The older processor has only four physical cores more than the younger one, but at the same time its performance is almost three times higher.

It should be noted that Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems do not always work optimally with the task scheduler when using an unfamiliar multi-core processor. Therefore, the results of the 12-core model KaiSheng KH-40000/12, which was tested in Windows 10 Pro, may not reflect the real potential of the processor against the background of the older model, which was tested in a more suitable environment. But even despite this, the multi-core performance of the 12-core model based on the CentaurHoals architecture turned out to be expectedly higher than that of the chip based on the previous LuJiazui architecture. The latter not only has fewer cores, but also uses an older process and has less L3 cache. In operations Integer and Float, the difference in favor of the novelty was 40% and 78%, respectively. However, as mentioned above, in general, the level of performance of the KaiSheng KH-40000 processors and their predecessor Centaur CHA is very modest by modern standards.

For example, the multi-threaded performance of the 12-core KaiSheng KH-40000/12 under Windows is comparable to the eight-core AMD FX-8350.





SpaceX will change the world of mobile communications by connecting ordinary smartphones to Starlink satellites.
August 27, 2022

The head of SpaceX, Elon Musk, announced a project in which it will solve the problem of "dead zones" in cellular networks - the company will connect ordinary smartphones to satellite communications where there is simply no traditional cellular communication. Moreover, SpaceX is ready to do it all over the world, but will start from the USA together with the mobile operator T-Mobile as part of the Coverage Above and Beyond project.

It is noted that, despite the rapid development of 4G / LTE and 5G networks, in the United States alone, more than half a million square miles of territories remain without cellular communication. And on a global scale, up to 90% of the Earth's surface is not covered by a cellular network. The new initiative is designed to eliminate these "dead zones": users will be able to exchange data almost anywhere where the sky is visible.

The essence of the SpaceX project is the deployment of a new network based on SpaceX Starlink v2 (second generation) satellites in low Earth orbit, the launches of which will begin next year. Such devices will receive large antennas - 5-6 meters in diameter and almost any modern smartphones can directly connect to them.

In the case of a partnership with T-Mobile, mid-range cellular frequencies will be involved. The operator intends to provide customers with coverage almost everywhere in the continental United States, Hawaii, parts of Alaska, Puerto Rico and territorial waters, even outside of its network coverage.

In the future, SpaceX technology will be able to be adopted by interested companies on a global scale. The company is already inviting cellular operators from all over the world for cooperation. In fact, we are talking about a system that will change the world of mobile communications. The fact is that in most cases, to use the service for transmitting information via Starlink satellites, you do not have to purchase new equipment - an existing smartphone is enough. Moreover, users do not even need to perform additional actions, whether it is installing new firmware or applications.

True, there are some limitations. Throughput at the first stage will be only about 2-4 Mbps. And therefore, at first, partners organize the transfer of only text messages, including through instant messengers. However, in the future it is planned to add voice communication and Internet access.

At the same time, the system can function without access to the full constellation of Starlink satellites. We are talking about "intermittent" coverage, that is, say, users have to wait up to half an hour to send a message. One way or another, the system will solve the problem of lack of communication in remote and hard-to-reach regions. And this is extremely important in emergency situations, when performing rescue operations, organizing the transfer of information from various sensors, etc. Testing of the service will begin by the end of next year.

Starlink satellite communications will be inexpensive. Users of the most popular T-Mobile tariff plans will get free satellite connection. Satellite cellular will also be added to Tesla vehicles for emergencies. At the moment, the Starlink constellation has 2,800 low-orbit satellites. The average Internet speed it provides in the US and Canada is 90-100 Mbps.





Trustee Plus will represent Ukraine at Web Summit 2022 in Lisbon.
August 27, 2022

The Ukrainian cryptocurrency neobank Trustee Plus will take part in the large-scale IT conference Web Summit 2022. This was reported to ForkLog by representatives of the company.

The event will take place from 1 to 4 November in Lisbon. In addition to Trustee Plus, 23 startups from Ukraine will take part in it.

Neobank Trustee Plus is based on the principles of decentralization. It provides customers with the opportunity to buy, sell and exchange crypto assets without commission, including transferring them over the phone.

The annual IT conference Web Summit has been held since 2009. Its regular members are Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk.

In early September, the Kyiv Tech Summit hackathon will be held in Kyiv, the participants of which will create Web3 solutions to combat the consequences of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.





Elon Musk: Tesla electric cars will be able to connect to the next generation of Starlink satellites.
August 27, 2022

Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk said that the upcoming second-generation Starlink communications satellites have cellular antennas and will be able to interact with smartphones, and Tesla electric vehicles will also support satellite communications.

During a joint event with T-Mobile dedicated to cooperation with a mobile operator, Musk answered a number of questions, including the possibility of connecting Tesla cars. In the US, these electric vehicles have mobile connectivity to AT&T's LTE network, but using Starlink will take the technology to the next level.

So far, Musk hasn't gone into details about how Tesla's satellite communications will work. It is known that a satellite in its coverage area will provide mobile communication at a speed of up to 2-4 Mbps, and the channel width will have to be divided by all users of the corresponding technology. That doesn't seem to be enough for users on Tesla's premium plans, who normally have access to, for example, real-time video feeds from the car's cameras. In any case, a connection that, although not fast, but works “everywhere where the sky is visible” is better than none.

Over time, Tesla has reduced the connectivity packages that come with electric vehicles by default. If vehicles purchased before the end of June 2018 included the Premium Connectivity plan at no additional cost, adding the Tesla Premium Connectivity plan now costs $9.99 per month or $99 per year.

AT&T's recent 3G outage showed that older machines built before mid-2015 and not equipped with an LTE modem will have to upgrade for $200 to use the new standard, and the old no-subscription rates apply only to non-upgraded models.

For new Tesla electric vehicles or used vehicles, the Standard Connectivity package is offered for a period of 8 years, counting from the first day the new electric vehicle was delivered to the owner or from the first day it was started to be used (for example, in the case of a demo).





First manned flight of Boeing Starliner to ISS delayed until 2023.
August 27, 2022

Boeing and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have announced that the first manned flight of the Starliner spacecraft under the International Space Station (ISS) program has been postponed to a later date.

The CST-100 Starliner spacecraft developed by Boeing will be another ship for the needs of the US manned astronautics. It will operate alongside SpaceX's Crew Dragon.

The first manned launch of Starliner to the ISS was planned for December this year. However, now it is reported that specialists will need additional time to eliminate a number of problems identified during the test unmanned mission Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2) in May 2022.

During this flight to the ISS, two of the spacecraft's orbital maneuvering and attitude control (OMAC) engines failed prematurely. In addition, the anomalous behavior of the VESTA (Vision-based Electro-optical Sensor Tracking Assembly) system, which helps with the docking of the device with the orbital complex, was revealed. An excessively high pressure was also recorded in the Starliner thermal control system.

Boeing expects to fix all problems within the next few months. The new date for the first manned launch of Starliner is February 2023.





Hackers break into LastPass password manager, but don't get to user passcodes.
August 27, 2022

The LastPass password manager was the victim of a hacker attack. This was told by the CEO of the company Karim Tubba. According to him, the attackers managed to steal only classified technical information that is not related to users.

The burglary happened about two weeks ago. Unidentified individuals were able to gain access to the developer environment through one of the compromised employee accounts. As a result, hackers stole part of the source code of the product and the proprietary modules used in it.

The company assured that the attackers could not get to the user passwords, so there is no need to change them. Mr. Tubba elaborated that the hackers could not obtain the users' master passwords because they are not stored on the system. The developers have also implemented additional security measures to prevent similar incidents in the future and have attracted forensic investigators to further investigate.

LastPass is the most popular password manager in the world. According to Bloomberg, more than 33 million people and over 100,000 companies use the service.





Eminem And Snoop Dogg To Perform BAYC Track At MTV Video Music Awards.
August 27, 2022

American rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg will perform at the MTV Video Music Awards with the track From The D 2 The LBC, created in collaboration with the popular NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).

In the video of the same name, published at the end of June, the performers appeared as animated monkeys from the Otherside metaverse. The latter was created by Yuga Labs, the company behind BAYC.

In 2022, the organizers of the MTV Video Music Awards added the nomination "Best Performance in the Metaverse". It also features Justin Bieber, Rift Tour (with Ariana Grande) and Twenty One Pilots.

Snoop Dogg is a well-known collector's token investor under the pseudonym Cozomo de' Medici. The rapper has released his own series of NFTs, including a collaboration with Nyan Cat meme creator Chris Torres.

He also announced the creation of digital marijuana farms in the MOBLAND metaverse and the launch of an NFT dessert shop.

In January, Eminem purchased BAYC #9055 for 123.45 ETH (over $450,000 at the time of the deal).





NASA approves Blue Origin's Orbital Reef commercial space station project.
August 26, 2022

The International Space Station (ISS) has been humanity's main outpost in space for many years, but it is nearing the end of its lifespan. NASA plans to complete the operation of the ISS by 2031. To replace it, the Commercial Low Earth Orbit (CLD) Program was developed, which is funded from the budget of NASA and should stimulate aerospace companies to build new private stations.

Blue Origin's Orbital Reef project has been submitted to NASA to determine eligibility for the program this summer. The agency has positively assessed the feasibility of the project, and this is good news for Blue Origin and Sierra Space - NASA believes that the companies have the technology and experience to successfully build Orbital Reef. According to the initial schedule, construction could start in 2026, and the plant could start operating as early as 2027.

Unlike the ISS, the space on which was controlled exclusively by the space agencies of different countries, the new station will operate on a commercial basis. “Microgravity manufacturing provided aboard Orbital Reef has the potential to revolutionize any industry and could be a major growth driver for the US and global economy,” said Tom Vice, CEO of Sierra Space. Other project partners include Amazon, Boeing, and Arizona State University.

The Orbital Reef project provides for the placement of 10 astronauts in a volume comparable to the volume of the ISS. There will be advanced laboratories for conducting experiments in microgravity, production facilities and, of course, rooms for space tourists. Sierra describes the future station as a "multipurpose business park" in space. The photo of the station is just an early concept and the final design is still subject to change. After completing the approval process with NASA, companies can proceed to the design stage.

Space tourism is one of the main activities of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin company, which already takes tourists to the edge of space on its own New Shepard spacecraft and rockets. In the future, versions of the rocket may be built that can reach low Earth orbit to dock with the Orbital Reef. Sierra Space is working on a space plane, known as the Dream Chaser, that could also reach the station - concept renders show several of these planes near the station. The Dream Chaser is larger than the New Shepard, with a payload capacity of around 5500kg. Boeing is also set to use its Starliner to transport crew and cargo for the Orbital Reef, though it's not yet clear if the ship will be ready anytime soon.





Tesla shares split - one security turned into three.
August 25, 2022

After yesterday's close of the American market, a split (split) of Tesla shares took place at a rate of 3 to 1. With the opening of the market today, trading in the automaker's securities will begin already adjusted for the new price.

Despite the fact that this measure does not promise any fundamental changes in Tesla's activities, the company's shares rose by 1.8% the day before. Shareholders approved a 3-for-1 stock split at their annual meeting in Austin, Texas on August 4.

In theory, the split means that retail investors' access to the company's shares will become easier as the company's securities become cheaper. In practice, firstly, the volume of investments of such shareholders is negligible in comparison with the assets of institutional investors (for example, pension funds); secondly, retail investors could trade shares of Tesla shares before that.

Tesla itself explained the initiative by caring for its employees: the company seeks to make shares available to every employee, and adjusting the value of securities will give them "flexibility in managing capital." Following the split, investors will receive two additional shares for each share they held as of August 17, 2022. The last time the split was made almost exactly two years ago, in August 2020, then it took place at the rate of 5 to 1.





Former head of Twitter security went from hacker to whistleblower.
August 25, 2022

Twitter's head of security, Peiter Zatko, also known as Mudge, fired in January, has spent three decades helping uncover cybersecurity risks. He has now become a whistleblower, sending an 84-page document to three major departments that criticized Twitter's negligent attitude towards the security of the platform.

The report could affect the company's financial and legal outlook, as well as the outcome of a lawsuit with Elon Musk, who does not want to acquire a dubious asset for $ 44 billion and accuses the management of the social network in an attempt to mislead him and other shareholders. In 2020, he was hired by the then head of Twitter Jack Dorsey - he attracted the founder of the service as an expert who does not change his own moral principles and speaks the truth even to the detriment of his own interests. According to Zatko himself, he accepted the offer after the platform was hacked by a teenager who gained control of verified accounts of companies and famous people.

Now the expert claims that he lost the opportunity to work on Twitter after Dorsey left the post of CEO: he told the members of the company's board that the confidential data of users is not protected as reliably as the official version says, and the new head of the platform, Parag Agrawal, fired him. “Mr. Zatko was fired from Twitter over six months ago for poor performance and poor leadership, and now he seems to be trying to harm Twitter, its customers and shareholders,” its vice president, Rebecca Hahn, announced the company’s official position. The CEO of the company did not give official comments, but contacted the company's employees by e-mail and also said that Zatko was fired for poor performance. Representatives of the expert say that he has no goal to cause any damage to the platform - on the contrary, he "put his career on the line, worrying about Twitter users, the public and shareholders of the company." The expert readily discloses any information that exposes both malicious hacking activity and corporate irresponsibility in relation to security issues.

The son of a chemistry professor and a mining specialist, Zatko grew up in Alabama and Pennsylvania, and in 1988 entered the Berklee College of Music (Boston, Massachusetts), even then possessing skills in hacking computer games and often preferring to spend time not in studios, and in the computer labs of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After finally moving to Boston, he got a job at BBN Technologies, which had been developing security tools since the dawn of the Internet. In 1996, he joined the L0pht hacker community, whose members identified vulnerabilities in software. Then Microsoft suggested that experts first notify the developer about vulnerabilities, give him time to release software updates, and only then make the incidents widely publicized. The hackers agreed, thereby establishing a consistent disclosure model that is still relevant today.

Based on the L0pht community, the commercial firm @stake was created, which was approached for consulting services by large banks and software developers, including Microsoft. Then the idea arose to use digital signatures to identify legitimate programs. Later, Zatko joined DARPA, the Pentagon's innovation hub, where he created a fast-track grant program, thereby enabling lone hackers to help the government. Returning to the corporate sector, the expert worked on special projects for Motorola Mobility and Google, which later absorbed this company. He went on to secure the electronic payment startup Stripe. By the time he left, Stripe employees had hardware-based authentication keys to access data, and corporate laptops were going through a process of identification with privileges.

After a hacking incident in 2020, Dorsey lured Zatko to Twitter, where he began by scrutinizing the company's internal security concerns. A couple of months later, he faced the first serious problem - on January 6, 2021, the riots in Washington were coordinated via Twitter, and then-President Donald Trump's account was blocked. At this point, Zatko turned to the company's management, suggesting that they think about how to protect the platform from potentially malicious actions of their own employees. He was told that it was impossible to do this, and with a strong desire, a qualified worker would be able to complete the job. On the same day, he was contacted by the team of President-elect Joe Biden with an offer to lead the direction of cybersecurity at the federal level. Zatko thought about it, but refused - he decided that Twitter would be more useful.

However, he never fit into the Twitter culture. Some employees of the company spoke of him as an arrogant person who strove to go beyond his competence. He stayed on Twitter for another year, but then got into an argument with Agrawal about what the board of directors should know and was fired. Having lost his position, he decided to complete his work, and therefore turned to the state authorities. His report highlights what he considers to be dangerous omissions in the company, and he now proposes to solve these problems with the participation of regulators. “I want to finish the job for which Jack invited me, namely to make this place better,” Zatko himself explained his current actions.





Heather Morgan, defendant in the Bitfinex case, called NFT projects with her name a scam.
August 24, 2022

Accused of laundering assets stolen from the Bitfinex bitcoin exchange, Heather Morgan broke the six-month silence. She stated that she is not involved in any of the cryptocurrency projects.

“Any cryptocurrency or NFT project using my name or image is a scam that I do not condone,” she wrote.

Previously, Morgan positioned herself as a rap artist, as well as an artist specializing in collages, sculpture, painting and fashion design. The post published on August 23 is the first post since February 2022. Then the US authorities announced her detention.

Morgan, along with her husband Ilya Lichtenstein, became defendants in the case of involvement in the hacking of the Bitfinex exchange in 2016 and laundering the stolen 119,754 BTC. They face up to 25 years in prison.

Representatives of the US Department of Justice also announced the largest confiscation of digital assets in the history of the department - 94,636 BTC ($3.6 billion at that time).

On February 15, Morgan was released on $3 million bail. According to the court, there is no substantial evidence against her other than the allegation that she "allegedly received funds related to the case."

Online cinema Netflix has announced a documentary series about Morgan and Liechtenstein.





Brian Armstrong spoke about the reorientation of Coinbase's business.
August 24, 2022

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is cutting costs and shifting focus towards subscriptions and services during the crypto winter. This was stated in an interview with CNBC by its CEO Brian Armstrong.

According to the results of the second quarter, the platform recorded a loss twice as high as forecasts. The company attributed this to a decrease in prices for digital assets - the trading volume on the platform amounted to $217 billion against $462 billion a year earlier.

Trading commissions generated 82% of net revenue. The remainder came from revenues grouped under the subscriptions and services category.

In an interview, Armstrong spoke about efforts to increase the share of the latter direction, as the cash flow from trading dries up during periods of deteriorating market conditions.

“We understand that trading fees will be an important part of our business ten years from now, even twenty years from now. I would like to achieve a situation where more than half of our income comes from subscriptions and services,” he explained.

The head of the exchange said that Coinbase is developing a line of products, including a staking service. The platform offers cloud services and the Coinbase One service. The latter is still in beta, but provides better customer support and other benefits.

Armstrong called for a move away from the US-centric approach.

“Looking back, we may have been pushing too hard on the requirements of US regulators. […] It may have been a mistake. We are changing that,” he explained.

Coinbase CEO recalled that the exchange has survived four bear markets and is well prepared for the current one. According to him, the current crypto winter will last 12-18 months. On June 14, it became known about the reduction of about 18% of the exchange's employees.

Armstrong did not rule out that in the future a new staff optimization may be required, however, the steps already taken were initially conceived as a “one-time event”.

In August, S&P Global downgraded the stock exchange's corporate rating from 'BB+' to 'BB', maintaining a 'negative' outlook.

Earlier, Coinbase agreed to cooperate with BlackRock. Clients of the latter will have direct access to digital asset trading through the Aladdin portfolio management system.





In China, they began to turn off charging for electric vehicles due to power outages - the problem is relevant for the whole world.
August 24, 2022

A rare summer in recent years has passed without climatic anomalies, and an unprecedented drought in parts of China has already caused power outages. The authorities of the affected regions of China limited the work of industrial enterprises, and the owners of electric vehicles were faced with the fact that many express charging stations were de-energized.

The worst drought in Sichuan province since the 1960s has already left residents of Chengdu and Chongqing unable to charge their electric vehicles at public express stations. At the very least, the NIO and Tesla charging station networks have been hit hard by the forced power outages. Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer NIO has begun warning on its app for finding charging stations that there may be problems finding functioning charging points, citing severe overloads in the region's power infrastructure due to high temperatures.

In these two Chinese cities, Tesla shut down more than a dozen charging stations, leaving by the middle of the month only two public charging points where it was possible to replenish the range of electric vehicles of this brand, but only at night, when the load on the electric grid is reduced. Representatives of the network of charging stations Teld New Energy admitted that in China, some public express charging points have to be turned off due to the requirements of local authorities. In some cases, the company encourages the use of charging stations at night or early in the morning when the load on the infrastructure is lower.

NIO, which also operates a network of express traction battery replacement points, is calling on home charger owners to help owners of electric vehicles of this brand, who do not have the opportunity to recharge their charge at home. The more fortunate drivers of NIO electric vehicles are encouraged to charge the batteries at home, and then take them to exchange points for subsequent distribution to other customers. A similar scheme will be valid until September 20, at least.

Considering that geopolitical instability is already forcing European consumers to limit the consumption of electricity and other utilities, the problem of charging electric vehicles may worsen in this region of the planet. Now the local electric car market is the second largest after China, and alternative sources of electricity are unlikely to cover the entire need of the European car fleet for charging capacities in the foreseeable future. Consequently, electric car owners in Europe may also be hit by the energy crisis, although initially they may have gained some advantage over ICE owners in the form of lower operating costs.





Tesla says its automation prevents up to 40 accidents a day due to pressing the wrong pedal.
August 23, 2022

The FSD Beta software distributed by Tesla for the driver assistance system of branded electric vehicles, in previous versions, was often accused of false positives of the automatic braking system, but experts say that branded automation prevents up to 40 accidents daily caused by the fact that the driver mixed up the pedals while driving.

The US agency NHTSA has already initiated an investigation into 127 incidents caused by the sudden unintentional acceleration of Tesla vehicles. The company, after studying the logbooks of the affected electric vehicles, came to the conclusion that all cases of acceleration were caused by erroneous pressing of the gas pedal by the driver. At the same time, the company announced that it uses the Autopilot system to prevent such incidents by blocking the driver's control action on the pedal if, according to a combination of criteria, it is erroneous.

Ashok Elluswami, lead software engineer for Tesla's Autopilot software, said in a recent interview that the brand's electric vehicles manage to prevent the consequences of up to 40 accidental accelerator instead of brake applications daily. It is as important to talk about it as it is about problems in software, because Tesla's achievements in this area are much less obvious than the failures that the press willingly discusses.





Former OpenSea employee accused of insider trading challenges court verdict.
August 23, 2022

Lawyers for former OpenSea head of product Nathaniel Chastain have filed an appeal against the indictment against him.

In June, a jury found him guilty of fraud and money laundering in an insider trading scheme on a marketplace.

According to the conclusion, Chastain pre-purchased the tokens using anonymous wallets and OpenSea accounts. Between June and September 2021, the top manager sold these works for two to five times the purchase price.

In the petition, lawyers stressed that internet fraud is associated with securities and commodities. However, NFTs are neither, they added.

Lawyers also argue that the authorities are not able to confirm the interpretation of crypto transactions as financial in accordance with anti-money laundering regulations.

“The government initiated prosecution using unreasonable application of criminal law to create a precedent in the field of digital assets,” the experts concluded.

In September 2021, OpenSea terminated its employment relationship with an unnamed employee involved in insider trading. This moment coincided with the departure from the company of Chastain, who was suspected of fraud. He was arrested on June 1, 2022.

Previously, Huobi accused the ex-employee of illegal trading. According to media reports, he allegedly set up a retail trading account in his father's name and provided a $20 million line of credit from the exchange for subsequent trading.





The James Webb Space Telescope captures the auroras on Jupiter.
August 23, 2022

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released two spectacular images of Jupiter taken by the James Webb Space Observatory. They capture the bright auroras, as well as the Great Red Spot, the largest atmospheric vortex in the solar system.

Both images were taken by the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) camera, which is located in the structure of the space telescope. Because infrared light is invisible to the human eye, it has been mapped onto the visible spectrum. As a rule, the longest wavelengths are more reddish, while the shortest wavelengths are bluer. The scientists formed composite images using multiple filters mapped to different colors.

The images show that the bright aurora borealis extends over the north and south poles of Jupiter. Their radiance is most noticeable with the filter set to redder colors, as it also brings out the light reflected from the clouds. The Great Red Spot appears white in the new images because, like other clouds, it reflects a lot of sunlight. The images also show the faint rings of Jupiter and the planet's two moons, Amalthea and Adrastea. It is expected that the presented images will help astronomers get new information about the processes taking place on Jupiter.





Fujitsu to launch first Japanese-made commercial quantum computer in 2023.
August 23, 2022

Fujitsu, together with the RIKEN Institute for Physical and Chemical Research, plans to begin commercial production of quantum computers in 2023. Fujitsu was the first company in the country to be willing to commercialize such technology.

So far, the quantum computing industry has been dominated by companies like Google. At the same time, such machines are considered in the world as solutions of the latest generation that can have a direct impact on the competitiveness of the country and its national security. The Boston Consulting Group estimates that quantum computing will generate $850 million annually in economic value by 2040, thanks to the development of new materials and other disruptive technologies.

For development, Fujitsu and RIKEN established a research base in Wako City, Saitamo Prefecture in April last year, about 20 scientists are involved in the work. It is assumed that computers will be used to make accurate weather forecasts, in the development of new materials, medicine and many other areas. The company promises that computers will be able to buy various companies in the next fiscal year, starting in April.

It is known that Fujitsu began research in the field of new materials using the principles of quantum computing back in April, together with Fujifilm. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Japanese companies have lagged behind foreign competitors in the development of quantum computers, so Fujitsu will be the first company to start building a "home" system using RIKEN technologies and superconductors with extremely low temperature cooling systems.

In 2019, Google made headlines when it claimed its quantum computer was able to solve a problem in 3 minutes that would take a supercomputer 10,000 years to solve. However, this claim was later refuted. It is known that Chinese tech giants have also achieved some success. In addition, the number of quantum computing-related startups has grown. However, the capabilities of existing systems are still limited. Google intends to commercialize its developments only in 2029, but so far there are still quite a few obstacles along the way.

Fujitsu's commercial quantum computer is expected to be able to offer 64 qubits, more than the 53 qubits of Google's 2019 machine. At the same time, it will be inferior to the IBM solution with its 127 qubits, put into operation in 2021. However, Fujitsu has much more ambitious goals. The company expects that after March 2027, the company will release a machine with more than 1,000 qubits. Earlier it was reported that scientists have created an algorithm for evaluating the performance of quantum computers, which allows you to "travel in time"





China to build an array of telescopes to study the Sun - the system will be more than 3 km in diameter.
August 23, 2022

It became known that China is building the world's largest array of radio telescopes, which is planned to be used to study the Sun. The Daocheng Solar Radio Telescope (DSRT) will help expand our understanding of coronal mass ejections, which are often accompanied by geomagnetic storms on Earth.

According to reports, the telescope array is being built on a plateau in southwest China's Sichuan province. When completed, the facility will include 313 plates, each 6 meters in diameter, forming a circle 3.14 kilometers in diameter. The array of radio telescopes will be used to study coronal mass ejections, large ejections of charged particles from the solar corona. Directed at our planet, such emissions can harm power grids, telecommunications facilities, satellites, etc.

It is noted that the implementation of this project is carried out as part of a larger program for the construction of a network of ground facilities for observing space objects called the "Chinese Meridian". As part of this program, a spectral radioheliograph is being built in Inner Mongolia to observe the Sun. The radio heliograph will consist of 100 dishes arranged in a spiral and will allow studying the Sun in a wide frequency range.

In total, the China Meridian program will put into operation about 300 instruments for space exploration, which will be deployed at 31 stations throughout China. The project is overseen by the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and more than 10 institutions and research institutes in China are participating in it.





Starting September 5, Tesla will raise the cost of the FSD software option to $15,000.
August 22, 2022

Last September, Elon Musk already raised the cost of the FSD software package, which automates many of Tesla's electric vehicle control functions, from $10,000 to $12,000, and in September of this year, he is ready to raise the price to $15,000, simultaneously introducing FSD Beta 10.69.2. The change so far only applies to North America, where Tesla has made the most progress in improving its active driver assistance systems.

Recall that initially, buyers of Tesla electric vehicles paid $5,000 for the possibility of software activation of FSD, and they could make their choice at any time, and all the equipment necessary for the operation of the complex was already present on electric vehicles from the very beginning. In October 2020, the price of the option rose to $10,000, less than a year later the bar was raised by another $2,000. Back in 2019, Elon Musk made it clear to investors that the cost of FSD will rise as its functionality approaches a full-fledged autopilot that does not require human intervention in the process of driving electric vehicles in most situations.

Tellingly, the latest price increases did not include the cost of a subscription to FSD, which does not include a one-time activation of the feature, but access to it on a temporary basis with a monthly payment of $199. This option was convenient for those who did not own a Tesla electric car, but used it on a rental or leasing basis, hoping to return it to the owner in the future. So far, nothing has been announced about the prospects for changing the cost of a subscription to FSD.

Speaking directly about the version of FSD Beta 10.69, which has already reached selected owners of Tesla electric vehicles, the developers managed to improve the behavior of the car on paved roads without markings and dirt roads, as well as teach the electric car to make a safer left turn at intersections. The number of “phantom brakes” has decreased, and the upcoming FSD Beta 10.69.2 update is only designed to consolidate this success.





The DAO architect Stefan Tual left the Ethereum community.
August 22, 2022

Stefan Tual, the developer behind the infamous The DAO project, left the Ethereum community, of which he had been a member for nine years. It is reported by The Block.

“I cannot in good conscience continue to act as if everything is fine in Web3,” he wrote in a letter addressed to the organizers of the Ethereum London meetup.

Tual explained his decision in more detail in a post on Reddit.

“As of August 15, 2022, ‘blockchain’ (or should I use the terminology coined by hedge funds ‘distributed ledger’?) has become a circus of centralized NFTs, endless Ponzi schemes, illegal securities, and sycophant defectors swearing loyalty to the first opposite regulator. I am not aware of my belonging to this area, not a bit, ”wrote the developer.

He added that he now intends to focus on other technologies such as mesh networks and software-defined radio.

Tual joined the Ethereum team in January 2014 as Director of Communications. In September 2015, he left the position to create the startup Slock.

The latter developed a framework for creating a DAO. In the same year, The DAO project was created with the participation of Slock.it. In 2019, the startup was acquired by Nevada-based investment firm Blockchains.

After the collapse of The DAO, Tual disappeared from view, but remained active in the Ethereum community. He left Slock in 2017 to create a cryptocurrency-focused business incubator. Tual also continued to hold events in London related to the second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization.

Earlier, journalist Laura Shin announced the involvement of former TenX co-founder Toby Henish in hacking The DAO.





Foxconn is ready to invest $300 million in the development of the Vietnamese enterprise.
August 22, 2022

This week, we have already heard about the intentions of Apple's main contractor, the Taiwanese company Foxconn, to increase production of the first brand in Vietnam. The local press reports that the Taiwanese giant is ready to invest up to $300 million in the development of the Vietnamese site. The new enterprise on the territory of more than 50 hectares will provide employment for 30,000 local residents.

In the north of the country, a new Foxconn facility will be built in Bakjiang. The Taiwanese giant chose one of the local construction companies as the contractor for the construction of the enterprise. Foxconn has a 15-year history of operations in the region and recently launched iPads and AirPods for Apple to diversify the risks posed by China's focus on these products.

What products and in what quantity will be produced at the new Foxconn plant in Vietnam, the sources do not specify. Foxconn invested $1.5 billion in the country's economy last year, according to Vietnamese officials. Many foreign electronics manufacturers are expanding their presence in Vietnam. Intel has a large CPU and chipset testing and packaging facility here, and Samsung Electronics manufactures the majority of smartphones in Vietnam.





Rocket Lab independently carries out a mission to search for life in the atmosphere of Venus.
August 22, 2022

This week, private aerospace company Rocket Lab announced that it would be self-funding a mission to search for life in Venus's atmosphere. Its implementation is scheduled for next year.

As part of this mission, Rocket Lab plans to use its 18-meter Electron launch vehicle, which is capable of delivering up to 300 kg of cargo to low Earth orbit. The rocket will launch the Photon platform with a miniature probe into an orbit 165 km above the Earth. The engine available in the platform design will be used for several adjustments to the flight path and acceleration to the desired speed. Ultimately, the Photon platform should approach Venus, after which the probe will separate and enter the planet's atmosphere.

A probe weighing 20 kg will begin to conduct a chemical analysis of the atmosphere in order to search for signs of organic matter at an altitude of 60 km from the surface of the planet. For about 330 seconds, it will descend and at an altitude of about 45 km from the surface, measurements will be stopped, after which the transmission of the collected data to Earth will begin. Then the probe will continue to descend and at some point be destroyed, because as it approaches the surface of Venus, atmospheric pressure and temperature will continuously increase to critical values.

If all goes according to plan, Rocket Lab's Venusian mission will launch into space in May 2023 and reach its destination in October of that year. Note that if successful, Rocket Lab will conduct the first ever private mission to study Venus, as well as the first study of the planet's atmosphere in the last 40 years.

“This mission is the first opportunity to directly explore the Venusian atmosphere in nearly four decades. Even taking into account the limitations on mass and data transfer rate, as well as the limited time spent in the atmosphere of Venus, a breakthrough in science is possible, ”the Rocket Lab mission description says.





The analyst stated the completion of the capitulation phase of bitcoin miners.
August 21, 2022

The founder of Capriole Investments, Charles Edwards, based on the data of the Difficulty Tape indicator, came to the conclusion that the period of capitulation of bitcoin miners has passed. This, he says, is “a great buy signal.”

According to his observations, the last phase of surrender is the third longest in history (71 days). It is longer than in 2021, but two days shorter than in 2018.

“Historically, capitulations by bitcoin miners have set major price lows and served as great buy signals,” Edwards said.

At the time of writing, the first cryptocurrency is trading in the region of $21,330. Over the past seven days, the price of digital gold has decreased by 12.7%, according to CoinGecko.

Earlier, Bloomberg strategist Mike McGlone called bitcoin excessively oversold.





NASA has chosen a damn dozen places for a possible landing of astronauts on the South Pole of the Moon.
August 21, 2022

NASA announced that it has selected 13 potential sites for landing astronauts on the moon after 2024. Landing is planned for the South Pole of the Moon, where water ice can hide in the eternal shadow of craters. Ice will be needed both for the life of the lunar base and for the production of rocket fuel on site.

The criteria for choosing landing sites were the constant illumination of the sites by the Sun - this is important for the operation of the solar panels of the landing module and lunar rovers, the relative evenness of the surface, the possibility of constant communication with the Earth, and the proximity of the site with potential ice deposits. The landing should take place during the Artemis III mission in 2025 or 2026, if all goes according to plan. The dimensions of each site are 15 × 15 km with a landing site in the center with a radius of 100 m.

The Artemis I mission, with an unmanned lunar flyby by the Orion spacecraft, is scheduled to launch on August 29 (or September 2 or 5). In 2024, the Orion spacecraft in the Artemis II mission will carry a live crew of astronauts to the Moon. And only then, when a new lander and a new lunar suit are ready, the Artemis III mission will ensure the return of a man to the lunar surface half a century after the previous landings on the moon.

A specific landing site will be chosen once the launch date for the Artemis III mission has been determined. Firstly, all sites will be analyzed again if NASA collects new data about them (the Agency does not currently have such tools). Secondly, the location of the future lunar landing will depend on the launch time, since not all sites will be available at the same time. NASA is counting on one or two backup options and does not consider the choice of a specific site to be something extremely important.





Elon Musk is disappointed in Neuralink and is looking for development on the side.
August 21, 2022

Elon Musk expressed his disappointment with the pace of development of the neural interface by Neuralink, of which he is the head. He promised to start experiments on humans two years ago, but so far, apparently, this year will also be wasted. In search of inspiration, Musk began to look for alternatives on the side and, according to unconfirmed reports, approached him with an offer to invest in a rather successful competitor, Synchron.

Synchron was the first company in the US to receive approval from the regulator to place a brain implant on an American patient. So far, Synchron has successfully operated on four Australians. Neuralink has so far nothing to brag about, except for the installation of a brain implant in a pig and several monkeys, some of which died, according to sources and the noise raised around possible animal abuse.

Synchron and Neuralink have a different approach to installing brain interfaces. The first inserts a probe through an artery at the base of the neck and pushes it to its destination without touching the cranium. To install the Neuralink implant, it is necessary to open the skull and insert the thinnest conductors into the brain tissue. Obviously, the consequences of each of the operations will be different and with the likelihood of possible complications in the case of the Neuralink approach. One way or another, Neuralink has not yet received permission to conduct clinical trials in humans. And when that happens, no one will admit it.

According to rumors, the head of Synchron refused to merge with Neuralink and is not ready to discuss receiving investments from Elon Musk. It is interesting to note that one of Synchron's current investors, Max Hodak, was at one time the founder of Neuralink and an associate of Elon Musk. In May last year, he left Neuralink, which also left six of the eight founders of the company, which indirectly hints at the low status of its developments.

Well, this is not the first time that Elon Musk has been promised mountains of gold and breakthroughs where they do not exist or will not be soon. It was with flights to Mars, "solar tiles" and "hyperloop". The neural interface will also have to wait. Perhaps he will deal with it after buying Twitter. Or is Musk not buying it anymore? But there are even more interesting options. In particular, the idea to revive dinosaurs on Earth. But that's another story.





US senator suspects FDIC of putting pressure on banks over cryptocurrencies.
August 17, 2022

Republican Senator Pat Toomey demanded that the FDIC confirm or deny cases of pressure on banks due to work with cryptocurrency companies.

The letter is addressed to the acting chairman of the agency, Martin Grunberg. The senator indicated that his office had received information from sources indicating improper actions by the regulator.

“According to whistleblowers we have verified, FDIC staff at Washington, D.C. headquarters are urging regional offices [of the agency] to send letters to several banks asking them to refrain from expanding relationships with cryptocurrency-related entities without providing any or legal grounds,” the letter says.

Toomey added that sources consider the FDIC's actions to be out of scope. In particular, the agency’s employees allegedly recommended “downgrading” the classification of a loan provided by the bank to an unnamed crypto company.

In the letter, the senator also noted the participation of the FDIC in the US Department of Justice initiative called Choke Point. During its implementation, pressure was put on banks to keep them from doing business "with legal but politically objectionable businesses," Toomey said.

No later than August 30, FDIC management must answer the following questions: did officials really turn to regional offices with a request to keep banks from working with crypto companies;
whether a similar fact took place on June 6, 2022;
on what grounds the FDIC could require lending institutions to suspend or terminate relationships with industry participants.

In February, Grunberg said that digital assets and the assessment of the risks associated with them were among the top priorities in the work of the FDIC for 2022.

Toomey co-sponsored a crypto-friendly amendment to the provisions of the bipartisan infrastructure plan.

Earlier, he called for legislation to be adapted to digital assets and criticized the SEC's approach to regulating the industry.

In July, U.S. House Representative Tom Emmer accused the Commission of being "unethical" to the crypto industry.





Judge orders Twitter to provide Elon Musk with documents on spam accounts from one of former executives.
August 16, 2022

The legal representatives of Elon Musk some time ago demanded that the justice authorities request data from Twitter from employees involved in determining the number of questionable accounts. The request concerned 22 potential witnesses, but the judge decided to request data on only one, and Twitter chose to part with him back in May of this year.

As Bloomberg explains, this company will have to share the information of interest to Musk's side by transferring to the court the data that Kayvon Bakpour, who until May of this year held the position of head of Twitter's consumer products, had at his disposal. The list of 21 additional potential witnesses was largely rejected by the judge in preparation for the hearing, except for the intention to consider data to which Beikpour had access.

In fact, until May of this year, it was Bakpour who led a team of specialists who were supposed to collect and analyze data on the structure of the audience of this social network. It was the quality of this data that Elon Musk had questions about in preparation for the purchase of Twitter, so the willingness of the court to examine the data that Kayvon Beikpuru had access to seems to be a natural motive. The dispute, we recall, is around the 5% milestone, which Twitter determines the share of dubious accounts in its daily audience, and Elon Musk considers this assessment too optimistic and underestimated, trying to challenge the reliability of such data.





Korean authorities to study role of banks in $6.5 billion kimchi premium arbitrage.
August 16, 2022

In July, the FSS launched an investigation into alleged local bank facilitation of $6.5 billion in overseas transfers to crypto exchanges associated with the “kimchi premium.” Writes about it Cointelegraph.

The regulator will study the activities of financial organizations in the period from January 2021 to June 2022 for the withdrawal of capital from the country and money laundering.

Earlier, the media reported that we are talking about the largest banks in the country - Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank. Reports of organizations showed that most of the transfers were initiated from local crypto exchanges to various accounts of Korean companies. Some of the participants in these schemes were arrested.

The publication did not rule out that the investigation will reveal a larger scale of abuse. The audit of Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank is expected to be completed on August 19. Financial institutions face fines.

“We are serious about foreign exchange transactions, sanctions are inevitable,” said Lee Bok-hyun, head of the FSS.

Thanks to the “kimchi premium”, when bitcoin in South Korea is sold at a higher price than the market price, it is possible to profit from the prevailing discrepancies. However, the ban on opening accounts on local crypto exchanges for foreign citizens creates difficulties.

According to CryptoQuant, the kimchi premium has now shrunk to 3.4% from the 20% seen in April.

On August 16, journalist Colin Wu, citing Chosun biz, reported that the South Korean government had investigated unregistered foreign exchanges, including MEXC, Phemex, Kucoin, Bitrue, Poloniex, CoinEx, and several others. Local platform Bithumb has said it will restrict deposits and withdrawals from some of the exchanges on this list.

In October 2021, the South Korean authorities recorded an increase in illegal foreign exchange transactions using digital assets. Presumably, the "kimchi premium" influenced this.

In July 2022, the government of the country postponed the introduction of a tax on bitcoin traders until January 1, 2025.





The meeting on the case of Vinnik in the United States will be held on September 27.
August 16, 2022

Consideration of the criminal case of the Russian extradited to the United States Alexander Vinnik on charges of laundering at least $ 4 billion through the BTC-e bitcoin exchange is scheduled for September 27. It is reported by RIA Novosti with reference to Judge Sally Kim.

Until then, Vinnik will remain in custody at the Santa Rita prison in California.

He is expected to be represented by a public defender, lawyer David Rizk.

In the US, Vinnik faces 55 years in prison.

Alexander Vinnik was detained in the summer of 2017 in Greece. In 2020, he was extradited to France, where he was later sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros in a money laundering case. He was cleared of extortion charges and the creation of the Locky ransomware.

In early August 2022, the Russian was taken to the United States. The court refused to release him on bail.





Chinese tech giants hand over data on algorithms to authorities.
August 16, 2022

China's tech giants have shared details of their algorithms with the country's regulators. Writes about it CNBC.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has published a list of 30 algorithms along with brief descriptions of their purpose from companies including those from tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent.

According to the document, ByteDance's algorithm, created for the Chinese version of TikTok, is used to recommend videos, products and services of potential interest to users. To do this, the system analyzes behavioral data such as clicks and likes.

The Taobao marketplace system is used to recommend content on the homepage and other parts of the app based on the user's historical search data.

From the published information, it is not clear how deeply CAC has penetrated into the details of the algorithms of the tech giants. The firms on the list did not comment on the publication of the regulator.

In August 2021, China introduced rules for the use of recommender algorithms by technology companies.

In January 2022, the PRC authorities approved the procedure for regulating recommendation systems. They went into effect March 1st.

In April, CAC announced a review of tech giants for compliance with the new rules.





Cybercriminals laundered more than $540 million through the RenBridge cross-chain bridge.
August 11, 2022

The RenBridge cross-chain bridge has been used by criminals to launder over half a billion dollars. Elliptic analysts came to such conclusions.

The experts found that since 2020, about $ 540 million received through theft, fraud, ransomware and other types of criminal activity have been laundered through RenBridge.

Among them are crypto assets stolen from exchanges and DeFi services worth at least $267.2 million, including $33.8 million stolen from Liquid.

Also, unknown persons sent to RenBridge part of the funds received from the attack on the Nomad cross-chain protocol.

The bridge is also often used by ransomware operators – at the time of analysis, over $153 million received as a ransom from victims was laundered through RenBridge.

Experts called decentralized cross-chain bridges “an unregulated alternative to exchanges for transferring funds between blockchains.” They pointed out that attackers are increasingly using them, making it harder to trace assets.

Chainalysis estimated the damage from cross-chain protocol hacks at $2 billion since the beginning of the year.





Hotbit exchange suspended trading and withdrawals.
August 11, 2022

Since August 10, the Hotbit cryptocurrency exchange has suspended trading, depositing and withdrawing funds for all customers. The timing of the resumption of operations is unknown.

According to a blog post, the former Hotbit executive was involved in an unnamed project in 2021 that is under investigation. Some top managers of the exchange were summoned to court to testify.

Some of Hotbit's assets have been frozen as part of the investigation, which prevents the full operation of the platform. The company clarified that they did not know about what was happening, and the employee left the exchange in April 2022.

The team stated that the assets of all users are safe. Platform employees are cooperating with law enforcement officers, and lawyers are seeking to unfreeze accounts.

In April 2021, Hotbit was subjected to a cyberattack that allegedly gave attackers access to the data of almost 2 million users. Customer funds were not affected.





Vitalik Buterin used Tornado Cash to donate to Ukraine.
August 10, 2022

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin used the Tornado Cash mixing service to donate to Ukraine. He made such a statement in response to Counterfactual startup co-founder Jeff Coleman.

Coleman noted the need for mixing services in certain cases. According to him, donations in favor of Ukraine can be an example.

“[…] even if the government of the country where you live has your full support, you may not want the Russian authorities to have information about your actions,” said the co-founder of Counterfactual.

He wondered if there were real examples of using Tornado Cash to support Ukraine. In response, Buterin said that he interacted with the service precisely for these purposes.

“My goal was to protect the recipients [of donations], not myself. In any case, the Russian government knows my position on the Ukrainian issue,” Buterin added.

In April, the Ethereum co-founder sent 1,500 ETH (more than $4.7 million at the time) to help Ukraine. Even before the start of the war, he declared that a Russian attack would harm all of humanity.

On August 8, OFAC placed Tornado Cash and its associated 39 Ethereum and 6 USDC addresses on the sanctions list. According to the department, since the creation of the mixer in 2019, with its help, the attackers have laundered more than $7 billion worth of cryptocurrency. Over $455 million of them are associated with the activities of the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group.

On August 9, Circle added Tornado Cash USDC wallet addresses to its blacklist. Infura and Alchemy infrastructure platforms blocked RPC requests to the mixing service.

One of the Tornado Cash users sent small amounts of Ethereum from the mixer wallets to the addresses of well-known representatives of the crypto industry. Among them are Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and EthHub co-founder Anthony Sassano.





Very strange things: lightning of record power discharged towards space.
August 9, 2022

Observation of a thunderstorm in the state of Oklahoma in May 2018 allowed several scientific instruments to record a record lightning discharge power at once, which turned out to be extremely unusual - it did not hit the ground, but discharged towards outer space. The discharge turned out to be 60 times stronger than ordinary thunderstorms and reached a value of 300 coulombs.

Despite the rapid development of terrestrial science, scientists still do not fully understand the processes that occur during lightning discharges in the atmosphere. And even more mysterious are the phenomena of discharges from clouds upward towards outer space. And in the May sky over Oklahoma in 2018, an out of the ordinary event occurred - the most powerful jet-like discharge (jet) of record force ever observed by scientists hit the sky from a cloud.

The thunderstorm situation at that moment was observed by several groups of scientists, as well as amateurs. The storm was monitored by the ground-based Lightning Mapping Array, the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) space networks, as well as an enthusiast filming the process on camera. By bringing all the data together, scientists were able to study the process of formation of a discharge into the ionosphere and its course in more detail than before.

The radio frequency radiation of the jet turned out to be different in different parts of the jet. At an altitude of 22 to 45 km, sources of radio emission of very high frequency (VHF, from 30 to 300 MHz) were detected. At this height, the discharge was not visible in the optical range. Visibility was at an altitude of 15 to 20 km from the top of the cloud from which the discharge occurred.

“VHF and optical signals have definitively confirmed what researchers suspected but have not yet proven: lightning VHF radio emissions are emitted by small structures called streamers that are at the very tip of developing lightning, while the strongest electrical current flows far behind it. tip in an electrically conductive channel called a leader,” explained Steve Cummer, author of the study.

Streamers have also been found to be relatively cold, around 204°C, while leaders can reach high temperatures of over 4,425°C. But much is still unknown about these gigantic ejecta, not least why they discharge upward into the ionosphere. So far, there is only a theory about this.

“For some reason, there is a suppression of conventional discharges from clouds to the ground,” said Levi Boggs, another author of the study. “There is an accumulation of negative charge, and then we think that the conditions at the top of the thunderstorm weaken the top layer of charge, which is usually positive. In the absence of lightning discharges, which we usually observe, a giant jet can discharge [upward] the accumulation of excess negative charge in the cloud.”

It remains for scientists to prove the theory with observations, and then the mystery of the physical processes occurring in lightning will be completely solved. This is necessary, among other things, to protect earthly structures and people from destructive and deadly lightning strikes. So far, protection is based on the installation of primitive (albeit effective) lightning rods. Lasers promise to be promising in this matter, but the lack of a complete understanding of the processes is hindering development so far.





India will again try to convince major IT players to move the production of enterprise equipment from China.
August 9, 2022

India plans to change the incentive scheme for enterprise equipment manufacturers due to the fact that the current incentives do not work. “IT equipment is not a fast-growing market, it is a very established market,” said the head of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, in an interview with the Indian Business Standard resource, reports The Register.

The minister noted that there are few major players in the IT market, only four or five, and almost all of them have production facilities in China. “Therefore, too many companies do not have much incentive to come here and invest, and the first round of the PLI [India's incentive system] reflected this,” he concluded.

However, India still boasts some success in attracting multinational corporations to locate production in the country: Apple has moved more orders for the production of its products to India, and Foxconn is rumored to start assembling iPhone 14 smartphones in the country this year at the same time as its factories in China. HPE is also ramping up production of its products in India.

Chandrasekhar said that India is negotiating with major manufacturers to agree on a list of incentives that will force them to move production from China. But, for example, the PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme did not work for semiconductor manufacturers. Well-known vendors were not interested in it, and little-known manufacturers ended up launching the production of unremarkable products here that will not help India become a leader in the field of semiconductors.

At the same time, India has one lever that it has not yet used - to try to tie participation in the national cloud platform to the localization of production. India is trying to shed its dependence on Chinese manufacturing, but various incentives totaling $2.6 billion allocated at the beginning of last year seem to be missing. At the same time, the country is not yet ready to allocate investments and subsidies comparable in volume to Western ones.





US legislators adopted a program to support nuclear and "green" energy.
August 9, 2022

As you know, the other day the US Senate voted for the adoption of a package of laws Inflation Reduction Act. The package includes, among other things, “the largest investment in climate change in US history,” at $369 billion. level.

Technologist, business leader and philanthropist Bill Gates said in this regard that the law will be a "historic step forward" in solving the most difficult problem that humanity has ever faced. In a New York Times op-ed, he said the bill "could be the most important climate piece of legislation" in U.S. history. “It represents our best chance to build an energy future that is cleaner, cheaper and safer,” he said.

Bill Gates has invested in several promising nuclear reactor projects. The package of laws Inflation Reduction Act will reduce the tax pressure on such projects, providing them with priority investment and preferential loans. At the same time, the Inflation Reduction Act, for the first time in US history, will provide existing nuclear power plants and conventional reactors with tax credits. In addition, priority investment and preferential lending for energy production using any type of zero-emission fuel has been announced.

It is worth noting that voting on a package of laws to reduce inflation was not easy. The vote in the Senate was a strong 50/50 split, with only one vote from Vice President Kamala Harris leading to the bill's passage on August 7. At the next stage, the package must be adopted in the House of Representatives, with which there will be no problems, and only then will it be signed by President Joseph Biden.

If we only touch on the climate part, then the measures implemented with the help of new laws should reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the United States by 40% by 2030.

Among the promising areas for financing nuclear energy, significant efforts should be directed to the creation in the United States of the production of HALEU fuel (high-grade low-enriched uranium). This type of fuel with uranium-235 enriched up to 20% is supplied to the USA mainly from Russia. The Inflation Reduction Act package should make it possible to raise funds for the creation of uranium-235 enrichment enterprises in the United States, without which the prospective nuclear power industry in this country is practically impossible.

It is clear that investments in the peaceful atom alone will not do the job. Nuclear power continues to be seen as a transition to fully renewable energy, as well as to fusion energy, the development of which in the US will also be subsidized and otherwise encouraged under the Inflation Reduction Act.





China is developing an underwater-aerial drone that can fly, dive and swim underwater.
August 9, 2022

A group of Chinese scientists from the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics published an article in Unmanned Systems Technology about the development of an unmanned vehicle that can alternately move under water and through the air. Such a vessel can be used in a wide range of civil and military operations from rescue at sea and inspection of underwater objects to counter submarine missile carriers.

The idea to combine the functions of a submarine and an aircraft in one piece of equipment is not new. One of the first more or less substantiated projects of a submarine aircraft was proposed in 1934 by Boris Ushakov, a student at the Leningrad Higher Marine Engineering Institute. The commission recognized the project as unpromising due to the immobility of the hybrid vessel on the surface and underwater. But another project - the American Donald Reid - reached the stage of the first flights in 1964, although things did not go beyond prototypes.

Modern materials, batteries and electronics make it possible to solve many technological difficulties previously encountered by developers of multi-medium devices. It can be assumed that such projects are being carried out in many countries, an indirect confirmation of which was a demonstration in China. There, scientists successfully tested a prototype hybrid drone with a wingspan of about two meters, hoping to eventually create a much larger unmanned submarine aircraft.

Scientists recognize the moment of transition from the underwater state to the surface with the subsequent take-off as the main difficulty. Even a slight disturbance on the water can interfere with this process. The British, for example, solve this problem with the help of acetylene accelerators, but the Chinese went the other way. The aerodynamics of a hybrid vessel is focused on sliding on the surface of the water before creating lift. Airplane-type wings fold in before diving and extend after resurfacing. The drone is driven in the air by four quadrocopter-type propellers, the front pair of which can change the angle of inclination for maneuvers and for horizontal movement.

The speed of the hybrid drone prototype in the air reaches 120 km/h. It is alleged that in order to 100% overcome the air defense systems of enemy aircraft carriers, a hybrid drone must move at a speed of 150 km / h. When detected by radar, the hybrid drone can quickly dive underwater, and when detected by sonar, take to the air, remaining immune to attack in all environments.





Vitalik Buterin called ZK-Rollups the main Ethereum solution of the second level.
August 9, 2022

In the long term, ZK-Rollups' L2 scaling solutions will outperform Optimistic Rollups. This forecast was given by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, writes The Block.

During the ETHSeoul conference, Buterin noted that although Optimistic Rollups is a more mature technology due to the speed of depositing and withdrawing funds to the main network, ZK-Rollups will surpass the competitor.

“You don't have to wait seven days to transfer assets. I expect that in ten years all Rollups will be mainly based on cryptographic proofs, ”he said.

The co-founder of Ethereum acknowledged the shortcomings of ZK-Rollups and the difficulties in their development. There are many challenges, especially when executing processes in a secure manner and when verifying the correctness of all algorithms, he added.

In December, Buterin placed ZK-Rollups at the center of Ethereum’s “probable roadmap.”

Earlier, the Matter Labs team announced the launch of zkSync 2.0 on the main Ethereum network for a limited number of users. zkSync is an EVM-compatible layer 2 solution based on a zero-knowledge proof protocol.





Ethereum mixer Tornado Cash hit by US sanctions.
August 9, 2022

On August 8, OFAC added to the sanctions list the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency mixer website, as well as 39 Ethereum and 6 USDC addresses associated with it.

In total, the blocked wallets have $437 million in stablecoins, ETH and WBTC.

According to the agency, since the creation of Tornado Cash in 2019, with its help, attackers have laundered more than $7 billion worth of cryptocurrency. Over $455 million of them are associated with the activities of the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group.

Tornado Cash was also used to launder over $96 million in cybercriminals from the Harmony heist in June 2022. In addition, at least $ 7.8 million, stolen during the hacking of the Nomad cross-chain protocol in early August, passed through the service.

The agency has blocked any Tornado Cash property within US borders. Residents and citizens of the country are prohibited from working with the service.

In May, the US Department of the Treasury placed the Blender.io cryptocurrency mixer and associated Bitcoin and Ethereum addresses on the sanctions list. The agency claims that the service helped launder funds stolen by North Korean hackers and was allegedly involved in ransomware attacks.





Kazakhstan launched an investigation into the organization of a "mining" financial pyramid.
August 8, 2022

The Department of the Financial Monitoring Agency of Kazakhstan launched a pre-trial investigation into the organization of the financial pyramid.

According to the agency, Bincloud carried out activities under the guise of renting equipment for mining. The organizers attracted investors in WhatsApp and Telegram messengers.

“According to the Bincloud program, individuals purchase the lease of virtual mining equipment for a certain amount, from which they receive daily investment income in the amount of 5-6% of investments,” the Agency said in a statement.

However, when withdrawing income from project clients, 16% of the total amount was withheld, the department stressed.

In March, Kazakh law enforcers discovered a mining farm at a railway station.





Galaxy Digital Takes $554.7M Loss Amid Cryptocurrency Market Correction.
August 8, 2022

The cumulative loss of Galaxy Digital Holdings in the second quarter amounted to $554.7 million compared to $182.9 million in the same period last year.

The indicator includes net income and unrealized income.

The company explained the result by a drop in the capitalization of the crypto market and a negative revaluation of investments in startups that exceeded the profits of the mining business.

Assets under management for April-June grew by 23%, reaching $1.8 billion.

Affiliate trading volume was down 15% QoQ and 35% YoY.

The number of investment rounds in which Galaxy Digital took part reached 141. The company has supported over 100 startups.

“I am proud of Galaxy's performance in challenging market and macro conditions. […] We have managed to retain over $1.5 billion of liquidity, including more than $1 billion in cash,” said Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz.

The company confirmed its commitment to reorganization plans with registration in the state of Delaware, USA. Subsequently, Galaxy Digital intends to obtain a stock listing on the Nasdaq.

In July, Novogratz doubted the collapse of Bitcoin to $13,000.

Earlier, the CEO of Galaxy Digital predicted a continuation of the recession in the cryptocurrency market for 18 months. In his opinion, the industry will see the first signs of recovery after the easing of the Fed's monetary policy.





BitMEX to Launch Derivatives Based on Potential Ethereum PoW Fork.
August 8, 2022

Crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX will offer a futures product based on ETHPoW tokens of a potential fork of the Ethereum blockchain after the main network transitions to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm.

The futures under the ticker ETHPOWZ22 is settled in Tether (USDT) and provides users with 2x leverage.

“This is a highly speculative contract (ETHPoW does not yet exist and may never appear),” the statement said.

The product is already available on the testnet.

The idea of ​​a fork with the advent of a fork of Ethereum, which will continue to work on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm, was proposed in July by influential Chinese miner Chandler Guo. The resulting ETHPoW asset will allow miners of the second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization to continue working after the merger of the main network with Beacon Chain, scheduled for September.

The Poloniex exchange also announced support for the alleged PoW fork of Ethereum and listed the ETHPoS (ETHS) and ETHPoW (ETHW) tokens on August 8th. The MEXC Global platform did the same.

Both assets exist in the form of IOUs issued at a 1:1 peg to the base cryptocurrency ETH. According to CoinMarketCap, ETHPoS is trading around $1,648 at the time of writing, with Ethereum priced at around $1,783. ETHPoW quotes are close to $135.

Huobi said it would take steps to support a potential fork after "obtaining an overall picture of user opinion" and if the assets comply with the listing rules.

Exchanges Digifinex and OKX have also begun assessing the implications of a possible Ethereum fork.

The Gate.io platform will start trading ETHS and ETHW tokens on August 9th.

The developers of the Chainlink decentralized oracle network have stated that the protocol will not support an Ethereum fork based on the PoW algorithm.





US federal court upholds the impossibility of considering AI as the author of inventions.
August 8, 2022

The U.S. District Court ruled that AI systems cannot file patents for inventions because they are not human. This was another defeat for robotics expert Stephen Thaler, who advocates for granting AI systems copyright and the possibility of registering patents as an inventor on the solutions created with them.

In his decision, Judge Leonard P. Stark noted that there is no need to abstractly examine the nature of the invention or the rights, if any, to AI systems, since patent law clearly states that only humans can own patents.

In addition, the law refers to patent holders as "persons", and this term means a person, a person. “The patent law requires that inventors be natural persons, that is, people,” the judge said.

Note that both the EU Patent Office and the Australian High Court made similar decisions, although in the Green Continent, a federal court initially ruled in favor of recognizing AI systems as patent holders.

According to BloombergLaw, Thaler is not going to give up and plans to appeal the district court's decision with his lawyer, calling the district court's approach to patent law "narrow and textualistic."





US sanctions against China have not yet affected Japanese manufacturers of lithographic equipment.
August 8, 2022

Japanese companies have still retained competence in certain areas of lithography, although they cannot fully exist without international cooperation. Representatives of Tokyo Electron expressed concern about the intention of the US authorities to aggravate sanctions against Chinese chipmakers, but at the same time they expect that even under the most unfavorable set of circumstances, the demand for technological equipment will grow by 5% this year.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, at a quarterly reporting event, Tokyo Electron management said that it had not received requests from the US authorities to limit the supply of its products to China, but the corresponding steps against other market participants are alarming for the Japanese manufacturer, since it receives up to a quarter of all revenue. Tokyo Electron is a leading supplier of materials and equipment for etching and coating silicon wafers, the brand's products are used by all semiconductor chip manufacturers. In fact, even lockdowns in China caused a 17% decrease in the company's revenues, and if everything is aggravated by additional sanctions, then it will no longer be necessary to count on revenue growth in the Tokyo Electron region.

In the normal course of events, the company hopes to compensate for the loss of the second quarter already in this reporting period, and according to the results of the entire fiscal year, which will end in March, it expects to increase operating profit by 20%. The decline in demand for PCs and smartphones has not yet affected the activities of Tokyo Electron. Customers do not refuse their orders; in the worst case, they postpone them to a later date. This year, the Japanese company is not going to adjust the production volumes. Globally, according to Tokyo Electron forecasts, the demand for lithographic equipment this year will grow by 5-15%, although the earlier forecast provided for growth by as much as 20%.





Amazon's carbon footprint up 18% again in 2021.
August 7, 2022

Amazon released its 100-page 2021 Sustainability Report, which found its carbon footprint up 18%. Despite this, the company said it will meet its 2019 target of becoming carbon neutral by 2040. In 2020, the company's emissions increased by 19%.

According to the report, Amazon's renewable electricity consumption increased last year. At the same time, direct carbon dioxide emissions from the company's operations increased by 26%, which was the result of a significant expansion of its business. Other indirect emissions (Scope 3) from Amazon's own supply chain, which are difficult to control, also rose by 21%, resulting in an overall increase in emissions of 18%. In 2021, Amazon's revenue increased by 37% and its fulfillment network doubled.

“We have had to build new facilities – for both our consumer and cloud businesses – and expand our transportation network,” the company said. At the same time, carbon intensity decreased by 1.9%. This means that Amazon has less CO2 emissions per dollar of revenue, although this is offset by growth rates. Indirectly, this indicates an increase in the efficiency of offices, warehouses, data centers, shops, etc. Amazon has reached 85% renewable energy in its total electricity consumption and plans to reach 100% by 2025.

However, Amazon does offer pay-per-production power contracts (PPAs) instead of hourly PPAs based on actual consumption. Renewable generation is usually unstable and depends on the weather, time of day, etc., while consumers like data centers need a constant supply of energy. This means that most of the renewable energy that Amazon pays for is consumed by other customers, while the company itself receives it from traditional sources. The imbalance can be eliminated by introducing large energy storage facilities.

However, at the end of 2021, Amazon remained the largest corporate buyer of energy from renewable sources - more than 20% of the total volume of PPA transactions (31.1 GW). It should be noted that Amazon's promise to become carbon neutral "in all operations" applies only to goods and services sold under its brand. The company does not take into account emissions from the production of third-party products in its calculations.

Finally, the publication DataCenter Dynamics drew attention to some details in the report. For example, Amazon mentioned moving away from centralized uninterruptible power supplies in the data center architecture, integrating power supplies at the rack level, and using instances based on their own Graviton Arm processors, which use up to 60% less power with the same performance as comparable instances on base of other CPUs.





Mining company Hut 8 reserves exceeded 7700 BTC.
August 7, 2022

At the end of July 2022, the Canadian mining company Hut 8 Mining accumulated 7736 BTC ($178 million at the exchange rate at the time of writing). This is stated in the press release.

During the reporting period, 330 BTC were mined with an average production of 10.6 BTC per day. Hut 8 left all coins on the balance sheet.

As of July 31st, the firm's hashrate has reached approximately 2.92 EH/s.

According to Hut 8 CEO Jamie Leverton, the company's non-bitcoin business continues to grow. He spoke about the conclusion of a contract with the Foundry mining pool as a client of cloud services.

Earlier, as a result of another recalculation, the difficulty of mining the first cryptocurrency increased by 1.74%, to 28.17 T.

In July, the mining company Argo Blockchain mined 219 BTC, which is 22% more than the previous month.

In early August, Marathon Digital Holdings agreed to open a $100 million revolving line of credit from Silvergate Capital secured by bitcoin.

Chip maker Canaan has announced plans to open a cryptocurrency mining facility in the US.

Previously, the largest Monero mining pool - MineXMR - announced the cessation of work on August 12.





Upgrading the Ethereum model will lead to the departure of miners and new forks.
August 7, 2022

The creator of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, said that the exodus of miners to other blockchains for the sake of mining cryptocurrencies according to “classic” rules will not prevent a large-scale network upgrade. The Merge event, with which Ethereum will switch to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) model, will leave millions of miners out of work - some may migrate to Ethereum Classic or create a new fork.

“I don’t think that another fork will somehow harm Ethereum. In general, according to my impressions, almost everyone with whom I talked in the Ethereum ecosystem supports the PoS direction, it unites the ecosystem, ”Bloomberg quotes Mr. Buterin’s speech at the webinar.

With the software update, the blockchain will conduct transactions not through the powerful resources of miners, but through validators. The decision to move was made a long time ago, but the developers took a long time to prepare, because any mistakes in the ecosystem are costly. The Ethereum blockchain is the most important cryptocurrency platform, any failures could affect millions of users and cost billions of dollars.

The network has more than 3400 active applications from various areas: from trade to games. Decentralized finance (DeFi) services handle $40 billion worth of assets, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The market capitalization of the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network is $ 200 billion - less than half the capitalization of bitcoin.

Shortly before the Merge event, many crypto exchanges and other services are expected to suspend their operations as a precautionary measure. The developers say that if the update is successful, no one will notice anything. But Ethereum, according to various estimates, will reduce energy consumption by more than 99%.

Ethereum's own cryptocurrency, like many other digital assets, is going through hard times - it trades around the $1,700 mark with varying success, but lost about 55% in price during the year.





On-chain indicators indicated the passage of the Bitcoin capitulation period.
August 7, 2022

Some on-chain data in July signaled the end of the capitulation period and an improvement in investor sentiment. This is stated in the analytical report.

Despite the decline in the price of the first cryptocurrency, the number of addresses with a balance of 1 BTC or more is growing steadily (+9.4% since the beginning of the year).

At the end of July, the indicator hit an all-time high of 891,009. Its growth indicates a desire for accumulation among retail investors, as well as a possible increase in the number of market participants.

Even more pronounced is the situation with addresses in the “≥ 1 ETH” category, the number of which has grown by 15.7% since the beginning of the year.

Against the backdrop of consolidation and the subsequent smooth recovery of the price of bitcoin, the Puell Multiple indicator began to leave the "green zone", which means deep oversold.

The Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) metric also signals the passing of the capitulation period and improving investor sentiment. The indicator moved into the "hope/fear" zone, heading towards "optimism".

On July 28, the MVRV Z-Score indicator crossed the upper boundary of the deep oversold zone at 0.1. This is another signal about the passage of the “bottom” of the market cycle.

In early August, analysts at Bank of America reported that an increase in the outflow of cryptocurrencies from exchanges and an increase in net inflows into stablecoins signaled bullish market momentum.

Earlier, CoinShares Chief Strategy Officer Meltem Demirors predicted that Bitcoin would reach a new all-time high in the next 24 months.





Taiwanese chip maker UMC posts record revenue for 10 consecutive months.
August 7, 2022

Taiwanese company UMC (United Microelectronics Corporation), a manufacturer of semiconductor products, reported continued growth in revenue: for the tenth month in a row, the figures are breaking records.

So, in July, UMC's revenue reached NT$24.83 billion, or approximately $828 million. Revenue for the first seven months of this year amounted to NT$160.31 billion, which is equivalent to $5.35 billion. Growth compared to the same period in 2021 is an impressive 37.75%.

Looking at the first half of 2022, the company's revenue rose 38.2% year-on-year to NT$135.48 billion, or $4.52 billion. Profit margin rose 16 percentage points to 45%.

Six-month net income was recorded at NT$41.13 billion ($1.37 billion). According to this indicator, the growth was 83.9% compared to the first half of 2021. Profit per security is NT$3.35.

Not so long ago, UMC reported that in the current quarter its production facilities will be loaded to the maximum. The company's revenue is growing against the backdrop of a shortage of semiconductor microchips. In addition, strong partnerships with leading customers contribute to the improvement of financial performance.





Twitter fixed a bug in January that exposed the data of 5.4 million users.
August 7, 2022

Twitter announced that it had fixed a security bug due to which attackers collected data on 5.4 million platform accounts - the database was put up for sale on one of the shadow sites of cybercriminals. The vulnerability allowed specifying a phone number or email address and finding out if any social network account was linked to them.

The vulnerability arose when updating the code in June 2021, the platform administration specified. Information about it was received in January 2022 - the error was quickly identified and corrected, and the expert who reported the problem received a reward of $6,000. The issue was described as a "serious threat" to users - the vulnerability could be used to create a database that would include a significant portion of Twitter users. Precedents have happened before: in 2019, the expert was able to match 17 million phone numbers with service accounts.

Unfortunately, the problem became known too late: in the six months since its inception, hackers managed to take advantage of the vulnerability and collected a database of email addresses and phone numbers - a total of 5.4 million records. The fact that the database was put up for sale was only found out on Twitter in July: the company's specialists studied a sample of the data presented and confirmed that the attackers took advantage of the vulnerability before it was officially discovered. The platform undertook to notify users affected by the incident on an individual basis.





Donald Trump's social network has problems with SPAC merger - listing is delayed.
August 7, 2022

Digital World Acquisition Corp, set up to streamline the listing of former U.S. President Donald Trump's Truth Social, has announced it is holding an EGM to extend the completion date for the merger.

“While we are working hard to complete the merger as soon as possible, our Board of Directors believes that there is not enough time to complete the procedure,” Digital World said in a statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The set deadline for completing the merger is September 8, 2022. The company's management wants to extend it for 12 months.

Digital World was forced to take this measure due to the fact that the US regulators were interested in the merger. In June, the board of directors received a subpoena in court for the Southern District of New York, and additional information was also requested by the SEC and FINRA, a self-regulatory organization that monitors compliance with the rules of trading in the over-the-counter market.

The company of the former President of the United States, Trump Media & Technology Group, which launched the alternative social network Truth Social, has agreed to a SPAC merger with Digital World - this is practiced for an accelerated entry into the exchange. The merger procedure was planned to be completed in the second half of this year.





Aerospace company Thales Alenia Space suspended work in Russia.
August 7, 2022

Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer Thales Alenia Space is forced to suspend operations in Russia: force majeure is cited as the reason.

Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales and Leonardo. The company is one of the European leaders in the field of satellite systems: it offers advanced solutions in the field of space communications, remote sensing of the Earth, navigation and science. For more than 20 years of cooperation with Russia, Thales Alenia Space, together with the Russian space industry, has taken part in more than 40 satellite programs.

In the fall of 2019, Thales Alenia Space entered into a cooperation agreement with JSC Gazprom Space Systems in order to combine efforts to produce competitive spacecraft in Russia using advanced European technologies. It was about the formation in the Moscow region of the assembly production of civil spacecraft.

As it is now reported, in the current geopolitical situation, Thales Alenia Space has encountered difficulties in supplying the necessary equipment to the Russian Federation and performing installation work as part of the construction of a satellite systems assembly and testing center in the city of Shchelkovo (Moscow Region).

“After contacts with Gazprom Space Systems and Rizzani de Eccher, the suspension of the project due to force majeure appears to be a temporary solution,” Thales Alenia Space said in a statement to TASS.





Elon Musk called the condition under which he is ready to buy Twitter for $44 billion.
August 7, 2022

It is known that the stumbling block in the dispute between the management of Twitter and Elon Musk, who refuses to buy this company, was the number of dubious accounts in relation to the total daily monetized audience of the social network. By the weekend, the billionaire found it possible to say that he would buy Twitter for the promised $44 billion if the latter's management could prove the presence of no more than 5% of dubious accounts.

It is this value of this key parameter for determining the profitability of the company that does not suit the rebellious buyer, but Musk has signaled that he is ready to return to consideration of the deal on the same terms if Twitter representatives can demonstrate a reliable way to determine the proportion of questionable accounts in a random sample of 100 pieces. The billionaire thereby casts doubt on the data that Twitter handed over to US regulators as part of the preparation of the deal. According to Elon Musk, the SEC should, on its own initiative, check these data for accuracy.

Elon Musk usually makes his most significant Twitter announcements on Sunday, but this week he started doing it on Saturday, adding to the comments above that he is ready to publicly listen to the arguments of Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal about the share of dubious accounts. The company's management insists that it does not exceed 5%, and Elon Musk is convinced that the figure is several times higher. The billionaire even launched a sociological survey on his Twitter page on the reliability of such statements from the leadership of the social network.





TV star Kevin O'Leary has increased investment in bitcoin in terms of crypto winter.
August 6, 2022

Kevin O'Leary, an investor and star of the TV show Shark Tank, spoke in an interview with Stansberry Research about the increase in positions in digital assets, despite the bearish cycle in the cryptocurrency market.

“I have always said that you will face volatility in an industry that is not regulated,” he recalled.

O'Leary has invested in "large market cap cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin."

“Why not increase the position if you are going to stay in the market for a long time?” he said.

The TV star considers one of the main current problems of the crypto industry to be the lack of sufficient acceptance of digital assets among institutional investors.

In April, O'Leary revealed that he holds 32 positions in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Solana.

Earlier, he expressed interest in buying shares of mining companies that use green energy.





Changpeng Zhao denies Binance connection to Indian bitcoin exchange WazirX.
August 6, 2022

Binance has never held a stake in Zanmai Labs, the company behind the Indian platform WazirX. This was stated by the CEO of the bitcoin exchange Changpeng Zhao.

On November 21, 2019, the company announced the purchase of WazirX. As of November 25, users in India have been able to buy and sell digital assets with their local currency through Binance, according to the press release.

“This deal never took place. Binance has never - at any point - owned shares in Zanmai Lab, which runs WazirX,” Zhao said.

According to him, the exchange provides the Indian platform with a technical solution for the wallet. For other functions, including registration and KYC, Zhao named WazirX and the firm behind it responsible.

In August 2022, the Enforcement Department of the Indian Ministry of Finance suspected WazirX of laundering $350 million. According to media reports, the regulator froze the assets of the exchange for $8.16 million as part of the case.

The investigation into the platform's violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Law was initially made public in June 2021.

Later, the media clarified that the authorities were studying the activities of applications managed by Chinese operators - some of the money was allegedly laundered through the bitcoin exchange.

In early 2022, the platform was accused of tax evasion in excess of $6 million.

In July, Reuters released an investigation alleging that Binance continued to serve customers from Iran, bypassing US sanctions and a ban on doing business in that country.

Representatives of the exchange for compliance with regulatory requirements denied the conclusions of journalists. They also noted that the company lost "about 90% of customers and billions of dollars of revenue" due to the introduction of KYC. Zhao later called this quotation erroneous.





DAO Everscale approved the economic reform of the project.
August 6, 2022

The decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), which manages the Everscale ecosystem, has voted for a reform that is designed to improve the quality of project management and mitigate the effects of the “crypto winter” for it. The proposed initiative consists of several directions.

Payments to key participants and partners.
The total liability for decisions made by the DAO is about 50 million EVER, according to the accompanying note to the project.

The release of this amount into free circulation during the execution of decisions will lead to additional pressure on the price of the Everscale native coin. However, it is wrong to freeze funds until the end of the crisis in the cryptocurrency market, the authors of the initiative believe.

To mitigate the impact, they proposed the creation of a LEVER token backed by EVER at a ratio of 1:1. At the same time, the asset will have a two-year lockup period, during which the tokens will be locked in staking. At the end of the lockup period, the funds can be received along with the profitability accumulated over two years.

LEVER is planned to be distributed among the members of the DAO Everscale. Tokens will also be received by members of the project founders' council and partners.

Introduction of KPIs for DeFi Alliance and EverX.
Under the terms of the vesting and decisions made by Everscale's board of founders prior to the launch of the DAO, the key project participants, DeFi Alliance and EverX, should receive 170 million EVER each. This is a significant part of the current turnover (1.24 billion coins).

To avoid price volatility when issuing such a large amount at a time, DeFi Alliance and EverX decided to establish a joint KPI: EVER’s entry into the TOP 100 cryptocurrencies by capitalization in the short term, and in the TOP 10 in the long term. At the time of writing, the asset ranks 245th on CoinMarketCap and 238th on Coingecko.

The vested coins will be unlocked for DeFi Alliance and Everscale gradually as the target is reached.

Decentralization of the protocol development process.
A few months ago, EverX, which is the main developer of the Everscale architecture, committed to open source its solutions and involve third-party developers in the development of the protocol core.

The first step towards the new model was taken in June 2022, when the Everscale Technical Architecture Committee was created, which included the main experts from the community. The group has already held three meetings.

In the future, Everscale's protocol development priorities will be determined in a decentralized manner, the draft reform says. In the absence of internal consensus, proposals will be put to a vote by the DAO.

Starting in July 2022, the development of the core will be funded by the Everscale Foundation, the code of all solutions received with these funds will be open source.

Grants and partnerships.
Most of the grants and partnerships awarded did not bring value to Everscale, the authors of the reform stated. Although this mechanism will remain the main way to develop the ecosystem, the approach to its implementation will change.

As stated in the draft reform, from now on, partners will receive awards from Everscale only after they can prove their contribution to the development of the project. Each decision on the issuance of the next award to a partner can only be made by the DAO. Grants from Everscale's treasury will only be issued in fiat currency so as not to jeopardize EVER's price stability.

Each of the directions indicated in the draft reform will be detailed and submitted to a separate vote. The purpose of this initiative is to outline a set of measures that need to be taken, its creators emphasized.

Earlier, the Everscale DAO voted to stop payments to 30 partners and founders due to their lack of activity. A decentralized organization, in which all EVER holders can participate, was launched in March 2022.





Thailand announces start date for CBDC pilot project.
August 6, 2022

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) will launch a retail CBDC pilot project. According to the regulator, limited-scale trials will take place in the private sector.

“The BoT will evaluate the benefits and risks identified during the pilot project in order to formulate appropriate policy and improve the design of the tool in the future,” the press release says.

The pilot project is divided into two phases. As part of the first, the regulator will test the digital currency in basic operations such as paying for goods and services. Tests will be held in a limited area with the participation of 10,000 users. At this stage, the Bank of Ayudhya, Siam Commercial Bank and 2C2P will be involved in the experiment.

The initiative is expected to start at the end of 2022. The tests will last until mid-2023.

During the second phase, the BoT will test "innovative" use cases for CBDC. Businesses and the public will be able to propose their own retail application concepts. The regulator will hold a corresponding event from August 5 to September 12, 2022.

The central bank stressed that they do not plan to issue a retail CBDC yet, as officials need to assess the benefits and risks of the instrument for the financial system.

Thailand has been working on a wholesale CBDC project for several years. In April 2021, the country took first place in the corresponding nomination of the PricewaterhouseCoopers rating.

In the same month, BoT announced its intention to launch digital currency testing for retail transactions in Q2 2022. Apparently, these plans were later abandoned.

In May 2022, the Thai government exempted digital asset transfers involving licensed cryptocurrency exchanges from paying value added tax.





Block received $ 1.79 billion from the sale of bitcoin in the quarter.
August 6, 2022

In the second quarter of 2022, Block (formerly Square) generated $1.79 billion in bitcoin sales through the Cash App, generating a gross profit of $41 million for the payment company.

Compared to the same period in 2021, the figures fell by 34.2% and 25.4%, respectively.

“Weakening momentum is driven primarily by lower consumer demand and bitcoin prices, partly related to broader uncertainty around digital assets,” the company explained.

Block's combined revenue for the second quarter was $4.4 billion. The firm posted a net loss of $208 million on a gross profit of $1.47 billion.

The company took into account the depreciation of the purchased bitcoins in the amount of $36 million. The value of investments in the first cryptocurrency as of June 30 was estimated at $160 million, which is $47 million higher than the figure after the revaluation.

In April, the Cash App introduced the function of automatically converting a part of direct deposits into bitcoin.

Previously, ARK Invest Kathy Wood got rid of PayPal shares, explaining this move with greater confidence in the prospects of the application for buying cryptocurrencies from Block.

Prior to this, the head of the company, Jack Dorsey, has repeatedly stated his desire to make digital gold "the native currency of the Internet."





Vinnik was taken to the US immediately after being extradited to Greece.
August 5, 2022

Russian Alexander Vinnik was extradited from France to Greece. After arriving in Athens, he disappeared, his lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou said.

According to Vinnik's family, he was taken from Greece on a private plane to the United States - first to Boston, and then transported to San Francisco.

French lawyer Vinnik Frederic Belo confirmed that his client from Athens was immediately taken to the United States. He added that the defense of the Russian was entrusted to state lawyers, since he does not have the funds for private lawyers.

On August 4, the Investigative Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal invalidated the request to extradite Vinnik to the United States and ruled that he be transferred to Greece, TASS writes.

Earlier it was reported that until that moment he would continue to be in a French prison.

However, Vinnik was sent to Greece almost immediately, lawyer Frederic Belo said. The latter noted that the Russian could be extradited from there to the United States in accordance with an arrest warrant issued earlier by a San Francisco court.

Greek lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou said that after arriving in Greece, Vinnik disappeared. According to her, it looks like a forced kidnapping: “We are in the police department of the Athens airport. [Responsible law enforcement officers] said they did not know where Alexander Vinnik was, that he had never passed through here, that they did not know his name, they did not know where he was. What they do not know, in general, nothing.

She added that Vinnik may still be inside the police department, or may already be on his way to the United States: “If something like this happened, we are talking about one of the most egregious cases of violation of international law. We are talking about the abduction and enforced disappearance of a person.”

Vinnik was detained in Greece on suspicion of laundering $4 billion through the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange.

Subsequently, he was extradited to France, where the court sentenced the Russian to five years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros. He was found guilty of money laundering, but charges of extortion and the creation of Locky ransomware were dropped.

The defense tried to appeal the verdict, but the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the first instance.

In July, the US authorities withdrew a request to extradite Vinnik from France, but his lawyers called it a "fraudulent maneuver."

If he is nevertheless extradited to the United States, Vinnik faces about 50 years in prison.





The Uniswap team asks the community for $74 million to create the Uniswap Foundation.
August 5, 2022

The Uniswap Labs team has submitted a proposal to the community that involves the creation of a non-profit organization to support the growth of the decentralized exchange. To implement the initiative, the authors requested $74 million.

The proposal was sponsored by Devin Walsh, Head of Human Resources at Uniswap Labs, and Kenneth Ng, Head of the Uniswap Grant Program (UGP).

“The mission of the Uniswap Foundation (UF) is to support the decentralized growth and sustainability of the protocol, its ecosystem and community. […] The organization is a natural evolution of UGP, which was launched about 1.5 years ago as an MVP to support the growth of the ecosystem,” Walsh wrote.

UF will provide grants to developers, scientists, analysts and others involved in the development of the protocol. According to the authors, the organization will optimize the management of Uniswap and expand the decentralized exchange ecosystem.

The offer provides for the registration of the Uniswap Foundation as a legal entity in the state of Delaware (USA). Walsh will take over as CEO, while Ng will become COO.

To create an organization, the authors asked the community for $74 million:

$14 million in UNI - operating budget to cover the costs of a team of 12 people over three years;
$60 million in UNI - as funding for the UGP program.
Separately, Walsh and Ng asked for 2.5 million UNI tokens ($22.8 million at the time of writing) to UF to “participate in governance, primarily through delegation.”

If approved, the funds will be received in two tranches. The first, $20 million, will cover the needs of the team for two years. The amount also includes annual UGP funding.

The Uniswap Treasury will pay the second tranche within 6-12 months after UF is registered as a legal entity.

The proposal was supported by the decentralized exchange team. Project founder Hayden Adams called Walsh and Ng "outstanding members of the community." He noted that UF will report to Uniswap Labs and contribute to the development of the protocol.

However, among the members of the Uniswap community there is another opinion. Adam Cochran, a partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, endorsed UF's goals, but called it "mistaken" to allocate $60 million for the grant program at the initial stage.

“So far, the UGP has distributed about $7 million in grants and, frankly, the program has not been effective enough,” he wrote.

In April 2022, Uniswap Labs launched a venture arm to invest in Web3.





Ark Invest allowed bitcoin quotes to grow by 240% from current levels.
August 4, 2022

Bitcoin quotes could rise by 240% from current levels if the first cryptocurrency manages to gain a foothold above the 200-week moving average. This was stated by specialists of the asset manager Ark Invest.

“Bitcoin has returned to the 200-week moving average after breaking it for just the seventh time in price history. The annual return of the asset after the recovery of 200 MA averages about 240%,” wrote analyst Yassin Elmanjra.

In a published report, Ark Invest specialists noted that the behavior of quotes looks more like a sell-off at the peak of the COVID-19 crisis than a bear market in 2018.

At the same time, analysts admitted that if the correction turns out to be as serious as in 2018, the price of bitcoin could fall far below current levels.

Bitcoin quotes lost 72% relative to the historical maximum - usually the asset reached the bottom of the global cycle with a correction of more than 80%.

Ark Invest noted that one of the positive signals for the market is the growth of Ethereum quotes against Bitcoin. Analysts attribute the dynamics to the transition of the blockchain of the second cryptocurrency by capitalization to the Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm.

“In July, the price of Ethereum outperformed Bitcoin by 34%, which indicates the strengthening of investor sentiment. Historically, ETH has outperformed BTC during bull cycles and underperformed in bear markets,” the analysts explained.

The specialists also drew attention to the decrease in the volume of borrowed funds in the DeFi sector – since the beginning of the year, the indicator has decreased by 77%, and the total collateral ratio has reached 324%.

In August, Arcane Research analysts said that if bitcoin fixes above the $20,700 level, its price will quickly rise to the $27,000-$28,000 range.





Binance sued over Elon Musk's refusal to buy Twitter.
August 4, 2022

Twitter has sued a division of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance because of the funding allocated to it for the takeover of the social network by Elon Musk. It is reported by Bloomberg.

In May, the trading platform provided the businessman with $500 million to complete the deal. According to court documents, Twitter's lawyers want to know about the terms of the investment and the billionaire's efforts to syndicate funds.

Subpoenas have also been issued to Musk's potential creditors, including Factorial Funds, Benefit Street, Bandera Partners, Founders Fund Growth II Management, a number of Silicon Valley investors, financial advisors from Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and specialist investment bank Allen & Co. Later, that number included Tesla, SpaceX, and Citadel hedge fund founder Ken Griffin.

Twitter is asking them for information about private negotiations with Musk regarding the sale of the social network, as well as documentary evidence of the billionaire's assumptions about underestimating the number of real users of the platform.

The company's inquiries mention Elon Musk's tweets dated May 15 and 17, in which he, in particular, claims that the proportion of bots on Twitter "may exceed 90% of daily active users."

The social network requested additional information from Musk's lawyers from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and McDermott Will & Emery.

The Delaware Court of Chancery granted Twitter a five-day trial in the case. It should start on October 17th.

In April 2022, Elon Musk acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter, and later offered to buy the company for $54.2 per share. The management of the social network agreed to the terms.

The billionaire explained the initiative with a desire to create "an inclusive arena for freedom of speech."

However, in May, Musk put the purchase on hold after reports of inflated social media audience numbers. After that, Twitter shareholders sued because of the "chaotic process" of the takeover of the company, accusing the head of Tesla of manipulating the market.

In July, Musk announced the termination of the agreement to acquire the social network.

In the same month, Twitter filed a lawsuit against the head of Tesla due to his exit from the deal. The platform intends to force the entrepreneur to fulfill obligations and complete the purchase.





Oxford City Football Club will start selling tickets for bitcoin.
August 4, 2022

English football club Oxford City has entered into a partnership with the cryptocurrency platform CoinCorner, within which it will begin accepting payments in the first cryptocurrency.

Oxford City play in the Southern Conference - the sixth most important tournament in England. After the start of the season on August 6, fans will be able to buy tickets for the club's home matches, food and drinks at the stadium for bitcoin using the Lightning Network.

CoinCorner sponsored the club and released a limited edition Oxford City FC Bolt Card to celebrate. As part of the partnership, the teams will place the bitcoin logo on their jerseys.

“We believe this move will set a trend […] as digital currency becomes the new normal for sports fans and event goers across the UK,” said Danny Scott, CEO of CoinCorner.

In February 2022, blockchain platform Tezos signed an agreement with Manchester United. As part of the agreement, the project logo appeared on the training uniforms of the men's and women's teams.

In the spring, the OKX bitcoin exchange became a partner of Manchester City. In July, the company announced a sponsorship deal with the club for the 2022-2023 season.

In May, the Chelsea team agreed to cooperate with WhaleFin, a cryptocurrency trading and lending platform.






Hackers hacked about 8,000 Solana-based wallets and withdrew millions of dollars.
August 3, 2022

Unknown persons gained access to the funds of Solana-based wallet owners, stealing millions of dollars.

Blockchain auditor OtterSec initially reported emptying over 5,000 wallets in a matter of hours. The transactions were signed by the owners, which, according to the researcher, suggests that the private key has been compromised.

PeckShield specialists tentatively estimated the loss at $8 million.

Elliptic estimates that during the attack, the hackers stole over $5.2 million in SOL tokens, over 300 Solana-based coins, and NFTs.

According to some reports, wallets that were inactive for more than six months suffered the most.

The attack affected Trust Wallet, Phantom and Slope wallets. Solana strongly encouraged users to transfer funds to hardware devices. The head of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, also advised sending assets to cold wallets or centralized exchanges.

At the time of writing, the reason for the hack is unknown. According to preliminary data, attackers exploited the vulnerability.

According to CoinGecko, the SOL token sank 4.6% amid the news of the hack.

Atlas VPN estimates that hackers stole almost $2 billion from crypto projects in the first half of 2022.





US urges to adapt patent law for AI.
August 3, 2022

Business and intellectual property officials in the US have called for patent laws to be rewritten to recognize modern AI technologies. The Register writes about it.

The US Chamber of Commerce held a series of hearings where experts from academia, industry, and government raised issues hindering the development of modern AI models. Among them are the patentability of algorithms and the need to grant systems copyright to machine-made inventions.

According to the participants in the hearings, the existing legislation on intellectual property has not changed much since its adoption in 1793. Despite the wide category of patentable inventions, registration of machine learning models is still difficult, experts say.

As an example, they cited difficulties with reproducibility and limited access to training data. Because of this, patent registrars may reject applications if they find that the text is confusing or uninterpretable.

Experts insist on the need to amend the law so that machine learning systems can be recognized as new inventions.

“The patent code that [our founders] implemented was fantastic, but they didn’t expect DNA processing, artificial intelligence, cryptography, programming, and all the modern technologies,” said Andrei Iancu, former director of the United States Copyright Office (USPTO).

According to him, the modernization of patent law is necessary to commercialize algorithms and accelerate innovation.

“It is absolutely necessary and it is a matter of immediate national security,” Iancu said.

The panelists also noted China's leadership in the number of patent applications for artificial intelligence systems in 2019 and 2020.

Most experts agreed that intellectual property rights to AI models should be registered. However, the question of whether authorship or ownership should be granted to technology-producing machines remains debatable.

In February, the USPTO rejected an application to register the intellectual property of an art object created by a machine learning algorithm.

In June, the inventor demanded through the court to patent the painting generated by the AI ​​model.

That same month, Australian researchers called on the global community to legislate copyright for algorithms.





NFT trading volume plunged 26% in July.
August 3, 2022

In July, the trading volume of non-fungible tokens (NFT) on the secondary market decreased by 26% compared to the previous month, to $647.2 million, according to CryptoSlam data.

According to the service, the number of unique buyers has been declining for the third month in a row. In May, the figure was 694,850, in June it dropped to 574,133, and in July to 532,378.

Influxo NFT studio co-founder Anndy Lian pointed to the ongoing bearish trend in a Forkast comment. CryptoSlam non-fungible token strategist Yehuda Petsher doubted the market would “find a bottom this year.”

“I believe that this bearish cycle that we are in can last for several years,” the expert admitted.

Petscher added that the number of unique buyers inspires some optimism. According to him, in July the figure decreased by about 7%, and it is higher than a year earlier (432,317).

“NFTs are in a tough spot right now, but I still think [the sector] is in very good shape in terms of growth [or] transactions,” Petscher said.

The top seller in July was the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection with $51.4 million. The second line is held by CryptoPunks with $50.7 million.

According to Lian, the transition to the Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm can give an impetus to the NFT market. Previously, the developers tentatively approved the blockchain migration for September 19, 2022.

The Goerli testnet will switch to the new consensus algorithm when the cumulative network difficulty reaches 10,790,000. According to experts, this will happen between August 6 and 12.

In August, jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. introduced a series of pendants based on CryptoPunks.





The damage from the hack of the Nomad cross-chain protocol was estimated at $ 8.9 million.
August 3, 2022

The loss of users of the Nomad cross-chain bridge in the Cosmos ecosystem as a result of a hacker attack amounted to $8.85 million. The team is trying to restore the liquidity of the project.

The developers explained their calculations by estimating those assets that were blocked in the protocol at the time of the hack on August 2.

The actual loss could have been $190 million as the USDC wrapped on the Evmos network lost its value due to the theft of tokens from the project’s address on the Ethereum blockchain. A similar situation arose for other wrapped assets.

According to DeFi Llama, the TVL of the project is $98,263. Before the attack, the figure exceeded $180 million.

The team is counting on the return of part of the stolen funds. Many users took advantage of the vulnerability, but some took it to secure part of the project's assets. They expressed their willingness to return the funds in the future.

The developers expect that they will be able to return 10, 20 or 30 cents for every stolen user dollar. They found it difficult to give a specific assessment.

The incident did not affect both the CW-20 standard tokens in the Evmos network and the native tokens of the EVMOS project. The cross-chain protocol was hacked, not the blockchain itself.

Many users massively converted USDC and other Ethereum assets to EVMOS after the attack. This led to significant volatility of the latter. According to CoinGecko, the price of the token more than tripled in an instant, from $1.4 to $4.79, before returning to $1.48.

In April, Nomad cross-chain bridge developers raised $22 million in a seed round led by Polychain Capital.

On June 24, the Harmony blockchain platform reported an attack on the Horizon cross-chain bridge, as a result of which the attackers stole assets worth about $100 million.





Robinhood announces 23% staff cuts.
August 3, 2022

Online broker Robinhood will reduce its headcount by approximately 23% amid a deteriorating macroeconomic environment and negative developments in the cryptocurrency market. This is stated in a letter from the CEO of the company, Vlad Tenev.

“[…] In these new conditions, we are working with more staff than necessary. As CEO, I have endorsed and taken responsibility for our ambitious talent trajectory,” said the head of Robinhood.

According to him, layoffs will affect employees in all departments. According to the Financial Times, about 780 people will be out of work.

Tenev also announced adjustments to the online broker's organizational structure. The changes should "smooth out the hierarchy" and remove "redundant roles and titles".

“Departing […] will be given the opportunity to remain at Robinhood until October 1, 2022 and receive regular pay and benefits,” the letter said.

The CEO of the company promised the laid-off employees severance pay, payment of insurance premiums and help in finding a new job.

On Aug. 2, Robinhood released its second-quarter financial report, which showed monthly user numbers fell by 1.9 million to 14 million. Operating expenses fell 12% to $610 million.

The firm's net income was $318 million, up 6% from the first quarter. However, compared to April-June 2021, the indicator fell by 44%. Loss per share was $0.34.

“Although the decision to further reduce staff was difficult, we believe that it is the right one and allows us to fulfill the mission of democratizing finance,” Tenev said.

Shares of the online broker closed the trading session on August 2, up 2.1% to $9.23. In post-market quotes fell to $9.17.

In April, Robinhood laid off 9% of its employees amid a 75% drop in stocks after going public.

Against the background of the crisis, many representatives of the cryptocurrency industry announced optimization. In particular, BitMEX, Bitso, Mercado Bitcoin, Coinbase, BlockFi and Crypto.com took this step.

In July, the media learned about the second wave of cuts in the Gemini bitcoin exchange. The decision to cut staff was made by Bitpanda, the mining company Compass Mining and the OpenSea NFT marketplace.

In August, the New York State Department of Financial Services fined Robinhood's cryptocurrency division $30 million for violating AML regulations and cybersecurity policies.




Kosovo extends bitcoin mining ban.
August 3, 2022

The government of the partially recognized state of Kosovo approved the introduction of emergency measures in the field of energy supply, relating, in particular, to the mining of cryptocurrencies. It is reported by TASS with reference to an official document.

From August 1, the authorities extended the ban on mining for 60 days, and also obliged all institutions in the country to switch to economical consumption of electricity.

The decision was adopted in connection with a sharp increase in energy import prices and a ban on the export of fossil materials from a number of EU countries.

In the future, by decision of the government, restrictions may be extended for a period of 30 to 180 days.

In December 2021, the Kosovo authorities declared a state of emergency in an attempt to deal with the energy crisis.

At the beginning of January 2022, cryptocurrency mining was banned, and law enforcement agencies were involved in controlling electricity consumption.

In the same month, the police, together with customs, confiscated more than 300 bitcoin mining devices.





Marathon to raise $100 million in loan from Silvergate Capital.
August 3, 2022

Mining company Marathon Digital Holdings has agreed to open a $100 million revolving line of credit from Silvergate Capital secured by bitcoin.

According to the terms, Marathon will receive $50 million immediately and $50 million over the next 270 days after July 28. The rate on the credit line will be variable and will initially be 7.25% per annum. The agreement is for two years.

Marathon also agreed to refinance a $100 million loan due in October 2022. It has been extended until July 2024.

"Marathon has provided exceptional flexibility in terms of funding options," said CFO Hugh Gallagher.

In June, public mining companies sold a total of 14,600 BTC, representing 23% of their total reserves in the first cryptocurrency.

In the second quarter, Marathon Digital Holdings reduced bitcoin mining by 44% to 707 BTC. The company's reserves were 10,055 BTC (~$199 million as of July 7), cash was $88.7 million, and outstanding loans were $35 million.





Michael Saylor to step down as CEO of MicroStrategy.
August 3, 2022

MicroStrategy announced a change in leadership with Michael Saylor as Executive Chairman and Fong Le as CEO.

Sailor will also remain head of the board of directors. As executive chairman, he will reportedly focus on “innovation and long-term corporate strategy,” which includes buying and holding bitcoin.

Saylor says separating the roles of chairman and CEO will allow for more efficient execution of the two corporate strategies. While he will handle bitcoin, Fong will manage the overall corporate operations.

They will begin their new positions on August 8.

In addition, MicroStrategy disclosed financial results for the second quarter of 2022.

Total revenue amounted to $122.1 million. At the same time, operating expenses amounted to more than $1 billion, which is 96.5% more than in the same period last year.

The main reason was the fall in the price of MicroStrategy digital assets - according to the company, in the second quarter, the loss amounted to $917.8 million.

As of June 30, 2022, MicroStrategy owns about 129,700 BTC worth almost $3 billion at the time of writing.

Michael Saylor is a well-known supporter of bitcoin. He calls the first cryptocurrency the most reliable thing in an unstable world and a global reserve asset.

Despite the fall in the price of bitcoin, Saylor stressed that the company has no plans to liquidate its cryptocurrency reserves and will continue to trade even under poor market conditions.




North Koreans plagiarize LinkedIn resumes to earn bitcoin.
August 3, 2022

North Koreans plagiarize online resumes from legitimate LinkedIn and Indeed profiles to get jobs in US cryptocurrency companies. This is written with reference to security researchers from Mandiant Inc.

As a rule, North Koreans attribute to themselves specialization in the technology industry and experience in software development. They actively communicate on the profile site GitHub, learning about the latest trends in the field of cryptocurrencies.

Mandiant researchers reported on questionnaires from residents of the DPRK in which they published the white paper of the Bibox digital currency or posed as a senior software developer at a consulting company specializing in blockchain technology.

Experts have identified several suspected North Koreans on job sites who have been hired as freelancers. They refused to name the employers.

Pretending to be from other countries, North Koreans are seeking to get remote jobs in cryptocurrency companies in order to be able to earn or launder funds for the sanctioned government, according to Mandiant.

The DPRK government denies involvement in any cyber security theft.

In April, the chief executive of blockchain company Aztec Network, Jonathan Wu, described being "a little overwhelmed" by his experience interviewing a potential North Korean hacker.

"Scary, hilarious and a reminder to be paranoid and triple check your OpSec methods," he tweeted.

Among the techniques used by the suspected North Korean hackers is the launch of the fake site Indeed.com to collect information about its visitors, according to Google Alphabet Inc. Thus, attackers trick applicants into submitting resumes in order to further hack into their computer or steal data.

The hackers also spoofed ZipRecruiter domains, the Disney job page, and the Variety Jobs website, according to Google.

In February, the cybersecurity firm Qualys Inc. said it discovered a phishing campaign in which the North Korean Lazarus Group targeted job seekers at Lockheed Martin Corp.

The hackers sent messages purporting to be Lockheed Martin, attaching malware as attachments. In a similar fashion, the attackers posed as BAE Systems Plc and Northrop Grumman Corp.

According to Mandiant researchers, North Korea has focused on stealing cryptocurrencies after years of attacks on the global financial system.

“The market has changed, banks have become more secure, and cryptocurrency is a whole new field. We have seen them target end users, crypto exchanges, and now crypto bridges,” the analysts said.

Evidence unearthed by Mandiant supports allegations made by the US government in May.

The Treasury, the State Department and the FBI issued a document warning about the activities of North Korean IT specialists who take freelance work in various technology, including cryptocurrency projects.

According to the US authorities, the DPRK receives income through such employees, which it directs to finance weapons programs.




Music NFT marketplace OneOf raises more than $8 million in investments.
August 2, 2022

Non-fungible token (NFT) music platform OneOf has raised more than $8 million in strategic investment, according to a press release.

The round was attended by Amex Ventures (the venture arm of American Express), Snow Hill Ventures, Sangha Capital, Chain Link Crypto Fund and others. Including this round, the amount of funds raised by OneOf exceeded $72 million.

“As the Web3 market matures and consolidates, we see great opportunity in shaping new business models that allow creators of all shapes and sizes, from the world’s biggest brands to emerging independent artists, to unlock the real potential of this new technology,” said Lin Dai, CEO of the platform.

OneOf bills itself as a “green NFT platform” powered by the Tezos blockchain designed for the music community.

In the spring of 2021, the platform announced that it had raised $63 million. It was attended by eco-activist Bill Tai, Jack Herrick, Suna Saeed of Nima Capital, Sangha Capital, and the Tezos Foundation.

In November, OneOf partnered with the US National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to produce NFTs for the 64th, 65th and 66th Annual Grammy Music Awards.

In February, rapper Snoop Dogg announced plans to turn his Death Row Records into the first NFT label with artists active in the metaverse.




The largest mining pool Monero announced the closure.
August 2, 2022

The mining pool MineXMR announced the termination of work on August 12.

The administration asked the miners to switch to other platforms in order to avoid the suspension of cryptocurrency mining.

After the pool is closed, any remaining rewards will be sent automatically.

The MineXMR team did not give an official reason for the closure.

According to MineXMR's own statistics, at the time of writing, pool-controlled computing power is 1.04 GH/s, or 40% of the total. Now almost 9500 miners remain on the platform.

In February, members of the Monero community became concerned about the concentration of mining power in the MineXMR pool. According to some, this carried the potential risk of a 51% attack by pool leaders.





Muse to release new NFT album.
August 2, 2022

British rock band Muse's ninth album, Will of the People, will be released in a limited edition NFT format powered by Polygon. It is reported by The Guardian.

The release is scheduled for August 26 on Serenade's "green" platform, which helps creative individuals and collectives monetize their popularity through NFTs.

There will be 1,000 tokens for sale at £20 (about $25) each. The NFT contains the album itself in high resolution and the digital signatures of Muse members.

Buyers will be able to use bank cards or cryptocurrency wallets to pay for tokens.

Founded in 1994, Muse won two Grammys in 2011 and 2016 for Best Rock Album for The Resistance and Drones, respectively. The team has also been nominated for many other music awards.

In May, Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy invested in Pebble, which raised $6.2 million. The startup is developing an application that allows you to receive 5-9% per annum on deposits in USDC stablecoin.

Previously famous American rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg released a video in collaboration with the popular NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club.





Poloniex announced the launch of a new trading engine.
August 2, 2022

As a result of updating the trading system, the time for matching orders on Poloniex has been reduced by 30 times. This was told by representatives of the crypto-exchange.

The platform's throughput increased 10 times, and the waiting time between sending and accepting applications decreased five times.

The exchange also redesigned the API endpoints and expanded the possibilities for algorithmic trading.

The new engine uses a microservices architecture: information about markets, orders, and user assets is processed by independent modules. Thanks to this approach, the failure of one component will not affect the operation of the others.

Microservices support cluster deployment and automatic system scaling. Poloniex employees will be able to distribute the load among the modules in case of a sharp increase in traffic and carry out technical work without stopping trading.

The developers have also added new features to the trading interface:
market and stop-market orders;
eight additional timeframes from a minute to a month;
advanced search by trading pairs;
access to "selected" tokens for unregistered users.
Poloniex is one of the oldest crypto exchanges in the world. The platform supports spot and futures trading for 400 cryptocurrencies and serves users from all over the world.

Earlier, Poloniex co-owner and TRON founder Justin Sun said that the platform will continue to hire employees despite the bear market.





The UK regulator did not include cryptocurrencies in the new rules on advertising.
August 2, 2022

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has approved stricter rules to combat misleading advertising associated with high-risk investment products. This is stated in the press release.

The requirements do not affect cryptocurrencies. According to the FCA, the final rules for the promotion of digital assets will be approved after the government and parliament confirm that this area is within the competence of the regulator.

“These rules are likely to follow the same vector as for other high-risk investments. Cryptocurrencies remain high-risk [products], so people should be prepared to lose all their money if they decide to invest,” the statement said.

The FCA stressed that the new requirements are designed to help consumers better understand the risks associated with investments. According to the authorities, this will allow citizens to choose financial products that suit their experience.

In January 2022, the regulator published a draft advertising rule introducing a ban on marketing campaigns without assessing the financial knowledge and experience of users. Norms were not extended to non-fungible tokens.

Previously, the UK Advertising Standards Authority began considering adding a disclaimer to cryptocurrency-related ads.

In July, the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which included the regulation of digital assets, was introduced in the British Parliament.





Vauld secures temporary protection from creditors.
August 1, 2022

The High Court of Singapore has granted crypto lending platform Vauld a moratorium on proceedings until November 7, 2022 instead of the requested six months. Bloomberg writes about it.

According to the decision, 147,000 creditors will not be able to file claims against the company. The court did not rule out an extension depending on Vauld's progress in resolving the issues.

The platform must provide creditors with cash flow and asset valuation data within two weeks. Within eight weeks - information about the management of accounts.

On July 4, the crypto lending platform announced a suspension of operations and a possible restructuring due to financial difficulties. The next day it became known that rival Nexo had signed a preliminary takeover agreement with Vauld.

Later, the media, citing documents for the court, found out that the volume of Vauld's outstanding debt after these events amounted to $402 million, of which $363 million fell on retail investors. The company did not return $34 million to one of them, and more than $10 million to three more.

The platform’s problems began with the collapse of Terra — it held the equivalent of $28 million in UST staking. The next blow was the general fall of the crypto market - Vauld took positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Matic and XRP.

The third factor in the loss of financial stability was the defaults of some counterparties, which led to irrecoverable losses of ~$1.7 million. The fourth reason for the onset of bankruptcy was spending on sponsorship agreements.

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, the problems of Celsius Network, Voyager Digital and Three Arrows Capital made the entire industry look like "a bunch of idiots."





Analysts recorded the largest monthly inflow into crypto funds in 2022.
August 1, 2022

According to the results of July, receipts in cryptocurrency investment products amounted to $474 million (the maximum since the beginning of the year), for the week from July 23 to July 29 - $81 million. Such data were provided by CoinShares analysts.

The influx continued for the fifth week in a row. In June, outflows totaled $481 million.

Traditional bitcoin funds saw an influx of $84.8 million in client funds. From the structures that allow you to open shorts on the first cryptocurrency, an outflow of $2.6 million was recorded for the first time in five weeks.

For the second week in a row, investor interest in multi-asset products declined. Over the past seven days, they have withdrawn $3.7 million from them.

Inflows to Ethereum and Solana funds slowed down from $8.1 million to $1.1 million and from $1.8 million to $1.5 million, respectively.

Experts noted the continued low trading activity. The volume of transactions with crypto products at the end of the last reporting week amounted to $1.3 billion, which is almost half the average since the beginning of the year ($2.4 billion).

Grayscale analysts allowed the end of the crypto winter by the end of March 2023.

Earlier, former Goldman Sachs top manager and macro investor Raul Pal predicted a Bitcoin reversal due to rising global liquidity.





Tourist region in Honduras began to accept payment in bitcoin.
August 1, 2022

The municipality of Santa Lucia in Honduras has integrated payments in the first cryptocurrency to attract tourists from all over the world. It is reported by Reuters.

“This will open up more opportunities and attract more people who want to use this currency,” Cesar Andino, manager of the Los Robles marketplace, said.

According to Macrotrends, in 2019 the country's tourism income amounted to $556 million, and in 2020 it fell to $189 million. Now guests of Santa Lucia will be able to pay for goods with bitcoin, the US dollar or the Honduran lempira.

Initially, the Bitcoin Valley initiative was extended to 60 enterprises to test the project. In the future, it is planned to attract more entrepreneurs and districts to participate.

The project was developed jointly by the Technological University of Honduras, the Municipality of Santa Lucia, the Coincaex cryptocurrency consortium and the Honduras Blockchain organization.

“To combat volatility, Bitcoin Valley will allow merchants to receive instant payments in their local currency,” explained Leonardo Paguada, founder of Blockchain Honduras.

Earlier, the Italian fashion house Gucci and the premium brand Balenciaga announced the acceptance of bitcoin payments in their boutiques in the United States. A similar initiative was taken by one of the world's largest airlines, Emirates Airlines.

In September 2021, the Salvadoran government legalized bitcoin. The country has 2,381 BTC (~$55 million) on its balance sheet. According to journalists, the cryptocurrency is worth about 50% less than the purchase price.

According to the study, 84.8% of merchants see bitcoin payments as a means to attract customers.





a16z's Chris Dixon Joins OpenSea Board.
August 1, 2022

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) partner Chris Dixon has joined the board of directors of leading NFT marketplace OpenSea. This was announced by the co-founder and CEO of the company Devin Finser.

“I am delighted to officially welcome Chris Dixon to the Board of Directors of OpenSea. Chris has been a huge influence in shaping my views on Web3,” Finser said.

Dixon will take the place of ex-a16z partner Katie Hawn, who joined the board of OpenSea in July 2021. Then the marketplace raised $100 million in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

At the end of the year, it became known about the departure of Haun from the venture company for the sake of his own project.

“Kathy has been another invaluable source of wisdom for OpenSea over the years. And thanks to her long-term relationship with Chris, she was able to make a smooth transition and stay by our side as an investor through Haun Ventures,” said the head of the marketplace.

In January 2022, the company closed a $300 million Series C funding round at a $13 billion valuation led by Paradigm and Coatue.

Forbes named OpenSea one of the most innovative private fintech companies in 2022.

In July, Finser announced a 20% reduction in staff, explaining the decision as “an unprecedented combination of crypto winter and widespread macroeconomic volatility.”





Tether Calls Hedge Funds Shorting USDT 'Categorically Wrong'.
August 1, 2022

Hedge funds that opted to go short USDT after the Terra crash “don’t understand how the cryptocurrency and Tether market works on a fundamental level.” This was stated by the issuer of the "stable coin".

Tether Limited responded to a WSJ podcast discussing USDT collateral concerns and reasons for shorting it.

For the first time, the publication reported on the popularity of such an idea in June. At that time, the company's CTO Paolo Ardoino stated that the company had processed the conversion to fiat of 7 billion tokens (~10% of total assets).

On June 18, the website of the stablecoin issuer was subjected to a large-scale DDoS attack. Then the CTO of the issuer ruled out the impact of the incident on the ability to redeem positions in USDT.

“Hedge funds’ view of the collapse of Terra as a constructive factor for shorting Tether represents an asymmetric knowledge gap between crypto market participants and traditional financial institutions,” the issuer’s representatives wrote.

Among other "unreliable reasons" for such actions, the company named:
emission of USDT “out of thin air”;
significant investments in commercial paper by Chinese companies, including troubled real estate developer Evergrande;
“provision of unsecured loans to third parties”;
distrust of the thesis about 100% security of the issued "stable coins" and its high liquidity.

In mid-May, USDT deviated from its peg to the US dollar, testing the $0.94 level, but later returned to parity.

Earlier, Tether promised to completely zero out the share of commercial paper in reserves no later than November. A year ago, their volume was estimated at $30.8 billion against the current $3.7 billion, according to Ardoino.




Binance disclosed financial losses due to the introduction of KYC procedures.
August 1, 2022

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance lost "about 90% of its customers and billions of dollars of revenue" due to the introduction of KYC. This was stated in an interview with CoinDesk by representatives of the exchange's compliance team.

According to them, in July 2021, Binance introduced withdrawal limits for unverified users. Because of this, the daily withdrawal limit has decreased from 2 BTC to 0.06 BTC. This was done to combat money laundering and reduce illegal activity, but it directly affected the number of users and the company's income.

Representatives of the compliance team denied the information that Binance CEO Changpeng CZ Zhao ignored their calls for a free KYC policy and anti-money laundering.

“I know for sure that CZ made decisions that cost Binance a lot of money. We have deleted accounts with millions of users due to risk-based decisions. It cost billions of dollars, but he supported this move,” said Tigran Ghambaryan, Vice President of Global Intelligence and Investigations at Binance.

Reuters recently released a series of reports linking Binance to illegal activity. In particular, one of the articles pointed out the deep connection of the exchange with the Russian-language darknet marketplace Hydra. Since 2017, the platform has processed Hydra-affiliated payments worth $780 million, according to the agency.

The exchange's senior investigative director Matthew Price, in an interview with CoinDesk, acknowledged the scale of Hydra. However, claims by Reuters about its connection with Binance are tantamount to claiming that Bank of America supports money laundering for drug cartels, he said.

According to Gambaryan, the criminals chose Binance because this path turned out to be “the easiest and cheapest.” He stressed that the exchange cannot control the incoming money, but is able to monitor their further movement. At the same time, the use of a VPN will not interfere with user identification.

Price added that illicit activity is tracked through transaction monitoring, which is why “dirty money is circulating outside of exchanges, offline.” This is where KYC comes to the rescue.

The compliance team also commented on reports circulated by Reuters that Binance continued to serve Iranian customers while circumventing US sanctions and a ban on doing business in that country.

“In terms of sanctions, Iranian citizens living outside the country are not a problem for OFAC. US sanctions are applicable only in accordance with US law. It is illegal to extend them to Iranian citizens living abroad,” said Chagri Poyraz, global head of sanctions enforcement.

Gambaryan emphasized that Binance is not a legal entity in the US and operates in various jurisdictions. The exchange takes a conservative approach and complies with US sanctions, although this is contrary to EU law.

In 2021, financial regulators in a number of countries, including the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and a number of others, issued warnings to investors regarding the company's activities.

Against this backdrop, Zhao released an open letter outlining Binance's plans to ensure compliance and protect customers.

In August of the same year, the exchange introduced mandatory user verification and invited former US Treasury Department investigator Greg Monahan to the position of anti-money laundering officer.

In an interview with Bloomberg in November 2021, Changpeng Zhao said that amid tightening KYC requirements, Binance lost only 3% of users.





ApeCoin DAO to allocate $150,000 to NFT news site.
August 1, 2022

Decentralized Autonomous Organization ApeCoin DAO has backed a $150,000 proposal to fund non-fungible token (NFT) website The Bored Ape Gazette.

AIP-70 was supported by more than 1.1 million ApeCoins (APE), opposed by 149,000 tokens.

The Bored Ape Gazette covers Yuga Labs' NFT collections Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Mutant Apes Yacht Club (MAYC), Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC), Meebits and CryptoPunks.

Funding will be used to pay $7,000 a month to sole editor Kyle Swanson, launch a mailing list, pay freelancers, and update the site.

The proposal also mentions the addition of ApeCoin, BAYC, MAYC, BACS price charts, a community event calendar, and a bulletin board.

It is expected that the funds will be enough for the next year of the publication.

Earlier, Yuga Labs accused their NFT collection and ApeCoin of pumping. Law firm Scott+Scott is preparing to file a class action lawsuit and is urging victims to join it.

In early May, ApeCoin fell by 30% amid the launch of the Otherside metaverse. On the same day, NFT marketplace OpenSea announced the addition of APE as a payment method.

Yuga Labs raised $450 million in a round at a $4 billion valuation in March.

In August, jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. introduced a series of pendants based on the CryptoPunks NFT collection.





The media learned about Ledger plans to raise at least $ 100 million.
August 1, 2022

Crypto hardware wallet maker Ledger is in talks to raise at least $100 million in a funding round. Bloomberg writes about this, citing anonymous sources.

According to them, the company expects to use the crypto winter and increase its valuation. A Ledger spokesperson declined to comment.

In June 2021, the manufacturer of hardware crypto wallets raised $380 million in a Series C funding round. The company was valued at more than $1.5 billion.

In the spring of 2022, the firm unveiled a new device, the Nano S Plus, aimed at NFT collectors and DeFi users.

Previously, Ledger entered into an agreement with The Sandbox project to increase the literacy of its users in the field of cryptocurrencies.

In June, the company partnered with Cathay Innovation to launch a €100 million crypto fund. At the same time, Ledger introduced a corporate-focused NFT marketplace and Web3 services platform.

From April to June, venture investments in crypto startups decreased by 31% compared to the first quarter, to $6.76 billion.

Analysts cited the collapse of Terra, the serious problems of Celsius and Babel Finance, as well as staff cuts at Coinbase, Gemini and Crypto.com as reasons.





DappRadar did not see the impact of the collapse of Terra on the metaverses and GameFi.
August 1, 2022

GameFi and the Metaverse were the best performers in the second quarter during the bear market. The number of transactions associated with them increased by 9.5% and 27%, respectively, according to a report by DappRadar.

For comparison, this metric applied to DeFi and NFT showed a decrease of 14.8% and 12.2%.

A similar picture emerged in terms of the average volume of network activity per unique active wallets. In blockchain games, it decreased by 7%, in NFT - by 24% at once.

Metaverse project token trading volume jumped 97%, while the NFT sector as a whole fell 32.7%.

“Such activity indicates that interaction with virtual worlds does not depend on their profitability for the end user,” the experts emphasized.

DappRadar noted the resilience of investments in blockchain games and metaverses by institutional investors, who see strong growth potential in them.

The amount of funding has not changed ($2.5 billion), despite the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. Experts compared it to the consequences of the collapse of Lehman Brothers for traditional financial markets.

Pitchbook estimates that between April and June, venture capital investment in crypto startups fell by 31%.

Andreessen Horowitz previously launched a $600 million fund to invest in games and the metaverse.

Prior to this, Haun Ventures, led by former a16z general partner Kathy Haun, raised $1.5 billion in two crypto funds with a similar focus.





Tiffany to Sell 250 CryptoPunks NFT Jewelry.
August 1, 2022

Jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. introduced a series of pendants based on the CryptoPunks collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Starting August 5, CryptoPunks owners will be able to order one of 250 diamond-encrusted pendants, which will be a copy of their token. Included in the sale is an additional NFT from Tiffany.

Each piece costs 30 ETH (~$50,000 at the time of writing). The length of the pendant is about 30 mm, the width is about 20-30 mm. Tiffany is willing to sell no more than three pendants per client.

Buyers will receive sample products by October 2022 and will not be able to participate in the design process. Finished jewelry is promised to be delivered in early 2023.

Previously, the rights to NFT with pixel punks were bought by Yuga Labs, the company behind the competing Bored Ape Yacht Club collection.

In February, NFTs from the CryptoPunks collection sold for a record $23.7 million.





Vitalik Buterin: existing attempts to create a metaverse are doomed to failure.
August 1, 2022

The existing attempts by corporations to create a metaverse will lead nowhere, since people do not yet "know" what it should look like. This was stated by the co-founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin.

"The Metaverse is coming, but I don't think the current corporate attempts to deliberately create a virtual world will get anywhere," he wrote.

Buterin's words were a response to developer Dean Eigenmann. The latter noted that the metaverse is a viable concept, but it is unlikely to be implemented on the basis of those tools in which "venture investors are now investing money."

Other eminent members of the community also joined the discussion. Ribbonfarm blogger Venkatesh Rao pointed out that the market is in a unique situation where dependence on hardware puts the big players in a winning position.

"My critique goes deeper than 'Wikipedia's metaverse will beat Britannica's' metaverse." The thing is, we don't yet know the definition of a "metaverse". It's too early to know what people really want. Therefore, everything that Facebook creates now will misfire, ”Buterin replied.

Rao added that Meta's only goal is to dominate the hardware market: "Until an open source headset beats [Oculus] Quest in terms of value for money, they will be in the desired position, no matter what happens to the content ".

Solana founder Anatoly Yakovenko also believes that large corporations will remain the main players in this market for the foreseeable future. According to him, this is primarily due to the cost of producing complex games.

Analysts of the largest international bank Citibank predicted the growth of the metaverse economy to $13 trillion by 2030.





Artificial intelligence has predicted the structures of almost every protein known to science - this is the beginning of a new era in digital biology.
July 31, 2022

A year ago, DeepMind caused a stir with the announcement of the ability to solve the main mystery in biology - to predict the structure of any protein. At the same time, DeepMind created an open database with data on 350 thousand proteins, the shape of which was predicted by the AlphaFold package. Today, the company announced the discovery of the forms of almost all proteins known to terrestrial science - more than 200 million proteins from all spheres of life known on Earth. This is a real revolution in biology.

Proteins are sequences of amino acids. Depending on the combinations of amino acids, proteins fold into very bizarre spatial shapes. These forms determine the interaction of proteins with each other and, ultimately, regulate biological processes in living organisms: they interact if the forms match like a key fits a lock, and remain indifferent to each other if the forms do not have compatible spatial structures.

Knowing the spatial shape of a protein can help find the perfect cure for diseases and make many other discoveries in biology. Before the advent of AI algorithms, scientists experimentally determined the shape of proteins, which is very, very difficult and time consuming. The algorithm proposed by DeepMind determines the spatial shape of one protein from 10 to 20 seconds. Thanks to this, the company was able to bring the database of spatial forms of proteins from 350 thousand to more than 200 million in a year.

It should be clarified that predicting the shape of a protein does not mean being 100% accurate. However, AlphaFold showed significant accuracy in determining shapes, which is enough to get started. All the routine work was done by a computer, and it took all the scientists of the world before that 50 years to unravel about only 10% of protein structures.

About half a million scientists from all over the world have already used the open database on proteins, the company noted. The disclosure of the complete database on proteins will activate this process many times over and lead in the foreseeable future to amazing discoveries in biology.





The ISS orbit will be adjusted on August 10 to receive the Soyuz MS-22 manned spacecraft.
July 31, 2022

The State Corporation Roscosmos announces that the next planned correction of the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled for August 10. The maneuver will be performed by the engines of the Progress MS-20 cargo ship docked to the Zvezda service module.

The correction is necessary in order to form ballistic conditions before the launch of the Soyuz MS-22 manned vehicle and the landing of the Soyuz MS-21. It is expected that the Progress MS-20 power plant will be turned on for about 300 seconds. After the maneuver is completed, the average height of the station's orbit will increase by 840 m and amount to 416.26 km.

It is also reported that the launch of the Soyuz MS-22 manned spacecraft by the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome will take place on September 21, 2022. The crew of the 68th long-term expedition — Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, as well as NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio — will go to the ISS. It should be noted that the American astronaut will go on the Soyuz as part of the cross-flight agreement that was concluded between Roscosmos and NASA in mid-July.

The descent vehicle of the Soyuz MS-21 manned spacecraft is scheduled to land on September 29, 2022. Roskosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemiev, Denis Matveev and Sergei Korsakov will return to Earth.

Currently, the crew of the 67th long-term expedition is working on board the ISS, which, in addition to the named Russian cosmonauts, includes NASA astronauts Chell Lindgren, Robert Hines and Jessica Watkins, as well as European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.





Aave Community Approves Launch of Decentralized Stablecoin GHO.
July 31, 2022

The Aave DeFi protocol community has approved the launch of the USD-pegged decentralized stablecoin GHO in the ecosystem.

“The community has given the green light to the GHO. The next step is to vote on the parameters of the genesis. Stay tuned for a proposal on the governance forum next week,” the developers wrote.

During a three-day vote, members of the decentralized organization Aave DAO contributed over 500,000 AAVE tokens to the Snapshot platform. The proposal received almost unanimous support.

The protocol team submitted the project to GHO in early July 2022. The instrument is an overcollateralized stablecoin, the same model used in MakerDAO's DAI.

The collateral will be a “diversified set of crypto assets” backed by Aave. At the same time, users will continue to receive interest on tokens blocked as collateral.

Interest payments on loans in GHO will be transferred to the treasury of Aave DAO. The latter will take over the tool management functions.

Mark Zeller, head of integrations at Aave, said that the timing of the launch of the stablecoin will depend on the results of audits. He emphasized that the development team "puts security ahead of deployment speed."

The specialist also noted that the project does not plan to introduce revenue accounts in GHO.

In March 2022, the Aave team introduced the third version of the landing protocol.





In the United States, for the first time, a new type of nuclear reactor was certified - a small modular.
July 31, 2022

It took the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) two years to complete the final safety assessment of NuScale's small modular reactor. The project was submitted for review in 2016 and in 2020 NRC requested additional documentation to complete the evaluation. On Friday, the Commission announced its decision to certify the reactor for use at US nuclear power plants. The only formality left is to enter the project into the Federal Register.

The NuScale reactor (new trade name for the reactor is VOYGR) is a pressurized water reactor operating on the classic principle: the breakdown of fuel turns water into steam, which turns a turbine. In this case, small modular molten salt reactors seem to be more promising, when fuel is supplied to the working zone along with the molten coolant. It is this adherence to the classical scheme that probably allowed the NuScale project to become the first certified small modular reactor in the United States.

The claimed advantages of small modular reactors, and the NuScale reactor in particular, are that the reactor can be almost completely assembled at the factory and transported to the site only for the installation of utilities. In the same way, it is sent for recycling after the end of its service life. Such an approach significantly reduces the cost of building a nuclear power plant and speeds up the construction time by many times, although experts warn of more than 35-fold increase in radioactive waste during the operation of small reactors compared to classical large reactors.

Depending on the needs, from 2 to 12 modules can be placed on the site, each of which will generate 77 MWe. NuScale's first US project will be six modules at the National Laboratory in Idaho. Now that the project has been certified, we can expect further steps to start construction. The application is expected to be submitted in 2024. The project documentation has not been finalized, as there are problems with finding funds. The source says utilities in Idaho have been slow to allocate money for construction.

An important property of the NuScale reactor will be its passive safety. The reactor will operate in a pool of water, which will help mitigate the risk of accidents. Also, the control rods will be located in such a way that in the event of a power outage, they themselves will descend into the core under the influence of gravity and shut down the reactor. No one needs a repeat of Chernobyl.





China outraged by US investment in semiconductors: "this is a typical discriminatory measure".
July 31, 2022

China commented on the passage by the United States of the Chip and Science Bill. China's Ministry of Commerce issued a statement Friday saying the bill, approved by the US Congress, will distort the global semiconductor supply chain and disrupt international trade.

“This is a typical discriminatory measure aimed at supporting the (industrial) industry,” TASS quoted the published statement as saying. “China will continue to monitor developments related to this legal document and will take effective measures, if necessary, to protect its own legitimate rights and interests.”

According to a statement from the Chinese government, certain provisions of the bill "restrict the normal trade, economic and investment activities of relevant enterprises in China," which will lead to "unforeseen changes in the global semiconductor supply chain and create obstacles to international trade."

The statement also refers to the need for the United States to pursue an open, transparent and non-discriminatory policy in accordance with the rules of the World Trade Organization.

Under the Chips and Science Bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, the government will provide $52 billion in subsidies for chip makers.





Indonesia blocks Steam and PayPal due to local 'landing' law.
July 31, 2022

Indonesia has blocked the Yahoo search engine website, PayPal payment system and a number of gaming portals, including Steam, Dota2, Counter-Strike and EpicGames, due to non-compliance with licensing rules, Reuters reported, citing a senior official from the Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology .

According to the rules introduced in Indonesia, effective at the end of November 2020, companies must be registered without fail. Under these rules, authorities have broad powers to force companies to disclose some users' data and remove content deemed illegal or "disturbing the public order." If the regulator considers it necessary to remove the content urgently, then the site is obliged to do this within four hours, in other cases, 24 hours are allotted for the removal of content.

Subject to the extension, the deadline for registration ended last Friday. A number of companies, including Alphabet Inc, Facebook* Meta Platforms Inc, Instagram* and WhatsApp and Amazon.com Inc., managed to register a few days before.

Blocking caused outrage among the Internet users of the country. Indonesian Twitter has been full of posts criticizing the government's actions as damaging Indonesia's online gaming industry and freelancers using PayPal to pay.

Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, director general of information and communications technology at Indonesia's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, said authorities would unblock sites if they followed registration rules. He also promised that the government will find a way so that the interests of users are not affected and they can withdraw their deposits from their PayPal accounts.


* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which a court has made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 “On Counteracting Extremist Activity”.





U.S.-Japan Economic Alliance to secure supply of battery materials.
July 31, 2022

The Japanese media at the end of this week already quite clearly outlined the prospects for cooperation between the United States and Japan in the development of advanced lithographic technologies, but the actual meeting of the ministers of the two countries covered a wider range of issues, including work on creating a reliable supply chain for materials for the production of traction batteries.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met in Washington, D.C., with Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Koichi Hagiuda representing Japan, the Nikkei Asian Review explains. ), serving as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. The joint statement said that "Ministers reaffirmed the commonality of views on economic issues, the benefits of an international rules-based economic order, and the need to increase the resilience and competitiveness of our economies."

Quite predictably, the parties did not neglect the issues of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the tense relations between China and the United States. Japanese officials had to convey to their overseas partners the motives that make them not insist on the withdrawal of Japanese investors from the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project. Two Japanese corporations own 22.5% of this joint venture. Japanese officials believe that refusal to participate in the project would mean the transfer of capital to third parties and the receipt of excess profits by the Russian side. They tried to convince the US representatives that participation in this project does not contradict the idea of ​​supporting sanctions against Russia.

We already talked about the intentions of the United States and Japan to create a joint research center that will help master 2-nm lithographic standards by 2025. Not much was said officially about this initiative following the meeting of the ministers of the two countries, but the participants of the event emphasized that third countries that share the value system of partners can also get access to the developments.

The US and Japan also pledged to work to create more stable supply chains for valuable minerals and materials used in the manufacture of semiconductor components and traction batteries. In this context, the idea of ​​confronting China is also quite clear, since a significant part of the raw materials needed for the production of lithium batteries comes from China. At the same time, the minerals of the required list are actively mined outside of China, it’s just that their processing has been established in the country. The United States and Japan are going to form an alternative infrastructure, which is especially important given the course taken by the American authorities for the active expansion of electric vehicles.





ASUS Unveils New ExpertBook B3 Flip Convertible Laptop Based on Intel Alder Lake.
July 31, 2022

ASUS has announced an updated portable computer ExpertBook B3 Flip, equipped with a 14-inch display. The device is based on the Intel Alder Lake hardware platform and the Windows 11 operating system.

The screen of the notebook (model B3402FBA) has a resolution of Full HD (1920 × 1080 pixels) and support for touch control. The lid can be rotated 360 degrees to convert the laptop to tablet mode. It is possible to control with a special pen.

The maximum configuration includes a Core i7-1255U processor with ten cores - two performance and eight energy efficient. The clock frequency reaches 4.7 GHz. The chip includes an integrated graphics accelerator Intel Iris Xe.

The amount of DDR4 RAM is up to 40 GB. For data storage, an M.2 SSD with PCIe 4.0 interface with a capacity of up to 2 TB is responsible. Optionally, you can install a microSD card.

The equipment includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 adapters, as well as an optional 4G/LTE cellular modem. There is a 720p front camera, a rear camera with a 13-megapixel sensor, stereo speakers, a fingerprint scanner, an Ethernet network controller, Thunderbolt 4 Type-C (×2), USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, USB 2.0 Type-A, HDMI interfaces and 3.5mm audio jack. Dimensions are 329 × 223.9 × 19.3 mm, weight - 1.61 kg. 50 Wh battery used.





Chinese rocket stage did no damage, burning up on re-entry over the Indian Ocean.
July 31, 2022

The 25-ton stage of the Chinese Long March 5B rocket (CZ-5B, Changzheng-5B), which delivered the Wentian laboratory module for the Chinese orbital station into space, burned up in the dense layers of the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, TASS reports citing a statement by the China Aerospace Corporation science and technology.

The Chinese space agency's WeChat social media account says it happened on Sunday at 00:55 Beijing time (19:55 Moscow time on Saturday). The agency clarified that individual fragments of the stage, which remained after combustion in the atmosphere, fell in the Philippines in the Sulu Sea with the coordinates of 119 degrees east longitude and 9.1 degrees north latitude.

According to experts at the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies (CORDS) of the Aerospace Corporation, which specializes in tracking space debris, the weight of the debris of the CZ-5B stage could be from 5 to 9 tons (from 20% to 40% of the weight of the stage).

The fears of some foreign media about the fact that, when falling to Earth, the fragments of the CZ-5B could harm people and objects, fortunately, turned out to be unfounded.

The launch of the CZ-5B rocket took place on 24 July. With its help, a module of the Wentian space station weighing 20 tons and 18 meters long was delivered into orbit, which was successfully docked with the Tianhe main module already in orbit.





Zilliqa Blockchain Platform Team Restarted Network After Crash.
July 31, 2022

The developers of the Zilliqa blockchain have restarted the project network after a failure in smart contracts. Due to a segmentation error, the platform did not process blocks.

The Zilliqa network stopped generating blocks on July 29th. According to the statement, the cause of the failure was the incorrect operation of one of the functions of the Scilla language, on the basis of which the project is built. The error led to the interruption of the server process in the mining nodes.

"Scilla depends on the secp256k1 cryptographic library. After its deployment, a segmentation fault occurred when one of the parameters was out of range, ”the developers explained.

The team has released a new version of the software that uses the corrected secp256k1 compilation. The update was checked in the testnet - the platform correctly processes out-of-range parameters.

Zilliqa was launched in 2017. The project is known for its early implementations of sharding technology, a method of horizontal data partitioning to increase blockchain throughput.

In July 2022, the Celo blockchain platform was put on hold amid the deployment of Uniswap smart contracts on the network.





Charles Schwab will launch an ETF based on its own crypto index.
July 30, 2022

Financial giant Schwab Asset Management has announced the listing of a cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the NYSE Arca. Bidding will start on August 4th.

The ETF under the ticker STCE will track the “Cryptoeconomics Index.” The Schwab Asset Management Exchange Fund will provide access to companies that can benefit from digital assets: developers, miners, brokers and others.

The structure of the product does not involve direct investments in cryptocurrencies.

According to David Botset, Head of Innovation and Equity Management at Schwab Asset Management, the initiative aims to meet the growing demand of companies seeking to directly or indirectly generate income from cryptocurrencies.

Previously, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the launch of an ETF based on indices of crypto enterprises from Grayscale Investments and Valkyrie Investments.

In 2021, Charles Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger stated that the firm would enter the crypto industry after receiving more regulatory clarity from regulators.





Shock July Stock Rally Was a Monster the Fed May Regret Seeing.
July 30, 2022

Among the many superlatives attaching to markets in July, one that could come back to haunt the Federal Open Market Committee is Wednesday and Thursday’s, when the stocks posted their biggest post-meeting rally on record.

Believing they heard a dovish tilt from Jerome Powell, traders pushed the S&P 500 up nearly 4% over two days -- and kept on buying Friday. Welcome as it was by bulls, the spike raises the question of when the rebound itself starts to work against the goal of draining bloat from the economy. It’s an issue investors must weigh in calculating the recovery’s staying power.

A dynamic in which surging stocks complicate the goal of subduing inflation is one reason giant rallies are rare in times of tightening. While the Fed may be ambivalent about equities in general, the role of markets in mediating a real-world economic lever -- financial conditions -- means they are never completely out of mind. Right now, those conditions are loosening in proportion to the S&P 500’s gains. Could that be a concern for Powell?

The Fed chief said Wednesday that policy makers will be monitoring whether financial conditions -- a cross-asset measure of market stress -- are “appropriately tight.” But in the days since the central bank’s second straight 75 basis point hike, the measure is now at a level looser than before the first rate hike in March. 
“They don’t want easier financial conditions, because they want lower demand,” Bespoke Investment Group global macro strategist George Pearkes said. “Basically, markets are assuming we’ve hit peak hawkishness and we’ll be easing sooner than expected. I’m skeptical the Fed is going to endorse that.”

The S&P 500 soared 4.3% for the week and 9.1% in July, the best monthly advance since November 2020. Its gains snowballed after Powell raised rates three-quarters of a percentage point and suggested the pace of hikes might slow later this year. The nearly 4% jump on Wednesday and Thursday alone was the biggest two-day gain on record following Fed tightening.

The risk-on impulse spread to corporate bonds, with both investment-grade and high-yield spreads narrowing from peaks earlier in the month as traders trimmed wagers on an ultra-aggressive Fed. Treasury yields dropped across the curve as well, with 10-year Treasury yields dropping to 2.65% after reaching 3.5% in June.

Taken together, the equity and bond rallies helped loosen US financial conditions, which clocked in at -0.46 compared to a -0.79 reading in March, according to a Bloomberg measure. The easing of that key metric could be setting up for disappointment traders who have gone all-in on the idea of a friendlier Fed, Nuveen’s Brian Nick.

“If the Fed’s goal by raising interest rates is to slow the economy by tightening financial conditions, then that hasn’t happened since they started to get more serious about rate hikes,” said Nick, chief investment strategist at Nuveen. “I’m afraid we’re in for another instance of what’s become very familiar, which is the Fed has to bring the party to a halt at its next meeting or before that.”

That fear isn’t reflected in market pricing. Swaps show that traders expect the fed funds rate to peak around 3.3% before the end of 2022, less than a percentage point above its current level. At one point in recent months, that level was approaching 4%.

While the Fed would likely prefer to see continued tightening, conditions have still compressed “significantly” in recent months, said iCapital’s Anastasia Amoroso. 
“Financial conditions have tightened a whole lot since the beginning of the year,” Amoroso, chief investment strategist at iCapital, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “The fact that credit spreads have been tighter, the fact that equity prices have been lower, the fact that rates across the curve have been much higher, this is going to exert still downward pressure on the economy in the coming months.”





CoinFLEX announces staff cuts to optimize costs.
July 29, 2022

Cryptocurrency derivatives platform CoinFLEX announced the layoff of a "significant number" of employees from various departments around the world. This is stated in the company's blog.

“The staff and non-staff cuts we have made will reduce costs by about 50-60%. Most of the remaining team is focused on products and technologies that remain the backbone of our business,” CoinFLEX noted.

Platform representatives said they plan to track costs to operate efficiently and scale as volumes return.

On June 4, 2022, CoinFLEX suspended withdrawals of user funds due to "extreme market conditions" and "counterparty uncertainty". To solve the problems that have arisen, the company announced the launch of the Recovery Value USD (rvUSD) token.

Later, the head of the platform, Mark Lamb, said that the mentioned counterparty is the founder of Bitcoin.com, Roger Ver, who owed CoinFLEX $ 47 million. Since Bitcoin-Jesus did not fulfill its obligations, the company sent him a notice of default.

In July, the firm applied to the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center to recover the debt from Vera.

On July 15, CoinFLEX announced the resumption of the withdrawal of user funds in a limited mode.





Apple posted a vacancy for a specialist with an interest in Web3.
July 29, 2022

Apple has an open position for an Associate Creative Director for Content. According to the description on the site, his area of ​​interest should include the Web3 sector.

Candidates are expected to have 10 years of experience in developing content strategies and the ability to write creative texts. In addition to Web3, it must "show interest in interactive platforms."

The specialist will work in Apple's Retail Engagement and Marketing Department.

According to CoinDesk, the corporation also posted a job for an art director with a similar requirement regarding Web3, but subsequently deleted it. However, the text was preserved on one of the job search sites.

In May 2021, Apple opened a vacancy for a business development manager with five years of experience in the cryptocurrency industry. He was to lead the affiliate program in the "alternative payments" segment.

In the fall, CEO Tim Cook spoke about personal investments in cryptocurrencies and the lack of plans to launch Apple services related to digital assets.

At the beginning of 2022, Cook said that the corporation sees "great potential" in the metaverse sector and does not exclude investments in this direction.

In February, video hosting YouTube posted a vacancy for a Director of Web3 Product Management.





FTX Receives Full Cryptocurrency Exchange License in Dubai.
July 29, 2022

A subsidiary of FTX has been licensed by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to provide digital currency exchange and clearing services.

According to a press release published by Zawya, FTX Exchange FZE has become the first holder of a permanent VARA cryptocurrency license under the MVP program. In March, FTX received temporary regulatory approval immediately after the creation of the agency.

The full approval of VARA will allow the exchange to offer regulated trading in crypto derivatives and digital assets to qualified investors in the MENA region. The permit also gives the ability to provide custodial services, operate an NFT marketplace, and act as a clearing house.

Speaking to Reuters, FTX regional director Balsam Danhah said: "Our license extends to retail customers as well, however we will expand gradually to ensure we are approaching the mass market in line with VARA guidelines."

The Dubai subdivision of the exchange is part of the structure of the European branch of FTX Europe.

Binance, OKX, and Huobi also received temporary licenses from the emirate's regulator.





WisdomTree assets in crypto products decreased by 22%.
July 29, 2022

According to the results of April-June, the weighted average volume of assets in crypto products of the management company WisdomTree fell by 22% compared to the first quarter, to $265 million.

For comparison, by the second quarter of 2021, the indicator decreased by 12%.

The negative dynamics of AUM in crypto products is due to the weakening of the market. The second quarter of 2022 was the worst for Bitcoin in 11 years.

“The adoption of digital assets continues. Our responsible approach, reliable brand and opportunities associated with crypto winter create good conditions for success in this area,” commented CEO Jonathan Steinberg.

Digital assets account for ~0.35% of the total funds managed by WisdomTree ($74.3 billion).

The Nasdaq-listed firm has launched ETP for clients on major European stock exchanges.

WisdomTree has announced beta testing of its own digital wallet. It is scheduled to launch in 2023.





In El Salvador called the benefits of the legalization of bitcoin.
July 29, 2022

The adoption of bitcoin as legal tender has benefited El Salvador despite the fall in the price of the cryptocurrency. Finance Minister Alejandro Celaya announced this to Bloomberg.

According to him, the introduction of digital currency has expanded access to financial services to the population that is largely not covered by banking services, has attracted tourists and investments.

The minister admitted that the use of bitcoin as a medium of exchange in El Salvador is really small. However, he continues to believe in the prospects of digital gold: “For some, this is something new that they do not quite understand. But it is a phenomenon that exists, is gaining momentum and will be with us in the coming years.”

The El Salvadoran government began acquiring bitcoin shortly before its legalization in September 2021 with a $150 million specially created fund. The country has 2,381 BTC (~$56 million) on its balance sheet. According to journalists, the cryptocurrency is worth about 50% less than the purchase price.

In March, the authorities announced the issuance of $1 billion bitcoin bonds, but postponed the issue due to deteriorating market conditions. In June, Zelaya acknowledged that favorable conditions for the issuance had not yet arrived.

The IMF has criticized El Salvador's decision to recognize bitcoin as legal tender. In January, the institution recommended depriving the cryptocurrency of this status. According to the former head of the central bank, Carlos Acevedo, the adoption of digital gold "killed" the relationship with the fund.

Against this background, the country is negotiating with the IMF to provide it with a loan of $1.3 billion.

A survey by the American organization National Bureau of Economic Research showed that the majority of the population of El Salvador prefers to use fiat currency. About 60% of citizens who downloaded the state crypto wallet simply received a $30 bonus for registration and never returned to the application.

However, Zelaya is confident that digital tokens will play a significant role in the future.

“New technologies in previous years have shown how people were afraid of things like websites and digital business, but over time, reality imposed itself,” the minister said.

Zelaya added that the government has not abandoned plans to sell the announced bonds, is gradually promoting the Bitcoin City project and will soon announce new cryptocurrency initiatives.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele urged not to worry about the fall in the price of bitcoin and said that investments in digital gold will grow "immeasurably" after the end of the bearish cycle.





Santander Bank to Offer Brazilians Cryptocurrency Trading.
July 29, 2022

The Brazilian branch of Bank Santander will open the possibility of trading digital assets for clients “in the coming months.” This was stated in an interview with Folha de S. Paulo by its CEO Mario Liav.

The top manager promised to provide additional details after the publication of the next quarterly report or earlier.

“The [cryptocurrency] market will stay here forever. This is not necessarily a reaction to the steps of competitors. […] Our client demanded this type of asset, so we have to find the most correct way […] to do it,” he explained.

On July 14, the largest bank in the country, Itau Unibanco Holding, did not rule out the possibility of buying / selling digital assets for retail clients in the future. In the first phase, the institution will offer tokenization services for companies.

Earlier, Brazil's largest neobank, Nubank, announced a partnership with Paxos. Thanks to the cooperation, 50 million of its customers gained access to cryptocurrencies.

In August 2021, the head of the Bank of Brazil, Roberto Campos Neto, spoke in favor of creating a regulatory framework for the industry.

The country became the second in the world to register a bitcoin ETF.

In March 2022, Santander launched a lending program for local farmers in Argentina based on tokenized agricultural commodities.




Google and Apple required to report on measures to combat fraudulent crypto applications.
July 29, 2022

US Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown has called on Alphabet and Apple to provide information on how to prevent cryptocurrency fraud in apps hosted on their stores.

Brown sent corresponding letters to the head of Alphabet, which is the parent company of Google, Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

With such a request, he decided to address the tech giants after the FBI reported on the activity of cybercriminals creating fraudulent applications for investing in cryptocurrencies. The agency recorded losses of investors in the amount of more than $42 million.

According to Brown, crypto companies should take the necessary steps to prevent fraudulent activity. However, it is critical that app stores also have appropriate security measures in place, he said.

The senator asked Alphabet and Apple to report before August 10:
about the process of reviewing cryptocurrency applications before they are approved for placement in stores;
mechanisms to prevent the spread of phishing applications;
fraud tracking systems and measures to remove them if they are detected:
running processes upon user notification of such applications.

According to Immunefi specialists, in the second quarter of 2022, the total losses of crypto projects from hacks and fraud amounted to more than $670 million.




Yuga Labs sets royalties for NFTs from the Meebits collection.
July 29, 2022

The company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, Yuga Labs, has set a 5% royalty rate for the tokens of its Meebits series. The decision was explained by the need to support the development of the project ecosystem.

“We have been working hard […]. We've also put together an incredible team for Meebits, made up of brilliant creatives and dedicated community members. To keep this party going, Yuga Labs will receive 5% of Meebits secondary sales (on OpenSea, LooksRare and other platforms). The changes are effective immediately,” the statement said.

The company noted that they will continue to develop the Meebits ecosystem, but did not share specific plans. The developers only clarified that they are focusing on key aspects for the community - the game, technical minimalism, interoperability and experimentation.

Yuga Labs acquired the intellectual rights to the CryptoPunks and Meebits series tokens from Larva Labs in March 2022. The parties did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

According to CryptoSlam, the total sales of NFTs from the Meebits collection exceed $500 million, compared to CryptoPunks with $2.34 billion.

In July 2022, Yuga Labs was accused of pumping NFTs from the BAYC collection and the APE token.




The Cardano team postponed the activation of the Vasil hard fork.
July 29, 2022

The developers have postponed the activation of the Vasil hard fork in the Cardano network. According to IOG CTO Kevin Hammond, the team wants to make sure all parties to the process are ready for the upgrade.

“Obviously, it may take a few more weeks before we move on to the actual implementation of Vasil. This is incredibly important. All users must be ready for the hard fork in order for the process to go smoothly,” Hammond said.

He also noted that IOG is focusing on solving some problems in the testnet, gradually moving towards the release of Cardano 1.35.2 software version. The new client fixes a number of bugs identified during testing, including those related to decentralized applications.

“The goal is to fix the latest issues as we get closer to the hard fork. We're fixing tester-focused features to get things right and without rush,” he added.

Vasil includes four proposals to improve the Cardano network, focused on reducing transaction fees and improving network security. The update will also make it easier to interact with the project's smart contracts.

Initially, the hard fork was planned to be activated at the end of June 2022, but then the date was postponed to the next month.

In July, the developers deployed the Vasil update to the Cardano testnet.




Vitalik Buterin criticized the DAO monetary management model.
July 29, 2022

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin once again criticized the DAO governance model based on transferable digital tokens. According to him, it contradicts the very meaning of decentralized organizations.

“The proverb says: “he who most wants to manage people is the least suitable for this.” Valid for transfer-controlled governance DAOs. Transferable tokens are only needed to give more power to “those who want to rule more than others,” Buterin wrote.

Not all commentators agreed with the Ethereum co-founder. Some pointed to the inevitability of the consolidation of the decision-making process and called the idea of ​​​​universal involvement of DAO participants a “pipe dream”. Others noted that token ownership should not be equated with the desire to control people.

Earlier, Buterin repeatedly criticized the DAO management model based on monetary voting. In March 2022, he stated that this approach is "a new version of plutocracy".

In 2021, the co-founder of Ethereum published a paper in which he proposed several ways to solve the problems associated with such a governance system. For example, reputation indicators fixed in the blockchain can be used instead of tokens.

In the ten largest DAOs in the industry, 90% of the voting power is held by less than 1% of governance token holders, according to Chainalysis.




AlphaFold has predicted virtually every known protein in science.
July 29, 2022

The DeepMind AlphaFold algorithm of the AI ​​lab has predicted the structures of more than 200 million proteins. These are almost all compounds known to science found in plants, bacteria and animals.

Thanks to the open source code of AlphaFold, scientists from all over the world can use it in their research, according to the developers. In July 2021, the algorithm was deciphering 350,000 3D structures. Since then, thousands of scientists have used the system, DeepMind said.

“More than 500,000 researchers and biologists have used the database to view more than 2 million structures. And these predictive structures have helped scientists make brilliant new discoveries,” said DeepMind Founder and CEO Demis Hassabis.

For example, in April 2022, Yale scientists used the AlphaFold database to develop a new, highly effective malaria vaccine. In July 2021, researchers at the University of Portsmouth turned to the system to create enzymes that would fight single-use plastic pollution.

“This has moved us forward a year, if not two,” said John McGeehan, director of the Portsmouth Enzyme Innovation Center.

DeepMind also reported that over the past year, scientists have published more than 1,000 papers in which they used AlphaFold. In the future, the researchers plan to use the algorithm to create drugs for little-studied but widespread tropical diseases like leishmaniasis.

In July 2021, DeepMind introduced the AlphaFold algorithm, which simulated 20,000 human protein structures. The developers have opened access to the program for researchers from all over the world.

In November, Alphabet founded Isomorphic Laboratories, a company that uses artificial intelligence to find new types of drugs.

In July 2022, researchers at MIT developed the EquiBind deep learning model, which is 1,200 times faster than peers to bind molecules to proteins to create drugs.




Canaan Starts Bitcoin Mining in the US.
July 29, 2022

Mining equipment manufacturer Canaan plans to open a cryptocurrency mining facility in the United States. This was announced by the vice president of the company, Edward Lu, in an interview with Forkast.

“Right now, the real revenue from solo or collaborative mining comes from Kazakhstan, but you will see other markets soon,” Lu said.

The firm launched bitcoin mining in the Central Asian country in June 2021, gradually expanding its capacity.

“Mining in Kazakhstan is going well and growing faster than expected,” said a Canaan top manager.

Next up, Lou said, is a presence in the United States, both for mining cryptocurrencies and selling hardware.

In April, when introducing the new Avalon 1266 bitcoin ASIC miner, the vice president announced plans to explore business opportunities in various states of the country.

In May, the US Securities and Exchange Commission included Canaan on a preliminary list of Chinese companies to be delisted on US exchanges due to non-compliance with audit reports.

The manufacturer said at the time that it would “continue to comply with applicable laws and regulations in both China and the United States.”

At the time of writing, Canaan shares are still trading on the Nasdaq. The premarket price is $4.29.

The company was the first among the manufacturers of manners to go public, having placed 10 million ADS in November 2019 at a price of $9. To the minimum marks below $2, the quotes of securities fell in the summer-autumn of 2020.

In the first quarter, Canaan posted a gross profit of $130.9 million, up 327% year-on-year, and the company noted the contribution of the mining business to its growth.




Babel Finance Loses $280M Trading Client Funds.
July 29, 2022

Crypto financial service provider Babel Finance suffered a loss of over $280 million as a result of unsuccessful trading decisions with client funds. The calculations are given in the restructuring proposal, writes The Block.

“During that volatile week in June when Bitcoin plummeted from $30,000 to $20,000, unhedged positions in [own trading] accounts led to significant losses. As a result, a forced liquidation occurred with losses of 8,000 BTC and ~56,000 ETH,” the document says.

As a result, Babel Finance's lending and trading departments were unable to meet margin call counterparties' requirements.

“Losses on our own trading operations went beyond the normal business, which otherwise ran smoothly with proper management and control,” the proposal notes.

The activities of this unit were not controlled by the trading department. For its employees, no risk control criteria were introduced, they did not report profits and losses. No indicative conditions were introduced for transactions, they were not registered in the system.

The firm's wallet management team "released an unlimited amount of funds" to trading accounts managed by its own trading team, Babel Finance admitted.

In 2020, suspicions arose that the company allows itself to “play with leverage” with clients’ funds. Then the contractors of the crypto-financial services provider did not attach much importance to the rumors that appeared. Tether Limited helped Babel Finance avoid bankruptcy by extending the loan repayment period from 48 hours to a month.

In an interview with the publication, representatives of the firm noted that they "work closely with clients, investors, other stakeholders and external consultants."

The company aims to convert $150 million of debt into convertible bonds and raise an additional $250-$300 million in this issue. Babel Finance also expects to open a $200 million revolving credit line.

In May, the crypto financial services provider closed an $80 million Series B funding round at a $2 billion valuation.

Recall that in June 2022, the company announced the suspension of payments and withdrawals from its own products due to lack of liquidity.

Later, representatives of Babel Finance denied reports of insolvency and announced the achievement of "preliminary agreements" on the payment of part of the debts.

To restructure the business, top management brought in the law firm Kirkland & Ellis and financial advisor Hulihan Lokey.




Arbitrum team rolls out Nitro update to testnet.
July 29, 2022

The developers of Arbitrum's Layer 2 (L2) scaling solution have begun testing the Nitro update, which is designed to reduce transaction fees and increase throughput.

If the tests on the Rinkeby testnet are successful, the project team will deploy the update to the main network within two weeks.

At the heart of Nitro is the WebAssembly Transaction Authentication System (WASM). This allows AVM to be configured and compiled using standard programming tools and languages.

The update also integrates the core of Geth, one of the most popular Ethereum clients, into the solution. It is expected that this will simplify the L2 integration process, since developers will not need to further optimize various parameters.

“In fact, we are now running Geth on the second layer of Ethereum and implementing a WASM-compiled anti-fraud system on the main Geth engine,” the statement says.

After the update of Nitro, the Anytrust Chains service, focused on applications with "special needs", will appear on the main network of Arbitrum. It will allow them to maintain the necessary level of security and reduce transaction fees.

Arbitrum CEO Steven Goldfeder called Nitro "the best available" Ethereum scaling technology at the moment.

In January 2022, Arbitrum experienced an outage — due to an error in the Sequencer smart contract, the solution network stopped producing blocks.




The former head of the CFTC saw a threat in the European bill on crypto regulation.
July 29, 2022

The efforts of the EU authorities in the field of regulation of cryptocurrencies may lead to the imposition of a European model, which will damage the ability of US supervisors to effectively create their own rules. This opinion was expressed by the former chairman of the CFTC Christopher Giancarlo, writes CoinDesk.

The former official referred to the MiCA crypto-currency regulation bill, previously agreed by the EU Council and the European Parliament in early July.

The document describes the rules that apply to issuers of unsecured crypto assets, stablecoins, trading and custodial platforms. However, it does not affect NFTs. Within the next 18 months, the European Commission may supplement it with relevant provisions.

“I am very concerned about the pace of development of MiCA. It has very broad provisions that, in a sense, export this approach to crypto assets to the United States,” Giancarlo said.

He urged Congress to "gain momentum" on the regulatory framework. According to him, the US should create its own structure, and "not accept regulation coming from the EU."

“I have great respect for Europe, but their markets are very different,” the former official concluded.

Earlier, Giancarlo called for clearer rules for the cryptocurrency industry amid Coinbase's conflict with the SEC. The reason for the dissatisfaction of the regulator was the plans of the bitcoin exchange to launch Lend crypto savings accounts.

In July, US House of Representatives member Tom Emmer accused the SEC of being "unethical" to the crypto industry. In his opinion, the department uses unfair methods when it comes to digital assets.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also criticized the Commission. According to him, the regulator is taking a coercive approach instead of working on clear rules for the industry.

The CFTC pointed to the non-transparent approach of the SEC and criticized the agency's method of regulation through enforcement.




US authorities demanded that Voyager remove references to the protection of FDIC deposits.
July 29, 2022

The Fed and FDIC sent a letter to Voyager Digital demanding that they provide a complete list of all statements regarding state insurance of crypto broker deposits within 10 days.

Seth Rosebrockfrom and Jason Gonzalez, assistant legal counsels for the two agencies, also urged management to submit a written confirmation of compliance with the regulator's requirements within two business days.

They reserved the right to take additional steps if they saw fit.

“These statements [about deposit protection] are false and misleading. Based on the information we have to date, they were relied upon by clients who placed their funds on Voyager and lost direct access to them,” the letter reads.

The cryptobroker posted on the website, in the mobile application and social networks the following words:
Voyager is part of the FDIC deposit insurance system;
clients who have invested in the Voyager cryptocurrency platform will receive federal corporation insurance coverage for all funds provided to the crypto broker;
The FDIC will insure customers against the bankruptcy of Voyager.

The Voyager website says that client fiat funds are held with the Metropolitan Commercial Bank, which is part of the FDIC system. Funds up to $250,000 are insured.

The Metropolitan Commercial Bank website says the bank maintains an "omnibus account dedicated to Voyager customers." The assets on it are insured by a federal corporation, but coverage is available "solely for bankruptcy protection" of the credit institution.

The FDIC study of Voyager Digital became known on July 8.

On July 5, cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy in a New York court. The company's estimated liabilities range from $1 billion to $10 billion with about 100,000 customers.




Miami to launch NFT initiative in partnership with TIME and Mastercard.
July 29, 2022

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced a partnership with TIME, Mastercard and Salesforce to launch the city's NFTs.

As part of the collaboration, Miami will present a collection of nearly 5,000 NFTs created by local artists.

Token holders will have access to Mastercard's city-related Priceless Miami themed program.

“Miami has been at the forefront of the Web3 revolution and we will continue to use these technologies to support our business by attracting new companies, capital and services to our citizens and visitors to the city. At the same time, we can use this approach to support local artists and charities,” Suarez said.

Experienced in the NFT space, TIME will provide the initiative's launch, creative and strategic direction.

CRM developer Salesforce will take over the issuance and sale of collectible tokens through the NFT Cloud platform. This new product of the firm for interaction with owners of assets is still at the stage of closed testing.

“Companies are looking to deliver services through new channels in a sustainable and reliable way. We are excited to be part of this initiative that will help strengthen the Miami business community and bring unique experiences to life with an innovative offering,” said Salesforce Vice President Adam Kaplan.

The project is expected to launch in December on Ethereum after the network transitions from the Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm to Proof-of-Stake. It is expected that as a result of this, the carbon emissions of the blockchain ecosystem of the second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization will be reduced by about 99%.

In 2021, Suarez created a working group to integrate the city into the crypto industry. The mayor initiated the transfer of part of the treasury to bitcoin and the possibility of municipal employees receiving salaries in the first cryptocurrency.

Suarez himself became the first politician in the US to start receiving a salary in digital gold. He did not refuse payments in cryptocurrency even against the backdrop of a 40% drop in quotes since the beginning of the year.




SpiceDAO, who bought "Dune" Jodorowsky, will sell the lookbook and liquidate the organization.
July 29, 2022

The SpiceDAO community has decided to sell the print version of Alejandro Jodorowsky's never made Dune film and liquidate the organization. This was told by blogger Dan Olson, citing a message from one of the main participants in the DAO, Soban "Sobi" Sakiba.

“The book will be put up for auction, the proceeds will also go to the treasury, and then they can be claimed. After that, the DAO will cease to exist,” wrote Soubi on Discord.

Earlier, a community member under the nickname kortelin presented a plan for the liquidation of the organization's treasury. The process will take place in three stages:
SpiceDAO will compile a list of participants willing to exchange SPICE tokens for Ethereum. They can spend cryptocurrencies to purchase NFTs from the Frank Miller Presents (FMP) collection before the public start of sales (scheduled for August 15, 2022);
the organization implements FMP in order to replenish the treasury. SPICE holders will be snapshotted prior to the NFT public sale to avoid arbitrage;
the core team plans to sell a copy of Dune in the fourth quarter of 2023, ahead of the release of the second part of Denis Villeneuve's film of the same name.

According to Sobi, kortelin has already left the ranks of the members of the DAO.

In November 2021, Soban Sakib purchased Jodorowsky's Dune print for $3.8 million. He bid on behalf of SpiceDAO, but participated in the auction and won it personally.

The members of the organization promised to continue raising funds to pay Sobi the remaining amount, since the organization managed to raise only $750,000 by the auction.

In January 2022, DAO announced plans to create an "original, animated series" inspired by the purchased lookbook. The idea was criticized in the community - some noted that the purchase of a printed book does not give rights to its film adaptation.




Sky Mavis chief denies insider trading allegations amid Ronin sidechain hack.
July 29, 2022

Trung Nguyen, CEO of Sky Mavis, called any speculation that the Axie Infinity team was involved in an insider trading scheme in the period immediately after the Ronin sidechain hack was “baseless and false.”

Earlier, a blogger under the nickname Asobs published a video in which he accused Nguyen and other founders of the company of insider trading in AXS tokens.

According to Asobs, 22 hours before the public announcement of the Ronin hack, Nguyen's wallet transferred 48,838 AXS (more than $3.2 million at the exchange rate at the time) to the Binance cryptocurrency exchange.

He noted that other addresses he identified as belonging to Sky Mavis employees were also making large transactions during this period.

“Here we see a five-day period during which AXS has been rising and the hack has not yet been discovered. Then there was a roughly 22-hour window between Sky Mavis becoming aware of the hack and shutting down the network. […] When we look at the amounts transferred, there is a significant difference between the value transferred in these two periods,” wrote Asobs.

The blogger explained that he found seven wallets associated with Sky Mavis employees. In that five-day period, they collectively moved $150,000 worth of assets. However, after the company became aware of the hack, these same wallets made transactions worth $1.15 million.

Speaking to Bloomberg, a spokeswoman for the company, Cali Moore, confirmed that Nguyen does indeed control the address that transferred 48,838 AXS. She explained that the CEO wanted to bolster the company's liquidity amid the impending crisis and was forced to execute the transaction "in a way that is not obvious to the market."

“We understood that our position would depend on the amount of AXS on Binance. Greater liquidity would enable us to use various loan/capital collateral options. The founding team decided to transfer assets from his wallet to prevent traders who track official Axie addresses from getting ahead of the market,” Moore said.

On Twitter, Nguyen confirmed that the transfer of $3 million in AXS to Binance was “part of the plan to provide liquidity.” He said that before the Ronin Bridge closed, the project team also sent assets worth $7.5 million to the exchange “from a well-known multisig wallet.”

On March 29, 2022, Sky Mavis announced the Ronin sidechain hack. The developers said that on March 23, attackers, using a vulnerability, withdrew from crypto assets worth $625 million. The network was stopped.

As a result of a phishing attack on one of the company's employees, hackers managed to gain access to its infrastructure and Ethereum sidechain validators.

The developers later noted that the attackers used social engineering. The attack was carried out in December 2021.

The Ronin restart took place in June, three months after the hack.




US Senators Urge Fidelity to Explain Bitcoin in Retirement Plans.
July 29, 2022

A group of US Senators have written a letter to Abigail Johnson, CEO of Fidelity Investments, demanding an explanation for the decision to include bitcoin as an option in 401(k) retirement savings accounts.

The management company intended to add a similar feature this summer. The option will be available to employees of the 23,000 companies that use Fidelity to manage their $2.7 trillion in retirement plans.

Representatives from the Democratic Party Dick Durbin, Elizabeth Warren and Tina Smith stressed in their address that the money earned went to citizens with "great difficulty" for investments in a "cryptocurrency casino".

“The decision is of great concern. When retirement savings is already a problem for so many Americans, why is Fidelity allowing […] to take the risk of an untested, highly volatile and unregulated asset like bitcoin?” they wrote.

The message contained no prohibition or threats.

In an interview with CoinDesk, company representatives announced the postponement of the product launch to the fall. They stressed that they are in close dialogue with legislators.

In April 2022, Warren compared cryptocurrencies to the US mortgage crisis.

A month later, Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama introduced a bill allowing US citizens to accumulate cryptocurrency in 401(k) retirement savings accounts.

Earlier, the US Department of Labor reported "serious concerns" regarding the Fidelity Investments initiative.

In 2020, in the US, pension plans with investments in the first cryptocurrency were offered by DAiM, as well as Bitwage with Gemini.




Celsius reported a leak of user data due to the compromise of Customer.
July 29, 2022

The crypto-lending platform Celsius Network suffered a data breach that occurred due to the compromise of the Customer email service. The company announced this in an email, writes The Block.

Celsius does not believe that the leak carries high risks for users. At the same time, the company noted that the incident is a "serious violation of relations between the supplier and the client," and contacted the relevant authorities.

Initially, Customer assured the crypto lending platform that its user data was not affected, Celsius said. However, later the service nevertheless confirmed the leak of emails from Celsius customers.

The latter claims to have deleted all data transferred to Customer.io immediately after the incident was reported.

As a result of the leak, Celsius users could be exposed to a wave of phishing attacks, experts warned.

The reason for the Customer hack was the abuse of access to information by one of the employees. As a result, the NFT marketplace OpenSea reported a leak of user data.

Customer said that, in addition to OpenSea, five other customers of the company were affected. The service did not disclose their names.

In mid-July, Celsius filed for bankruptcy. Later, the head of the company, Alex Mashinsky, said that as of July 13, the company owned $4.3 billion in assets. Its liabilities to customers and creditors amounted to $5.5 billion.

The crypto lending platform has unveiled a business reorganization plan focused on a mining subsidiary. Profits from bitcoin mining are planned to be used to compensate users for losses and pay creditors.





The head of the SEC announced the development of ways to register digital assets as securities.
July 29, 2022

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is stepping up efforts to regulate and register cryptocurrency platforms. This was stated by the head of department Gary Gensler, writes Bloomberg.

The Chairman of the Commission urged employees to work with bitcoin exchanges by analogy with how stock exchanges are regulated.

Gensler noted that the SEC is working on ways to register some digital assets as securities: “There is no reason to treat the cryptocurrency market differently just because different technology is used.”

The SEC is also exploring ways to address potential conflicts of interest when crypto platforms simultaneously act as market makers, he added.

Earlier, Gensler said that most cryptocurrencies fall under the jurisdiction of the SEC, and exchanges working with them must register with the department.

According to the official, crypto investors need protection, and the public will benefit from increased control in the field of digital assets, especially when it comes to oversight of service providers.




The number of decentralized applications in the Polygon network exceeded 19,000.
July 28, 2022

The developers of the Polygon Ethereum network of second-level solutions reported on the project’s achievements in the first half of 2022 and talked about plans for the next six months.

According to the post, by July:

the number of dapps operating in the network reached 19,000;
the average monthly number of transactions was 90 million;
the total number of smart contract creators has exceeded 153,000.

The project has paid out $2 million in hackathon rewards and grants through the Gitcoin platform.

In January, the team launched the Polygon Guilds initiative, which aims to help ecosystem members interact. Within its framework, the creators of projects can unite in thematic groups - guilds.

The project created a free online school Polygon Academy and expanded the capabilities of the DAO PolygonDAO.

Among the technological achievements, the team listed the sovereign identification system based on zero-knowledge proofs Polygon ID.
Avail blockchain load reduction mechanism, Nightfall, Edge, Supernets and zkEVM solutions.

The latter, as a fully EVM-compliant transaction scaling technology, will form the basis for the products that Polygon will focus on developing. Among other priorities for the second half of the year, the team named attracting developers to the ecosystem through:
participation in Ethereum events (ETH Seoul, ETH Mexico, ETH Lisbon, Devcon and others);
further development of acceleration programs.
In the first half of the year, the issuers of the two largest stablecoins by capitalization Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) added support to the Polygon network.




The US economy entered a technical recession. Bitcoin is volatile.
July 28, 2022

According to the results of April-June 2022, US GDP decreased by 0.9% compared to the first quarter. Given the fall of the indicator by 1.6% in January-March, the economy entered a state of technical recession.

Analysts on average expected growth of 0.5%.

The data on GDP published on July 28 by the US Department of Commerce will be revised twice over the next two months.

On the eve of the head of the Fed, Jerome Powell, urged not to attach much importance to the upcoming release of macroeconomic statistics.

“I don't think the US is currently in a recession. The reason is that too many areas of the economy are doing too well. We tend to treat first GDP reports with a grain of salt,” he explained.

The chairman of the Fed stressed that after September, the next steps of the monetary authorities regarding the rate increase will depend on the nature of the incoming macroeconomic data.

The first estimate of US GDP for the second quarter, coupled with Powell's statements, reduced the chances of aggressive policy tightening at the next meeting. A step of 0.5% is now estimated with a probability of 76% against 60.5% a day earlier.

Trading on Wall Street began in a negative way. The S&P 500 is down 0.54%.

The negative dynamics of stock indicators led to a weakening of optimism in the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin quotes non-aggressively rolled back from the intraday high above $23,200.

Grayscale analysts allowed the end of the crypto winter by the end of March 2023.

Earlier, former Goldman Sachs top manager and macro investor Raul Pal predicted a Bitcoin reversal due to rising global liquidity.




Bitcoin exchange Zipmex takes legal action to protect itself from creditors.
July 28, 2022

Thai cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex has filed a petition with a Singapore court for protection from creditors. The moratorium will enter into force automatically for 30 days, according to the country's legislation.

On July 22, law firm Morgan Lewis Stamford filed five related filings on behalf of several exchange-related entities.

Top management intends to achieve an extension of the moratorium for up to six months to prevent lawsuits from creditors. A similar step was taken by the leadership of the cryptolending platform Vauld (the debt is $402 million).

The platform has experienced a lack of liquidity following problems with partners Babel Finance and Celsius Network. Their liabilities are $5 million and $48 million, respectively.

“The moratoriums will give the Zipmex Group the breathing room and time it needs to explore options for resolving the situation. In particular, for a refund from Babel Finance. It is also necessary to develop a restructuring plan and attract additional investment,” the company said.

Representatives of the exchange reported the interest of unnamed parties in potential investments. They added that negotiations were at an "advanced stage".

On July 20, Zipmex suspended the withdrawal, citing "volatile market conditions and the resulting financial difficulties of key business partners."

A few days later, the platform partially resumed deposits and withdrawals.

Earlier, Kaiko analysts allowed the bankruptcy of some cryptocurrency exchanges due to non-native market conditions, a decrease in client activity and problems of a number of industry participants.




Hackers attacked Nirvana's DeFi project. Stablecoin NIRV lost parity against the dollar.
July 28, 2022

Solana's yield farming protocol, Nirvana Finance, has been attacked using an instant loan. Attackers withdrew digital assets worth $3.49 million from the project treasury.

“Nirvana protocol was exploited today. The team is investigating the attack and will make an announcement to the community shortly."

According to block explorer Solana.fm, the hackers used an instant loan on the Solend platform of 10 million USDC to manipulate the protocol's price oracle. The funds allowed them to issue a large number of utility tokens of the ANA project, the value of which as a result of these actions exceeded $10 million.

According to DeFi Llama, just over $3.5 million in ANA was locked in the project’s smart contracts before the attack (excluding staking).

At an “inflated” price, the attackers initiated an exchange of utility tokens for $13.49 million in USDT. Because the protocol deemed the asset issuance legitimate, it released liquidity from Nirvana's treasury.

After receiving the funds, the hackers paid off the debt on Solend and withdrew the remaining amount to the Ethereum network through the Wormhole bridge.

According to CoinGecko, the attack caused the value of ANA to drop by 78% to $1.96. The algorithmic stablecoin of the NIRV project has lost its peg to the US dollar — the asset is trading around $0.18.

In the second quarter of 2022, the total losses of crypto projects from hacks and fraud amounted to $670,698,280, according to Immunefi.




Harmony Community Rejects Team's $100M Hack Recovery Plan.
July 28, 2022

Stephen Tse, founder of blockchain project Harmony, said that the team will reconsider a proposal to compensate victims of the Horizon cross-chain bridge hack for $100 million through the issuance of additional native ONE tokens.

Initially, the developers proposed to carry out a hard fork to compensate for the damage and release the required amount of ONE within three years. The plan provided for two options for additional emission:

2.4 billion ONE - compensation for 50% of the damage;
4.97 billion ONE - for 100%.
At the same time, the team noted that the Treasury funds for reimbursement are not enough and it does not consider spending them for this purpose.

"We have chosen not to use the foundation's treasury in the interests of the longevity and well-being of the project, as recovering from these funds would greatly hamper the structure's ability to support the growth of Harmony and its ecosystem," the proposal reads.

The plan drew a near-unanimous backlash from users. The majority pointed to its inflationary nature, which would lead to a “blurring” of prices. Some pointed out that this would hit big ONE holders the hardest.

The refusal to use treasury funds also did not meet with understanding among users.

“All you have to do now is say something like, “After careful consideration and community feedback, we will NOT be moving forward with the proposal.” And you need to do it as soon as possible, ”one of the commentators addressed the team.

Voting on the proposal ends on 3 August. However, amid the reaction of users, a day after it was put up for discussion, the founder of the project said that the team was “returning to the table” to develop other options.

“Based on your feedback, we will create additional offers and opportunities for everyone who can participate in this process. I ask you to wait for the next few days while we work with the team. We will be back with new information. I sincerely understand your frustration with the current proposal. We hope our next steps will bring more options and clarity for the community to discuss,” Tse wrote.

After the Horizon attack, the Harmony team offered a $1 million reward for the return of stolen funds. The size of the reward caused bewilderment among users, and a crypto trader under the pseudonym Degen Spartan called it an "insulting amount." As a result, the offer was increased to $10 million.

Elliptic believes the North Korean-linked hacker group Lazarus may be behind the Horizon attack. She is also allegedly involved in the attack on the cross-chain bridge of the Ronin blockchain.




Ethereum developers will transfer the Goerli testnet to the Proof-of-Stake algorithm.
July 28, 2022

The Ethereum team will migrate the Goerli testnet to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm when the cumulative network difficulty (TTD) reaches 10,790,000. According to the developers, this will happen between August 6 and 12.

As is the case with other testnets, the merger will occur in several stages. The developers have already deployed the consensus layer of the Beacon Chain blockchain - it is called Prater.

The next step is to activate the Bellatrix update, designed to prepare the latter for the merger. According to lead developer Tim Beiko, this will happen at epoch #112 260, which the network will reach on August 4 at approximately 15:24 (Kyiv/UTC).

After the merger, the updated testnet will be called Paris. Node operators need to update clients for consensus and execution levels. ETH holders do not need to take any action.

On July 6, the developers successfully migrated the Sepolia test network to the PoS algorithm. In June, a similar event took place on the Ropsten testnet.

On July 26, the team implemented the tenth and final "shadow fork" of the main Ethereum network. This happened 26 hours ahead of schedule as the TTD hit the threshold faster than expected.

"Shadow forks" allow developers to test certain aspects of network migration to PoS. The latest initiative was aimed precisely at exploring the changes that will occur after the merger of Goerli and Prater.

The developers have tentatively approved the migration of the Ethereum mainnet to the PoS consensus algorithm on September 19, 2022.




Solana to open physical store in prestigious NYC mall.
July 28, 2022

On July 28, the Solana Foundation will open the doors of an experience-focused store with the Solana ecosystem. The space is located in the shopping center of the prestigious Hudson Yards district in Manhattan (New York, USA).

Next to the cashier of the Solana Spaces store are NFT images from the Degenerate Ape Academy collection. Visitors will be able to pay for purchases through the Solana Pay payment system.

The space also contains an installation that visualizes what is happening on the Solana blockchain in real time, including completed transactions and issued NFTs.

There are various stations throughout Solana Spaces designed to attract people to the industry. On one of them, visitors can open the Phantom wallet and write down a seed phrase on a small card.

Other stations are dedicated to learning how to work on platforms like STEPN and Magic Eden. You can also get a glimpse of the announced Solana Saga Web3 Smartphone.

Merch is available for purchase with community-famous code phrases like WAGMI, degen, not financial advice, and probably nothing.

According to Vibhu Norbi, CEO of Solana Spaces, the initiative is aimed at attracting and educating those who are not yet familiar or who are just taking their first steps in the industry.

“This is an experiment that we think a lot of people will enjoy,” he added.

In February 2022, a vending machine selling NFTs based on Solana for fiat appeared in New York.




The US Congress did not have time to finalize the bill on stablecoins before the holidays.
July 28, 2022

A bipartisan bill to establish oversight of stablecoins will not be submitted until the August recess of the US Congress, admitted Maxine Waters, head of the House Financial Services Committee.

"While Deputy [Patrick McHenry], Treasury Secretary [Janet] Yellen and I have made significant progress towards an agreement on legislation, we unfortunately have not yet reached it, and therefore we will continue our negotiations after the August break," the congresswoman said in a statement. during the discussion of the committee's timetable.

McHenry confirmed that work on the act was "close" to completion.

“It is very important that we continue to move forward in this direction, with the aim of obtaining a regulatory framework that protects consumers while allowing responsible innovation,” said Waters.

According to the media, she is working with McHenry on a deal on the bill brokered by Yellen.

The Ministry of Finance insists that the document takes into account the risks to client funds when crypto exchanges do not separate these assets from their own. Republican McHenry opposes the expansion of the legislation.

Less controversy between the parties causes the leading role of the Federal Reserve System (FRS) in the supervision of stablecoins.

Nothing is known about other details of the upcoming bill.

In May, amid the TerraUSD (UST) incident, Yellen called for legislation to regulate stablecoins before the end of the year.

Her opinion on the importance of implementing rules for "stable coins" was supported by the candidate for the post of Fed Vice Chairman Michael Barr.




The US Senate passed a bill to stimulate the production of chips.
July 28, 2022

The US Senate passed the Chips and Science Act (CHIP-plus), which funds and stimulates US semiconductor manufacturing to compete with China. Writes about it CNBC.

According to the project, $52 billion will be allocated from the federal budget to finance American companies producing semiconductors. The document also provides for additional tax incentives and subsidies to encourage private investment in this sector.

A number of Republican senators criticized the bill. According to them, with the help of the document, the Democrats are promoting issues of climate, medicine and taxation. Also, some lawmakers believe that part of the federal funds provided by the law may end up in China.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders said that chipmakers do not need additional support. Tech giants are already making super profits, the politician is sure.

The bill must now be approved by the House of Representatives.

US President Joe Biden called the Senate's decision historic in his address. According to him, the bill will reduce the US dependence on foreign suppliers, reduce the price of electronics and create thousands of new jobs.

The President also called on the House of Representatives to approve the document as soon as possible.

The pending legislation is unlikely to have an immediate effect, experts say, as new factories will take years to build. In the short term, these initiatives will not solve the current chip shortage.

However, CHIP-plus could play an important role in US technology manufacturing, experts say. In addition to reducing the likelihood of future shortages, it could reduce reliance on Taiwan and other semiconductor manufacturing centers threatened by countries like China.

In May, Samsung announced plans to invest $356 billion in AI, chips and biotechnology through 2026.

In March, Intel announced the construction of a $19 billion processor manufacturing plant in Germany.





The IMF allowed a sale in the markets of cryptocurrencies and stocks.
July 28, 2022

The cryptocurrency market is waiting for a fall in the event of a recession in the economy. This opinion was expressed by the head of the department of monetary systems and capital markets of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Tobias Adrian, writes Yahoo Finance.

He did not rule out the further sale of crypto assets and shares by investors, as well as the possible collapse of various algorithmic stablecoins.

An IMF spokesman noted that some "stablecoins" that are not fully backed by cash are at greater risk. For example, a stablecoin from Tether lost its peg to the US dollar for a short time amid the collapse of TerraUSD.

A recent IMF report states that the massive sell-off in the cryptocurrency market did not have much of an impact on the global financial system.

However, Adrian noted the need for regulation to protect investors. In his opinion, the relevant authorities should ensure that participants in the bitcoin market comply with securities laws, as well as control over the infrastructure of the crypto industry: “There are 40,000 coins. Regulating the coins themselves is difficult, but regulating exchanges and investment wallet providers is doable.”

Tether has promised to zero commercial paper in its stablecoin collateral portfolio no later than November 2022.




FTX US opened access to stock trading to all clients.
July 28, 2022

Clients of the American division of the FTX bitcoin exchange received access to trading in classic stocks. This happened after the completion of beta testing among a limited circle of users.

The company promised in the future to add the possibility of transactions with options. Specific dates are not specified.

FTX US does not charge a commission on securities transactions and does not use the practice of "order flow payment".

The CEO of the parent company, Sam Bankman-Fried, emphasized that at the initial stage, the exchange will not receive income from the service. The platform is looking to expand its customer base and increase its holdings, according to Bloomberg.

“If we improve this product during a period of low client activity, we will capitalize on this opportunity when trading volume increases again,” Brett Harrison, CEO of FTX US, said in an interview.

The top manager declined to be specific about a potential partnership with Robinhood. He noted that he was “excited about the prospects of doing business with an online broker.”

In May, Emergent Fidelity Technologies, associated with the head of FTX, acquired a 7.6% stake in Robinhood.

Later, Bankman-Fried denied information about plans to take over the online broker exchange. Such a scenario of the development of the situation was allowed by Bloomberg sources.

Earlier, the head of the Kraken bitcoin exchange, Jess Powell, announced the potential launch of a service for trading traditional shares.




Guggenheim Partners warned of a possible decline in bitcoin quotes.
July 28, 2022

The capitalization of the cryptocurrency market will fall below the recent local minimum, as the industry has not yet “cleansed itself” of problem participants. This was stated by chief investment officer of Guggenheim Partners Scott Minerd in a conversation with Bloomberg.

“I think [the market] will continue to deflate. I think we are in for something akin to the collapse of the dot-coms, so that we can figure out who are the winners and who are the losers. I don’t think we have completely cleared the system,” he said.

According to Minerd, in the short term, one can expect an increase in cryptocurrency quotes, which is a good opportunity for speculators to make money.

He emphasized that in the long term, the industry will have problems. In his opinion, regulatory pressure and the lack of strong institutional support will have an effect.

On July 27, the US Federal Reserve System (FRS) increased the key rate range by 75 basis points at once, to 2.25-2.5%. The cryptocurrency market reacted to the decision with growth - on July 28, Bitcoin rose above $23,000, Ethereum crossed the $1,600 mark.

CIO Guggenheim Partners expects U.S. inflation to outpace the regulator's target by the end of 2022. In his opinion, the value will be 5% -6%. He also said it was "hard to deny" a recession in the US economy.

In May, Minerd allowed bitcoin to drop to $8,000.



US Senator Links Celsius Investor Losses to SEC Regulatory Policy.
July 28, 2022

Investors in crypto lending products have been hurt by the SEC's reluctance to clarify the regulation of the digital asset industry, US Senate Banking Committee Vice Chairman Pat Toomey said.

In a letter to SEC chief Gary Gensler, the politician stressed that the agency's "regulation through enforcement" approach is a wayward and ineffective approach to consumer protection. The department's measures hinder innovation and contribute to the financial losses of investors, Toomey said.

He recalled that in recent weeks, several companies providing crypto lending services, which were likely under the remit of the SEC, have gone bankrupt.

“These firms often promised huge, seemingly unsustainable interest rates to depositors, and at least one of them allegedly engaged in risky practices. One of these businesses, Celsius, reportedly managed about $12 billion in assets, using the funds of thousands of Americans to provide loans to organizations making short-term crypto investments,” the senator wrote.

Celsius clients' funds have been frozen since mid-June and the integrity of their deposits is questionable, the politician said.

“Had the SEC responded to calls for clarity on how it would apply existing securities laws to new digital assets and services, things could be different,” Toomey said.

In this case, companies could adjust the products accordingly and prevent the loss of investors, he is sure.

“Instead, the SEC chooses to enforce regulation by selectively enforcing its opaque stance on which digital assets and services are securities,” the senator said.

He cited insider trading charges filed by the Commission against a former employee of the Coinbase exchange and two of his accomplices. In this case, the SEC allegedly had a clear idea of ​​why it considers the nine digital assets in the claim to be securities, but did not publicly disclose its opinion. At the same time, at least 25 tokens are listed in the charges brought against the defendants by the Ministry of Justice, Toomey noted.

He asked Gensler to provide written answers to a number of questions regarding interactions with Celsius, Voyager and BlockFi, possible recommendations on their products and some other aspects of relations with the industry.

Toomey also inquired about the “distinctive features” of nine tokens from the SEC lawsuit against an ex-Coinbase employee and 16 other assets.

Previously, the CFTC pointed to the SEC's non-transparent approach to classifying tokens as "digital securities" in this case and criticized the regulatory agency's enforcement method.

In the US Congress, the Commission was accused of politicizing the rules and "unethical attitude" towards the crypto industry.




Bitcoin breaks $23,000. Ethereum trades above $1,600.
July 28, 2022

Leading digital assets continued to rise despite the increase in the Fed's key rate range by 75 basis points at once. The capitalization of the cryptocurrency market increased by 8% per day and overcame the level of $1.1 trillion, according to CoinGecko.

Over the same period, Bitcoin has risen in price by 9.5%, Ethereum has added almost 14% in price. At the time of writing, the first asset is trading near $23,150, while the second is trading near $1,645.

Liquidations in the futures market have exceeded $385 million over the past 24 hours, according to Coinglass. More than $170 million of this amount was in Ethereum. Basically exchanges forcibly closed short positions.

The traditional stock market also reacted to the Fed's decision with growth. As a result of the trading session on July 27, the Nasdaq Composite index rose by 4%, the S & P 500 added 2.6%, and the Dow Jones indicator - 1.37%.

According to Alfonso Peccatiello, ex-head of the securities department of ING bank, the reaction of the markets is connected with the words of the head of the Fed, Jerome Powell, about the potential easing of monetary policy in the future.

Peccatiello noted that according to the official, the current rates are in line with "neutral". He explained that this state of affairs no longer contributes to "overheating or cooling the economy."

According to the specialist, Powell's words can be regarded as a refusal to further increase interest rates. At the same time, investors expect lower inflation and future economic growth, which is good for high-risk assets like bitcoin.

“It is possible to rationalize the post-FOMC narrative, but due to the lack of forward looking guidance, we are in for high volatility in the actions of the Fed. One small step towards tightening and everything is gone, ”he added.

Analyst Michael van der Poppe also noted that Powell is leaning towards easing monetary policy. He emphasized that the upcoming migration of Ethereum to Proof-of-Stake and the fact that the events around Three Arrows Capital and Celsius are “already priced in” have a positive impact on the markets.

The specialist expects Ethereum to rise to $2,400 and Bitcoin to $28,000-$30,000.

According to economist Alex Krueger, the decline in quotations can still be caused by bad corporate reports or a negative forecast for US GDP.

“Today’s rally was so big that crypto funds that missed it should be praying for Amazon and Apple to report terrible earnings tomorrow or to be presented with a negative GDP outlook (very unlikely) that could trigger a fall,” he wrote.

Former Goldman Sachs top manager and macro investor Raul Pal announced a trend reversal in the cryptocurrency market in light of rising global liquidity.




Metauniverse-focused division lost $2.8 billion.
July 28, 2022

In April-June 2022, the loss of the Reality Labs division associated with the metaverse in the Meta structure amounted to $2.81 billion (-$3.67 billion in the first quarter).

During the reporting period, revenue decreased from $695 million to $452 million, with a forecast of $431 million. For comparison, the figure for the company as a whole is $28.8 billion. Top management expects a drop in Reality Labs' revenue in the third quarter.

“We are focused on long-term investments, including […] the metaverse, which will allow us to become stronger after emerging from the recession. […] The development of these platforms could generate hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of revenue over time,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The head of the company promised to launch the web version of Horizon Worlds later this year. He also noted the good feedback from specialists regarding the Project Cambria devices being developed.

Starting August 1st, Meta will increase the price of Meta Quest 2 VR headsets by $100 and revise the price cap for peripheral products.

In 2021, Reality Labs posted a $10.2 billion loss on $2.3 billion in revenue.

Against the background of the publication of financial statements, the company's shares ended the post-trading session on July 27 with a fall of 4.65%.

Market sentiment could also be affected by the FTC's lawsuit against Meta.

The regulator intends to ban the company's planned August 1 takeover of Within Unlimited, a startup that is developing Supernatural, a virtual reality fitness app.

“Meta plans to expand their VR empire with this app that proves the value of space to users. The company would be one step closer to its ultimate goal of owning the entire Metaverse.

An ex-Meta employee warned about the threat to privacy in the space created by Reality Labs.

The company previously announced the opening of a store to showcase the metaverse.




The Fed raised the key rate. Bitcoin rises above $22,000.
July 28, 2022

On Wednesday, July 27, the US Federal Reserve System (FRS) increased the key rate range by 75 basis points at once, to 2.25-2.5%. The cryptocurrency market reacted with growth.

“Recent months have seen steady job growth and low unemployment. Inflation remains high, reflecting supply and demand imbalances associated with the pandemic, high food and energy prices, and broad price pressures,” the Fed said.

The department noted that the war in Ukraine increases inflation and puts pressure on global economic activity. The Fed intends to achieve maximum employment and return inflation to 2%.

Against the background of the increase in the key rate, bitcoin rose to $22,000. Ethereum is trading at $1,500.

According to CoinMarketCap, the cryptocurrency market capitalization has exceeded the $1 trillion level, although it had fallen below a key mark a day earlier. All digital assets from the top 10 by this indicator turned out to be in the green zone.

In March, the Fed raised its key rate to 0.25-0.5% for the first time since 2018. The traditional and cryptocurrency markets reacted to the decision with growth. Among digital assets, the local rally continued until April - Bitcoin and Ethereum reached annual highs.

In May, the Fed raised rates again. Contrary to forecasts, the regulator's policy turned out to be softer - the indicator rose by 50 bp. p. (an increase of 75 bp was expected).

Against the background of the news, bitcoin overcame the $40,000 mark, but the surge in quotes turned out to be short-lived - on the same day, the price of the first cryptocurrency failed the $36,000 level, which was the beginning of a protracted correction.

In June, the Fed raised its key rate by 75 basis points for the first time since 1994. The indicator reached the level of 1.5–1.75%, to which bitcoin reacted with a short-term increase to $22,000, and then collapsed below $18,000.




Social initiative-focused blockchain company Topl raises $15M
July 27, 2022

Topl, a blockchain-based solution for tracking and monetizing social performance initiatives, has raised $15M in a Series A funding round.

It was jointly hosted by Mercury, Republic Asia and Cryptology Asset Group. The founder of the firm, Chris Jorgen, said that in 2020, $ 5 million was raised during the seed round.

The project helps businesses that seek to track products that comply with the principles of sustainable development and take into account the social impact.

Commodities can range from conflict-free diamonds to ethically grown coffee or fair-priced cocoa from a farmer.

According to Georgen, blockchain technology is very suitable for this purpose in new markets, with low trust of participants or with a large difference between them.

“So if I'm dealing with the coffee supply chain, I have individual small farmers and big companies like Cargill. Or in the field of carbon credits, there are big and small projects. They are diverse, and no one knows how to interact with each other on [state] compensation,” he said.

The company will use the funds raised to hire new employees and fulfill three key aspects of the roadmap.

First, the firm expects to increase the decentralization of the project by transferring control to the blockchain community. The next two elements are the traceability-as-a-service launch next month and registration-as-a-service for carbon credits.

Georgen says the company is working with a wide range of clients, from startups to Fortune 500 companies. He expects 40-50 projects to be active on the Topl network by the end of 2022.

“I think we are still in the early stages of blockchain adoption,” he says.

Dubai-based firm 5ire has raised $100 million to develop sustainable blockchain in a Series A funding round.




The European regulator called the lack of specialists in cryptocurrencies a problem.
July 27, 2022

The European Banking Authority (EBA) is experiencing a shortage of employees who are needed in the work of oversight of the cryptocurrency industry. This was stated by the chairman of the regulator, Jose Manuel Campa, in an interview with the Financial Times.

According to him, one way to solve this "serious problem" is a high salary. However, the issue "is not included in the range of possible discussions" between the EBA and the European Commission, the official said.

Another key difficulty Campa called too slow formation of the regulatory framework, which does not keep pace with the development of the industry. The head of the department acknowledged that prior to the entry of extensive regulation in 2025, cryptocurrencies can transform.

In early July, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament tentatively agreed on the provisions of the MiCA cryptocurrency regulation bill. It describes the rules that apply to issuers of unsecured crypto assets, stablecoins, trading and custodial platforms.

The document does not affect non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Within the next 18 months, the European Commission may supplement it with relevant provisions.

Later, members of the European Green Party and Socialists proposed extending the standards of AML/CFT procedures to decentralized organizations, DeFi sites and NFT platforms.

The head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, said that all cryptocurrencies and stablecoins meet the definition of speculative assets and the recognition of currencies in them is inappropriate.




Tether vows to cut commercial paper holdings to zero.
July 27, 2022

Tether's stablecoin (USDT) collateral portfolio does not contain securities issued by Chinese companies. Its issuer promised to reduce the share of commercial paper from the current $ 3.7 billion no later than November.

CTO Tether Limited Paolo Ardoino recalled that a year ago, commercial paper in USDT reserves was estimated at $30.8 billion. In a month, the position in them will be reduced to ~ $200 million.

The top manager did not provide supporting documents for the current composition of the stablecoin collateral.

The initiative is a commitment to the community to build a diversified risk-limited portfolio across individual issuers or assets, according to the issuer's website.

The move aims to “combat misinformation and preserve the reputation of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.”

In June, the media reported on the “popularity” of USDT short positions amid negative market developments and the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.

Then Ardoino said that the company processed the conversion of 7 billion tokens into fiat (~ 10% of total assets).

On June 18, the website of the stablecoin issuer was subjected to a large-scale DDoS attack. At that time, the issuer's CTO ruled out the impact of the incident on the ability to redeem positions in USDT.




Ethereum - developers introduced wrapped ENS domains with extended functionality.
July 27, 2022

Ethereum developers have introduced the ENS Name Wrapper code, which allows you to transform ENS names into a “wrapped version” in the form of an ERC-1155 token. Domain owners will have more control over subdomain names.

In particular, the owner of example.eth can allow the creation of sub1.example.eth and restrict further creation of subdomains. It will still be possible to create sub1 from sub2.sub1.example.eth.

The ENS Name Wrapper will grant rights (fuses) to:

translation;
creation of further subdomains;
installation of text entries.

Each fuse can be turned on / off permanently and irrevocably.

In other words, exclude control over subdomains in the future.

The ENS Name Wrapper solves the problem of trust in a situation where someone can provide a subdomain to another, and then return it unilaterally. This will happen after burning the corresponding fuse.

The ERC-1155 standard will allow them to be displayed, transferred and exchanged in any wallet that supports it.

ENS metrics hit new all-time highs. In early July, the number of registrations in the Ethereum Name Service skyrocketed by 163% in a week.

In July, a major NFT collector lost 100 ETH as a result of a playful bet on an ENS domain he registered.




The media learned about the reduction in the staff of developers of NFT games Immutable.
July 27, 2022

NFT gaming studio Immutable has cut its staff by more than 20 employees. It is reported by The Block, citing its own sources.

Layoffs have affected approximately 8% of the company's employees, based on its LinkedIn profile, which so far lists 310 people.

The project is known for the blockchain games Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians, as well as its own second-level Ethereum protocol Immutable X.

According to the interlocutors of the publication, for the most part, the reductions affected the team of the flagship product Gods Unchained and the recruiting division.

Layoffs at Immutable were confirmed by industry media resource Kotaku. Journalists noticed that one of the leading developers of the game announced on Twitter that he was looking for a job. According to him, the studio cut "a bunch of people."

The company said it was "a minor reorganization of the Gods Unchained team to help achieve the goal of creating the next generation Web3 game." A comment to Kotaku also claims that Immutable continues to be "actively hiring."

“It was a difficult choice made after thoughtful consideration. We hate losing our team members and will ensure a smooth transition for those affected by the reorganization. Immutable started the year with 120 employees and now has 280,” the studio said in a statement.

In September 2021, Immutable raised $12.5 million in an IMX token sale on the CoinList platform. The sale ended in less than an hour.

The same month, the firm closed a $60 million Series B funding round led by Bitkraft Ventures and King River Capital.

In March 2022, Immutable raised $200 million in a Series C investment round at a $2.5 billion valuation.

In June, the company announced the launch of a $500 million ecosystem fund to fund Web3 game developers and NFT-focused startups based on Immutable X. Previously, the company created a similar structure with a budget of $40 million together with the gaming portal Kongregate.

In February, GameStop, an American retail chain selling video game consoles and computer games, announced the launch of an NFT marketplace based on Immutable's L2 solution. The partners even announced the creation of a joint fund for $100 million in IMX tokens.

In March, a beta version of the platform was launched, but the retailer chose a different second layer protocol for it - Loopring.




Blockchain startup with Ukrainian roots EvaCodes raises $500,000 from Hypra fund.
July 27, 2022

Blockchain startup EvaCodes has received a $500,000 investment from the Web3-focused Hypra fund. This was reported by representatives of the company.

EvaCodes was founded in 2019 by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Yegor Gavrylenko and Vitaliy Basyul. The company develops various solutions in the field of blockchain and Web3.

“In the next 3-5 years, our company intends to introduce a number of new products. One of these will be the Dating-to-Earn project, NFT-Tinder. A little later, we will publish the details, ”said Yegor Gavrilenko.

Hypra's vision is not only to invest in projects, but also to help improve operational processes, development tools and fundraising options.

Hypra Fund launched former TA Ventures venture partner and angel investor Igor Pertsiya in March 2022.




Unstoppable Domains raises $65M at $1B valuation.
July 27, 2022

Decentralized domain registrar Unstoppable Domains has closed a $65 million Series A funding round. The startup has achieved unicorn status with investors valuing it at $1 billion.

The round was led by venture capital firm Pantera Capital. Participants include Alchemy Ventures, Spartan Group, OKG Investments, Polygon, CoinDCX, CoinGecko and others.

The startup team will use the raised funds to stimulate product innovation and expand partnerships in the Web3 field.

Unstoppable Domains is an NFT domain provider. Each name is a non-fungible token issued on the Polygon network. According to a press release, the service has registered 2.5 million names, including in the ".bitcoin", ".nft" and ".dao" zones.

“As the digital economy becomes a bigger part of our lives, it’s time for people to own their online identity,” said project founder Matthew Gould.

The startup previously raised $4 million from Tim Draper's Draper Associates.

In March 2020, the Opera browser provided access to the provider's decentralized web resources. They are created using the Zilliqa blockchain, and the site content is packaged in IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) and other decentralized data storage networks.

In the summer, the startup introduced a beta version of the Unstoppable Chat chat protocol. It allows you to store data on your own servers using crypto wallets and P2P network integration.

In 2021, the provider launched a grant program for innovative projects using IPFS technology.

In June 2022, the exchange and cryptocurrency wallet operator Blockchain announced that it would offer users domain names in the “.blockchain” zone from Unstoppable Domains.




ARK Invest Kathy Wood dumps $75 million worth of Coinbase shares.
July 27, 2022

On July 26, ARK Invest sold a total of 1.41 million Coinbase shares worth ~$75 million. The Bitcoin exchange lost 21.1% of its capitalization following the trading session.

The market also reacted to information about the SEC investigation into Coinbase.

According to the firm's daily newsletter, Ark Innovation (ARKK) cut its position by 1.13 million shares, Next Generation Internet (ARKW) by 174.6 thousand shares and Fintech Innovation (ARKF) by 110.2 thousand shares.

As of the end of June, ARK Invest was the third shareholder of Coinbase with 8.95 million shares at its disposal, according to Bloomberg.

The management company has been building up the position since the IPO in 2021. The last largest purchase of 546 thousand shares worth ~$30 million dates back to May 2022.

Flagship fund Ark Innovation has lost 57.84% since January. Since its inception in 2017, the structure has generated a return of 119.45% for ETF holders.

User Unusual Whales calculated that ARK Invest could have lost $200 million from investing in Coinbase. The average purchase price for Bitcoin exchange shares was $254.65, according to his calculations. On July 26, securities closed trading at $52.93.

In April 2022, ARK Invest liquidated its position in PayPal shares.

A month later, the company and 21Shares filed a new joint application to launch a Bitcoin ETF.




CAR launches national cryptocurrency token sale.
July 27, 2022

The Central African Republic (CAR) has opened a public sale of the national cryptocurrency SANGO.
The first phase of the Genesis Cycle project will last a month. During its course, 210 million coins are available to investors at a price of $0.1. Quotes for the listing of the asset are stated at $0.45.

At the time of writing, customers have purchased approximately 21,700 SANGOs, or about 1% of the total.

The coin was issued on the Bitcoin sidechain. SANGO can be purchased with BTC, ETH, BNB and USDT, USDC, BUSD and DAI stablecoins on the BNB Chain and Ethereum networks.

At the Genesis Cycle stage, the minimum purchase amount is $500. For investors at this stage, a blocking period is set - during the year they will not be able to move the asset.

Then another 12 token sale cycles will take place, each one month long. The price of a coin for them is set at $0.15, but the cost of the minimum possible lot is also reduced to $100.

At the end of June, the CAR authorities announced the Sango initiative, designed to facilitate the country's entry into the digital asset industry.

On July 3, President Faustin-Archange Touadéra presented a national cryptocurrency and a program that provides for the creation of a cryptohub, the tokenization of natural resources and the digitalization of the economy based on blockchain technology.

According to the government, SANGO is backed by bitcoin.

In April, the Central African Republic approved the first cryptocurrency as a means of payment along with the local franc.




The media learned about the investigation of schemes using "Kimchi-premium" in South Korea.
July 27, 2022

South Korean law enforcers have launched an investigation into a possible violation of the rules for exchanging foreign currency using the so-called “kimchi premium” for bitcoin. It is reported by Yonhap.

The process is part of a broader investigation by the country's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). According to the media, the regulator handed over the materials to the Supreme Prosecutor's Office.

“We are just checking the data,” a representative of the supervisory authority told the publication.

The documents include a report on the inspection of companies involved in money transfers abroad. The list allegedly includes the country's major banks - Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank.

According to the FSS, companies enjoyed a “kimchi premium” when bitcoin in South Korea is sold at a higher price than the market. Arbitrageurs cannot take advantage of the existing discrepancy, since foreign citizens are prohibited from opening accounts on local crypto exchanges.

The funds received went abroad. According to the publication, a significant part of the transfers came to China. In total, we are talking about more than 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion).

Bitcoin is currently trading near $21,350 on Binance and $21,325 on Coinbase.

On the South Korean platform Upbit, the price of the first cryptocurrency is kept at 28.4 million won ($21,647). Thus, the "kimchi premium" was reduced to about 1.5%.

On April 5, 2021, the price of the first cryptocurrency on the exchanges of South Korea reached $66,500 in local currency. "Kimchi premium" exceeded 15%.

In October, the South Korean authorities recorded an increase in illegal foreign exchange transactions using digital assets. Presumably, the "kimchi premium" influenced this.

In July, the country’s government postponed the introduction of a tax on bitcoin traders until January 1, 2025.




Hong Kong Regulated Exchange OSL Places Digital Bonds.
July 27, 2022

Hong Kong-based regulated bitcoin exchange OSL has launched a US dollar-denominated Ethereum-based coupon bond issue.

The issue volume is not specified. Each token is equivalent to $10,000. There is a base and bonus coupon that is tied to the dynamics of bitcoin. Repayment is provided in three months.

The STO issue is placed among professional investors. Among them are Animoca Brands, Head & Shoulders Financial Group, China Fortune Financial Group, Volmart and Monmonkey Group Asset Management.

OSL Digital Securities became the first SFC-registered Type 1 digital asset broker to implement an STO, according to a press release.

OSL provided the service as a package, acting as a bookrunner, placement agent, tax and payment agent, transfer agent, registrar, settlement agent, tokenization technology partner and marketplace.

The company noted that the initiative will pave the way for the issuance and distribution of tokenized securities to licensed financial intermediaries in Hong Kong.

In 2021, DBS issued $11.3 million worth of digital notes in Singapore's first STO.




AntPool Invests $10M in the Ethereum Classic Ecosystem.
July 27, 2022

Bitmain-affiliated mining pool AntPool has announced a $10 million investment in the Ethereum Classic (ETC) ecosystem. The price of the cryptocurrency reacted with growth.

“Let's support the ETC ecosystem and incubate high-quality PoW projects together,” AntPool commented.

The CEO of the company, Leon Lv, during the World Digital Mining Summit 2022 conference, said that it is planned to increase the volume of investments in the future.

For ETC mining, the Ethash algorithm is used, as well as for Ethereum (ETH) mining. The developers of the second-largest cryptocurrency by capitalization have previously scheduled The Merge update for September, during which the blockchain will switch to the PoS consensus algorithm.

After the upgrade, miners will no longer be able to mine ETH. They are supposed to switch to ETC.

In early July, Bitmain began selling the Antminer E9 device for mining cryptocurrencies on Ethash. A company representative announced at the conference that the manufacturer will accept payment in ETC for all Antminer models.

Over the past 24 hours, the price of the cryptocurrency has increased by 15.8% (CoinGecko). The asset is trading at $27.3.

Grayscale Investments founder Barry Silber tweeted: “I am genuinely excited about The Merge in Ethereum. Who would have thought?!?".

In the structure of 17 cryptocurrency trusts of the company, Ethereum Classic Trust ranks third in AUM with $286.5 million. The indicator is second only to funds based on Bitcoin ($13.9 billion) and Ethereum ($4.2 billion). At the same time, ETC occupies 22 positions in the rating by capitalization.

In 2020, the Ethereum Classic network suffered several 51% attacks. The developers have increased the resistance of the blockchain to them with the activation of the Thanos hard fork.




Britain calls for ban on facial recognition in stores.
July 27, 2022

Human rights activists have appealed to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) with a demand to ban facial recognition of buyers in supermarkets in the south of England. Reuters writes about it.

Southern Co-operative uses scanners in 35 stores in ten cities, according to Big Brother Watch. The system creates a biometric profile of each visitor, which allows the retailer to form a "black list" of buyers. If one of them enters the store, the staff is notified.

Human rights activists called the system "Orwellian in the extreme" and called on the ICO to investigate whether it violates data protection laws.

“Our legal complaint to the Information Commissioner is a vital step towards protecting the privacy rights of the thousands of people who have been affected by this dangerously intrusive private espionage,” Big Brother Watch director Silky Carlo said in a statement.

Southern Co-operative, which operates fewer than 200 stores, said it welcomes any constructive feedback from the ICO.

“We take our responsibilities regarding the use of facial recognition very seriously and are working hard to balance the rights of our customers with the need to protect our colleagues and customers from unacceptable infringement and abuse,” the company said in a statement.

A spokesman for the retailer added that the biometric identification system is only used in stores with a high crime rate. The need to install it was explained by the desire to protect employees from known offenders.

According to the statement, the database does not store images of people not identified as criminals.

“This gives our colleagues time to decide on any action they should take, such as asking them to politely leave the premises or escalate the incident if it is a violation of an injunction,” the company said.

In October 2021, Fraser Sampson, Commissioner for Security Cameras for the UK Government, called for regulation of the use of biometric identification technology.

In April 2022, the European Commission announced plans to create a giant facial recognition database to be shared with EU law enforcement agencies.




KuCoin polled professionals and enthusiasts of the Web3 sector.
July 27, 2022

Crypto exchange KuCoin polled 3,608 Twitter and LinkedIn users about their attitudes towards Web3. A brief report has been published on the KuCoin Blog, and the full report can be downloaded from Google Drive.

30% of respondents answered that they do not believe in the success of Web3. The rest of the participants can be divided into professionals and enthusiasts.

The share of the former is 16%. They have worked on projects related to cryptocurrencies, metaverses, DeFi, NFTs, DAOs and decentralized applications:

59% of respondents are under 30;
24% are full-time Web3 users, 76% are freelancers, part timers, and entrepreneurs;
the most popular type of projects is metaverses;
53% are satisfied with their career.
The share of enthusiasts is 54%. They are interested in Web3 but have not worked in this sector:

more than 50% of respondents want to get a job in the departments of R&S, marketing, product management and data analytics of Web3 projects;
64% of respondents like job prospects: telecommuting, opportunities for personal growth and the potential for industry development.
KuCoin also collected gender statistics in the Web3 sector:

female professionals are more active in building a career;
male enthusiasts are most likely to invest in Web3 projects;
49% of female professionals worked on projects part-time, 33% full-time;
among engineers and developers, there are approximately the same number of men and women;
41% of men and 27% of women founded their own Web3 projects;
one of the main obstacles to work in the segment is the lack of resources for training.
KuCoin is a Seychellois-based cryptocurrency exchange with spot, margin and P2P trading for 700 assets. The platform develops its own Web3 ecosystem: KuCoin Community Chain blockchain, KuCoin Wallet, Windvane NFT marketplace and DeFi applications.




Briton who lost 7500 BTC will involve Boston Dynamics in the search for robops.
July 27, 2022

British resident James Howells, who accidentally threw away a hard drive with 7,500 BTC in 2013, uses two Spot robots from Boston Dynamics to search. Business Insider writes about it.

According to him, the devices are planned to be used to scan the ground and ensure security. They will be equipped with CCTV cameras to protect the landfill area at night.

At the current exchange rate, the value of Howells lost bitcoins is more than $160.4 million.

According to The Washington Post, in August 2021, the cost of one Spot robops was $74,500. The price is not indicated on the official website of Boston Dynamics - the company suggests contacting the sales department.

The owner of the disk in an interview with the publication noted that he developed a search plan with the help of expert consultants and received funding from two venture investors. However, the City of Newport has still not approved excavations at the landfill.

An administration official said Howells did not provide enough arguments to convince the city.

“His proposals pose a significant environmental risk that we cannot accept,” the official said.

Howells expects to resolve this issue. According to him, if the project is implemented, he will name the robots after Satoshi Nakamoto and Hal Finney.

In January 2021, a Briton offered the Newport authorities about $72 million to excavate the landfill, but was refused.

Later, he announced his intention to use artificial intelligence to find the hard drive.

In the same year, former CTO of Ripple and CEO of Coil Stefan Thomas spoke about the loss of the password sheet to the wallet with 7002 BTC.

Later, his successor in this post, David Schwartz, clarified that the ex-director also lost access to several hundred bitcoin accounts.




Cryptocurrency market capitalization fell below $1 trillion.
July 27, 2022

The cumulative capitalization of the cryptocurrency market has fallen below the $1 trillion level, according to CoinMarketCap.

At the time of writing, the indicator is at around $983 billion. At the same time, capitalization on CoinGecko is still above $1 trillion and shows an increase of 1.6% over the past day.

Currently, Bitcoin is holding near $21,420, Ethereum is above $1,460.

Earlier, Blofin analysts noted that the US stock market fell slightly, while the fall of cryptocurrencies stopped.

“However, the next shock from the Fed rate hike in July is just around the corner,” Blofin added.

Analysts also pointed to the index of fear and greed. In their view, bearish sentiment in the digital asset market is “relatively stable.”

It is assumed that at the next meeting the Fed will raise the key rate by 75 bp, to 2.25-2.5%. Now the indicator is at the level of 1.5-1.75%.

In March 2022, the Fed raised its key rate by 25 bp for the first time since December 2018, to 0.25–0.5%. Then Bitcoin and the S&P 500 showed growth.

In May, the Fed raised the key rate range to 0.75-1% per annum, which surprised the markets. Against this background, the price of the first cryptocurrency at the moment overcame the level of $40,000, but on the same day it fell below $36,000, which was the beginning of a protracted correction.

In June, the Fed sharply raised its key rate by 75 bp to 1.5-1.75%. Bitcoin, which previously failed the $30,000 level on news of accelerating annual inflation, reacted with growth.

The head of Galaxy Digital Mike Novogratz admitted that the recession in the cryptocurrency market will last for about 18 more months. In his opinion, the industry will see the first signs of recovery after the easing of the Fed's monetary policy.

Investor Michael Burry, who predicted the 2007 mortgage crisis, predicted a continued fall in the price of bitcoin.




IMF: the fall of bitcoin did not affect global financial stability.
July 27, 2022

The massive sell-off in the cryptocurrency market has had limited impact on the wider financial system. This conclusion was made by the IMF specialists in the report on global financial stability.

The second quarter of 2022 was the worst for Bitcoin in 11 years. From ATH, digital gold quotes fell by almost 70%, other cryptocurrencies showed similar dynamics.

“Digital assets have experienced a sharp sell-off. This was reflected in the failure of algorithmic stablecoins and large losses for industry participants, but it had a limited impact on the financial system as a whole,” the IMF said in a statement.

Previously, "stable coins" were recognized as risk areas by the Fed and the ECB in financial stability reports.

BIS will create a platform for assessing the consequences of the collapse of stablecoins and DeFi projects.

In July, Singapore announced tougher regulation of cryptocurrencies. Similar proposals have also arisen in the United States and Great Britain.

In Europe, the provisions of the MiCA cryptocurrency regulation bill have been preliminary agreed, “which will prevent episodes like the collapse of Terra.”




Celsius to hire former CFO as bankruptcy advisor.
July 27, 2022

Crypto lending platform Celsius Network has filed a petition to hire former CFO Rod Bolger as an advisor in the bankruptcy proceedings.

The court will consider the company's request on August 8.

Bolger left Celsius in June after a few months. He replaced Yaron Shalem, who was arrested in November 2021 in Israel along with the founder of Sirin Labs ICO startup Moshe Hogeg.

In July, Chris Ferrarro became CFO of the company.

Arguing for the need to involve Bolger, Celsius's lawyers said, "The advisory agreement is intended to support the debtor's efforts to stabilize the business by obtaining the services of an experienced person with the necessary knowledge of the company's activities."

The petition also noted that Bolger would provide "much needed accounting and financial expertise at an unprecedented time for Celsius."

Bolger is expected to be paid 120,000 CAD (~$93,290) per month. As CFO of the company, his salary was $750,000 per year with the prospect of increasing. He was also entitled to bonus payments, an annual bonus, up to 800,000 CEL tokens ($728,000) and shares of an employee of the enterprise.

Prior to joining Celsius, Bolger spent 10 years as a financial director at the Royal Bank of Canada. Previously in his career are positions at PwC, Bank of America and Citi.

On July 13, Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a New York City court. The company said its liabilities exceeded its balance sheet assets by nearly $1.2 billion.

Celsius has unveiled a business reorganization plan focused on a mining subsidiary.




US authorities suspected Kraken of violating sanctions.
July 27, 2022

The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury may collect a fine from the Kraken bitcoin exchange for violating the sanctions regime. This was reported to The New York Times by informed sources.

The investigation has been ongoing since 2019.

The publication reported that as part of communication within the company, Kraken CEO Jess Powell posted a table with verified exchange accounts. It followed that the platform had 1,522 users in Iran, 149 in Syria, and 83 in Cuba. The document was subsequently removed.

Kraken's chief legal officer, Marco Suntory, said the company "does not comment on specific discussions with regulators." He emphasized that the exchange closely monitors compliance with sanctions laws and reports potential problems to the competent authorities.”

In February 2022, Powell rejected a proposal to block the accounts of all users from Russia without legal requirements. He emphasized his respect for the people of Ukraine, but explained his position with libertarian values.

In April, the US Treasury imposed sanctions against the BitRiver group of companies involved in cryptocurrency mining in the Russian Federation, the Hydra darknet marketplace, and the Garantex cryptocurrency exchange.

Earlier, Reuters reported that Binance continued to serve customers from Iran, bypassing US sanctions and a ban on doing business in that country.

In October 2021, the US Treasury issued instructions on compliance with sanctions by participants in the crypto industry.




Changpeng Zhao sues Bloomberg for defamation.
July 27, 2022

The head of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, filed a lawsuit against Bloomberg Businessweek, accusing him of defamation. This was originally reported by Twitter account Watcher Guru, Zhao confirmed the information.

The lawsuit has been filed with a Hong Kong court.

Zhao claims that the 250th edition of Bloomberg Businessweek China contains material that is defaming and damaging to the image of Binance CEO.

According to court documents seen by Decrypt, China's Bloomberg Businessweek magazine titled the CZ story as "Changpeng Zhao's Pyramid." The head of Binance also pointed out in the lawsuit the promotion of this article on Twitter and Facebook.

CZ is also unhappy with the American version of the material.

Lawyers for the CEO of Binance stated that the English-language article also contained defamation and unsubstantiated accusations. They are intended to "mislead readers into believing that Zhao and Binance are engaged in illegal or questionable activities," the documents say.

CZ intends to obtain the removal of materials, a ban on their reprint, as well as compensation for the damage caused.

In 2020, Binance sued Forbes over "defamatory statements". The reason was the publication about servicing American clients of the platform bypassing regulators.




Ransomware attacks decreased by 23%.
July 27, 2022

Against the backdrop of a fall in the price of bitcoin, the number of attacks using ransomware has significantly decreased, experts from the American company SonicWall noted.

In the first half of 2022, researchers counted 236 million ransomware infection attempts. This is 23% less compared to the same period last year.

Speaking to The Block, SonicWall cited the price of bitcoin as an early indicator of the frequency of ransomware attacks. According to them, the increase in safety standards in companies and the activation of law enforcement agencies in this direction also contributed to the decrease in the indicator.

According to the report, the number of ransomware incidents peaked in 2021. Then the targets of the attackers were large companies like JBS Foods and Colonial Pipeline, which were forced to pay large amounts of bitcoin to the hackers.

According to researchers, attacks using hidden miners are increasingly targeting the financial sector.

“Cryptojacking aimed at the retail segment has grown by 63% since the beginning of the year. During the same time, the number of attacks on the financial industry soared by 269%,” the report says.

SonicWall Vice President Terry Grieg-King noted that attacks using hidden miners are sometimes quite difficult to detect. According to him, many users do not even suspect that the slowdown of their devices is due to the actions of intruders.

Earlier, US authorities seized $500,000 paid to North Korean-linked ransomware operators.




Ex-CEO of Google compared AI to nuclear weapons.
July 27, 2022

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt compared artificial intelligence to nuclear weapons and urged the global community to prevent AI-Hiroshima. Vice writes about it.

Speaking at a security forum in Aspen, Schmidt allowed the consolidation of an agreement between the United States and China to limit artificial intelligence technologies.

“In the 50s and 60s, we ended up creating a world where there was no ‘no surprise’ rule about nuclear tests, and they ended up being banned,” he said.

Schmidt specifically highlighted the difficulties associated with negotiating a possible agreement on artificial intelligence between countries. Finding common ground between China and the US is likely to be more difficult than many think, he said.

“I’m very concerned that the US treatment of China as corrupt, communist or whatever, and the Chinese treatment of America as a loser… will allow people to say, ‘Oh my God, they are up to something,’” he said.

Schmidt added that this state of affairs will allow one of the parties to begin preparations for arming with artificial intelligence, which will lead to the activation of the other side.

The expert also admitted that he was naive towards the IT sector when he took over as director of Google.

“Now I understand that information is everything: it is incredibly powerful,” Schmidt added.

Now he calls for the development of technology in accordance with the ethics and morality of the people they serve.

In July 2021, Schmidt stated that China was catching up with the US in artificial intelligence and quantum computing faster than previously thought.

In December, China's arms control ambassador to the UN, Li Song, spoke out against the use of AI for military purposes. The diplomat called on the world community to create common rules for regulating technology.

In March 2022, the US military requested $29.8 million to develop AI infrastructure. US Air Force General Glen VanHerke said the upgrade would give the United States an edge over strong competitors like China.




Lido Community Rejects Sale of 10M LDOs to Dragonfly Capital.
July 27, 2022

The Lido Finance platform community has voted against a proposal to sell 10 million LDO tokens to venture capital firm Dragonfly Capital.

“The DAO seeks to create a position in the DAI stablecoin in exchange for 1% of the LDO supply (10 million tokens) at a price of $1.452153, with a total value of $14,521,530 $DAI,” the offer description states.

Voting lasted from 21 to 25 July. It was attended by about 600 members of the DAO. 43 million LDOs (66.61%) voted against.

The proposed token sale was part of a plan to diversify Lido's treasury. He envisaged the sale of 20 million LDOs, of which half was to go to Dragonfly Capital. In this case, no lockup period was provided.

Lido's current treasury assets are $223.3 million, including:

157.8 million LDO worth $216 million;
20,940 ETH ($29.7 million);
5113 stETH ($7.11 million).
In June, the project community proposed limiting the protocol's share of the Ethereum 2.0 staking pool.

Earlier, the Lido Finance team announced the launch of liquid staking in L2 solutions for Ethereum.




Tesla records $64 million profit from bitcoin sale.
July 26, 2022

Profit from the sale of digital assets of the manufacturer of electric cars Tesla in the period from the beginning of the year to June 30 amounted to $ 64 million. This follows from the reporting to the SEC.

The company did not disclose the selling price of digital gold in the second quarter.

Negative revaluation of the remaining bitcoins on the balance sheet - $ 170 million.

The company reflected the current value of digital assets at $218 million. As of December 31, 2021, this value was $1.26 billion.

Along with the publication of financial statements for the second quarter, Tesla disclosed information about the sale of 75% of its bitcoins. The company acquired digital gold in February 2021.

From the document for the SEC, it follows that Tesla gained $936 million. Top management explained this step by “the need to increase liquidity during the period of anti-covid restrictions in China.”

According to Bitcoin Treasuries, the average cost of the first cryptocurrency acquired by Tesla before its partial sale could be $34,722.

In April 2021, Tesla sold $272 million of assets in the first cryptocurrency. The company recorded a profit on this operation of $128 million.

At the end of last year, the negative revaluation from digital assets amounted to $101 million.

The second quarter of 2022 was the worst for Bitcoin in 11 years.




Curve Finance has applied for a 1 million OP grant from Optimism.
July 26, 2022

The Optimism layer 2 Ethereum community has been asked to vote on a grant of 1 million OP tokens (~$770,000) to the Curve Finance DeFi protocol.

At the time of writing, the value of Curve's locked assets on Optimism is $17.3M (up from $6.13B across all networks). Weekly trading volume - $3.4 million.

According to the proposal, 1 million OP will be distributed among LP liquidity providers over 20 weeks in equal shares of 50,000 tokens.

The funds will serve as incentives for LPs, increase liquidity, and also contribute to attracting additional volumes of intermediate assets to the protocol. Expanding the use of the Ethereum scaling solution will reduce gas costs, the author of the proposal noted.

There are currently three Curve pools on Optimism: sUSD, sETH and sBTC. It is expected that their number will increase over time.

The share of pools in the weekly distribution of OP will be determined by a vote of the protocol community.

In June, the Optimism team airdropped OP to 232,000 users.




Bloomberg: SEC Launches Coinbase Investigation.
July 26, 2022

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched an investigation into Coinbase Global due to the possible provision of access to the trading of digital assets that can be regarded as securities to residents of the United States. Bloomberg writes about this with reference to sources familiar with the situation.

According to them, the SEC began to monitor Coinbase more closely as the exchange expands the number of tokens for trading.

In addition, on July 21, the US Department of Justice announced the arrest of former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi. He was accused of fraud using insider trading. The defendants in the case are also Vahi's brother and Samir Ramani.

According to investigators, they used confidential information about the upcoming listings of digital assets on the stock exchange to conduct profitable transactions.

The SEC filed a lawsuit against the suspects with similar theses and emphasized that we are talking about securities fraud. As such, the agency classified 9 of the 25 cryptocurrencies that the defendants allegedly used in their operations.

Coinbase emphasized that securities are not traded on its platform.

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Caroline Pham believes that the SEC's designation of several tokens as securities in the Wahi investigation could have serious implications for the entire industry.

In June, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse accused the SEC of using a coercive approach instead of working on clear regulation for the industry.

Member of the House of Representatives Tom Emmer said that the agency interferes with the regulation of the cryptocurrency sphere and acts unethically towards its participants.

Bloomberg previously reported that the SEC was investigating whether Binance's BNB token was a security at the time of its sale in 2017. However, later the Commission denied this information.




US files class action lawsuit against Celsius Network.
July 25, 2022

Law firm Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., has filed a class action lawsuit in New Jersey County Court against crypto lending platform Celsius Network. This is stated in the press release.

Among the defendants are Celsius Lending LLC, Celsius KeyFi LLC and the head of the company, Alex Mashinsky. They, according to lawyers, violated the provisions of the Law on Exchanges and misled investors about "their financial products."

“The price of CEL tokens fell from a high of $7.73 [recorded] on June 3, 2021 to a low of $0.28 […]. Celsius and its affiliates, along with individual defendants, also violated the provisions of the Securities Act by offering unregistered securities,” the firm said.

Lawyers have acted on behalf of individuals and entities that have invested in Celsius.

On June 13, the platform suspended withdrawals, exchanges, and transfers between accounts. A month later, on July 14, Celsius Network and some of its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy.

In the same month, the company unveiled a business reorganization plan focused on the mining division.

DeFi contractor Celsius KeyFi Inc. filed a lawsuit against the landing platform, accusing it of refusing to fulfill contractual obligations.




GameStop accused of selling 'unethical' NFTs.
July 25, 2022

A Twitter user under the nickname cringepolitik considered unethical a non-fungible token with the image of a falling figure in a spacesuit, posted on the GameStop NFT marketplace.

According to cringepolitik, NFT Falling Man is reminiscent of the photograph of the same name by Associated Press reporter Richard Drew, taken during the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York.

Another user complained about the token to the marketplace support service. GameStop promised to remove NFT and stated that they had already taken away the possibility of minting from the author.

Another member of the crypto community noticed that the pixelated original photo of the “Falling Man” has been on sale on the leading NFT marketplace OpenSea for two months.

He attached relevant screenshots and a link. At the time of publication, OpenSea has not responded to the allegations.

In June, trading volume on NFT marketplaces fell by 74%.

In the same month, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, Yuga Labs, sued artist Ryder Ripps for issuing and selling "fake" tokens that "devalue" original works.




Investment bank Moelis & Co will consult in the blockchain industry.
July 25, 2022

Founded by billionaire Ken Moelis, investment bank Moelis & Co has launched a division focused on global deals involving cryptocurrency startups. Bloomberg writes about it.

John Momtazi, co-founder and head of media investment banking at the New York-based institution, became its head. Lou Kerner, a partner at CryptoOracle venture capital firm, has been appointed senior advisor.

Moelis & Co is betting that companies will continue to grow and close bigger deals. According to Momtazi, this was the case in the period after the dot-com collapse.

“We like the timing. Any breakthrough technology has volatility. The size of M&A transactions will be highly correlated with the expansion of market capitalization,” he explained.

Moelis & Co currently represents Voyager Digital in bankruptcy proceedings. The company's lawyers rejected a recent FTX offer addressed to crypto broker clients. Previously, the investment bank worked with Ripple Labs and CipherTrace.

The company has invested in the industry through Blockchain Capital, Blockchain Coinvestors and Pantera Capital funds, while Moelis himself participated in a Paxos funding round. According to Momtazi, direct investments are not ruled out in the future.

In July, venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners formed the Lightspeed Faction with a focus on the crypto industry.




Bitfinex, Tether, and Hypercore Launch Encrypted P2P Video Chat App.
July 25, 2022

Bitfinex, Tether and Hypercore have launched the Holepunch platform for creating fully encrypted P2P applications and introduced the first of them, Keet video calling software.

“The free app uses peer-to-peer connections to provide real-time audio and video calls, chat, and file sharing. It is based on an innovative distributed technology stack,” the statement said.

Keet gives users complete control over their data and communication channels without resorting to cloud software or external servers as intermediaries. A direct connection uses a pair of cryptographic keys for security.

“Web2 requires users to relinquish control over their data, leading to growing monopolies and growing privacy concerns. This is why Tether and Bitfinex have decided to participate in the development of Holepunch and Keet. We believe that freedom of choice, communication and finance are the lifeblood of the future, and everything that strengthens them deserves support,” said Paolo Ardoino, CTO of the companies.

The Holepunch protocol is in alpha testing and is closed source. It is expected that the developers will open it by the end of 2022.

According to the statement, the platform does not rely on any blockchain, but the built-in payment API will work with the Lightning Network. By default, Holepunch also supports USDT stablecoin application integration.

Bitfinex and Tether provided funding to the project, Ardoino became the director of strategy for the joint venture.

In 2020, Bitfinex launched the Dazaar P2P marketplace and the Dazaar Live decentralized streaming service based on the Hypercore protocol.




The expert predicted a reversal of bitcoin due to the growth of global liquidity.
July 25, 2022

The cryptocurrency market is preparing for an upward trend reversal in light of the growth in the money supply. This was stated in the Real Vision podcast by the former top manager of Goldman Sachs and macro investor Raul Pal.

The specialist emphasized that bitcoin is more dependent on the dynamics of the money supply (M2) than on halving. The latter is optional if there is an influence of the first factor.

“Digital assets do not depend on the business cycle, but their behavior is related to global liquidity flows. Currently, there is a discrepancy between M2 and the trend by about one and a half standard deviations, and it is increasing,” he shared his observations.

The expert explained that the formation of extremes of the macro indicator preceded the reversal of trends in the cryptocurrency market.

“Remember that bitcoin is not a cyclical asset. It will not return to the state it was in, like oil or other commodities. It's a network adoption pattern that grows over time in line with these wide, variable ranges,” Pal explained.

Grayscale analysts allowed the end of the crypto winter by the end of March 2023.

Earlier, Pal predicted the growth of the Ethereum rate to $20,000.




Bitcoin Exchange Huobi Receives Dubai Regulatory Approval.
July 25, 2022

Huobi Group has received a temporary operating permit from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and has begun the license application process.

Initially, the company will offer spot and OTC services through the UAE-registered Huobi Investment FZE to a limited number of institutional investors. In the future, the exchange plans to expand its reach to retail investors.

With the approval, Huobi committed to opening a regional headquarters and expanding staff in the region.

“The Government of Dubai aims to make the emirate the global hub of the future digital economy and be at the forefront of financial innovation. Huobi is optimistic about the potential of the city and the opportunities it offers in the future. We look forward to working with VARA and other local authorities to further invest and promote the virtual asset industry,” said Huobi Group CFO Lily Zhang.

In March, Dubai authorities passed a law on virtual assets and established VARA. In the same month, FTX and Binance exchanges received regulator licenses, and OKX became its owner in July.

Huobi is authorized to operate in a number of jurisdictions, including Gibraltar, the US and New Zealand. However, in June the company closed its representative office in Thailand after the license was revoked by the authorities.




The University of Tokyo will launch courses in the metaverse.
July 25, 2022

The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo will offer a range of study programs in virtual worlds at the end of 2022. Asahi reports.

The initiative will allow studying information technology, artificial intelligence and programming, regardless of gender, age, social status and place of residence.

Schoolchildren will be introduced to the metaverses and told about career prospects in the industry. University students and existing participants in the program will be offered retraining opportunities.

Successful completion of the course entails obtaining a certificate. At the current stage, the program is not planned to be separated into a separate faculty with scientific degrees.

The main goal of the project is to eliminate the shortage of personnel in the field of digital transformation. The authors of the initiative intend to attract more women to the program due to their shortage in the industry.

In June, the government of the autonomous Spanish region of Catalonia announced plans to launch its own metaverse.

Previously, Samsung Electronics introduced the Space Tycoon playground in the Roblox virtual world.




Google fired the engineer who discovered "mind" in AI.
July 25, 2022

Google has fired engineer Blake Lemoine after he claimed "the birth of intelligence" in the artificial intelligence algorithm LaMDA. The New York Times writes about it.

The company vehemently denied Lemoine's claims and noted that LaMDA had gone through 11 different reviews. Google also published a research paper detailing the work involved in responsible development.

According to the company, they carefully analyze the concerns of employees in accordance with the principles of artificial intelligence.

“We found that Blake’s claims that LaMDA is sentient are completely unfounded and have been working with him to clarify this for many months,” said Chris Pappas, a spokesman for the tech giant.

He added that despite being involved in the topic for a long time, Lemoine violated clear employment and data security policies that include the need to protect product information.

“We will continue our careful development of language models and wish Blake all the best,” Pappas added.

In June 2022, Lemoine, in an interview for the Washington Post, claimed that one of the company's AI projects had allegedly gained sentience. The engineer also openly wondered if LaMDA had a soul.

In response, Google sent Lemoine on paid leave, accusing him of violating a non-disclosure agreement.

Several members of the research community disagreed with the engineer's claims. Former Google employee Margaret Mitchell tweeted that systems like LaMDA don't develop intent, but rather model human communication capabilities.

Scientist and entrepreneur Gary Marcus called Lemoine's statement "complete nonsense."

In May, Google fired an artificial intelligence researcher after criticizing the tech giant. The engineer disputed the claim that algorithms could design chips more efficiently than humans.

In April 2021, the head of Google's AI division left the company after 14 years at the corporation. His departure was linked to the controversial firings of Timnita Gebru and Margaret Mitchell, two leading researchers in the ethics of artificial intelligence.




Barclays to Acquire Stake in Crypto Custodian Copper.
July 25, 2022

British financial conglomerate Barclays will join a funding round for London-based custody service Copper. It is reported by Sky News.

According to media reports, the bank will invest "a relatively modest amount of millions of dollars." The crypto company will complete the fundraising in “a few days.”

Earlier, Copper plans to raise $500 million at a $2.5 billion valuation were reported. According to the publication, amid the crisis in the crypto industry, we are talking about a smaller amount.

Founded in 2018, the company provides institutional investors with the services of a prime broker, as well as settlement and storage of digital assets.

In May 2021, Copper raised $50 million in a Series B funding round led by investment firm Target Global and venture capital fund Dawn Capital.

In June, billionaire Alan Howard joined the round with a $25 million investment in the firm.

Among the advisers of Copper is the former British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond. However, regulatory problems in the country forced the company to open an office in Switzerland, Sky News noted.

In May, Barclays took part in a $70 million funding round for crypto services provider Elwood Technologies.




The creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club were accused of pumping NFT and APE token.
July 25, 2022

Law firm Scott+Scott is preparing to file a class action lawsuit against Yuga Labs, behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection of non-fungible tokens and the ApeCoin project token (APE).

According to the statement, the company "unreasonably encouraged" investors to buy "its financial products." Yuga Labs allegedly used celebrity ads to pump NFT and token prices.

“Once it was revealed that the touted growth was entirely dependent on promotion […], retail investors were left with tokens that lost over 87% of the inflated price on April 28, 2022,” the lawyers said.

The firm is at the preliminary stage of searching for participants in the class action. The complaint has not yet gone to court.

After launching on March 17, APE traded at $8.5. On April 28, the price of the token reached $27.5, and at the time of writing it fell to $6.2. The coin has lost about 78% from its peak.

Crypto enthusiasts on Twitter urged investors to "take responsibility for their own actions."

Another user called the potential litigants a "bunch of crazy people" who bought APE "on the highs."

BAYC has previously been supported by Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Madonna and other celebrities.

Yuga Labs raised $450 million in a round at a $4 billion valuation in March.

In early May, ApeCoin fell by 30% amid the launch of the Otherside metaverse. On the same day, NFT marketplace OpenSea announced the addition of APE as a payment method.




Bitcoin exchange Zipmex spoke about the negotiations to “rescue” the business.
July 24, 2022

Thailand-based cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex has received an offer for a deal in which an unnamed third party will help the company "rescue" the business.

“Our discussions with various stakeholders have made significant progress. One of these parties has proposed a set of conditions under the MOU, which also includes confidentiality obligations, in order to be able to start the Due Diligence process,” the statement said.

Representatives of the platform did not specify whether it was an investment or a takeover of the company.

On July 20, Zipmex suspended the withdrawal, citing "volatile market conditions and the resulting financial difficulties of key business partners."

In particular, the companies owe landing platform Celsius Network and crypto financial services provider Babel Finance. Their liabilities are $5 million and $48 million, respectively. Both organizations are experiencing serious difficulties.

On June 17, Babel Finance announced it was suspending payouts and withdrawals from its own products due to a lack of liquidity. Subsequently, information appeared in the media about a potential restructuring of his business.

On July 14, Celsius Network filed for bankruptcy and reported a $1.2 billion "hole" in its balance sheet.

At the end of the week, Zipmex partially resumed deposits and withdrawals.

Analysts at Kaiko allowed the bankruptcy of some cryptocurrency exchanges due to non-native market conditions, a decrease in client activity and problems of a number of industry participants.



The hacker withdrew about $6 million from the Audius decentralized platform.
July 24, 2022

On July 23, an unknown person withdrew about $6 million in digital assets from the treasury of the decentralized streaming platform Audius. The attacker modified the smart contract configuration and initialized a malicious management proposal.

“Our team is aware of the unauthorized transfer of AUDIO tokens from the community treasury. We are actively investigating the incident and will report the results of the investigation later, ”the developers said in a statement.

According to CertiK, a security company, an unidentified person modified the platform's smart contract configuration, allowing him to assign "trustee" status to his address and change the voting period.

After that, the attacker posted a project management proposal that involved the transfer of 18 million AUDIO to a third-party wallet, and voted in his favor.

At the time of the attack, the market value of the stolen assets was about $6 million, but due to strong price slippage, the hacker sold them for 705 ETH (~$1.14 million). According to Etherscan, the attacker transferred funds to the address of the Tornado Cash mixer.

PeckShield analysts noted that an unknown person managed to gain access to the Audius treasury due to "inconsistencies" in certain elements of the project's storage management system.

To prevent further loss of funds, Audius developers have suspended the platform's smart contracts. On July 24, the team resumed the work of the AUDIO contract.

In the second quarter of 2022, the total losses of crypto projects from hacks and fraud exceeded $670 million, according to Immunefi.




Chain Announces Acquisition of Measurable Data Token Project for $100M.
July 24, 2022

Infrastructure company Chain announced the acquisition of the Measurable Data Token (MDT) project and its ecosystem products for $100 million. As a result of the transaction, MDT tokens are converted into native assets of the organization's network - XCN.

Founded in 2014, Chain develops cloud services for building blockchain-based decentralized applications.

As part of the deal, the company received a number of assets, including MDT tokens, the RewardMe application, and the MeFi oracle network, which is focused on the financial market.

“With this acquisition, MDT will end, which will be burned and exchanged for XCN. The deal is beneficial for MDT holders. They are expected to receive around $0.08 per token,” the press release reads.

Measurable Data Token CEO Heatem Huang will join Chain as Chief Product Officer. Developers of the project's ecosystem products will also move to the company.

According to CoinGecko, the XCN token has risen by 5.1% over the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, the asset is trading near $0.09. The price of MDT jumped 56% to $0.051.

In the second quarter of 2022, the majority of M&A transactions were in projects from the NFT and GameFi fields.




Argentina restricts the sale of dollars to bitcoin traders.
July 24, 2022

The Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) has restricted crypto traders from accessing the single currency exchange market and from buying US dollars at the official rate.

The ban applies to anyone who has purchased bitcoin or other digital assets using the Argentine peso in the last 90 days.

The initiative is aimed at combating the outflow of capital from the country with the help of cryptocurrencies and the US dollar.

According to Decrypt, Argentina is tightening currency controls and raising interest rates to control inflation. According to BCRA data as of June 2022, the annual inflation in the country is 64% - one of the highest rates in the world.

In May, one of the largest banks in Argentina, Banco Galicia, opened access for customers to purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and the USDC stablecoin. Brubank also announced the launch of the cryptocurrency service.

In response, BCRA banned local lenders from offering digital asset-related services to customers. The regulator's restriction also applies to cryptocurrency derivatives.

In early July, the unexpected resignation of the Argentine Minister of Economy, Martin Guzmán, caused a boom in demand for stablecoins on local bitcoin exchanges. The departure of an official may threaten further destabilization of the economy.




Bitcoin Exchange Mercado Bitcoin Allows Expansion to Mexico.
July 24, 2022

Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin plans to expand into the Mexican market. The company is awaiting approval from local regulators, platform CEO Reinaldo Rabelo told Cointelegraph.

According to him, the exchange intends to expand the geography of its services in 2022. The top manager did not disclose details.

In April, Rabelo called foreign takeovers "the easiest way" to enter new markets. According to him, these firms already operate in accordance with the laws of a certain jurisdiction.

“Therefore, mergers are the more obvious choice [for expansion],” said the CEO of the exchange.

At the end of 2021, 2TM Group, the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin, closed a $50.3 million Series B extended funding round.

Prior to that, the firm raised $200 million from the SoftBank Latin America Fund, becoming the eighth-largest unicorn in the region.

Earlier, Mercado Bitcoin received $37.4 million to expand its presence in the markets of Latin America.

In the summer of 2022, 2TM Group announced a reduction in staff amid an unfavorable situation in the global economy.

A number of well-known industry players announced layoffs, including Coinbase, Crypto.com, BlockFi, BitMEX, Bitpanda, mining company Compass Mining and NFT marketplace OpenSea.

Bitcoin exchange Gemini has warned of a second wave of optimizations.

The CEO of the Binance exchange, Changpeng Zhao, on the contrary, called the crypto winter a good time to hire new employees. The plans to hire more than three hundred specialists were announced by the head of KuCoin, Johnny Liu.




NBU restrictions will lead to a surge in the popularity of cryptocurrencies.
July 24, 2022

On July 21, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) announced a number of significant changes, adjusting the official hryvnia exchange rate and setting new limits on banking operations.

The regulator set the rate at 36.5686 hryvnia per dollar, changing it immediately by 25%. Since the beginning of the war, the fixed exchange rate from the NBU was 29.25 hryvnia per dollar.

This decision in the National Bank was explained by "a change in the fundamental characteristics of the Ukrainian economy during the war and the strengthening of the US dollar against other currencies."

From July 21, the NBU allowed banks to sell non-cash currency to citizens, subject to future placement on deposit for a period of three months or more without the right to early terminate the contract. The monthly limit is UAH 50,000 equivalent.

The NBU has set a number of new limits for individuals: restrictions on withdrawals from hryvnia payment cards have been changed from UAH 50,000 per month to UAH 12,500 (equivalent) per week;
P2P transfers abroad from cards of Ukrainian banks were reduced from UAH 100,000 to UAH 30,000;
The limit for settlements with hryvnia cards abroad was set at UAH 100,000 per month.

The bank also kept the discount rate at 25%.

All the restrictions introduced since the beginning of the war are temporary measures that allow the economy to survive, said the head of the NBU, Kirill Shevchenko.

However, these changes will have a significant impact on many Ukrainians now. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, millions of citizens have been forced to leave the country and are still abroad.

The NBU restrictions may lead to a surge of Ukrainians’ interest in cryptocurrencies, Mikhail Chobanyan, the founder of the Kuna exchange, said: “We expect an increase in the turnover and use of cryptocurrencies. In Europe, 100,000 hryvnias is nothing at all.”

Chobanyan also believes that the NBU limits will become a hindrance for volunteers, since most of the various assistance was bought from cards of Ukrainian banks owned by individuals: “Now we will completely switch these flows to crypto. At Aid For Ukraine, we have a completely independent infrastructure for the delivery of humanitarian supplies. Independent finance, logistics and warehouses in the EU, customs and cross-border transport, warehouses in Ukraine and the "last mile" to the front line. We will now simply open this infrastructure to all volunteers.”

The NBU said that the new limits do not threaten volunteering. In April, the regulator introduced relief for such activities. Individuals can buy and use foreign currency abroad to purchase defense goods within the monthly limit of UAH 400,000.

Chobanyan noted that the “aggressive policy of the NBU” was known even before the war, and only Ukrainian banks and the budget will lose from new restrictions.

On February 24, the National Bank limited cash withdrawals and fixed the hryvnia exchange rate. In April, the regulator introduced additional restrictions on cross-border transactions of citizens, which also affected cryptocurrency transactions.




Twitter cancels investor conference as Elon Musk pulls out of deal.
July 24, 2022

Twitter has published financial results for the second quarter of 2022, but refused to call with investors. The board cited a "pending deal" with Elon Musk.

“Given the pending acquisition of Twitter by an affiliate of Elon Musk, we will not be holding a earnings call, issuing a shareholder letter, or providing financial advice […],” the press release reads.

According to the results of the II quarter, the base of active users of the social network grew by 16.6%, up to 237 million people. At the same time, the company's revenue decreased by 1%, to $1.18 billion.

In April 2022, Elon Musk acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter, and later offered to buy the company for $54.2 per share. The management of the social network agreed to the terms.

The billionaire explained the initiative with a desire to create "an inclusive arena for freedom of speech."

However, in May, Musk put the purchase on hold after reports of inflated social media audience numbers. After that, Twitter shareholders sued because of the "chaotic process" of the takeover of the company, accusing the head of Tesla of manipulating the market.

In July, Musk announced the termination of the agreement to acquire the social network.

In the same month, Twitter filed a lawsuit against the head of Tesla due to his exit from the deal. The platform intends to force the entrepreneur to fulfill obligations and complete the purchase.




US withdraws request to extradite Vinnik from France.
July 22, 2022

The American authorities withdrew the request for the extradition of Russian Alexander Vinnik from France. This was announced by his lawyer Frederic Belo, writes RBC.

The fact that the United States withdrew the request for the extradition of Vinnik sent in 2020 became known during hearings in the Investigative Chamber of the Paris Court.

“With the help of such a deceptive maneuver, the United States wanted to ensure that Vinnik not only remained in prison, but was also returned to Greece, so that from there he would be sent to the United States as quickly as possible,” Belo said.

During the meeting, the court also postponed the planned further hearings of Vinnik's case from September 7 to August 3. Until then, he will remain in a French prison.

The US Justice Department declined to comment.

Earlier, the French court rejected the cassation petition to appeal against the sentence of five years in prison. As a result of this decision, Vinnik could be extradited to Greece, and then to the United States, his lawyers said.

The transfer was supposed to take place on June 30, but the defense filed an urgent appeal to suspend the expulsion of Vinnik from France, and also applied to the European Court of Human Rights. The latter forbade the French authorities to extradite Vinnik to Greece.

In 2017, Vinnik was detained in Greece on suspicion of laundering $4 billion through the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. At the same time, US authorities confiscated the BTC-e domain.

Subsequently, the Greek court granted the request for the extradition of Vinnik at the request of three countries at once - the United States, Russia and France. In December 2019, the Minister of Justice of Greece, Kostas Tsiaras, decided to extradite the Russian in succession, first to France, and then to the United States and the Russian Federation.

In early 2020, Vinnik was extradited from Greece to France. There he was sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros. The defense tried to appeal the decision, but the court upheld the verdict.




The CFTC criticized the SEC lawsuit against the former top manager of Coinbase.
July 22, 2022

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit against former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi could have major implications for the crypto industry as the agency has designated nine tokens as “digital securities.” This was stated by CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham.

On July 21, the US Department of Justice announced the arrest of Waha and his brother Nikhil. They are charged with fraud using insider trading. Another defendant in the case is Samir Ramani.

According to investigators, they used confidential information about the upcoming listings of digital assets on Coinbase to conduct profitable transactions.

The SEC filed a lawsuit against the suspects with similar theses, but emphasized that we are talking about securities fraud.

Thus, the agency classified 9 out of 25 cryptocurrencies that the defendants used in their operations. This list includes Powerledger (POWR), Kromatika (KROM), DFX Finance (DFX), Amp (AMP), Rally (RLY), Rari Governance Token (RGT), DerivaDAO (DDX), LCX and XYO tokens.

According to Pham, the Commission's actions are an example of "regulation through enforcement." She stressed that the SEC does not want to determine whether a token belongs to a security class “through a transparent process that involves the public and involved experts.”

“Regulatory clarity comes when everything is open, not when everything is dark. Given the overriding public interest and unresolved issues about the legal status of various digital assets such as utility tokens and DAO governance tokens, the CFTC should use all available means to fulfill its mandate to strictly enforce the laws and comply with the Commodity Exchange Law,” she wrote.

Coinbase, which is conducting its own investigation into the incident, also criticized the actions of the SEC. The company stressed that no securities are traded on its platform.

“Assets listed on our platform are not securities. The SEC allegations only divert the attention of law enforcement,” the exchange said in a statement.

In July 2022, a member of the US House of Representatives, Tom Emmer, said that the SEC interferes with the regulation of the cryptocurrency industry and acts unethically towards its participants.




Peter Brandt criticized Michael Saylor for his opinion about Bitcoin.
July 22, 2022

Tech analyst and head of Factor LLC Peter Brandt criticized MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, who called bitcoin an energy-backed digital commodity.

“Provided with energy only in the sense that it is useless without its exorbitant consumption - and then without providing an economic function. It is a huge myth that somehow bitcoin is more than just a consumer of energy,” Brandt wrote.

In response, Saylor emphasized that "all products consume energy." According to him, the economic function of bitcoin is to create a free global settlement network.

“Because bitcoin is a commodity, it can serve as a global digital money. The economic function is to grant property rights to 8 billion people, as well as to create a global settlement network that has already transferred $17 trillion of value in 2022,” he wrote.

Brandt ironically noted that Saylor's comments are always "meaningful and compelling". In the thread, he also stated that despite the criticism, bitcoin is one of the largest assets in his portfolio.

According to the Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC), over the past year, the energy consumption of the Bitcoin network has grown by 63%, while its computing power has increased by $137%.

The specialists also emphasized that the share of green energy in the consumption of miners increased by 6% and reached 59.5% (for BMC participants it was 66.8%).

This is the second report of the organization - the first one was released in 2021. The community reacted negatively to the study - industry participants questioned the objectivity of BMC.

The ECB criticized cryptocurrencies based on the Proof-of-Work algorithm and noted the environmental friendliness of assets on Proof-of-Stake.




Underground mining farm liquidated in Ukraine.
July 19, 2022

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) discovered an illegally connected mining farm in the Kharkiv region, which consumed hundreds of thousands of hryvnias worth of electricity every month.

The equipment was found in a rented warehouse near Kharkov. According to the SBU, several local residents are involved in organizing the farm.

Law enforcement officers noted that the attackers stole electricity “in industrial volumes” through illegal connection to networks:
“At the same time, the systematic overload of utility networks could lead to large-scale interruptions in the power supply of housing facilities and critical infrastructure in front-line areas.”

The SBU announced a pre-trial investigation.

Earlier in Kyiv, a fraudulent scheme was exposed to raise funds from victims under the guise of investing in mining farms.




A fraudulent mining investment scheme was exposed in Kyiv.
July 19, 2022

Kyiv law enforcers have identified four attackers who allegedly embezzled money from victims under the guise of investing in mining farms.

According to the police, they offered investments in the mining of cryptocurrencies, promising big profits. After receiving funds from the victims, they stopped making contact.

During the searches, law enforcement officers seized system units, video cards, motherboards and hard drives.

A criminal case has been opened under part 3 of article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - fraud on an especially large scale or through illegal operations using electronic computers.

Earlier in July, Ukrainian law enforcement officers seized 50 million hryvnia and 830 kg of silver from those suspected of bitcoin fraud.




Glassnode Analysts Point to Signs of a Bottom Formation in Bitcoin Quotes.
July 19, 2022

After waves of capitulations in May-June 2022, bitcoin quotes have been below the realized price for a month now. Other bottom formation signals have emerged, Glassnode analysts write.

At the time of reporting, the realized price was $22,092 and the market price was $21,069. In other words, the average unrealized loss was 4.67%.

Historically, this divergence has indicated a bottom in a bearish phase. The duration of this period ranged from seven days (2020) to 301 days (2015). If we exclude the first episode, which arose as a result of a shock, and not fundamental prerequisites, the average period of relevance of the signal is 197 days against the accumulated 35 days now.

The MVRV indicator has not yet fallen to previous bear phases of 0.953 vs. 0.85 (4.67% vs. 15% unrealized loss) leaving room for further price declines and/or time for consolidation before final bottom formation experts warned. They added that such a situation could also mean a greater degree of support for investors in the current cycle.

Analysts have highlighted the coins whose holders are experiencing an unrealized loss (those who bought between 2021 and 2022). In total, it ranges from $165 billion to $198 billion, based on a market price range of $17,600–$21,800. This is the equivalent of ~55% of the market capitalization of bitcoin. The figure is higher than in March 2020 and comparable to the 2018 bear market.

A gradual decrease in the indicator means an improvement in the profitability of hodlers. This is achieved during the period of capitulations, when unrealized losses become realized - coins receive a new lower value with a new owner. As prices begin to rise, these newly acquired bitcoins switch from holding unrealized losses to unrealized gains, usually starting a bull cycle again.

The above hypothesis can be confirmed by data on the number of coins held at a loss. After the capitulation on June 18 (the price dropped to $17,600), this figure was 9.216 million BTC, but a month later, with the price rising to $21,200, the metric dropped to 7.68 million BTC. In other words, ~8% of the available supply has changed hands in this price range.

Analysts took advantage of the HODL-wave indicator, dividing the coins held into two categories - up to three months (“hot money”) and more than this period (“hodler money”).

They found that the first wave is in a downtrend and has fallen below 20%. From this, the experts concluded that hodlers who do not want to get rid of coins are highly convinced, and / or the desire of long-term investors to accumulate bitcoins, withdrawing them to cold wallets.

The share of coins older than three months (acquired before the collapse of Terra) is growing in the structure of “Hodlers' money”. This can be seen from the increase in the proportion of bitcoins added to wallets from 6 months to two years ago. Previously, participants in this category played a key role in the surrender, analysts said.

“This is another sign that the market is approaching the point of exhaustion of sellers,” the specialists concluded.

Grayscale analysts allowed the end of the crypto winter by the end of March 2023.

In July, Bloomberg strategist Mike McGlone predicted a rise in bitcoin over the next six months.

Earlier, the head of the management company Rockefeller International, Ruchir Sharma, noted that the first cryptocurrency needs to get rid of excess leverage in order to become sustainable again.




The price of bitcoin has overcome $22,000. Market capitalization is over $1 trillion.
July 18, 2022

On Monday, July 18, the quotes of the first cryptocurrency exceeded $22,000. Over the past day, the asset has grown by 4%, according to CoinGecko.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $22,200.

The second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization has added 6.6% over the past day. Ethereum is currently holding above $1450.

Following the flagships, all crypto assets from the top 10 by capitalization moved into the green zone. The total market value has exceeded $1 trillion. BTC dominance index - 40.1%, ETH - 16.5%.

After the publication of the US inflation report on July 13, the price of bitcoin fell below $19,000. However, by the end of last week, the asset won back the fall and on July 17 overcame the level of $21,000.

On the same day, Ethereum quotes tested a range above $1,400 amid the upcoming blockchain migration to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm.

Previously, leading developers during the next call tentatively approved the merger of the mainnet with the Beacon Chain signaling network on September 19, 2022. The final date will largely depend on the transition to PoS of the Goerli testnet, scheduled for August 11th.

The second quarter of 2022 was the worst quarter for digital gold in 11 years, according to data from Coinglass. The asset fell by 56.2%, from $45,000 to $19,884.

According to the head of Galaxy Digital, Mike Novogratz, the recession in the cryptocurrency market will last for about 18 more months, and the industry will see the first signs of recovery after the easing of the Fed's monetary policy.

Investor Michael Burry, who predicted the 2007 mortgage crisis, predicted a continued fall in the price of bitcoin.

The majority of investors surveyed by Bloomberg considered it more likely that the first cryptocurrency would fall to $10,000 rather than rise to $30,000.




The Central Bank of the Netherlands fined Binance $3.37 million.
July 18, 2022

The Dutch Central Bank (DNB) has fined cryptocurrency exchange Binance 3.32 million euros ($3.37 million). The reason was the lack of a license to work, the regulator said in a statement.

“Companies that intend to offer cryptocurrency-related services in the Netherlands are required to register with the DNB,” the central bank said.

According to the press release, the regulator took into account Binance's global trading volumes and the number of local users. The increase in the amount of the fine from 2 million euros was influenced by a long period of work with violations in the country - from May 21, 2020 at least until December 1, 2021.

“However, DNB eased the penalty by 5% because the exchange applied for registration, and also because Binance was relatively transparent in terms of business operations throughout the process,” the representatives of the Central Bank added.

In August 2021, the regulator announced the lack of registration with the bitcoin exchange. At that time, representatives of the platform indicated that the company was in the process of applying.

Previously, the UK Financial Conduct Authority banned Binance Markets Limited from any regulated activity in the country without prior approval.

The authorities of Italy, Poland, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and a number of other countries also issued warnings to investors regarding the exchange.

In September 2021, CEO Changpeng Zhao announced the rejection of the "decentralized" business model.

In July 2022, Binance received a license as a service provider for the digital asset market in Spain. This jurisdiction became the third in the EU after France and Italy, where the exchange received approval from local regulators.

This year, the company's work was supported by the authorities of Bahrain, Dubai and the free financial zone of Abu Dhabi. Binance also announced the launch of a regulated exchange in Thailand and announced the opening of a customer service center in Turkey.

In June 2022, bitcoin exchange Coinbase required users from the Netherlands to provide extended information about transactions.




DeFi Herald: Aave Proposes New Stablecoin, TVL Continues to Fall.
The main indicators of the DeFi segment. Aave proposed to launch a decentralized stablecoin GHO. MakerDAO will distribute the reserve 500 million DAI in bonds. IOSCO will develop guidelines for cryptocurrencies and DeFi. Investments in DeFi. Hacks and scams.
July 17, 2022

The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector continues to attract increased attention from cryptocurrency investors. ForkLog collected the most important events and news of recent weeks in a digest.

The main indicators of the DeFi segment.
The volume of funds blocked (TVL) in DeFi protocols fell to $77.26 billion. MakerDAO became the leader with $7.84 billion, while AAVE ($5.65 billion) and Lido ($5.35 billion) hold the second and third lines of the rating, respectively.

TVL in Ethereum applications fell to $48.12 billion. Over the past 30 days, the indicator has decreased by 5% (on June 16, the value was $50.52 billion).

Decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume over the past 30 days was $56.7 billion.

Uniswap continues to dominate the non-custodial exchange market, accounting for 67.8% of total turnover. The second DEX in terms of trading volume is Curve (14.6%), the third is Balancer.

Aave proposed to launch a decentralized stablecoin GHO.
Aave developers proposed to the community to launch a multi-collateral stablecoin GHO, native to the DeFi protocol ecosystem, pegged to the US dollar.

“As a decentralized stablecoin on the Ethereum network, GHO will be created by users. As with all borrowings in the Aave protocol, collateral must be provided (at a certain ratio) in order to be able to mint GHO,” the team explained.

As collateral for GHO, a “diversified set of crypto assets” supported by the protocol will be used. Users will continue to receive interest on pledged tokens.

All decisions regarding the GHO, including interest rates, collateral levels, etc., will be made by the DAO, the team noted.

“If approved, the implementation of the GHO will make stablecoin borrowing in the Aave protocol more competitive, provide more opportunities for users, and generate additional revenue for the Aave DAO by channeling 100% interest payments on GHO loans to the DAO’s treasury,” the statement said.

The developers also offered to provide a discount on the issuance of a stablecoin to holders of the AAVE token in staking. In their opinion, this stimulates the growth of stkAAVE volumes, which will increase the security of the protocol.

It is assumed that the release and burning of GHO will be controlled by community-approved "assistants" (Facilitators) with an established emission limit.

MakerDAO will distribute the reserve 500 million DAI in bonds.
The MakerDAO DeFi community has voted to invest its untreasury 500 million DAI in “minimum risk bonds.”

The initiative is aimed at mitigating the effects of a bear market. MakerDAO has accumulated $4 billion in DAI on its balance sheet. Additionally, $500 million in the DAI/USDC pool can be used for these purposes.

57.67% of voters supported the idea of ​​distributing assets in the ratio of 80:20 between government and corporate bonds of investment grade.

IOSCO will develop guidelines for cryptocurrencies and DeFi.
The International Organization of Securities Commissions has committed to developing regulatory standards for digital assets by the end of 2023. The plans are contained in the organization's roadmap.

The task was entrusted to the fintech task force created in March. It is chaired by a representative of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The group will form two separate committees, which will be chaired by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the UK Financial Conduct Authority. They will present reports with recommendations on DeFi and cryptocurrencies.

Participants will focus on market integrity and investor protection issues and suggest ways to adapt existing securities regulatory frameworks to digital assets.

Investments in DeFi.
Positioning itself as a CeDeFi exchange based on BNB Chain, Unizen has agreed to raise $200 million from Global Emerging Markets (GEM) to develop the ecosystem.

GEM will provide funds in the form of "capital commitments": Unizen will receive part of the funding immediately, part after the achievement of undisclosed criteria.

The platform focuses on attracting both retail and institutional investors by searching and aggregating orders at the best prices on centralized and decentralized exchanges.

Unizen will use the funds received to expand the team and product line, as well as to accelerate the implementation of the trade aggregation system.

Backed by TV star Kevin O'Leary, DeFi platform WonderFi Technologies has acquired Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Coinberry.

The deal was valued at $30 million, according to CoinDesk.

Hacks and scams.
The attackers sent malicious tokens disguised as an airdrop from Uniswap to over 70,000 addresses. Interested users were redirected to a fraudulent site where hackers stole funds.

Initially, the head of the Binance bitcoin exchange, Changpeng Zhao, announced a potential vulnerability in the third version of Uniswap, with the help of which the attacker allegedly deduced 4295 ETH from the protocol. He later denied the information and confirmed that the project was safe.

PeckShield said there was an attack on a liquidity provider.

Uniswap creator Hayden Adams has confirmed that this is a phishing campaign. He advised not to click on links that could be malicious.

On July 3, the Crema Finance decentralized liquidity protocol team suspended the application due to a hack using instant loans on the Solend lending platform.

On July 7, the hacker returned part of the stolen funds after negotiations with the Crema Finance team. He left 45,455 SOL (about $1.6 million) for himself as a reward.

The protocol team confirmed the receipt of 6,064 ETH ($7 million) and 23,967 SOL ($879,000) from the hacker in four transactions.

The developers of the DeFi protocol Yam Finance prevented a cyber attack aimed at transferring control over the project’s reserves to an unknown third party.

According to the team, the attack, which began on July 7, was discovered two days later. The delay is due to the fact that the hacker presented a proposal to control the protocol using internal transactions.

The malicious offer contained an unverified smart contract designed to transfer control of Yam Finance's reserves to an address associated with the attacker's wallet. If the attacker had managed to gather a quorum for the proposal to be accepted by a majority of the community, he would have gained access to Yam Finance's assets worth $3.1 million.




FTX CEO and Winklevoss Brothers Support Kirsten Gillibrand's Election Campaign.
July 17, 2022

In the second quarter of 2022, New York State Senator Kirsten Gillibrand received more than $150,000 in campaign contributions from the crypto industry.

According to the Federal Election Commission, the head of the FTX bitcoin exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried, transferred $5,800, and the founders of the Gemini trading platform, the Cameron brothers and Tyler Winklevoss, each $2,900.

Gillibrand's donators also include FTX.US President Brett Harrison, Messari founder Ryan Selkis, Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla, Aptos CEO Mohammad Shaikh, and representatives from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Multicoin Capital, Meta, Uniswap, dYdX, and other companies.

Gillibrand is a co-sponsor of a bill introduced in June to regulate the crypto industry. The document introduces legal terminology for digital assets and virtual currencies, and also defines the powers of oversight agencies.

Another co-author of the bill, US Senator from Wyoming Cynthia Lummis, was supported by top managers of a16z, Kraken and other cryptocurrency companies and venture capital funds.




Judge orders ex-assistant John McAfee to pay $375,000 in ICO case.
July 16, 2022

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) won a federal lawsuit against Jimmy Gail Watson Jr., a former assistant to entrepreneur John McAfee. It is reported by The Block.

Gail Watson Jr. was the second defendant in the case, which began in October 2020 at the initiative of the SEC. The court banned him from selling or advertising digital assets, and also ordered him to pay more than $375,000.

Gail Watson Jr. helped his boss promote Twitter's initial coin offering and didn't say he was paid for it.

The SEC claimed that McAfee made more than $23.1 million advertising at least seven token sales that sold "digital securities." According to the plaintiff, the entrepreneur's statements misled investors.

In a separate complaint, the US Department of Justice accused him of tax evasion. Arrested in Spain, McAfee called the authorities' claims "bloated" and politically motivated.

In June 2021, the Spanish Supreme Court allowed McAfee's extradition to the United States. A few hours later he was found dead in a prison cell.

The entrepreneur's widow, Janice McAfee, questioned the version of his suicide and said that the court's decision was not unexpected for John. According to her, he was ready for further struggle.




CFTC Adds Six Crypto Companies to Unregistered List
July 16, 2022

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has included 34 foreign organizations in the list of unregistered ones. Six of them provide services related to cryptocurrencies.

According to the post, these are TradeFinancials, CryptoBO, Bitpay Options, CryptoSphereFX, Direct Cryptos and Prime Crypto FX. The regulator urged users to be careful, noting "a large number of complaints of fraud."

“Because they are not registered with the CFTC, customers interacting with them may not be subject to protections and guarantees,” the Commission said.

They added that working with such organizations threatens "significant risks." In general, the so-called "red list" has increased to 202 firms.

In November 2020, the Texas regulator issued three emergency orders to terminate the activities of 14 cryptocurrency companies suspected of fraud.

In March 2021, state officials filed claims against three unregistered projects. One of them worked under the brand of the Binance bitcoin exchange.

In October of the same year, the New Jersey Securities Bureau issued a suspension order to the management of five crypto companies due to suspicions of fraud.

In April 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission expanded the list of "misleading" entities associated with digital assets.




Celsius reports $1.2 billion hole in balance sheet.
July 15, 2022

Crypto lending platform Celsius Network has reported that its liabilities exceed its balance sheet assets by nearly $1.2 billion.

According to new documents, as of July 13, the company owned $4.3 billion in assets. Its liabilities to customers and creditors amounted to $5.5 billion.

Celsius indicated that its holdings in CEL tokens are about $600 million. However, in the same documents, the company noted that as of July 12, the total market capitalization of the coin was approximately $170.3 million.

Mashinsky attributed the company's problems to a combination of bad investments, market conditions, and an inability to manage the site's rapid growth. As a result, Celsius was "left with a disproportionate liability".

The company said it had repaid "nearly all" of its DeFi and FTX loans as of the date of the petition. According to the data provided, the platform has one loan for $3.2 million with a security of $6.6 million.

In addition, Celsius talked about making two $75 million loans to hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. As a result, Three Arrows Capital owed Celsius $40.6 million. In early July, the hedge fund filed for bankruptcy.

It also follows from the documents that the company's largest unsecured creditor is Pharos USD Fund SP, registered in the Cayman Islands.

Bloomberg found out that Pharos USD Fund SP is affiliated with Lantern Ventures. The latter is associated with Sam Bankman-Freed's venture capital firm Alameda Research.

The latter also appears in the Celsius CEO documentation — the crypto lending platform owed her nearly $12.8 million.

In June, Bankman-Fried said that Alameda Research was making efforts to mitigate negative phenomena in the cryptocurrency market due to Celsius problems.

Media reported that the FTX exchange, which is also founded by Bankman-Fried, considered the possibility of helping Celsius, including the takeover of the platform, but abandoned the deal after studying the company's finances. According to sources, FTX found a hole in Celsius's balance sheet for about $2 billion.

On June 13, the platform suspended withdrawals, exchanges, and transfers between accounts. A month later, on July 14, Celsius Network and some of its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy.

Prior to this, the platform fully repaid the loan in the MakerDAO DeFi protocol and withdrew a total of 23,962 WBTC of collateral. Just hours after paying off this debt, Celsius transferred 24,463 WBTC to an FTX address.

On July 13, Celsius repaid the last major DeFi loan in the Compound protocol and withdrew just under $200 million in WBTC, and the day before, the loan in the Aave protocol, freeing up more than 400,000 stETH collateral.




The UN recommended that developing countries limit the advertising of cryptocurrencies.
July 15, 2022

UNCTAD, which is part of the UN, published a report on digital assets in which it called on the authorities of countries with developing economies to limit / ban their advertising.

The document was titled: “Not all that glitters is gold: the high price of unregulated cryptocurrencies.”

Analysts drew attention to the risks of losing the monetary sovereignty of states, the reduction of policy space and the vulnerability of macroeconomic stability due to the popularization of digital assets.

The authors of the report emphasized that it is not technical, but political in nature and serves to study risks, costs, motivations and the current regulatory field from this point of view.

In addition to the ban on advertising of cryptocurrencies, experts proposed introducing mandatory registration of digital wallets for users, regulating the DeFi sector and licensing the activities of crypto exchanges.

To reduce the attractiveness of such transactions, UNCTAD recommended introducing new or increasing existing trading fees, and prohibiting banks from holding or offering digital assets.

The central banks of the countries were offered to issue CBDCs and study the introduction of a system of fast payments for the population.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change under the auspices of the UN has mentioned cryptocurrencies as one of the risk factors for the environment.

Earlier, the organization's specialists said that attacks on bitcoin exchanges serve as a source of funds for the development of the DPRK's nuclear programs.




Top managers of a16z and Kraken supported the election campaign of Cynthia Lummis.
July 15, 2022

In the second quarter of 2022, the leaders of cryptocurrency companies and venture capital funds actively made donations to the election campaign of U.S. Senator from Wyoming Cynthia Lummis. This is evidenced by data from the Federal Election Commission.

According to the report, the senator raised over $116,000 over the period. At the end of June 2022, she had more than $243,000 in her campaign treasury. The funds will go to fund the 2026 campaign.

Lummis' donors include representatives of Multicoin Capital, Andreessen Horowitz founder Ben Horowitz and venture fund partner Chris Dixon, Aptos co-founder Mohammad Shaikh, Kraken general counsel Marco Santori, and a number of other industry stakeholders.

Lummis is a co-sponsor of a bill to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, which was introduced in June 2022. The document introduces legal terminology for digital assets and virtual currencies, and also defines the powers of oversight agencies.

The current version of the legal act does not include provisions on NFTs. Lammis attributed this to the difficulty of classifying non-fungible tokens.

Earlier, the senator called it a “good idea” for the Fed to buy bitcoin. According to her, the Fed could use part of its foreign exchange reserves to buy digital gold.

Lummis herself first invested in bitcoin in 2013. In August 2021, she increased her investment in the asset.

In 2021, crypto companies spent about $5 million lobbying the US Senate, according to The Economist.




Twitter sues Elon Musk over termination of social network purchase deal.
July 13, 2022

Twitter has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk over his refusal to buy the social network for $44 billion.

The platform intends to force the head of Tesla to fulfill obligations and complete the purchase. The document says that the entrepreneur “made a show” and behaved in bad faith:
“Musk appears to think he […] could change his mind, disrupt the company, destroy shareholder value, and leave.”

Before the lawsuit was officially filed, Twitter's lawyers called the termination of the deal illegal.

The social network filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery and asked for an expedited review of the case.

In April, Elon Musk acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter, and later offered to buy the company for $54.2 per share. The management of the social network agreed to the terms.

The entrepreneur explained the initiative with the desire to create an "inclusive arena for freedom of speech."

However, in May, Musk put the purchase on hold after reports of inflated social media audience numbers. After that, Twitter shareholders sued because of the "chaotic process" of the takeover of the company, accusing the head of Tesla of manipulating the market.

In July, Musk announced the termination of the agreement to acquire the social network.




US Treasury Requests Comments on Cryptocurrency Policy.
July 13, 2022

The US Treasury has asked the public for comments on the potential benefits and risks associated with digital assets.

The request itself was published on July 8 in accordance with the decree of the country's President Joe Biden. According to the latter, the Ministry of Finance should study the impact of cryptocurrencies on the financial system, economic growth and national security.

“For consumers, digital assets may present potential benefits, such as faster payments, as well as possible risks, including those associated with fraud,” said Nelli Liang, deputy head of the domestic finance department.

The authors of the document indicated that the main goals of US digital asset policy are:

protection of consumers, investors and businesses in the country;
protecting the United States and global financial stability, as well as reducing systemic risks;
reduction of national security risks associated with the illegal use of cryptocurrencies;
support for technological advances and more.

“The rise in the use of digital assets and differences between communities may also pose a disparate financial risk to less informed market participants or exacerbate inequalities,” the document says.

The Ministry of Finance invited members of the public to answer a number of questions. In particular, to indicate the reasons for the popularity of cryptocurrencies, to name the advantages of decentralized systems and to assess potential risks, including the loss of private keys and the “authenticity of digital assets”.

The Office will complete the collection of comments on August 8, 2022.

Earlier, Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard called for tighter regulation of the industry. At the same time, she did not see threats to financial stability due to the small size of the market and the weak relationship with the classical economic system.

In June 2022, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed is keeping a close eye on cryptocurrencies. In his opinion, the industry does not yet have a significant impact on the macroeconomics.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson at a hearing in the US Congress proposed to regulate cryptocurrencies in the form of a public-private partnership, similar to the Internet.




STEPN posts $122 million quarterly profit.
July 13, 2022

In the second quarter of 2022, STEPN's M2E platform generated $122.5 million in revenue from app usage fees.

The team will send 5% of the profits to the program of buying back and burning GMT tokens. The developers have also identified a number of areas in which the funds earned will help make improvements:

strengthening security and expanding server bandwidth to combat the increasing frequency of DDoS attacks;
improvement of the SMAC fraud protection system;
hiring new specialists in the fields of technical development, engineering, marketing, public relations, distribution and legal services;
new partnerships and sponsorships for key sports and entertainment events;
STEPN branding to create a line of physical products under the brand name of the project to increase awareness.

In June, STEPN stopped serving users from mainland China.




Yam Finance repelled $3.1 million hacker attack.
July 12, 2022

The developers of the DeFi protocol Yam Finance prevented a cyber attack aimed at transferring control over the project’s reserves to an unknown third party.

According to the team, the attack, which began on June 7, was discovered two days later. The delay is due to the fact that the hacker presented a proposal to control the protocol using internal transactions.

The malicious offer contained an unverified smart contract designed to transfer control of Yam Finance's reserves to an address associated with the attacker's wallet. If the attacker had managed to gather a quorum for the proposal to be accepted by a majority of the community, he would have gained access to Yam Finance's assets worth $3.1 million.

The protocol team faced a similar attack in December 2021.

The incident comes amid a struggle to manage the Yam Finance ecosystem associated with the project's vault. The current model was approved by more than 54%, but now some members of the community have put forward a proposal to re-vote.

Yam Finance emerged during the early DeFi boom in the summer of 2020. Two days after the start of the project, the price of the native token collapsed by 99% per day. The reason was a discovered vulnerability in the protocol management system.

In March, the Ronin sidechain involved in Axie Infinity was hacked. The attackers withdrew crypto assets worth about $625 million. The hack was the largest in the history of the DeFi segment.

Later, experts found that spyware was used in the attack on Ronin.




Poll: Bitcoin would rather fall to $10,000 than return to $30,000.
July 12, 2022

60% of investors surveyed by Bloomberg believe that a decline in the price of bitcoin to $10,000 is more likely. A recovery to $30,000 is the base case for the remaining 40%.

The study involved 950 respondents.

Compared to institutional investors, there were more skeptics among retail investors. Almost one in four called the first cryptocurrency “garbage” (18% among professional market participants).

The same ratio was not in favor of digital gold in the options “open-minded, but skeptical” and “skeptical, but participating in one form or another” - 27% vs. 32% and 22% vs. 23%, respectively.

Respondents expressed confidence that recent developments in the crypto market will prompt regulators to tighten their oversight of the industry. This can increase trust and lead to further popularization of digital assets.

Most of the respondents expressed confidence in the strong positions of Bitcoin and Ethereum in the next five years, despite the active preparation of the central banks to launch the CBDC.

Only 9% of study participants consider NFTs as an investment opportunity. For the rest, non-fungible tokens are art projects and status symbols, to which the former hype will no longer return.

The head of Galaxy Digital, Mike Novogratz, doubted the price reduction of the first cryptocurrency to $13,000.

Earlier, the head of the management company Rockefeller International, Ruchir Sharma, noted that bitcoin needs to get rid of excess leverage in order to become sustainable again.




ING sells digital asset custodial platform.
July 12, 2022

ING Bank announced that it has transferred its digital asset storage solution Pyctor to market infrastructure provider GMEX Group.

“Pyctor's digital post-trading infrastructure technology is designed for firms operating in regulated environments. It provides highly secure storage and transactional network services for a wide range of digital assets, as well as interoperability between public and exclusive blockchains.

Pyctor was developed by the ING Neo Innovation Lab in collaboration with major financial institutions.

Once acquired, the custodial platform will become a service offering under GMEX. Hirander Misra has been appointed Chairman of Pyctor.

The bank will continue to interact with the platform through its group of digital assets.

“Pyctor has been another innovation success story at ING Neo. The lab incubated the project using the bank’s experience, deep knowledge of digital assets, and continuous feedback from regulators and network participants,” said Oliver Guillaumont, head of innovation and fintech at ING.

In GMEX, the bank found "the right partner to take Pyctor to the next level," he said.

“With the acquisition, GMEX Group strengthens its position as the first platform to offer a comprehensive multi-asset and sector hybrid finance (HyFi) solution that bridges the gap between TradFi and DeFi across jurisdictions,” Misra said.

In June, the financial conglomerate Citigroup, which participated in the development of Pyctor, announced the launch of its own custody platform for digital assets.




Mike Novogratz doubts the collapse of Bitcoin to $13,000.
July 11, 2022

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said in an interview with CNBC that he does not believe in the possibility of reducing the price of the first cryptocurrency to $13,000.

"Can we fall lower? Of course. There is a feeling that we have overcome this deleveraging by 90%. […] The problem is that further growth requires more faith and new capital,” he said.

According to Novogratz, centralized companies in the cryptocurrency market had too many positions with leverage. This led to the bankruptcy of some of them.

He also predicted a sideways trend in the digital asset industry until the Fed stops raising the base rate.

Earlier, Tron founder Justin Sun said that the current deleveraging process has “passed the worst period.”

In June, Novogratz predicted a continuation of the recession in the cryptocurrency market for 18 months. In his opinion, the industry will see the first signs of recovery after the easing of the Fed's monetary policy.

That same month, American rapper Snoop Dogg stated that the current crisis would benefit the digital asset market and weed out those who have "abused opportunities."

Rockefeller International CEO Ruchir Sharma noted that bitcoin needs to get rid of excess leverage in order to become sustainable again.




Crypto exchange OKX will sponsor Manchester City in the new season.
July 11, 2022

Bitcoin exchange OKX has announced a sponsorship agreement with English Premier League (EPL) football club Manchester City for the 2022-2023 season.

According to a press release, the deal includes the OKX logo on the training uniforms and equipment of the club's men's and women's squads.

As part of the collaboration, street artist Akse P19 and Global Street Art will create four works of the team's popular football players and place them throughout Manchester.

Club fans who find the images will be able to scan the QR codes for a chance to win a membership to the OKX Hospitality Box.

Manchester City is the owner of six English Premier League cups and six FA Cups. In the new season, the Norwegian striker Erling Haaland will strengthen the team.

At the end of 2021, Manchester City abandoned the announced cooperation with the 3Key crypto project, as the public had a number of questions to the prospective partner.

In February 2022, Manchester United Football Club entered into a multi-year sponsorship deal with blockchain platform Tezos.

In May, the Chelsea Premier League team agreed to partner with WhaleFin, a cryptocurrency trading and lending platform.




Terra ecosystem projects started migrating to the Polygon network.
July 11, 2022

More than 48 projects from the collapsed Terra ecosystem have begun migrating to the second-tier Ethereum network Polygon (MATIC). This was announced by CEO Polygon Studios Ryan Wyatt.

Among the most notable projects, he named the P2E game Derby Stars and the OnePlanet NFT marketplace.

The latter's team launched the Ark*One initiative to help applications move from the failed Terra network to Polygon.

Wyatt-led company provided financial support to migrants. Assistance in moving Terra projects with "capital and resources" at Polygon Studios was promised in May.

On June 15th, OnePlanet ended accepting applications for participation in Ark*One. The initiative is aimed at projects in the field of NFT. According to the marketplace, 48 applications have decided to move, covering 90 collections of tokens.

“This represents the majority of Terra projects, including those not launched on OnePlanet before the catastrophic decoupling [UST from the dollar],” the platform developers emphasized.

They added that they will continue to provide technical assistance to teams in migrating to Polygon outside of the initiative.

The OnePlanet team expects to launch the marketplace in the new network in mid-August.

At the end of May, the main network of the Terra 2.0 project was launched.




3AC lenders point to lack of dialogue with hedge fund founders.
July 11, 2022

The assets of Three Arrows Capital (3AC) may "transfer or otherwise dispose" of the company prior to liquidation. Similar concerns were expressed by representatives of creditors, writes CoinDesk.

Su Zhu and Kyle Davis contacted the plaintiffs' lawyers via Zoom without video, but only their lawyers answered questions addressed to them. The whereabouts of the founders are currently unknown. The Singapore office of Three Arrows Capital is not operational, the document says.

To date, the tokens belonging to 3AC from the Starry Night NFT collection have been transferred to a new address.

Lenders are seeking to seize hedge fund assets after providing a list from the founders. It may include wallets, bank accounts, cryptocurrencies, derivatives contracts, securities, receivables. For this, the plaintiffs demanded that the founders be summoned to court.

The first hearing is scheduled for July 12.

Earlier it became known that 3AC continues to actively trade through an offshore trading service.

In June, against the background of the collapse of the cryptocurrency market, there were rumors about the insolvency of Three Arrows Capital. Trading company 8 Blocks Capital accused the hedge fund of using client funds to cover margin calls.

Crypto broker Voyager Digital sent 3AC a notice of default due to non-payment of a loan.

The Court of the British Virgin Islands ordered the liquidation of the hedge fund, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore issued a reprimand to 3AC for providing false information and exceeding the allowed threshold of assets under management.

In early July, Three Arrows Capital filed for bankruptcy in a New York court.




The expert recommended waiting for the wave of deleveraging to restore bitcoin.
July 11, 2022

Bitcoin needs to get rid of excess leverage in order to become sustainable again. Ruchir Sharma, CEO of the management company Rockefeller International, stated this in an interview with CoinDesk.

Former top manager of Morgan Stanley and New York Times columnist compared the first cryptocurrency with Amazon. In the early 2000s, the dot-com crash caused the e-commerce giant's stock to drop ~90%, but over the next 20 years, its value increased more than 300 times.

“Digital gold is basically a good idea that has been spoiled by too much cheap money and speculative interest,” Sharma said.

According to the specialist, bitcoin is still engulfed in “speculative mania”. Over the next six months, against the backdrop of a decline in the stock market, the negative revaluation may continue, but in the future it will return to its highs.

The expert recalled that on average, Wall Street bear markets last about a year, during which the drawdown reaches 35%. To date, the time criterion has not been met, the rollback from ATH was 20%.

“I am not yet ready to say that we have hit the bottom for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The negative dynamics in the US, a benchmark for risk appetite around the world, is still relevant,” he explained.

Sharma allowed the scenario of replacing the US dollar with bitcoin as a world reserve currency in three to five years if the volatility of the latter decreases.

A Bloomberg strategist predicted that bitcoin would bottom out and recover in the next six months.




Hacker withdrew about $1.5 million from the Omni protocol.
July 11, 2022

An unknown person stole over 1300 ETH (~$1.48 million) worth of assets from the Omni lending protocol using a reentry attack.

The platform provides an opportunity to borrow funds secured by NFTs. The hacker used tokens from the Doodles collection for the attack.

The attacker used the secured loan in cryptocurrency to buy more NFTs. He withdrew the latter without returning the borrowed funds, thanks to vulnerability.

The hacker sent the stolen assets to the Tornado Cash mixing service.

The Omni team said that the protocol is in beta testing, so user funds were not affected by the incident.

“We have suspended the OMNI protocol until we complete the investigation and check everything again with the help of external security and audit firms,” the developers said.

In the first half of 2022, hackers targeting the crypto industry stole $1.97 billion as a result of attacks on 175 projects.




Celsius changes lawyers to advise on restructuring.
July 11, 2022

Landing platform Celsius has hired new lawyers to advise on possible restructuring options, according to The Wall Street Journal.

According to media reports, the site is now cooperating with Kirkland & Ellis LLP. The firm's lawyers will advise Celsius on a variety of issues, including filing for bankruptcy, the sources said.

The platform previously discussed the restructuring with specialists from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, media reported. At the same time, journalists emphasized that the initial goal was to attract capital from investors.

Later it was reported that Celsius hired financial conglomerate Citigroup to find a solution to the problems that arose after the freezing of clients' assets.

The platform's existing investors presumably agree to the restructuring, but will refrain from new investments in the project.

As a reminder, on June 13, Celsius suspended withdrawals, exchanges and transfers between accounts.

Lawyer Adam Levitin called the company's bankruptcy almost inevitable. In his opinion, the leadership of Celsius decided to bet on the "adventure with the resurrection."

On July 7, Celsius fully repaid the loan in the MakerDAO DeFi protocol and withdrew a total of 23,962 WBTC of collateral in the amount of ~$490 million. Just a few hours after that, the platform transferred 24,463 WBTC to the address of the FTX crypto exchange.




Results of the week: bitcoin consolidated above $20,000, and Voyager filed for bankruptcy.
July 11, 2022

Quotes of the first cryptocurrency returned to levels above $20,000, broker Voyager Digital filed a bankruptcy petition with the New York court, Celsius repaid the loan in the MakerDAO protocol and other events of the outgoing week.

The price of bitcoin has returned to above $20,000.
On Tuesday, July 5, the first cryptocurrency consolidated above the $20,000 level and reached $22,500 on Friday. By the end of the week, the quotes corrected — at the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading near $20,800.

Glassnode analysts stated that the record decline in the price of bitcoin in June practically took the rest of the “market tourists” out of the game, leaving only hodlers “at the front”. Cumberland believes that the recovery of the market will determine the speed of liquidation of assets by troubled firms in favor of more successful players in the industry.

Bloomberg Intelligence commodities strategist Mike McGlone predicted a rise in bitcoin over the next six months. According to his observations, bitcoin shows the same behavior as at the end of the bear market in 2018.

Almost all digital assets from the top 10 by capitalization closed the week in the green zone. The exception is Dogecoin. Solana (+9.8%) and Ethereum (+8.6%) showed the best dynamics.

The total capitalization of the cryptocurrency market amounted to $966 billion. The Bitcoin dominance index rose to 41.2%.

Voyager Digital has filed for bankruptcy.
On Tuesday, July 5, cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy in a New York court. The company's estimated liabilities range from $1 billion to $10 billion with about 100,000 customers.

Alameda Research, associated with Sam Bankman-Freed, was the second largest borrower ($376.8 million) from Voyager Digital after Three Arrows Capital, according to the bankruptcy filing of a crypto broker associated with Sam Bankman-Freed.

Previously, the company provided a broker with a loan of 200 million USDC and opened a revolving line of credit for 15,000 BTC. The head of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, criticized the deal and said that he “would never go for such an agreement.”

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation became interested in the activities of Voyager Digital. According to the agency, the broker deceived users, stating that their assets are protected by the department's program.

Celsius repaid its MakerDAO loan and cashed out 23,962 WBTC of collateral.
This week, the landing platform Celsius actively repaid the loan in the MakerDAO protocol. On July 7, Celsius paid the full amount and withdrew 23,962 WBTC of collateral (~$500 million). A few hours later, 24,463 WBTC were transferred to the address of the FTX crypto exchange. Despite the fears of experts about a possible sale "on the market", bitcoin, on the contrary, grew during this period.

Former Celsius contractor KeyFi Inc. — filed a lawsuit against the landing platform, accusing it of refusing to fulfill contractual obligations. The founder of the company, Jason Stone, stressed that the defendant owes his organization "a significant amount of money."

According to an Arkham analyst report, Celsius placed approximately $534 million in client funds under “high-risk, leveraged crypto trading strategies” through KeyFi. On these investments, the platform lost $390 million.

The media also reported on cuts in Celsius. Similar plans have been announced by Ignite and Bullish. The mining company Compass Mining will cut staff by 15% and reduce the salaries of management.

BitMEX will limit the accounts of Russian residents trading on the exchange from the EU.
The BitMEX crypto derivatives exchange has introduced a number of restrictions for Russian residents using the services of the platform from the EU. Changes to the policy were made in connection with the sanctions of the European Union.

The restrictions will affect Russian residents, including individuals “trading on behalf of any legal entity accessing the services of the exchange from the EU”, as well as companies located or established in the Russian Federation, whose traders use the exchange from the EU.

Peter Thiel-backed crypto lending platform Vauld has suspended operations. The media reported on its takeover by a competitor.
Following Voyager and Celsius, operations for trading, withdrawal and deposit of customer funds were suspended by the Vauld crypto lending platform from Singapore. Management is considering a restructuring option. It explained its decision by financial difficulties due to unfavorable market conditions, the impact of counterparty problems and an outflow of liquidity.

The media reported that its rival Nexo is going to acquire Vauld, and the parties have allegedly already signed a preliminary agreement on the deal.

Cardano developers have activated the Vasil hard fork on the testnet.
On July 3, the specialists behind the development of Cardano, Input Output Global (IOG), hard forked Vasil on the testnet. App developers, staking pool operators (SPOs), exchanges, and other ecosystem participants have four weeks to “finally test and integrate” the update before launching on the mainnet.

CEO Circle has revealed the details of USDC collateral.
Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, presented the details of the operation of the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) amid the collapse of the Terra UST ecosystem.

USDC reserves are held in leading US financial institutions such as BlackRock and Bank of New York. Of the $50.6 billion in collateral (as of May 13), $39 billion (71.1%) was treasury bills maturing no later than three months, and $11.6 billion was cash.

Aave proposed to launch a decentralized stablecoin GHO.
The developers of Aave offered the community to launch a multi-collateral stablecoin GHO, native to the DeFi protocol ecosystem, pegged to the US dollar.

As collateral for GHO, a “diversified set of crypto assets” supported by the protocol will be used. Users will continue to receive interest on pledged tokens.

The trustee of Mt.Gox has begun preparations for the reimbursement of funds to creditors.
Mt.Gox trustee Nobuyaki Kobayashi announced the preparation of payments to the platform's creditors. The latter are asked to indicate how exactly they want to receive the funds - in an early single payment or in several, and can also choose to redeem part of the assets in bitcoin or bitcoin cash.

In the US, a class action lawsuit was filed against Solana.
California investor Mark Young accused key players in the Solana ecosystem of illegally profiting from the native SOL token — Solana Labs, the Solana Foundation, Anatoly Yakovenko, venture capital firm Multicoin Capital, its partner Kyle Samani, and the FalconX OTC division. According to the lawsuit, the coin is an unregistered security.

Bitmain announced the start of sales of the Ethereum miner Antminer E9.
Bitmain announced the start of sales of the Antminer E9 ASIC miner, created to mine the second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization. Characteristics of the new device:

hashrate - 2400 MH / s, which is equivalent to 25 RTX 3080 video cards;
power consumption - 1920 W;
energy efficiency - 0.8 J / M.

Core Scientific sold most of its Bitcoin reserves in June.
American blockchain hosting provider Core Scientific sold 7,202 BTC in June for $167 million at an average price of $23,000 per bitcoin. The company has 1959 BTC and about $132 million in cash on its balance sheet.

Justin Sun will spend up to $5 billion to save crypto companies.
Tron founder Justin Sun announced his readiness to allocate up to $ 5 billion to save cryptocurrency companies in a crisis in the digital asset market. He noted that some players have already approached him with relevant applications.

Sun revealed that Tron has engaged an investment bank to advise on potential deals. He declined to clarify the name of the financial institution due to a non-disclosure agreement.

The $5 billion will include both Sun's personal funds and Tron's assets. He also noted the interest in platforms with large audiences.




The Fed urged to tighten regulation of the cryptocurrency industry.
July 11, 2022

The crypto industry is in need of tighter regulation as the collapse of the digital asset market was evidence of “serious vulnerabilities” in the industry. This was stated by Fed Vice Chairman Lael Brainard at a conference of the Bank of England, according to the Financial Times.

In her opinion, due to the relatively small size of the market and the weak relationship with the classical economic system, cryptocurrencies do not yet threaten financial stability. At the same time, regulators need to provide a regulatory framework to protect investors, Brainard added.

“Despite the fact that the crypto-financial system is opposed to the classical one, it turned out to be subject to the same risks that we are familiar with in traditional finance […]. As we work to ensure financial stability, it is important that the regulatory perimeter covers cryptocurrencies,” she said.

Brainard doubted that Bitcoin is a hedge against inflation. The vice chair noted that cryptocurrencies are highly correlated with high-risk assets.

The official also said that regulators should pay special attention to stablecoins. According to her, the collapse of the Terra ecosystem is reminiscent of a classic example of banking panic.

She stressed that stablecoins are extremely vulnerable to this kind of crisis. As an example, Brainard cited the May outflow of funds from USDT from Tether.

In June 2022, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that amid market volatility, the agency is closely monitoring cryptocurrencies. He noted that the industry does not yet have a significant impact on the macroeconomics.

In May, Fed Vice Chairman candidate Michael Barr called for the development of a regulatory framework to regulate stablecoins.




Michael Saylor: Ethereum is a security.
July 10, 2022

Ethereum should be classified as a security since the asset was originally distributed to investors as part of an ICO. This was stated by the head of MicroStrategy Michael Saylor in an interview with Altcoin Daily.

“Ethereum is a security, I think this is quite obvious. […] The asset was released during the ICO, there is a team of managers, it was pre-mined. There are hard forks, hard forks on an ongoing basis, there is a difficulty bomb, the activation of which is delayed,” he said.

Sailor explained that periodic updates to the software of the Ethereum network, behind which the development team is behind, indicate that the asset is a security.

In his opinion, for a cryptocurrency to be considered a commodity, it should not have an issuer or someone who would “make decisions”. He emphasized that such digital assets are based on "completely decentralized protocols." The head of MicroStrategy cited bitcoin as an example.

“If you want to position a product as a commodity, you are trying to create something that looks like gold in the digital space,” he said.

Sailor also stated that the tokens of all Proof-of-Stake networks are securities. According to him, investing in these assets is “extremely risky” due to potential problems with regulators. He added that this is one of the key reasons why MicroStrategy only invests in Bitcoin.

The company previously purchased an additional 480 BTC at an average price of around $20,817. The organization holds 129,699 BTC (~$2.76 billion at the time of writing) on ​​its balance sheet, spending $3.98 billion to purchase them.

Saylor said in June that MicroStrategy has no intention of selling the cryptocurrency even under adverse market conditions.




CoinFLEX announces plans to recover $84 million from Roger Ver.
July 10, 2022

Cryptocurrency derivatives platform CoinFLEX has filed with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (HKIAC) to recover $84 million in debt from Roger Ver after forcibly liquidating his position.

At the end of June, the platform suspended withdrawals due to "extreme market conditions" and "counterparty uncertainty". Later, the head of the company, Mark Lamb, said that this counterparty is the founder of Bitcoin.com, Roger Ver.

"Bitcoin-Jesus" allegedly received a loan from CoinFLEX on unique terms. There is no liquidation price for his position - in return, he provided liquidity to the platform. Ver himself denied involvement in the debt.

The company noted that the initial damage estimate for liquidating Ver’s position was incorrect because it did not take into account his “significant” collateral in FLEX tokens.

The CoinFLEX team intends to recover $84 million through HKIAC. The company emphasized that lawyers have positively assessed the likelihood of success in this trial.

“The arbitration process is a long process. We estimate that it will take about 12 months before a court decision is received in Hong Kong. After that, we will be able to foreclose on his assets around the world,” the statement said.

CoinFLEX said that the company expects to raise funds from investors. The platform will also offer large clients to "turn part of the deposit into equity."

Earlier, the company announced the launch of the Recovery Value USD (rvUSD) token. With the help of the corresponding token sale, the platform expected to pay off Vera's debt and resume the withdrawal of funds.

According to the publication, rvUSD is used "to increase liquidity in the original or modified format."

In July, CoinFLEX delayed resuming the withdrawal of funds, citing protracted negotiations with investors.




Justin Sun will spend up to $5 billion to rescue crypto companies.
July 9, 2022

Tron founder Justin Sun announced his readiness to allocate up to $ 5 billion to save cryptocurrency companies in a crisis in the digital asset market. It is reported by The Block.

According to Sun, many companies have already asked for help after his related tweet.

Sun said Tron had engaged an investment bank to advise on potential deals. He declined to clarify the name of the financial institution due to a non-disclosure agreement.

The $5 billion will include both Sun's personal funds and Tron's assets. He also noted the interest in platforms with large audiences.

“I think the current de-leveraging process has gone through its worst period. So we just need to clean up and move on. Of course, I don't think the market will be super bullish," Sun added.

In May, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried promised to spend "billions" to buy stakes in other companies.

In June, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao called the crypto winter the right time to further develop the business through various acquisitions. In July, he spoke about "rescue talks" with more than 50 companies.




Elon Musk announces termination of deal to buy Twitter.
July 9, 2022

Elon Musk announced the termination of the agreement to acquire the social network Twitter for $44 billion due to the violation of the terms of the deal by the company. It is reported by Reuters.

The reason for this decision was accusations of hiding data about fake accounts and overestimating the indicators of the platform's audience.

Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor said he was ready to go to court to "close the deal at the price and terms agreed with Musk."

Twitter shares have fallen 28% since Musk announced his purchase of the social network in late April. The deal was expected to close by the end of 2022.

Musk planned to create "an inclusive arena for free speech." The decision was supported by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

At the end of May, Twitter shareholders sued Musk and the social network itself because of the "chaotic process" of the company's takeover. The head of Tesla was accused of manipulating the market.

In June, Twitter's board of directors unanimously recommended that shareholders approve Musk's $44 billion purchase of the social network, although back in April it was strongly opposed and even implemented a takeover protection plan.




The trader spoke about the prospects for the movement of the price of bitcoin after the test of the $22,000 mark.
July 9, 2022

Vadim Shovkun, a practicing trader and founder of the Crypto Shaman project, talks about the current situation on the market.

After long weeks of the bear market, Bitcoin finally showed quite good growth on the daily and even weekly timeframes. Should we take this as the beginning of a reversal?

In the previous review, the growth scenario was described as the most likely. It was also said that a lot of liquidations are concentrated around the $21,500 mark. Thanks to them, the price soared so impulsively to $22,500.

While the absorption of this pulse is observed. Thus, after a growth of 15%, a "respite" in the form of a flat is needed. The price is now in the strong resistance zone of $21,800-$22,000.

The negative factor is that against the background of such a powerful upward impulse, no anomalous volume was observed. Accordingly, there is no truly aggressive buyer. It is possible that the price was thrown up just to knock out a large amount of accumulated short positions.

For now, the logical continuation of the movement will be a small rollback - approximately to the middle of the growth trajectory, to the ascending white line.

The second quarter of 2022 was the worst for Bitcoin in 11 years.




The United States called on Japan to stop cryptocurrency operations in Russia.
July 8, 2022

US diplomats urged Japan to increase pressure on the country's cryptocurrency exchanges and miners to force them to sever ties with Russia. It is reported by the Financial Times.

According to people familiar with the matter, the US has addressed a request to several of Japan's 31 officially licensed crypto exchanges that are still operating in Russia. The diplomats also asked Tokyo to take measures to stop mining operations in the Irkutsk region.

In response to a request, representatives of the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan again demanded that local exchanges cut off all remaining contacts with Russia.

The US State Department said Washington and its allies are "united in our determination to hold Russia accountable" for the war against Ukraine.

"We will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of current measures and stand ready to take further steps," a State Department spokesman said.

Many of the trading platforms surveyed by the FT stated that they currently do not operate in the Russian Federation. In particular, after the request of the FSA, the Decurret bitcoin exchange stopped its work. A top manager at an unnamed exchange spoke to the media about at least one mining company that cut ties with Russia in June following a US request.

However, some cryptocurrency projects have created a complex network of subsidiaries in order to continue to operate in the Russian Federation.

The former head of one exchange, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Japanese cryptocurrency platforms have recently been under increased pressure in order to force them to stop mining and back-office operations in Russia.

At the same time, he knows at least one exchange that decided to keep its business there by creating a fictitious company in Singapore and directing payments through it.

Japan has joined a host of countries in imposing sanctions on Russia in response to its military invasion of Ukraine. In general, restrictions apply to approximately 550 people and 40 organizations from the Russian Federation.

In March, the country began to study ways to block cryptocurrency transactions of sanctioned entities from Russia.

At the same time, the Japanese authorities announced plans to revise currency legislation in order to prevent Russia from evading sanctions through digital assets.

In April, Japan's lower house of parliament approved amendments to legislation that would tighten economic sanctions against Russia.




Voyager Digital попал под прицел FDIC.
July 8, 2022

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is looking into the activities of Voyager Digital. According to the agency, the cryptocurrency broker deceived users, stating that their assets are protected by the agency’s program, Bloomberg reports.

On July 5, Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy in a New York court. The company's estimated liabilities range from $1 billion to $10 billion with about 100,000 customers.

A similar petition under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code was filed by subsidiaries - Voyager Digital Holdings Inc and Voyager Digital LLC. The company expects that the financial restructuring process will "maximize value for all stakeholders."

Voyager has approximately $1.3 billion on the platform, more than $350 million in an account with Metropolitan Commercial Bank, and over $650 million in claims against Three Arrows Capital. In addition, the company “has ~$110 million in cash and its own cryptocurrency assets.”

The broker said that the assets of its clients fall under the FDIC deposit insurance program through cooperation with the Metropolitan Commercial Bank.

“This means that in the rare event that our dollar reserves are compromised, you are guaranteed a full refund (up to $250,000), so cash in Voyager accounts is protected,” the company said in a Dec. 18, 2019 publication.

However, this is an amended statement. According to the Wayback Machine, the original wording read as follows: 
“[…]on the rare occasion that our dollar reserves are compromised due to a mistake by the company or our banking partner […].”

The Metropolitan Commercial Bank website says the bank maintains an "omnibus account dedicated to Voyager customers." The assets in this account are insured by the FDIC, but coverage is available “solely for bankruptcy protection” of the lending institution: “FDIC insurance does not protect against the collapse of Voyager, the actions or omissions of the company or its employees, or losses associated with the decline in quotes of cryptocurrencies or other assets ".

Speaking to Bloomberg, an FDIC spokesman emphasized that Metropolitan Commercial Bank is insured by the agency, but Voyager Digital is not. According to him, the department's program does not protect the broker's clients from default, bankruptcy or blocking of funds.

Earlier, Alameda Research provided a cryptocurrency broker with a USDC 200 million loan and a 15,000 BTC revolving line of credit.

The head of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, criticized the deal and said that he “would never go for such an agreement.”




Aave proposes to launch a decentralized stablecoin GHO.
July 8, 2022

Aave developers proposed to the community to launch a multi-collateral stablecoin GHO, native to the DeFi protocol ecosystem, pegged to the US dollar.

“How a decentralized stablecoin on the Ethereum GHO network will be created by users. As with all borrowings in the Aave protocol, collateral must be provided (at a certain ratio) in order to be able to mint GHO,” the team explained.

As collateral for GHO, a “diversified set of crypto assets” supported by the protocol will be used. Users will continue to receive interest on pledged tokens.

All decisions regarding the GHO, including interest rates, collateral levels, etc., will be made by the DAO, the team noted.

“If approved, the implementation of the GHO will make stablecoin borrowing in the Aave protocol more competitive, provide more opportunities for users, and generate additional revenue for the Aave DAO by channeling 100% interest payments on GHO loans to the DAO’s coffers,” the statement said.

The developers also offered to provide a discount on the issuance of a stablecoin to holders of the AAVE token in staking. In their opinion, this stimulates the growth of stkAAVE volumes, which will increase the security of the protocol.

It is assumed that the release and burning of GHO will be controlled by community-approved "assistants" (Facilitators) with an established emission limit.

“The use of stablecoins will only grow as cryptoassets further integrate with a user base that is less committed to digital assets so far. Decentralized stablecoins provide censorship-resistant fiat-denominated currency on the blockchain,” the Aave team emphasized.

If the proposal is approved by the community, the stablecoin will be audited by OpenZeppelin and PeckShield experts. Deployment of GHO in the protocol and other networks will require a new vote.

According to DeFi Llama, Aave ranks second in TVL among DeFi protocols with $6.11 billion. The project is second only to MakerDAO ($7.68 billion), which operates the most popular decentralized stablecoin DAI with a capitalization of almost 6.5 billion (CoinGecko).

In July, the MakerDAO platform disconnected Aave from its direct deposit module, depriving users of the protocol of the ability to borrow DAI through it.




Peter Welle Steps Down from Key Role in Bitcoin Core.
July 8, 2022

One of the main developers of Bitcoin Core, Peter Welle, requested an exception for direct access to the code of the first cryptocurrency.

The specialist explained that he would not refuse to work on the code, comments and participate in projects in which he was involved. His address will be excluded from the list of trusted ones who will be able to make changes to Bitcoin Core.

The list of key bitcoin developers will continue to be represented by Vladimir van der Laan, Marco Falke, Michael Ford and Gennady Stepanov.

Velle has been working on improving Bitcoin Core since May 2011 and has made thousands of commits in that time.

Among the key changes:

BIP32 - adding seed phrases;
SegWit (BIPs 49) is a more efficient way to store data in blocks;
Taproot (BIPs 340, 341 and 342) - Improve network privacy, efficiency and scalability.

At the end of June, Lightning Labs developers released a beta version of the LND client for the Lightning Network with support for some of the latest improvements to the Bitcoin protocol, including Taproot.

Earlier, the startup team introduced the Taro protocol for launching stablecoins on the Lightning Network.




Changpeng Zhao criticized Alameda Research's deal with Voyager Digital.
July 8, 2022

The head of the Binance bitcoin exchange, Changpeng Zhao, criticized the deal by venture capital company Alameda Research, in which it provided a $ 500 million loan to cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital. In the Decrypt podcast, he said that he “would never go for such an agreement.”

On June 18, Voyager Digital reported that Sam Bankman-Fried's company had loaned him 200 million USDC and opened a 15,000 BTC (~$321 million at the time of writing) revolving line of credit.

When the crypto broker filed for bankruptcy, it emerged that Alameda Research was the second largest borrower ($376.8 million) from Voyager Digital after Three Arrows Capital (3AC). The company can rely on these assets to pay off liabilities to creditors.

“Personally, and to a large extent Binance, I like very simple trades. […] We don't like agreements like, "Hey, I owe you money, you pay me back this much, you invest in me, I lend you more, and then you save me." Why don’t we just return all the money, go back to the starting point and talk about the net balance, who owes whom how much?” Zhao said.

Earlier, the head of Binance said that the deal with Alameda is unlikely to save Voyager Digital.

“So, 3AC owed Voyager several hundred million and went bankrupt. FTX/Alameda give 3AC $100M but don't save him. Alameda invests in Voyager, then takes out a $377 million loan from a broker...okay...Voyager went bankrupt. FTX didn't bail them out and refund the money? Is it hard to follow?” he wrote.

In June, Bankman-Fried reported that Alameda Research was making efforts to mitigate negative phenomena in the cryptocurrency market due to the problems of Celsius and Three Arrows Capital.

In a recent interview with Reuters, the entrepreneur noted that FTX has “several billions” to bail out companies that are in trouble. According to him, a number of firms turned to them for help. He stressed that the worst part of the crisis is behind us.

Zhao also stated that she has a "duty" to protect users and help the rest of the industry survive. However, in his opinion, there are "bad projects" that should not be saved.
According to the head of Binance, the exchange is in rescue talks with more than 50 companies.




Bloomberg Strategist Predicts Bitcoin Growth in the Next Six Months.
July 7, 2022

The price of bitcoin shows the same behavior as when forming the end of the bear market in 2018. Mike McGlone, senior commodities strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, came to these conclusions.

The expert pointed to the discount of the current price of the first cryptocurrency to its moving averages for the 50-week and 100-week periods, as well as the size of the drawdown of the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index from ATH.

In 2018, bitcoin fell from $16,000 in January to $3,200 by mid-December, only to return to $13,000 over the next six months.

The specialist noted that the digital asset market has come to the moment of truth.

“Bitcoin is on the verge of one of the greatest bull markets that will begin in the second half of the year. Or many will begin to admit that digital assets have become a failed experiment. We believe that the popularization of cryptocurrencies will continue,” said McGlone.

The expert compared the fall of the cryptocurrency market in the first half of the year with the “bursting dot-com bubble of 2000-2002”. The elimination of leverage was typical for all risky assets during this period, he added.

The specialist called it unlikely that the Fed will further increase the key rate by 75 bp. in the event that the rate of fall of the stock market recorded in January-June continues.

In June, McGlone predicted the fixing of the first cryptocurrency in the status of an asset for savings.

In January, a Bloomberg strategist said that the price of digital gold could rise to $100,000 in 2022.




US filed class action lawsuit against Solana.
July 7, 2022

California investor Mark Young has accused key players in the Solana ecosystem of illegally profiting from the native SOL token. According to the lawsuit, the coin is an unregistered security.

“The cornerstone of SOL’s value is the sum of the efforts of Solana Labs, the Solana Foundation and [Anatoly] Yakovenko in the management and implementation of the Solana blockchain. They created the network and all the tokens in circulation, and also determined who would receive SOL securities and under what conditions,” the plaintiff said.

He described the asset as a highly centralized cryptocurrency that benefits insiders at the expense of retail traders. Among the beneficiaries, the investor also named venture capital firm Multicoin Capital, its partner Kyle Samani and the OTC division of FalconX.

Yang stated that he bought the tokens in late summer 2021. Since then, the asset has significantly lost in value.

According to the investor, the way the SOL is created and sold is in line with the principles of the Howey test, which determines whether an asset is a security.

“Purchasers who have purchased SOL securities have invested money or provided services to Solana's joint venture. These investors have a reasonable expectation of profit based on the efforts of the promoters, Solana Labs and Solana Foundation, to build a blockchain network,” the statement said.

The investor pointed to several pre-sales of the asset ahead of the public token sale. According to him, Multicoin, which invested heavily in Solana, brought SOL to the retail market for "millions of dollars", making "great profits." At the same time, the firm “relentlessly” promoted the token, despite the technical problems of the blockchain, the plaintiff believes.

Multicoin's alleged large sale was through the FalconX platform, Yang believes.

He demanded recognition of SOL as a security, payment by the defendants of the damage suffered by him and other investors in the asset, as well as "reasonable" reimbursement of legal costs.

Young is represented by the law firm Roche Freedman.

In June, the same company filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of LUNA and TerraUSD (UST) investors against Binance.US and CEO Brian Schroeder.




Meta introduced an AI translator with support for 200 languages.
July 7, 2022

Meta introduced the NLLB-200 artificial intelligence model for online transfers. The algorithm supports 200 languages, including less common ones.

The NLLB-200 delivered "high quality" translations in 55 African languages, the company said. Prior to the creation of the algorithm, fewer than 25 African languages ​​were covered by widely used tools, the developers added.

Meta claims that the performance of the NLLB-200 in the FLORES-101 test outperformed existing current models by an average of 44%. For some African and Indian dialects, the advantage over analogues has reached 70%.

Meta said that their development will improve the quality of translation of texts on Facebook and Instagram platforms, as well as third-party services like Wikipedia.

The company made the NLLB-200 source code available on GitHub. The developers have created a website demonstrating the operation of the new model.

Meta also announced a $200,000 grant program open to non-profit organizations that want to explore ways to apply the NLLB-200 in the real world.

In June, Meta announced a reorganization of its AI division.

In April, the company introduced the open source OPT-175B language model.




China has created AI to assess the loyalty of members of the Communist Party.
July 6, 2022

Researchers in China have developed artificial intelligence that "reads the minds" of members of the Communist Party (CCP) and determines their loyalty. Writes about it The Times.

The system can read facial expressions and "brain waves" of people while viewing party information materials.

According to the publication, at least 43 members of the CCP have already passed the test. The subject entered a special booth and sat down in front of a screen that showed materials promoting the policies and achievements of the party.

The developers did not provide details about the structure of the system, as well as the operation of the mind-reading algorithms.

An article describing the system was published on July 1, 2022 by the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center. Soon the work was removed from the network, probably due to increased public discontent.

This is not the first attempt by the PRC authorities to step up ideological propaganda. Previously, the party launched the "Study to Make China Stronger" app, in which about 97 million CCP members are to earn points by watching articles and videos and answering questions.

Users are forced to meet a daily quota of 40 points, which can be exchanged for various gifts such as pastries from the nearest cafe or electronics.

In June, Chinese authorities deployed coronavirus tracking apps to quell the protest of deceived savers.




The Wolf of Wall Street called Bitcoin a long-term hedge against inflation.
July 6, 2022

Former American broker Jordan Belfort, known as the "Wolf of Wall Street", called for buying bitcoin for more than one to two years as a long-term hedge against inflation.

According to the expert, with an increase in the investment horizon, the probability of making a profit increases.

“If you take a three- or five-year horizon, I will be very surprised if you do not earn. The fundamentals of bitcoin are really strong,” he explained.

“He has a limited supply. As inflation continues to rise, there will come a time when bitcoin will start trading more as a store of value rather than a growth stock,” the specialist explained.

Belfort explained the current high correlation of the first cryptocurrency with the Nasdaq index by the stage of formation. According to him, this is expressed in the absence of “real institutional ownership”, which can be solved through regulation.

“In the cryptocurrency market, you can raise funds. But there is no disclosure of information, which is fraught with a bad outcome, ”he explained.

The Wolf of Wall Street advised investors to pay attention to the team and the usefulness of the project in the first place. According to him, it is worth avoiding those that are not able to compete with centralized alternatives.

At the end of 2021, Belfort called Shiba Inu and Dogecoin meme-cryptocurrencies “worthless and without value.”

Previously, the former broker admitted to being a “major XRP holder.”




Core Scientific sold 7,202 BTC in June for $167 million.
July 6, 2022

US blockchain hosting provider Core Scientific sold 7,202 BTC for $167 million in June at an average price of $23,000 per bitcoin, according to a press release.

The proceeds were mainly used to pay for equipment supplies, capital investments, commissioning of additional data center capacity and debt servicing.

“As of June 30, the company has 1,959 BTC and about $132 million in cash on its balance sheet,” the press release states.

The company said it will continue to sell the mined cryptocurrency to cover operating expenses, finance growth, pay off debt and maintain liquidity.

“Daily mining increased last month by about 14%, from 34.8 BTC (June 1) to 39.8 BTC (June 30),” Core Scientific representatives shared their success.

In total, the firm mined 1,106 BTC last month.

The company's own mining facilities include 103,000 ASIC devices with a total hashrate of 10.3 EH/s.

The company plans to put another 70,000 miners into operation within the next six months. 90% of the cost of additional equipment has already been paid.

In the first quarter, Core Scientific posted a $466.2 million net loss.




Meitu lost $45.6 million due to the depreciation of reserves in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
July 4, 2022

Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, photo software developer Meitu reported a loss of $45.6 million from the revaluation of cryptocurrency reserves in the first half of the year.

The firm expects a cumulative net loss for the period ranging from $41.1 million to $52.3 million.

In March and April 2022, the company purchased a total of ~940.89 BTC and ~31,000 ETH. The firm spent ~$49.5 million and ~$50.5 million on buying digital assets, respectively.

Since the acquisition, Meitu has not sold cryptocurrencies in accordance with the investment strategy adopted by the board.

Despite losses from depreciation of assets as of June 30, the board of directors of the company emphasized:

the purchase of cryptocurrency did not have a significant impact on cash flows, operations and adjusted profit / loss;
interim results are reversible at the end of the year in the event of a subsequent increase in the quotations of digital assets.
Meitu noted that cryptocurrencies are still at an early stage of development relative to other asset classes, and therefore prices are “prone to volatility.”

“The Board believes that further adoption provides enough room for growth, given that the blockchain industry is rapidly evolving, and cryptocurrencies are an integral part of it,” the company said in a statement.

The Board of Directors emphasized that it considers the recent volatility in Bitcoin and Ethereum rates to be temporary and is confident in the “long-term prospects for rising prices for cryptocurrencies.”

The board also reminded investors that digital assets account for only a fraction of the company's reserves.

According to the results of the first quarter, Meitu lost $2.6 million from the revaluation of its cryptocurrency.

In June, analytics software provider MicroStrategy’s “paper” losses from holding bitcoins exceeded $1 billion. However, at the end of the month, the company, which owned 129,218 BTC, bought another 480 BTC for $10 million.




Demand for stablecoins grows in Argentina after the resignation of the Minister of Economy.
July 4, 2022

The unexpected resignation of Argentina's Minister of Economy, Martin Guzmán, caused a boom in demand for stablecoins on local bitcoin exchanges. According to Criptoya, USDT jumped to 262.9-318.9 pesos, implying a premium of 109.5%-154.2%.

A similar situation is observed for other "stable coins" - USDC, DAI, BUSD and USDP.

The departure of an official may threaten further destabilization of the economy.

Since the beginning of the year, the peso has fallen in price by 22.1%. The growth of consumer prices in annual terms in May accelerated from 58% to 60.7%. Over the past ten years, double-digit inflation has been recorded in the country.

For residents of Argentina, stablecoins act as a store of wealth. On September 1, 2019, the government issued Decree No. 609/2019. The document actually limited the monthly volume of currency purchases at the official rate to $200.

Argentina entered the top 3 countries in the Coinformant rating for the promotion of cryptocurrencies.

In September 2021, the local Central Bank indicated the use of digital assets to bypass currency controls.

Subsequently, the regulator banned local credit institutions from offering services related to cryptocurrencies to customers.

Previously, the Federal Revenue Office of Argentina required cryptocurrency exchanges to transmit user transaction data on a monthly basis.




Peter Thiel-backed crypto lending platform Vauld has suspended operations.
July 4, 2022

Singapore-based crypto lending platform Vauld has announced a possible restructuring. Trading, withdrawal and deposit operations are suspended.

Management attributed the decision to financial difficulties due to unfavorable market conditions, the impact of counterparty problems and liquidity outflow. Since June 12, clients have withdrawn $197.7 million from the platform.

To implement the initiative, the startup hired Kroll Pte Limited as a financial advisor, as well as law firms Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Rajah & Tann Singapore.

Vauld will consider all possible options, including restructuring, that best protect the interests of stakeholders. The company has begun negotiations with potential investors and intends to obtain a moratorium on proceedings in the Singapore courts.

In July 2021, Vauld raised $25 million from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures and other investors.

At the end of 2020, the startup was supported by Coinbase Ventures and Pantera Capital in a $2 million round.

Earlier, the Voyager crypto broker announced the suspension of trading and withdrawal of funds. Hedge fund Three Arrows Capital has filed for bankruptcy.




CAR launches 'Bitcoin-backed' digital currency Sango Coin.
July 4, 2022

On July 3, President of the Central African Republic (CAR) Faustin-Archange Touadera presented the national digital currency Sango Coin during a live broadcast. It is reported by The Block.

According to Touadera, the coin will modernize the country's infrastructure and become a "gateway to the natural resources of the Central African Republic." Earlier, the country's government announced plans to tokenize the country's natural resources, including oil, diamonds and copper.

“Sango Coin will be the next generation currency for the Central African Republic,” the president said.

The country plans to use Sango Coin to create a cryptocurrency economy based on private investment. The initiative involves the creation of a crypto-island on the Ubangi River.

The Minister of Finance of the country, Herve Ndoba, said that the national digital currency is backed by bitcoin, but did not disclose the details of the mechanism.

The CAR government is also using blockchain to digitize the land registry system.

Last week, it became known about the plans of the CAR authorities to create a cryptocurrency hub and a special economic zone in the metaverse.

In April 2022, the country approved bitcoin as a means of payment along with the local franc.




Hackers have claimed the data of 1 billion Chinese citizens have been leaked. The base was estimated at 10 BTC.
July 4, 2022

Unidentified individuals put up for sale a database that allegedly contains information about a billion Chinese citizens for 10 BTC (over $190,000 at the time of writing).

The sale message appeared on the Breach Forums. The seller claims the data came from a leak by the Shanghai Police.

The database contains information about names, addresses, places of birth, documents, phone numbers of Chinese citizens and case files. Breach Forums has blocked the message about the sale.

Several users stated the relevance of the posted data. If the leak is fully confirmed, it will become one of the largest in the history of the country.

CEO of the Binance exchange Changpeng Zhao said that the company discovered the sale of data on a billion residents of “one Asian country” on the dark web. He suggested that the incident occurred due to a bug in the deployment of Elastic Search by an unnamed government agency.

Zhao added that Binance has stepped up verification measures for potentially affected users.

Bloomberg, citing cybersecurity experts, writes that hackers could have accessed Shanghai police data through a "third-party cloud infrastructure partner."

Previously unknown hackers hacked into the databases of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region police in China and gained access to thousands of photographs of persecuted Uyghurs. Xinjiang's "re-education camps" are said to hold about a million detainees arrested without trial, mostly Uyghurs.

In June, the non-fungible token platform OpenSea reported a leak of user data.




Cryptonight tweet of Elon can be the starting point of the sell-off season in the crypto market.
July 2, 2022

#ElonMusk #Bytecoin #cryptonight @elonmusk

Recently, Elon again posted on Twitter with just the word “cryptonight”. Cryptonight is known as an algorithm used in cryptocurrency mining for the Proof-of-Work blockchain. It was introduced to the cryptocurrency market with the launch of Bytecoin. There are a number of blockchain projects that have leveraged Cryptonight. It has helped to gain more than 130 million in the domain of digital currencies.

Cryptonight hashing algorithms are used for undetectable transactions as well as the ASIC resistance. It was designed mainly for data privacy concerns with a solution for exchanging sufficient and relevant private blockchain transactions. It also helps to decrease the ASIC mining rigs with cryptocurrency mining.




US Extradites Ex-Monero Developer Ricardo Spagni to South Africa.
July 2, 2022

A court has ordered former Monero lead developer Ricardo "Fluffypony" Spagni to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service on July 5 for extradition to South Africa.

In July 2021, law enforcement officers detained Spagni at the Nashville airport (USA) at the request of the South African authorities, who accused him of fraud for $100,000. The case is not related to Monero, but to his work in the South African company Cape Cookies in 2009-2011.

Spagni faces up to 20 years in prison on the charges. Duncan Oaks, a lawyer representing the developer, called the detention "unreasonable." According to him, Spagni mistakenly believed that the presence of his representative in the Cape Cookies trial was enough.

In September 2021, a US court released Fluffypony from arrest.

Spagni retired from active participation in the development of Monero in 2019, but is still considered its unofficial face. The developer stood at the very origins of the project, although he was not its direct creator.




FTX US has entered into a deal with BlockFi with the possibility of buying the platform.
July 2, 2022

The US division of the FTX bitcoin exchange will issue a $400 million revolving loan to BlockFi and will receive an option to buy out the landing platform for $240 million, BlockFi CEO Zach Prince said.

According to him, taking into account additional factors, the deal implies a total valuation of BlockFi up to $680 million. The agreement is pending approval by shareholders.

Prince said that fear and uncertainty in the cryptocurrency market led to the deal with FTX US due to falling quotes, problems with the Celsius crypto lending service and the default of Three Arrows Capital (3AC) hedge fund.

The head of BlockFi said that the platform lost about $80 million despite a quick liquidation and hedging response. Prince promised to cover losses without impacting client funds.

Prince says the deal will not affect BlockFi's products and customers. In the future, he expects to improve services through cooperation with FTX US.

“All of our products and services, including deposits and withdrawals, trading platform, credit card, and global institutional services, continue to operate as usual, with additional funding,” said BlockFi CEO.

On June 21, BlockFi agreed to a $250 million revolving line of credit with FTX.

On June 24, the WSJ wrote about the exchange's plans to acquire a stake in the platform. According to CNBC, it was about $25 million.

In March 2021, BlockFi's valuation reached $3 billion. In June 2022, according to The Block, investors lowered the platform's valuation from $5 billion to $1 billion.

According to the media, a desire to enter the capital of BlockFi was also expressed by Morgan Creek Digital and the Ledn crypto-lending platform.

In May, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried pledged to spend "billions" to buy stakes in other companies.

In June, he spoke about Alameda Research's efforts to mitigate the negative phenomena in the cryptocurrency market.




Ignite CEO Peng Zhong left the company.
July 2, 2022

Ignite (formerly Tendermint) CEO Peng Zhong stepped down after more than seven years with the company. He has been CEO since May 2020.

“Today is my last day at Ignite. Thanks for the camaraderie in building the ecosystem. I am honored to be a part of this team and community. I will miss you,” Zhong wrote.

In February, the company behind the Cosmos project, Tendermint, rebranded as Ignite, as one of the co-founders used the original name for their new initiative.

In 2014, founder Jae Kwon registered Tendermint and left the company in 2020 to launch the Virgo project. In 2022, he regained ownership of the brand for a new firm.

In April, Ignite launched a $150 million accelerator focused on Web3 projects. Partners include Alameda Research, KuCoin Ventures, Hashkey Capital, OKX Blockdream Venture and others.




The trader pointed to the arguments in favor of the growth of bitcoin.
July 1, 2022

Vadim Shovkun, a practicing trader and founder of the Crypto Shaman project, talks about the current situation on the market.

Revisiting the previous review, Bitcoin behaved as planned, descending into the green support zone. Let's consider whether the quote breaks $19,000 with a further downward movement, or another scenario is possible.

It can be stated that the inertia of the fall has been formed - the price went below $19,000.

The powerful 12% upshot off the low is partly due to the S&P 500 bounce attempt. At the same time, the price impulsively returned above the support level, forming an SP + TSP pattern.

The volumes injected today cannot be called too high, so there is a risk of going down. At $18,800 (-$800 from current) we can state that momentum has been completely absorbed and the bottom has been updated. But at the moment this is very unlikely.

A movement to the upper border of the range is expected, followed by a false breakdown and a possible further attempt to exit upwards. Fixing on the daily timeframe above $20,000 will give confidence to buyers and will quickly push the price to $23,000-$24,000.

The price of the second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization came to the lower limit of the trading range and received a reaction. Given the situation with bitcoin, we should expect movement to the upper limit of the range.




Facebook to test NFT support.
July 1, 2022

Meta has begun rolling out NFTs for some US creators on its flagship social network, Facebook, according to Decrypt.

Initially, we are talking about collection tokens in the Ethereum and Polygon networks. Then support for Solana and Flow will be added.

The feature was demonstrated by Meta Product Manager Navdeep Singh. According to the announcement, users will have a “digital collectibles” tab in their profiles.

It will be possible to connect cryptocurrency wallets to profiles. Users will be able to publish NFTs as a post.

In May, Meta began testing NFT support on Instagram. Ethereum and Polygon also became the first integrated networks.

Among the wallets available for connection, they indicated: Rainbow, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, Dapper and Phantom.

In January, the media reported on Meta's plans to integrate NFTs into Instagram and Facebook.

In March, the head of the corporation, Mark Zuckerberg, confirmed the information.




El Salvador bought an additional 80 BTC amid a drawdown in the course.
July 1, 2022

On Thursday, June 30, the Salvadoran government purchased an additional 80 BTC for a total of $1.52 million, President Nayib Bukele announced this.

“El Salvador bought 80 BTC today at $19,000 each. Bitcoin is the future. Thank you for the cheap sale,” Bukele wrote.

On June 30, the rate of the first cryptocurrency failed the $20,000 level, and later fell below $19,000.

On the night of July 1, the price of bitcoin at the moment exceeded $20,800, but by now it has corrected to levels near $19,420.

El Salvador made the previous purchase in May amid falling quotes of the first cryptocurrency below $30,000. Then Bukele announced the purchase of an additional 500 BTC at an average price of ~ $30,744.

In the further collapse of the market, the “paper” loss of the country from the coins held in the state fund exceeded $46.1 million.

For the first time, the government of the country began to buy digital gold on the eve of the legalization of cryptocurrency in the country in September 2021. The authorities have created a special fund for this purpose in the amount of $150 million.

Already at the end of September, the government took advantage of the drop in the exchange rate to $45,000 to purchase an additional 150 BTC, bringing the total reserves to 700 BTC.

On the fall of the price in November, another 100 BTC were bought.

In January, El Salvador purchased 410 BTC amid a market correction. The average purchase price was $36,585.

In mid-June, Bukele advised not to worry about the quotes of the first cryptocurrency. According to him, investments in digital gold will grow “immeasurably” after the end of the bearish cycle.




Vinnik's lawyer announced his possible extradition to the United States.
July 1, 2022

The French court ruled against the Russian Alexander Vinnik, as a result of which he can be extradited to Greece, and then to the United States.

As lawyer Frederic Belo told Kommersant, the court rejected the cassation petition appealing against the five-year sentence: “As a result, Alexander Vinnik, who has already served his prison term, will be transferred to Greece, and then to the United States, since Greece has already satisfied the request for extradition in the USA".

The transfer was to take place on Thursday, June 30. However, the defense filed an urgent appeal to suspend Vinnik's expulsion from France, and also applied to the European Court of Human Rights.

In 2017, a Russian was detained in Greece on suspicion of laundering $4 billion through the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. At the same time, US authorities confiscated the BTC-e domain.

The court granted the request for the extradition of Vinnik at the request of three countries at once - the United States, Russia and France.

In 2019, the Greek authorities decided to extradite him to France. He was extradited in January 2020. In December, the Russian was found guilty of money laundering through BTC-e, sentenced to five years in prison and a €100,000 fine.

In the event of his further extradition to the United States, Vinnik faces more than 50 years in prison.




Grayscale sues SEC over refusal to convert GBTC to ETF.
June 30, 2022

Grayscale Investments initiated a lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after the regulator rejected an application to convert a GBTC trust into a bitcoin ETF.

The regulator justified the verdict by non-compliance with the requirements for “preventing fraudulent and manipulative actions […], as well as protecting investors and the public interest.”

The company has previously pointed out that the SEC's willingness to approve futures-based bitcoin ETFs while rejecting orders based on its spot variant may violate administrative procedures law.

“Bitcoin futures ETPs under the Investment Companies Act of 1940 and spot bitcoin ETPs that do not require such registration are similar to each other in all relevant respects. However, relying on the rejection order [of the application from VanEck] dated November 12, 2021, the Commission interprets them differently,” the letter stated.

If the SEC did not see market manipulation in the futures market, then it can be concluded that the spot market also satisfies this criterion to a sufficient extent, the company said at the time.

“We are deeply disappointed and strongly disagree with the SEC’s decision to continue to ban spot Bitcoin ETFs from entering the US market,” Grayscale said in a press release following the SEC decision.

The CEO of the firm, Michael Sonnenschein, promised to “use all the resources of the company to protect the interests of investors and fairly regulate investment vehicles in the first cryptocurrency.”

For the first time, the head of the company allowed such an opportunity in March 2022.

Grayscale emphasized that during the SEC review, the conversion of GBTC to ETF was supported by 99.9% of those who left one of 11,400 comments.

The SEC has yet to approve any application to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Grayscale Investments filed an application to convert a digital gold-based trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF on October 19, 2021.

On December 17, the SEC delayed its decision on the application of Grayscale Investments. In February, the Commission took this step again.

Earlier, the GBTC discount exceeded 34%.




The Central Bank of Singapore condemned Three Arrows Capital for violating regulations.
June 30, 2022

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a reprimand to Three Arrows Capital (3AC) for providing false information and exceeding the allowed threshold of assets under management.

The firm violated the Securities and Futures Act of 2001 and the Securities and Futures Rules. MAS has been studying the situation since June 2021.

The press release states that the management company license obtained by 3AC in August 2013 meant restrictions in the form of working with 30 qualified investors with assets up to 250 million SGD.

In fact, 3AC has exceeded this threshold twice, from July to September 2020 and from November 2020 to August 2021.

On September 1, 2021, 3AC transferred management of the sole fund to an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands. In February 2022, she resumed managing part of the fund's assets. On April 29, 3AC notified MAS of its intention to terminate the corporate entity in Singapore effective May 6, 2022.

The company did not disclose that the offshore structure and 3AC had a common shareholder. The firm also failed to notify MAS within the required time frame of the changes in management and shareholder structure.

Recently, the British Virgin Islands court ruled to liquidate the Three Arrows Capital hedge fund.

In June, the Central Bank of Singapore threatened to crack down on irregularities in the cryptocurrency industry with “relentless toughness.”

Earlier, the Dubai regulator announced that 3AC did not have a license to operate in the emirate.




The fall of Bitcoin deprived the status of millionaires of 82,600 investors.
June 30, 2022

Since November 2021, the number of bitcoin millionaires has decreased by 75% (82,602) as a result of the negative dynamics of the first cryptocurrency.

According to BitInfoCharts, there were 108,886 bitcoin addresses at the time of BTC's all-time high of $69,000 with asset valuations over $1 million. Nine months later, this parameter was reduced to 26,284.

There was also a dramatic decline in the “whale population” (wallets worth over $10 million) – from 10,587 to 4,342 addresses (by 58%).

The fall in the price of the first cryptocurrency has led to an increase in the number of those who own at least 1 BTC - the number of such bidders has increased by more than 13,000, to over 860,000. Such dynamics indicates the accumulation of bitcoin by retail investors.

The data correlates with Glassnode's calculations, according to which more than 250,000 addresses added at least 0.1 BTC each over the past 20 days.

JPMorgan allowed miners to maintain pressure on the price of bitcoin.

Earlier, analysts did not rule out a fall in the price of the first cryptocurrency to $10,350.




Deutsche Bank Predicts Bitcoin Return to $28,000.
June 30, 2022

The price of bitcoin may recover to $28,000 by the end of 2022, according to Deutsche Bank experts. It is reported by Bloomberg.

According to the bank's strategists Marion Labour and Galina Pozdnyakova, the growth will be associated with a rally in the US stock market.

Experts have noticed that since November, cryptocurrencies have been increasingly correlated with the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 indices. They believe that these benchmarks will recover to January levels by the end of the year, stretching Bitcoin along with them.

At the time of writing, the price of the first cryptocurrency has fallen below $20,000 and is testing the $19,000 mark.

Deutsche Bank strategists believe that the case for bitcoin as “digital gold” has fallen apart. Cryptocurrency did not become a safe haven amid falling stock markets, physical gold “behaved better” in this regard.

Rather, bitcoin is similar to diamonds - a "high-market asset" based mainly on marketing, Lyabur and Pozdnyakova noted. They recalled that in the 1950s, the largest player in the market, De Beers, managed to change consumer attitudes towards precious stones with an advertising campaign.

“By selling an idea, not a product, they have built a solid foundation for the $72 billion a year industry that has dominated the past 80 years. What is true for diamonds is true for many goods and services, including bitcoin,” the experts said.

They also pointed to some of the issues that have gripped the digital asset market in recent weeks, including the financial insolvency of some hedge funds and crypto lenders.

Experts believe that the recovery of the crypto market is hindered by the “lack of common valuation models similar to those that exist in the public capital system.”

“In addition, the crypto market is highly fragmented. The fall may continue due to the complexity of the system,” Deutsche Bank strategists added.

According to Arcane Research researchers, the potential for a decrease in the price of bitcoin remains until the level of $10,350.




In the United States will develop federal rules for drones.
June 30, 2022

The American authorities intend to carefully check the technology of unmanned driving. This was stated by the new head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Stephen Cliff, writes Associated Press.

Enhanced controls on automated vehicles are needed to establish regulations that protect drivers, passengers and pedestrians, he said.

Cliff said he was surprised by the NHTSA's lack of data on accidents involving drones. Upon taking office, he initiated the preparation of the corresponding report.

As a result, it turned out that from July 1, 2021 to May 15, 2022, automated vehicles became participants in almost 400 accidents.

Cliff believes the industry needs federal safety standards. However, it is necessary to avoid haste in this matter, he added.

“Every time we create rules, we must define not only standards for the technology, but also an objective way to measure system performance to ensure compliance,” Cliff said.

In particular, the agency is working on performance standards for automatic emergency braking, which is planned to be implemented for all new cars and trucks.

Cliff added that the integration of such technology that detects pedestrians and obstacles will reduce fatalities on American roads. The head of the department did not provide other details regarding the new rules.

Cliff also commented on the report on accidents involving drones. According to him, despite the leadership of Tesla cars in terms of the number of accidents, it is too early to draw any conclusions.

The head of the agency said the company is using driver-assistance technology on almost all of its approximately 830,000 vehicles on US roads. This makes it difficult to accurately compare with other automakers, the official added.

Cliff also revealed that Tesla is actively cooperating with the agency: “I think we are working well with them […]. When we determined that there were risks, they took action, and it is appropriate.”

In June, the NHTSA continued its investigation into Tesla by launching an "engineering analysis" phase.

In November 2021, Elon Musk's company recalled almost 12,000 vehicles due to a software failure in the emergency braking system.



Hong Kong regulated exchange OSL to lay off 40 to 60 employees.
June 30, 2022

Hong Kong-based regulated bitcoin exchange OSL will lay off 40 to 60 specialists (~15% of the staff). It is reported by The Block, citing sources familiar with the situation.

A company representative confirmed the information, but did not provide specific figures. He clarified that the optimization is not caused by the impact of the collapse of Terra or the discount of stETH to ETH. The company also did not work with one of the firms that faced liquidity problems amid the downturn in the market.

“Regulatory requirements provide a significant level of investor protection,” he stressed.

OSL provides exchange, brokerage, custody and SaaS services for institutional clients and professional investors. Its operator is the only SFC-licensed BC Technology Group. It was audited by one of the Big Four companies.

In January 2021, Fidelity Investments increased investments in the OSL operator - their size amounted to $6.71 million. At that time, Fidelity had a 6.29% stake in BC Technology Group.

Earlier, state optimization was also announced in BitMEX, Robinhood, Gemini, Bitso and the parent company of the Brazilian Mercado Bitcoin exchange.

Coinbase will cut staff by about 18%, blockchain platform BlockFi by 20%.

In June, Crypto.com CEO Chris Marszalek announced plans to lay off about 260 employees.

According to journalist Colin Wu, Bybit and Huobi are also planning to cut staff by 30%.




The Cardano team has determined the timing of the Vasil hard fork.
June 30, 2022

Cardano developers have submitted a proposal to hard fork Vasil on the testnet and launch a countdown to the mainnet upgrade.

“With over 75% of testnet blocks generated by the new Vasil node (1.35.0), we now have good chain density to operate safely,” said Input Output Global (IOG), the company behind the project.

On the testnet, the changes will take effect on July 3 after the start of epoch 215. According to the developers, the community has requested a minimum period of four weeks to test the update ahead of the mainnet hardfuck.

“Once everyone is comfortable and ready, we will go through the same process to upgrade the mainnet to Vasil,” IOG said.

The main task is to ensure reliable and secure management of network upgrades, the developers emphasized.

The team called Vasil “the biggest and best Cardano update to date.”

IOG noted that improvements include throughput improvements, developer scripting performance, and cost reductions.

“Working on Vasil has been the most challenging development and integration program to date. This is a complex process that requires not only significant efforts from working groups, but also close coordination across the ecosystem,” Nigel Hemsley, head of product integration at IOG, wrote earlier.

Activating Vasil is also expected to make it easier to interact with Plutus smart contracts.

The ability to deploy smart contracts in Cardano came as a result of a previous Alonzo update that the developers implemented in September 2021.




OpenSea reported a leak of user data.
June 30, 2022

The leading platform for non-fungible tokens, OpenSea, has reported a leak of user data.

The reason was the abuse of access to information by an employee of Customer.io, an email delivery service used by OpenSea.

He handed over to a third party the email addresses of NFT marketplace clients. OpenSea warned of possible consequences in the form of phishing attempts.

The site team noted that attackers may try to contact potential victims using an email address similar to the official opensea domain.

The platform reported the incident to law enforcement.

Earlier it became known about the data leakage of 8.2 million US users of the Cash App application. It happened through the fault of an ex-employee of the payment company Block.




Coinbase Adds Solana Staking.
June 30, 2022

Bitcoin exchange Coinbase has added Solana (SOL) to its staking offerings and announced a further expansion of the service.

Users will automatically start receiving income on their coins in the exchange wallet. The annual rate is ~3.85%, the minimum balance is from $1.

Reward payments will be made every 3-4 days.

SOL has become the seventh cryptocurrency supported by the Coinbase staking service after Ethereum (ETH), Algorand (ALGO), Cosmos (ATOM), Tezos (XTZ), Cardano (ADA) and DAI.

“When users stake their cryptocurrency, they make its underlying blockchain more secure and efficient. And in return, they receive additional assets from the network, which are paid as a reward, ”the exchange said in a statement.

Over the past 24 hours, the price of SOL has fallen by more than 8% (CoinGecko), the coin is trading at a level slightly above $32. Compared to the historical maximum recorded in November 2021, the quotes sank by 87.5%.

In June, Coinbase announced the launch of bitcoin nanofutures.

The exchange also announced the closure of the Coinbase Pro platform for professional traders.




Elliptic: Lazarus hackers may be behind Horizon attack.
June 30, 2022

Elliptic said North Korea-linked hacker group Lazarus may be behind the attack on the Horizon cross-chain bridge.

According to analysts, hackers have already sent 41% of the stolen crypto assets to Tornado Cash for money laundering. At the time of writing the report, the attackers transferred more than 35,000 ETH to the mixer.

Before that, the hackers brought the stolen assets to the Uniswap decentralized exchange and converted them into 85,837 ETH. Elliptic noted that this is a fairly common method of laundering stolen funds.

Analysts have identified several reasons that indicate that North Korean Lazarus was behind the hack.

They indicated that the assets were transferred to Tornado Cash with regularity, suggesting the involvement of some kind of automated software. Experts observed a similar system during the laundering of funds stolen during the attack on the Ronin sidechain. Presumably the Lazarus hackers are also behind it.

The theft was carried out by compromising the private keys to the multisig wallet, probably through a social engineering attack on members of the Harmony team. Such methods have often been used by the Lazarus Group, Elliptic noted.

In addition, the Lazarus Group frequently targets victims in the Asia-Pacific region, analysts say. Many members of Harmony's core team have connections to the region.

On June 24, the Harmony blockchain platform reported an attack on the Horizon cross-chain bridge, as a result of which the attackers stole assets worth about $100 million.

The Harmony team initially offered a $1 million reward for the return of stolen funds, later increasing it to $10 million.

The US authorities have issued a warning about the threats of North Korean hackers aimed at stealing cryptocurrencies.




The head of FTX denied information about the plans of the takeover by the exchange Robinhood.
June 28, 2022

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, said the company is not in talks to acquire online broker Robinhood. Reuters writes about it.

Earlier, Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the situation, said that FTX is exploring the possibility of a takeover of Robinhood.

At the same time, the publication indicated that a final decision had not yet been made and the exchange could refuse to conclude a deal.

“There are no active M&A talks with Robinhood. We are excited about Robinhood's business prospects and potential ways to partner with them,” said Bankman-Fried.

In May, Emergent Fidelity Technologies, associated with the head of FTX, acquired a 7.6% stake in Robinhood.

Bankman-Fried later said the exchange would spend "billions" of dollars buying stakes in other companies to expand its product line.

In June, FTX took over Canadian regulated cryptocurrency platform Bitvo. According to media reports, the exchange is in talks with several companies focused on classic securities, as well as the purchase of a stake in the BlockFi lending platform.

Last year, FTX agreed to acquire Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid and its subsidiaries. In June, it was renamed FTX Japan, which became the customer service division in Japan.




Uzbekistan has prescribed requirements for miners.
June 28, 2022

The National Agency for Perspective Projects (NAPP) of Uzbekistan has developed a regulation on registration for miners.

According to the document, cryptocurrency mining can be carried out exclusively by a legal entity using electricity produced by a “solar photovoltaic station”.

At the same time, miners can connect to a single power grid with a separate meter: during the peak period from 17:00 to 22:00 according to the relevant tariffs, taking into account the allowances established by the Cabinet;
during the night period from 22:00 to 06:00 with the application of a double multiplier to the established tariff.

Mining is subject to mandatory registration with the NAPP. The certificate will be valid for one year and will require a fee of 20 BRF (at the time of writing, 6 million UZS, or about $553) to be paid.

Miners must meet several requirements in order to obtain a permit. For example, to have a working solar photovoltaic plant, operate only at the address specified during registration, and report on operations at the request of the regulator.

You can get a certificate by submitting an application to the NAPP. The package of documents includes information about the legal entity, mining equipment, as well as a list of crypto assets that are planned to be mined, and wallet addresses.

Mined cryptocurrencies are not subject to taxation. Other income of miners is taxed in the generally established manner.

In addition, the regulation prohibits mining anonymous cryptocurrencies.

The document is posted for public comment, it will last until July 9.

In April, the National Agency for Project Management was transformed into the NAPP and given it the authority to regulate the crypto industry.

From January 1, 2023, citizens and legal entities of Uzbekistan will be able to carry out transactions of purchase and sale or exchange of cryptocurrencies exclusively through service providers. The latter must register a legal entity in the country and obtain permission from the NAPP.




The European Union will finalize the bill on the regulation of cryptocurrencies in June.
June 26, 2022

On June 30, 2022, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the EU will hold a final meeting on the MiCA cryptocurrency regulation bill. Patrick Hansen, development manager at Unstoppable Finance, spoke about this.

He stressed that all "important" issues have already been agreed, but there are several open topics.

The European Commission wants to include NFT in the scope of MiCA, arguing that it is necessary to protect consumers. The Council of the EU and the European Parliament initially opposed, but, according to Hansen, have now made concessions.

“The likely result will be a compromise - token issuers will be released [from MiCA], but companies (marketplaces and so on) providing NFT-related services will be required to comply with the law. They will need a CASP license (small players may not),” he wrote.

Hansen noted that lawmakers are not going to make exceptions for algorithmic stablecoins. EMT and ART issuers will be subject to high regulatory requirements, and CASPs will be banned from charging interest on stablecoin deposits.

The specialist added that within the framework of the “trilog”, “meaningful” stablecoins have yet to be defined and the architecture for segment supervision has yet to be approved.

He also stated that the decentralized finance sector was not included in the scope of MiCA. In 2023, the European Commission will publish a separate report on this issue and launch a pilot project for a new form of “built-in DeFi oversight.”

It is assumed that for all CASPs, requirements will be introduced regarding the disclosure of information about each crypto asset with which they operate. The list of data will be approved by the European Securities Market Supervisory Authority.

According to Hansen, officials also need to determine the provisions on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, the exact regulatory framework, as well as the timing of implementation.

“Then, before the MiCA enters into force, a vote on the adopted compromise will take place in the plenary session of the Parliament,” he explained.

In March 2022, the European Parliament supported amendments to the regulation on the exchange of information between counterparties, which involve the collection of data on users of non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets.

The de minimis principle does not apply to transactions with digital assets, therefore, all transfers, with the exception of P2P transactions, will be subject to the Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR).

Hansen explained that the European Parliament advocates the mandatory identification of CASP "non-hosted" counterparties when making transactions. He noted that the EU Council and the European Commission are against such a decision.

“Instead, the Council proposes a risk-based approach, in line with German requirements, where CASPs should consider money laundering risks based on blockchain analytics and take appropriate mitigation measures depending on the outcome,” he wrote.

The specialist stressed that, unlike MiCA, amendments to the TFR may not be completed in June, since the European Parliament does not want to abandon its requirements.

In April 2022, representatives of the cryptocurrency industry called on the EU to abandon the tightening of regulation.




Norway to launch Ethereum capitalization table solution.
June 25, 2022

The Norwegian government will launch a solution for creating capitalization tables on the Ethereum blockchain. The tool is intended for companies that are not listed on stock exchanges, said John Ramvi, founder of the startup Symfoni.

According to him, the platform will be built on the basis of the Arbitrum L2 network, since it provides faster and cheaper transactions compared to the main blockchain.

The solution involves accounting for shares represented in the form of ERC-1400 standard tokens implemented by ConesenSys. It is a hybrid digital asset model specifically designed for use in tokenized finance.

In ConesenSys, tokens of this standard are characterized as “partially fungible”. Not all assets of this model are equivalent, as is the case with cryptocurrencies - some of them may be subject to restrictions such as a blocking period. However, they are not NFTs.

The decentralized Ceramic network is used to store and transfer personal data on the platform. Ramvi said the latter allows compliance with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

“GDPR dictates the right to be forgotten. Therefore, it should be possible to delete personal data. For example, a shareholder sold his shares ten years ago and now wants the information that he was once a shareholder to be deleted,” he explained.

Ramvi Symfoni has created an SDK that allows developers of the backend and traditional web platforms to use the blockchain solution.

In May 2022, the Norwegian parliament rejected a bill to ban mining in the country.




Lido community proposes limiting protocol share in Ethereum 2.0 staking.
June 25, 2022

The decentralized organization behind the development of the Lido Finance project initiated a vote to limit the share of the protocol in the Ethereum 2.0 staking pool.

Lido Finance is a service for liquid staking of cryptocurrencies. The protocol allows you to deposit coins in a relevant contract and receive in return the amount of “derivative” tokens that can be used in DeFi services. In the case of Ethereum, these are stETH tokens.

According to Duna Analytics, Lido accounts for over 31% of all ETH in stake.

In the discussion prior to the vote, the authors of the proposal noted that authoritative community members recommended limiting the share of one protocol in staking.

For example, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated that one project should not account for more than 15% of ETH.

The authors of the proposal believe that the dominance of Lido in the Ethereum 2.0 staking pool will create a threat to the security of the blockchain after the so-called “Merge” (The Merge). The dominance of the protocol has been referred to by some analysts, such as Danny Ryan, as a potential point of centralization.

Voting ends July 1st. If Lido DAO accepts the proposal, the authors will initiate another discussion regarding how exactly the developers will limit the participation of the protocol in staking.

In June 2022, the discount on stETH exceeded 5%. At the time of writing, derivative tokens are trading almost 4% below native Ethereum coins (Curve decentralized exchange).

CoinShares analysts urged not to compare the situation around stETH with the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.




Canadian regulator fines Bybit and bans KuCoin.
June 23, 2022

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has banned the KuCoin bitcoin exchange and ordered Bybit to pay a fine. The latter agreed to cooperate to register the platform.

The decision was made after two trials.

The regulator fined KuCoin 2.1 million CAD ($1.6 million). Bybit will pay out 10,000 CAD ($7,730) after previously agreeing a transfer of 2.47 million CAD ($1.9 million).

"Unlike KuCoin, Bybit has responded to the OSC's enforcement steps, maintained an open dialogue, provided information requested, and committed to participating in registration discussions," the press release said.

Update: A Bybit spokesperson said the platform is in talks to register with the OSC. For the duration of the discussions, the company has committed not to open new accounts for Ontario residents or offer new products to existing customers.
If the negotiations fail, Bybit will curtail its activities in the region.

In March 2022, the Binance bitcoin exchange made a commitment to the OSC to cease operations in the Canadian province.

Earlier, a similar decision was made by the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange.




Ledger launches NFT marketplace and Web3 services platform for corporations.
June 23, 2022

The manufacturer of hardware crypto wallets Ledger announced the launch of an NFT marketplace and Web3 services platforms focused on corporations.

Representatives of the company disclosed information during the Ledger Op3n conference as part of the NFT.NYC event dedicated to non-fungible tokens.

Called the Ledger Market, the marketplace prioritizes security and transparency. According to Pascal Gauthier, CEO of the company, the solution will eliminate the problems that have arisen in the wake of innovation, protecting traders from fraud.

At the first stage, Deadphellaz and Brick/Babylon NFT collections will be listed on the Ledger Market. The marketplace partner will be watch manufacturer Tag Heuer, part of the LVMH concern.

Ledger also launched Ledger Enterprise Create, a platform that will allow companies to scale their Web3 projects and securely move into the non-fungible token space.

“We will support creators and brands throughout their NFT journey by providing security from token issuance to distribution,” Gauthier explained.

During Ledger Op3n, the firm also announced the launch of Ledger Quest, a Web3 game with NFT rewards, as well as Ledger Academy, an educational platform to increase users' knowledge of blockchain technologies and security issues.

In April 2022, the firm unveiled a new device, the Nano S Plus, aimed at NFT collectors and DeFi users.

Ledger has previously partnered with The Sandbox to improve the cryptocurrency literacy of its users.

In June, the company partnered with Cathay Innovation to launch a €100 million fund to invest in Web 3.0 startups.




Ethereum developers will reduce the number of test networks.
June 23, 2022

The Ethereum development team announced the closure of three test networks - Ropsten, Kiln and Rinkeby - after the mainnet transition to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm.

Testnets provide an environment for application developers to deploy and check for bugs before going live. These are fully functional blockchains, the history and volume of which is growing, the Ethereum team recalled.

“Ultimately, this makes it harder to run nodes and maintain them. For this reason, some testnets are closed periodically,” the statement said.

Developers will stop supporting the Kiln testnet immediately after the transition of Ethereum to PoS, or the so-called “merger” [The Merge]. The pilot network was launched in 2022.

On June 8, Ropsten was successfully transferred to PoS consensus. However, it will be closed in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The Rinkeby network will not be routed through The Merge. It will cease operation around the second/third quarter of 2023.

For users and application developers, the Ethereum team recommended using the Goerli or Sepolia testnets, which will be supported after the “merger”.

Ethereum developers also reminded that the Gray Glacier update is scheduled for block #15,050,000 on the main network. Its sole purpose is to delay the activation of the "difficulty bomb" by about 100 days. The upgrade is expected to take place on June 30th.

The Ethereum team expects to host The Merge on the mainnet in August.




Uniswap Labs Acquires Genie NFT Marketplace and Announces Airdrop.
June 22, 2022

The company behind the development of the DEX of the same name, Uniswap Labs, has announced the purchase of a marketplace aggregator of non-fungible Genie tokens.

“NFTs will be implemented in our products, starting with the Uniswap web application, where you will soon be able to buy and sell non-fungible tokens on all major marketplaces. We are also integrating NFT into our developer APIs and widgets,” the company said in a blog post.

Support for the new options is planned for this fall.

“We see NFT as another value format in the growing digital economy,” the developers emphasized.

According to them, non-fungible tokens are a kind of gateway to Web3.

Genie users will have access to the marketplace until NFT is fully integrated by the exchange.

As part of the deal, Uniswap will airdrop the USDC stablecoin in August to Genie users who have used the platform more than once before April 15, as well as to GENIE:GEM NFT holders.

The leading exchange has been experimenting with NFTs for a long time: back in the spring of 2019, Uniswap released Unisocks tokens as a joke. Amid the hype around the segment, the price of SOCKS reached $92,500 in early 2021. In May of the same year, an unknown person traded Unisocks worth $875,000 for nine pairs of socks.

Uniswap has over $1 trillion in deal volume since its launch in 2018.




Journalists learned about Binance.US plans to raise $50 million.
June 22, 2022

The American division of the Binance bitcoin exchange plans to raise an additional $50 million, CoinDesk reports, citing sources.

In April, Binance.US raised $200 million in a seed round at a $4.5 billion valuation. The company was backed by RRE Ventures, Foundation Capital, Original Capital, VanEck, Circle Ventures, Gaingels, Gold House, and a number of other firms.

The new funding will be a continuation of the seed round, and not the stage of Serie A, the sources said. "Strategic partners" will take part in it.

Binance.US CEO Brian Schroeder, announcing earlier the attraction of new investments, noted that this will allow the company to “enter the crypto winter from a position of strength.”

“Investors are not afraid to invest in us additional funds,” he added.

At the same time, Schroeder said that the company would announce the attraction of financing in July.

As the market plunges, rival cryptocurrency exchanges including Coinbase, Gemini and Crypto.com have announced layoffs. The head of Binance.US reassured the employees, urging them to “ignore the noise.”

“There is no world in which we would not come out of this cryptowinter in a stronger position, given everything we have done to enter it with growing and well-endowed resources,” Schroeder said.

Binance.US launched in the US in 2019. Schroeder took over as CEO in October 2021. In this post, he replaced the former head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency at the US Treasury, Brian Brooks, who worked for the company for about three months.

The SEC has launched an investigation into links between Binance.US and two trading firms affiliated with parent company founder Changpeng Zhao, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In June, a lawsuit was filed against the American platform Binance on behalf of investors LUNA and TerraUSD (UST).




Hester Pierce spoke out against the "rescue" of cryptocurrency companies.
June 22, 2022

Participants in the cryptocurrency industry should not support projects that find themselves in a difficult situation due to negative phenomena in the market. This was stated by SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce in a comment to Forbes.

“When the situation gets a little more complicated, you will find out who is actually creating something long-term, and who will soon disappear,” the official said.

In her opinion, supporting projects that have fallen into a difficult situation harms the industry. A different pattern of behavior could be an opportunity for market participants and regulators to see how the industry performs during times of acute stress, Pierce added.

“Cryptocurrencies do not have a rescue mechanism […]. I do not want to come and say that we will try to find a way to help you […]. But even if we did, I would not want to use this power, we really need to allow such things to develop, ”the commissioner emphasized.

Earlier, the head of FTX and Alameda Research, Sam Bankman-Fried, announced his readiness to help cryptocurrency market participants to mitigate negative phenomena due to the problems of Celsius and Three Arrows Capital.

In particular, Alameda Research has already provided broker Voyager Digital with a loan of 200 million USDC and a revolving line of credit for 15,000 BTC (~$300 million).

In 2021, FTX averted the bankruptcy of Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid after its hot wallets were hacked. The platform acquisition process ended in February 2022.

On June 21, BlockFi agreed with FTX to provide a $250 million revolving line of credit. Analyst FatMan called this arrangement a “deal with the devil,” and user Raja saw Bankman-Fried’s bad faith in the agreement, which allegedly “puts everyone in such a position, and then "rescues".

SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci, in a conversation with Bloomberg, called the head of FTX "the new John Pierpont Morgan."

“He is saving the cryptocurrency markets in the same way that JP Morgan did after the 1907 crisis,” Scaramucci explained.

As a reminder, FTX, Coinbase and Crypto.com have reviewed marketing spending due to the downturn in the market downturn and increased attention from regulators.

Previously, Binance CEO Changpeng called the crypto winter the right time to hire new employees and further develop the business.




Twitter Board of Directors recommended to approve the sale of the social network to Elon Musk.
June 22, 2022

The Board of Directors of Twitter unanimously recommended that shareholders approve the purchase of the social network by Elon Musk for $44 billion. This is evidenced by the document filed with the SEC.

"The Board of Directors of Twitter, after considering the factors described in more detail in the attached interim statement, unanimously determines that the acquisition agreement is appropriate […] and in the best interests of the company and its shareholders," the document reads.

Shares of TWTR after the opening of trading rose by almost 2%. The current market capitalization of the company is $29.44 billion.

If the deal were closed now, each of them would earn more than $15 per share. Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey would have made almost $978 million.

Recall that at the end of April, Elon Musk agreed to buy Twitter. The billionaire made a takeover offer to the management of the company in the middle of the month.

The entrepreneur explained his intention by the desire to create an “inclusive arena for freedom of speech”, and not by the desire to earn money.

Initially, the Twitter board of directors took a negative view of Musk's proposal, but then revised its position.

In May, the billionaire suspended the purchase process due to reports of inflated social media audience numbers. In an address to Twitter employees, he said that the number of daily active users should reach 1 million per day. In the first quarter, their number was 229 million.




Elon Musk will continue to support Dogecoin despite the bear market.
June 21, 2022

Elon Musk reaffirmed his support for the Dogecoin cryptocurrency despite the ongoing market correction. Bloomberg writes about it.

The head of SpaceX and Tesla emphasized that he never forced people to invest in the cryptocurrency he likes.

“I know that many people who are not so rich inspired me to buy and support Dogecoin. To these people, I can say - I intend to personally support Dogecoin, ”he said.

Tesla will continue to sell goods for Dogecoin, Musk said, and SpaceX will soon follow suit. The billionaire also said that his companies purchased bitcoin using a small percentage of monetary assets.

Recall that Musk is actively promoting meme-cryptocurrency. In April 2022, the businessman proposed lowering the cost of a Twitter Blue subscription and allowing users to pay for the premium service in DOGE.

He also advocated a wider integration of digital payments into the social network.

Previously, Musk, SpaceX and Tesla were sued for $258 billion for promoting Dogecoin.




The Ministry of Digital Development of Ukraine announced the sale of NFTs from the CryptoPunks collection for 90 ETH.
June 21, 2022

Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov announced the sale of NFTs from the CryptoPunks collection for 90 ETH (more than $104,000 at the time of writing).

CryptoPunk #5364 token was donated to Ukraine's crypto fund in March 2022. At that time, the DeepNFTvalue service estimated the value of the asset at 78.8 ETH.

The buyer of the NFT is unknown.

With the help of non-fungible tokens, the cryptocurrency community is actively supporting Ukraine during the war.

In March, the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT project team donated over $1 million in Ethereum to help the country.

In April, the Turn Back Alive Ukrainian Foundation received $250,000 from the NFT sale of the popular Coffin Dance video meme with dancing undertakers, and the Freedom to Ukraine project launched a fundraiser for humanitarian aid to Ukraine through the sale of NFTs.

Several NFT collections have also been launched on the Binance marketplace, the proceeds from the sale of which will be used to help the people of the country.

The Ministry of Digital Development and the blockchain community have launched an NFT-museum of metahistory dedicated to the chronology of the events of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.




Bitcoin investor from Thailand robbed a jewelry store due to losses in the crypto market.
June 21, 2022

Bangkok police have arrested a suspect in a jewelry store robbery worth about 1.8 million baht (over $50,000). It is reported that he wanted to compensate for losses from investments in bitcoin in this way.

According to Thai PBS, the man stole gold jewelry at gunpoint.

He told the police that he was under great stress and badly in need of money due to the fact that he had recently suffered large losses from investments in bitcoin.

He was charged with armed robbery.

Earlier, the Thai police detained six residents of Taiwan in Bangkok. According to investigators, they organized a fraudulent scheme with investments in cryptocurrency.




Changpeng Zhao denied information about Binance buying more than 100,000 BTC on depreciation.
June 20, 2022

The CEO of the Binance exchange, Changpeng Zhao, said that the information about the purchase of 101,266 BTC by the exchange is not true.

Earlier, some media reported that the platform acquired a large batch of bitcoin against the backdrop of a fall in the price of the first cryptocurrency.

Zhao called the information “another wrong article” and said that its authors do not understand how cold wallet exchanges work.

On June 18, the price of bitcoin fell below the psychological level of $20,000 and fell to $17,800.

At the time of writing, the first cryptocurrency is trying to gain a foothold at levels above $20,000.

According to Coinglass, the total volume of liquidations in the futures market per day was $300 million.

Since the beginning of the month, Bitcoin has fallen in price by 36%, Ethereum - by 44%. The fear and greed index rose one point to 9.

President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele recommended bitcoin investors not to worry about the quotes of the first cryptocurrency. According to him, investments in digital gold will grow “immeasurably” after the end of the bearish cycle.




Do Kwon Accused of Making False Claims About TerraUSD Stability.
June 20, 2022

A class action lawsuit by Terra investors against Terraform Labs (TFL) and its CEO Do Kwon has been filed in the Northern District of California court demanding that they be reimbursed for the purchase price of the tokens.

Kwon is accused of selling unregistered securities as well as making false claims about the stability of the stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) and the associated token LUNA.

The list of defendants named in the case includes Jump Crypto, Jump Trading, Republic Capital, Republic Maximal, Tribe Capital, DeFinance Capital, DeFinance Technologies, GSR Markets, Three Arrows Capital, and Nicholas Platias.

The plaintiffs allege that members of the non-profit organization Luna Foundation Guard misled UST/LUNA investors that an available reserve fund would be sufficient to protect them from a "banking panic."

“However, between May 6 and May 9, structural weaknesses in the Terra ecosystem caused UST and LUNA prices to collapse by approximately 91% and 99.7%, respectively, over the course of a week,” the lawsuit says.

Investors also indicated that with all signs of investment contracts in Terra tokens, “no registration applications have been received by the SEC.”

The plaintiffs demand monetary damages corresponding to the purchase price of Terra tokens and legal costs. Representatives of the TFL did not comment on the situation.

In parallel, the South Korean media reported that an inter-agency group under the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office imposed a ban on the exit from the country of one of the key developers of Terra, a certain "Mr. A".

He previously claimed that Do Kwon allegedly secretly sold the coin to unnamed "institutions" and earned "enough to buy an island." The investigation has yet to establish whether these funds were used to manipulate the market price of the token.

The media suggest that in the near future, law enforcement officers may conduct searches and seize the company's documentation. The prosecutor's office is now coordinating a timetable for the investigation with Terra officials. The agency is also conducting a legal review of Do Kwon's involvement in fraudulent activities.

Recall that on May 8, UST lost its peg to the US dollar. This happened against the backdrop of an outflow of assets from the Anchor protocol due to a decrease in the rate of return on deposits to 17.87%.

On May 10, the quotes of the asset fell below $0.62. The fall continued on May 11, after which the LUNA cryptocurrency used to issue UST fell to $0.3.

Following the collapse of the ecosystem, South Korean financial regulators held an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the incident. According to media reports, local authorities have begun checking employees of Terraform Labs as part of the investigation.

In May, one of the leading law firms in South Korea, LKB & Partners, announced plans to sue Kwon.

In June, Bloomberg sources spoke about the investigation launched by the US Securities and Exchange Commission into UST.




Marathon Digital Reaffirms Commitment to Bitcoin Accumulation Strategy.
June 20, 2022

Mining company Marathon Digital Holdings will continue to accumulate reserves in the first cryptocurrency, despite the price drop. This was stated by Vice President Charlie Schumacher to Cointelegraph.

While the firm's operations are "not immune from the macroeconomic environment," he said, it is "well positioned" to weather the current market downturn.

“For reference, in the first quarter of 2022, the cost of producing 1 BTC for us was approximately $6,200. We also have a fixed price for electricity, so we are not subject to changes in the energy market,” said Schumacher.

He emphasized that the price of bitcoin has a significant impact on the financial results of Marathon due to reporting in dollars. However, for an objective assessment of activities, the company prefers to focus on the production of cryptocurrency, Schumacher added.

“Of course, bitcoin is worth less per dollar at the time of production, but if you believe in the ability of the asset price to rise in the long term, then earning more BTC is never a bad thing,” said the vice president of Marathon.

As of May 31, the company has accumulated 9941 BTC on its balance sheet. Marathon has not sold the mined cryptocurrency since October 2021.

For the first quarter of 2022, the company generated 1,258.6 BTC and recorded a net loss of $13 million.

According to Schumacher, lowering the price of bitcoin will force inefficient miners out of the market and reduce the difficulty of mining new blocks. This will allow those who continue to operate to get more digital gold, he believes.

By June 18, the hash rate, which correlates with the difficulty of mining, fell by more than 10% compared to the maximum reached a few days earlier. At the time of writing, the smoothed seven-day moving average is 208 EH/s, according to the Hashrate Index.

Already on June 16, experts from the CryptoRank analytical platform stated that the price of BTC had reached the average cost of mining. This meant that for a certain part of the cryptocurrency miners, the activity became unprofitable.

IDEG Singapore Investment Director Markus Thelen noted that most miners calculated their annual budgets at the end of 2022, when the market was in other conditions. Therefore, the company believes that some small enterprises in the industry that do not have economies of scale will turn off the equipment. According to IDEG Singapore, their breakeven level is $26,000-$28,000 per 1 BTC.

On June 18, the price of the first cryptocurrency fell below $18,000. After the recovery, Bitcoin is trading near the $20,000 level.

Recall that in April, Arcane Research analysts called Marathon shares the most overvalued among public mining companies.

In June, Marathon quotes were among the leaders in terms of falling in the cryptocurrency-related market sector.




The community warned of possible liquidations of whale positions in ETH and SOL.
June 19, 2022

The Solend landing platform team has suggested that the community introduce special margin requirements for large users. The developers have also asked for temporary authority to manage the whale account, which accounts for 95% of all deposits in Solana (SOL) and 86% of loans in USD Coin (USDC).

Earlier, the founder of Solend under the nickname Rooter said that one of the users holds $ 170 million in SOL on the platform’s deposit, and also has a debt position in stablecoins for $ 108 million. According to him, the liquidation price of SOL for this participant is $ 22.27. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading near $30, according to CoinGecko.

“If the whale is liquidated, everything will start with a partial closure, limited to 20% of the amount of outstanding loans (about $21 million),” he added.

Rooter explained that a position of this size can be traded “without problems” in the OTC market, however, the majority of Solend liquidators are bots that use the liquidity of decentralized exchanges. In his opinion, the situation could lead to a cascading price reduction and endanger other platform participants.

“Solend has $20 million in reserves that can help pay off delinquent debts, but in the worst case (for which we want to be prepared) this may not be enough,” wrote the founder of the platform.

Rooter stressed that the Solend team tried to contact this large contributor, but without success. Therefore, the developers decided to submit a proposal to the community that should stabilize the situation.

“In the worst case, Solen users will lose $100 million and the entire $20 million treasury will be spent. This proposal is intended to prevent this. We spent hours discussing various options and honestly this one seems to be the best,” he wrote.

The developers proposed introducing special margin requirements for platform participants, which account for over 20% of all Main Pool loans. For such players, they plan to set a special liquidation threshold at 35%. It is assumed that the new rule will be implemented by updating the smart contract.

The team also asked for "emergency powers" to temporarily manage the whale's account. They explained this by the need to conduct a potential liquidation through the over-the-counter table.

5.5 hours were allotted for voting on the proposal.

Problems due to liquidations of large market participants could arise not only in the Solana network. On June 18, an analyst under the pseudonym DeFiyst drew attention to a large debt position in the Aave protocol with an ETH liquidation price of $895.4.

At the moment, the quotes reached the specified value. however, the position was not forcibly closed as Aave exclusively uses the Chainlink USDT/ETH price oracle. The latter assumes a deviation threshold of 1% before updating the data, so the price has had time to rise.

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading above $1,000.

However, not all players were so lucky. For example, on the landing platform Liquity, on June 18, a position was liquidated for 71,863 ETH at a price of just over $927, according to Dune Analytics.

However, Celsius Network continues to reduce debt on Aave and has completely closed its position in LINK on the MakerDAO platform.

Georgetown University law professor Adam Levitin called the bankruptcy of Celsius almost inevitable.





The tech analyst called the next level of support for the price of bitcoin.
June 19, 2022

A trader under the nickname crypto bullet allowed the price of the first cryptocurrency to reverse from the level of $18,600.

“Bitcoin is now in the middle of my support zone corresponding to the all-time high of 2017,” the analyst noted.

According to his observations, the weekly RSI indicator is at a historical low, and the fear of market participants "reached a new historical high."

“If $18,600 holds, I expect a reversal today,” he stressed.

Otherwise, the crypto bullet suggested, the $12,000 level will become relevant.

“But since everyone is hoping for $12,000, then most likely we will not get it. And if everyone thinks bitcoin won't bounce over the weekend, it most likely will. Bitcoin loves maximum pain scenarios.”

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $18,860, Ethereum is near $980 (according to CoinGecko).

Earlier today, the price of the first cryptocurrency for the first time in history failed the peak of the previous market cycle - the level of $20,000.




Elon Musk considered it logical to integrate crypto payments into Twitter.
June 17, 2022

It makes sense to integrate digital payments into Twitter, Elon Musk said at a general virtual meeting of social network employees. CoinDesk writes about it.

“At the moment, money is largely digital and has been for some time. It would make sense to integrate payments into Twitter to make it easy to send money back and forth,” the billionaire said.

At the end of April, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion. Musk made a takeover offer to the company's management in the middle of the month.

The entrepreneur explained his intention by the desire to create an “inclusive arena for freedom of speech”, and not by the desire to earn money.

Initially, the Twitter board of directors took a negative view of Musk's proposal, but then revised its position.

In May, the billionaire suspended the purchase process due to reports of inflated social media audience numbers. During the speech, he said that the number of daily active users of Twitter should reach 1 million per day. In the first quarter, their number was 229 million.

In September 2021, the social network added the ability to send donations in bitcoin. In February, this option was implemented for Ethereum.

In April, Musk proposed allowing users to pay for a Twitter Blue subscription in Dogecoin, a meme-cryptocurrency.




Ukraine joined the European Blockchain Partnership as an observer.
June 17, 2022

Ukraine has received observer status within the European Blockchain Partnership (EBP). Alexander Bornyakov, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development for IT Development, became the representative of the country.

It is expected that the accession of Ukraine will facilitate the integration of the digital economic space of the country and the EU.

Bornyakov said that this will intensify work on the implementation of the blockchain in state registries and services, and will also contribute to the creation of a "highly effective regulatory environment" for the virtual asset market.

The initiative to join Ukraine to the EBP was made by the General Director of the public union "Virtual Assets of Ukraine" Konstantin Yarmolenko and the head of the inter-factional association of deputies Blockchain4Ukraine Oleksiy Zhmerenetsky.

They appealed to representatives of the EU institutional bodies, including the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, with a request to include Ukraine in the number of full members of the EBP. The head of the European Commission in a response letter confirmed the prospect of Ukraine joining the partnership in the status of an observer.

Earlier, the Union "Virtual Assets of Ukraine" and the Blockchain4Ukraine association addressed the EU representatives on the issue of creating a unified infrastructure of blockchain services.




Ukraine launched a token backed by bonds.
June 16, 2022

The Ukrainian company Evoltech and broker ICU announced the launch of the “first cryptobond” UA Crypto Bond (UACB), which will allow investing in Ukrainian government bonds.

UACBs are backed by war bonds with a government money-back guarantee. Expected maturity is November 2022.

You can purchase tokens, and after paying the authorities for bonds, you can withdraw funds using USDT stablecoins (on BEP-20 or TRC-20). The authors of the initiative point out that making payments in USDT will protect investors from fluctuations in the hryvnia exchange rate.

The initial price per unit of UACB is set at 34.18 USDT, according to the terms of placement.

To purchase, you need to create a wallet on the site, when registering, you only need to specify an email address. The minimum investment amount is 3 USDT.

All funds raised will be used to support Ukraine in the war.

The first launch of war bond-backed tokens is a pilot.

“This is a test of interest and appetite on the part of a new category of investors in public debt and unlocking the potential of the law on virtual assets,” the ICU said.

The ICU believes that after the adoption of changes to the Tax Code, the project is scaled up. Recall that the law “On virtual assets” will come into force only after the approval of the provisions relating to the taxation of the crypto market.

Before the launch, the initiative was discussed with the regulator of the crypto industry in Ukraine - the National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market.

Since the first days of the war, the cryptocurrency community has donated millions of dollars and launched various initiatives to help Ukrainians. Read more about how cryptoassets help the people of Ukraine in our exclusive.




The hacker stole about $1.2 million as a result of the attack on the landing project Inverse Finance.
June 16, 2022

The Inverse Finance landing protocol was hacked, as a result of which the attacker withdrew digital assets worth about $1.2 million. Project losses could exceed this amount, PeckShield said.

The company explained that the hacker used the instant loan to manipulate the price oracle, which calculates the value of LP tokens based on the balance of assets in the liquidity pool.

The attacker withdrew 53 BTC and 100,000 USDT from the protocol. At the time of writing, ~68 ETH is stored in the address associated with it. He sold the rest of the assets on the decentralized exchange Uniswap and sent it to the address of the Ethereum mixer Tornado Cash.

The Inverse Finance team also confirmed the hack. To prevent further loss of funds, the developers have temporarily disabled borrowing operations. They stressed that no user assets were affected during the incident.

In April 2022, an unknown person withdrew over $15 million in digital assets from the Inverse Finance protocol. Then the hacker exploited a vulnerability in the Keep3r price oracle.




One of the largest banks in Europe has launched its own digital token.
June 16, 2022
Belgian banking group KBC Group has launched a euro-pegged digital token, Kate Coin. The tool is intended to be used within the ecosystem of an organization and its partners.

According to the press release, Kate Coin is a digital token based on an exclusive blockchain developed by KBC. Private clients will be able to purchase a stablecoin through the bank's mobile application. The lending institution emphasized that outside of the KBC ecosystem, the token has no value.

“The client can purchase Kate Coin as a loyalty reward, when purchasing a certain product or performing certain actions. The tokens can be used, for example, to receive a discount on another KBC product,” explained Eric Luts, Group Innovation Director.

KBC Group warned that tokens cannot be transferred to other users or exchanged for euros.

Kate Coin is backed by KBC reserves and is pegged to the Euro, however “is not a cryptocurrency or a stablecoin.” The organization calls the tool a “programmable digital coin.”

On June 19, the bank will test the token at the Werchter Boutique music festival. KBC employees will be able to pay for snacks and drinks using Kate Coin.

KBC Group is one of the largest banking organizations in Europe. At the end of 2021, she managed assets worth ~€340.34 billion.

In May 2022, the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority introduced the mandatory registration of cryptocurrency exchanges and custodial wallet operators.




Nansen Introduces Crypto Community-Oriented Web3 Messenger.
June 15, 2022

Analytical company Nansen has introduced Connect, an end-to-end encrypted Web3 messenger, which is aimed at participants in the cryptocurrency industry.

The company emphasized that they consider the digital wallet to be a “form of identity”, so authorization in the application will be based on blockchain addresses.

“With Connect, users will be able to log in with their crypto wallet, choose a name based on their Nansen wallet tags, join groups based on cryptocurrency ownership and blockchain transactions, send private messages to other users, track key collection statistics, and information about holdings in real time,” the press release says.

In the future, the developers promised to add the ability to create separate channels for OTC transactions.

At the launch, Connect will be available to subscribers of the analytical service and holders of NFTs from collections whose issuers have approved the messenger as the main communication channel. The latter include, for example, Bored Ape Yacht Club and Doodles.

In December 2021, Nansen raised $75 million in a Series B funding round. Investors valued the company at $750 million.




Tether denies rumors of Chinese commercial paper dominance in reserves.
June 15, 2022

Tether has called false rumors that USDT's stablecoin reserves are backed by 85% with Chinese commercial paper, which trades at a 30% discount.

The firm suggested that the information was being spread by some "coordinated funds" to generate additional profits in an already "stressed market."

The stablecoin issuer recalled that it is steadily reducing the share of commercial paper in reserves. As of March 31, it was 25%. Whereas US Treasuries accounted for 47%.

Since then, in monetary terms, the volume of commercial paper in the company's portfolio has decreased from $20 billion to $11 billion. It is expected that by the end of June the figure will reach $8.4 billion.

According to CoinGecko, the capitalization of the leading stablecoin is about $71.4 billion. The second largest issuance USDC has $54.7 billion.

Tether also emphasized that the liquidation of Celsius positions did not bring losses to the company.

“Tether currently has no relationship with Celsius other than a small investment in shares of the crypto lending platform,” the statement said.

The information that Tether is lending to Three Arrows Capital, which allegedly had problems with solvency, was also called false by the company.

Recall that the specialists of the Cumberland cryptocurrency OTC platform admitted that the next asset that is in danger of collapsing will be one of the leading stablecoins.




Kevin O'Leary: a serious negative event will determine the bottom of the crypto market.
June 15, 2022

It is possible to determine whether the cryptocurrency market has reached the bottom only if there is a serious negative event. This opinion was expressed by the investor and star of the television show Shark Tank Kevin O'Leary in a comment to CoinDesk.

“You won’t get the bottom until you have an event,” the speaker emphasized.

The TV star added that for the players involved, this is obviously not a positive thing. In his opinion, "panic determines the bottom" as the market capitulates before breaking out of the lows and slow recovery.

O'Leary is a strategic investor in Canadian DeFi platform WonderFi Technologies. He announced his vision of the situation on the crypto market on the eve of the listing of the company on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The investor also called the current market crash a plus for WonderFi. According to him, volatility has increased trading activity on the platform.

O'Leary added that further regulation is needed for wider adoption of digital assets among institutionalists. We should start with stablecoins, the Shark Tank star believes.

Earlier, O'Leary said that he holds almost 10% of his capital in cryptocurrencies. According to him, he owns Ethereum and the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin.

In January 2022, the investor spoke about the interest in buying shares of mining companies that use green energy, and in April about investing in Bitcoin and Solana.

Recall that in early June, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes announced the passage of the first and second cryptocurrencies of the local bottom.

In May, best-selling author of Rich Dad Poor Dad and entrepreneur Robert Kiyosaki predicted a test of the $17,000 level of Bitcoin.




BlockFi to lay off one-fifth of staff.
June 14, 2022

Crypto lending platform BlockFi announced a staff cut of more than 850 employees by about 20%.

The founders of the company, Zack Prince and Flory Marquez, noted that since the first quarter of 2022, the macroeconomic environment has changed dramatically and there has been a decline in the stock and cryptocurrency markets. To maintain profitability, BlockFi has taken a number of measures, including:

reduction of marketing costs;
elimination of non-critical suppliers;
decrease in remuneration of managers;
slowdown in headcount growth.

“We are cutting headcount by about 20%, which affects every team in the company. This decision is driven by market conditions that have had a negative impact on our growth rate, as well as a careful review of our strategic priorities,” the founders of BlockFi said.

They assured that customers would not experience “any significant disruption to the platform, products or services.”

“To our remaining 600+ colleagues, customers, partners and stakeholders who have supported us around the world, we are determined to ensure that BlockFi is here for the long haul,” Prince and Marquez emphasized.

In doing so, according to Reuters, the company has hired a lobbying team of five from Arnold & Porter.

In February, BlockFi settled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulators, agreeing to pay $100 million in fines.

Recall that in June, the media reported that the company is preparing to close a new round of financing at a valuation of $1 billion instead of the previously planned $5 billion.




Binance CEO: Crypto winter is a great time to expand staff.
June 14, 2022

Crypto winter is the right time to hire new employees and further develop the business through various acquisitions, says Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. He stated this at the Consensus 2022 conference, writes Bloomberg.

“If it’s cryptowinter now, we’re making the most of it,” said the head of Binance.

According to him, at this stage, Binance is actively hiring staff, as well as “gaining momentum in terms of mergers and acquisitions.”

Zhao noted that the exchange did not spend large amounts of money on advertising campaigns, such as those organized by several crypto platforms during the Super Bowl.

Recall that the Gemini bitcoin exchange owned by the Winklevoss brothers intends to reduce the number of employees by 10% due to the collapse of the crypto market and unfavorable macroeconomic conditions.

According to media reports, Coinbase began to optimize costs, including pausing the expansion of staff, after posting a net loss of almost $430 million in the first quarter of 2022.

Cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com announced plans to lay off about 5% of all employees.

Also, Bitso and Robinhood have already laid off staff.




El Salvador Unrealized Loss of $46M Due to Bitcoin Crash.
June 14, 2022

El Salvador's "paper" loss from bitcoins held in the state fund exceeded $46.1 million, according to Buy Bitcoin Worldwide.

According to the resource, the government holds 2301 BTC in reserves, their current value is $54.8 million.

On June 13, the price of bitcoin fell below $23,000. At the time of writing, quotes rose to $23,900. With an average purchase price of $43,900, El Salvador's “paper” loss amounted to $46.15 million.

The authorities of the country first started buying BTC on the eve of the legalization of cryptocurrency in the country in September 2021. They created a special fund in the amount of $150 million for this purpose.

Already at the end of September, El Salvador took advantage of the drop in the rate to $45,000 to purchase an additional 150 BTC, bringing the total reserves to 700 BTC.

On the fall of the price in November, another 100 BTC were bought, in January 2021 - an additional 410 BTC on the market drawdown. Then the crypto community calculated that the "paper" loss amounted to $ 20.7 million. Against this background, the well-known economist and critic of digital gold Nouriel Roubini called on the El Salvadoran government to impeach the country's President Nayib Bukele.

In May, the head of state announced that the government was buying an additional 500 BTC at an average price of ~$30,744.

Recall that during the collapse of the cryptocurrency market, the “paper” loss of the analytical software provider MicroStrategy from holding bitcoins exceeded $1 billion.




Bitcoin price collapsed below $ 23,000.
June 13, 2022

On the night of June 13, the price of the first cryptocurrency fell to the marks near $ 25,000, Ethereum - up to $ 1300.

Update: At the time of writing, the first cryptocurrency quotes dropped below $ 24,700.

The price of Ethereum holds near $ 1260.

Ethereum has fallen in price over the past day by 20.1%, up to $ 1192. The total capitalization of the cryptocurrency market reached $ 988.9 billion.

At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is about $ 25,600. A per day, cryptocurrency lost about 6.5%, according to Coingecko.

For the same period, Ethereum has fallen in price by 8.9%. The current price is $ 1313. Judging by the graphs, the decrease in the first and second cryptocurrencies was accompanied by a surge of the volume of trading.

Following the flagships, almost the entire market passed into the red zone. Over the past day, SOLANA (-13.4%) and Dogecoin (-11.4%) demonstrated the largest fall over the past day.

The total capitalization decreased by almost 6% and is less than $ 1.1 trillion. BTC dominance index - 45.3%, ETH - 15.1%.

According to Coinglass, the liquidation of futures in the market was subjected to positions worth more than $ 500 million.

The fear of fear and greed in the crypto industry reached 11 points ("extreme fear").

On June 10, Bitcoin fell below $ 30,000 against the background of news about accelerating inflation in the United States. On that day, the analyst under the pseudonym Planc noted that he has not yet seen a significant turn of the trend in the near future.

The head of Microstrategy Michael Sailor noted that inflation "did not reach his peak, like Bitcoin."

Monday began with a decrease in traditional markets. Hong Kong Hang Seng fell by 3.19%, Japanese Nikkei 225 by 3.01%. NASDAQ technological futures have lost 4.44%, and S&P 500 - 2.91%.

Recall that the investment director of Guggenheim Partners Scott Minerd admitted that the cost of the first cryptocurrency may decrease to $ 8,000.

Earlier, the critic of Bitcoin Peter Schiff called the “very probable” drop in the price of the asset by $ 10,000 in the event of a sharp breakdown of $ 30,000.

The founder of the Galaxy Digital Mike Novograts allowed a further decrease in the cryptocurrency market. In his opinion, the next few quarters will be volatile due to the negativity of Wall Street.




Unknown stole 20 million OP tokens due to Wintermute market maker's mistake.
June 9, 2022

The hacker intercepted 20 million OP tokens (~$17 million) sent by the Optimism Foundation to market maker Wintermute.

Developers of Ethereum's L2 scaling solution have chosen Wintermute as their liquidity provider for centralized exchanges following OP's airdrop. On May 30, on the eve of the distribution of tokens, the Optimism Foundation transferred 20 million OP to the address of the market maker.

According to the Wintermute team, due to an internal error, they specified a Gnosis Safe multisig wallet for the Ethereum network for the transaction.

“As some of you may know, doing this is unwise — having control of Safe on the mainnet does not guarantee it on other EVM-compatible chains (unlike normal wallets),” Wintermute explained.

After discovering that funds were not available on the Optimism network address, Wintermute negotiated an additional 20M OP with a $50M collateral.

The market maker contacted the Gnosis Safe and Optimism teams for a possible refund. Experts came to the conclusion that this high-risk operation can be performed once and scheduled it for June 7th.

However, on June 1, an unknown person attacked the Wintermute address on the L2 network, deploying a Gnosis Safe multisig contract with its own initialization parameters. He sold 1M OP for ETH and withdrew the funds to the mainnet via the Synapse and Hop bridges to then send to the Tornado Cash mixing service.

The Wintermute team has committed to buying back the lost funds. They also offered the hacker to return the remaining 19 million OP.

“We are ready to consider this as a white hat exploit. In addition, the attack method was quite impressive. We may even consider consulting and other forms of collaboration in the future,” they said to the unknown.

He was given a week to make a positive decision. Otherwise, Wintermute promised to track down and deanonymize the hacker, as well as contact law enforcement agencies.

The developers of Optimism allowed a network update to be carried out to block the movement of the remaining tokens on the address.

“We will not take this step at this time due to the fact that it will set a precedent. Optimism is a constraint-free network and behaves as intended,” they added.

By June 3, the OP price rose to levels near $1.6, after which it moved to a decrease. Against the background of the publication of Optimism Foundation and Wintermute clarifications about the incident, quotes sank to $0.7 at the moment. At the time of writing, the token is trading at around $0.85.

Recall that in February, the Optimism team eliminated a critical vulnerability. Jay Freeman, the programmer who discovered the bug, received a $2 million reward.




Research: Facebook algorithms played along with Republicans.
June 9, 2022

In 2018, a change in Facebook's algorithms led to a significant increase in the activity of local Republican groups, despite their Democratic counterparts posting more frequently. Writes about it NBC News.

Researchers at Research & Politics measured engagement with local Democratic and Republican group social media posts from 2016-2021. They found that in 2018, a few months after the Facebook algorithm change, there was a significant spike in interactions with the GOP Facebook pages that weren't seen on Twitter.

“It is possible that content score changes resulted in a doubling of the total number of local GOP posts compared to local Democratic Party posts in the first half of 2019, although the latter posted more frequently during the same period,” the researchers said.

Without access to the homepage ranking algorithm, it's hard to know exactly what caused the shift, they said. However, experts noted that the findings are consistent with previous investigations within the Facebook Papers.

A Meta spokesperson called the researchers' information "implausible" and erroneous.

“This is inconsistent with what the algorithm was actually doing, which was to reduce the amount of public content, such as political content, on the platform,” a company spokesperson said.

He suggested that the surge in activity coincided with an election cycle traditionally causing "significant" divisions between supporters of both political forces.

Recall that in October 2021, former Facebook employee Francis Haugen accused the social network of deliberately using algorithms to incite hatred for profit.

In the same month, Facebook agreed to open content ranking tools to regulators to prove they were harmless.

At the end of October, against the background of the scandal, the corporation carried out a large-scale rebranding, changing its name to Meta.




The Osmosis team announced the timing of the restoration of the platform.
June 9, 2022

It will take “at least two days” to restore the operation of the Osmosis blockchain platform, which has been unable to process transactions for a day due to an exploit. Users will be reimbursed for lost funds, the project team said.

On May 8, the blockchain suspended block production due to a vulnerability that could have drained Osmosis DEX liquidity pools. The project team estimated damage at about $5 million.

The developers confirmed that the exploit was made possible due to a bug present in the Osmosis v9 update, which was activated on May 7th.

The error consisted in the incorrect calculation of the shares of liquidity providers when depositing and withdrawing assets from pools. It was skipped at the stage of internal testing of the update.

“Osmosis core development team takes full responsibility for this oversight. This means that the strategic reserve, and not the community pool, takes responsibility for any lost funds.

The developers plan to partially cover the losses by returning the funds withdrawn through the vulnerability. The team identified 4 addresses that account for over 95% of the exploit's implementation.

The owners of two of them are ready to return the funds in full, the rest interacted with centralized exchanges. The developers passed the "relevant information" to the last.

FireStake, a staking service for delegates of the Cosmos ecosystem, announced its readiness to return assets. Two of its users "turned $226,000 into $2 million" during "exploit testing."

“We are currently working with the Osmosis team to get the funds back as soon as possible. We also urge everyone else who took advantage of the situation to get in touch and return the assets,” FireStake said in a statement.

According to the developers, they are testing the Osmosis v10 update. It is assumed that after its release, the blockchain will resume work.

“While the estimated timeline may change, it is anticipated that this will take at least two more days,” they wrote.

Recall that in May 2022, the Wormhole project team paid $10 million to a white hat hacker who discovered a critical vulnerability in the cross-chain protocol.




Forbes: Almost 30% of billionaires invest in cryptocurrencies.
June 9, 2022

The American Forbes polled 65 "richest people in the world" and found that almost 30% of them invest in crypto assets.

The publication indicated that this figure is higher than that of investors who do not have a billion-dollar fortune.

Around 18% of those surveyed reported holding at least 1% of their wealth in cryptocurrencies. Most of them invest in the industry as an experiment.

80% of billionaires invested in cryptocurrencies said they invested less than one tenth of their wealth. 3.2% of respondents have invested more than half of their wealth in digital assets.

Another 10% said they did not directly invest in cryptocurrencies, but supported industry-oriented companies.

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, one of the survey participants, said that between 76% and 100% of his $20.6 billion capital is in crypto assets.

Billionaires are increasingly coming into the industry. For example, Mark Cuban, who previously criticized bitcoin, is now actively investing in cryptocurrencies.

“It's no different than investing in stocks, bonds and other assets. My tech stocks performed worse than my cryptocurrency,” he told Forbes.

Real estate billionaire John Sobrato said that he is not investing directly in digital currencies, but in Andreessen Horowitz's fund focused on them. This is how he gets involved in the industry, he says, avoiding "brain overheating from being in an asset class you don't understand."

Experts believe that billionaires are ideal for experimenting with cryptocurrencies and have the resources to do so: “They are not so worried about what will happen to the price of bitcoin next month.”

Recall that in April, Forbes presented a rating of the richest representatives of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.




Blockchain Osmosis Zone Suspended Due to Critical Vulnerability.
June 8, 2022

On Wednesday, May 8, blockchain platform Osmosis Zone of the Cosmos ecosystem suspended block production due to a vulnerability that could lead to the depletion of the liquidity pools of the Osmosis Dex decentralized exchange.

“Liquidity pools have not been 'completely drained'. The developers are fixing the bug, assessing the damage (probably in the region of $5 million), and working to restore [the network]. More detailed information will be provided in the near future,” the project team said.

At the time of writing, the platform has not processed transactions for more than 4 hours. The network stopped at block height #4 713 064.

Reddit users were the first to notice the exploit. One of them noted that the vulnerability allows you to deposit liquidity into the pool and get 50% more deposit when it is removed.

One of the addresses repeatedly exploited the vulnerability for more than 30 minutes. As a result, the ecosystem participant withdrew over 75,000 ATOMs (~$659,000) from Cosmos.

Validators started reporting issues after the Osmosis v9 update, which went live on June 7th. The update is focused on the implementation of a module that allows blockchain platform projects to use the CosmWasm service to issue tokens.

Recall that in January 2022, the price of the native Osmosis token updated its maximum above $10.




Argo Blockchain Cuts Bitcoin Production by 25%
June 8, 2022

In May, the British mining company Argo Blockchain mined 124 BTC. This is 25.3% less than the previous month.

The decline in production was explained by a number of factors:
the growth of mining difficulty;
voluntary reduction in power consumption at the Helios facility in Texas due to tariff increases;
unplanned downtime during the commissioning of this enterprise;
The company's hash rate in the Terra Pool accounted for fewer bitcoins than in April due to probabilistic results.

“You are at risk. We've been very lucky in the past, but not so much this month. We had a couple of dry spells where we weren't mining as many blocks,” commented Argo CEO Peter Wall.

According to him, the company is considering alternative options to receive a guaranteed reward for a share of the hashrate, and not based on the blocks found, as is the case with Terra.

Argo's mining revenue was £3.07m in May, up from £5.52m in April. Profitability fell from 75% to 62% due to both the reduction in production and the fall in the price of the first cryptocurrency.

As of May 31, the firm held 2,379 BTC.

In May, Argo officially began mining at the Helios data center. Within a month, the company deployed 2,500 Antminer S19J Pros received from Core Scientific as part of a hardware exchange agreement at the facility.

The firm has also begun installing similar devices at the site, supplied by Bitmain under a September 2021 contract. This made it possible to increase the hashrate by 300 PH/s by the end of the month, up to 1.9 EH/s.

The Chinese manufacturer will complete the delivery of all 20,000 miners under the agreement by October 2022 - approximately 3,000 units per month.

Argo has also signed a contract with ePIC Blockchain Technologies to purchase 6,600 custom bitcoin miners powered by Intel's Blockscale ASICs. The company signed a supply agreement with an American chipmaker at the beginning of the year.

The agreement with ePIC provides for the possibility of additional orders for up to 23,400 devices. The miners are optimized to run on Helios, which uses immersion cooling to improve durability and efficiency.

Recall that in May, Argo reached an agreement with the "daughter" of NYDIG to provide a loan of $ 70.6 million to purchase equipment for a mining enterprise in Texas.




Cryptocurrency bank Caitlin Long sues the Fed.
June 8, 2022

Cryptocurrency bank Custodia (formerly Avanti) has filed a lawsuit against the Fed for delaying a decision on an application for access to the regulator's payment system through a master account.

The complaint was filed with the U.S. District Court in Wyoming. Caitlin Long's company accused the agency of delaying the processing of a "critical application for Custodia's business."

According to the lawsuit, 19 months have passed since the appeal to the Fed.

“Such an account would allow Custodia to have direct access to the Federal Reserve rather than through an intermediary bank. These wholly illegal delays are exacerbated by non-standard procedures adopted by the defendant, who interpreted them as allowing federal agencies to operate in complete secrecy, when and how they want, without any liability, ”the bank said.

The plaintiff added that in its own documents, the regulator describes the timeframe for making a decision as "5-7 business days." According to Custodia, the delay in the application "clearly violated the statutory deadline of one year."

In November 2020, the Wyoming Banking Board unanimously approved Avanti's charter and business plan, granting it the status of a formal financial institution.

In July 2021, Long criticized the Fed for being biased towards crypto companies. In her opinion, by denying them direct access to their payment services, the regulator creates risks of disconnecting industry participants from the banking system.

Recall that in August of the same year, the crypto bank applied for the status of a Fed member bank.




Michael Saylor: Bitcoin is the most reliable thing in an unstable world.
June 6, 2022

The short-term volatility of bitcoin doesn’t matter if there is an understanding of the fundamentals of the leading cryptocurrency and how difficult it is to create something better. This opinion was expressed by the head of MicroStrategy Michael Saylor in an interview with The Block.

“Bitcoin is the most reliable thing in a very volatile world. It is more reliable than the other 19,000 cryptocurrencies, than any shares, than owning property anywhere in the world,” the top manager emphasized.

In his opinion, people who have invested at least $100 in bitcoin can talk about cryptocurrencies. Otherwise, they "probably have nothing to say about it," Saylor noted.

Commenting on the collapse of Terra and the subsequent market correction, the head of MicroStrategy doubted that what was happening was evidence of a bearish phase.

“I don’t know if this is a bear market or not, but if it is, then in the last 24 months we have had three of them,” he stressed.

Saylor added that he prefers not to get carried away by short-term prices. According to him, people who pay too much attention to the charts, "guessing on coffee grounds."

“If you don’t plan to hold it [Bitcoin] for four years, you are not an investor at all, you are a trader, and my advice to traders is: don’t trade it, invest in it,” the top manager concluded.

MicroStrategy is the first public company to invest part of its own capital in digital gold. Since December 2020, the company has begun using debt financing to buy bitcoin.

In March 2022, MicroStrategy raised a $205 million loan secured by its cryptocurrency savings. Later, its division - MacroStrategy - acquired 4167 BTC for $190.5 million.

According to Bitcoin Treasuries, the software provider holds 129,218 BTC in balance — just over $4 billion at the exchange rate at the time of writing.

Recall that in May, Saylor announced that the company had no plans to sell bitcoins. In the same month, he promised to continue buying the first cryptocurrency.




Environmentalists demanded to revoke work permit from Greenidge Generation
June 6, 2022

Environmentalists and New York Assembly member Anna Kelles have called on Gov. Katie Hokul to revoke Greenidge Generation's mining permit. It is reported by CoinDesk.

Kelles is the initiator of a bill imposing a two-year moratorium on mining cryptocurrencies using electricity generated from carbon sources. At the end of April, the document was supported in the lower house of the State Legislative Assembly, and on June 3 - in the Senate. It will come into force after signing by the governor.

The initiative provides for a freeze on current levels of carbon emissions from mining. Operating companies or those in the process of obtaining permission to mine digital assets will be able to continue to operate. Over the course of a two-year period, the authorities plan to study the potential environmental impact of Proof-of-Work mining.

According to the publication, during the press conference, environmentalists also turned to Hokul with a request to refuse a work permit for blockchain hosting provider Digihost Technologies.

In 2021, the company entered into an agreement with bitcoin miner Bit Digital to provide premises for the storage and operation of 20 MW cryptocurrency mining equipment.

In May 2022, Bit Digital reported shutting down approximately 1,580 devices hosted in New York State. According to the statement, Digihost Technology cited the need to obtain additional approvals from the authorities.

At the time of writing, representatives of the hosting provider have not commented on the demands of environmentalists, unlike Greenidge Generation. In a press release, the company emphasized that the document does not apply to its operations: “The text of the bill explicitly states, and its sponsor [Kelles in a WSJ comment] confirmed that the law will not apply to Greenidge operations. […] Application for renewal filed March 5, 2021 and recognized by the New York State Department of Environmental Protection in 2021. Therefore, this bill will not affect the Greenidge facility,” the statement said.

The mining company has previously faced allegations of environmental violations. In April 2022, the state Supreme Court denied a motion to stop construction of Greenidge Generation facilities near Seneca Lake, seeing no negative environmental impact.

Recall that Vitalik Buterin, general partner of Castle Island Ventures Nick Carter and other community members criticized the moratorium on bitcoin mining in New York.




Elon Musk predicted the emergence of general AI in 2029.
June 1, 2022

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has suggested that by 2029 humanity will develop artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Rebooting AI author and vocal general AI critic Gary Markus, in an open letter, offered Musk a $100,000 bet on whether AGI would be available by 2029.

He added that the businessman's comments are useless in the broader discussions about AI.

“Musk’s statements about AGI only increase the hype around modern technology, when in fact we probably need to take a step back to understand where we are and really face difficult problems,” Markus said.

In his opinion, today too much money is being invested "not in what is needed."

“There is a tendency to look at AGI as 'something magical'. This misled corporate business and politicians, ”the scientist added.

Musk did not answer the call. Marcus noted the need for a public debate whether or not money is at stake.

Recall that in March, Tesla included artificial intelligence in the company's long-term development plan.

Musk said in January that the automaker could play an important role in creating general AI, as well as preventing a potential rebellion of machines against humans.

In April 2021, the businessman said that Tesla will become one of the largest AI companies in the world.




Thailand detains Taiwanese for organizing cryptocurrency scam.
June 1, 2022

Thai police detained six Taiwanese in Bangkok. According to investigators, they deceived more than 500 people through a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme, according to the Bangkok Post.

In addition, the detainees are accused of illegally conducting exchange business without a license. Four of them were also charged with work without a permit, a fifth with drug-related crimes, and a sixth had an expired visa.

The two detainees were wanted on the basis of arrest warrants issued in Taiwan.

During the search, laptops and mobile phones were seized from the group.

Recall that from April 1, 2022, Thai regulators recommended that businesses exclude the acceptance of payments in digital assets.




Elon Musk criticized the co-founder of Dogecoin for a "fragment of bad code"
June 1, 2022

Dogecoin co-founder Jackson Palmer has been criticized by Elon Musk, whom he called a scammer the day before.

In an interview yesterday, Palmer described how he provided Musk with a script to fight spam on Twitter a few years ago. According to him, the billionaire could not figure out how to run it, because he “does not know the code well.”

Palmer also called the head of Tesla and SpaceX a fraud and a faker, criticizing the activity in the cryptocurrency segment and the intention to acquire Twitter.

“You falsely claimed that this bit of bad Python code would solve the bot problem,” Musk replied in a tweet posting the interview. “My kids were coding better when they were 12.”

Musk was asked which programming language is better. He replied that Python is more suitable for AI and "most things", JavaScript for web development, and C / C ++ for high-performance applications.

Recall that in early April, Musk became the largest shareholder of Twitter after acquiring a 9.2% stake for $2.89 billion.

On April 14, he offered to buy the social network for more than $43 billion, but later suspended the deal after the media reported that Twitter's audience figures were inflated.

Nevertheless, the businessman is still set to buy. He called the victory over spam bots one of his goals.

At the end of May, Twitter shareholders sued Elon Musk and the social network itself because of the "chaotic process" of the company's takeover.




Shenzhen to distribute red envelopes as part of digital yuan testing.
May 31, 2022

The authorities of the Chinese city of Shenzhen will conduct another test of the digital yuan (e-CNY). Local media write about it.

"Red envelopes" will be distributed through a lottery. The total amount will be 30 million yuan ($4.5 million).

The Shenzhen Municipal Commercial Bureau is partnering with several financial institutions, including the Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank and ICBC, as part of the testing, according to the publication.

In October 2020, the first mass testing of e-CNY took place in Shenzhen. During the second experiment, local residents made almost 140,000 transactions worth 18.22 million yuan (~$2.8 million). In January 2021, the third phase of testing started.

An experiment with the distribution of 100,000 "red envelopes" also took place in the city of Suzhou. Beijing and Shanghai have announced plans to support e-CNY testing.

In February 2021, the Agricultural Bank of China branch in the "future metropolis" Xiong'an in Hebei Province developed a hardware wallet for the digital yuan.

In July, authorities in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, tested a digital yuan with programmed use cases.

Earlier, the Chinese food delivery company Meituan allowed partner merchants to accept e-CNY. The WeChat communication system and its affiliated WeBank also joined the testing.

Recall that in April 2022, the former head of the People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan, said that the digital yuan is intended for the population and merchants, and not to replace SWIFT or turn the currency into a weapon.




The capacity of the Lightning Network exceeded 3900 BTC.
May 31, 2022

Since the beginning of 2022, the capacity of the Bitcoin Lightning Network (LN) micropayment network has grown by more than 15%, from 3316 BTC to 3915 BTC.

According to the 1ML service, there are 85,230 payment channels in the second-level network, interconnected by 17,564 nodes.

The Lightning Network is one of the most important solutions for scaling Bitcoin, reducing transaction fees, and increasing payment privacy.

Earlier, Arcane Research analysts noted that the LN ecosystem is growing faster than its capacity. The latter indicator, according to their data, from April to September 2021 grew exponentially - over this period it increased by 700%.

Analysts explained the rapid development of the ecosystem with the legalization of bitcoin in El Salvador. From September 2021, companies operating in the country are required to accept payments from Chivo digital wallets that are compatible with the Lightning Network.

In February 2022, the country's authorities relaunched Chivo, improving the app's user interface, fixing bugs, and adding improved LN support.

In the same month, analytics platform Chainalysis added Lightning Network support to its transaction tracking solution.

Recall that in April, the online broker Robinhood announced plans to integrate LN.




The co-founder of Dogecoin doubted the onset of crypto winter.
May 31, 2022

Dogecoin (DOGE) co-founder Jackson Palmer, in an interview with Crikey, ruled out the onset of a crypto winter, noting the distribution of “mountains of money” by digital asset promoters.

“They are waiting for a new batch of fools to come. This happens cyclically, ”said the specialist.

The co-founder of Dogecoin explained that collective memory tends to fade. According to him, people no longer remember about ICO and NFT scams and are ready to invest in DAO and IGO.

Palmer expressed regret that the crypto market is not going to burst anytime soon.

“More and more people do nothing but earn money without putting in the effort. It kind of ruined our lives. A mental problem arose - things that seemed “strange” five or ten years ago have now become commonplace. Now, even if it's obviously a scam, people think, 'Do I really care?'" he explained.

The creator of Dogecoin sees a rise in "cynicism" about cryptocurrencies. From 2013 to 2020, he lost almost the entire environment of crypto-skeptics, although now they have begun to “wake up” after losing money, Palmer noted.

The co-founder of Dogecoin again criticized Elon Musk.

“He is a fraud. He sells his vision of the future in the hope that one day he will be able to realize what he promises. But Musk does not know this, ”said the specialist.

Palmer launched the Griftonomics podcast, in which he decided to develop criticism of the community.

Recall that in 2021, the co-founder of Dogecoin called the cryptocurrency “far-right, hyper-capitalist technology” created to increase the well-being of already rich people.

In 2013, Palmer and his Adobe Systems colleague Billy Markus created the meme-cryptocurrency Dogecoin. The developers did not expect that their project would be taken seriously. Two years later, they left the project and sold their DOGE.




Court Seizes Alleged Hydra Administrator's Crypto Wallet, But Can't Access It.
May 31, 2022

A Moscow court ordered the arrest of the cryptocurrency wallet of Dmitry Pavlov, accused of administering the Hydra darknet marketplace.

According to Kommersant, all Pavlov's phones and computers were confiscated, and he himself is cooperating with the investigation. However, the suspect refused to disclose the password for the crypto wallet.

According to the Telegram channel Mash, the investigation suggests that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoins may be in the wallet.

Recall that Hydra is one of the largest darknet marketplaces in the world. According to US authorities, from January 2016 to March 2022, cryptocurrencies worth more than $5 billion were received into wallets controlled by the site. Last year, it accounted for approximately 80% of all crypto transactions related to the dark web.

In April, German police confiscated the platform's servers and seized 543 BTC, while the US Treasury imposed sanctions against Hydra.

An American court charged Dmitry Pavlov with administering a darknet site, providing it with hosting services, conspiracy to launder money and distribute drugs.

On April 11, the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow arrested Pavlov. In the Russian Federation, he was detained on another charge - Pavlov is charged with the illegal sale of drugs on an especially large scale.




Michael Saylor vows to continue buying bitcoin.
May 30, 2022

Bitcoin remains an asset free from government and corporate interference, inspiring confidence “in this uncertain world.” This was stated in an interview with Fox News by the head of MicroStrategy Michael Saylor.

According to the head of MicroStrategy, the markets have entered bearish territory - bonds act as currency derivatives, losing their value along with stocks in conditions of high inflation.

The top manager noted that in an extremely emotional market, an investor needs the protection that the first cryptocurrency can give him.

“Two years after the crisis began, the money supply in the United States increased by 36%. Gold has risen in price by 7%. The S&P index rose 29%, the Nasdaq index - 19%. Bitcoin added 229% in price. If you can digest volatility, you are looking to the future, you have a safe haven there. Bitcoin is a fair, open, peer-to-peer network with the promise to anyone who wants to join that what you have is yours and no one can take it away,” he said.

Sailor noted that as soon as he or the company has extra money, he will invest in bitcoin: “I will always buy. We are taking this decision very seriously. The web is only getting better. Acceptance is growing. Signals are coming from Washington about a transition to constructive regulation. The development of the Lightning Network brings us closer to Satoshi's promise to allow everyone in the world to trade with each other at the speed of light. I will always buy at the very top […] Bitcoin is a tool for economic empowerment,” he concluded.

MicroStrategy holds 129,218 BTC on its balance sheet — almost $4 billion at the exchange rate at the time of writing. Recall that in May, Saylor announced that the company had no plans to sell bitcoins.




CFTC commissioner compares cryptocurrencies to lottery tickets.
May 30, 2022

Investing in crypto assets should be treated like buying lottery tickets, which can be expected to win or lose. CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham said this in an interview with CNBC.

According to her, the creators of many cryptocurrency projects do not disclose detailed information to investors who buy assets based on “guaranteed profits”.

“You can get rich, or you can lose all your funds,” said Pham.

The CFTC commissioner mentioned the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. She called the incident a tragedy for the entire market and its test of strength, noting that the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) once again proves the revival of "shadow" banking.

Pham expressed her hope that investors will carefully assess the risks before buying such assets. In her opinion, the laws on traditional finance should apply to the cryptocurrency market.

“It's always faster to create a regulatory framework when it already exists. You are just talking about expanding the regulatory perimeter around new, original products,” said the representative of the Commission.

Pham called for the elimination of ambiguity around "stablecoins". The commissioner added that Terra's collapse is enough to force lawmakers to "adopt the right" regulatory framework.

In January, the interim head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) within the US Treasury, Michael Hsu, allowed a situation of “banking panic” among holders of stablecoins.

Later, the head of the OCC announced the need to equate issuers of "stable coins" with depository institutions with mandatory deposit insurance.

Recall that in May, Hsu confirmed the correctness of the “careful and cautious” approach of the regulator to cryptocurrencies. According to him, the decline in market capitalization after the collapse of Terra did not lead to "infection of traditional banking and finance."




Robots fill labor shortage in Singapore.
May 30, 2022

Singaporean businesses have begun to massively introduce robot assistants due to a shortage of labor. Reuters writes about it.

From December 2019 to September 2021, the number of foreign workers decreased by 235,700 due to the immigration restrictions imposed against the backdrop of the pandemic, according to the Singapore Ministry of Human Resources. This has accelerated "the pace of adoption and automation of technologies by companies," the authorities said.

Construction firm Gammon said it has begun using Spot's four-legged robot to scan areas of dirt and gravel. After checking the progress of work, the data is returned to the control room.

According to Gammon general manager Michael O'Connell, the use of Spot requires only one employee instead of the two that previously performed manual work.

“Replacing the need for on-site workforce with autonomous solutions is gaining momentum,” he said.

O'Connell believes that the shortage of employees in the industry, exacerbated by the pandemic, is not going anywhere.

The National Library of Singapore has unveiled two robots that can scan the labels of 100,000 books (about 30% of its collection) a day.

“Staff do not have to read numbers one by one, and this reduces the routine and labor-intensive [work],” said Li Yi Fuang, assistant director of the library.

Robots are also being used to solve customer-related tasks: more than 30 metro stations have devices that prepare coffee for passengers.

However, some users of the services noted a lack of communication with people.

“We always want to have some kind of human contact,” said metro passenger Ashish Kumar.

Recall that in April, Elon Musk said that the Tesla robot business will become more profitable than the automobile business.

In January, researchers reported that by 2040, widespread automation in enterprises will put 12 million Europeans out of work.




Reserve Bank of India proposes phased approach to CBDC implementation.
May 30, 2022

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advocated a phased approach to CBDC implementation in order to maintain control over the process. News 18 writes about this with reference to the annual report of the regulator.

“The Reserve Bank proposes to take a stepwise approach to CBDC implementation, step by step going through the stages of proof of concept, pilot projects and launch. […] relevant CBDC design elements are being explored that can be implemented with little or no interruption,” the document says.

The RBI noted that it is focusing on identifying the pros and cons of launching a digital rupee. According to the regulator, its design should "conform to the objectives of monetary policy, financial stability and efficient operation of the currency and payment systems."

The Central Bank also announced the creation of the Innovation Center (RBIH) in order to stimulate innovation. The structure will cooperate with institutions of the financial sector, technological and industry organizations.

As part of its mandate, RBIH will develop an internal infrastructure to promote research in the fintech sector and facilitate interaction with startups.

In early 2021, the Reserve Bank began exploring the potential of the digital rupee. The regulator was interested in the feasibility of launching and the potential of such an instrument.

In July, RBI said it was working on a phased CBDC rollout strategy and launch process for both the wholesale and retail segments.

In November, the regulator admitted that in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 it could conduct a pilot launch of the national digital currency.

Recall that in May 2022, the media learned about the fears of the Reserve Bank of India regarding the possible dollarization of the economy due to cryptocurrencies.




Government websites of Belarus went offline because of Anonymous hackers.
May 30, 2022

The hacker group Anonymous reported a violation of the work of a number of government sites in Belarus.

The hackers reported that the websites of the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Education, the National Center for Legal Information and the Ministry of Justice of Belarus went offline.

At the time of writing, all the sites mentioned are not loading.

Anonymous attributed the attack to "the involvement of the Belarusian government in the invasion of Ukraine."

Earlier, hackers hacked into Russian channels and broadcast footage of the war in Ukraine, announced the hacking of Sberbank and gaining access to the data of the Russian authorities.




CFTC Report: Big CME players ramp up long positions in bitcoin futures.
May 29, 2022

Open interest (OI) for bitcoin futures on the CME regulated exchange is gradually stabilizing after a long fall. This is evidenced by the CFTC data.

The chart below shows that the downtrend started in late October and ended in early March.

Longs of hedge funds and other large players (Non-Commercial) are increasingly prevailing over shorts. Previously, this category was dominated by short positions.

For small players, shorts began to prevail over longs. Although Nonreportable are usually optimistic compared to other, larger market participants.

Among the few institutionals, the number of short positions is growing.

The total number of participants in bitcoin futures trading on CME is gradually increasing.

Against the backdrop of changes in the Bitcoin futures market, the fear index has been at extremely low levels since the beginning of May.

The RSI indicator on the weekly chart approached the deep oversold zone.

Based on the above factors, a recovery in the price of bitcoin is likely soon, or even a trend reversal.

Earlier, Glassnode analysts noted the continuing uncertainty in the cryptocurrency market.




The developers launched the main network of the Terra 2.0 project.
May 29, 2022

The head of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, announced the launch of the main network Terra 2.0, which received the identifier Phoenix-1. According to him, the participants of the LUNA airdrop have already been credited with tokens - to see the balance, you need to connect to the Terra Station system.

Kwon added that new members from the Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol ecosystem need to connect to Terra Station using the same network they previously used with Terra Classic.

The Terra Finder block explorer has added Phoenix-1 support. According to the service, the network has produced over 330 blocks at the time of writing.

Terraform Labs said that users can transact with liquid LUNAs, including staking, trading, and transactions with decentralized applications after their launch.

“Since Terra 2.0 is a different chain and not a fork, dapps from Terra Classic will have to be restarted on the new blockchain,” the developers reminded.

Vested LUNAs are automatically staked. Users can choose a validator through re-delegation or through de-delegation. In the latter case, you will have to wait 21 days.

According to Terra Station, LUNA's total supply is fixed at 1 billion tokens, with over 328 million coins in the community pool. The rest of the cryptocurrency is distributed during the airdrop process.

The launch of Terra 2.0 was supported by many centralized exchanges, including Binance, Huobi, and Kraken. Most platforms have yet to make announcements regarding the launch of LUNA trading. However, some industry participants have already disclosed the opening time of the relevant spot market.

Update: Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has opened access to the LUNA/USDT market. Trading started at $0.5, and in less than an hour, asset quotes have grown significantly - at the time of writing, the price is $17.55.

Update: LUNA has also been opened up by crypto exchanges OKX, Gate.io, Bitrue, and KuCoin.

Update: Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is distributing LUNA among users and will start trading the asset in pairs with USDT and BUSD on May 31 at 09:00 (Kyiv / Moscow time).
Deposit and withdrawal of LUNA will be opened in advance - at 08:30.

For example, the MEXC exchange will open access to LUNA paired with USDT on May 28 at 13:00 (Kyiv / Moscow time). The pair will trade within the "innovation zone" of the platform.

Recall that on May 26, the Terra Classic community approved a proposal to burn TerraUSD (UST) in the community pool, as well as stablecoins issued as part of the last stage of liquidity stimulation on the Ethereum blockchain.




Binance Receives Digital Asset Provider License in Italy.
May 29, 2022

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has been licensed as a digital asset market service provider in Italy. The Binance Italy division has registered a local regulator - OAM.

In July 2021, the Italian National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange warned consumers that Binance is not authorized to provide investment services and carry out operations in the country.

“The registration of Binance Italy, a local legal entity of the Group established a few months ago, allows the company to offer crypto products to Italian customers,” the company said in a statement.

Binance intends to strengthen its presence in the Italian market. The company will open a representative office and expand its staff in the country.

Previously, the exchange received a license as a service provider in the digital asset market from the French Financial Market Supervisory Commission.

Recall that in May 2022, the Central Bank of Bahrain issued a license to Binance, allowing the platform to offer consumers “a full range of services for the exchange of crypto assets.”




Balenciaga boutiques in the US will start accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum.
May 23, 2022

Kering-owned premium brand Balenciaga announced the possibility of paying with cryptocurrencies in flagship stores in the United States and on an online platform, WWD reports.

Initially, the fashion house will start accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum. In the future, it is planned to expand the list of supported currencies and regions.

The payment service for the implementation of the option in Balenciaga has not yet been chosen.

Regarding the volatility of digital assets, the company noted: “Balenciaga thinks about cryptocurrencies in the long term, and fluctuations in value are nothing new.”

Earlier, a pilot project for accepting payments in digital currencies in the United States was launched by another fashion house from the Kering group - Gucci. Clients can pay in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Shiba Inu, Dogecoin and five dollar-pegged stablecoins.

Recall that in April, the fashion brand Off-White, owned by LVMH, added the ability to pay for goods with cryptocurrencies in a number of European stores.




The head of the ECB announced the need to regulate cryptocurrencies.
May 23, 2022

The President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, said that cryptocurrencies are not backed by anything and should be regulated. Bloomberg writes about it.

Lagarde noted that she is very worried about people who do not understand the risks of investing in crypto assets and can lose everything.

In her opinion, cryptocurrencies are “worthless, backed by nothing, they have no underlying asset that could serve as a security anchor.”

The head of the ECB opposed the digital euro to crypto assets, which the regulator can issue before 2026.

Earlier, Lagarde said that all cryptocurrencies and stablecoins meet the definition of speculative assets and the recognition of currencies in them is inappropriate.

In April, the ECB called for global regulation of the crypto market.




GameStop launches NFT-enabled Ethereum wallet.
May 23, 2022

The American retail network for the sale of game consoles and computer games GameStop announced the launch of a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet.

It allows you to store and make transactions on the Ethereum network, including ERC-20 tokens and NFTs. The service is integrated with second-tier solutions for Ethereum. In the future, it will also be possible to make transactions on the NFT marketplace from GameStop.

The wallet can be downloaded as a Chrome extension. In addition, the team announced an application for iOS.

The developers indicated that the new service is in the "beta launch" stage.

Amid the news about the launch of the wallet, the company's shares rose in premarket trading.

Recall that in March, GameStop launched a test version of the NFT marketplace.




Brad Garlinghouse spoke about the need for clear regulation of the crypto industry.
May 23, 2022

Most participants in the cryptocurrency industry want to do the right thing in terms of regulation. This opinion was expressed by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse during a panel discussion at a forum in Davos, Cointelegraph reports.

According to him, this requires a regulatory framework that would serve the inalienable principles of "transparency and certainty."

“But when the rules of the game are not clear, it is very difficult to deal with it,” said Garlinghouse.

The CEO of Ripple stressed that he personally visited the office of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “four or five times in the years leading up to their decision to file a lawsuit.”

“It shows how far the United States is behind the G20,” he added.

Among countries with more favorable regulation for the development of technological innovation, Garlinghouse ranked Switzerland, Singapore, the UK and Japan.

In October 2020, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen announced plans to move the company's office to Europe or Asia due to over-regulation of the cryptocurrency industry in the United States.

Garlinghouse later explained that Ripple took a wait-and-see approach to the change of jurisdiction - management wanted to understand how the situation would change with the start of the Joe Biden administration.

At the end of the year, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, Garlinghouse and Larsen. The company called the actions of the regulator “an attack on the entire cryptocurrency industry in the country,” and its CEO called it “a terrible precedent.”

The proceedings in the case are still ongoing. Earlier, Fox Business journalists published a large-scale investigation and concluded that the agency employees behind the lawsuit could be affiliated with Ethereum.

A possible conflict of interest was also pointed out by the non-profit organization Empower Oversight.

Recall that Garlinghouse positively assessed the progress of the process and allowed it to be completed by the end of 2022.




Crypto Valley launches a fund focused on blockchain startups from Africa.
May 23, 2022

Switzerland-based Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CV VC) announced the launch of a fund to support African blockchain startups at an early stage.

Over the next four years, the structure will invest in 100 startups, allocating $ 10-$ 50 million. It is assumed that most of them will be from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Egypt.

To date, CV VC has supported 12 teams. In particular, Leading House Africa from Nigeria, which will allow land to be registered in a distributed ledger, and Mazzuma, a mobile payment platform from Ghana.

In the first quarter, the annual growth rate of funding for blockchain startups on the continent was 11 times higher than that of venture capital investment as a whole, according to a report by CV VC and Standard Bank.

In January-March, blockchain startups in the region raised $91 million, up 1668% from the same period in 2021. Nigeria/Kenya's Mara, Congo's Jambo, and Nigeria's Afriex received $63 million in funding in the second quarter.

At the end of 2021, the share of African blockchain startups globally in attracting investments was 0.5%.

The lack of legacy infrastructure in the region gives blockchain startups an advantage because of the opportunity to “fill the void” with fast and innovative technologies, VC Africa Managing Director Gideon Greaves said in an interview with Cointelegraph.

According to the top manager, over the next five years, the region will take a leading position in the profits of venture capital funds with a focus on blockchain. In the report, analysts predicted the emergence of unicorns in the sector in the next two to three years.

Recall that in 2019, the former head of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, said that Africa would determine the future of bitcoin.

Previously, KuCoin analysts calculated that the average number of monthly crypto transactions in the region increased by 1386.7% in 2021. Over the next four years, the structure will invest in 100 startups, allocating $ 10-$ 50 million. Most of them are expected to be from South Africa. , Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Egypt.

To date, CV VC has supported 12 teams. In particular, Leading House Africa from Nigeria, which will allow land to be registered in a distributed ledger, and Mazzuma, a mobile payment platform from Ghana.

In the first quarter, the annual growth rate of funding for blockchain startups on the continent was 11 times higher than that of venture capital investment as a whole, according to a report by CV VC and Standard Bank.

In January-March, blockchain startups in the region raised $91 million, up 1668% from the same period in 2021. Nigeria/Kenya's Mara, Congo's Jambo, and Nigeria's Afriex received $63 million in funding in the second quarter.

At the end of 2021, the share of African blockchain startups globally in attracting investments was 0.5%.

The lack of legacy infrastructure in the region gives blockchain startups an advantage because of the opportunity to “fill the void” with fast and innovative technologies, VC Africa Managing Director Gideon Greaves said in an interview with Cointelegraph.

According to the top manager, over the next five years, the region will take a leading position in the profits of venture capital funds with a focus on blockchain. In the report, analysts predicted the emergence of unicorns in the sector in the next two to three years.

Recall that in 2019, the former head of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, said that Africa would determine the future of bitcoin.

Previously, KuCoin analysts calculated that in 2021, the average number of monthly crypto transactions in the region increased by 1386.7%.




Bit Digital miners shut down in US due to explosion at substation.
May 22, 2022

Nasdaq-listed mining company Bit Digital announced the shutdown of some cryptocurrency mining devices due to an incident at a substation in Niagara Falls, New York.

On May 10, an explosion occurred on the territory of the Blockfusion company, which offers services for the placement of mining equipment. According to Bit Digital, 2,515 bitcoin miners and 710 Ethereum miners were disabled.

“Presumably, the explosion and fire were caused by faulty equipment of the energy company. Blockfusion and [Bit Digital] intend to pursue legal action, including seeking damages for lost profits,” the statement said.

Representatives of Bit Digital emphasized that no one was injured in the incident, and no significant damage was caused to the building and equipment.

“We hope that operations will resume within a few weeks, but at this time there are no guarantees regarding the timing,” the company said.

Previously, about 1,580 Bit Digital devices located out of state were also disabled. Digihost Technology, which is in charge of hosting the equipment, said it needed additional permits from the authorities.

According to Bit Digital, the two incidents combined reduced her hashrate by “about 46.8%.”

"This is expected to have a material adverse effect on our operating results until the situation is corrected," the statement said.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, Bit Digital mined 240 BTC, while it mined 1013 BTC in the first three months, and generated 592 BTC in the next period. The fall was the result of migration from China, the company noted.

Recall that in the spring of 2022, Bit Digital deployed 39.2% of cryptocurrency mining installations in North America. As of March 15, the firm had 10,462 bitcoin miners and 712 Ethereum miners. The hardware hashrate was 0.511 EH/s and 0.188 TH/s, respectively.




Tether CTO calls TerraUSD a "poorly designed" product.
May 20, 2022

Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino compared the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) to a “card lock” that should have collapsed at any moment. According to him, the product is simply "poorly designed".

“I don’t know Do Kwon. But let's give him the benefit of the doubt. He created this project with arrogance and the thought that he was right, and many supported him, of course, for economic reasons. However, the project itself was not correct. It was poorly designed, like so many others,” he said on the Reimagine podcast.

According to Ardoino, he and many other specialists understood that launching UST was a "bad idea." The technical director emphasized that Kwon himself was aware that this “card lock” could collapse at any time, but he did not have the opportunity to publicly declare this.

Earlier, CTO Tether said that algorithmic stablecoins like TerraUSD are dangerous for the market. In the podcast, he echoed this thought.

According to Ardoino, UST was unable to maintain parity with the US dollar due to its high capitalization, as collateral was not enough to correct the situation in a volatile market.

However, the sale of BTC from the Luna Foundation Guard reserve fund put enough pressure on the price of bitcoin for “the market to crash even more.”

“Essentially, they were in a cascade where the need to protect parity forced them to sell collateral, which triggered further crashes [of prices] that forced them to sell even more collateral and so on,” Ardoino explained.

He stressed that the collapse of UST would attract even more attention from regulators to the segment. However, in his opinion, politicians should first classify assets correctly, since stablecoins like USDT are fully backed by reserves.

Recall that in the first quarter of 2022, the issuer of the stablecoin USDT - Tether Holdings Limited - reduced reserves in commercial securities by 17%. By the end of the second quarter, the company intends to reduce the amount of collateral in these assets by another 20%.




The management of Butyrka was suspected of illegal mining.
May 20, 2022

The Investigative Committee began checking one of the leaders of the Butyrka prison for involvement in the illegal organization of cryptocurrency mining on the territory of the pre-trial detention center. It is reported by Kommersant.

According to investigators, in November 2021, the suspect, together with accomplices, installed mining equipment in the branch of the psychiatric hospital of the Federal Penitentiary Service, located in Butyrskaya prison.

Previously, the devices worked until February of this year. For the operation of the equipment, electricity was used with a total cost of more than 62,000 rubles.

Law enforcement officers are checking one of the deputy heads of the pre-trial detention center for possible abuse of authority.

Recall that in January in Moscow, employees of the Rosseti Moscow Region branch turned off 50 mining servers.




Celsius Network CEO Blames “Wall Street Sharks” for Cryptocurrency Drop.
May 20, 2022

Wall Street bears triggered a 90% drop in the price of Celsius (CEL), decoupling Tether (USDT) from the US dollar and the collapse of Terra (LUNA). This was stated by the founder and CEO of Celsius Network Alex Mashinsky.

A top manager compared the actions of Wall Street investors to "sharks that smell blood in the water."

This is how he reacted to the comments of platform users who were faced with the liquidation of assets due to the fall in the price of CEL, which were in collateral. They expressed regret that the Celsius Network did not support the native token.

Mashinsky explained the decrease in the value of the asset by the consequences of the collapse of Terra and expressed confidence in the organization of the attack by "shortists".

“This is not a coincidence. This is someone who decided to "dump" Celsius, ”he said.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, the CEO of the platform said that the problems of the cryptocurrency market are caused by the appearance of "Wall Street sharks in its waters."

During the AMA session, Mashinsky clarified that Celsius Network is not a market maker in the CEL market. He also linked the negative dynamics with the publication of material in Barron's about the problems of the platform due to the fall of the crypto market.

“The culprit here is not Celsius. This has a lot to do with funding and publishing nonsense. If you want to fight, go to those who published this article, ”he advised.

Mashinsky admitted that over the past two weeks he has lost "more than all the clients of the platform combined."

Recall that in April, the CEO of Celsius Network predicted the growth of bitcoin above $100,000 in 2022.

The company has previously filed for an IPO.

Prior to this, Celsius Network had raised $400 million at a $3 billion valuation following complaints from regulators. The state authorities of Texas, New Jersey, Alabama and Kentucky brought charges of selling unregistered securities.

According to media reports, amid the collapse of the UST algorithmic stablecoin, the platform managed to withdraw assets worth $500 million from the Anchor protocol.




Ethereum developers have announced the timing of the transition to the Proof-of-Stake algorithm.
May 20, 2022

The planned transition of Ethereum to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm will take place in August. This was announced by one of the leading developers Preston Van Loon at the Permissionless conference.

According to him, the team expects to complete the process, which is called "merge" [The Merge], before the activation of the "complexity bomb", he said.

“As far as we know, if everything goes according to plan, August – it just makes sense. If we don’t want to move the complexity bomb, then let’s do it as soon as possible,” Van Loon answered the question of the founder of the Bankless media project, David Hoffman.

The automatic increase in block generation time in the Ethereum blockchain has been postponed several times already. The "difficulty bomb" should now be activated in August. The software solution is designed to encourage the transition to PoS, making it less profitable for miners to work on the Proof-of-Work network.

Fellow developer Justin Drake confirmed that the priority for the team is to conduct The Merge before increasing the difficulty of mining.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin during the Eth Shanghai virtual summit also called August the most likely time for the transition. However, he allowed the event to be postponed to September-October in case of "potential risks".

Buterin noted that in early June, the developers will transfer the Ropsten testnet to PoS, and if successful, it will become possible to carry out the merger in the main network.

Recall that in April, the Ethereum team implemented a “shadow hard fork” of the mainnet to stress test the transition to PoS.




Miner manufacturer Canaan increased quarterly profit by 327%
May 19, 2022

In the first quarter of 2022, Chinese mining equipment manufacturer Canaan posted a gross profit of $130.9 million, up 327.2% year-over-year.

The company's quarterly revenue was $213.9 million, up 236.7% year-on-year. Canaan sold miners with a combined hashrate of 4.3 EH/s vs 2.0 EH/s in January-March 2021.

Nangeng Zhao, CEO of the company, noted the contribution to strengthening the financial results of increasing sales outside of China, the formation of an overseas service network and a mining business. As of March 31, the company had 166.96 BTC on its balance sheet, mined independently.

“We expected lower numbers for the quarter given the sudden suspension of logistics in the second half of March due to anti-COVID measures in the city where our factory and warehouses are located. We are gradually resuming production and supply, following the guidance of local authorities,” said CFO James Jin Cheng.

According to him, the company has already managed to send most of the overdue orders.

On the back of the publication of financial results for the quarter, shares of Canaan in premarket rose to $ 3.46 - almost 10% (at the time of writing). In November 2019, during an IPO on Nasdaq, the company raised $90 million by placing 10 million depository receipts at a price of $9.

In May, the US Securities and Exchange Commission placed Canaan on a preliminary list of Chinese companies to be delisted on US exchanges.

Recall that in April, Canaan introduced a new bitcoin miner, which, in terms of energy efficiency, approached the indicators of the flagships from Bitmain and MicroBT.




In the US, they demanded to check the ID.me facial recognition system.
May 19, 2022

US senators have asked the US Federal Trade Commission to investigate ID. Legislators suggested that the firm misled the public about the capabilities of the facial recognition system.

The group drew attention to a statement by ID CEO Blake Hall that the company allegedly does not use one-to-many facial recognition. Later it turned out that during registration, the system checks the user's snapshot against the entire database "to prevent identity theft."

“Americans have particular reason to be concerned about the difference between these two types of facial recognition,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

Taking this approach, they say, means that millions of people will be scanned using a biometric identification method that ID itself has identified as problematic.

“False matches associated with one-to-many recognition can lead to erroneous denials of badly needed services for weeks or even months while people try to get their case reviewed,” the senators added.

ID declined to comment on the concerns mentioned in the letter. Instead, the company pointed to its experience in preventing unemployment fraud.

"Our service has been critical in stopping this attack in more than 20 states," the company said in a statement.

ID.me added that they look forward to further cooperation with government agencies "to resolve any misunderstandings."

Recall that in January the company recognized the use of the one-to-many approach in face recognition.

In February, senators urged the Internal Revenue Service not to use the ID system.

That same month, the agency refused to implement the company's facial recognition system.




Anonymous hackers posted documents from the Sberbank database.
May 19, 2022

The hacker group Anonymous in one of its Twitter accounts stated that it had gained access to the Sberbank database.

According to the hackers, the leak contains "the email addresses of 5030 customers, phone numbers, addresses."

Attached to the tweet is an archive with five Excel files: data on free safe deposit boxes as of June 14, 2016;
list of companies / individual entrepreneurs real estate appraisers (4106 lines);
register of partner appraisers (211 lines);
reference document "List of types of futures contracts with which trading operations are carried out in the TS FORTS";
blank template "Certificate of property status and current obligations."

Sberbank did not comment on this leak.

Recall that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Anonymous declared a cyberwar on the Russian Federation.

At the end of March, in one Twitter account, hackers published 28 GB of data allegedly belonging to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, including hundreds of audit reports and information about bank owners. The Russian regulator itself denied the information about the hack.

In early May, the hacker group NB65, associated with Anonymous, announced that it had gained access to a 10.5 TB database of the Russian QIWI payment system. The company assured that "clients' personal data is safe."




Revolut Founder to Launch $200M AI Venture Capital Fund.
May 17, 2022

Revolut founder Nick Storonsky announced the creation of Quantum Light Capital, an artificial intelligence-based venture fund with assets worth about $200 million, Forbes reports.

Quantum Light Capital will use machine learning to identify promising startups and fund them in Series B and C rounds.

According to Storonsky, this model is designed to eliminate "the limitations of the venture capital world, where decisions are made based on the mentality of the crowd."

At this stage, the project team includes six engineers who analyze LinkedIn, corporate documents and other databases to identify high-growth startups.

Going forward, Nick Storonsky will hire a CEO to lead the fund.

The decision to launch Quantum Light Capital comes as part of Revolut's ongoing global expansion. In recent months, the fintech company has acquired banking licenses in at least 10 European countries.

Recall that in April, Revolut announced the development of a crypto wallet and related functionality.




Glassnode: Bitcoin Closer to Fair Price Amid UST Collapse.
May 17, 2022

The bitcoin exchange rate decreased by a distance of 10% to its fair price with a new minimum for 17 months. This happened against the backdrop of the collapse of the UST stablecoin and the associated turbulence, according to a report by Glassnode analysts.

The full use of LFG reserves of 80,394 BTC did not stop the collapse of the UST-LUNA ecosystem, whose TVL was approaching $40 billion. At the time of writing, the first asset stabilized at $0.125, the second fell 99.9998% of ATH, to $0. 0002.

The chart below illustrates the sharp increase in LUNA supply (from 343 million to 6.53 trillion or 99,263,840% annualized; logarithmic scale) against the backdrop of repayment of 7.5 billion UST or 40% of the offer (linear scale).

Due to such drastic changes, Terra network validators restarted it twice.

LFG drained its $3.275 billion in bitcoin reserves within 21.5 hours from May 9 to 10 in three tranches of 22,189 BTC, 30,000 BTC and 28,205 BTC. The first two went to Gemini through OTC platforms, the last one went directly to Binance.

On May 16, the organization reported that only 313 BTC remained in its reserves. The share of LFG (80,394 BTC) was decisive in the total inflows of coins to exchange balances during this period (~88,000 BTC).

“The events [collapse of UST] caused the effect of “contagion” and panic,” the experts concluded.

On May 14, there was a decrease in the balance of exchanges by 32,000 BTC, which coincided with the return of bitcoin to levels above $30,000.

The decoupling of UST from the US dollar caused pressure on the rate of the systemically important stablecoin USDT. It reached $0.9565 at the low before reversing the discount.

During this time, other stablecoins - BUSD, DAI and USDC - traded at a premium of 1-2%.

The total market value of the latter increased by $2.64 billion. Analysts explained this phenomenon by the desire to protect funds from “infection” and assumed that USDC is becoming the “preferred” stablecoin.

Experts also drew attention to the decrease in capitalization of DAI by 24.4% ($2.07 billion), which was partly affected by the liquidation of collateralized assets. The DAI price peg to $1 has remained stable, they added.

Over the week, the indicator amounted to a record $7.485 billion for the sector. The total capitalization of USDT decreased to $75.75 billion.

To stabilize UST, LFG went to sell digital gold below the purchase price. The net realized loss of the organization was $703.7 million, and the total figure of bitcoin investors in these two days was $2.5 billion (one of the largest capitulations in history).

The LFG loss figure above does not take into account additional losses from BTC to UST swaps and LUNA hyperinflation.

The pressure from the UST and LUNA issues has pushed Bitcoin down to its realized price level. Previously, this metric gave reliable signals about the formation of the bottom when the indicator exceeded the level of quotes. Last week, the first figure was $23,940, the second ($26,500) was 9.5% higher.

Recall that the author of the bestseller “Rich Dad Poor Dad” Robert Kiyosaki called the collapse of Bitcoin “great news” and predicted a test of the $17,000 level of cryptocurrency.

Earlier, a well-known supporter of gold and a critic of the first cryptocurrency, Peter Schiff, considered it “highly likely” that the quotes would fall to $10,000.




Developers to restart Venus Protocol after shutdown amid Terra crash.
May 15, 2022

The landing project Venus Protocol will resume work on May 16 at ~13:39 (Kyiv/Moscow time). Developers will disable the protocol from all price oracles to prevent instant liquidation of user assets.

“We have put in place a plan to bring Venus Protocol back online and ensure that all affected users can repay their debts and exit positions with extremely high leverage. They will not face liquidation due to any differences in market conditions compared to when the protocol was paused,” the project team wrote in a blog post.

The huge volatility of LUNA has led to problems displaying the price of the asset in the Chainlink decentralized oracle network that the project uses.

The oracle settings did not allow displaying the cryptocurrency price below $0.1. The attackers took advantage of this - they contributed millions of tokens to the platform, using them as collateral. Because of this, Venus Protocol lost about $13.5 million.

To protect users, the developers have suspended the protocol.

On May 16, the project will resume work. Since price oracles will be disabled, users will only be able to deposit and redeem assets. The move will exclude liquidation of positions and will not allow borrowing funds.

The project team also launched the VIP-61 proposal. It will set the margin to zero on the LUNA and UST markets.

Recall that in March 2022, the Coinbase Wallet cryptocurrency wallet was integrated with Venus Protocol.




Justin Sun: Tron will not abandon the algorithmic stablecoin USDD.
May 15, 2022

The Tron ecosystem will not abandon the algorithmic stablecoin USDD despite the collapse of UST and LUNA. In a conversation with CoinDesk, project founder Justin Sun said that the Terraform Labs product was ruined by too rapid growth and a lack of sufficient funds in the reserve fund.

“I still believe in algorithmic stablecoins. The crypto industry will develop and these assets should be there. We just need more complex and well planned structures. We think about things like leverage, growth and risk,” he wrote.

According to him, the Terra ecosystem did not collapse because the concept of algorithmic stablecoins is not viable. He explained that LUNA was heavily leveraged and had grown to an "impressive market capitalization" too quickly.

“During the development of USDD, we focused on the healthy growth of the instrument. We want to keep its market value relatively small compared to TRX and overall market cap. At the same time, it should be less than Tron DAO’s reserves,” Sun said.

In May, TRON DAO Reserve started buying BTC and TRX to back USDD. Sun said that the DAO also acquired the "classic" stablecoins USDT, USDC, and TUSD. In his opinion, the presence of these assets in the basket of the organization will quickly provide the liquidity necessary for the stability of the USDD in a volatile market.

“We have stablecoins that, if something bad happens, can be immediately deployed. This will help buy time, and then we can gradually liquidate other assets, if necessary. LUNA was growing too fast, they didn't have time to set up a good reserve fund to stabilize the market,” Sun explained.

The founder of Tron also emphasized that he had nothing to do with the destabilization of the UST. According to him, the incident was not an “organized attack”, but was caused by a general market panic.

Sun noted that the Terra team should have lowered the Anchor protocol's rate of return as UST rose. USDD stablecoin offers a yield of 30%, but this figure will be lower in the future.

“Essentially, it’s a marketing strategy, right? You are attracting users to participate in the growth of the stablecoin. I think that profitability should depend on the growth of the product,” he said.

Sun previously pledged to allocate $2 billion through TRON DAO Reserve to prevent USDD from losing its peg to the US dollar, as happened with UST.

Recall that the launch of the algorithmic stablecoin in the Tron network took place in early May 2022.




New Yorker accused of $59 million crypto scam.
May 14, 2022

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has charged 50-year-old New Yorker Eddie Alexander with cryptocurrency fraud. This is stated in court documents.

According to the FBI, Alexander founded and operated the digital asset trading platform EminiFX. He allegedly attracted "hundreds of individual investors" and promised to double their investment within five months, as well as a 5% weekly return.

The authorities claim that the defendant did not invest most of the funds entrusted to him. He transferred money to personal accounts and spent about $170,000 buying expensive cars, renting an office, marketing and hiring staff, the FBI said.

Alexander misled clients about their investments and claimed that the funds were managed by "experienced traders" of EminiFX. However, what exactly they invested in, the founder of the company did not specify.

The FBI estimated the damage from Alexander's actions at $ 59 million. On two counts, he faces 10 and 20 years in prison.

Recall that in May, Mining Capital Coin CEO Luis Capucci Jr. became a defendant in a $62 million fraud case.





Robert Kiyosaki predicted the fall of Bitcoin to $17,000. 
Bitcoin could reach $65,000 by the end of the year.
May 14, 2022

Bestselling author of Rich Dad Poor Dad and entrepreneur Robert Kiyosaki called the Bitcoin crash “great news” and predicted a test of the $17,000 level.

“As I said earlier, I’m waiting for Bitcoin to fall to $20,000. Then we’ll wait for a test of the bottom, which could be at $17,000. Once that happens, I’ll go big.” Crises are the best time to get rich,” he said.

Earlier, the entrepreneur explained why he is confident in the long-term success of digital gold: “Bitcoin will win because America is led by three puppets.”

Among the latter, he ranked US President Joe Biden, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

In 2020, Kiyosaki said that the price of bitcoin will reach $75,000 in three years as the Fed's incompetence is "killing the US economy." The cryptocurrency approached the announced mark already in November 2021, fixing a historical maximum at the level of $69,000.

On May 13, bitcoin quotes recovered to above $30,000 after a sharp fall. Earlier, a well-known supporter of gold and a critic of the first cryptocurrency, Peter Schiff, called it “highly likely” that the quotes would fall to $10,000.

Recall that in January, Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodities strategist Mike McGlone predicted a rise in bitcoin to $100,000 in 2022.

However, fintech experts who took part in the Finder survey concluded that by the end of the year, cryptocurrency quotes will reach $65,000.




Changpeng Zhao criticized the actions of the Terra team.
May 13, 2022

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, said he was “disappointed” with the actions of the Terra ecosystem team amid the collapse of LUNA and UST. According to him, the developers endangered investors, but did not take responsibility.

“I am extremely disappointed with how the Terra team handled (or didn't handle) the UST/LUNA incident. We asked them to restore the network, burn the extra LUNA and restore UST parity with the US dollar. So far we have not received a positive response, no response at all,” he wrote.

Zhao used the blockchain game team Axie Infinity as an example. According to him, after the theft of $625 million in crypto assets from the Ronin sidechain, the developers of the project "took responsibility, had a plan and actively communicated [with Binance]."

Earlier, the bitcoin exchange suspended trading with LUNA and UST in the spot market. The company emphasized that users will be able to withdraw funds when the Terra blockchain is operational.

According to Zhao, some of the users were unaware of the Terra community's decision to exponentially increase LUNA's offering. He noted that they began to buy cryptocurrency, not understanding the risks of a further fall in the price. Therefore, the exchange suspended trading.

“We know there are differing opinions in the community, but we felt that suspending trading is the best way to protect our users at this time. We will continue to monitor the situation closely 24/7,” Zhao wrote.

On May 13, Terra's validators stopped the blockchain for the second time as the price of LUNA dropped below $0.001. According to the Terra Finder, at the time of writing, the network produces blocks, however, most of them are empty.

Since the shutdown of the blockchain, the Terraform Labs team has not made any official announcements.

Recall that the OKX bitcoin exchange has delisted UST, LUNA, ANC and MIR.




GAM Holding denied plans to participate in the rescue of UST.
May 13, 2022

Swiss independent asset manager GAM Holding denied reports of talks with Terraform Labs to provide financial assistance to support the algorithmic stablecoin UST.

“This story is not true and we have not issued a press release. GAM strictly controls their distribution. We are investigating who the source of this statement was and how it was published, ”the rebuttal says.

On May 12, a press release was published on behalf of the holding about the alleged intention to provide $2-$3 billion to absorb the excess supply of the coin to restore the peg to the US dollar.

GAM has offices in 14 countries with 605 employees. Assets under management of the company amount to 94.8 billion Swiss francs (~$103 billion).

On May 10, the price of UST fell below the $1 level. At the time of writing, quotes are close to $0.1. The rate of the LUNA cryptocurrency, used to maintain the stability of the UST through arbitrage, has fallen to $0.00001 (CoinGecko).

For the first time, the price of UST briefly lost its peg to the dollar on May 8. After that, the Luna Foundation Guard organization allocated $1.5 billion for lending to OTC traders to maintain the stability of the stablecoin.

During the crash that followed, on May 11, Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon presented a plan to restore the UST price. This did not stop the stablecoin and LUNA from falling further. The next day, he announced possible additional measures to save the stablecoin.

Recall that on May 13, validators stopped the Terra blockchain for the second time in a day.




Elon Musk suspends deal to buy Twitter.
May 13, 2022

Elon Musk has suspended the process of buying Twitter after the media reported on the overestimation of the audience of the social network.

"Twitter deal is temporarily on hold pending results confirming data that spam/fake accounts do indeed account for less than 5% of users," he wrote.

Earlier, Reuters, citing a report from the social network, said that fake or spam accounts "accounted for at least 5% of its monetized daily active users." According to the media, during the reporting period, advertising was shown by 229 million accounts.

Twitter shares reacted to the entrepreneur's decision with a fall. The current premarket price is $45.08.

In early April, Musk became Twitter's largest shareholder after acquiring a 9.2% stake for $2.89 billion.

On April 14, he offered to buy the social network for more than $43 billion. The entrepreneur explained this by his intention to create an “inclusive arena for freedom of speech,” and not by a desire to make money.

Twitter management did not initially evaluate the proposal and approved the takeover defense plan. However, later revised the position.

Recall that on April 25, the board approved the sale of the company to Musk for $44 billion. One of his goals, the billionaire called the victory over spam bots.




The founder of OneCoin was on the list of the most wanted criminals in Europe.
May 11, 2022

The European Union Police Service (Europol) has included the founder of the OneCoin pyramid, Ruja Ignatova, in the list of the most wanted criminals. Relevant information is posted on the agency's website.

Ignatova's card states that she is charged with fraud, "including against the financial interests of the European Communities in accordance with the Convention of July 26, 1995."

“For important information leading to the arrest of a criminal, a reward of up to €5,000 is being offered. […] The award is intended exclusively for private individuals and not public servants whose professional duty includes the prosecution of criminal acts,” the Europol website says.

According to Europol, Ignatova's whereabouts have been unknown since October 25, 2017.

Ruja Ignatova founded the OneCoin financial pyramid in 2014 together with Sebastian Greenwood.

The project was initially positioned as a highly profitable cryptocurrency, in which investors profited not only from the growth of the asset, but also for attracting new participants.

In November 2019, the Court of the Southern District of New York found OneCoin lawyer Mark Scott guilty of laundering nearly $400 million. Ignatova was charged in absentia in the United States.

In March 2020, Konstantin Ignatov, the brother of the founder of OneCoin, was detained at the Los Angeles airport. He subsequently pleaded guilty to several counts and faced up to 90 years in prison.

The US government has achieved a delay in sentencing Ignatov, saying that cooperation with him has not yet been completed.

One of the defendants in the class action lawsuit of investors against the organizers of the pyramid was the financial holding Bank of New York Mellon.

In August 2021, Italian authorities charged 14 people associated with OneCoin with aggravated fraud. According to law enforcement officials, transactions totaling about €11 million went through local banks in favor of the pyramid. Promoters collected about €5 million of them from 3,700 residents of South Tyrol.

Recall that in October, the media found Ignatova's penthouse in London for £13.5 million.




Fidelity's Marissa McDonald to handle FTX New York compliance policy.
May 11, 2022

US affiliate of bitcoin exchange FTX has hired Marissa McDonald as Compliance Officer at FTX Trust Company. Representatives of the division reported this to ForkLog.

The Exchange will register a trust company with limited functions to provide services to users in New York State. The charter of the FTX Trust Company is awaiting approval from the NYDFS.

President of the American division of the exchange Brett Harrison noted the experience of McDonald, who worked for 14 years in one of the world's largest asset managers Fidelity Investments.

Prior to joining the FTX team, the specialist dealt with regulatory and legal compliance issues in the digital assets division of the holding. Fidelity Digital Assets launched in 2019.

McDonald began her career with the Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young.

“After my successful stint at Fidelity, I am excited to delve into the world of digital assets with one of the most regulated and trusted exchanges in the industry,” she said.

Recall that the NYDFS BitLicense for crypto companies is considered one of the most stringent sets of rules in the industry.

In January, FTX co-founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried urged regulators to create a unified global oversight system for the cryptocurrency market.




Madonna and Beeple created NFT with the "giving birth" singer.
May 11, 2022

Singer Madonna and artist Mike Winkelman, known by the pseudonym Beeple, announced the creation of a joint NFT video.

The collection, called Mother of Creation, consists of three videos: "Mother of Nature", "Mother of Evolution" and "Mother of Technology". In them, the digital version of Madonna "gives birth" to butterflies, plants and millipedes-robots. All three works are modeled on the basis of a 3D scan of the singer.

The triptych was created with the support of the MoonPay service.

The auction starts on May 11 on the SuperRare marketplace. All proceeds will be donated to charitable organizations that help women and children.

Recall that in March, Madonna purchased an NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection for 180 ETH.




American media company Townsquare Media has invested $5 million in bitcoin.
May 11, 2022

New York-based radio network and media company Townsquare Media has invested $5 million in bitcoin, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The firm bought BTC in the first quarter of 2022 without specifying its value at the time of purchase. According to the report, Townsquare Media may increase or decrease reserves depending on market conditions.

At the end of the quarter, the media company recorded a loss of $400,000 due to changes in the prices of digital assets held on its balance sheet during the reporting period. Townsquare Media considers investments in the first cryptocurrency to be liquid and wants to diversify their investment portfolio with their help.

“As of March 31, 2022, the company’s digital assets have a book value of $4.6 million,” the document says.

Analyst software provider MicroStrategy remains the largest holder of BTC among public companies, according to Bitcoin Treasuries. At the time of writing, the firm's total digital gold value in reserves is around $4 billion.

Earlier, MicroStrategy published financial results for the first quarter of 2022. For the reporting period, it earned $119.3 million on expenses of $298 million. The latter figure includes $170.1 million that came from a negative revaluation of its digital assets.

Recall that the CEO of the company, Michael Saylor, recognized the successful policy of buying digital gold and promised to continue to follow this strategy.

In May, he announced that MicroStrategy had no plans to liquidate its cryptocurrency reserves.




Stablecoin UST loses its peg to the US dollar amid the collapse of the crypto market.
May 10, 2022

Against the background of the collapse of the cryptocurrency market, the algorithmic stablecoin of the Terra ecosystem - TerraUSD (UST) - again lost its peg to the US dollar. On the night of May 10, the price of the asset fell below $0.62 (Coinbase).

Due to the incident, cryptocurrency exchange Binance temporarily froze withdrawals on the Terra blockchain. Users drew attention to the empty order book of the platform.

At the time of writing, UST is trading near $0.91.

TerraUSD is one of the largest dollar stablecoins. According to CoinGecko, its capitalization exceeds $16 billion. Since the burning mechanism of the native cryptocurrency LUNA is used to issue UST, the price of the two assets is closely correlated.

“The presence of such a relationship creates significant inflationary risks that arise when stablecoins are withdrawn from the Terra ecosystem. Such a review of market processes shows that the withdrawal of a significant amount of UST from circulation does not affect the value of the latter due to arbitrageurs, however, the operation stimulates a decrease in the price of LUNA. In the context of a downtrend in the market and in the presence of negative news, a significant drop in the value of the cryptocurrency can be observed, ”Sergey Strutinsky, a specialist in the field of mathematical modeling and a regular ForkLog contributor, shared his opinion.

Over the past 24 hours, LUNA has lost over 40% of its value and is trading near $36 at the time of writing. Back on Friday, May 6, the price of the cryptocurrency exceeded $80.

The UST parity model with the US dollar relies heavily on arbitrageurs. If the price of a stablecoin falls below $1, traders can buy it and exchange it for $1 in LUNA, making a profit.

However, for this mechanism to work, it is necessary to ensure the demand for the target asset. In the case of UST, the platform that provides such demand is the largest protocol of the Terra ecosystem - Anchor. The latter pays on a deposit in UST over 19% per annum.

According to SmartStake, users withdrew over 3.3 billion UST from the protocol on May 9. For less than a day on May 10, the outflow of funds amounted to another 1.1 billion UST.

Users withdrew funds due to a decrease in the deposit rate to 17.87%. On May 8, this led to a brief loss of UST peg to the US dollar. But already on May 9, the indicator returned to 20% - against the background of the outflow of funds from Anchor, it became easier to pay a higher percentage.

At the same time, the protocol's yield reserve continues to shrink. At the time of writing, there are less than 180 million UST in the pool.

In March 2022, UST added another resiliency mechanism, the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) bitcoin reserve fund. It must promptly provide the liquidity in BTC necessary to maintain the price of the asset. Already in May, the volume of assets under management of the structure reached 80,394 BTC.

Aztec project growth head Jonathan Wu noted that the decision to create the fund was made after the incident with the Abracadabra Money platform. The latter allowed UST to be used to issue Magic Internet Money (MIM) with a collateral ratio of up to 90%.

In January 2022, a scandal erupted around the Wonderland DeFi project, with which the founder of Abracadabra Money, Daniele Sestagalli, is associated. The incident led to a decrease in the value of LUNA (the cryptocurrency quotes fell by 21% over the week) and a temporary loss of UST's peg to the US dollar.

Amid the events of May 9th, LFG announced that it will provide a $1.5 billion loan to OTC traders to ensure the sustainability of TerraUSD. Funding was allocated through the sale of reserves in BTC.

Shortly thereafter, the organization published its new bitcoin address and noted that it would continue to provide loans to market makers.

On-chain data shows LFG's wallet is empty. According to the organization's dashboard, ~$197 million of assets remained in the reserve fund - the lion's share of the funds falls on LUNA, UST and AVAX.

Jose María Macedo, a member of the LFG Governing Council, stressed in a conversation with CoinDesk that there will be enough reserve funds to restore a stable UST price. However, critics of the organization believe that it has only "bought another day of time".

The Block analyst Larry Cermak noted rumors that Jump Crypto, Alameda Research and other organizations supporting the Terra ecosystem have allocated an additional $2 billion “to save UST.” In his opinion, the only way to save an asset is to make it fully secured.

The network also noted that Alameda Research issued over 3.4 million UST on the Near blockchain. Users suggested that the smart contract platform could launch a profitable farming program.

The head of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, emphasized that LFG has no plans to “give up its positions in bitcoin.” He explained that the transfer of capital to market makers would provide liquidity that would allow UST to stabilize.

Jonathan Wu also suggested that trading companies are "ready to do everything to prevent the UST death spiral". According to him, the outcome of the situation will depend on whether the pressure of market makers will exceed selling from retail traders.

Popular analyst Hasu noted that Terraform Labs and LFG had a different possible strategy.

“I don’t want to tip Ponzi, but I would just let the peg collapse rather than burn the treasury trying to save it. Wait until the UST supply hits Treasury parity and then recover the asset as a backed stablecoin,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Terraform Labs said that skeptics exaggerate the significance of what is happening. The company emphasized that UST is also provided with activity within the Terra ecosystem, and arbitrageurs need time to stabilize the asset.

Some believe that the incident, regardless of the outcome, will have serious consequences for the cryptocurrency market. Blogger Dennis Porter noted that regulators will use the collapse of the UST as the main argument in favor of total regulation of stablecoins.




The Central Bank of Chile insisted on the autonomy of the digital peso.
May 10, 2022

The Chilean central bank, which is developing the design of the digital peso, announced the need for autonomous operation of the system. This is with reference to the statement of the head of the regulator Rosanna Costa reports CoinDesk.

According to her, transactions on the CBDC platform should be available online and offline. At the same time, she did not rule out that effective technologies for this may appear later.

“The system should allow the authorities to track transactions while storing the user's personal data,” said Rosanna Costa.

Among the mandatory characteristics of the digital peso, she named its security, convertibility with cash and the possibility of using the asset by commercial banks.

The head of the Central Bank promised to prepare a policy document within a week, although the final decision on the issuance of a digital form of the Chilean peso has not yet been made.

The likelihood of a pilot project will be discussed with the participation of the public and private sectors at the end of 2022.

Recall that a recent BIS survey showed that nine out of ten global central banks are studying CBDCs. The main factor in the attractiveness of digital currencies for regulators is the increase in the efficiency of payment systems.




Mark Cuban named the next growth driver for the bitcoin industry.
May 10, 2022

The adoption of commercial smart contracts by companies will be a new catalyst for the development of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. This opinion was expressed by billionaire Mark Cuban.

He compared the current market situation to the dot-com bubble. In the early 2000s, many of the much-touted and often similar business strategies of the internet companies collapsed.

“The crypto industry is going through a lull experienced by the internet. After the initial surge of addictive apps, NFTs, DeFi, P2E, we are seeing a phase of imitation as networks move these apps in (as startups subsidized bandwidth and storage capacity in the 2000s),” Cuban said.

In his opinion, blockchain projects that copy what “everyone has” will collapse. There is no need for NFT or DeFi solutions on all blockchains, the entrepreneur added.

He believes that commercial-oriented smart contract platforms that can replace SaaS applications will be successful.

“What we don’t see is the use of smart contracts to increase business productivity and profitability. This should be the next driver. When companies can use smart contracts to gain a competitive advantage, they will. The networks that implement this will survive,” Cuban said.

In October 2021, he recommended that new investors look to the largest smart contract platform, Ethereum. Prior to this, the billionaire criticized the rival Cardano network.

Recall that in February, Cuban advised to focus on the value proposition when investing in crypto assets and weed out projects around which there is “a lot of noise and little benefit.”




Mike Novogratz allowed further decline in the price of bitcoin.
May 10, 2022

The next few quarters will be volatile for the market due to the negative on Wall Street, which will jeopardize the support levels of $30,000 for Bitcoin and $2,000 for Ethereum. This point of view was presented by Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz, writes Bloomberg.

The forecast was made during a conference with investors after the publication of financial statements for the first quarter.

For January-March, Galaxy Digital's net cumulative loss was $111.7 million, compared with a profit of $858.2 million for the same period last year. This is mainly due to unrealized losses on digital assets and investments in trading and core investment business.

As of March 31, Galaxy Digital had $2.7 billion in assets under management, down 5% from its December 31 estimate.

“Until we reach a new equilibrium, digital assets will continue to trade in close correlation with the Nasdaq. Intuition tells me that there will still be a drawdown ahead, and this will happen in a very unstable, volatile and complex market, ”the specialist explained.

Novogratz warned that the negative scenario could materialize if the Nasdaq index falls below 11,000 [5.36% below the May 9 close].

On the eve of the main benchmark for the behavior of shares of companies from the sphere of high technologies collapsed by 4.29%. Against this background, the bitcoin rate fell below $30,000, Ethereum - approached $2200. The key assets of the crypto market at the moment lost 8% of their value.

According to Coinglass, on May 9, the volume of liquidations in the derivatives market exceeded $1 billion. Nearly $800 million came from long positions.

In the conditions of market turbulence, there was a sharp deviation of the peg of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) to the US dollar at a ratio of 1:1. On the night of May 10, the rate fell to $0.66 and has recovered to $0.915 by the time of writing, according to CoinGecko.

In an interview, Novogratz did not stay away from what is happening with the UST. Galaxy Digital, headed by him, became one of the investors of Terraform Labs, which develops the Terra ecosystem.

“They protect [the anchor]. Let's see what will happen. Of course, if everything goes wrong, it will have a bad effect on the ecosystem as a whole,” he explained.

Novogratz noted the emergence of new institutional players "with a long-term focus" like BlackRock, Blackstone, Citadel and Apollo Global Management. For him, this creates a certain positive attitude regarding the future of the cryptocurrency market.

Recall that in April, Novogratz called a pause in the tightening of the Fed's policy a condition for the resumption of growth in bitcoin.




El Salvador bought an additional 500 BTC as the rate fell below $30,000.
May 10, 2022

On the night of May 10, the price of bitcoin briefly fell below $30,000. At the moment, the rate dropped to $29,731 (Bitstamp).

The drawdown occurred against the backdrop of an increase in trading volumes.

Against this backdrop, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced that the government was buying an additional 500 BTC at an average price of ~$30,744.

At the time of writing, the rate of the first cryptocurrency has recovered to $32,500, having won back part of the fall on May 9th. Over the past day, quotes have lost 3.3%. All the largest assets by capitalization remain in the red zone, with the exception of some stablecoins (CoinGecko).

El Salvador first started buying bitcoin on the eve of the legalization of cryptocurrency in the country in September 2021. The authorities have created a special fund for this purpose in the amount of $150 million.

Already at the end of September, the government took advantage of the drop in the exchange rate to $45,000 to purchase an additional 150 BTC, bringing the total reserves to 700 BTC.

On the fall of the price in November, another 100 BTC were bought.

In January, El Salvador purchased 410 BTC amid a market correction. The average purchase price was $36,585.

Recall, according to a representative survey of the American organization National Bureau of Economic Research, after the legalization of bitcoin, its implementation in El Salvador did not take on a mass character. 60% of those who downloaded the state crypto wallet Chivo did not use it after receiving a signup bonus of $30.

The main provider of technical solutions for the application, the Bitso exchange, said that Chivo has made great strides.




Bitcoin Price Drops Below $33,500.
May 9, 2022

On Monday, May 9, bitcoin quotes updated the minimum since the end of January 2022. At the time of writing, the price is holding the level near $33,450 (Binance).

According to CoinGecko, over the past day, BTC has fallen in price by 3.1%, and by 12.9% over the week. Following the flagship, all crypto assets from the top 10 by capitalization were in the red zone, with the exception of stablecoins USDT and USD Coin.

Ethereum is trading at $2,425, having lost 4.1% in a day. BTC dominance index - 39.4%, ETH - 18.2%.

According to Coinglass, the daily volume of liquidations in the futures market exceeded $270 million.

Unfavorable market prospects have led to a drop in the index of fear and greed to 11 points ("extreme fear").

On May 8, Glassnode’s lead analyst, Checkmate, noted that “many are waiting for the fuse of bitcoin capitulation.” The latter is usually characterized by a relatively long, sudden and catastrophic price drop, similar to the March 2020 crash.

“If this happens, and this is really a capitulation, most people will not buy [Bitcoin] because the fear is too great. It has always been and will always be so, ”Checkmate emphasized.

Analyst Caleb Franzen noted the downward trend and did not rule out that "more pain is to be expected."

On May 5, after a short-term surge in quotes against the backdrop of an increase in the Fed's key rate, the price of the first cryptocurrency began to fall rapidly, coming close to $35,000.

In April, Arthur Hayes, former CEO and co-founder of the BitMEX exchange, predicted that Bitcoin would fall to $30,000 at the end of the first half of the year. He attributed this to a possible decline in the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), with which digital gold is highly correlated.

Analysts at Arcane Research have confirmed that the statistical relationship between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq index has reached its highest level since July 2020.

Recall that trader and head of Factor LLC Peter Brandt allowed the price of digital gold to fall to $28,000.




Artificial intelligence taught to generate images in BAYC style.
May 9, 2022

Machine learning expert Yannick Kilcher has created an app that generates images in the style of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection.

The system is based on generative adversarial neural networks (GANs). Kilcher examined a BAYC collection of 10,000 images and trained the NVIDIA StyleGAN2 algorithm on the collected dataset.

The finished system produces "bored monkeys" that are completely unique and interchangeable, the developer said.

However, Kilcher acknowledged that images don't always come out perfect.

“The quality of my system is not very good, artifacts are often visible,” he said.

The developer added that his colleagues Cyril Zakka and Nathan Cooper Jones have created similar tools with better results.

Recall that in April, an unknown person hacked the Instagram account of the Bored Ape Yacht Club project.

Earlier, OpenAI introduced the second version of the DALL-E text description image generator.




Crypto Billionaire Brock Pierce Allowed Bitcoin to Fall to Zero.
May 9, 2022

The first cryptocurrency can be very successful, but it can also fail, so betting solely on it is risky. This opinion was expressed by a veteran bitcoin industry and billionaire Brock Pierce in an interview with Fox Business.

“Bitcoin could drop to zero. Here is the binary result. Either there will be $1 million per BTC, or zero. Either the first or the second, so you should not invest everything in the first cryptocurrency, ”he said.

Pierce believes that the current “cryptocurrency landscape” is very similar to the history of the bubble in technology stocks at the end of the 20th century.

“The situation strongly resembles 1999. The market is in the same phase right now. And what happened then? After the dot-com bubble, eBay, Amazon and other interesting companies appeared, but a lot of businesses went bankrupt. But this does not mean that digital assets are unrealistic and will not play an important role in our collective future, ”said the billionaire.

Pierce admitted that he diversified his portfolio, primarily through Ethereum. He also made a nine-nine bet on EOS, converting all of his Block.one shares into cryptocurrency.

“Among other things, I am very interested in what is happening in the market for non-fungible tokens. I participated in the purchase and launch of NFT.com,” the businessman added.

Recall that in 2020, Pierce tried to run for President of the United States as an independent candidate. At one of the campaign rallies, he was handed documents in the case of securities fraud.

In June 2021, the billionaire claimed to have led an “official delegation of bitcoin ambassadors” to El Salvador, for which he was criticized by the community.




Ray Dalio: Bitcoin loses to gold in competition.
May 9, 2022

Bitcoin acts as a good insurance against inflation, but not a full-fledged alternative to gold. Such an opinion was presented by billionaire Ray Dalio in an interview with Economic Times.

The founder of Bridgewater Associates acknowledged the similarity of the first cryptocurrency to the main precious metal in a limited supply, but noted the obstacles to its transformation into a reserve asset of central banks.

“Transactions can be tracked […]. They can be controlled, canceled and made illegal,” Dalio said, without providing an explanation.

The billionaire also compared the capitalization of bitcoin with that of Microsoft and concluded that the first cryptocurrency is “less suitable” for saving capital compared to gold.

Despite the skepticism, Dalio acknowledged the need to diversify the portfolio with digital assets and expressed optimism about the prospects for the industry in the next ten years.

“Now we are in an environment where there are risks of any form of confiscation. Gold does this better. […] Digital assets are not yet good competitors, but they will continue to develop,” he stressed.

The billionaire called for adding both gold and cryptocurrencies to the portfolio to hedge against inflation.

Recall that in February, Dalio warned of a possible ban on digital assets in some countries. Prior to that, he admitted that regulators would “kill” bitcoin if it was a massive success.




WisdomTree to launch its own digital wallet in 2023.
May 8, 2022

Asset manager WisdomTree will start beta testing the mobile crypto wallet in the summer, and in 2023 the application will be available to all US customers. Jason Guthrie, head of digital assets at the firm, told The Block about this.

The WisdomTree Prime app was announced in January 2022.

At the initial stage, users will have access to tokenized versions of assets. Among the latest, Guthrie listed the US dollar, US government bonds, gold, bitcoin and Ethereum. He noted that this list will be expanded in the future.

According to him, WisdomTree seeks to provide customers with the full functionality of the banking system, while getting rid of obsolete technologies. Guthrie emphasized that blockchain-based systems are serious competitors for traditional finance.

“I don't think the financial services industry has had its Internet moment. People fill out online forms, but they are nominally identical to those filled out 20 years ago at bank branches. The user experience and business model are fundamentally the same. And I believe that it is time to destroy this order,” he said.

As a reminder, WisdomTree is trying to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF. In March 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission moved the deadline for a decision on the company's application to May 15.




Stablecoin USD briefly lost its peg to the US dollar amid an outflow of assets from Anchor.
May 8, 2022

Against the backdrop of a decrease in the rate of return on deposits, over 2.2 billion UST were withdrawn from the Anchor protocol in less than two days. Due to the incident, the algorithmic stablecoin of the Terra ecosystem briefly lost its peg to the US dollar.

At the moment on May 8, the asset was trading near $0.98, according to CoinGecko.

In March, the Anchor community voted in favor of a proposal that would change the deposit rate by up to 1.5% depending on the size of the yield reserve.

According to SmartStake, over the past month, the volume of the project's reserves has decreased by almost 44%, to 180.45 UST.

Similar incidents have already happened to Anchor in the past - in February 2022, the protocol reserve was almost completely depleted. To prevent collapse, the non-profit organization Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) donated 450 million UST to the project.

However, this time there was no capital injection. In early May, the interest rate on deposits at Anchor was reduced to 18% for the first time. Now its value is even lower - 17.87%.

Because of this, users began to massively withdraw assets from the protocol. On May 7, Anchor's deposits exceeded 14 billion UST, up from 11.77 billion UST at the time of writing (-16%).

The team at decentralized exchange Curve Finance also confirmed that “someone started selling en masse” on UST on May 7, causing the stablecoin to briefly lose its peg to the US dollar. The developers noted that these actions “faced a lot of resistance” in the form of counter sales of ETH and stETH.

For example, the acquisition of UST was announced by Tron founder Justin Sun, who called the move his “secret plan.” According to Etherscan, he purchased about 1 million UST using USD Coin (USDC) to buy.

Earlier, the USDD algorithmic stablecoin was launched on the Tron network, the collateral model for which is similar to that used in the Terra ecosystem.

The mechanism for ensuring the sustainability of UST relies heavily on arbitrageurs, so the decline in Anchor's yield negatively affected the motivation of the latter to maintain the parity of the stablecoin with the US dollar.

In March 2022, LFG established a bitcoin reserve fund, which should quickly provide the BTC liquidity necessary to maintain a stable UST price. In May, the volume of assets under his management reached 80,394 BTC.

Some felt that the loss of UST's peg to the US dollar could lead to the liquidation of some of the fund's assets. For example, this was announced by the head of the trading company Thanefield Capital under the nickname resonancethis.

In the comments, users noted that the LFG fund does not automatically sell assets, so you should not expect an avalanche of Bitcoin market sales.

For more on how Anchor's problems could affect Terra's economy, ForkLog wrote in a recent exclusive.

Recall, Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino warned that algorithmic stablecoins with large capitalization are dangerous for the market.




The US State Department offered $15 million for data on the operators of the Conti ransomware virus.
May 8, 2022

The U.S. State Department will pay $10 million for information identifying "key leaders" of the group behind the Conti ransomware virus. Authorities will also pay $5 million for information leading to the arrest of individuals linked to the hackers.

According to State Department spokesman Ned Price, Conti operators are responsible for "hundreds of incidents" involving ransomware.

“The FBI estimated that by January 2022 there were over 1,000 victims of Conti-related attacks. Victim payouts have exceeded $150 million, making Conti the most successful ransomware ever recorded,” Price said.

He also added that in April 2022, the government of Costa Rica was subjected to a cyber attack using Conti - the work of customs and tax services was disrupted.

Recall that in January 2022, the Taiwanese company Delta Electronics, a contractor for Apple and Tesla, was attacked by hackers using a ransomware virus. The media reported that the responsibility may lie with the operators of Conti.




Mark Cuban suggested that Twitter use Dogecoin to fight spam.
May 3, 2022

Billionaire Mark Cuban talked about a way to fight spam and fraud on Twitter using Dogecoin (DOGE). The idea was supported by the co-founder of the meme-cryptocurrency Billy Markus.

On May 1, Mark Andreessen posted a screenshot showing a user impersonating him offering a fake cryptocurrency giveaway. Venture capital co-founder Andreessen Horowitz asked what algorithm could track this type of content.

As a solution, Cuban suggested adding a feature requiring each user to pledge 1 DOGE to post tweets.

Anyone will be able to mark messages as spam - if confirmed, the complainants will share the violator's asset among themselves.

To publish new tweets, a spammer will have to pledge 100 DOGE already. If the complaint is not confirmed, its author will lose his 1 DOGE.

Recall that at the end of April, Twitter management agreed to sell the social network to Elon Musk for $44 billion. They plan to close the deal by the end of 2022. The head of Tesla wants to create "an inclusive arena for free speech."

The decision was supported by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Previously, Musk proposed lowering the cost of a Twitter Blue subscription and allowing users to pay for the premium service in Dogecoin.




The Swiss Central Bank refused to consider bitcoin as a reserve currency.
May 3, 2022

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has no intention of buying and holding bitcoin as a reserve currency. This was announced by chairman Thomas Jordan at the annual general meeting, writes Reuters.

According to him, there are no technical obstacles for this. SNB can both directly purchase cryptocurrency and buy investment products based on it. Technical and operational conditions can be arranged relatively quickly, Jordan assured.

“But from the current point of view, we do not believe that bitcoin meets the requirements for foreign exchange reserves, so for now our decision is not to have a cryptocurrency on the balance sheet,” he added.

In February, Tether and the authorities of the ninth most populous city in Switzerland, Lugano, announced the transformation of the latter into the European capital of bitcoin.

The local government has proposed making digital gold, Tether (USDT) and the city's LVGA token de facto legal tender.

On a national scale, El Salvador decided to take such a step regarding bitcoin. In September 2021, a law recognizing cryptocurrency as legal tender came into force in the Latin American state. A recent study showed that over the past months, the use of a digital asset has not taken on a mass character in the country.

In April 2022, the media reported that the Central African Republic, one of the poorest countries in Africa, followed the example of El Salvador.

A number of well-known public companies use bitcoin as reserves, including Elon Musk's Tesla and Jack Dorsey's Block (formerly Square).

The pioneer was MicroStrategy, which in August 2020 converted part of the reserves into cryptocurrency. As of April 14, 2022, the firm has amassed 129,218 BTC purchased with its own funds and raised capital. CEO Michael Saylor called the strategy of buying and holding digital gold "extremely successful."

Recall that in November 2021, SNB announced the technical readiness for the launch of CBDC. Prior to this, representatives of the central bank stated that there was no need for a digital franc.




Bitso talks about the success of Chivo bitcoin wallet in El Salvador.
May 3, 2022

El Salvadoran bitcoin wallet Chivo has made great strides since its launch in 2021. This was stated by Felipe Vallejo, chief regulatory officer of the crypto exchange Bitso, in a conversation with Cointelegraph.

The largest trading platform in Latin America is the main provider of technical solutions for Chivo. A spokesman for the company said earlier that it "provides custodial services, providing storage-related functions and application security, as well as exchange services."

According to Vallejo, the national wallet has made great strides despite the challenges. In September 2021, the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, admitted technical problems with the implementation of the application, and in December it became known about the disappearance of user funds.

In February 2022, the country's government announced the integration of the solution from AlphaPoint into Chivo. The New York-based startup improved the wallet's user interface, fixed bugs, and added improved Lightning Network support.

“Through our work with Chivo, we have seen a significant portion of the population turn to using the app for secure and easy transactions,” Vallejo said.

He cited the work of the National Bureau of Economic Research, according to which 40% of those who downloaded the wallet continued to use it after receiving a registration bonus of $30 in BTC.

According to a Bitso spokesperson, 20% of El Salvadorians have worked with Chivo after spending government-issued funds.

“The main barrier to the adoption of cryptocurrencies both in Latin America and around the world is education. As we continue to provide Salvadorans with the information and tools to better understand and use innovative technologies, we expect the adoption rate to increase,” Vallejo added.

On September 7, 2021, a law came into force in El Salvador recognizing bitcoin as an official means of payment along with the US dollar.

After the bill was passed in June, the opposition called it unconstitutional. In August, rallies were held in the country against the legalization of cryptocurrency.

Recall that a survey by the American organization National Bureau of Economic Research showed the failure of El Salvador in the experiment with bitcoin - 60% of those who downloaded Chivo did not use it after receiving the bonus.




Three Arrows Capital to move from Singapore to Dubai.
May 3, 2022

Cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital plans to move its headquarters from Singapore to Dubai, according to Bloomberg.

A possible move to the agency was confirmed by the co-founder of the company Su Zhu.

“The energy in the digital asset industry in Dubai is now electrified. We have decided to relocate the Three Arrows headquarters, and I look forward to meeting new technology startups,” Zhu told CoinDesk.

The firm is also setting up the first fund to raise capital from outside investors, according to the publication. Zhu and Kyle Davis founded Three Arrows in 2012 to invest in high-risk assets.

According to the site, the hedge fund owns stakes in BlockFi, Deribit, Fireblocks crypto projects, assets in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot, Solana and others. The company has funded a number of DeFi projects, including Aave, Balancer, and Trader Joe.

In March, Dubai authorities passed a law on virtual assets and established a regulatory body.

In the same month, bitcoin exchanges FTX and Binance received licenses in the emirate. In December 2021, the latter withdrew its application to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for a permit for a local branch.

According to MAS Managing Director Ravi Menon, Singapore aims to become a “responsible” crypto hub.

Of the approximately 170 companies that have applied in this country, only a small number have received licenses to provide services related to cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. Among them was the American company Paxos.

In January 2022, MAS effectively banned advertising for the services and products of industry companies, which came as a surprise to market participants. The regulator's decision, for example, forced bitcoin ATM operators in the country to shut down the devices.

Recall that in October 2021, the founder and CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, became the owner of real estate in Dubai, and the media allowed the opening of the headquarters of the exchange in the emirate.




Startup Nym Technologies raised $300 million to develop the ecosystem.
May 3, 2022

The privacy-focused project Nym has raised $300 million from a number of venture capital firms in a fund focused on funding ecosystem developers. The Block writes about it.

The team was supported by Polychain, Greenfield One, Huobi Incubator, Tioga Capital, Eden Block, NGC Ventures, HashKey Capital, Figment, Fenbushi Capital, OKX Blockdream Ventures, Tayssir Capital, KR1, Lemniscap and a16z.

The Nym Foundation will distribute funding as needed. Grants will range from $50,000 to "several million dollars". Applications will begin in May 2022.

“$300 million is a drop in the bucket compared to the endless sums of money in Silicon Valley and nation states that benefit from mass surveillance,” said Harry Halpin, CEO of the project.

Founded in 2018, Nym provides the infrastructure to ensure the privacy of personal data. The nodes of an open source decentralized platform (mixnet) "mix" user traffic, excluding the disclosure of metadata. For this, they are rewarded in native NYM tokens.

The platform has a potentially wide range of use cases, including those outside the cryptocurrency industry.

The launch of the developer support fund came a few weeks after the listing of NYM on a number of major bitcoin exchanges.

The news led to the active growth of the native token up to 40%. At the time of writing, the pace has eased to 29.2%. With a capitalization of $58 million, the asset ranks 530th in the CoinGecko rating.

It is assumed that as the NYM Treasury is unlocked, the tokens will replenish the ecosystem support fund.

Recall that in November 2021, the startup raised $13 million from a16z and other investors at a valuation of $270 million.

In August, WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning joined Nym Technologies as a security consultant.




Warren Buffett again doubts the value of bitcoin.
May 2, 2022

Well-known billionaire investor Warren Buffett said he would refuse to buy all bitcoins for $25 because he does not see the value in it. Writes about it CNBC.

“What would I do with them? One way or another, I would have to sell them back to you. It won't do anything. Apartments would generate rent and farms would produce food. Assets must produce something. There is only one approved currency,” a well-known bitcoin skeptic explained.

As a smarter alternative, the investor cited a $25 billion purchase of all U.S. farmland or apartment buildings that provide "real value."

Buffett is known for his negative attitude towards bitcoin. In February 2020, he called the first cryptocurrency "complete zero" with no value. Earlier, the billionaire predicted the collapse of the crypto industry. When talking about bitcoin, he used terms like “rat poison squared” and “illusion without unique value.”

In response to the latest statements, many in the crypto community advised the head of Berkshire Hathaway to better understand the subject and study existing use cases.

Elon Musk found it funny how many times Buffett mentioned bitcoin in his speech.

On the eve of the annual meeting with shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, another bitcoin skeptic, the head of JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon, partially softened his position on the first cryptocurrency. In October 2021, a top executive called digital gold “worthless”, but later acknowledged the value in blockchain technology and DeFi.

In a recent interview, the CEO noted that he still does not like cryptocurrency and needs to be careful when investing. At the same time, Dimon emphasized that digital assets can help with cross-border payments.

“If you told me, ‘I want to send $200 overseas,’ it could take you two weeks and cost you $40. You could do it with digital currency and it will take you a matter of seconds,” he explained.

Recall that Buffett, Dimon and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink were on the list of the main enemies of bitcoin, compiled by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.




Peter Brandt Predicted Bitcoin's Fall to $28,000.
May 2, 2022

Bitcoin will test the $28,000 level, according to trader and head of Factor LLC Peter Brandt.

The expert drew attention to the pattern that the price of the first cryptocurrency has formed since the beginning of the year, and the breakdown of its lower border.

“The completion of a bearish channel usually results in a decline equal to its width. In this case, to a hard test of $32,000 or so, but I think $28,000,” Brandt commented.

He emphasized that the forecast does not make him a “bitcoin hater.”

On May 1, quotes of the first cryptocurrency updated the local minimum below $38,000.

In April, Arthur Hayes, former CEO and co-founder of the BitMEX exchange, predicted that Bitcoin would fall to $30,000 at the end of the first half of the year. He attributed this to a possible decline in the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), with which digital gold is highly correlated.

Analysts at Arcane Research have confirmed that the statistical relationship between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq index has reached its highest level since July 2020.

However, at the end of the year, fintech experts who took part in the Finder survey expect quotes of the leading cryptocurrency to be above $65,000 with subsequent growth.

Hayes also has no doubts about the prospects of bitcoin, who predicted a rise in price to $1 million by the end of the decade.

Recall, according to Brandt, digital gold will return to the bull market stage in May 2024.




Report: 73% of Institutions Wait for Mass Adoption of Cryptocurrencies.
May 2, 2022

79.6% of retail and 72.6% of institutional investors are convinced of the widespread adoption of digital assets over the next ten years. Such results are contained in the Bitstamp study.

In March 2022, analysts surveyed 5,502 institutional and 23,113 retail investors from 23 countries across all regions of the world.

“Cryptocurrency is a long game. We need to prepare for the next 50-100 million customers. The industry needs to build the infrastructure that will support this next wave of investors,” Bitstamp US CEO Robert Zagotta told Blockworks.

About 70% of respondents in both categories have confidence in digital assets. The rate is higher among those who were able to gain the most knowledge about the subject. Regionally, there are more of them in developing countries like Nigeria, Argentina, Brazil and South Africa.

In terms of trust, cryptocurrencies outperformed derivatives and only slightly outperformed stocks, bonds, and real estate.

68% of institutions recommend that clients diversify their portfolios with a new asset class, 15.2% do so with certain restrictions.

72% of institutional and 73.1% of retail investors plan to increase their investment in the segment over the next five years.

Among the barriers, respondents in the first category named excessive volatility and insufficient regulation, in the second - the lack of necessary knowledge, high risks and uncertainty regarding the choice of a reliable trading platform.

Recall that 68% of US cryptocurrency investors took their first steps in the industry in 2021, according to Huobi Group analysts.

Earlier, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao predicted an explosive growth in the adoption of digital assets in 2022.




ApeCoin Token Drops 30% Amid Otherside Metaverse Launch.
May 1, 2022

On Sunday, May 1, Yuga Labs, behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, launched the Otherside metaverse. All Otherdeeds tokens sold out in less than three hours.

Yuga Labs noted the "unprecedented" demand for Otherdeeds NFT, which exceeded "the wildest expectations." The team apologized for unsuccessful transactions on Ethereum and promised to compensate for gas costs.

“Obviously, ApeCoin needs to move to its own chain in order to scale properly. We encourage the DAO to start thinking along these lines,” Yuga Labs said.

ApeCoin (APE), a token associated with the BAYC ecosystem, has fallen by 30% amid the launch of Otherside. At the time of writing, the asset is trading at $17.

12 hours before the launch of Otherside, the largest NFT marketplace OpenSea announced the addition of ApeCoin as a payment method.

Yuga Labs released 55,000 NFT Otherdeeds at a price of 305 APE. The project team introduced mandatory KYC verification of buyers and a limit on the number of tokens available for purchase - 2 NFTs per address.

Initially, Otherdeeds was planned to be distributed as part of a Dutch auction, but this method was abandoned due to its lack of efficiency.

Recall that in March, Yuga Labs released a video with the announcement of Otherside, in which characters from the BAYC and MAYC collections, as well as CryptoPunks and Meebits, appeared. The project team bought the rights to the latter a few days before the announcement of the metaverse.

In the same month, Yuga Labs raised $450 million in a $4 billion valuation round, including the creation of Otherside.

In April, the Bitcoin exchange Coinbase announced the casting of NFTs from the BAYC collection, which will be used in the upcoming three-episode film The Degen Trilogy. The first episode will air at the end of June.




DeFi project Rari Capital lost $80 million in a hack.
May 1, 2022

An unknown person withdrew approximately $80 million worth of assets from Rari Capital's decentralized finance protocol, which were stored in his Fuse credit pools.

Smart contract audit firm BlockSec cited a "typical re-entry vulnerability" in the code of the Fei Protocol project as the reason for the hack.

The developers confirmed the information, suspended loans of cryptocurrencies and offered the hacker a payment of $ 10 million for the return of the stolen funds.

After the incident, the price of the Rari Governance Token (RGT) fell by 20% to $11.5.

Recall that in May 2021, Rari Capital lost 2600 ETH as a result of a hack.




Panama passes bill to regulate cryptocurrencies.
April 30, 2022

The National Assembly of Panama approved a bill regulating the circulation of crypto assets in the country. It is reported by Reuters.

The regulatory document “regulates the trade and use of crypto assets, the issuance of digital value, the tokenization of precious metals and other assets, payment systems and other areas.”

Congressman Gabriel Silva emphasized that the legalization of cryptocurrencies will help Panama become "the center of innovation and technology in Latin America."

“Now I can go and pay the seller for something. And if he wants to accept cryptocurrency, it is allowed, it is legal. Until now, this has not happened in Panama, ”Silva said.

He added that more than half of the country's residents are not covered by the banking system, but the "crypto law" is designed to help them.

According to the document, from now on, cryptocurrencies in Panama are an acceptable form of payment "for any legal civil or commercial transaction", including the payment of taxes, duties and other fees to the state.

Cryptolaw also officially recognizes Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) as legal entities. In addition, the release of tokenized securities and goods through the STO is regulated.

Silva completed work on the bill in September 2021. According to him, the initiative will create "thousands of jobs", attract investment and "make the government transparent."

Recall that El Salvador became the first country to recognize bitcoin as a legal means of payment. However, a recent study showed a low adoption rate of the first cryptocurrency in the country.




Bored Ape Yacht Club Team Reveals Otherside NFT Price.
April 30, 2022

Yuga Labs has abandoned the Dutch auction on the Otherside NFT metaverse in favor of selling tokens at a fixed price. The developers also postponed the launch of the project to May 1, 04:00 (Moscow time / Kyiv).

“In fact, the Dutch auctions are bullshit, so Otherdeeds will be sold at a fixed price of 305 ApeCoin,” the developers wrote.

Amid the Yuga Labs announcement, ApeCoin (APE) hit an all-time high of $26.70, according to CoinGecko. At the time of writing, the asset is trading near $22 - at the current price, the cost of virtual land in Otherside exceeds $6,700 per plot.

Initially, it was assumed that the NFTs of the metaverse would be distributed as part of the Dutch auction.

However, in the last message, the developers noted that such a procedure is not effective enough.

“They [Dutch auctions on NFTs] are not successful intermediaries, they do not nullify gas wars with highly anticipated mintings,” Yuga Labs clarified.

The company stressed that this creates problems, since the launch of Otherside could be "one of the largest and most sought after" in the history of the NFT sector.

A total of 55,000 Otherdeeds will be sold. To purchase tokens, users need to go through the KYC procedure. The project team also introduced a limit on the number of tokens available for purchase - 2 NFTs per address.

The postponement of the sale was explained by the developers as a desire to provide users with the opportunity to set up pre-approval for transactions with APE in digital wallets.

Recall that in April 2022, an unknown person hacked the Instagram account of the Bored Ape Yacht Club project in order to steal subscribers' assets. According to PeckShield, approximately 765.3 ETH and 91 NFTs were mined by the hacker.




US Department of Labor concerned about Fidelity's bitcoin initiative for retirement accounts.
April 29, 2022

The Department of Labor has reported "serious concerns" about Fidelity Investments' initiative to allow customers to save bitcoin in 401(k) retirement savings accounts. The Wall Street Journal writes about it.

On April 29, officials will discuss this issue with representatives of the financial corporation.

Three days earlier, Fidelity had announced that the option would become available in the summer of 2022. Employees of 23,000 companies will be able to use it with the consent of employers, which have entrusted the company with the management of pension plans totaling $ 2.7 trillion. The share of bitcoin in the portfolio will be limited to 20%.

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor has already become interested in the company's proposal. In an interview with CNBC, he called the first cryptocurrency a less risky asset compared to bonds, stocks, commercial real estate and gold.

“There has been a lot of hype around bitcoin,” said Ali Khawar, acting assistant secretary for the US Department of Labor’s Employee Retirement Agency.

The official is concerned about the inherent volatility of bitcoin and the associated risks for ordinary Americans. Khavar stressed that the agency does not ban cryptocurrencies on 401(k) accounts.

“If employers believe that they have taken into account the concerns of the agency, this is their decision,” he added.

On April 10, the US Department of Labor warned that it could ask employers whether such plans meet due diligence and loyalty criteria. Industry members, including Fidelity, have called for the guidance to be withdrawn.

In response to an April 28 statement, the company responded that the proposal to add bitcoin to retirement accounts “…reflects the view that digital assets will represent a large part of the future of the financial industry.”

Recall that in November 2019, Fidelity Investments launched a crypto-custodial service focused on institutionals.

In 2020, in the US, pension plans with investments in the first cryptocurrency were offered by DAiM, as well as Bitwage with Gemini.




Indian online retailer Flipkart to explore possibilities of metaverses and NFTs.
April 29, 2022

Walmart-owned Indian marketplace Flipkart has created an innovation lab to explore commercial use cases for Web 3.0 technologies.

According to the statement, Flipkart Labs' areas of interest include "metaverses, NFTs, virtual stores, Play-to-Earn games, and other blockchain use cases."

Based on these technologies, the lab is to develop solutions ready for Walmart to test that can "take e-commerce to the next level."

“We are in the early stages of a paradigm shift from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0, and this evolution of the web, based on the concepts of decentralization, openness and greater value for users, is impacting many areas, including e-commerce,” said Naren Rawula, vice president of Flipkart Labs.

Flipkart Camera's virtual and augmented reality division will merge with Flipkart Labs. The company created it after acquiring core startup Scapic in 2020.

The American retail giant bought a majority stake in Flipkart in 2018 for $16 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Recall that in January it became known that Walmart is allegedly preparing to enter the metaverse space with its own collections of NFTs.




The US Congress will consider a bill on the supervision of the CFTC over crypto exchanges.
April 29, 2022

A group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives has submitted a draft Digital Commodity Exchange Act (DCEA) of 2022, which establishes direct oversight of certain types of crypto transactions and bitcoin exchanges under the auspices of the CFTC.

The document is presented by Republicans Glenn Thompson and Tom Emmer, as well as Ro Hannah and Darren Sota from the Democratic Party.

The law introduces the term "digital goods". Issues of regulation of issuers of such assets and their trading are transferred to the competence of the CFTC. The SEC will continue to oversee security tokens.

“A ‘digital good’ refers to any form of interchangeable intangible personal property that can be exclusively owned and transferred from person to person without the need to rely on an intermediary,” the document explains.

The definition does not include references to stocks, debt instruments, and securities in general, to avoid overlapping with the scope of the SEC.

Digital goods can only be traded on a CFTC-registered exchange. The platform must comply with certain requirements, including holding and protecting assets with qualified custodians, as well as preventing the mixing of client and corporate funds.

The DCEA was introduced by Republican Michael Conaway back in 2020. In November 2021, a congressional panel led by Thompson introduced the current updated version of the bill.

“Closing gaps in the spot market is an important piece of the regulatory puzzle,” Thompson explained.

Recall that in October, the candidate for the post of head of the CFTC at that time, Rostin Benham, at a hearing in Congress, proposed to give the agency the status of the main federal regulator in the cryptocurrency market.

On March 9, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order to coordinate federal agencies in regulating digital assets.

At the end of March, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand revealed the details of a bill designed to bring clarity to the regulation of cryptocurrencies. Among other things, the document clarifies the definition of a broker in terms of infrastructure and provides for the creation of a specialized supervisory agency.

Earlier, the head of Coinbase predicted the division of supervision over the crypto industry between departments.




"Bitcoin-Jesus" Roger Ver supported Dogecoin.
April 29, 2022

Bitcoin.com founder Roger Ver, nicknamed “Bitcoin Jesus” for promoting the first cryptocurrency in the early years, praised the virtues of Dogecoin in an interview with Bloomberg.

On April 26, he broke a year-long silence on Twitter, where he has over 742,000 followers. This coincided with reports of the purchase of the social network by Elon Musk, an ardent fan of meme-cryptocurrency.

Ver was enthusiastic about the takeover: “It will definitely make Twitter more attractive. I'm really very grateful that Musk is calling for getting away from censorship there."

In 2017, he supported the Bitcoin hard fork, after which Bitcoin Cash appeared. Since then, Ver has strongly supported this fork, believing that it reflects the initial vision of Satoshi Nakamoto, from which digital gold, in his opinion, deviated.

Now the entrepreneur has spoken out in favor of Musk's favorite cryptocurrency: “Dogecoin is much better. It is cheaper and more reliable. If I had to choose three contenders [for the dominant role], they would be Dogecoin, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash.”

At the same time, Ver stated that he had never been a maximalist of Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash. He noted that he has a diversified portfolio of currencies, which includes Ethereum, Monero and XRP from Ripple.

Since the hard fork, the capitalization of bitcoin has approximately tripled and stands at about $760 billion versus ~$5.8 billion for Bitcoin Cash. At the time of writing, the latter is trading just above the $300 level — more than 90% below the high recorded in 2017, according to CoinGecko.

Recall that in 2020, another well-known supporter of Bitcoin Cash, Craig Wright, filed a libel suit against Vera. He became one of a series of statements to the court of the self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto against representatives of the crypto community.

Among others, Craig pursued Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Blockstream CEO Adam Back, and What Bitcoin Did podcast host Peter McCormack.




Media: Finland will send Ukraine funds from the sale of confiscated bitcoins.
April 28, 2022

Finland will transfer funds from the sale of bitcoins confiscated during various investigations as assistance to Ukraine. This was reported by the local newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, citing government sources.

According to estimates, the value of the cryptocurrency seized by the Finnish authorities is estimated at about 73 million euros. What part of the funds received during the sale of bitcoins will be sent to Ukraine has not yet been decided.

According to Helsingin Sanomat, the government also considered the possibility of directly transferring 1981 military-technical cooperation seized by customs to Ukraine. However, according to the law, confiscated assets must be converted into fiat and transferred to the state.

Customs has already selected two local digital asset service providers to act as intermediaries in the sale of the cryptocurrency. They will be Coinmotion and Tesseract.

By the beginning of summer, about 1,890 BTC will be handed over to firms.

The customs announced a tender among brokers for the sale of seized cryptocurrencies last year.

Recall that the cryptocurrency community donates millions of dollars for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Read about how digital assets help save the lives of the people of the country in our exclusive.




Ronin Sidechain Developers Reveal Additional $625M Hack Details.
April 28, 2022

The developers of the Ronin sidechain involved in the Axie Infinity blockchain game revealed additional details of the hack that led to the theft of crypto assets worth more than $600 million. The team also spoke about measures aimed at improving the security of the project.

On March 23, 2022, Ronin was hacked - the hacker withdrew 173,600 ETH and 25.5 million USDC from the cross-chain bridge of the project.

As a result of a phishing attack on one of the employees of Sky Mavis (behind the development of Axie Infinity), the attacker managed to gain access to both the company's infrastructure and the Ethereum sidechain validators.

At that time, Sky Mavis controlled four of the nine validators - this was not enough for an unauthorized withdrawal of funds. However, an exploit linked to the Ronin gasless RPC node allowed a hacker to acquire the signature of the Axie DAO validator.

“This is due to an incident in November 2021 where Sky Mavis asked for help from Axie DAO to distribute gas-free operations due to huge user load. Axie DAO allowed Sky Mavis to sign transactions on its behalf. This practice was abandoned in December 2021, but access was not revoked, ”the developers explained.

The team emphasized that the vulnerability was closed by including two additional validators. Over the next three months, their number will increase to 21, in the long term - up to 100 knots.

According to the developers, they were unable to notice the attack in time, because Ronin had a weak system for monitoring large outflows from the cross-chain bridge address. To fill this gap, the team brought in CrowdStrike, Polaris Infosec, and other security-focused companies.

The developers have also stated that their goal is to implement a zero trust architecture. The latter assumes that Sky Mavis is always exposed to external and internal threats, so it checks and authorizes every connection.

The team noted that they are working on the launch of Ronin Bridge and expect to open the cross-chain bridge in mid or late May.

Recall that in April 2022, Sky Mavis launched a bounty program to search for vulnerabilities. The size of the reward for found errors in the blockchain and smart contracts ranges from $1,000 to $1 million, depending on the severity.




Experts: Open Source Will Not Solve Twitter's Algorithm Problems.
April 28, 2022

Revealing the source code of Twitter's recommender algorithms will not solve the problem of the social network. This was stated by a number of experts in the field of data privacy and Internet security, writes Wired.

According to MIT professor and computer scientist David Karger, in the age of machine learning, it’s not algorithms that matter, but data. He believes that Elon Musk could improve Twitter by making the platform more open so that others can use it in new ways.

“What makes Twitter important is not the algorithms. These are the people who tweet,” Karger said.

Alex Engler, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies the impact of AI on society, has a similar opinion. According to him, the key point in the openness of the platform may be the understanding of the decision-making processes that the algorithms are trained on.

“The code is good. The data is ok. The code and data combined in the model can be better,” said the expert.

An anonymous employee of the company said that Twitter's machine learning models are just the tip of the iceberg. The whole system reacts in a complex way to the behavior of visitors in real time. If users are particularly interested in a particular piece of news, then relevant tweets will appear more frequently.

“Twitter is a socio-technical system. It reacts to human behavior,” the source emphasized.

Another employee said that the platform does not have a single algorithm for promoting content in the main feed. Such decisions are the result of many different models interacting with each other based on user actions. The results are also adapted to each platform visitor.

"There is no 'core algorithm' for Twitter," a source from the Twitter tech team said.

However, experts have welcomed Musk's efforts to make the company's algorithms transparent and understandable to users and researchers.

According to Derek Roots, associate professor at McGill University in Canada, social platforms are too difficult for students to learn. He added that transparency could reveal the details of the algorithms and increase pressure on other social networks.

“This could be a really interesting experiment that is long overdue,” Roots said.

Earlier, the Board of Directors of Twitter accepted Elon Musk's offer to buy the company for $44 billion. First of all, the businessman intends to increase the transparency of the social network, open the source code of recommender algorithms and ensure the principle of freedom of speech for all users.

Recall that in April the European Union agreed on the Digital Services Law, which regulates recommender algorithms and targeted advertising.
In February, a group of US senators submitted a similar bill to Congress.
In January, China approved the rules for regulating recommender algorithms.




New York Assembly Passes Two-Year Mining Restriction Bill.
April 27, 2022

The lower house of the New York State Legislature voted in favor of a bill designed to freeze current levels of carbon emissions from cryptocurrency mining.

The document provides for a two-year moratorium on the issuance of new permits for the production of cryptocurrency using electricity generated from hydrocarbon sources. Enterprises operating under this scheme will not be able to expand operations.

The act also requires the Department of Environmental Protection to prepare a report on the environmental impact of mining in the state. The study should be completed within a year, giving lawmakers time to take action before the restrictions expire.

Democratic MP Anna Kelles, the initiator of the bill, explained that it does not prohibit the mining of cryptocurrencies, but affects a limited number of energy facilities.

“This only applies to power plants, of which we have about 30 in the upstate and about 19 in the south,” Kelles noted during the discussion.

Republican Robert Smallen called the bill "anti-tech" and "only masquerading as environmental protection." The decision will send the wrong signal to New York's financial services sector in terms of digital adoption, he added.

According to Kelles, the proposed measures will not interfere with innovation in the field, since they will not affect other aspects of the crypto industry, such as asset trading.

Against the backdrop of the development of mining in the United States, entrepreneurs used the excess electricity in the state to organize the production of cryptocurrencies directly at power plants "to the meter".

One such enterprise was the Greenidge Generation in Dresden. In 2021, a hybrid power plant located on the banks of the Seneca (one of the Finger lakes) faced accusations of negative environmental impact.

In July of the same year, the company announced plans to expand the mining business, but already at the site in South Carolina. Investments in the project will amount to $264 million.

In April 2022, the New York Supreme Court rejected environmentalists' claims against the power plant.

Republican MP Philip Palmesano in a debate spoke about Greenidge's contribution to the economy in terms of taxes and jobs.

Kelles countered that the 60,000-employee agritourism sector in the Finger area is signaling the negative impact of noise from the business, as well as water and air pollution.

“How many jobs are we creating for these emissions, how many are we losing? We need to think about balance,” she said.

95 members of the Assembly voted in favor of the law, 52 deputies voted against. A similar document is under consideration by the Senate.

Recall that in February 2022, New York gubernatorial candidate Juman Williams called on the current state authorities to ban the mining of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on the Proof-of-Work algorithm.




Coinbase CEO Calls Elon Musk's Twitter Purchase 'A Victory for Free Speech'
April 27, 2022

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong supported Elon Musk's decision to acquire Twitter.

“Elon's purchase of Twitter is a big win for free speech, and probably changes the trajectory of the world more than most people realize. Twitter is above media and culture in many ways, and it has evolved in a very dangerous direction [in terms of] censorship," Armstrong wrote.

He expressed the hope that over time, the social network can be transformed into a decentralized protocol. This, according to the head of Coinbase, will be “the maximum protection against repeated co-optation.”

“This is a comprehensive job, thanks to him for doing it and taking on the challenge in a way that most people could not even imagine,” added the CEO of the bitcoin exchange.

In early April, Musk became Twitter's largest shareholder after acquiring a 9.2% stake for $2.89 billion.

On April 14, he offered to buy the social network for more than $43 billion. The entrepreneur explained this by his intention to create an “inclusive arena for freedom of speech,” and not by a desire to make money.

Initially, Twitter management did not evaluate the entrepreneur's proposal and approved the takeover protection plan. However, he later revised his position.

On April 25, the board approved the sale of the company to Musk for $44 billion. The head of Tesla will pay $54.2 per share. Commenting on the deal, the head of Tesla called Twitter a "digital city square" where vital questions about the future of humanity are discussed.

Earlier, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin supported the takeover of Twitter by Musk, but doubted the positive effect in general from the transition of media platforms to the property of billionaires.

Recall that the project to develop an open decentralized standard for social networks Bluesky declared its independence from Twitter and the holder of a controlling stake.




SEC Expands List of Dubious Cryptocurrency Companies.
April 27, 2022

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expanded its list of "misleading" digital asset companies. This is stated in the press release.

This is a list called "Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities" (PAUSE). It pursues informational purposes and does not assume that the firms that have fallen into it have violated the law.

PAUSE includes organizations whose activities, in the opinion of the regulator, are questionable. Another criterion is a name similar to well-known companies.

As examples, the SEC named the SuperBinance and Superfxtrading projects - investors can confuse them with the Binance and FTX bitcoin exchanges. The list includes Gemini M&A, and newcomers include Bittrade Capitals, 247Crypto Trade, and Bitpayfxpro.

The Commission noted that the companies included in PAUSE provided false information "about ownership, location and registration." However, the SEC does not recognize that such firms are hiding behind well-known names, calling them "unlicensed organizations" that process transactions.

In November 2020, the Texas regulator issued three emergency orders to terminate the activities of 14 cryptocurrency companies suspected of fraud.

In March 2021, state officials filed claims against three unregistered projects. One of them worked under the brand of the Binance bitcoin exchange.

Recall that in October of the same year, the New Jersey Securities Bureau sent the management of five crypto companies an order to suspend operations due to suspicions of fraud.




US authorities accuse two foreigners of conspiring to help North Korea.
April 27, 2022

Spanish citizen Alejandro Cao de Benos and British citizen Christopher Emms have become defendants in a case involving former Ethereum Foundation researcher Virgil Griffith. This is stated in a press release from the US Department of Justice.

The foreigners allegedly colluded with the developer to provide the North Korean authorities with information about the possibilities of using cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions.

According to the agency, 47-year-old Cao de Benos and 30-year-old Emms were the organizers of the blockchain conference in Pyongyang. They hired Griffith as a cryptocurrency expert and helped him attend an event in April 2019.

Griffith was arrested in November of that year. He was later charged with conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

In January 2020, the developer was released on bail of $1 million worth of his sister's and parents' real estate, and he was returned to custody in 2021.

In September 2021, Griffith pleaded guilty. In April 2022, he was sentenced to 63 months in prison and fined $100,000.

The Justice Department said Cao de Benos and Emms "took action" to cover up their activities and Griffith's role. They were charged with conspiring to circumvent US sanctions.

The maximum penalty under this article is 20 years in prison. According to a press release, the defendants are still at large.

Recall that in April, the Agency for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection, the FBI and the US Treasury warned about the focus of North Korean hackers on the cryptocurrency industry.

According to a Chainalysis report, in 2021, North Korean cybercriminals carried out at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms, during which they stole digital assets worth about $400 million.

Earlier, the UN said that the DPRK is financing the development of nuclear programs through attacks on bitcoin exchanges.




Twitter revises Elon Musk's takeover bid.
April 26, 2022

Twitter leadership has changed its attitude towards Elon Musk's proposal to acquire the social network. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and CNBC, citing sources.

According to the channel, Twitter management may submit a final decision by Thursday - on this day the company will publish financial results for the first quarter.

Newspapers report that the parties met on 24 April. The reason for the revision of the position was allegedly the documents for the SEC on the attraction of financing in the amount of $46.5 billion by the billionaire.

The media claims that on April 25, the company's board discussed with Musk "additional details, including a schedule for closing [the deal]." According to journalists, the decision is not final, and the entrepreneur's proposal may not be accepted. In this regard, the parties allegedly raised the issue of compensation for expenses - the head of Tesla will pay it if the parties do not agree.

Musk previously became Twitter's largest shareholder after acquiring a 9.2% stake for $2.89 billion. He launched an initiative to reduce the cost of a Twitter Blue subscription and add payment in Dogecoin.

On April 14, Musk offered to buy the social network for more than $43 billion. He explained this by the intention to create an “inclusive arena for free speech”, and not by the desire to make money.

The management of Twitter did not appreciate the entrepreneur's proposal and approved the takeover protection plan. It allows shareholders to buy additional shares at a discount in the event that any organization or individual acquires at least 15% of the company's securities without the approval of the board of directors.

Musk’s “favorite cryptocurrency,” Dogecoin, reacted positively to rumors of a consensus being reached in talks to buy Twitter. According to CoinGecko, it has gained 7.5% in the last hour.

Twitter is up more than 5% in premarket trading.

Recall that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin supported the takeover of Twitter by Musk, but doubted the positive effect in general from the transition of media platforms to the property of billionaires.

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried announced his readiness to discuss with the head of Tesla the possibility of interaction between the social network and the bitcoin exchange.




U.S. to pay off Ross Ulbricht's debt with $2.7 billion worth of seized bitcoin.
April 24, 2022

The US authorities will use the seized 69,370 BTC (~$2.75 billion) to pay off the $183 million debt owed by the founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace Ross Ulbricht to the state.

In April 2013, a hacker stole 69,370 BTC while hacking into an illegal platform. In November 2020, US law enforcement officers confiscated bitcoins. Ulbricht refused to claim them.

The date of the auction for the sale of seized crypto assets is not specified.

In 2015, a court found Ulbricht guilty of operating the Silk Road darknet market and other crimes, including drug trafficking and a money laundering conspiracy. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Recall that in 2021, Elon Musk called Ulbricht's sentence overkill. According to him, the reasons for the punishment "certainly were, but the sentence seems excessive."




Nike and RTFKT Unveil First NFT Collection.
April 24, 2022

Nike and RTFKT Studio have presented the first collection of non-fungible tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. The digital sneaker is inspired by the Nike Dunk silhouette.

In February 2022, MNLTH-NFT airdrop in the Mystery Boxes format was held among the owners of the CloneX project tokens and other collections from RTFKT. A few months later, the holders of the latter were allowed to open their "boxes".

Users said that inside the Mystery Box was a pair of RTFKT x Nike Dunk Genesis CRYPTOKICKS, a Skin Vial digital item needed to modify the NFT, and another MNLTH.

Some owners of new NFTs have already listed tokens on the OpenSea marketplace – the price of digital sneakers starts from 3.25 ETH (~$9600).

In December 2021, Nike acquired NFT studio RTFKT, which specializes in creating metaverse collectibles. The parties did not disclose the terms of the deal.

Recall that in February 2022, Nike filed a lawsuit against the online retailer StockX for the unauthorized sale of images of sneakers in the form of NFTs.




Binance denied Reuters article about cooperation with the FSB and Rosfinmonitoring.
April 23, 2022

Bitcoin exchange Binance published correspondence with Reuters journalists and denied accusations of cooperation with the FSB and Rosfinmonitoring.

In April, Binance Communications Director Patrick Hillmann, in response to a request from the agency, clarified that the Russian authorities had never contacted the trading platform about opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

In its reaction to the published article, the bitcoin exchange also calls false claims that the company shares any user data with Russian regulators and agencies controlled by the FSB.

According to Hillmann, Binance has not entered into any agreement with the Russian government that would be different from cooperation with the authorities of any other jurisdictions.

In the same correspondence, he clarified that the bitcoin exchange received an invitation to the working group with Rosfinmonitoring, but refused to participate. Hillmann stated that Binance has no ties to the agency.

Prior to the publication of the material, he also threatened to take the details of the investigation to the public if the agency "decides to ignore the facts."

“Unfortunately, Reuters, one of the most respected and trusted media outlets, published this article, which completely contradicts the reputation that this publication has built over the years and does not reflect our experience with countless other journalists in their organization,” Binance said in a statement.

The Bitcoin exchange will write a formal complaint to the agency in accordance with their editorial code.

According to Reuters, the regional representation of Binance agreed to share information about clients from the Russian Federation with Rosfinmonitoring and the FSB in exchange for assistance in doing business in the state.

According to the agency, in April 2021, the regional director of the bitcoin exchange, Gleb Kostarev, who at that time held the position of director in Eastern Europe, held a meeting with representatives of Rosfinmonitoring.

He allegedly agreed to share customer data and create a local unit in Russia through which the authorities can request access to this information.

“It is an absolute lie that I or Binance leaked the data of Navalny or users to Rosfin or the FSB,” Kostarev wrote on his Facebook.

Recall that this is not the first investigation of the agency in relation to Binance. In January 2022, Reuters journalists said that the company repeatedly withheld information from regulators, neglected KYC procedures and acted contrary to the recommendations of its own compliance department.




US Congressmen Called for Proof-of-Work Testing for Environmental Damage.
April 23, 2022

A group of US congressmen have asked the Environmental Protection Agency to review the mining industry for environmental risks and compliance with relevant laws.

The authors of the letter were particularly concerned about the Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm. According to the document, one bitcoin transaction can provide the average American household with energy for a month.

As an alternative, congressmen are proposing a “less energy-intensive” Proof-of-Stake technology, which allegedly uses 99.99% fewer resources.

The authors of the initiative expressed concern about the violation of laws on clean air, clean water and noise from mining farms that disturb the peace of citizens living in the neighborhood.

Congressmen also mentioned the success in the fight against the Greenidge Generation bitcoin mining company, which in July 2021 was accused by New Yorkers of environmental violations.

Recall that in February 2022, the head of one of the largest Intel chip manufacturers, Pat Gelsinger, criticized bitcoin for its impact on the environment.

Earlier, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin called the human factor the main barrier to Proof-of-Stake.




Twitter to test USDC payments from Stripe.
April 23, 2022

Online business financial infrastructure provider Stripe has added support for USDC stablecoin payments on the Polygon blockchain. The first user of the solution will be Twitter.

The company implemented a new feature in Stripe Connect, a system for integrating payments into online marketplaces.

The firm noted that Twitter uses a tool to pay content creators revenue from monetized products such as Ticketed Spaces and Super Follows. Now a select group of authors will be able to choose to pay in a stablecoin.

“Twitter is the place where people go to talk about what's going on. We're focused on helping the creators who drive these conversations earn money and connect with audiences in new ways. We're excited to offer crypto payments through Stripe so they have more choice," Twitter Chief Product Officer Esther Crawford said in a statement.

The choice of the Polygon network in Stripe was explained by low commissions, high transaction speed, integration with Ethereum and compatibility with a large number of wallets.

The provider intends to add support for other cryptocurrencies in the future. By the end of 2022, Stripe plans to expand digital asset payments to more than 120 countries.

Recall that in March the company announced support for crypto companies, including exchanges, wallet providers and NFT marketplaces.




Lawyer Points to Gaps in Cryptocurrency Collection Mechanism in Belarus.
April 22, 2022

The mechanisms for the confiscation and subsequent sale of digital assets prescribed in the resolution of the Ministry of Justice of Belarus on the recovery of cryptocurrencies as part of enforcement proceedings are incomprehensible and require clarification. Denis Aleinikov, senior partner at Aleinikov & Partners law firm, told ForkLog about this.

According to the document (available to ForkLog), in order to recover, the bailiff issues an order to seize the debtor’s cryptocurrencies and “if necessary, transfers them to the virtual wallet of the enforcement authority” or exchanges.

Aleinikov noted that the regulation is fragmented and only bitcoin falls under it, since only it is registered in the legislation as a cryptocurrency.

“The fact is that in Belarus, according to the legislation, tokens are called crypto assets, but there is no talk of their withdrawal. That is, if the bailiff cannot prove that the conditional Litecoin is used in international circulation as a universal medium of exchange, then it cannot be confiscated.”

The lawyer pointed out that according to the law it is not clear who and how should prove that an asset belongs to cryptocurrencies, and the bailiff “will not figure it out for sure.”

Aleinikov also noted the poorly written mechanism for selling cryptocurrencies. The resolution says that the transfer of cryptocurrency for further implementation is carried out without establishing its value.

“The value of the realized cryptocurrency is the actual amount of funds credited to the account of the enforcement authority,” the document says.

The expert emphasized that it remains unclear who will determine the price of confiscated bitcoins and how this will happen: “In fact, it is formulated as follows: how much they sold, that is the price. With its opaque definition, the interests of the one from whom it is confiscated may suffer. The simplest situation looks like this - what they found from him, then they took it away. If they take 10 BTC, they take and sell 10 BTC for the amount they need.”

Seized assets should be sold through exchanges with their consent. If the sites refuse, “the arrest is lifted, other restrictions are canceled on the basis of a decision of the bailiff and the cryptocurrency is returned to the debtor.”

The regulation will come into force on May 17, 2022.

Recall that in February, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree providing for the creation of a register of virtual wallet addresses used in illegal activities, as well as outlining the procedure for seizing cryptocurrencies.



The American regulator pointed out the shortcomings of the Anchorage compliance program.
April 22, 2022

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency within the US Treasury (OCC) has accused cryptocurrency bank Anchorage of “violating an operating agreement” with the regulator. The department explained that the company's compliance program does not cover the required provisions of the BSA / AML.

“OCC places the same high demands on all nationally registered banks, whether they are traditional or innovative. When institutions fail to meet their obligations, we take action and hold them accountable to ensure compliance with the laws,” commented the interim head of the department, Michael Hsu.

Anchorage was licensed as a nationwide "digital asset bank" in January 2021. Regulatory approval means that the company can be considered a qualified custodian.

On April 21, 2022, the OCC issued a Consent Order, according to which “the bank has not adopted and implemented a compliance program covering the required elements of BSA / AML, in particular, the control of proper KYC procedures and the monitoring of suspicious activity.”

Anchorage is instructed to create a special department that will monitor the company's compliance with the BSA. In addition, the regulator requires the establishment of a compliance committee consisting of at least three members, as well as the introduction of more stringent KYC procedures.

A consent order implies that the parties have reached some kind of consensus on how to proceed. The document states that Anchorage has "initiated corrective actions and is committed to taking all necessary and appropriate steps to address deficiencies identified by the OCC."

Recall that in December 2021, Anchorage raised $350 million from KKR, Goldman Sachs and other investors. Cryptobank was valued at $3 billion.




A book about Ethereum and Vitalik Buterin will be filmed in Hollywood.
April 22, 2022

Ridley Scott-affiliated Scott Free Productions will produce a film based on The Infinite Machine, a book about the origins of the Ethereum blockchain. Writes about it Deadline.

The author of the book was a well-known journalist in the industry, Camille Russo. The publication was published in 2020 and tells how the 19-year-old Buterin rallied a group of developers around the idea of ​​​​creating a “world computer”.

The pages tell the story of the team's challenges, from increased regulatory scrutiny to the rise of Wall Street interest and the difficulty of scaling the platform.

Known for his work on the blockbusters Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner and The Martian, Ridley Scott will co-produce the tape. Camilla Russo and co-founder of the Avenue Investment cryptocurrency hedge fund Francisco Gordillo will help him with this. Shyam Madirajou will write and direct.

Scott Free Productions is known for such films as The Last Duel with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and House of Gucci with Al Pacino and Lady Gaga. Napoleon with Joaquin Phoenix, The Boston Strangler with Keira Knightley, and a new film in the Alien franchise will be released soon.

Recall that in July 2021, a crowdfunding campaign for a documentary film about Ethereum and Buterin Ethereum: The Infinite Garden was launched.

Earlier, Netflix announced the shooting of a documentary about the founder of the QuadrigaCX bitcoin exchange, Gerald Cotten.




Polychain Capital Leads $30M Investment Round for Ethereum Startup Scroll.
April 21, 2022

Scroll, an Ethereum scaling project using ZK-Rollups technology, has raised $30M, according to The Block.

The startup's Series A funding round was led by Polychain Capital, with input from Bain Capital Crypto, Robot Ventures, Geometry DAO and other investors, as well as several angel investors.

The project will use funds to expand the team of 20 people and launch a test network. The latter is expected in the second half of 2022.

Regarding the difference between the developed solution and other L2 scaling protocols, Scroll co-founder Sandy Peng noted: “We are the equivalent or native EVM, as defined by the Ethereum Foundation.”

According to her, this means that developers can copy the smart contract staging code from Ethereum and deploy it on Scroll without making any changes.

She promised to reveal the details of the technology implemented by the startup in the “coming months”.

In February, the Matter Labs team deployed a ZK-Rollup-based solution on the Ethereum testnet as the first EVM-compatible L2 protocol.

Recall that Vitalik Buterin identified ZK-Rollups technology as a central element for working on Ethereum scalability.




Nabiullina announced a discussion with the government on the issue of mining.
April 21, 2022

The Bank of Russia, together with the government, is discussing the issue of mining cryptocurrencies. This was stated by the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina.

She noted that mining needs to make a "systemic decision" - if it is approved, "no limits, a sandbox will not be needed."

The head of the regulator emphasized that mining is not within the direct competence of the central bank, but the Central Bank expresses their concerns:
“If mining takes place, but cryptocurrencies go to foreign exchanges, this is one thing, but another thing is if the “mined” begins to be used as a means of payment within Russia. In fact, it will be a money surrogate. And so we express these concerns in order not to undermine the circulation of money.”

Recall that the Central Bank is a consistent opponent of cryptocurrencies and proposed to introduce a complete ban on their issue, circulation and exchange, as well as the organization of such operations on the territory of the Russian Federation.

The government wants to regulate the market and for this purpose they have prepared a bill “On Digital Currency”. It involves conducting operations with cryptocurrencies through Russian banks, identifying holders of crypto wallets and dividing investors by qualifications.

The document spells out the definition of mining and the basic mechanisms for its regulation. Recently, the Ministry of Finance clarified the terminology related to cryptocurrency mining in the bill.




Elon Musk: Tesla's robot business will become more profitable than the car business.
April 21, 2022

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that in 2023 the company's robot business will be worth more than Automotive and Full Self-Driving (FSD) autonomous driving technology. TechCrunch writes about it.

During the quarterly reporting conference, Musk confirmed that Tesla continues to work on android.

“The importance of Optimus will become clear in the coming years. Those who are astute or listen carefully will understand that Optimus will ultimately be worth more than the car business, more than FSD, ”said the businessman.

Musk unveiled the humanoid robot in August 2021. According to preliminary data, the height of the device is 173 cm, weight - 57 kg, and the speed of movement - up to 8 km / h. Its software part will be based on Tesla neural networks and the Dojo supercomputer.

In addition, the businessman announced the company's plans to launch its own robot taxi service based on Tesla and FSD in 2024.

“I think this could be a very powerful product and we are aiming for mass production in 2024,” Musk said.

In his opinion, robotaxis will become a powerful engine for the growth of Tesla.

Musk also said that the trip on this type of public transport will be cheaper than on the bus.

Recall that in January 2022, the billionaire promised to prevent the uprising of machines.

In March, Tesla included artificial intelligence in the company's long-term development plan.

In April 2021, Musk said that Tesla will become one of the largest AI companies in the world.




The head of FTX announced his readiness to discuss the development of Twitter with Elon Musk.
April 21, 2022

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried proposed to change the "broken model" of social networks through the blockchain. To do this, he is ready to discuss with Elon Musk the possibility of interaction between Twitter and the bitcoin exchange, writes Bloomberg.

In an interview, Bankman-Fried said that he had not yet had a substantive conversation on this subject with the founder of Tesla, but would be glad for such an opportunity.

“What is the moderation policy? The managers of the three companies choose what can and cannot be censored. This is a "flawed model". Now it is an extremely confusing system in which there is no interaction between different platforms. There is no way to see the tweet on Facebook. If you send a message to someone on Facebook, WhatsApp cannot read it, although it is the same company, ”he said.

To ensure the protection of free speech, Bankman-Fried proposed a system in which each social network could obtain basic data from the same source and independently make censorship decisions. He stressed that the decision spur competition by leveling the playing field between platforms with large user bases and those that are just starting out.

Recall that Musk became the largest shareholder of Twitter after acquiring a 9.2% stake for $2.89 billion. On April 14, the billionaire offered to buy the platform for more than $43 billion. He explained this by his intention to create an “inclusive arena for free speech”, and not by a desire to make money .

In response to the hostile takeover attempt, Twitter management approved a defense plan. It allows shareholders to buy additional shares at a discount in the event that any organization or individual acquires at least 15% of the company's securities without the approval of the board of directors.




A group of mining companies BitRiver fell under US sanctions.
April 21, 2022

The US Treasury has imposed sanctions against the BitRiver group of companies engaged in cryptocurrency mining in the Russian Federation.

According to the agency, BitRiver, an operator of mining data centers founded in 2017, currently has three offices in Russia. In 2021, BitRiver transferred ownership of its assets to the Swiss holding BitRiver AG.

In addition to it, ten subsidiaries were included in the sanctions list, including Bitriver Management Company LLC, Bitriver Rus LLC, Everest Group LLC, Siberian Minerals LLC, Tuvaasbest LLC, Trading House Asbest LLC, LLC "Bitriver-B", LLC "Bitriver-K", LLC "Bitriver-Sever", LLC "Bitriver-Turma".

Thus, the US Treasury stopped the possibility of a potential circumvention of sanctions by Russia through mining. This is the first time that companies mining cryptocurrencies have been included in the sanctions list.

Also under the OFAC sanctions was a Russian entrepreneur, the owner of the Tsargrad group of companies, Konstantin Malofeev, whom the media had previously associated with the theft of bitcoins from the WEX exchange.

The agency blocked any property of BitRiver and Malofeev-related companies within US borders. Residents and citizens of the country are prohibited from working with them.

Recall that in early April, the Hydra darknet marketplace and the Garantex cryptocurrency exchange fell under US sanctions.




Snoop Dogg to Introduce Digital Hemp Farms as NFTs.
April 21, 2022

American rapper Snoop Dogg, in collaboration with MOBLAND, will create digital marijuana farms in the project's metaverse. This was reported to ForkLog by representatives of the startup.

MOBLAND intends to pioneer the Grow-and-Earn concept by providing virtual world users with a wide range of utilities for business buildings and land. The project's metaverse has a mafia theme and is seen by the team as a "crypto version of the video game Mafia Wars".

The startup was backed by Twitch co-founder Justin Kang, Terra co-founder Do Kwon, Animoca Brands, and other investors.

As part of the collaboration with Snoop Dogg, participants in the metaverse will have access to a limited collection of digital marijuana farms in the form of non-fungible tokens and exclusive content from the rapper’s son, NFT collector ChampMedici.

According to the musician, it was he who suggested the idea of ​​the release and offered MOBLAND as a partner.

“I have watched my father play video games all my life. Cannabis and joysticks live hand in hand with it. Therefore, it seems to me that it was an obvious decision to bring the metaverse and digital weed together, ”said ChampMedici.

Recall that in February, Snoop Dogg announced the transformation of his Death Row Records into the first NFT label.

In 2021, the rapper admitted to being Cozomo de' Medici, having amassed a collection of hundreds of non-fungible tokens.




The US Secret Service has confiscated $102 million in cryptocurrencies since 2015.
April 20, 2022

Over the past seven years, the US Secret Service has seized over $102 million worth of digital assets as part of 254 fraud investigations. It is reported by CNBC.

The main tasks of the federal agency are the prevention of counterfeiting of dollars, debt obligations, the protection of the president and high-ranking officials, as well as the investigation of various types of financial fraud and cybercrime.

“When you follow a cryptocurrency wallet, it is no different than an email address that has some associated identifiers. And as soon as two parties make a transaction, it gets into the blockchain, and we have the ability to trace this email or wallet address, ”David Smith, deputy director of investigations for the service, explained.

One of the cases concerns a scam that targeted 900 US citizens. The investigation was conducted by the Romanian police - the scheme involved the placement of fake ads on online auctions and sites selling luxury goods. After payment, the attackers disappeared, and the money received was laundered through cryptocurrencies.

In August 2020, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit for the confiscation of cryptocurrency from 280 accounts. According to the department, they are related to attacks carried out by North Korean hackers.

In March 2022, a Massachusetts resident was sentenced to eight years in prison for drug trafficking and had approximately $2.3 million worth of cryptocurrencies confiscated.

Recall that Chainalysis called the darknet markets the largest source of illegal cryptocurrencies. In 2021, cybercriminals laundered $8.6 billion worth of digital assets, which is 30% more than in 2020.




Crypto companies urged the European Union to abandon the tightening of regulation.
April 20, 2022

Several representatives of the crypto industry called on European lawmakers and finance ministers to rethink anti-money laundering rules. CoinDesk writes about this with a link to the letter.

According to the publication, the appeal was signed by scientists, lobbyists and top management of companies such as Ledger, Aave and Blockchain.com. They called the legislative initiatives "burdensome" and "disturbing".

“Proposals from the European Parliament leading to the disclosure of all transactions and wallet addresses will put every digital asset owner at risk […] and risk derailing years of preparatory work and the future of Web 3.0 in Europe,” the letter says.

In July 2021, the European Commission prepared a bill in accordance with the FATF recommendations. The document assumes the integration of the “rule of the road” and prohibits anonymous cryptocurrency transactions.

In March 2022, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament adopted the MiCA cryptocurrency regulation bill. The final version did not include an amendment to prohibit mining on the Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm.

Recall that in the same month, the European Parliament supported the mandatory verification of users of non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets. The amendments are provided for in the regulations for the exchange of information between counterparties.




The former head of the Central Bank of El Salvador: the legalization of bitcoin "killed" relations with the IMF.
April 20, 2022

El Salvador has been unable to find common ground with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and negotiations with it are "practically dead." This opinion was expressed by the former head of the country's central bank, Carlos Acevedo, writes ElSalvador.com.

We are talking about an agreement with the IMF on the allocation of financial assistance. According to the ex-chairman of the Central Bank, the cryptocurrency initiative cost the country dearly, “killing” relations with the fund.

Acevedo called $1 billion Bitcoin bonds another difficult issue. Initially, they were planned to be released by March 15-20, 2022 with the possibility of an additional issue for $500 million.

Half of the profits from the sale of bitcoin bonds El Salvador was going to send to the development of mining infrastructure on geothermal volcanic energy. The other 50% is for the purchase of digital gold for the government trust.

On March 24, it became known that the authorities had postponed the issue in anticipation of more favorable conditions in the global financial market. However, Acevedo attributed the delay to a "lack of investor interest".

“First they said in January, then in March, then they said that the Digital Assets Law was not ready, then they said that pensions were a priority, now it’s a security issue. I think the government has realized that there is not enough interest in the markets to purchase this issue,” the economist said.

He added that the fall in the price of the first cryptocurrency also does not play in favor of the idea with bonds.

“Over the past six months, bitcoin has fallen by about 35%, and this is not conducive to creating a favorable climate for placement,” Acevedo said.

The law legalizing the first cryptocurrency in El Salvador came into force on September 7, 2021. The IMF has repeatedly criticized the decision of the country's authorities, and in January recommended depriving bitcoin of the status of legal tender.

Earlier, Moody's downgraded El Salvador's long-term foreign currency credit rating to Caa1 with a negative outlook. In early 2022, the firm’s experts noted that the government’s purchases of BTC are putting further pressure on the level of credit confidence in the country.

Recall that at the end of January, Tobias Adrian, Director of the IMF’s Monetary Policy and Capital Markets Department, said that the volatility of cryptocurrencies destabilizes capital flows in emerging markets.



Tax RF proposed to allow Russian companies to make payments in cryptocurrencies.
April 20, 2022

The Federal Tax Service (FTS) of the Russian Federation proposed to the Ministry of Finance to allow Russian companies to pay for export-import transactions in cryptocurrencies. Izvestia writes about it.

The initiative of the Federal Tax Service was outlined in the comments to the draft law "On Digital Currency". Despite many disagreements on the regulation of cryptocurrencies, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank are in solidarity that they cannot be used as a means of payment.

The Federal Tax Service proposes to make an exception for business and supplement the draft law with the following provision:
"Legal entities are allowed to pay for goods, works, services under foreign trade agreements and receive proceeds from foreign entities in digital currency."

The purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies for rubles should be carried out only through exchanges, the Federal Tax Service emphasized.

The Ministry of Finance partially supported the initiative, noting that it requires further discussion.

The idea to use cryptocurrencies in settlements with African countries was voiced in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.

Recall that the bill “On Digital Currency” provides for transactions with cryptocurrencies through Russian banks, identification of holders of crypto wallets and separation of investors by qualifications.

In April, the Ministry of Finance changed the terminology of the document.



Bitcoin exchange CoinDCX valued at $2.15 billion following investment round.
April 19, 2022

Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX has raised $135M in a Series D funding round at a $2.15B valuation.

The round was led by Steadview and Pantera Capital.

Funding was also provided by Coinbase Ventures, Kingsway, DraperDragon, Republic, Kindred, B Capital Group, Polychain, and Cadenza.

The introduction of a 30% tax on profits from cryptocurrency transactions and a controversial 1% fee under the TDS did not affect the appetite of investors. Innovations weakened the activity of local traders.

CoinDCX will use the proceeds to expand its product line and recruit staff with a focus on compliance professionals.

The company previously partnered with Solidus Labs and Coinfirm to improve compliance with FATF recommendations.

CoinDCX plans to expand the educational content in the application and create a venture division. Previously, the company introduced the possibility of periodic investments in digital assets.

According to the platform, more than 10 million customers use its services.

In August 2021, CoinDCX became India's first crypto unicorn with a $1.1 billion valuation.

In November, its co-founders allowed for an IPO after regulatory certainty emerged.

Recall that in April 2022, Coinbase opened access to its services to users from India.

Earlier, the Kraken, Bitfinex and KuCoin exchanges began to study the possibilities of working in the country.

Binance has been present in this market since 2019 after buying local exchange WazirX.




Paolo Ardoino: algorithmic high-cap stablecoins are dangerous for the market.
April 19, 2022

The UST stablecoin, due to its approach to collateral, is dangerous for the cryptocurrency market. This opinion was expressed in an interview with CoinDesk by Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino.

The stability of UST is provided by a smart contract that keeps the price at $1 through arbitrage with Terra coins (LUNA).

In January 2022, the Luna Foundation Guard launched, with assets designed to increase the sustainability of UST. By mid-April, its volume exceeded 42,500 BTC.

According to Ardoino, a $5 billion or $10 billion stablecoin does not pose a big threat to the crypto industry, but the situation changes with a larger amount of coins in circulation.

“If you have a UST-scale algorithmic stablecoin liquidation going on, then the market can handle it. But imagine if you have a stablecoin like Tether with a capitalization of $80 billion or $100 billion, which is mainly backed by digital assets. It is difficult to imagine what will happen and be sure of sufficient liquidity to stop the cascading effect,” he said.

On April 18, UST outperformed BUSD in total value from Binance. The capitalization of the algorithmic stablecoin has grown from $180 million at the beginning of 2021 to $17.6 billion.

A significant part of the demand for UST is generated by users of the Anchor decentralized protocol, which offers more than 19% per annum on stablecoin deposits. If yields fall, holders may start massive token sales, which will increase the risk of insufficient liquidity.

Recall that in August 2021, an audit showed that 49% of Tether’s reserves consist of commercial paper – short-term debt obligations.

In March 2022, Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon bet $11 on LUNA's growth.




ConsenSys Urges SEC to Remove Blockchain Networks from Extended 'Exchange' Wording.
April 19, 2022

ConsenSys urged the SEC to explicitly state that distributed ledger networks are not subject to a proposal to expand the term "exchange" in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The company noted that the proposed wording may inadvertently designate some decentralized systems as exchanges. In addition, the regulator did not mention blockchain, cryptocurrencies or DeFi in the document and did not make it clear how the requirements of the Law should apply to the industry.

“It seems highly unlikely to us that the SEC actually wants to extend this rule to blockchain systems, because they are completely different from the centralized exchanges for which the Act was passed,” wrote ConsenSys senior counsel Bill Hughes.

In the event that the language deliberately covers decentralized systems, the proposal violates the Securities Exchange Act, the Administrative Procedures Act and the Constitution, the company said.

Regarding the Exchange Act, Hughes noted that its text and purpose are "dramatically at odds" with the Commission's proposed regulation of potential sellers and buyers.

“Blockchain systems, in particular DeFi, are replacing intermediaries with software. The risks posed by real intermediaries, including abuse of power, are in fact non-existent,” he stressed.

The company felt that the proposed SEC wording "exchange" would cancel the regulatory framework of Congress in this part and leave the society without clearly defined rules.

“The coverage of blockchain systems will leave too many questions unanswered for the proposal to be finalized. The SEC will need to start over and conduct a comprehensive review of its rationale and costs and benefits,” Hughes said.

According to him, the Commission's proposal "regulates speech based on its content", which is contrary to the principles of freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution.

“We remain optimistic that a reasonable resolution to this particular issue will be provided by the SEC in response to public feedback,” Hughes concluded.




Media: Apollo Global and Thoma Bravo are considering buying Twitter.
April 19, 2022

Apollo Global Management is exploring the possibility of cooperating with Elon Musk or other interested individuals and organizations in putting forward an offer to buy Twitter. The Wall Street Journal writes about this, citing informed sources.

According to the publication, Apollo Global Management is also considering a collaboration between Yahoo, which it owns, and Twitter.

Earlier, similar plans were announced by representatives of the firm Thoma Bravo, also focused on direct investment.

Recall that Musk became the largest shareholder of Twitter after acquiring a 9.2% stake for $2.89 billion.

On April 14, the billionaire offered to buy the platform for more than $43 billion. He explained this by the intention to create an “inclusive arena for free speech”, and not by the desire to make money.

Subsequently, Twitter management approved a plan to protect against a hostile takeover. It allows shareholders to buy additional shares at a discount in the event that any organization or individual acquires at least 15% of the platform's securities without the approval of the board of directors.




US authorities warn of North Korean-linked hackers targeting crypto industry.
April 19, 2022

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency (CISA), the FBI and the US Treasury have issued a joint warning about North Korean hacker threats aimed at stealing cryptocurrencies.

The document refers to the hackers Lazarus Group, APT38, BlueNoroff and Stardust Chollima.

US authorities have said they are seeing attacks targeting the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors, including exchanges, DeFi protocols, venture capital funds, individual large holders of crypto assets and NFTs.

Attackers often use social engineering techniques to trick victims into downloading malware and applications. With their help, hackers gain access to the victim's device, steal keys or use other security vulnerabilities.

The document contains a number of recommendations for cyber protection, including the use of multi-factor authentication, connecting only to secure hosts, and others.

Recall, according to the Chainalysis report, last year hackers from North Korea carried out at least seven cyber attacks on cryptocurrency platforms, during which they stole digital assets worth about $400 million.

The UN said that the DPRK is financing the development of nuclear programs through attacks on bitcoin exchanges.

The US believes that Lazarus was involved in the attack on the Ronin sidechain, which was the largest hack in the history of the DeFi segment.




Bitcoin broke through the local minimum below $39,000.
April 18, 2022

On Monday, April 18, the quotes of the first cryptocurrency updated the local minimum since mid-March. At the moment, the price dropped below $38,550 (Bitstamp).

At the time of writing, the BTC rate has corrected to levels above $38,900. Over the past day, the asset has fallen in price by 3.4%, and by 7.8% over the week, according to CoinGecko.

According to Coinglass, positions worth $225 million were liquidated in the futures market in a day, of which more than $64 million accounted for digital gold.

Traditionally, after the first cryptocurrency, all assets from the top 10 by capitalization went down, with the exception of the USDT stablecoin. Over the past 24 hours, Ethereum has lost 4% - the coin is holding at around $2920.

The Bitcoin dominance index is 39%, Ethereum is 18.5%. The total market capitalization is just over $1.9 trillion.

Earlier, cryptocurrency analyst Benjamin Cowen compared the current price movement of the first cryptocurrency with the dynamics that were observed before the asset’s rise in 2013 and its fall in 2018.

According to the analyst, in order to resume the bullish trend, the first cryptocurrency needs to restore the 200-day simple moving average (SMA), which is now at about $49,000.

“If Bitcoin can muster the courage to rise above its 200-day SMA and move to $50,000, then that would look pretty optimistic. What happens if the asset falls to $30,000 and then rises again? There is a good chance that we will go back to $40,000 or maybe $43,000,” Cowen explained.

In early April, well-known tech analyst Peter Brandt allowed BTC to return to the bull market stage in May 2024. Huobi co-founder Du Jun adheres to similar terms.

Recall that Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky predicted that Bitcoin and Ethereum would reach historical highs in 2022.




Vitalik Buterin backs Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter.
April 18, 2022

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed support for Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, but questioned the positive effect in general from the transfer of media platforms to the ownership of billionaires.

According to Buterin, hostile takeovers in the presence of low barriers can discipline management. But this may not work for the media, especially when it comes to social media. They have an extremely high level of influence, but often low monetization and relatively low capitalization, which makes them a target for such transactions.

Buterin suggested imagining an option for Saudi Crown Prince Alwaleed bin Talal to increase his share of Twitter from 5% to 50%. In this case, the leader of the country with “ethical problems” will have much more influence on the policy of the platform than the growth of his stake in the company, the co-founder of Ethereum emphasized.

According to Buterin, Twitter has a "public good". The platform should not be controlled by power structures.

Ethereum co-founder was supported by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao suggested that the “poison pill” proposed by the board of directors of the platform for Elon Musk may not be in the interests of investors.

Recall that the plan approved by the board of the platform allows shareholders to buy additional shares at a discount in the event that any organization or individual acquires at least 15% of Twitter securities without the approval of the board of directors.

Musk previously became the company's largest shareholder after acquiring a 9.2% stake for $2.89 billion. He launched an initiative to reduce the cost of a Twitter Blue subscription and add payment in Dogecoin (DOGE).

On April 14, Musk offered to buy Twitter for more than $43 billion. He explained this by the intention to create an “inclusive arena for free speech”, and not by a desire to make money.




Taxes on digital assets in the Russian Federation: what are the owners and issuers of tokens supposed to pay for?
April 18, 2022

The Russian draft law on taxation of transactions with digital assets contains provisions on VAT, personal income tax and corporate income taxes.

Especially for ForkLog, the CEO of Yunf Accompanying, Sergey Leoshko, and the managing partner of the Grad law firm, Maria Agranovskaya, analyzed the requirements imposed by the authorities on the owners of the CFA.

VAT
The services of organizations that will issue, control and keep records of CFA applications are exempted from VAT, by analogy with securities.

However, the sale of the DFA itself is subject to VAT. Until March 9, 2022, the same principle applied to the sale of precious metals by banks to individuals.

“These norms significantly reduced the investment attractiveness of precious metals in the eyes of investors. Apparently, the authors of the bill consider the digital asset market so attractive that even 20% VAT will not be able to cool this interest, ”suggests Sergey Leoshko.

All features of VAT calculation are retained when using digital assets in foreign trade transactions, with the participation of agents and other special cases in terms of this tax.

VAT payers will be all legal entities that carry out the primary issue or secondary transactions with the CFA.

income tax
Income from the sale or ownership of digital assets must be included in the income tax base.

Expenses related to maintenance, payment of income to the owner of the asset or its redemption may be taken into account when calculating corporate income tax.

Rules are established for the one-time and uniform (during the life of various CFAs) recognition of expenses for income tax purposes. There is a procedure for accounting in expenses for VAT paid on the acquisition of an asset, if the organization is the last holder of such.

Features of determining the tax base for operations with CFA will be prescribed separately. Such assets will not be revalued for corporate income tax purposes.

“The draft law provides for the features of the issue and turnover of CFAs, by analogy with the issue and turnover of securities, including similar restrictions. For example, proceeds from the issuance of digital financial assets for which the maturity is not defined or is more than 10 years are recognized on the expiration date of the ten-year period from the date of issue of these assets,” explains Maria Agranovskaya.

Profit or loss from CFA transactions can be determined in aggregate with transactions with non-tradable securities and non-tradable derivative financial instruments, separately from the overall tax base.

There is a possibility of hedging using DFA and other special cases of using such assets.

personal income tax
Income from transactions with DFA should be determined net of the costs of their acquisition and transaction. However, the bill also contains a requirement to document such expenses.

“What kind of documents can confirm the expenses for the purchase of digital assets, the amendments have not been deciphered. The right to a deduction in the absence of supporting documents (a conditional expense of 20% of the amount of income) is expressly prohibited by the bill. It remains to be hoped for official clarifications on how to document the costs of CFA purchased in 2021 and earlier, ”notes Sergey Leoshko.

It will be possible to include the commissions of exchangers, operators, fees for the services of registrars, banks and other future participants in the official circulation of the CFA in the Russian Federation into expenses.

At the same time, according to the bill, losses from digital transactions can only be set off against income from other similar transactions - it will not be possible to reduce other income taxable with personal income tax. It is also necessary to separately account for income associated with the ownership of assets, for example, coupon or interest income, dividend payments to holders, and others.

In general, the introduced procedure is similar to the personal income tax rules regarding income from trading and holding securities. The costs of DFA, which will be received at redemption of securities, can be deducted from the income from such securities, but this and other special cases are best analyzed in advance.

Income and expenses for transactions denominated in foreign currencies will have to be converted into rubles at the official exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, established on the date of actual receipt of income or expenses.

All individuals tax residents of the Russian Federation must declare and pay personal income tax on income from transactions with CFA, which follows from the already existing norms of the Tax Code. The draft law will establish for legal entities the obligations of tax agents in relation to income from the CFA paid by them to individuals.

“Of course, this will make life easier for individuals, since all the features of tax calculations, as well as the transfer of personal income tax itself, will be assigned to organizations officially working with the CFA. The main thing is that such organizations should appear,” the lawyers sum up.

Conclusion
The amendments being introduced are intended to provide clear rules for taxing income from transactions or holding CFA. Although the draft law enters into force one month from the date of publication, it provides for the application of new tax rules for legal relations that arose from January 1, 2022 - that is, retrospectively.

At the same time, experts advise studying the impact of the document on each specific transaction separately.

Earlier it was reported that the bill on taxes on digital assets does not affect the cryptocurrency market in the Russian Federation.

Taxation of transactions with crypto-currencies will be prescribed separately and can be adopted in parallel with the bill "On digital currency".




Binance to Launch Regulated Bitcoin Exchange in Thailand.
April 18, 2022

Binance has formed a joint venture with Thai billionaire Sarath Rathanawady’s Gulf Energy Development, which will apply for a cryptocurrency exchange license in the country.

According to the firm's letter to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, its subsidiary has invested in BNB tokens.

In another notice, Gulf Energy announced that its Hong Kong subsidiary took part in a $200 million seed funding round for Binance.US. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.

“The company believes this multi-layered collaboration with Binance […] aligns with its goal of becoming a leader in digital infrastructure,” the statement said.

In January, Binance and Gulf Energy signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the possibility of launching a crypto exchange in Thailand.

Forbes noted that one of the largest electricity producers in the country is actively diversifying its portfolio. In October 2021, Gulf Energy signed an agreement with Singaporean telecommunications giant Singtel to grow its data center business in Thailand. A few months earlier, the Thai firm had acquired a stake in the largest mobile operator.

Recall that the Thai regulator recommended that businesses from April 1, 2022 exclude the acceptance of payments in cryptocurrencies.




The European Commission received 10,000 comments on the digital euro.
April 18, 2022

The European Commission has received about 10,000 public comments on the digital euro. Voting information is posted on the organization's website.

The process started on April 5 and should end on June 14, 2022. Its purpose is to get feedback on the possible creation and regulation of a CBDC.

According to Finextra, consultations are also being held during this period to help policymakers consider:

user needs and expectations for the digital euro;
the role of CBDC in retail payments and the digital economy of the EU;
application of anti-money laundering rules, privacy, data protection aspects and international payments.
According to the working paper, consultations should complement public opinion. In particular, the Commission is interested in the position of industry experts, payment service and infrastructure providers, developers, merchants, consumer unions, regulators and supervisors and other experts.

The initiative to issue a digital euro emerged in November 2019. In October 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a comprehensive report on this topic.

In the spring of 2021, the chairman of the regulator, Christine Lagarde, said that the European Union could issue its own CBDC in four years if politicians approve the project.

In July, the ECB's Governing Council decided to launch a CBDC study phase, and in October, the regulator formed an advisory group on the potential development and deployment of a digital euro.

Recall that European Commissioner for Financial Affairs Mairead McGuinness said that the European Union will consider a bill on CBDC in early 2023.




The former head of the Central Bank of China did not see threats to SWIFT and other currencies in the digital yuan.
April 18, 2022

The digital yuan is primarily intended for the public and merchants, not to replace SWIFT or weaponize the currency. This was stated by the former head of the People's Bank of China Zhou Xiaochuan, writes Forkast.

The expert emphasized that e-CNY is not necessarily suitable for cross-border payments. For such purposes, it may be adapted in the future, but in this case, CBDC will still be focused on retail applications.

“The world should beware of thinking in a Cold War paradigm that will harm everyone,” Zhou said.

China has been testing the digital yuan for three years. At the end of 2021, the volume of transactions with e-CNY reached 87.57 billion yuan (~$13.68 billion), 261 million unique digital wallets were registered.

In February 2021, the Central Banks of China and the UAE joined the “bridge” project for national digital currencies launched by the regulators of Hong Kong and Thailand.

In April 2022, the People's Bank of China expanded the e-CNY testing program to 23 cities.

Recall that Bank of America predicted the preservation of the hegemony of the dollar thanks to the release of CBDC.

Earlier, the Boston Fed and MIT submitted a white paper and an open source digital dollar as part of the first stage of studying its potential release.




The value of assets on the balance sheet of the Ethereum Foundation reached $1.6 billion.
April 18, 2022

In 2021, the non-profit organization Ethereum Foundation (EF) spent $48 million on the development of the ecosystem of the second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization. The value of assets on its balance sheet reached $1.6 billion, according to a report published by the structure.

Approximately $20 million of the funds spent was allocated in the form of grants, delegated domain allocations, third-party funding, bounty programs and sponsorships. The remaining $28 million came from investments in teams and community projects.

EF noted that the funds spent can be divided into six main categories:

research and development in the main network - $ 21.8 million;
research and development related to solutions of the second level - $ 1.9 million;
applied research and development related to the zero-knowledge protocol - $3.6 million;
Empowering Ethereum as a platform for developers — $5.9 million
developments related to the Ethereum community - $9.7 million;
EF internal operations - $5.1 million

According to the report, as of March 31, 2022, EF had assets worth $1.6 billion on its balance sheet — $1.3 billion in cryptocurrencies and $300 million in “non-crypto investments and assets.”

The organization emphasized that more than 99% of cryptocurrency reserves are in ETH. These funds include 39,168 ETH allocated to the Client Incentive Program. The initiative involves rewarding teams that develop client applications based on Ethereum.

Recall that in October 2021, the NEAR Protocol team established a $800 million fund to develop the ecosystem.




MetaMask warned Apple users about the risk of losing funds.
April 18, 2022

The MetaMask team has warned non-custodial wallet users about the risks of storing data in Apple iCloud due to possible phishing attacks.

“If you have enabled iCloud backup of app data, it includes password-protected MetaMask storage. If it's not secure enough and someone phishes your iCloud data, it could lead to asset theft."

The wallet developers advised to disable iCloud backup for MetaMask in the device settings.

The MetaMask statement came after an incident with one of the collectors of non-fungible tokens. On April 15, he revealed on Twitter that he had lost $650,000 worth of NFTs.

“This is how it happened: I got a call from Apple, literally from Apple (by incoming ID). [I] called back because I suspected a scam and it was an Apple number. So I believed them. They requested a code sent to my phone and two seconds later my entire MetaMask was empty,” the user wrote.

Later, the founder of the DAPE NFT project under the nickname Serpent explained that unknown people were able to carry out the theft because of the MetaMask seed phrase stored in iCloud.

“The scammers requested a password reset for the victim's Apple ID. With the 2FA code, they gained control of the Apple ID and access to iCloud, which opened the way for them to the victim's MetaMask, ”the author of the thread explained.

He advised using a cold wallet for storage, not sharing confirmation codes with anyone, and recalled that information about an incoming number is “easy to fake.”

“Companies like Apple will never call you,” Serpent said.

Recall that in March the number of monthly active users of the non-custodial crypto wallet exceeded 30 million.

In the same month, the developers added support for Apple Pay and gas-free transactions to the new version of MetaMask.




DeFi protocol Beanstalk Farms lost $181 million in a hack.
April 18, 2022

The Ethereum-based stablecoin protocol Beanstalk Farms lost more than $181 million in cryptocurrencies as a result of a hack. The hacker received about $76 million.

According to Igor Igamberdiev, research director at The Block, the attacker completely emptied the protocol contract.

The attacker created a BIP-18 management proposal involving a $250,000 donation to Ukraine, which he falsified before being executed.

Through instant loans, he received:

350M DAI, 500M USDC and 150M USDT on Aave;
32 million BEANs on Uniswap;
11.6 million LUSD on SushiSwap.
The funds were used by the hacker to add liquidity to the Curve pools in BEAN to receive control votes - Stalk tokens.

He then deployed and approved the malicious BIP-18, which transferred all assets from the protocol to a third-party wallet.

After removing liquidity and repaying loans, the attacker converted the remaining funds into 24,800 WETH (~$76 million). He laundered the cryptocurrency through the Tornado Cash mixing service. 250,000 USDC went to the donation address for Ukraine.

The company Omnicia, which previously audited the Beanstalk protocol, said that the vulnerabilities used for the attack appeared after checking the code base. The firm noted that the ability to generate governance tokens through instant loans and the immediate execution of a proposal accepted by a qualified majority have been implemented by BIP-12 and BIP-16 in recent months.

Recall that the largest hacks of crypto projects since the beginning of the year are the incidents with Wormhole and Ronin - losses of $319 million and $625 million, respectively.




Biden nominates ex-Ripple adviser for Fed vice chairman.
April 18, 2022

US President Joe Biden has proposed former Ripple adviser Michael Barr as Fed vice chairman with a focus on banking regulation.

Barr is known as the main architect of the post-crisis reform of financial regulation with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act. Its tasks will include monitoring mergers of credit institutions and overseeing lending to low-income individuals.

Barr was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions during the presidency of Barack Obama. In 2015, he became a member of Ripple's advisory board. Currently, the functionary is not included in it, holding the position of dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

Some lawmakers have raised concerns about the nominee's ties to Ripple. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, a White House spokesman stressed that Barr is proud of his work at this company. His role was to advise on how to reduce the cost of remittances for low-income individuals in developing countries, he added.

“Barr is committed to overseeing all segments of the financial sector. He supports the proper regulation of cryptocurrencies and strong consumer protection,” the source explained.

Recall that on March 9, President Joe Biden signed a decree on the coordination of federal agencies in the regulation of cryptocurrencies. Among its priorities are consumer protection and the availability of financial services.

Earlier, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse positively assessed the course of the lawsuit with the SEC.




Media: Roskomnadzor modernizes equipment for the sovereign Runet.
April 18, 2022

Roskomnadzor plans to increase the throughput of equipment with the function of deep traffic filtering (DPI), which is used to implement the so-called law on sovereign runet. Forbes writes about it.

According to knowledgeable sources, the main task is to place more signatures to recognize traffic from blocked resources. The current DPI equipment can simultaneously filter up to 100 GB of traffic per second, the agency plans to increase the throughput by several times.

Roskomnadzor is going to upgrade equipment under existing contracts, but sanctions and problems with logistics have increased the price of its production by about 40%, the newspaper writes.

In addition, the department plans to create a national system for protecting Russian resources from DDoS attacks. A source close to Roskomnadzor said that it could appear by the fall of this year.

The development of such a system was stimulated by cyberattacks on various Russian government resources that have intensified since the beginning of the war.

Recall that the law “on sovereign Runet” came into force on November 1, 2019. It is designed to ensure the stable operation of the Russian segment of the Internet in the event of a disconnect from the global network or coordinated attacks.




Terra's UST stablecoin overtakes Binance USD in market capitalization.
April 18, 2022

The capitalization of the algorithmic stablecoin Terra USD (UST) exceeded $17.53 billion, which allowed the asset to bypass Binance USD (BUSD) and take the third place in the rating of "stable coins" by this value. Over the past 30 days, its rate has increased by almost 15%.

Despite the rapid growth in capitalization, UST trading volumes remain quite low - $509 million over the past day. For comparison: BUSD's figure exceeded $2.96 billion, while the leader of the segment, Tether (USDT), reached $43.78 billion.

In January 2022, Terraform Labs, the company behind the Terra blockchain, created the non-profit organization Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) and provided it with funding of 50 million LUNA. The goal of LFG is to develop the project ecosystem and increase the sustainability of UST.

Terraform Labs donated 12 million LUNA to LFG in March. In the same month, the organization began creating a fund that is designed to "quickly" provide the necessary liquidity in bitcoin to maintain a stable price of UST.

In April, Terraform Labs provided LFG with an additional 10 million LUNAs. Previously, they also announced that they will invest $200 million in Avalanche project AVAX tokens. Including to expand UST reserves.

At the time of writing, LFG has assets worth $2.38 billion on its balance sheet, nearly 70% of which ($1.66 billion) is in bitcoin. In addition, the organization’s reserve fund includes USDC and USDT stablecoins, as well as LUNA tokens.

According to BitInfoCharts, LFG purchased over 42,530 BTC in total.

Recall that the platform of algorithmic stablecoins Frax Finance will create a reserve crypto fund similar to Terra.




Bankers of the Russian Federation proposed to introduce criminal penalties for storing cryptocurrencies on non-custodial wallets.
April 18, 2022

The Association of Banks of Russia (ADB) has developed a concept for collecting cryptocurrencies stored on non-custodial wallets. It involves the introduction of criminal liability for their owners. Izvestia writes about this with reference to the document.

The concept provides for the establishment of criminal liability for the very fact of finding assets on such wallets if the cryptocurrency has not been declared.

ADB Vice President Anatoly Kozlachkov called this approach more logical, but noted that the association is considering introducing liability for refusing to provide keys to authorized bodies, and not for holding non-custodial wallets.

When linking a certain debtor and a wallet, he must either issue a key or be punished for hiding property in the form of digital assets, according to the ADB.

Such an approach will help fight capital outflows and equalize all persons liable to pay taxes, according to the association. This will also help the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance to resolve contradictions in the regulation of cryptocurrencies, the ADB noted.

The organization emphasized that technologies are now being actively used to establish a connection between the wallet and its owner, as well as the involvement of assets with illegal actions.

The association developed its concept jointly with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. She was sent to the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance and Rosfinmonitoring, as well as the State Duma working group on the regulation of cryptocurrencies.

Rosfinmonitoring called the ADB proposal worthy of attention, and Andrei Lugovoi, deputy head of the working group, said that the proposed approach would only hinder the legalization of the market.

Earlier, the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, proposed to legislate the procedure for the confiscation of cryptocurrencies and called for the introduction of mandatory identification of their owners.

The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation announced the preparation of norms that will allow recognizing digital assets as a crime and confiscate them.




The owner of Currency spoke about a large-scale DDoS attack on the exchange.
April 17, 2022

Cryptocurrency exchange Currency has suffered a large-scale DDoS attack after it announced the termination of service for users from the Russian Federation. The owner of the company, Viktor Prokopenya, told The Sunday Times that Russian hackers were behind the incident.

“You don’t have to be a scientist [to understand this]. We have experienced attacks before, like all financial firms, but the scale of the latter was incredible - ten times more than we have ever seen, ”he said.

Previously, Belarus-based Currency sent service termination notices to users in Russia. Since April 12, they have been banned from replenishing their accounts, and on April 26 they will be deprived of the opportunity to conclude new transactions.

According to Prokopen, the exchange has about 500,000 Russian clients. The millionaire condemned the decision of Binance, Coinbase and other companies that continued to work with residents of the Russian Federation.

“Everyone in the financial community needs to do their best and take a stand of principle. You must condemn Russia's actions in the strongest possible terms. This is not some political issue like Brexit or Trump, this is a terrible war. It is impossible to approve it - no one approves of it, except for the hostages of Russian television, ”he said.

Recall that the Japanese government has banned local cryptocurrency companies from working with persons under sanctions.




Tensions around Ukraine, comments from Fed officials hit the euro.
April 17, 2022

The euro rose slightly in Asian deals on Tuesday, but has yet to recover from two sessions of sharp declines as tensions in Eastern Europe fueled investor interest in the dollar and the safe-haven yen.

The euro edged up 0.08% to $1.1314 by 06:27 GMT, falling to $1.1278 the day before, a week and a half low, while the safe-haven yen rose 0.15% against the dollar to 115 .36 yen.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies fell 0.16% to 96.22.

US Federal Reserve officials continue to argue over how aggressively it should raise interest rates at its March meeting. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Thursday he has moved "dramatically" more hawkish in light of the highest U.S. inflation rate in nearly 40 years and is now advocating a 50 basis point rate hike.

According to Kim Mundy of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA), tensions around Ukraine and more aggressive Fed rate forecasts are supporting the dollar in the short term.

"The best way to understand what's having the most impact is to look at the dollar/yen pair. It's been trading weaker over the past day or two, which suggests that the markets are closely watching what's happening on the Ukrainian border," Mundy said.




Nassim Taleb: NFT market will burst amid Fed rate hike.
April 17, 2022

Philosopher and author of the cult work "The Black Swan" Nassim Taleb said that the market for non-fungible tokens will burst amid the Fed's tightening of monetary policy.

“NFT is starting to burst. All it takes to make meaningless things meaningless is higher interest rates,” Taleb wrote.

He also pointed to the fact that the NFT of Jack Dorsey's first tweet, which Bridge Oracle founder Sina Estavi bought for $2.91 million in March 2021, has begun to lose value.

In April 2022, Estavi placed a token on the OpenSea platform. He intended to sell it for 14,969 ETH (~$48.3 million at the exchange rate at that time), but to no avail. The auction ended April 13th. The maximum bet per NFT is 10 ETH ($30,399).

In response to Taleb's statement, blogger Matin Soudagar emphasized that these conclusions are "based on headlines" and are not backed up by real facts.

“The fundamental problem with headline-based inference is that you don't have a perspective on the history of NFTs. [The sector] has been around since 2014, flourished during the bear market (2018-2020), flourished during the pandemic, flourished during the turbulence in the industry. This is more than Jack's tweet," Soudagar wrote.

Earlier, Taleb criticized bitcoin and called it “the perfect game for losers” in an environment of low interest rates.

Recall that the head of Amazon, Andy Jesse, admitted the possibility of selling NFTs on the platform of the corporation in the future.




The Asian market is on the rise in anticipation of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
April 17, 2022

Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region rose on Tuesday morning as investor sentiment improved due to a rally in the US stock market, falling oil prices and new negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, which will start a little later today.

Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.59% by 10:31 pm ET (0231 GMT), with the country's job-to-benefit claims ratio at 1.21 in February and the unemployment rate at 2.7% .

South Korean KOSPI rose 0.31%. Australia's ASX 200 rose 0.79% after retail sales rose 1.8% m/m in February, and Finance Minister Josh Frydenberg will release his annual budget later today.

The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose 0.32%.

China's Shanghai Composite added 0.08% and Shenzhen Component added 0.84%.

U.S. stocks fluctuated, but tech stocks helped the S&P 500 rise for the third day in a row. Oil prices continued to fall as the latest restrictions in China to contain the rising number of COVID-19 cases have weighed on fuel demand. US Treasuries were mixed, with 2-year bond yields resuming their uptrend amid bets that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates decisively.

The dollar lost some gains, and the Japanese yen was close to a 6-year low against the dollar due to differences in the monetary policy of the central banks of these countries. While the Fed remains hawkish, the Bank of Japan intends to remain dovish and hopes to continue its unprecedented intervention in the bond market.

Fed officials including Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin and New York Fed President John Williams will speak on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

In terms of economic data, the US will release its GDP on Wednesday, with the latest employment report coming out in 2 days. China is also to release its manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs on Thursday, followed by Caixin's manufacturing PMI a day later.

Global equities are up about 8% from lows since the start of the Russian raid in Ukraine on Feb. 24 amid a collapse in bonds and inverted yield curves. Investors weigh the special operation, the movement in commodity prices and the tightening of the Fed's monetary policy.

“Many of the negative news has already weighed on market prices and investor positions, and we continue to see upside potential for US equities through the end of 2022,” Solita Marchelli, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management Americas, said in a statement.

Ukraine said its "minimum" goal in talks with Russia, which will begin on Tuesday in Turkey, is an immediate improvement in the humanitarian situation.

As for cryptocurrencies, bitcoin has been trading at around $47K after gaining momentum in 2022, indicating an improvement in appetite for speculative investment. Shares of GameStop Corp (NYSE:NYSE:GME) rose on Monday for the tenth straight session, their longest winning streak since April 2010.




Islamic-focused crypto startup Fasset raises $22M.
April 17, 2022

Digital asset trading platform Fasset has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round, according to Bloomberg.

The round was led by venture capital firms Liberty City Ventures and Fatima Gobi Ventures. The latter is focused on Pakistani startups. Funding was also provided by Soma Capital, MyAsiaVC and others.

Investments will be directed to the development of new products, as well as to expansion in Indonesia and Pakistan. The startup is negotiating with regulators to launch services in the specified regions.

“We are working with some of the most prominent Islamic financial lawyers and opinion leaders to promote to the masses how Muslims can interact with the emerging asset class in accordance with Sharia law,” said Mohammad Raafi Hossain, co-founder of the startup.

Some Islamic countries are skeptical towards cryptocurrencies. In November 2021, the National Religious Council of Indonesia declared them haram, that is, forbidden for devout Muslims. At the same time, the secular authorities of the country allow residents to conduct transactions with digital assets and even levy taxes on this activity.

Fasset said Indonesia will grant the startup permission to operate as a full-service cryptocurrency exchange in May. In Pakistan, a similar license has already been obtained.

Recall that in January 2021, the CoinMENA bitcoin exchange received a license from the Bank of Bahrain and a certificate of compliance with Sharia law from the Shariyah Review Bureau.




Iran tightens penalties for illegal cryptocurrency mining.
April 17, 2022

Iranian authorities have increased penalties for illegal mining of cryptocurrencies using subsidized electricity and introduced prison sentences for repeat offenders. Tehran Times writes about this with reference to a representative of the Ministry of Energy.

“Any use of subsidized electricity intended for households, industrial, agricultural and commercial subscribers for cryptocurrency mining is prohibited,” a ministry spokesman said.

According to officials, the activity of the miners creates problems with the supply of electricity, contributes to the deterioration of the power grid and can lead to damage to the devices of ordinary users.

The new rules also suggest that violators may have their licenses for activities related to the extraction of digital currencies revoked. In addition, such entities will be obliged to compensate for the damage they caused to the power grid.

Iran periodically imposes restrictions on cryptocurrency mining. In May 2021, President Hassan Rouhani announced a temporary ban on the mining of cryptocurrencies due to a shortage of electricity. Licensed enterprises were allowed to resume work in the fall.

In December of the same year, the state energy holding Tavanir demanded that authorized miners suspend their work.

Recall that Elliptic analysts said that the cryptocurrency allows Iran to bypass sanctions and buy imported goods.




Poloniex to Host $80,000 Futures Championship.
April 17, 2022

Crypto exchange Poloniex has announced a futures trading championship. The event will last 20 days - from April 19 to May 9.

Traders will compete in four categories: Referral Contest, Team Battle, and Absolute Profit and PnL Trading Contests.

Referral contest, prize pool — 25,000 USDT
Conditions: invite friends and collect points for their activities. One referral can bring a participant up to 10 points.

Rewards: Poloniex will distribute 20,000 USDT among participants in proportion to the number of points. 1000 participants will receive 5 USDT for their first futures trade.

Team battle, prize pool — 30,000 USDT
Conditions: assemble a team and trade futures. The larger the trading volume, the larger the prizes.

Rewards: Poloniex will pay 50 winners fixed rewards ranging from 10,000 to 50 USDT, the other teams will share 1,500 USDT.

Absolute Profit and PnL contests, prize pool — 25,000 USDT
Conditions: trade futures. The participants with the highest absolute profit in USDT and the best ratio of profit to deposit will win.

Rewards: The exchange will award the winners from 3000 to 50 USDT, the rest of the participants will share 1000 USDT. The first 1000 participants will receive a bonus of 5 USDT.

More details about the rules and prizes can be found on the championship page. Poloniex

Poloniex is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges that has been operating since 2014. The platform supports spot and futures trading in over 200 pairs.



Cinema chain AMC Theaters adds support for Dogecoin in mobile app.
April 17, 2022

The American cinema chain AMC Theaters has integrated the ability to pay in Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB) and other cryptocurrencies into its mobile application.

According to the CEO of the company, Adam Aron, the innovation was made possible thanks to the BitPay cryptocurrency processing service.

For the new feature to appear, you need to update the mobile application to the latest version.

AMC Theaters is one of the largest film distribution networks in the US and Europe. It owns over 950 cinemas and 10,500 screens worldwide. She is also the operator of her own online cinema.

In September 2021, the head of the cinema chain launched a survey to add support for Dogecoin. Twitter users supported the idea - in October, the company integrated the payment of gift cards using meme-cryptocurrency.

In the same month, Aron launched a similar poll about adding support for Shiba Inu, a clone of Dogecoin. More than 153,000 people participated in it - the idea was supported by more than 81% of respondents.

In November, AMC Theaters began accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin as an online payment method. According to Aron, the company will add support for Dogecoin in the future.

Recall that in January 2022, AMC Theaters distributed exclusive NFTs to more than 580,000 shareholders.




Twitter has implemented a plan to protect against the takeover of Elon Musk.
April 16, 2022

The Board of Directors of Twitter announced the unanimous adoption of a plan to protect the rights of shareholders after the proposal of Elon Musk to acquire the social network.

According to the company, the initiative aims to realize the full value of investors' investment in Twitter. The plan will last until April 14, 2023.

A defensive tactic called the "poison pill" involves protecting a company from unwanted takeovers.

The plan allows shareholders to purchase additional corporate shares at a discount if any entity or individual acquires 15% or more of Twitter's shares without board approval.

Such a decision is aimed at "blurring" the potential buyer's share in order to make the takeover less attractive.

Recall that in April, Musk became the largest shareholder of the company after acquiring a 9.2% stake for $2.89 billion. He took the initiative to reduce the cost of a Twitter Blue subscription and add payment in Dogecoin (DOGE).

On April 14, Musk offered to buy Twitter for more than $43 billion. He explained this by the intention to create an “inclusive arena for free speech”, and not by a desire to make money.




Expert: the bill on taxes on digital assets does not affect the cryptocurrency market in the Russian Federation.
April 16, 2022

The draft law on taxation of transactions with digital assets introduced to the State Duma will not affect the owners of cryptocurrencies. Andrey Tugarin, managing partner of GMT Legal, told ForkLog about this.

According to him, the document covers only the market for digital financial assets (DFA, security tokens) and utility digital rights (utility tokens), while not mentioning digital currencies (cryptocurrencies as such).

The lawyer noted that legislators have prescribed a mechanism for taxing CFA by analogy with the securities market.

“Given the legal nature and economic meaning of the DFA (in fact, these are securities on the blockchain), such an approach seems reasonable,” Tugarin said.

The analogy with the taxation of the securities market is confirmed, among other things, by the emergence of the obligations of a tax agent for issuers and exchangers, as well as other organizations that pay income to the taxpayer on operations related to the CFA.

“This is very similar to assigning the duties of a tax agent to brokers in transactions with securities in the stock market,” the lawyer explained.

The draft law provides for the possibility of hedging risks with the help of CFA and a special taxation procedure for such operations. Andrey Tugarin believes that such an approach will have a positive effect on the development of the market when the first digital financial markets are released.

Taxation of transactions with cryptocurrencies will be prescribed separately. The expert believes that this particular document should have the highest priority. While the turnover of the CFA in the Russian Federation is still zero, according to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, “the amount of funds in the crypto wallets of Russians exceeds tens of trillions of rubles.”

Earlier, ForkLog reported that the Ministry of Finance made changes to the terminology of the bill "On Digital Currency".



The Ethereum address of the Lazarus group came under US sanctions. Hackers linked to attack on Ronin.
April 15, 2022

The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury (OFAC) has added to the sanctions list a cryptocurrency address that is allegedly associated with the Lazarus hacker group.

The address has been flagged as being linked to an attack on the Ronin sidechain. At the time of writing, the wallet contained 147,753 ETH.

Chainalysis analysts also noted that the address was involved in the Ronin hack - it received the stolen 173,600 ETH and 25.5 million USDC from the stolen funds.

The FBI report states that Lazarus is responsible for the theft of $620 million in cryptocurrency. When attacking Ronin, the attacker withdrew assets worth about $625 million.

Recall that Lazarus is associated with the authorities of North Korea. Hackers are also involved in other major hacks in the crypto industry.

The attack on the Ronin sidechain involved in the blockchain game Axie Infinity became known on March 29. The Ronin hack was the largest in the history of the DeFi segment.



Brad Garlinghouse positively assessed the lawsuit with the SEC.
April 15, 2022

The case initiated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ripple will bring a positive result for the blockchain company. This opinion was expressed by its CEO Brad Garlinghouse.

“The trial went very well and much better than I could have hoped for when it started about 15 months ago. But the wheels of justice turn slowly,” the head of the firm said as part of the Paris Blockchain Week.

He emphasized that the case is important not only for Ripple, “but for the entire crypto industry in the United States.” According to Garlinghouse, the company's loss would set a precedent, as a result of which the SEC could recognize most tokens on exchanges as securities.

This means that trading platforms will have to register with the Commission and will be forced to verify all token holders.

“If you define XRP as a Ripple security, we need to know every person who owns XRP. This is an SEC requirement. You must know all your shareholders. It's impossible," Garlinghouse added.

If Ripple wins, in his opinion, the regulator can weaken its aggressive stance towards the industry.

Garlinghouse's statement came after the Commission failed to secure a review of the confidentiality of certain documents under the DPP. They are connected with the speech of the former director of corporate finance department of the regulator William Hinman from 2018 - then the official said that bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities.

Previously, the CEO of Ripple criticized the SEC due to its refusal to provide clear legal rules for the industry. In his opinion, such a position threatens American innovation.

He called the lawsuit against the company "a terrible precedent for the entire industry and any company working with digital assets" and "regulatory arbitrariness."

Recall that in November 2021, Garlinghouse admitted that the dispute with the SEC could be resolved in 2022.



Elon Musk explains why he wants to buy Twitter.
April 15, 2022

The offer to acquire Twitter is driven by the intent to create "an inclusive arena for free speech" rather than a desire to make money. This was stated by Elon Musk at the TED conference.

“Twitter has become a de facto city square, it is very important that people have the understanding and perspective that they can speak freely within the law,” he added.

On April 13, the billionaire sent a statement to the SEC, according to which he is ready to buy a social network at a price of $54.2 per share - almost $43 billion, given the number of company securities. Twitter quotes responded with an 11% increase to the offer of the founder of Tesla.

The next day, Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal Al Saud rejected Musk's offer. Through the holding company Kingdom Holding Company, he controls about 5% of the shares of the platform.

“I don't believe Musk's $54.2 offer reflects the true value of Twitter given [the company's] growth prospects. As one of Twitter's largest and longest-term shareholders, Kingdom Holding Company and I decline this offer," he wrote.

In response to Prince's words, Musk asked how much of Twitter directly and indirectly owns Kingdom Holding Company, as well as how the company views "journalistic freedom of speech."

At the TED conference, Musk noted that he has a "plan B" in case Twitter shareholders reject the offer. The billionaire did not disclose details.

According to the head of Tesla, he is not going to "monopolize" the social platform, but he has enough capital to acquire it.

“Technically I can afford it. But that's not the way to make money […]. I don’t care about the economic side of the issue at all,” he explained.

Musk stressed that Twitter should use open source algorithms to rule out any "behind the scenes manipulation." He believes that users should be allowed to edit posts, as well as actively combating fraud and spam on the platform.

The community was divided on Musk's proposal. Some believe that the billionaire will really be able to do a lot of good for Twitter, while others call the initiative a "hostile takeover." In particular, this position was made by the founder of Dogecoin (DOGE) Jackson Palmer.

"It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to associate any kind of 'freedom' with a hostile takeover initiated by the richest man in the world to force one of the largest public social platforms to go private," he wrote.

According to The Information, Twitter's board of directors also does not share Musk's optimism and intends to fight the takeover. Managers deemed the proposal "undesirable," according to the publication.

In the financial environment, the attitude towards the billionaire's initiative is also ambiguous. According to CNBC, investment bank Stifel downgraded Twitter's stock, explaining that the company is heading "toward the Elon circus."

“We're downgrading Twitter to Sell after Musk's suggestion […]. We believe that in the near term, the initiative sets a ceiling for shares, pulls quotes off fundamentals and creates a significant downside risk if Mr. Musk withdraws the offer or sells his stake, ”the analysts explained.

Twitter shares closed the session on April 14 at $45.08. In premarket, the value of securities rose - at the time of writing, they are trading near $46.79.

In April 2022, Musk became the largest shareholder of Twitter, having bought 9.2% of the company's securities for $2.89 billion. Previously, the billionaire criticized the social network's freedom of speech policy.

Recall that the head of Tesla proposed to reduce the cost of a Twitter Blue subscription and provide users with the opportunity to pay for a premium service in DOGE.




The Central Bank of Portugal for the first time issued a cryptocurrency license to a bank.
April 15, 2022

Bison Bank is the first Portuguese bank to receive a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Banco de Portugal.

Under the ECO, the company will create a dedicated division, Bison Digital Assets, to operate as a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian.

This will be the first bank-owned legal entity in Portugal licensed to provide deposit and trading services in the field of digital assets, Bison Bank emphasized.

Bison Digital Assets will focus on high net worth clients in line with the parent company's strategy. Details about which cryptocurrencies the financial institution will allow trading have not yet been disclosed.

Bison Bank provides deposit and investment banking services to individuals and institutional clients. It is owned by Hong Kong-based private company Bison Capital Holding Company Limited.

Recall that in June 2021, two Portuguese crypto exchanges Criptoloja and Mind the Coin became the owners of the VASP license.




Elon Musk offered over $43 billion to buy Twitter.
April 14, 2022

Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for $54.2 per share, according to SEC documents. The billionaire called the offer "the best and final."

“I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter shares at $54.2 per share, which is 54% more than the day before I started investing in the company and 38% more than the day before my attachments announced publicly. My proposal is the best and final, if it is not accepted, I will have to reconsider my position as a shareholder, ”Musk said in a statement.

According to CNBC, Twitter issued 800.64 million shares, a deal worth more than $43 billion if approved.

As part of the takeover, Musk hired investment bank Morgan Stanley as a financial advisor.

“I think Twitter is far from reaching its full potential. So I'm offering $60 per share to make the platform private. However, we fully support Musk's reform initiatives and would like the company to become cryptonative and Web3 friendly,” he wrote.

Against the background of the statement of the head of Tesla, Twitter shares in the premarket rose by 11% (on the New York Stock Exchange). At the time of writing, the stock is trading near $51.

In April 2022, Musk became the largest shareholder of Twitter, having bought 9.2% of the company's securities for $2.89 billion. Previously, the billionaire criticized the social network's freedom of speech policy.

Recall that the head of Tesla proposed to reduce the cost of a Twitter Blue subscription and provide users with the opportunity to pay for a premium service in Dogecoin (DOGE).




The US military has requested $ 29.8 million for the development of AI infrastructure.
April 14, 2022

The US Northern Command has requested an additional $29.8 million from Congress to purchase equipment and optimize infrastructure for artificial intelligence and machine learning. Defense News writes about it.

The department believes that the upgrade will underpin efforts to collect, process and store data in the Pentagon's cloud computing environment. The improved infrastructure will also facilitate the exchange of information between defense departments, the military added.

According to US Air Force General Glen VanHurke, "advanced capabilities" like AI will give the United States an edge over strong competitors.

“Artificial intelligence and machine learning will extract the necessary information from existing datasets and share it with leaders at all levels to expand the space for decision-making,” VanHerke told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Recall that in October 2021, former Pentagon director of software Nicholas Chaillen said that China had won the AI ​​race against the United States.

A week later, the Ministry of Defense refuted the opinion of the former employee.

In March, the Pentagon called for greater use of AI so as not to lose out to China and Russia.




Wikimedia Foundation to consider refusing to accept donations in cryptocurrencies.
April 14, 2022

The non-profit organization Wikimedia Foundation, which manages the free encyclopedia Wikipedia, may stop accepting donations in cryptocurrencies at the end of April. 71.7% of contributors were in favor of such a decision.

The survey, conducted from January 10 to April 12, involved 426 people.

As arguments, supporters of the refusal called support for the risky nature of cryptocurrencies in terms of investment and non-compliance with ESG standards. Community disagreement with this policy was also indicated.

“Bitcoin and Ethereum use Proof-of-Work, consuming massive amounts of energy […] current models continue to cause extremely high environmental damage. Although there are “greener” cryptocurrencies, they are not as popular,” the proposal says.

Wikipedia has been accepting bitcoin donations since 2014. Transfers to Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum are also possible. The organization instantly converts the received cryptocurrencies into fiat.

In 2021, the share of digital assets was 0.08% of total receipts ($130,100). The option was used by 347 sponsors.

Recall that in 2019, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) established a fund to receive donations in bitcoin and Ethereum.



Splinterlands will move to decentralized validator nodes.
April 14, 2022

NFT game Splinterlands announced the transition to decentralized validator nodes. The launch of the corresponding software on the mainnet is expected in the III or IV quarter of 2022, representatives of the project told ForkLog.

 “This is an important step towards our goal of making Splinterlands a fully decentralized game that gamers own and control through SPS tokens,” said Agged Reich, CEO of the project.

According to the press release, we are talking about open source software. Anyone can download, install and run it, however, in order to obtain a license to work as a node, you will need to pay a fee in SPS tokens.

The SPS governance mechanism will use the Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) consensus model. This algorithm is used in blockchains like BNB Chain, EOS and Hive.

Each SPS holder will have the right to vote for the accounts that run the validator nodes to select the users or organizations responsible for validating token transactions and managing Foundation funds.

In such a model, only a small number of accounts can receive a majority of votes and, as a result, a significant part of the reward. As such, the Splinterlands team will be providing NFT-issued licenses that allow all users to earn rewards for running nodes without the need for staking SPS votes.

These licenses can be purchased with SPS and special VOUCHER tokens. 80% of SPS and 100% of VOUCHER spent during this process will be retired. The remaining 20% ​​of the SPS will be donated to the Foundation to further encourage validator nodes.

In total, the project will issue 60,000 licenses. The distribution will take place in several stages, with the cost of NFT increasing at later stages.

Recall that in March 2022, the number of battles played in Splinterlands exceeded 2 billion.



Glassnode: profit taking and restrained demand pushed bitcoin back to its previous range.
April 12, 2022

Bitcoin has not confirmed an upside consolidation breakout due to a wave of profit taking. The market has yet to wait for a significant influx of funds or new users, Glassnode noted.

On-chain metrics — number of active addresses/users, number of transactions, mempool workload, and fees paid — do not confirm an increase in the involvement of bitcoin investors or an expansion of their base.

Most tend to hodling - the daily number of transactions (14-day moving average) corresponds to the values ​​​​of the 2018 bear market.

The subdued recovery in network activity confirms the continuation of record low fee revenues. As before, the share of such receipts in the total indicator of miners is just over 1%. This is partly due to the continued transition to more efficient SegWit transactions.

Such an environment does not prevent the hashrate from being kept in the all-time high range of 190-215 EH/s. This corridor is 20% higher than the previous historical maximum, which was formed shortly before the repressions of the Chinese authorities.

Miners earn around $207,000 per EH. This is 40% higher than during the capitulation of the 2018 bear market and 150% higher than immediately after the May 2020 halving.

Short-term investors (the coin holding period is no more than 155 days) account for 18.74% of the supply. In the context of consolidation in the range of $33,000-$42,000 and its subsequent breakthrough upwards, the share of “unprofitable” BTC has significantly decreased to 10.86% of the total number of available bitcoins. According to analysts, this reduced the chances of a panic selling wave.

The amount of realized losses per day decreased from ~20,000 BTC in January to about ~8300 BTC, while the amount of recorded profit for the same period increased to 13,300 BTC. Both values ​​are characteristic of bear markets. The second indicator is not extreme, but it has a restraining effect on prices, the specialists emphasized.

By the end of last week, 58% of all volume-weighted transactions accounted for profit realization. This may signal a change in the dominant mood in the market and the prerequisites for excess demand over supply. Experts stressed that this is not happening due to weak price response.

Recall that technical analyst and head of Factor LLC Peter Brandt predicted the return of bitcoin to the bull market stage in May 2024.

Earlier, Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz warned that bitcoin would “take off again” as soon as the Fed takes a pause in tightening monetary policy.



Vitalik Buterin received Montenegrin citizenship.
April 12, 2022

The authorities of Montenegro gave the creator of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin citizenship of the country. This was reported by the local edition of RTCG, citing the Ministry of Finance and Social Security.

Journalists noted that the entrepreneur received citizenship at the initiative of the Prime Minister of Montenegro Zdravko Krivokapic and Minister of Finance Miloiko Spaic. Officials also released a photo of Buterin posing with a new passport and Spaich.

The Ministry of Finance expressed the hope that the creator of Ethereum, as the most famous person in the industry, will contribute to the promotion of Montenegro and will contribute to the development of the industry in the country. The officials also stressed that they regularly invite various experts in the field of digital assets:

"Cooperation with them is of particular importance for the development of the Montenegrin economy, attracting investment and creating high-paying jobs."

The agency noted that the government is working to create a legal framework for the application of blockchain technologies.

Earlier, Vitalik Buterin transferred 1,500 ETH in support of Ukraine and stated that the real purpose of cryptocurrencies is to benefit people. In his opinion, the Ethereum network can become a platform for "socio-political experiments" and counteract authoritarian governments.



The Freedom to Ukraine project launched a fundraiser for humanitarian aid to Ukraine through NFT collections.
April 12, 2022

The Freedom to Ukraine project team has created several NFT collections, the proceeds from the sale of which will be used to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine during the war.

The project was jointly launched by two charitable organizations - Fenyx Group and Ariel Charity Foundation.

Freedom to Ukraine provides the most affected regions of Ukraine with basic necessities: medicines, food, personal hygiene products, children's products and other essentials. The project team also organized a refugee assistance center in Israel.

NFT collections are dedicated to the great military in the history of mankind, the proceeds from the sale of each are distributed for specific needs, representatives of Freedom to Ukraine told ForkLog UA. Among the collections:

Samurai - funds are directed to help children orphans due to the war, as well as to rescue pets left by the owners during the evacuation.
Spartans - assistance to Ukrainians affected by the Russian invasion.
Vikings - help in the evacuation of people to other countries.
Cossacks - fundraising for medicines.
War Time Brave Hearts - assistance to the Ukrainian army and Teroborona, police and volunteer battalions.

Recall that the Minidigita of Ukraine and the local cryptocurrency community have launched an NFT-museum of metahistory dedicated to the chronology of the events of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.



Billionaire David Rubenstein questioned the disappearance of cryptocurrencies.
April 11, 2022

Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein admitted during the Invest Like the Best podcast that he was skeptical about cryptocurrencies, but over time his opinion changed.

According to the investor, he used to believe that there was “nothing” behind Bitcoin and Ethereum.

“Now it is clear to me that many young people do not think that there is something serious behind the dollar, euro or other currencies,” said the co-founder of the Carlyle Group.

He emphasized that he did not buy cryptocurrencies, but “invested in companies that serve the industry.” Rubenstein did not disclose specific investments.

“[…] the genie is out of the bottle and I don’t think the industry is going to disappear anytime soon,” he said.

Rubenstein also pointed to the crisis in Ukraine as an additional reason for his renewed optimism about cryptocurrencies.

“If you are in Ukraine or Russia and the country is in a lot of trouble and you want to have some assets, having some crypto will probably make you feel better when there is something out of government control.” Rubenstein noted.

In May 2021, the co-founder of the Carlyle Group ruled out the disappearance of cryptocurrencies. He expressed the opinion that digital assets will remain part of the financial landscape for a long time.

Recall that in April 2022, the philosopher and professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, Jordan Peterson, called bitcoin revolutionary, but causing concern.



Chinese regulator to test tech giants recommendation algorithms.
April 11, 2022

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) will test the recommendation algorithms of tech giants like ByteDance and Tencent. Bloomberg writes about it.

Companies will be required to provide content recommendation services during on-site reviews, according to the CAC. Large websites, platforms and products with high impact will be audited, but their names are not indicated.

The regulator will check how social networks serve advertising and content to attract users.

The campaign aims to implement and enforce the rules published in August 2021. They regulate the use of content selection algorithms for users. On March 1, 2022, the rules went into effect.

It is part of a broader effort to contain the growing influence of China's largest corporations, whose platforms control the realms of public discourse and entertainment.

Recall that in January 2022, the Cyberspace Administration of China proposed a procedure for regulating deepfakes.

In October 2021, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the PRC presented a set of ethical principles for the regulation of artificial intelligence.




ARK Invest Cathy Wood dumps PayPal shares.
April 11, 2022

ARK Invest has liquidated its position in PayPal shares. Asset manager Kathy Wood, CEO of asset manager Kathy Wood, explained the move in an interview with CNBC as more confidence in the prospects of Cash App from competitor Block (formerly Square).

PayPal owns mobile payment service Venmo, which added the ability to buy and sell cryptocurrencies in April 2021. But for Wood, the leader is Cash App thanks to the support of the Lightning Network. Unlike PayPal, Block has approached the integration of wallets with digital assets more comprehensively, explained the CEO of ARK Invest.

“We tend to bet on who we think will be the winner,” she explained.

The Cash App user base is growing more organically, while Venmo treats the development of support for cryptocurrencies “on a leftover basis,” Wood said.

The Venmo audience has 70 million active users, CashApp - 44 million. In 2021, the net profit of the first was $850 million, the second - $2.03 billion.

Recall that in April 2022, Cash App representatives announced the addition of auto-investment functions to bitcoin.

In December 2021, Square changed its name to Block. The initiative was linked to a desire to reflect the growth of the structure and its commitment to blockchain projects.

Earlier, the head of the company, Jack Dorsey, has repeatedly stated his desire to make digital gold "the native currency of the Internet."




KuCoin will not block the accounts of Russian users without the decision of the regulator.
April 10, 2022

The Seychelles crypto exchange KuCoin announced that it would not restrict access to cryptocurrencies for Russian clients due to the situation in Ukraine.

According to KuCoin CEO Johnny Liu, the exchange will only suspend accounts at the request of the local regulator.

“We stand for the protection of human rights and the security of the assets of each user. KuCoin operates under the laws of the Seychelles and only handles clients' digital assets in accordance with them. We have a neutral policy, so we will not freeze anyone's account without proper legal requirements. In this difficult time, actions that can infringe on the rights of innocent people should not be encouraged, ”he commented.

Earlier, the top manager of the trading platform said that cryptocurrencies are not only a hedging tool: at the moment they are more effective than conventional assets. It is easier for people to transfer them between countries and make donations.

To buy or sell cryptocurrencies for rubles, KuCoin customers can use the p2p platform and the Quick Buy function. In the near future, the exchange will launch additional exchange channels for the ruble market.




YouTube viewers lost $1.6 million in cryptocurrencies in three days on fake streams.
April 9, 2022

From February 16 to February 18, Group-IB experts identified 36 fraudulent YouTube broadcasts dedicated to investing in cryptocurrencies. They brought the scammers more than $1.6 million.

The attackers edited videos from old speeches by famous representatives of the cryptocurrency community and entrepreneurs. More often than others, the images of Vitalik Buterin, Elon Musk, Brad Garlinghouse, Michael Saylor, Changpeng Zhao and Cathy Wood were used.

The fake stream with Buterin attracted more than 165,000 viewers. On average, the audience of one such stream is from 3,000 to 18,000 people. During the broadcast, users were offered to transfer cryptocurrencies to the specified wallet and allegedly receive them back in double volume.

In total, deceived viewers made 281 transactions worth more than $1.68 million (at the exchange rate for February). Ethereum turned out to be the most popular among scammers — $933,963.

To receive an “additional bonus”, the attackers offered the investor to provide the seed phrase of their crypto wallet. If the victim agreed, the scammers withdrew all the funds on it.

Group-IB also identified YouTube streams targeting NFT buyers. The description of the video contained a link to a phishing site where customers were promised a token in exchange for a password and wallet seed.

For three months, experts recorded the registration of more than 580 domain names associated with fraudulent distributions. This is three times more than in the entire previous year.

Most of the domains involved in the broadcasts appeared, starting from February 13, through the Russian registrar Reg.ru. At the same time, several resources are registered for one person.

Group-IB experts recommend that you always check the information about the investment conditions and under no circumstances disclose the seed phrase of the wallet to third parties.

Recall that at the end of October 2021, Google prevented a large-scale hacking of YouTube channels for bitcoin fraud.




Michael Saylor and Cathy Wood Assess Regulation Risks for Bitcoin.
April 9, 2022

The US authorities have changed their position on cryptocurrencies, and the upcoming regulatory steps are not a cause for concern. This was announced at the Bitcoin 2022 conference by the head of MicroStrategy Michael Saylor and CEO Ark Invest Cathy Wood, writes The Block.

Both speakers admitted that SEC Chair Gary Gensler could have briefed US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen “on the importance of preserving innovation and cryptocurrencies.”

“I don’t think there is any outcome that is unfavorable for Bitcoin,” Saylor said.

According to Wood, political attitudes towards digital gold have changed dramatically, especially since Joe Biden took office as President of the United States. She also countered Yellen's statements.

Initially, the head of the Ministry of Finance spoke about cryptocurrency as a tool for money laundering and called bitcoin a speculative asset. At the end of March 2022, Yellen announced the importance of digital assets in citizens' investment decisions.

On March 9, Biden signed an executive order coordinating federal agencies in regulating cryptocurrencies. Prior to this, the president approved a law to finance infrastructure spending.

At the end of March, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand revealed the details of a bill designed to bring clarity to the regulation of cryptocurrencies. Among other things, the document clarifies the definition of a broker in terms of infrastructure and provides for the creation of a specialized supervisory agency.

Recall that the White House predicted additional revenues of $ 11 billion from taxes on cryptocurrencies.




Peter Thiel lists the main enemies of bitcoin and called Buffett a "sociopathic grandfather"
April 9, 2022

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, during a speech at the Bitcoin 2022 conference, presented the “list of enemies” of bitcoin. It is reported by CNBC.

The list includes well-known financiers who, according to Thiel, are trying to stop the development of bitcoin.

“Enemy number 1” he considers the legendary investor Warren Buffett. The businessman called him "the sociopathic grandpa from Omaha." It is there that the headquarters of Berkshire Hathaway, headed by Buffett, is located.

The investor has repeatedly been skeptical about cryptocurrencies, calling bitcoin “rat poison squared” and a gambling tool that does not produce anything useful.

In addition to Buffett, Thiel's list includes JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. The businessman is sure that they should allocate part of the funds for the purchase of bitcoin.

Thiel also criticized central banks, accusing them of slow digital adoption.

According to him, the rise in the price of bitcoin over the past few years indicates the impending bankruptcy of the central banks and indicates that “we are at the end of the fiat money regime.”

Recall that Peter Thiel is a longtime supporter of bitcoin. Last year, he spoke about regrets that he did not invest enough in the first cryptocurrency.




Miami has installed a cryptocurrency analogue of the “Attacking Bull” from Wall Street.
April 8, 2022

As part of the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, Mayor Francis Suarez unveiled a statue of a "crypto bull". According to him, the installation symbolizes the transformation of the city into the “world capital of the crypto industry”.

The installation is a reference to the famous "Charging Bull" installed on Wall Street.

In contrast to the New York "kinsman", the bull from Miami is made in a cybernetic style and has the already famous "laser eyes". Representatives of traditional finance also found another significant difference.

The crypto community seems to like the new statue. Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony Pompliano wrote that “the bulls are in control,” while Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao called the installation “pretty cool.”

In August 2021, the MiamiCoin project was launched in Miami. The city token was developed by CityCoins and is aimed at providing additional revenue to the budget.

In February 2022, Suarez announced that the city administration received the first payment from CityCoins, which amounted to $5.25 million.

Recall that in November 2021, CityCoins announced that it would launch a similar product for New York.




Vitalik Buterin transferred 1500 ETH to support Ukraine.
April 7, 2022

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated 1,500 ETH (more than $4.7 million at the time of writing) to help Ukraine.

He sent two transfers totaling 750 ETH to the Unchain Ukraine Foundation, which provides humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians. Buterin sent another donation for the same amount to the wallets of the crypto fund of Ukraine.

Recall that the co-founder of Ethereum condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Even before the start of the war, he declared that a Russian attack would harm all of humanity.

Buterin also said that the war reminded the cryptocurrency community that the purpose of digital assets is to bring real value to people.




The US State Department was invited to study the impact of bitcoin on the effectiveness of sanctions against the Russian Federation.
April 7, 2022

On March 31, US congressmen introduced a bill to establish oversight of the use of cryptocurrencies by the State Department. It will prevent circumvention of sanctions by the Russian Federation.

The bipartisan document was drafted by Democrat Gregory Meeks, chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, and leading Republican congressman Michael McCall.

As part of the bill, they presented a number of requirements to the US State Department:

notify Congress of the payment of rewards in cryptocurrencies in order to avoid their receipt by attackers;
appoint a director of digital currency security in the State Department's Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Enforcement;
study together with the US Treasury and USAID the possibility of using the blockchain for the humanitarian needs of Ukraine;
report on the impact of digital currencies on the effectiveness of compliance with US sanctions against Russian entities.

“Our goal is to ensure that new technologies do not undermine the sanctions aimed at the bankruptcy of Putin’s military machine,” said Michael McCall.

The bill has been submitted to the US Senate and House of Representatives.

Recall that in early March, the US authorities announced the need to strengthen monitoring of Russia's circumvention of sanctions with the help of cryptocurrencies.




Peter Brandt predicted the beginning of the Bitcoin bull cycle in May 2024.
April 7, 2022

Renowned tech analyst and head of Factor LLC Peter Brandt predicted that Bitcoin would return to a bull market in May 2024.

In the past, it took an average of 33 months after the end of the active growth stage to start a new one, the specialist calculated. He doubted that history tends to repeat itself [one of the postulates of technical analysis].

Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021. Subsequently, in anticipation of the tightening of the Fed's policy, the cryptocurrency market entered a bearish stage.

Previously, Brandt noted that he gave an accurate forecast regarding the price of digital gold in mid-2021. The chart compiled by BitcoinEconomics presents the expectations of many experts in chronological order since 2013. Green indicates those that were implemented before 2020.

Recall that the founder of Galaxy Digital, Mike Novogratz, warned that Bitcoin will “take off again” as soon as the Fed takes a break in tightening monetary policy.

According to the schedule of the expected trajectory of the key rate, the Fed may increase the cost of financing in the economy during 2022-2023.

Earlier, the co-founder of Huobi predicted a bear market for bitcoin until the end of 2024.




STEPN project token up 20% after Binance Labs investment announcement.
April 6, 2022

Binance Venture Capital has announced a strategic investment in Find Satoshi Lab's Move-to-Earn STEPN app. The Project Governance Token (GMT) reacted with growth.

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed by Binance Labs.

STEPN encourages users to lead a healthy lifestyle by providing the opportunity to earn in-game tokens (GST) while walking or running outdoors.

To do this, you need to download the application and buy sneakers in the form of NFTs in accordance with your level of physical fitness.

STEPN has a built-in wallet and marketplace, as well as gamification features such as sneaker upgrades and releases, social interaction options, and more. The app is currently in beta.

“Because the Move-to-Earn concept is in the Web 3.0 trend, STEPN is driving user growth. We believe physical activity gamification can bring more people into the industry, accelerating the mass adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies,” said Bill Qian, CEO of Binance Labs.

According to the report, Sequoia Capital, Alameda Research, Folius Ventures, Solana Ventures, 6th Man Ventures, Sfermion and other investors took part in financing the project.

The STEPN team will use the raised funds to develop the application and the community.

“Despite the fact that in recent months we have grown 100 times, this is only the beginning of the journey. We have a lot of exciting things on the roadmap, including multi-chain integrations, brand partnerships, and new use cases for GMT,” said Yang Rong, co-founder of STEPN.

Against the backdrop of the announcement, the price of GMT rose to around $2.7 — more than 20% (Binance). At the time of writing, the asset is trading at levels near $2.64.

Recall that in March, Binance Labs invested an additional $5 million in the Ultiverse metaverse developer.




The Congress has developed a bill to mitigate the risks from the legalization of bitcoin by El Salvador.
April 6, 2022

In the House of Representatives of the US Congress, the El Salvador Cryptocurrency Accountability Act (ACES) has been submitted for consideration, aimed at mitigating the risks from the adoption of bitcoin as a means of payment in this country.

It was sponsored by California Democrat Norma Torres and Arkansas Republican Rick Crawford. The document will be considered by the committees on financial services and foreign affairs.

In February, a group of members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee came up with a similar initiative. This was not ignored by the President of El Salvador, who advised "not to try to control what the US cannot control."

In both cases, legislators intend to oblige the State Department to form a certificate regarding the consequences of El Salvador's decision for the United States.

“We need to have a plan to protect the financial system from the risks associated with this decision. [Bitcoin legalization] seems more like a reckless gamble than a deliberate introduction of innovation,” the statement to ACES said.

Recall that El Salvador adopted a bill recognizing bitcoin as a legal means of payment on June 9, 2021.

Earlier, the IMF expressed concerns about the risks associated with El Salvador's bitcoin bonds. The organization has repeatedly called on the state to abandon the first cryptocurrency as a means of payment.

In March, the government postponed the issue of bonds backed by the first cryptocurrency from March to May-September.




Lightning Labs Introduces Protocol for Issuing Stablecoins on the Lightning Network.
April 6, 2022

The Lightning Labs team has closed a $70 million Series B funding round. The proceeds will be used to develop the Taro protocol, which allows you to issue stablecoins on the Bitcoin network and use them in Lightning Network applications.

Taro is a framework that allows you to create a wide range of assets, including stablecoins, and move them to the Lightning Network. The creation of the protocol became possible after the activation of the Taproot update in November 2021.

Taro aims to "bitcoinize the dollar" by leveraging the security and stability of the first cryptocurrency's blockchain, as well as the speed, scalability, and low fees of the Lightning Network.

The technology may be in demand primarily in emerging markets in conditions of high inflation - instead of a bank account, you only need access to the Internet via a mobile phone. Taro will allow bitcoin to secure the status of “Internet money” and a protocol for transferring value, Lightning Labs is convinced.

“When it comes to the Lightning component, you are routing through bitcoin. You are literally converting “dollars” to bitcoin and back,” Elizabeth Stark, co-founder and CEO of Lightning Labs, told The Block.

By “dollars,” she means a stablecoin pegged to the US currency. The top manager seeks to increase the share of the use of "stablecoins" in everyday payments, "bringing bitcoin to billions." According to Stark, some "big players" are interested in the possibility of issuing stablecoins using Taro.

You can learn more about the algorithm of its work on the Lightning Labs page.

The developers have published the protocol code in the public domain for its integration into other versions of the Lightning Network from Blockstream and others.

The Lightning Labs investment round was led by Valor Equity Partners and Baillie Gifford. It also featured Goldcrest Capital, Kingsway, Moore Strategic Ventures, Brevan Howard, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, and NYDIG and Silvergate CEO Alan Lane.

Recall that in November 2021, NYDIG absorbed the Bitcoin payment service BottlePay based on the Lightning Network.

The app team previously raised $15.5 million in a seed funding round led by Alan Howard and partners from Goldman Sachs and NYDIG.



The British Treasury will allow the use of stablecoins and issue NFTs.
April 5, 2022

The British Treasury has announced plans to legalize stablecoins. The Office intends to gradually recognize them as legal tender.

“Stablecoins are a type of crypto asset, the value of which is usually pegged to fiat currencies such as the dollar and remains stable. With proper regulation, they can become a more efficient form of payment and increase choice for the buyer,” the officials explained.

In addition, the Royal Mint, owned by the Treasury, will issue its own NFTs. The move is intended to designate the UK as a cryptocurrency-friendly jurisdiction, the Treasury said.

“Chancellor Rishi Sunak has instructed the Royal Mint to release the NFT in the summer. This decision shows the future-oriented approach we intend to take when dealing with cryptocurrencies in the UK.”

In addition to regulations, the Treasury will open an "infrastructure sandbox for the financial market." It will allow companies in the industry to experiment and innovate, as well as "increase the competitiveness of the British tax system," the ministry said in a statement.

Recall that in March, the FCA announced investigations against 50 companies in the crypto industry. Shortly before this, the regulator announced its intention to ban the operation of bitcoin ATMs.




German police confiscated Hydra servers and seized 543 BTC.
April 5, 2022

The German Federal Criminal Police (BKA) has confiscated the German servers of the Hydra darknet marketplace.

As part of the international operation, 543 BTC were also seized with a total value of about 23 million euros.

An investigation is ongoing into previously unknown Hydra operators and administrators. They are suspected of commercially exploiting criminal online marketplaces, providing an opportunity for the unauthorized purchase and sale of drugs, and money laundering.

The investigation into the case has been ongoing since August 2021 with the participation of the US authorities.

According to BKA, the darknet marketplace users included about 17 million customers and more than 19,000 merchants.

Recall that Hydra accounted for 75% of all darknet revenue in 2020 – at least 1.23 billion euros. The platform entered the top 10 platforms in terms of cryptocurrency turnover, beating the Kraken, OKX and Poloniex exchanges.

The US authorities suspect that funds from Hydra were laundered, including through the Suex cryptocurrency exchange and Chatex Telegram bot.




SEC chief calls for increased oversight of bitcoin exchanges and stablecoin issuers.
April 5, 2022

The SEC is considering increased regulation of stablecoin issuers and restrictions on cryptocurrency exchanges as custodians and market makers. This was stated by the head of department Gary Gensler.

“Unlike traditional platforms, bitcoin exchanges hold the assets of their customers. In 2021, cybercriminals stole $14 billion. Agency employees began to build a mechanism for their work so that they best protect clients' assets. In particular, it would be advisable to segregate accounts, ”said the head of the SEC.

According to Gensler, a similar logic applies to the platforms' own trading operations, which can be conducted against its users.

The head of the SEC did not ignore the issuers of stablecoins.

“The three largest stablecoins are issued by trading or lending platforms. Retail investors in the US do not have direct redemption rights in two of them. There are conflicts of interest and market integrity issues that can be addressed through increased oversight,” he explained.

Earlier, Gensler urged Congress to clarify the regulation of bitcoin exchanges. He later stated that the latter must comply with investor protection requirements similar to those applied in the equity and derivatives markets.

In January 2022, the SEC promised increased oversight of bitcoin exchanges.

Recall that the US Treasury released a report on the risks associated with stablecoins.

The working group urged Congress to equate their issuers with depository institutions with mandatory deposit insurance, which would put them on a par with banks.




Symbiosis Finance announces partnership with Boba Network.
April 5, 2022

Multi-chain liquidity protocol Symbiosis Finance has partnered with the Boba Network platform. Representatives of the project told ForkLog about this.

Symbiosis users can exchange any Boba Network protocol tokens on the Ethereum and BNB networks. Operations will soon be available on the Avalanche and Polygon blockchains.

Boba Network's L2 solution powered by Optimistic rollups reduces gas consumption and increases transaction speed by scaling Ethereum smart contracts.

With Boba Network's patented Turing hybrid computing technology, developers can create Ethereum dapps based on complex algorithms, including AWS Lambda.

The Symbiosis Finance project allows you to exchange tokens between popular L1 networks like Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Avalanche, as well as EVM-compatible networks and L2 solutions.

In the future, the developers plan to add new blockchains, including Terra, Near and Solana, as well as expand the number of L2 networks.

Recall that in March, Symbiosis Finance announced the launch of a beta version of the main network.

In February, the project received an undisclosed amount of strategic investment from the venture arm of the Binance bitcoin exchange.




Velas will launch a blockchain-accelerator and a fund amount of $ 250 million.
April 5, 2022

The VELAS ecosystem has announced the launch of a business accelerator and creating a $ 250 million Foundation to support developers. Participants will receive assistance in the development of the project and investment: $ 25,000, $ 50,000, $ 100,000 and more. The amount of investments depends on the project prospects, team examination, development stages and other factors.

Applications will consider experts: developers, analysts, marketers and designers. The start of the Foundation is scheduled for the end of 2022.

Winners will receive:

technical expertise and specialist assistance;
Three months of mentors to establish workflows;
assistance in marketing, organization of tokenceyls and promotion;
$ 25,000 and more depending on the complexity and degree of completion of the product.
According to Velas, the work of the accelerator will positively affect the popularity of the Tocken VLX: the participants will be able to add it to new and existing solutions.

"I believe that the Foundation will open opportunities for developers, and will also contribute to the development of Velas ecosystem and crypto industry as a whole. As long as we do not have hard rules: all participants with good ideas can get help from Velas, "CEO Velas Farhad Shagulum comments.

The fund and the accelerator will work separately from the VELAS grant program. At the same time, grant recipients will be able to participate in the accelerator and get additional investments.

Velas - hybrid EBPF / EVM blockchain compatible with smart contracts on Solidity, C and Rust. Thanks to the use of SOLANA and ETHEREUM technologies, bandwidth is up to 70,000 transactions per second.



Study: one in five in the US used cryptocurrencies.
April 4, 2022

21% of US residents have spent, traded, or invested in digital assets at least once. Such results were obtained in NBC News following a survey of 1,000 respondents, writes CNBC.

The error in the study was 3.1%.

About half of men aged 18-49 fell into the category of “lovers” of cryptocurrencies - the largest proportion of any demographic group. Among men and women aged 18 to 34, this figure was 42%.

Supporters of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins cited high transaction speeds, lower costs, privacy, security, and access to financial services for those who are unbanked among the arguments.

Only 19% of those surveyed stated their positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies, 56% - about a neutral or cautious position, and 25% - that they view them in a negative way.

The agency attributed this to a lack of regulatory certainty in the industry.

In 2021, the head of the SEC, Gary Gensler, noted that cryptocurrencies have a future, but only in the “environment of trust” that will be built as the space centralizes. Prior to that, he compared digital assets to the Wild West.

Recall that on March 9, 2022, US President Joe Biden signed a decree on the coordination of federal agencies in the regulation of cryptocurrencies.

Earlier, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand revealed details of a forthcoming bill designed to provide legal clarity to cryptocurrencies.




Over 40,000 years in prison requested for Thodex CEO.
April 4, 2022

The head of the Thodex bitcoin exchange, Faruk Fatih Ozer, and 20 others accused of an exit scam in Turkey face a prison sentence of 40,564 years each. The prosecutor requested so much, writes Bloomberg.

The defendants were accused of creating a criminal organization, fraud and money laundering.

On April 22, 2021, Istanbul-based Thodex stopped trading for several days, ostensibly due to the transfer of the company to a "new partner". More than 390,000 Thodex users have been affected by the move, according to media reports.

Shortly before that, the CEO of the platform flew to Albania. The Ministry of Justice of the country put the founder of Thodex on the wanted list and demanded his extradition. Turkish prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 78 people associated with the platform as part of an investigation into an alleged exit scam by Bitcoin exchange Thodex. 62 of them were detained during the first days of the operation.

The indictment says that the damage from the activities of the exchange amounted to 356 million Turkish liras (~$24 million). Chainalysis analysts estimated this figure at $2.6 billion.

Recall that after the incidents with the Thodex and Vebitcoin bitcoin exchanges, the country's authorities tightened the requirements for trading platforms for digital assets.

Verification of users has become mandatory, as well as the need to inform the regulator about transactions worth more than 10,000 Turkish liras (~$1150).

In July 2021, Turkey completed work on a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies.




BitMEX Co-Founder Predicts Ethereum Will Grow Above $10,000 By The End Of 2022.
April 4, 2022

Former CEO and co-founder of the BitMEX exchange Arthur Hayes explained why 2022 will be a very important year for Ethereum and made a bullish forecast for the price of the cryptocurrency.

According to the businessman, after the network’s transition to the Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm, planned for the summer, Ethereum will function as a commodity bond. This will provide a better investment compared to other tier 1 blockchains, which are mostly overpriced.

Bitcoin will remain a "star" in the market, Hayes is sure. However, digital gold is "pure money" that, according to its own protocol, "does nothing".

The ex-head of BitMEX referred to Ethereum researcher Justin Drake. According to the calculations of the latter, the income of ETH stakers after the transition will be 8% -11.5% per annum.

“The Ethereum community has clearly decided that ETH is an exchange commodity used to power this computer and not a pure monetary instrument,” Hayes said.

He noted that at the beginning of 2022, his portfolio consisted of BTC and ETH in equal shares. Given the upcoming changes, Hayes plans to bring the volume of the second cryptocurrency by capitalization in it to 75%.

The businessman also believes that the transition to Proof-of-Stake will make Ethereum attractive to traditional asset managers seeking to comply with the principles of sustainable development. This algorithm is considered more environmentally friendly compared to the energy-intensive Proof-of-Work in Bitcoin.

Hayes emphasized the advantage of Ethereum over direct competitors in a number of fundamental indicators.

“Ethereum has about 4,000 developers, which is three times more than Polkadot with the second largest cohort,” he noted.

Hayes also pointed to price-to-address ratios and TVLs, concluding that the network is less expensive and more performant than other smart contract platforms.

In his opinion, "Ethereum killers" are still selling investors "hope for a brighter future."

“The rest of 2022 will be the year of the ERC-20 angels, led by His Highness Vitalik [Buterin]. When things settle down at the end of the year, I believe ETH will trade above $10,000,” Hayes concluded.

Recall that in February, the businessman pleaded guilty to violating US law on one count and agreed to pay a $10 million fine.

In October 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted BitMEX co-founders Hayes, Ben Delo, Samuel Reed, and head of business development Greg Dwyer for violating the Bank Secrecy Act.



Indonesia to Introduce VAT and Income Tax on Cryptocurrency Operations.
April 4, 2022

From May 1, Indonesia will start levying value added tax (VAT) on transactions with crypto assets and income tax on capital gains from such investments. In both cases, the rate will be 0.1%, a representative of the country's Tax Service said in an interview with Reuters.

The agency levies a similar tax on stock market transactions, while physical goods transactions in Indonesia are subject to 11% VAT.

The legislation equates digital currencies to exchange goods, but prohibits their use as a means of payment.

According to the local Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency, in 2021, the total volume of cryptocurrency transactions in the derivatives markets reached 859.4 trillion rupees ($59.8 billion). During the year, the figure increased by more than ten times.

By the end of 2021, the number of crypto investors in the country reached 11 million. The growth driver of the indicator was the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a study by Jump Capital, Indonesia has become one of the most promising countries for cryptocurrencies.

Earlier, the Central Bank of the country announced plans to issue CBDC, which will become legal tender.

Recall that the development of cryptocurrency taxation in Indonesia began in May 2021.



The Trezor team reported a leak of user data.
April 4, 2022

The Trezor hardware wallet team has reported a leak of customer personal data that occurred on the side of the MailChimp platform, through which the company conducts marketing emails. The attackers used user information in a phishing attack.

“MailChimp has confirmed that their service has been hacked by an insider targeting crypto companies. We managed to disable the phishing domain. We are trying to determine how many email addresses were affected,” the statement said.

Trezor has stopped marketing emails until the situation is "resolved". Users were advised not to open emails purporting to be from the company.

Exactly what data was compromised is unknown. The phishing mailing was carried out from a third-party domain trezor.us (the official domain is trezor.io). Users were asked to download the "latest" version of the Trezor Suit wallet management app.

Previously, the attackers uploaded a fake Trezor app to the App Store. Users were robbed of at least $1.6 million in cryptocurrencies.

Recall that in March, the BlockFi crypto-lending platform reported a leak of user data hosted in the HubSpot CRM.




China to expand digital yuan testing program.
April 3, 2022

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) will expand the pilot testing of the digital yuan (e-CNY) to even more cities. The regulator noted the growth in the number of transactions with CBDC and the success of the experiment as part of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

China has been testing the digital yuan since the end of 2019. At the end of 2021, the volume of transactions with e-CNY reached 87.57 billion yuan (~$13.68 billion), 261 million unique digital wallets were registered.

Tests were held in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong'an, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hainan, Changsha, Xi'an, Qingdao, Dalian and the Winter Olympic Games area. The specified cities will continue to use the tool.

Now the program will include Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen and six cities in Zhejiang province that host the Asian Games.

The regulator said that in the next stage of development, e-CNY will work to protect confidential data when using the tool, as well as preventing its use for criminal purposes. In addition, the PBOC will conduct an “in-depth study” of the impact of CBDCs on the PRC financial system.

Recall that in January 2022, the Chinese food delivery company Meituan allowed merchants from among the partners to accept the digital yuan.




Hackers stole over $15 million in an attack on the landing project Inverse Finance.
April 3, 2022

On April 2, the Inverse Finance landing project reported a hacker attack that resulted in the theft of assets worth $15.6 million. The protocol team promised to compensate users for their losses.

“This morning, one of the Inverse Finance markets, Anchor, underwent a capital-intensive manipulation of the INV/ETH price oracle on SushiSwap, causing INV quotes to skyrocket. This allowed the attacker to take out a loan of $15.6 million in DOLA, ETH, WBTC and YFI,” the project team wrote.

According to PeckShield, an attacker exploited a vulnerability in the Keep3r price oracle, which Inverse Finance uses to track token prices. The exploit allowed the hacker to “cheat” the protocol by inflating INV quotes and using the asset as collateral on the Anchor Protocol market.

The company noted that the hacker needed to deposit 901 ETH (more than $3.15 million) to carry out the attack. The funds came from the Tornado Cash Mixer. The attacker also transferred most of the stolen assets to the address of the service.

At the time of writing, the hacker's address is practically empty.

The Inverse Finance team has suspended all borrowing operations on the Anchor Protocol marketplace. The developers turned to the hacker with a request to return the stolen assets for a fee.

A proposal to compensate affected users will be submitted to the DAO behind the project for consideration.

Recall that in March 2022, hackers attacked the Ronin sidechain of the blockchain game Axie Infinity. The attackers removed assets worth $625 million.



Citibank estimates the Metaverse market to be $13 trillion by 2030.
April 2, 2022

Analysts at the largest international bank Citibank in a new report predicted the growth of the metaverse economy to $13 trillion by 2030.

According to experts, the total number of users of the metaverse by that time will reach five billion.

“We believe the Metaverse is the next generation of the Internet, bridging the physical and digital worlds,” the report says.

The bank expects games to be the most popular use case for the metaverse. According to analysts, NFTs will act as digital property.

Bitcoin and Ethereum may become the most popular means of payment in the metaverse, but Citibank also allows the use of stablecoins and CBDC.

“Achieving this market level will require investment in infrastructure: […] computing, storage, network infrastructure, consumer hardware and game development platforms,” the analysts explained.

In October 2021, Facebook underwent a major rebranding to Meta to demonstrate its commitment to building a metaverse that it considers "the next step in the evolution of social connectivity."

In March 2022, the Shiba Inu meme token team and the company behind the BAYC NFT collection, Yuga Labs, announced plans to create their own virtual worlds. The latter has already raised $450 million for this purpose.

Recall that in March, Decentraland hosted the first fashion week in the metaverse, and in February, the first wedding.

McDonald's, the Italian fashion house Gucci, the world's largest retail chain Walmart, JPMorgan financial holding, the UK's largest bank HSBC and other well-known companies have already become interested in the new technology.



Clothing maker Off-White starts accepting bitcoin.
April 2, 2022

Italian fashion brand Off-White has added the ability to pay for its products in bitcoin and a number of other cryptocurrencies. It is reported by Vogue Business.

The list of digital assets for payment includes Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), XRP and stablecoins Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC). The feature is already available in Off-White stores in Paris, London and Milan.

"This is another important step in the growth of a brand that looks to the future with Web 3.0 technologies and understanding the needs and desires of an ever-evolving customer base," the company said in a statement.

Off-White noted the high volatility of the digital asset market and promised to carefully monitor changes in cryptocurrency quotes. When returning an item, customers will receive a refund in their local currency.

In April 2021, French luxury goods manufacturer LVMH, which owns a majority stake in Off-White, together with the Italian fashion house Prada and jewelry brand Cartier, created the Aura blockchain consortium to combat counterfeiting of luxury goods.

Recall that in March 2022, Decentraland hosted the first fashion week in the metaverse. Dolce & Gabbana, Paco Rabanne, Tommy Hilfiger and other fashion brands took part in it.



Anniversary 19 millionth coin mined in Bitcoin network.
April 2, 2022

On Friday, April 1, miners mined the anniversary 19 millionth bitcoin. This event took place on block 730 002.

At the time of writing, 90.48% of the total supply of digital gold has been mined, which is capped at 21 million BTC.

According to the algorithm laid down by Satoshi Nakamoto, the reward is reduced by 50% every 210,000 blocks. The next halving is expected in 2024.

The 18 millionth coin was mined on October 19, 2019.

Recall that VanEck analysts allowed the price of bitcoin to rise to $4.8 million, provided that it acquires the status of a world reserve currency.

Earlier in the crypto community, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen was criticized for his proposal to transfer bitcoin from the Proof-of-Work algorithm to Proof-of-Stake.



Website building platform will implement NFT support without the need to write code.
April 2, 2022

Online store design platform Amaze has announced a partnership with EverX (formerly TON Labs), one of the main developers of the Everscale ecosystem.

As part of the partnership, the No-code service will have an interface for issuing and selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The infrastructure for NFT will run on the Everscale (formerly Free TON) blockchain. Amaze noted that it will be the first e-commerce site platform to provide such services.

The new solution is designed to solve the problem of insufficient support for Web3 technologies in modern web browsers, said Dmitry Goroshevsky, co-founder and CTO of EverX.

According to him, for this, Amaze integrated the Surf wallet, which can be accessed “from any device connected to the Internet.” The process of issuing and transferring NFTs is “as simple as possible,” Goroshevsky stressed.

All this should ensure the scaling of NFT technology to a large number of online stores, including large retailers, EverX is sure. Everscale was chosen as the NFT network because of its high throughput combined with low-cost transactions, which was critical for large online retailers, the company's CTO said.

“We believe that NFTs are extremely valuable for engaging buyers, and we are happy to provide our customers – whether they are content creators, influencers, entrepreneurs or small companies – with the ability to not only issue tokens, but also create templates [for collections]. We are confident that a fan, enthusiast, or brand follower wants to collect, monetize, and showcase their NFT collection,” said Aaron Day, CEO of Amaze.

Recall that earlier the Simpex processing service added support for the native Everscale coin.



Michael Saylor admits the market is not ready for bitcoin bonds.
April 2, 2022

The market is not yet ready for Bitcoin-backed bonds, so MicroStrategy has raised a loan to further increase positions in the first cryptocurrency. This was stated in an interview with Bloomberg by its CEO Michael Saylor.

“I would like to see the day when Bitcoin-backed bonds are traded in the same way as mortgage-backed securities,” he said.

On March 29, MicroStrategy received a $205 million loan from Silvergate Bank. Saylor said this was a better option than using DeFi or issuing traditional debt instruments.

“There is a lot of hype right now about El Salvador’s bitcoin bond. But this is a hybrid instrument that includes sovereign risk. This is not a “pure game” with digital gold on the balance sheet, there is no direct dependence on its price dynamics,” the top manager explained.

Saylor conceded that other corporations, as well as municipalities, could follow MicroStrategy's example.

“New York may issue $2 billion in debt to buy bitcoin. Its yield is 50%+, the cost of financing is 2% or less,” he explained.

According to the Bitcoin Treasuries website, MicroStrategy owns 125,051 BTC worth $5.7 billion.

Earlier, its CFO Fong Le said that the company will continue to buy digital gold, despite the situation in the cryptocurrency market.

Recall that El Salvador postponed the issue of bitcoin bonds from March to May-June in anticipation of more favorable conditions in the global financial market.



Ex-Microsoft and Agoda Employees Join Binance to Innovate.
April 2, 2022

Bitcoin exchange Binance has announced the appointment of Rohit Wade as CTO and Mayur Kamat as Product Lead. ForkLog was told about this in the press service of the trading platform.

Rohit Wad previously served as Corporate Vice President of Microsoft and CTO at Facebook and Google. He has 30 years of design and development experience.

“We are working on many Web 3.0 services that will change the lives of billions of people, starting with the freedom of money. I'm thrilled to be able to help make the amazing achievements of Web 3.0 accessible to everyone,” said Wade.

Mayur Kamat served as Vice President of Product for Agoda online ticketing system, where he was responsible for delivery, finance and marketplace. In his career, he also leads the product team at Google.

“Less than 10% of the internet population owns crypto assets. Our goal is to bring the benefits of Web 3.0 technology to the masses by making the product simple enough to be used by anyone in the world,” said Kamat.

Recall that at the end of March, Binance opened more than 100 vacancies in its office in the UAE after obtaining a license to operate in Dubai.




SEC warns crypto exchanges to reflect the value of clients' cryptocurrencies.
April 2, 2022

Listed cryptocurrency exchanges will need to balance the digital assets they hold for clients. This follows from the updated SEC accounting guidelines, writes the Wall Street Journal.

The document reflects the warning of the head of the Commission, Gary Gensler, that investors who own cryptocurrencies on trading platforms are actually providing them with “unsecured loans”.

Stored cryptocurrencies of clients will need to be accounted for in the assets of the exchange, while liabilities to them - in the "liabilities" section.

Currently, like traditional brokers, platforms disclose the total value of digital assets held by their clients in an accompanying document to their financial statements.

The publication notes that Coinbase in its financial statements for 2021 reflected assets worth $21.3 billion on its balance sheet, while clients' cryptocurrencies were estimated at $278 billion on the same date.

The SEC recommendations for cryptocurrency platforms contrast with the approach for traditional brokers. The latter reflect client funds in off-balance accounts. A legal precedent led to this, which established that in the event of bankruptcy, the assets belong to the clients.

According to representatives of the SEC, the law does not take into account cryptocurrencies.

“The obligations in these agreements involve unique risks that are not present in agreements to protect assets other than cryptocurrencies […]. These risks can have a significant impact on the company's operations and financial condition,” the document explains.

Recall that in 2021, the United States called on the Financial Accounting Standards Board to develop reporting requirements for companies with investments in cryptocurrencies.

Earlier, Gensler urged Congress to clarify the regulation of bitcoin exchanges. He later stated that the latter must comply with investor protection requirements similar to those applied in the equity and derivatives markets.

In January 2022, the SEC promised increased oversight of bitcoin exchanges.




VanEck allows bitcoin to rise to $4.8 million when it is converted into a reserve asset.
April 1, 2022

The price of bitcoin can reach the range from $1.3 million to $4.8 million, provided that it acquires the status of a world reserve currency. Such calculations were led by VanEck analysts.

The lower limit of the range is based on the monetary aggregate M0, which includes cash in circulation, the upper limit is based on M2, which includes M0, bank reserves and their “close equivalents”.

The specialists stressed that the Chinese yuan is more likely to challenge the hegemony of the dollar.

The presented forecast is rather a starting point for investors who want to evaluate the value of the first cryptocurrency in an “extreme” scenario [of the complete transfer of all world reserves into digital gold].

Analysts were prompted to consider it by the events around the war in Ukraine. They pointed to Russia's exploration of the possibility of using digital assets to make deals for oil under sanctions.

VanEck did not rule out that this trend could be picked up by other countries of the world, which could hit the status of the dollar as the world's reserve currency.

“It is likely that central banks, in order to diversify, will change the structure of their reserves at the expense of dollars (as well as euros and yen) in favor of other assets,” the document says.

Among the alternatives, in addition to gold and bitcoin, analysts named real estate, stocks and currencies of countries with emerging economies.

Recall that the founder and CEO of the BTC.TOP pool, Jiang Zhuer, called financial sanctions against the Russian Federation a positive factor for the cryptocurrency market in the long term.

In January, analysts at Fidelity Digital Assets allowed governments to buy bitcoin.

Earlier, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor described the first cryptocurrency as a global reserve asset.



Crypto exchanges to start working in Kazakhstan as part of AIFC pilot.
April 1, 2022

On the basis of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), a pilot project will be launched to create and develop cryptocurrency exchanges. This was reported by the local Agency for the regulation and development of the financial market.

Kazakhstani banks and government agencies are participating in preparations for the launch of the pilot, and the issue of opening bank accounts for stock exchanges based on the AIFC is being worked out.

To implement the initiative, the regulator has developed amendments to the resolution of the National Bank, which provides for the possibility of conducting operations in favor of participants in the AIFC crypto exchanges.

Preliminary check:

the reputation and nature of the activity of the AIFC participant;
sources of origin of funds;
operations with the money of the AIFC participant;
beneficial owners, as well as sending information to the financial monitoring authority when suspicious transactions are identified.
With regard to banking transactions with other bitcoin exchanges, the current requirements have been retained, including the responsibility of banks for the development of an internal procedure for “refusal to conduct transactions with unsecured digital assets”.

Recall that on the basis of the AIFC they are going to launch crypto exchanges as part of a pilot, ForkLog wrote back in May last year.

Later it became known that Kazakh banks may be allowed to open accounts for cryptocurrency companies.



Senator Elizabeth Warren compared cryptocurrencies to the US mortgage crisis.
April 1, 2022

US Senate Banking Committee member Elizabeth Warren compared the digital asset market to the 2008 economic crisis in an interview with NBC. It is reported by CoinDesk.

“The whole digital world is like a bubble. What is the basis of his growth? People tell each other that everything will be fine, as it was with the real estate market, ”explained Warren.

According to the senator, people were confident in the eternal growth of real estate before the market crash in 2008.

She also suggested that the Fed speed up the development of a digital dollar. Warren believes that CBDCs will help central banks improve the situation in the digital segment of the financial market.

The senator added that sooner or later bitcoin will be regulated by the authorities. She did not specify how the government plans to achieve such control.

In March, Warren introduced a bill allowing the U.S. Treasury Department to block transactions from bitcoin exchanges with addresses of individuals on the sanctions lists. The initiative was criticized in the crypto community.

Recall that in September 2021, Warren noted the need to regulate the digital asset industry against the backdrop of a market collapse and related interruptions in the work of bitcoin exchanges.

She previously called cryptocurrencies “the new shadow banks” that do not protect their users.



UK to extend temporary registration regime for a number of crypto companies.
March 31, 2022

From April 1, 2022, the temporary registration regime for cryptocurrency companies will cease to operate in the UK. The FCA said the regulator will make an exception for a "small number" of firms whose applications have not been fully processed.

The UK introduced a temporary registration regime for cryptocurrency companies in December 2020. In June 2021, the program was extended until March 31, 2022.

Companies that have not received permanent licenses by April 1 will be forced to curtail their activities in the country. Otherwise, the FCA will initiate "criminal and civil enforcement actions" against them.

“We have completed the evaluation, on April 1, the temporary registration mode will be closed for all but a small number of firms that are strictly required to continue to participate in the program. Such cases include situations where the company is filing an appeal or has special circumstances to terminate operations,” the statement said.

At the time of writing, under the temporary registration regime, the regulator is considering applications from 12 companies, including Revolut and CEX.io. A source familiar with the situation told the Financial Times that they will be allowed to continue with temporary licenses.

According to the public registry, the FCA has issued permits to 33 companies, including Gemini, eToro and Galaxy Digital. The list of "unregistered firms" published by the regulator is much longer - it contains more than 100 positions.

“Although we have registered 33 firms, there are too many red flags indicating financial crimes that crypto companies applying for registration have turned a blind eye to. Worse, we saw examples where companies did not have the necessary controls in place to prevent such threats,” an FCA spokesman said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Recall that in March 2022, the FCA announced investigations, including criminal cases, against 50 companies from the cryptocurrency industry.




Bloomberg: Blockchain.com valued at $14 billion following investment round.
March 31, 2022

Cryptocurrency wallet exchange and provider Blockchain.com has closed a funding round for an undisclosed amount. According to its results, the company's valuation reached $14 billion, writes Bloomberg.

The investment round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Funding was also provided by Baillie Gifford and other investors.

In March 2021, the firm was valued at $5.2 billion.

According to the company's website, its services are used by 37 million users from 200 countries. About a third of bitcoin transactions go through 82 million wallets open on the platform.

Earlier, CFO Makrina Kgil did not rule out an IPO in 2023.

Recall that in March 2022, Blockchain.com acquired the Altonomy OTC platform for $250 million.

Prior to this, the company announced the launch of an NFT marketplace.




In Ukraine, the work of bot farms for 100,000 accounts was stopped.
March 31, 2022

Employees of the SBU liquidated an interregional network of five bot farms with a capacity of more than 100,000 fake accounts. This was reported in the press service of the department.

According to the investigation, the bot farms were located on the territory of Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Ternopil and the Transcarpathian region. They worked in various social networks, including those banned in Ukraine.

The perpetrators were found to be spreading disinformation about a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

During the search, police found:

more than 100 sets of GSM gateways;
almost 10,000 SIM cards of various mobile operators;
laptops and computer equipment;
draft bookkeeping.
Criminal proceedings have been launched on the fact of encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Recall that in January, the SBU seized a farm of 100 ASIC miners from a warehouse in Odessa.




Researchers uncover over 1,000 deepfake profiles on LinkedIn.
March 31, 2022

Stanford researchers René DiResta and Josh Goldstein have uncovered over 1,000 fake LinkedIn accounts with AI-generated profile photos.

According to DiResta, she received a message from a man named Keanu Ramsey that looked like a regular software advertisement. However, upon closer examination, it turned out that Ramsey is a fictional person.

The profile picture looked like a standard portrait shot. However, the photo contained a number of markers pointing to a fake created by a service like This Person Does Not Exist. DiResta noticed the alignment of the eyes, the missing one earring, and the blurry hair in the background.

“This is not a story about misinformation or misinformation, but rather an intersection of a fairly mundane use case for AI technology in business and, as a result, questions of ethics and expectations,” the researcher said.

Specialists from the non-profit organization NPR studied the statements of DiRestra and Goldstein. According to them, more than 70 companies were associated with fake profiles. Several organizations reported that they hired third-party marketers and were surprised by the use of fake profiles. They also deny sanctioning such campaigns.

According to NRP, fake profiles are often used by companies to present software to new customers. If a potential client answers, they are redirected to a real person. With this technique, companies can significantly expand their footprint without increasing headcount, the experts added.

Recall that in September 2021, scientists told how to distinguish fake photos from real ones.

In November, researchers created an algorithm that simplifies the creation of deepfakes.




Deutsche Bank: Instagram's NFT Marketplace Could Bring Meta $8 Billion Annually.
March 30, 2022

The introduction of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Instagram could accelerate the global adoption of cryptocurrencies. This is stated in a new study by Deutsche Bank, the details of which were reported by CoinDesk.

According to analysts, the social network will simplify the process of buying and selling crypto assets and thus reduce barriers to entry into the market. The strength and visibility of the Instagram brand in the world “will serve to legitimize the NFT and break down the hesitant buying [token] sentiment among the mass audience.”

Using data on marketplace fees, the authors of the study predicted that the emergence of such an Instagram-based trading platform could bring Meta about $8 billion in additional revenue per year.

In general, the NFT market is now “in hypergrowth mode” - in 2021, the volume of transactions on it amounted to $ 25 billion. This is about 250 times more than in 2020. The bank estimated the total volume of the target market at $1 trillion.

Following Meta, eBay, Twitter and Snap could take further steps to implement NFT technology, according to Deutsche Bank.

Earlier, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the imminent emergence of non-fungible tokens on Instagram.

Recall that in January, Twitter integrated the ability to add NFTs as profile avatars.




NFT Marketplace Blur Raises $11 Million in Seed Investments.
March 30, 2022

Targeted at professional traders, NFT marketplace Blur has raised $11 million in seed funding in a funding round led by Paradigm.

The round also included eGirl Capital, 0xMaki, LedgerStatus and other venture capital investors.

“Live NFT marketplaces prioritize the retail user experience but ignore the growing needs of professional traders,” the startup says in a blog post. “The infrastructure is failing as monthly trading volumes reach billions.”

The developers outlined Blur's mission: to solve the problems of the segment by "bringing the NFT space closer to the institutional level while increasing decentralization."

The company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, Yuga Labs, has raised $450 million at a $4 billion valuation.

Immutable previously raised $200 million in a Series C funding round led by Temasek.




The White House has predicted an additional $11 billion in revenue from taxes on cryptocurrencies.
March 30, 2022

The US budget will receive an additional $11 billion between now and 2032 as a result of expanding tax reporting requirements for digital assets. Such calculations are given in his project.

The document suggests an increase in the budget of the US Department of Justice by $52 billion as part of a strategy to combat extortionists that use cryptocurrencies.

The US Treasury also presented the work plan for the next four years. The document points out the increased role of the Financial Stability Oversight Board in addressing “threats associated with […] digital assets.”

Recall that on March 9, President Joe Biden signed a decree on the coordination of federal agencies in the regulation of cryptocurrencies. The document obligated regulators to consider the opportunities, benefits and risks of issuing CBDCs.

Earlier, Biden signed into law the financing of infrastructure spending. Its wording may imply that miners, node operators, wallet developers, liquidity providers in DeFi protocols, and other non-custodial players will begin to report to the IRS on the activities of their users.

The US Department of the Treasury later said it would not extend this requirement to "subsidiary parties that cannot access information required by the Internal Revenue Service."




Iris Energy Raises $71M in Debt Funding to Buy New Bitcoin Miners.
March 29, 2022

Australian company Iris Energy has raised $71 million in debt financing to buy new mining equipment.

In partnership with NYDIG, the company used 19,800 Bitmain S19j Pro miners as collateral for a 25-month loan at an interest rate of 11%.

According to the information submitted to the SEC, the total amount of financing raised by Iris Energy amounted to $500 million.

The mining company is focused on renewable energy sources. Iris Energy shares are traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol IREN.

Recall that in January, Iris Energy entered into an agreement with AEP Texas to connect a data center for bitcoin mining with a capacity of 600 MW to the power grid in Texas.




In Russia, they questioned the quality of blocking Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
March 29, 2022

The main radio frequency center subordinated to Roskomnadzor demanded that operators check the blocking of prohibited Internet resources by March 31. It is reported by "Kommersant".

According to the publication, first of all, this concerns the effectiveness of restricting access to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Blocking should be carried out by Roskomnadzor itself using technical threat countermeasures (TSPU), which are installed on the networks of telecom operators. However, this equipment is not installed at all operators and may not work properly.

A source in one of the operators suggested that "the check was initiated after complaints from higher authorities about the low quality of blocking."

Recall that after Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, the RKN consistently blocked the social networks Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, later recognizing Meta, which owns the last two platforms, as an “extremist organization.”

Earlier, experts said that in building systems for Internet blocking, the Russian Federation has already overtaken China.




Japan will review legislation to combat Russian sanctions evasion through cryptocurrencies.
March 28, 2022

The Japanese authorities will revise currency legislation to prevent Russia from evading sanctions through digital assets. This was stated in the government of the country, writes Reuters.

The authorities will present an updated law on foreign exchange and foreign trade at the current session of parliament, said Cabinet Secretary General Hirokazu Matsuno.

The upcoming amendments will supposedly allow the law to be applied to crypto exchanges and oblige them to carefully check whether their clients are under sanctions.

Recall that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Japan joined the many countries that imposed a package of sanctions on the Russian Federation.

In March, the country began to study ways to block cryptocurrency transactions of sanctioned entities from Russia.




Greenidge Generation raises $108M to triple hash rate.
March 28, 2022

Mining company Greenidge Generation announced that it has raised $108 million. The funds will be used to triple the amount of computing power to 4.7 EH/s.

$81.4 million in the form of a loan was provided by a firm affiliated with NYDIG, $26.5 million - in the form of a bill of exchange associated with B. Riley Financial. In the first case, the company secured the ordered ANTMINER S19 J Pro from Bitmain, in the second case, real estate.

The increase in the Greenidge Generation hashrate will not actually affect the data center located in upstate New York in the city of Dresden. In 2021, local residents accused the company of negative environmental impact.

Greenidge Generation will focus on the development of a data center located in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Its share of the firm's total hashrate has already reached 15%, according to a press release. In January, the company announced that investments in the project would amount to $264 million.

Greenidge Generation previously said the Spartanburg facility will be 100% carbon neutral.

Recall that in 2021 the company promised to completely neutralize the carbon footprint of bitcoin mining through the purchase of CO₂ emission quotas.




Luna Foundation Guard Invests Over $1 Billion in Bitcoin to Ensure UST's Sustainability.
March 28, 2022

The non-profit organization Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) has invested over $1 billion in bitcoin to ensure the stability of the Terra USD (UST) algorithmic stablecoin. This was announced by the co-founder of the venture capital company Morgan Creek Digital Anthony Pompliano.

Journalist Colin Wu said that the address allegedly associated with LFG has already received over 24,955 BTC worth more than $1.1 billion. From the data of the blockchain browser, it follows that the wallet began actively buying cryptocurrency on March 27.

On March 15, LFG announced that it would burn 4 million LUNA to issue $372 million in UST to buy "external collateral."

On March 19, Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon revealed on Twitter Space that the team is working on bringing a new form of tokenized bitcoin to the Terra blockchain.

According to him, after the completion of the work, UST will become a “hybrid” stablecoin, allowing you to directly buy BTC with a 1% premium. He emphasized that Terraform Labs chose bitcoin because “its [reliability] is hard to question.”

Previously, Kwon said that UST, backed by a $10 billion reserve in BTC, would “open up a new era of money.” He noted that the ecosystem already has $3 billion, which it is ready to direct to the initiative, but the technical infrastructure for the project is not yet ready.

On March 23, Jump Crypto, which previously spearheaded LFG's $1 billion LUNA token sale, submitted a proposal to the community for the creation of a Bitcoin reserve fund to secure a sustainable peg of UST to the US dollar.

The model proposed by Jump Crypto assumes that the fund will be able to “promptly” provide the BTC liquidity necessary to maintain a stable UST price:

when the price of a stablecoin drops below $1, LFG puts the accumulated assets into a BTC/UST pool, which trading platforms can access at a slight discount. For example, provide 1 UST in exchange for $0.98 in BTC;
when the situation stabilizes, outside traders can purchase UST with BTC.

The reserve pool works in a similar way to the on-chain UST issuance mechanism. However, instead of burning LUNA, it is about supplying and holding wrapped BTC. The latter can be added to the Terra ecosystem through cross-chain protocols like Wormhole.

Jump Crypto noted that in order to launch the model, it is necessary to raise $2.5 billion in BTC in the reserve fund. The company also stressed that it is "critical" for the mechanism to have robust private markets for UST.

Decentralized platforms can become such markets. For example, after integrating Luna with the THORChain cross-chain protocol, a UST/BTC liquidity pool appeared on THORSwap.

Recall that in March, Do Kwon bet $ 11 million on the growth of LUNA. If the asset trades below $88 on March 14, 2023, the head of Terraform Labs will lose his money.




The authorities of Rio de Janeiro will allow to pay property taxes with bitcoin.
March 27, 2022

In 2023, the administration of Rio de Janeiro will introduce amendments to the legislation that will allow paying property taxes using bitcoin. This was announced by the head of the department of economic development and innovation of the city of Chicago Bullhoins.

According to a press release from the administration, a “specialized company” will be hired to convert the cryptocurrency into Brazilian real. Thus, the city hall will not keep digital assets on its balance sheet.

“We are going to stimulate the circulation of cryptocurrencies by integrating them into the payment of taxes, as in the case of the city property tax. In the future, the practice may be extended to other services such as paying for taxis, ”said Pedro Paulo, a spokesman for the administration.

It is not known which company will become an intermediary. However, earlier the head of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, said that he had met with the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paez. On March 26, he also announced the opening of a bitcoin exchange office in the city.

The Criptoatividade Carioca event, where the announcement was originally made, was also attended by executives from the Mercado Bitcoin exchange and the InspireIP platform, according to Portal do Bitcoin.

The city administration also announced the creation of the Municipal Crypto Investment Committee. The latter will evaluate the risks and returns of potential investments in the digital asset ecosystem.

In addition, officials plan to hold public hearings regarding the development of the NFT sector. For example, the mayor's office proposed issuing non-fungible tokens with images of city landmarks.

Recall that in January 2022, Eduardo Paez announced that the administration of Rio de Janeiro intends to convert 1% of the city's cash into digital assets.




Janet Yellen acknowledged the popularity of cryptocurrencies among Americans.
March 27, 2022

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in an interview with CNBC, stated the importance of digital assets in American investment decisions.

“Cryptocurrency has grown by leaps and bounds, and now it plays a significant role not only in transactions, but in the investment decisions of many Americans,” she said.

Yellen reaffirmed her skepticism towards digital assets due to threats to financial stability, the need to protect private investors, and the use of cryptocurrencies in illegal activities.

“On the other hand, cryptocurrencies have advantages, and we recognize the benefits of innovation in the payment system. Ultimately, we want to issue recommendations to create a regulatory framework,” she added.

In the interview, Yellen also mentioned US President Joe Biden's March executive order directing federal agencies to coordinate their efforts in regulating the cryptocurrency industry.

Recall that in December 2021, Yellen announced the necessary consensus of the authorities for the issuance of a digital dollar.

Earlier, the US Treasury issued a report on the risks associated with stablecoins. The agency saw stablecoins as a threat to investors and market integrity, and also requested tough legislative restrictions.




Anonymous hackers published "documents of the Bank of Russia"
March 27, 2022

The hacker group Anonymous published 28 GB of data in one of its Twitter accounts, which allegedly belong to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

According to the hackers, the documents were obtained during the hacking of the Bank of Russia, which Anonymous reported on March 24. Then the regulator denied the information about the attack.

According to the BBC Russian Service, among the published data there are hundreds of audit reports and information about bank owners.

“We publish thousands of documents of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation: agreements, letters, transactions, trade secrets […] of oligarchs, real economic reports that are hidden from the public,” the Anonymous video says.

The group said they distributed the documents to various points on the Internet. In case of censorship, the hackers promised to share new links.

Recall that Anonymous declared war on the Russian Federation after the invasion of Ukraine. In early March, hackers hacked the Russian streaming services Wink and ivi, showing military footage on TV channels.




South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges are required to comply with FATF recommendations.
March 26, 2022

The South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) has notified cryptocurrency companies to comply with the FATF “road rule” from March 25, 2022. They are required to collect and share information about users who make transactions worth 1 million won (~$817) or more.

“VASP is required to transfer the names of the senders and recipients [of the transaction], as well as the addresses of the virtual assets, to the receiving party. The originating company is also required to provide the sender's resident registration number within three business days of the receiving party's or [regulators'] request,” the notice reads.

Companies are also required to retain relevant user information for five years from the date of the transaction. In case of violation, disciplinary measures are provided.

The new rule may limit the ability of South Korean traders to conduct crypto transactions. With the exception of the “big four” exchanges – Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit and Coinone – and a few smaller platforms, other players in the sector lack the systems necessary to comply with FSC requirements.

The implemented mechanisms have a significant drawback - they require the adoption of similar principles by foreign platforms.

According to The Chosun Ilbo, Upbit users can transfer assets to only eight local platforms, as well as the company's subsidiaries in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

Bithumb also limited the list of platforms to which customers can send transfers to a number of foreign exchanges such as Coinbase, Kraken and Binance. Users can also withdraw assets to non-custodial wallets such as MetaMask. Transfers to local sites are blocked until April 8, 2022.

Recall that the National Assembly of South Korea adopted an amendment to the legislation, which involves the introduction of taxation of cryptocurrencies from January 1, 2023.




Stargate cross-chain bridge liquidity tops $2 billion within a week of launch.
March 25, 2022

The total amount of funds (TVL) involved in the Stargate cross-chain bridge based on the LayerZero protocol reached $2.5 billion a week after the launch. This is evidenced by data from DeFi Llama.

On March 18, the Stargate team sold 100 million native STG tokens during an auction. The proceeds are used to provide the initial liquidity of the protocol. In total, the project managed to raise $25 million.

The initial price of STG during the auction was $0.25. Investors are offered a vesting period of one year.

At the time of writing, the price of the Stargate project token is $3.50, according to CoinGecko. Over the past day, the asset has risen in price by 66.4%.

The cross-chain protocol supports the Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, Fantom networks, as well as second-tier Arbitrum and Optimism solutions.



Fortnite developer raises more than $50 million for humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
March 25, 2022

Video game publisher Epic Games will donate Fortnite revenue generated from March 20 to April 3 to humanitarian aid to Ukraine. As of March 22, the company has raised $50 million.

The money will be transferred to organizations that provide medical, legal and other assistance to people affected by the war. These include Direct Relief, UNICEF, the United Nations World Food Program and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. This list will be expanded in the future.

The company stressed that it will donate “all purchases for real money” made during the specified period for humanitarian purposes. This includes in-game currency packs, a monthly Fortnite Squad subscription, cosmetic items, and battle passes.

Microsoft is also participating in the promotion: “Microsoft will donate all net proceeds from sales of Fortnite content in the Microsoft Store in the form of assistance from March 20, 2022 to April 3, 2022 in all countries where Fortnite is sold. Net revenue equals gross revenue minus returns, chargebacks, cost of costs and transactions, and taxes.”

ForkLog previously reported that the total amount of cryptocurrency donations to Ukrainian charitable foundations exceeded $100 million.

Recall that in March, the Binance Charitable Foundation transferred $2.5 million to UNICEF to help the children of Ukraine.




Bloomberg learned about the participation of ExxonMobil in bitcoin mining on flare gas.
March 25, 2022

Oil giant ExxonMobil is pursuing a pilot project to use flare gas from wells in North Dakota to power bitcoin mining. It is reported by Bloomberg, citing its own sources.

The startup Crusoe Energy Systems has become a partner of the company. It receives excess associated petroleum gas (APG) that would otherwise be flared due to lack of pipeline capacity.

The gas is used to power modular rigs that mine cryptocurrencies right next to wells in the Bakken shale field.

The project started in January 2021, in July the parties expanded its scope. Within its framework, Crusoe plants consume up to 0.5 million m3 of gas per month.

ExxonMobil intends to implement similar pilots in Alaska, Nigeria, shale basins in Argentina, Guyana and Germany.

“We are constantly evaluating new technologies to reduce flaring in our operations,” said company spokeswoman Sarah Nordin.

She added that ExxonMobil expects to implement the World Bank's recommendations to end conventional APG flaring by 2030. The press secretary called the information about the pilot "rumors and conjectures."

Crusoe has permission to operate 20 mining modules in North Dakota, of which 11 are involved. The startup is implementing two more similar projects - together with Equinor and Devon Energy.

In February, it became known that ConocoPhillips was selling APG from North Dakota wells to an unnamed bitcoin miner.

Crusoe plants also burn gas, but unlike a torch, this is not in vain - electricity is produced at the same time. CoinShares estimates that 69 TWh are lost to flares in US fields each year.

Recall that in 2019, Crusoe raised $70 million and announced the deployment of 70 mining modules with a capacity of 1 MW each.




Landing protocol Bastion holds seed funding round.
March 24, 2022

The ParaFi Foundation has led an investment round for the Bastion landing protocol powered by Aurora, the second layer blockchain platform of the NEAR network. The total amount of fees in Bastion was not named.

Jane Street, Digital Currency Group, Crypto.com, CMS and Manifold Trading also invested in the project. Angel investors included NEAR co-founder Ilya Polosukhin and Terraform Labs business development director Jeffrey Kuan.

According to Bastion's blog, the project has experienced "explosive growth". Within the first 24 hours after the launch of the mainnet on March 7, funds in the amount of $200 million were blocked in the protocol.

As the anonymous creator of Bastion stated in a comment to The Block, NEAR has the highest growth potential of any Tier 1 blockchain: “Being the fastest network with Proof-of-Stake consensus and sharding, as well as excellent infrastructure and solutions for developers, NEAR has all the prerequisites to become the next powerhouse for DeFi.”

The publication also noted that Jane Street is one of the world's largest market makers. So, in 2020, its futures trading volume amounted to $17 trillion. In January 2022, a spokesperson for the company confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg that Jane Street was investigating decentralized finance projects.

Recall that in early February, the developers of Aurora were forced to introduce a commission for transactions in their network due to its overload.




FTX and CoinShares to Launch Physically Backed ETP in Solana.
March 24, 2022

Digital asset manager CoinShares and crypto exchange FTX have announced the planned listing of an exchange-traded product (ETP) based on Solana in the Deutsche Börse structure of Xetra.

The instrument will receive the ticker SLNC. The initial amount of assets in the instrument will be 1 million SOL.

The management fee will be 0%.

Investors will be able to count on a reward of 3% from staking.

“Coins locked in staking remain safe with the custodian. ETP maintains 100% physical provisioning,” the press release says.

The Solana ETP launch will be CoinShares' fourth in 2022. Prior to this, the firm announced the emergence of products with physical security based on Polkadot, Tezos and Cardano.

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried linked the development of the CoinShares FTX Physical Staked Solana ETP to the recent launch of FTX Access, the institutional client division of the bitcoin exchange.

Recall that in March, FTX created a division of FTX Europe, having received a license from the financial regulator of Cyprus.

Earlier, the bitcoin exchange received a license in Dubai, where it plans to open a headquarters.




Coinbase announced Cardano staking. The price of the cryptocurrency reacted with growth.
March 24, 2022

The Cardano rate soared by 15% amid the announcement of ADA staking from the American bitcoin exchange Coinbase.

“Cardano is one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. This is a blockchain based on the Proof-of-Stake algorithm, developed as the evolution of the next generation of Ethereum,” Coinbase recalled.

Cardano (ADA) holders have the option to participate in staking on their own or through delegation, but this is a complex and confusing process, the exchange team believes.

According to the statement, Coinbase offered an "easy and safe" way to earn passive income with an annual rate of around 3.75%. Rewards will be accrued every 5-7 days, users will be able to withdraw their assets from the service at any time.

Following the announcement, the price of Cardano on Coinbase surged from below $1 to $1.15 in an instant. At the time of writing, the coin has corrected to $1.13.

According to CoinGecko, ADA has risen in price by more than 15% in the last 24 hours, and by 34.5% in seven days. These are the maximum corresponding indicators from the top 10 cryptocurrencies by capitalization.

Recall that in December 2021, the creator of Cardano and the head of the IOHK developer Charles Hoskinson spoke about the plans for the development of the blockchain project in 2022.




Florida to add cryptocurrencies to financial literacy plan.
March 23, 2022

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill to introduce financial literacy programs in high schools, including on issues related to cryptocurrencies. WFLA writes about it.

During the press conference, the official said that the legislature did not support his initiative to allocate funding for “blockchain experiments.” However, the administration is taking steps to allow companies to pay their taxes in crypto.

DeSantis expressed skepticism about the prospect of issuing a digital dollar.

“There is a big difference between decentralized and government cryptocurrencies. There are many dangers in this, besides, CBDC is controlled centrally. I am worried that […] thanks to the digital dollar, someone in power will be able to basically close access to the purchase of certain goods. We may be in uncharted territory,” the governor explained.

DeSantis also sees a threat in the ability of financial institutions to “turn people off” at the behest of the government.

Recall that earlier Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced his intention to allow government employees to receive their salaries in bitcoin.

Prior to that, he announced the formation of a team to develop a plan for the city to become more actively involved in the cryptocurrency industry, and the administration voted to explore options for integrating bitcoin into municipal infrastructure.

Miami-Dade County has created a group to explore the possibility of paying taxes on digital assets.




Qualcomm Invests $100M in Metaverse Technologies.
March 23, 2022

Chip maker Qualcomm has announced the launch of a $100 million investment fund focused on technology related to the creation of the metaverse.

Snapdragon Metaverse Fund intends to support companies and developers in the fields of artificial intelligence, augmented and augmented reality.

“We are delivering groundbreaking technologies and platform experiences that enable both the consumer and the enterprise to create and participate in metaverses and connect the physical and digital worlds,” said Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm.

The fund plans to raise capital through a combination of venture investments from Qualcomm Ventures and a grant program from Qualcomm Technologies. The company will provide participants with early access to new technologies, as well as joint marketing and promotion opportunities.

“Through the Snapdragon Metaverse Fund, we hope to empower developers and companies of all sizes as they push the boundaries of what is possible as we enter this next generation of spatial computing,” added Amon.

The opportunity to formally apply for funding will open in June.




Hackers stole $1.75 million worth of crypto assets from the founder of the DeFiance Capital crypto fund.
March 22, 2022

Cybercriminals have stolen non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other crypto assets from DeFiance Capital founder Arthur Cheong.

According to Cheong, he was the victim of so-called spear-phishing via email, which resulted in a virus being installed on his phone. The program found seed phrases stored in the device from two Ethereum wallets and handed them over to hackers.

Cheong also posted a screenshot of the email that was believed to be the source of the malware.

“I figured out the probable cause of the exploit - this is a targeted attack. Received a phishing email that looked like it was sent by an employee of one of the companies in our portfolio and contained seemingly relevant content. They are probably aimed at all people from the crypto industry.”

Cybersecurity company PeckShield noted that among the stolen assets are several dozen NFTs from the popular collections of Azuki, CloneX, Hedgies and Second Self. The hackers sold them on the OpenSea platform. In addition, the attackers appropriated various crypto assets, including wrapped ether, Lido DAO tokens, and DYDX coins.

The total amount of stolen funds is 585 ETH (over $1.75 million at the time of writing). According to Cheong, cryptocurrencies are still being withdrawn from wallets.

Earlier today, hackers used an instant loan to break into the OneRing Finance protocol. The loss of the project amounted to about $2 million.

A week earlier, cybercriminals used a phishing email to steal non-fungible tokens from the owners of the Rare Bears NFT collection.




Ethereum protocol has burned over 2 million ETH since London hard fork was activated.
March 21, 2022

Since the activation of the London hard fork in August 2021, the Ethereum network has burned over 2 million ETH worth more than $7 billion.

The London hard fork includes proposal EIP-1559, which involves burning a portion of transaction fees depending on network load and reducing gas price volatility.

On average, the protocol burns 6 ETH per minute. The NFT segment accounts for 35% of all destroyed coins or 701,597 ETH. Second place is occupied by DeFi services with 651,336 ETH (33%).

The coin burning mechanism is putting deflationary pressure on Ethereum. In theory, the emission of the second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization can become negative. Periods have already been recorded when the protocol removed more ETH from circulation over the course of several days than it issued.

Earlier, the amount of blocked funds on the Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract exceeded 10 million ETH.

Recall that Vitalik Buterin made two proposals to reduce transaction costs when using ZK-Rollups technology.




Internet giants of China have revised the policy regarding NFT platforms.
March 21, 2022

Ant Group and Tencent-owned NFT marketplaces have updated user agreements due to fears of government reprisals and a lack of regulatory clarity. In WeChat, for this reason, the accounts of a number of platforms were deleted, writes QQ News.

The measures are aimed at preventing speculative trading and fraud, while NFTs in general are not subject to a total ban, the agency noted.

Recall that in October 2021, Ant Group and Tencent changed the name of the asset to “digital collectibles” on their platforms and websites. In early November, companies signed a convention with several government agencies on "self-discipline" in this area.

Chinese authorities have warned that NFTs and the metaverse could turn out to be bubbles, Ponzi schemes, or other types of financial fraud.

Later, information appeared that on the basis of the state blockchain platform BSN, an infrastructure would be deployed to support NFTs that were not related to cryptocurrencies.




Malaysian government calls for legalization of cryptocurrencies.
March 21, 2022

The Malaysian Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (K-KOMM) has called on regulators to develop a legal framework for the legal circulation of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It is reported by My Metro.

Speaking to Parliament, K-KOMM Deputy Minister Zatuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin noted that digital currencies are within the competence of the Central Bank and the Securities Commission.

The ministry, he said, will look for ways to promote young people using crypto assets, including NFTs.

“We hope that the government can and will try to legalize this so that we can increase youth participation in cryptocurrencies and help them,” the official said.

He answered a question from one of the parliamentarians about the position of the Cabinet of Ministers and K-KOMM regarding the growing popularity of NFT trading platforms in the country.

Recall that the law on cryptocurrencies and digital tokens was adopted in the country in 2019. At the same time, the regulator registered the first three digital asset exchanges (DAX).

In 2020, Binance, which was operating in the country without a license, came to the attention of the Securities Commission. In 2021, the agency announced enforcement action against the exchange for its illegal operation of DAX.

The authorities of the country continue to fight against illegal mining of cryptocurrencies, closely related to the theft of electricity.




(ConsenSys Raises $450M, Immutable Valuation Reaches $2.5B)
March 20, 2022

The cryptocurrency industry is attracting an increasing number of institutional players. This is evidenced by new investments in infrastructure, and the increasing attention that companies are showing to bitcoin as an asset class. The most important events of recent weeks.

The cryptocurrency industry is attracting an increasing number of institutional players. This is evidenced by new investments in infrastructure, and the increasing attention that companies are showing to bitcoin as an asset class. The most important events of recent weeks.

(ConsenSys raised $450 million at a $7 billion valuation.)
Ethereum-focused ConsenSys has raised $450 million in a Series D funding round led by venture capital firm ParaFi Capital.

It was also attended by Temasek, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Microsoft, Anthos Capital, Sound Ventures, C Ventures, Third Point, Marshall Wace, True Capital Management, and United Talent Agency's UTA ​​VC venture fund. Investors valued the company at $7 billion.

The funds raised will be converted into Ethereum and used to expand the team, redesign the MetaMask wallet, integrate with various protocols, develop the Infura infrastructure project, invest and develop other tools for developing the ecosystem.

(Roofstock raised $240 million at a $1.9 billion valuation.)
Digital real estate platform Roofstock has raised $240 million in a Series E funding round, valuing the company at $1.9 billion.

Investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, Citi Ventures and other companies. The round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

The funds raised will help the firm focus on innovation, new products, mergers and acquisitions, and increase headcount. The company is considering blockchain opportunities for asset tokenization.

In 2021, Roofstock acquired $1.2 billion worth of real estate on behalf of institutional clients.

(NFT startup Immutable has raised $200 million at a $2.5 billion valuation.)
Australian NFT startup Immutable has raised $200 million in a Series C funding round led by Singapore-based Temasek with participation from Mirae Asset, ParaFi Capital, Declaration Partners, Tencent Holdings and others.

Investors valued Immutable at $2.5 billion. The startup will use the funds raised to implement its growth strategy through mergers and acquisitions.

The Sydney-based firm is best known for the NFT games Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians, as well as the layer-two Ethereum protocol Immutable X.

(Ethereum project Optimism raised $150M at a $1.65B valuation.)
Optimism, which is working on a second layer solution for scaling Ethereum, has raised $150M in a Series B funding round. Investors have valued the project at $1.65B.

Andreessen Horowitz and Paradigm participated in the round.

Within a year since the launch of the Optimism mainnet, users have saved $1 billion in transaction fees, according to the developers.

(Mina Protocol raised $92 million from FTX, Three Arrows Capital and others.)
The Mina Protocol project has raised $92 million through strategic and private sales of the MINA token.

The round was led by Three Arrows Capital and FTX's VC arm of Amber Group, Blockchain.com, Circle Ventures, Finality Capital Partners, Pantera and a number of other investors, including existing ones.

Mina Protocol will use the raised funds to attract developers to accelerate the implementation of Mina.

(Custodian Hex Trust has raised $88 million from Animoca Brands and Liberty City Ventures.)
Custody service Hex Trust closes $88M Series B funding round.

It was led by NFT game operator Animoca Brands and venture capital fund Liberty City Ventures with the participation of Ripple, Terra, BlockFi, CoinList, Wintermute, Morgan Creek, Sino Global Capital, Primavera Venture Partners and others.

The service will use the raised funds to expand the team from 100 to 160 people by the end of 2022 and expand in the Middle East and Europe. In April, Hex Trust plans to open an office in Dubai.

(Lunar raised €70M and launched a crypto trading platform.)
Danish fintech startup Lunar has raised €70 million in a Series D-2 funding round and launched a cryptocurrency trading platform.

The round was led by Heartland with participation from Kinnevik, Tencent and IDC Ventures. The total volume of funds raised by the company during the Series D reached €280 million.

Lunar will use the raised funding to diversify its B2B payments business and M&A operations.

The launched crypto trading platform supports buying/selling Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Polkadot and Dogecoin through the Lunar app. The solution is designed to make it easier for Scandinavian users to access digital assets.

(U.S. mining startup Blockmetrix has raised $43 million.)
Texas-based U.S. bitcoin mining startup Blockmetrix has raised $43 million in a Series B funding round.

Blockmetrix will use the raised funding to expand the business. The company expects to purchase an additional 5,000 devices for mining.

The firm has previously acquired more than 1,000 ASIC miners with Series A funding of $7 million. The total amount of capital received by the startup reached $50 million.

(NFT marketplace Magic Eden powered by Solana raises $27M)
Solana-based NFT marketplace Magic Eden has raised $27M in a Series A funding round.

It was led by Paradigm with the participation of Sequoia Capital, Solana Ventures, Greylock Partners, Electric Capital and other venture capital companies.

The funds raised will help the project “focus on the blockchain gaming sector.” For this purpose, the Eden Games content hub has already been launched, allowing game publishers to share their landing pages.

The company also plans to open a division of Magic Ventures "in the coming weeks" and expand the team with new members.

(Gauntlet raised $23.8 million at a $1 billion valuation.)
Cryptocurrency startup Gauntlet has raised $23.8 million in Series B funding.

It was led by Ribbit Capital with participation from Polychain Capital and Paradigm. Investors valued the company at $1 billion.

The funds raised will be used to expand the range of supported products, including options, derivatives, NFTs.

Gauntlet provides DeFi services with the tools to optimize key protocol parameters, including capital efficiency, risk, fees, and rewards.

(Lava Labs has raised $10 million to develop a multiplayer blockchain game.)
London-based startup Lava Labs has raised $10 million to continue developing AFAR's debut Web3 game.

The Series A funding round was led by Dialectic. Participants include: Merit Circle, Dragonfly, Defiance, Animoca, Razer Computer, Weak Simp Cap, Dapper Labs, Maven11 and a number of business angels.

The startup's valuation exceeded $100 million.

Funds raised will be used to expand the team and accelerate the development of AFAR, a multiplayer game in which 25 players compete against each other in 4-minute battles over 4 rounds. The latter are a combination of an obstacle course and shooting.

The startup also plans to sell 10,000 pieces of virtual land. From the second quarter, gamers will be able to use them in a mini-game while the main application is being developed.




Dogecoin co-founder: BAYC's ApeCoin token harms the NFT segment.
March 19, 2022

Billy Markus, co-founder of the meme-cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE), said that the ApeCoin (APE) coin associated with the ecosystem of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT project harms the segment of non-fungible tokens.

According to him, such tokens quickly gain popularity, but then their price drops, which leads to a negative attitude of users.

“Sorry, I'm not a fan of ApeCoin, mainly because I think it hurts the NFT segment. Token communities tend to be hypertoxic and reckless,” Markus wrote.

The developer added that the audience may not agree with him, and urged to refrain from negative attitude towards him or Dogecoin. Otherwise, it will prove his position on toxicity, Markus noted.

On March 17, the BAYC team launched trading for ApeCoin, which will become the main asset not only for the NFT project ecosystem, but also for the company's future products.

Among the holders of non-fungible tokens BAYC, MAYC and BAKC distributed 150 million APE.

According to the NFT marketplace OpenSea, over the past 7 days, the volume of trading in BAYC tokens has jumped by 375%. MAYC and BAKC grew by 314% and 861% respectively.




Edward Snowden: Authorities Consider Cryptocurrencies an 'Evolving Threat'
March 16, 2022

The authorities view cryptocurrencies as an "evolving threat" to traditional financial instruments. This opinion was expressed by former CIA and NSA officer Edward Snowden, according to Decrypt.

In an interview with Filecoin Foundation Chair Martha Belcher at Camp Ethereal 2022, he stated, “I think governments are right about the emerging threat to the traditional tools that they are used to in terms of being able to impose regulation on privacy and more broadly on private trade.”

The US financial network operates very "pervasively" with anti-money laundering measures and KYC policies, he said.

“It’s hard for me to believe that if they had the technical ability to easily get the serial number of every dollar bill that passes through their hands, then they didn’t,” Snowden said.

He believes that the notion of anonymity of money is a thing of the past: “When you think of bitcoin with its public ledger, there is a private ledger for every dollar that enters the banking system. It is available to those who exercise financial oversight. So it's really private to the public, but public to, let's say, insiders."

At the same time, Snowden believes that, like the traditional financial system, bitcoin and Ethereum are experiencing privacy problems. He drew attention to the development of the field of on-chain analysis, in which participants "do pretty tricky things" such as "trying to get financial advantages."

Despite claims to the privacy of blockchains, Snowden reaffirmed his belief in the future of technology and cryptocurrencies.

“What is really missing from people who dive into the details is understanding how transformative the attitude of the authorities is or how it will change as we move from these legacy technologies to future decentralized solutions,” he said.




Japanese authorities oblige local crypto firms to comply with sanctions against Russia.
March 15, 2022

Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges were banned from processing transactions with assets subject to sanctions against Russia and Belarus. Such an order was sent to them by the government and the FSA, writes Reuters.

The joint statement speaks of strengthening oversight of compliance with such measures. Violators will face up to three years in prison or a fine of 1 million yen ($8,488).

Official Tokyo made the decision after the G7 countries announced about “creating costs for prohibited entities from Russia using digital assets to increase and transfer their capital.”

The agency emphasized the growing concern in the G7 about the use of cryptocurrencies by Russian organizations as a loophole to circumvent restrictive measures.

Prior to this, a similar requirement for US-registered cryptocurrency platforms was put forward by the local Treasury Department. In turn, the EU countries agreed on a new package of sanctions against Russia, which affected cryptocurrency assets.

Recall that the US Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network warned of Russia's use of digital assets to circumvent sanctions.




Crypto custodian Standard Chartered to launch products for institutional investors.
March 15, 2022

Startup Zodia, backed by leading UK bank Standard Chartered in partnership with Northern Trust, plans to launch investment products for institutional clients. It is reported by The Block.

According to Zodia CEO Maxime De Guillebon, the company will launch collateral management products that will help large investors generate income from their cryptocurrency holdings.

The launch of the service will require coordination with regulators. De Guillebon expressed the hope that all permits could be obtained during 2022.

“Given the rapid expansion and complexity of the crypto industry, Zodia customers are looking for ways to make money on cryptocurrencies outside the spot market,” he explained.

The head of Zodia clarified that there is a demand from crypto investors for access to liquidity, leverage and income-generating products by analogy with traditional instruments such as derivatives, financing, and issuing or receiving loans.

Zodia now offers custodial storage services for Bitcoin and Ethereum. The company is also exploring the possibility of providing staking and earning services in DeFi protocols, De Guillebon added.




The State Duma allowed the creation of Russian crypto-exchanges to circumvent sanctions.
March 15, 2022

Russia has every opportunity to create its own cryptocurrency exchanges. This was stated by State Duma deputy Alexander Yakubovsky, a member of the working group on the regulation of cryptocurrencies, writes "Parliamentary newspaper".

“We have all the resources, including the creation of our own exchanges, the use of other payment schemes, and the use of other platforms. Crypto is an area where it is difficult to talk about really working restrictions on our country,” he said.

The deputy noted that the Binance exchange, although it stopped supporting transactions with Visa and Mastercard cards issued in the Russian Federation, continues to advise Russian legislators in the development of industry regulation.

He is convinced that effectively prescribed regulation can open Russia's access to the financial market, and the development of digital assets can minimize the damage from sanctions.

Yakubovsky also said that the miners of the Russian Federation will not leave the market and the mining of cryptocurrencies should be fixed as a separate type of economic activity: “We need to simplify the registration process, filing reporting documentation as much as possible, establish a minimum tax rate and simplify the payment of tax fees.”

Recall that even before the start of the war, the Russian authorities developed the regulation of cryptocurrencies and proposed to equate mining with entrepreneurship.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the BTC.com mining pool stopped the registration of Russian users, FlexPool stopped servicing miners from the Russian Federation, and the Ethermine pool stopped providing services to clients from the Russian Federation and Belarus.




The head of FTX called cryptocurrency assistance to Ukraine a “lifeline” from the world.
March 14, 2022

“Tens of millions of dollars” in cryptocurrencies in the form of assistance to Ukraine are a “great example” of supporting the population that has lost access to banking services. Sam Bankman-Fried, head of the FTX bitcoin exchange, said this on air at Camp Ethereal, writes Decrypt.

As of March 12, the total amount of cryptocurrency donations to Ukrainian charitable foundations exceeded $100 million.

“If a tank has spawned near your bank, you may run into problems [...]. It's great that digital assets provide an international financial lifeline,” said the CEO of FTX.

For a top manager, this is an illustration of expanding financial opportunities.

Responding to a question about Moscow’s use of cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions, Bankman-Fried noted that this channel remains virtually unused.

“In principle, we have not seen any attempts from Russia to transfer money through digital assets. I'm actually a bit surprised," he explained.

During the conversation, the head of FTX was also asked about the impact of mining on the environment. In his opinion, in the future, Proof-of-Stake will become the "starter" consensus algorithm, "simply because of the economy." Reducing our carbon footprint is “absolutely the thing to do,” he added.

“If cryptocurrencies become widespread, then most of the scaling will be due to Proof-of-Stake,” Bankman-Fried predicted.

Earlier, the CEO of FTX said that the industry needs to solve a number of problems in order to become mainstream. Among the main challenges, he named scalability and regulation.




Joseph Lubin: states will start an "arms race" in the field of regulation of cryptocurrencies.
March 14, 2022

Cryptocurrencies have proven to be an effective weapon against Russia, ConsenSys founder and Ethereum co-creator Joseph Lubin said in an interview with Decrypt.

In his opinion, the war in Ukraine predetermined the further integration of digital assets into the global economy: “This is another moment for our industry that will allow us to achieve mass adoption [of cryptocurrencies]. Now it will become a matter of national security. These events are a point of no return for the industry, as they make it clear that our technology is powerful and unstoppable,” he said.

The co-founder of Ethereum is convinced that in the future, cryptocurrencies “will be used by many states, regardless of who says or does what.” He compared the efforts of the authorities to regulate the crypto industry to an arms race: “Our country and many others will have to learn how to use this powerful tool, this weapon. Nobody likes guns, but you need to be able to handle them in the same way as your neighbors.

However, global leaders are “late to the party,” Lubin said, commenting on US President Joe Biden’s instruction to the government to coordinate efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies: “Hey, [government] agencies, wake up! That's what he literally said."

Since the beginning of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the international crypto community has donated more than $100 million to Ukrainian charitable foundations.




Elon Musk announced the holding of cryptocurrencies in anticipation of rising inflation.
March 14, 2022

Elon Musk has no plans to get rid of his bitcoins, Ethereum and Dogecoin. This was stated by the head of Tesla and SpaceX during a discussion he raised among subscribers on the topic of inflation.

Musk referred to an article in the Financial Times about commodity prices rising to their highest since 2008 amid fears of cutting off supplies of raw materials from Russia. According to the latest data, in the US, annual inflation has reached a record 7.9% since 1982.

“Those who want to learn a lesson from this conversation are better off investing in physical assets. Buy a house or stock in a company that makes good products. By the way, I personally still hold Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin,” he wrote.

With his tweet, Musk agreed with Michael Saylor. The head of MicroStrategy predicted the collapse of weak fiat currencies and the flight of capital from value stocks, debt securities and cash to “scarce” assets like bitcoin.

Against the backdrop of Musk's tweet, the Dogecoin price jumped by 10% at the moment. At the time of writing, DOGE is losing 1% of its value in a 24-hour period, according to CoinGecko.




Ukraine received access to the Clearview AI face recognition system.
March 14, 2022

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on Saturday began using a face recognition system from Clearview AI. It is reported by Reuters with reference to the head of the company Hoan Ton-Theta (Hoan Ton-That).

The organization offered Ukraine free access to its system after the Russian invasion of the country.

Clearview AI has made it possible to use its technology to identify the Russian military, fight disinformation, identify the dead, and screen people at checkpoints.

The company did not offer its services to Russia, emphasized in Clearview AI.

The founder of Clearview said that there are more than 2 billion photos from VKontakte in the Clearview AI database. Presumably, this will make it easier to identify the dead compared to fingerprint recognition.




Developers of the Evmos protocol for interaction between Ethereum and Cosmos will restart the mainnet.
March 14, 2022

The command of the EVM-compatible Evmos protocol, which allows transactions between Ethereum and Cosmos, will restart the main network after a failed start. It is reported by CoinDesk.

The initial launch in early March ran into problems with the large number of integrations needed.

“The [token] distribution and launch was hampered by several user experience bugs. There were those who incorrectly followed the instructions to receive an application and their funds got stuck. This is our fault - we should have been better prepared to use [wallets],” explained Evmos founder Frederico Kunze Küllmer.

Next, the team was overtaken by new difficulties - IBC developers reported a bug in the code that did not allow creating liquidity pools on Osmosis.

While the bug was being worked on, the IBC team sent in additional information, and Kunze Küllmer recognized the vulnerability as security critical.

The developers created an update that required the participation of network validators, but its implementation was unsuccessful, causing the main network to hang.

After a few hours, the team and validators collectively decided to stop trying to restart.

“I think we underestimated the importance of testing all these tools. We are trying to create a unique user experience by porting Ethereum to Cosmos and vice versa. Because of this, we have too wide a scope - not only a blockchain with a lot of errors, but also solutions that are ready to handle both ecosystems at the same time, ”Kunze Küllmer believes.

Former director of Cosmos developer Tendermint Labs Zaki Manian is sure that Evmos has the possibility of a new functional launch. In his opinion, the first attempt was 95% successful.

The protocol team is working on code fixes. Another area of ​​focus was the creation of a guide to comprehensive updates to the Cosmos network, “so that no one else gets hurt by this again,” Kunze Küllmer added.

It remains unclear whether the community is actively discussing whether to restart from scratch or resume the history of the blockchain from block #58 700.

This is also influenced by the active over-the-counter market for EVMOS tokens - there are 45,000 coins in the network. The protocol team evaluates the legal obligations to their holders. According to Kunze Küllmer, there is a risk that current traders will end up with a worthless asset.

He and Manian are convinced that an EVM-compatible protocol is what the Cosmos ecosystem needs. Kunze Küllmer declined to give a possible timeline for the network's restart. The former head of Tendermint believes that this will happen in the coming days.




Cloud tech giants left the Russian Federation.
March 13, 2022

Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud have suspended the registration of new users from Russia.
Facebook banned Russians from posting ads on the social network.
Yandex has suspended testing of unmanned vehicles in the US.
The Italian regulator fined Clearview AI 20 million euros.
The US government has threatened Chinese companies with sanctions for supplying chips to Russia.

AWS and Google Cloud stopped registering users from Russia.
One of the largest cloud service providers Amazon Web Services (AWS) has blocked the ability to register new accounts from Russia and Belarus.

The company reported that AWS does not have data centers or offices in Russia. Also, the cloud service provider does not do business with the Russian government.

Google Cloud also stopped registering new users from Russia.

“We can confirm that we are not accepting new clients in Russia. We continue to closely monitor developments,” the company said.

Google emphasized that the policy does not apply to users from Belarus.


Facebook banned Russian users from running ads.
Meta has banned users from Russia from placing ads on their sites.

“Russian advertisers will no longer be able to create or run ads anywhere in the world, including Russia,” the company said.

On March 4, Roskomnadzor blocked access to Facebook in the Russian Federation. In response, the social network promised to make every effort to ensure mass access to its services.

Yandex has suspended testing of robotic vehicles in the US.
Yandex has suspended testing of unmanned vehicles in the United States.

The company has been testing robotic vehicles in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as well as six-wheeled sidewalk delivery robots on several US university campuses.

Yandex hopes to resume work as soon as possible in the future.

The United States threatened China with sanctions for supplying chips to Russia.
The US government will consider imposing sanctions against Chinese companies for supplying chips to Russia.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the United States could take "devastating" action against manufacturers who ignore a ban on chip exports to Russia. If sanctions are violated, the US will cut off such companies from the hardware and software needed to develop their products, she added.

The minister said that the administration of US President Joe Biden could "virtually shut down" Chinese enterprises like SMIC if they continue to supply chips and other technologies to Russia.
“Russia will seek other countries to circumvent our sanctions and export controls,” Raimondo said.

Italy fined Clearview AI 20 million euros.
Clearview AI has been fined 20 million euros by Italy's data privacy authority for violating EU law.

The company's database of 10 billion images includes the faces of Italians, according to the agency. The startup was also ordered to remove all available biometric information about citizens.

Apple introduced the M1 Ultra processor.
Apple has unveiled its flagship 5nm processor based on the ARM M1 Ultra architecture.
The novelty is equipped with 16 productive and 4 efficient cores, 64 graphics cores and a 32-core neurochip for processing artificial intelligence tasks.

The processor supports up to 128 GB of RAM with a bandwidth of up to 800 GB / s.

According to the company, the M1 Ultra is "more productive than a 16-core desktop processor", consuming 100 watts less power.

The novelty will appear in the Mac Studio computer, which was also presented at the spring conference.




The crypto community has donated more than $100 million to Ukraine. Fundraising continues.
March 13, 2022

The total amount of cryptocurrency donations to Ukrainian charitable foundations exceeded $100 million.

SlowMist estimates the total amount of donations to crypto-fund addresses at $78.5 million. The company takes into account donations in favor of the official wallets of the country, the Come Back Alive Foundation, Unchain.Fund, Ukraine.DAO, AidForUkraine and the Ukrainian Cyber ​​Police.

Bitcoin exchange Binance has allocated $10 million to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Its affiliate, Binance Charity, has raised $10.7 million out of a $20 million target. The funds came from 961 addresses.

Staking platform Everstake from the Solana ecosystem has raised $1.4 million in SOL tokens to support Ukraine. The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT project team has donated more than $1 million in Ethereum to the country.

The American bitcoin exchange Kraken will distribute more than $10 million among Ukrainian users.

Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine for IT Development Oleksandr Bornyakov emphasized that cryptocurrencies turned out to be “extremely useful” in terms of securing funding for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to him, donations in digital assets have already purchased 5,500 body armor, 500 helmets, 410,000 lunch bags and other non-lethal means.

Recall that on March 12, the Ukrainian developer of blockchain solutions ElephantsLab launched the Ukraine’s Angels charity platform and presented an NFT collection on the BNB Chain blockchain.




US stocks had the best day since June 2020.
March 10, 2022

After the world news on Wednesday reported that the President of Ukraine is ready to compromise with Russia, stock indices in the US showed the best session in almost 2 years. At the same time, WTI oil prices fell by as much as 15%, but still remain above $100 per barrel, writes Business Insider.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed higher for the first time in 4 trading sessions, marking the best session on Wall Street since June 2020. The sharp decline in oil prices helped whet investors' appetite for risk. Oil futures fell from the highs of 2008.

In an interview, Zelensky expressed that his “main goal in any negotiations is to end the conflict with Russia. I am also ready to take certain steps. Compromises can be reached, but they must not be a betrayal of my country."

After that, US stock indices went up: the S&P 500 hit 4,277.86 points, gaining 2.57%, the Dow Jones industrial index added 33,285.65 points, rising 2%, and the Nasdaq Composite hit 13,255.55 points, down 3.59%.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 12% to $108.96 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 13% to $111.14.

As inflationary pressures are a source of concern in the market, the S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector has lost about 21% since the beginning of the year, which is the worst result for the index. The energy sector gained about 36%, making it the most efficient sector.

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings downgraded Russia's credit rating for the second time in 7 days, and the Russian ruble fell after the Moscow Exchange reopened trading.

Bitcoin reached above $40 thousand. Gold futures fell by 2.2% and traded at $1998.10 per ounce. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 8 basis points to 1.936%.




Bumble, Macy's and Apple rise in premarket, while Stitch Fix falls.
March 10, 2022

Bumble (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:BMBL) stock rose 21% after the dating app operator said its 2022 revenue could rise by more than 23%, an optimistic forecast given the company's decision to leave its important Russian market.

Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:SFIX) stock fell 26% after online personal styling service offered disappointing third-quarter guidance and lowered its full-year outlook.

Macy's (NYSE:M) shares rose 3.1% after the department store chain decided to refinance existing debt at lower rates, proving cash is no problem for the company, which has bounced back in recent quarters.

Apple (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rose 2.1% a day after the tech giant held a "Peek Performance" event to announce the release of a new version of the iPhone SE with the latest mobile processor and 5G support.

Shares of JB Hunt (NASDAQ:JBHT) rose 3.7% after Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) upgraded its position on the transportation company from "a hold recommendation" to a "buy recommendation", saying the company, likely to pick up in the second half of the year as supply chain congestion eases.

Shares of Coinbase (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:COIN) surged 6.2% as the cryptocurrency exchange benefited from the Bitcoin surge. Bitcoin, the most valuable digital currency, has surged after a prematurely released statement from the US Treasury Department assuaged market fears of the country's sudden tightening of digital asset regulations.

Shares of Discovery (NASDAQ:DISCA) rose 2.2% after the entertainment giant announced it was suspending its channels and services in Russia.

Shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:PYPL) rose 1.9% on overall positive sentiment, despite Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) downgrading the online payments firm from 'Recommended Buy' to 'Recommended Hold' ”, saying that the company is in a “transition period” and investors should wait for the improvement in operating conditions.

Shares of Campbell Soup (NYSE:NYSE:CPB) rose 1.7% despite the company's quarterly revenue falling short of market expectations, suggesting that demand for its sauces and broths is slowing due to a surge driven by pandemic. However, he kept his annual forecast.




The European Parliament will vote for the regulation of cryptocurrencies without a possible ban on bitcoin.
March 8, 2022

The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (ECOM) will vote on the final version of the cryptocurrency regulation bill on March 14, 2022.

According to Stefan Berger, a speaker on the MiCA bill, wording that could be interpreted as a possible ban on bitcoin was excluded from it.

Further discussions regarding the energy-intensive Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm were moved by the parliamentarians to the framework of the EU's Taxonomy sustainability initiative, Berger said.

“With the help of MiCA, the European Union can set global standards, so we ask all participants to support the submitted project and vote “yes”. The strong support of MiCA will be a strong signal from the EU Parliament for the technologically neutral and innovative financial sector,” the MP said.

Berger noted that the proposed bill would create “legal certainty and robust oversight structures in the crypto asset space.”

ECOM had planned to consider the document on February 28, but the vote was delayed at Berger's request due to ambiguous wording.

“It is of utmost importance to me as a speaker that MiCA is not misinterpreted as a de facto ban on bitcoin,” the MP wrote at the time.

After the approval of ECOM, the discussion of MiCA will continue at the level of the Council of the EU and the European Commission.

Recall that in January, a proposal to ban the mining of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the EU on the Proof-of-Work algorithm was made by the leadership of one of the financial regulators.




Santiment: whales are accumulating USDT to buy bitcoin cheaply.
March 8, 2022

Santiment analysts found an increase in the number of coins on large USDT addresses.

According to their observations, over the past month, the total value of stablecoins at addresses with a balance of 10,000 USDT to 1 million USDT increased by $1.06 billion. This is 2.7% of the total supply of "stable coins" from Tether.

The company is convinced that major players are seeking to acquire digital gold at a lower price. By accumulating stablecoins against the backdrop of a falling bitcoin, the whales are “increasing their purchasing power.”

Analysts also saw a net outflow of BTC from centralized exchanges “for 21 out of 26 weeks.”

Among other things, experts noted an increase in the supply of Ethereum at “whale” addresses against the backdrop of a decrease in the price of the second cryptocurrency in terms of capitalization.

Addresses with balances between 1M ETH and 10M ETH currently hold 21.6% of the total Ether supply.

Earlier, Glassnode analysts noted the steadfastness of bitcoin hodlers amid the war in Ukraine.




Hillary Clinton criticized bitcoin exchanges for working with Russians.
March 7, 2022

Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is “disappointed” that some cryptocurrency exchanges still continue to serve Russian citizens. She stated this in an interview with MSNBC.

According to her, this is not the reaction she expected after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

“I was disappointed to see some of the so-called crypto exchanges refusing to complete transactions with Russia,” Clinton said.

She added that the economic activity of the Russian Federation must be isolated right now by any means.

Clinton also urged Western players to prevent Russia from using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions.

“The Ministry of Finance and the Europeans should think about how they can prevent the crypto markets from providing Russia with a loophole for both public and private transactions in the country and beyond,” she said.

Previously, several exchanges, including Coinbase, Binance and Kraken, have abandoned the ability to block all Russian users, saying there is no legal basis for doing so.

However, most of them have made it clear that they will comply with the sanctions if they are extended to individual citizens.

Recall that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the platforms Kuna, WhiteBIT and CEX.io. blocked Russian users.

Clients from Russia were also banned from access by the South Korean exchange Gopax.




Bitcoin mining difficulty drops for the first time since the beginning of the year.
March 7, 2022

As a result of the next recalculation, the difficulty of bitcoin mining decreased for the first time since November 2021. The indicator was 27.55 million (T).

In percentage terms, the reduction was similar to the previous one - 1.49%.

Over the approximately two-week period that separates the recalculations of the indicator, the average hash rate was about 197 EH / s against 200 EH / s in the previous time period. Then the complexity recorded a historical maximum of 29.97 T.

According to Glassnode, the 7-day smoothed moving average of Bitcoin network computing power peaked at 214.7 EH/s on Feb. 17, then turned lower.

In 2021, the hash rate began to fall in May amid problems with the power supply of miners in Sichuan. The contraction continued with the exodus of industry players from China due to the ban. Complexity correlated with processing power was also reduced. According to the results of one of the recalculations in July, the fall was a record 27.94%.

Both indicators began to recover only closer to August. At the same time, the US became the leader in terms of the share in the bitcoin hashrate for the first time.

Recall that in February, the income of miners of the first cryptocurrency decreased by 13% compared to the previous month, barely exceeding $1 billion.




Bill Miller called the collapse of the Russian ruble a “bullish signal” for bitcoin.
March 7, 2022

The sanctions imposed by the world community against Russia can cause a rapid increase in the price of bitcoin. This was stated in an interview with CNBC by the legendary billionaire investor and founder of Miller Value Partners Bill Miller.

"They have almost 50% of their reserves in currencies that are controlled by people who want to do them harm…they have 22% in gold that is the only part of their reserve that other countries can't control," says Bill Miller on Russia. "It's very bullish for #bitcoin."

“Russia keeps 16% of the reserves, which are estimated at $640 billion, in dollars, 32% in euros. The country holds almost 50% of its reserves in currencies controlled by people who want to harm it. From the point of view of Russia, this is not the best position,” Miller said.

The billionaire called the current geopolitical situation “unique” and stressed that this is a “extremely bullish signal” for bitcoin. He explained that the Russian government may try to use digital gold as a reserve currency.

Earlier, a lawyer specializing in the digital asset market, Jack Chervinsky, explained why cryptocurrencies will not help Russia bypass US sanctions.

Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has fallen in price by 4%, according to CoinGecko. At the time of writing, the asset is trading near $42,550.

Recall that the administration of US President Joe Biden called on cryptocurrency exchanges to prevent Russia from circumventing sanctions, according to Bloomberg.




Users of the Russian Federation are advised to withdraw cryptocurrency to their own wallets in the face of possible sanctions from exchanges.
March 3, 2022

The decree of the President of the Russian Federation, which imposes a number of restrictions on the movement of capital abroad, does not directly prohibit cross-border transactions with cryptocurrency, but many crypto exchanges freeze the accounts of Russians, so that it is safer for users to quickly withdraw their assets to their own wallets, says Polina Bardina, head of the Pepeliaev Group digital group ".
"The Decree does not prohibit residents from carrying out cross-border operations with cryptocurrencies, including using crypto exchanges. In other words, it is possible to transfer cryptocurrencies to foreign crypto wallets. However, if residents had the opportunity to withdraw funds in foreign currency through a crypto exchange to a foreign bank account, now such operations are prohibited," the expert explained to Interfax.

At the same time, a representative of Pepeliaev Group noted that crypto exchanges are under pressure from international regulators and authorities of foreign states.

"Already now, some crypto exchanges have suspended servicing accounts of Russian users (BTC-Alpha, CEX IO). The main risk of using crypto exchanges is the possibility of blocking an account and losing money and cryptocurrency. In the current situation, Russian users are advised to quickly withdraw their assets to their own wallets," - she said.

"The use of crypto exchanges entails the risk of freezing the funds of residents of the Russian Federation," agrees Dmitry Paramonov, senior tax lawyer at Bryan Cave Leighton a Paisner Russia

"There are suggestions that in the current environment, the Russian authorities may be much more loyal to cryptocurrency, which allows finding money routes outside of sanctions. For example, some counter-sanctions directly restrict electronic money, but they are silent about cryptocurrency. On the contrary, foreign regulators can attention to cryptocurrency platforms, especially in those countries where they form part of the regulated financial market," says Roman Suslov, head of banking and financial law at KIAP. According to him, the main risks may depend on how exactly the cryptocurrency will be used: only as a mechanism for withdrawing funds or as a means of further storage, investment, savings. "In addition to the volatility of cryptocurrencies, which is inevitably caused by political instability, when trying to legalize funds received from the sale of cryptocurrencies abroad, foreign financial organizations may have questions about the source of their origin and compliance with sanctions regimes," Suslov said.

Cryptocurrency can be stored both on custodial wallets (exchanges, trading platforms, digital services) and non-custodial wallets (hardware, mobile, paper wallets). In the first case, if we take the traditional banking system, this is an analogue of keeping funds in banks - access to funds, in case of loss of the key, can be restored. In the second, it is an analogue of cash storage of funds and you need to remember the private key.

According to Forklog, the most popular non-custodial wallets are Abra, MyEtherWallet, Electrum, MyCrypto, Wirex, Button Wallet, Exodus, ZenGo, Paytomat, Bitcoin.com, BRD, Blockchain, BTC.com, Electron Cash, Copay, Jaxx, Coinomi, Atomic Wallet, Guarda, Wasabi Wallet, Edge.




Bitcoin miners' income fell by 13% in February.
March 2, 2022

In February 2022, Bitcoin miners earned 13% less than the previous month. Consolidated income was $1.06 billion.


Data: ForkLog.
The share of commissions in revenues was only 1.24% - $12.9 million.

The income of the miners of the first cryptocurrency has been declining for the fourth month in a row after reaching the mark of $1.72 billion in October 2021. Then the figure came close to the maximum recorded in March of $1.74 billion.

A similar trend is demonstrated by the revenue of Ethereum miners, which began to fall after November. Then it amounted to $3.6 billion, and by February it dropped to $1.8 billion. The reduction compared to the previous month was about 35%.

Commissions traditionally make up a significant share of the income of miners of the second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization, but in February it fell to 66%, the lowest value since September last year.

Miners' incomes are declining amid the growth of network performance: the Bitcoin hashrate in February recorded a new high, as did the mining difficulty.

What is hashrate and difficulty of cryptocurrency mining?

Ethereum computing power has also reached record levels. According to Glassnode, on February 18, the smoothed 7-day moving average was 960.4 TH/s.




Euro tests support level, crisis in Ukraine threatens economic growth.
March 2, 2022

The euro came under pressure on Wednesday as increased Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities and rising oil prices increased fears that Europe's economy would be hit.

The single currency briefly fell below the support level, hitting a 21-month low of $1.1090 the day before, but then recovered slightly. By 10:25 Moscow time, the euro was down 0.33% to $1.1089​.

"The risk lies in a sustained move below $1.1106 if market participants dampen the eurozone's economic outlook," said Kim Mundy, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA).

The pound fell 0.36% to $1.3273.

Commodity currencies, such as the Australian dollar, continued to hold their positions, as they were supported by rising prices for oil, gas, coal and grain. [MKTS/GLOB]

The Aussie held at $0.7249.

Against the euro, the Australian currency rose 0.24% to 1.5299.

The Kiwi was stable around $0.6756.

"High commodity prices, coupled with Australia's significantly improved current account position, suggest that there is good reason to expect the AUD/USD pair to relinquish its traditional role as a high-risk G10 currency," the strategist said. Jane Foley's Rabobank, who expects the currency to rise to $0.74 by the end of 2022.

On the other hand, high energy prices are holding back the safe Japanese yen despite geopolitical turmoil as Japan imports most of its energy. The yen fell 0.22% against the dollar to 115.14 yen.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies rose 0.26% to 97.661.

The offshore yuan was stagnant at 6.3155.

Bitcoin fell 1.57% to $43,728.63.




CME to Launch Options on Microfutures Based on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
March 2, 2022

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will launch option contracts, the underlying assets of which will be microfutures on Bitcoin and Ethereum. Trading in instruments will start on March 28, 2022 after approval by regulators.

“Option contracts will allow traders to effectively hedge market events with greater accuracy and flexibility, giving traders of all sizes the opportunity to access digital assets,” the exchange said in a statement.

CME launched Micro Bitcoin (MBT) in May, Micro Ethereum (MET) in December 2021. In both cases, the contract represents a tenth of the underlying asset and is settlement.

According to the press release, during the circulation of instruments on the market, their total trading volume exceeded 5.2 million contracts.

Unlike futures, an option gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price within the contract period.

Recall that in December 2021, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association began developing global standards for derivative financial instruments related to digital assets.




Cryptocurrencies are growing amid the imposition of sanctions against the financial system of Russia.
March 2, 2022

Prices for cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, are rising on Tuesday, supported by the introduction of new sanctions against Russia, limiting the work of the country's financial institutions.
By 16:30 Moscow time, the price of bitcoin rose by 7.26% compared to the closing level of previous trading, to $44,675 thousand.

Ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency, rises in price by 6.58% to $3,007 thousand.

On Monday, Bitcoin jumped in price by more than 15%. On this day, the US Treasury announced the imposition of sanctions against the Russian Central Bank, as well as the freezing of some Russian assets. European countries have taken similar measures.

The isolation of the Russian financial system may lead to the fact that cryptocurrencies will finally stop being traded in the same dynamics with other risky assets, as it has been for the last time, writes Barron's agency.

“There are many positive things in this whole situation (for the cryptocurrency market). In Turkey, many have avoided financial devastation by investing in decentralized currencies such as bitcoin. You can see the same trend in the context of the crisis in Ukraine and Russia,” said the managing director of Strategic Funds Mark Lopresti.

Meanwhile, the administration of US President Joe Biden fears that cryptocurrencies can be used to circumvent the imposed sanctions. Bloomberg, citing informed sources, said US officials are asking crypto exchanges to monitor transactions carried out by Russian individuals to circumvent sanctions.

Some crypto exchanges have already made official statements in this regard.

“Despite my deep respect for the Ukrainian people, Kraken cannot freeze the accounts of our Russian clients without a legal requirement, but the Russians should be aware that such a requirement may be inevitable,” wrote Jesse Powell, head of Kraken, one of the world’s top 5 cryptocurrencies. exchanges by daily trading volume, in his Twitter account on Monday.

"Freezing access to digital assets of citizens across the country does not penalize those who are actually responsible," a Kraken spokesperson told Barron's.

Another crypto exchange, Binance, has stated that it is not going to freeze the accounts of Russian users, as this is contrary to the concept of the cryptocurrency industry.

“We are not going to unilaterally freeze millions of accounts of innocent users. Cryptocurrencies are designed to provide greater financial freedom to people around the world. The decision to unilaterally ban people from accessing their cryptocurrencies would be contrary to what this industry exists for,” said a representative of the exchange.




The number of bitcoin whales has grown amid the imposition of sanctions against Russia.
March 2, 2022

On Monday, Feb. 28, the number of bitcoin addresses with balances over 1,000 BTC (~$43.63 million) increased by more than 6%, reaching 2,226. The figure has not reached this level since March 2021, according to data from Glassnode.

According to Coin Metrics, the total amount of funds at such addresses began to grow at the end of January 2022. Last month, the value updated an all-time high above 8.1 million BTC. At the same time, on February 28, there was a slight drop in the indicator (-0.34%) to 8.06 million BTC.

The number of bitcoin addresses with a balance of more than 100 BTC on February 28 also increased, although not as noticeably. During the day, the indicator increased by 1.3%, to 15,929.

The volume of funds under management of these wallets similarly began to grow at the end of January. In February, the indicator updated its historical maximum, coming close to the mark of 12 million BTC.

The head of Cake DeFi, Julian Hosp, suggested that the situation may indicate a sudden interest in cryptocurrency from a group of wealthy individuals.

"Wow! About 150 new bitcoin addresses with a balance of more than 1000 BTC. This may indicate some rebalancing of exchanges or custodial services (not an event), or it may indicate that a group of moneybags has suddenly become interested in cryptocurrency (big event!),” he wrote.

According to Glassnode CTO Rafael Schulze-Kraft, the increase in the number of wallets holding more than 1,000 BTC is the result of tokenized bitcoin custodians moving reserves to a group of newly created addresses.

Glassnode analysts also called the “most likely” scenario that shuffling on the internal wallets of cryptocurrency exchanges is behind the increase in the number of addresses with a balance of more than 100 BTC.

However, some users have suggested that the rapid growth in the number of bitcoin whales is associated with the attempts of the Russian elites to withdraw their assets in circumvention of the sanctions.

Earlier, the US, EU, UK and Canada announced their readiness to disconnect some Russian banks from SWIFT, and also limited the ability of the Bank of Russia to conduct operations to support the ruble. The purpose of the measures is to isolate the Russian Federation from the international financial systems.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on retaliatory sanctions, limiting the withdrawal of foreign currency from March 1.

Recall that the administration of US President Joe Biden asked cryptocurrency exchanges to help prevent the use of digital currencies to circumvent sanctions by Russian individuals and organizations, according to Bloomberg.




Dollar up, Swiss franc at 7-year high.
March 2, 2022

The dollar rose on Tuesday and the Swiss franc hit a seven-year high as investors flocked to safe-haven currencies in anticipation of developments in Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to continue negotiations, having found "some points" for rapprochement of positions, the agencies reported, citing participants in the first round of talks held in Belarus.

Mizuho's Neil Jones said investors are watching the ruble and using it to determine the direction of other currencies.

"The ruble is the barometer that the rest of the currency market is now following," Jones said.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies rose by 0.34% to 97.039 by 16:13 Moscow time.

The Japanese yen rose 0.18% against the dollar to 114.78 yen.

The Swiss franc rose 0.38% to hit 1.0244 against the euro.

The euro fell 0.52% to $1.1161.

The risk-sensitive Aussie edged up 0.03% to $0.7264.

The New Zealand dollar rose 0.16% to $0.677.

Bitcoin rose 3.61% to $44,703.15.

Currency volatility was the highest since the end of 2020, the Deutsche Bank Index (DE:DBKGn) showed.

"The focus today will be whether sanctions/retaliatory measures will begin to affect commodity flows out of Russia, and whether (the Russian central bank) will take additional measures to support the ruble," ING FX analysts said in a note to clients.

Among the G10 currencies, they said, the Swedish krona, the euro and the British pound could suffer the most if sanctions affect the flow of Russian gas to Europe, while the Norwegian krone could continue to benefit from high gas prices.

Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostic said Monday he doesn't rule out a half-point Fed rate hike, though he prefers a quarter-point hike.




Bitcoin rises above $43,000, market capitalization returns to $2 trillion.
March 2, 2022

Bitcoin quotes continued to grow and returned to levels above $43,000. At the moment, the price exceeded $44,000.

Market capitalization has reached $1.99 trillion, having added over 11% in the last 24 hours (CoinGecko). The flagship trend was supported by all the top ten cryptocurrencies, said Nansen CEO Alex Svanevik: “For the first time, the top 10 is starting to make sense for me.”

The Luna token of the Terra project became the leader of growth over the day - the coin has risen in price by more than 23%.

Avalanche (AVAX) is up 18.3% in 24 hours.

Over the week, of the largest cryptocurrencies by capitalization, only Ripple (XRP) did not show double-digit growth in percentage terms. The price of Luna added more than 75%.

As a result, Bitcoin closed the month up 12.2% after falling 16.7% in January.

Recall that the founder and CEO of the BTC.TOP pool, Jiang Zhuer, called the disconnection of Russian banks from SWIFT and other financial sanctions against the Russian Federation a positive factor for the cryptocurrency market.




The dollar jumped, the euro falls after the expansion of Western sanctions against Russia, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
February 28, 2022

The dollar surged against most rivals on Monday after Western countries announced new sanctions to punish Russia for invading Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin put the country's nuclear forces on high alert, adding to market jitters.

Euro by 09:07 Moscow time fell by 0.96% to $1.1159.

The single currency also dropped 1% against the yen and the Swiss franc.

The dollar won the most against the backdrop of hostilities in Ukraine. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies rose 0.67% to 97.263.

The Japanese yen held at 115.53 per dollar.

"In the near term, we believe the dollar is at risk of climbing above the 97.47 resistance level," said Carol Kong of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA).

She said the scale of the dollar's rise would depend on a further spike in volatility, the volume of the sell-off in global equities and the assessment of central bank tightening programs.

According to Kong, high energy prices are holding back the yen as Japan meets the bulk of its energy needs through imports.

Markets are now pricing a 95% chance of a 25 basis point rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve at its March meeting, according to the CME Fedwatch tool, with Russian troops invading Ukraine putting an end to speculation that the Fed will raise rates by 50 basis points.

Investors also believe that the war will deter the European Central Bank from making any drastic steps towards tightening in the near term.




Kimbal Musk: Tesla didn't know anything about bitcoin's impact on the environment.
February 26, 2022

Tesla board member Kimbal Musk, brother of company founder Elon Musk, told TechCrunch in an interview that they had no idea about its environmental impact when they made the decision to buy Bitcoin for $1.5 billion.

Speaking on stage at the Ethereum conference in Denver, the entrepreneur emphasized: “We were very ignorant when we invested in bitcoin. We had no idea about the impact on the environment, it seemed to us a good store of value and a way to diversify assets. And it certainly didn't take long to get a million - I'm not kidding, probably no less - messages about what we're doing to the environment."

According to him, the company did not consider it “necessary to regret” about investing in cryptocurrency. He himself expressed the hope that, in a broad sense, the blockchain industry will move towards a more environmentally friendly infrastructure.

Kimbal Musk noted that his charitable organization Big Green has transitioned to a DAO governance model using a less energy-intensive network than Bitcoin.

“I don’t really agree with the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies, but I love what it does,” he said.

After investing in digital gold, Tesla began accepting digital gold as payment for electric cars in March 2021. However, less than two months later she abandoned the decision, citing concerns about the environmental friendliness of mining.

Already in June, Elon Musk called the transition of at least half of bitcoin miners to renewable energy a condition for the renewal of the option.

Recall that in January 2022, Tesla began selling certain goods for the Dogecoin meme-cryptocurrency. Prior to this, the company did not rule out the resumption of accepting payments in bitcoin.



Termination of FlexPool service for miners from Russia: crypto market news.
February 26, 2022

The ex-head and co-founder of BitMEX pleaded guilty to one count, and OpenSea warned of a temporary shutdown of a number of functions - these and other important news of the cryptocurrency market in our daily review.

FlexPool, one of the largest Ethereum mining pools, announced the termination of service for Russian IP addresses due to the deployment of troops to Ukraine.

NFT marketplace OpenSea warned that some features may not be available at the final stage of migration to a new smart contract.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, Block (formerly Square (NYSE:SQ)) generated $1.96 billion in BTC sales through the Cash App, generating a gross profit of $46 million.

MTC stock exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) plunged 5.8% in the post-trade session following the release of its fourth quarter 2021 financial results.

Arthur Hayes and Ben Delo, founders of cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX, pleaded guilty to one count of violating U.S. law.




Euro tries to bounce back after falling due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine
February 25, 2022

The euro is making attempts to recover on Friday after falling the day before, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine hit the European single currency and forced investors to flee to the safe haven of the dollar, yen and Swiss franc.

The euro rose by 0.25% to $1.1219 by 09:07 Moscow time. It reached its lowest level since May 2020 at $1.1106 on Thursday, falling from $1.13045 where it closed on Wednesday.

The pound sterling rose 0.4% to $1.3428. The Aussie gained 0.46% to $0.7195.

The Japanese yen rose 0.28% against the dollar to 115.2 yen. The Swiss franc added 0.31% to $0.923.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies fell 0.32% to 96.831, having previously risen to 97.740, the highest since June 2020.

Russian troops attacked Ukraine by land, sea and air early on Thursday, confirming the West's worst fears.

The United States responded by imposing sanctions against the Russian Federation, affecting, among other things, large banks and state corporations.

"The biggest impacts are naturally in Russia and Ukraine... but there are impacts on the Asia-Pacific debt and FX markets as well," MarketAxess' Riad Chowdhury said.

According to him, there is "a flight to quality both in global assets (leaving for the dollar and the yen) and in emerging markets."

Traders are also trying to assess the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on monetary policy.

Several European Central Bank officials, even those sometimes described as hawks, said the situation in Ukraine could force the ECB to slow down its easing of stimulus measures.

Investors and some US officials say the war is likely to slow, but not stop, the approaching rise in interest rates.

Bitcoin is up 0.15% to $38,420.7, Ethereum is flat at $2,599.92




Tether Turns Switzerland's Lugano Into Europe's Bitcoin Capital
February 24, 2022

The Tether company and the authorities of the ninth most populous city in Switzerland, Lugano, announced the transformation of the latter into the European capital of bitcoin.

On March 3, Lugano Mayor Michele Foletti and Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino will reveal the details live.

The initiative is being promoted as a "Plan B" for Lugano. It is designed to revolutionize the financial sector of the city, known for its blockchain-friendly approach.

After the launch of the MyLugano app and the LVGA Points citizen payment token in late 2020, the development of the enterprise-oriented blockchain 3achain followed. In November 2021, the digital innovation lab Lugano Living Lab held an exhibition dedicated to NFT.

A day after the announcement of the event, Foletti on Twitter, in response to criticism of Bitcoin, explained that the municipality is promoting 3achain as “a more sustainable, public and open to all blockchain with limited costs.”

This could be puzzling given the reference to bitcoin in the upcoming event.

The 3achain project website says: “There is a trend to associate blockchain technology with digital currencies such as bitcoin, and more generally with the world of finance. In fact, it is used for a wide range of tasks such as traceability of the manufacturing process, certification of ownership, authenticity of a specific document, product, or acquired right. Right down to secure online voting and digital identity management.”

The blockchain promoted by the Lugano authorities uses the Proof-of-Authority consensus algorithm.

3achain is based on Quorum. In 2017, the platform built on the basis of Ethereum was developed by JPMorgan, in 2020 it was bought out by ConsenSys.

Recall that in November 2021, the President of El Salvador, Naibe Bukele, announced the construction of Bitcoin City (Bitcoin City). It is expected that it will become a full-fledged metropolis with residential and business districts and the necessary infrastructure. The city is recognized as a special economic zone in which taxes are not levied on income, property, capital gains and wages.


Bitcoin's S&P 500 correlation rises amid geopolitical tensions.
February 23, 2022

The aggravation of geopolitical tensions has led to an increase in the correlation between the first cryptocurrency and the US stock index S&P 500. This is stated in an analytical report by Arcane Research.

According to the researchers, the 90-day correlation between BTC and the “barometer of the American economy” reached the highest level since October 2020. The statistical relationship between bitcoin and gold, on the contrary, has become negative.

“Gold acts as a low-risk asset during this period of significant geopolitical uncertainty,” the experts shared their opinion.

Arcane Research also noted the return of the cryptocurrency “fear and greed index” to the levels around 20, which indicate the prevalence of panic among market participants.

Spot trading volume for bitcoin on decentralized exchanges fell to the levels of early December 2020.

In the context of technical analysis, experts noted that bitcoin “found” support at $36,500, which was also relevant in February. If this level does not hold, the price will drop to $34,000.

However, analysts are confident that the most important support range is $28,000-$30,000. It represents the “summer 2021 bear market bottom.”

Experts named $40,000 as an important resistance level.

Against the backdrop of deteriorating market sentiment, the total capitalization of stablecoins continues to grow, approaching the milestone of $200 billion.

Tether (USDT) still leads the segment with a market share of 44%. It is followed by USDC (29%) and BUSD (20%).

Recall that Glassnode analysts pointed to the risks of a continued fall in the price of bitcoin amid expectations of an increase in the Fed's key rate and geopolitical tensions.


El Salvador linked tourism boom to bitcoin legalization.
February 23, 2022

Since the adoption of bitcoin as a means of payment, the tourist flow to the country has increased by 30%, said Tourism Minister Morena Valdes.
The law on the legalization of the first cryptocurrency came into force on September 7, 2021.

“We conducted a survey to check the activity before and after [accepting] bitcoin. The tourism sector grew in November and December by more than 30%,” said Valdes.

The recovery in the segment has exceeded expectations, she said, as the country welcomed 1.4 million visitors, compared to the forecast of 1.1 million.

The introduction of cryptocurrency has had an impact on the structure of the tourist flow. If earlier the bulk of tourists were from neighboring Central American countries, now up to 60% come from the United States, the minister noted.

She also drew attention to the growth in tourism revenues: "We planned $0.8 billion in foreign currencies, but received $1.4 billion."

Earlier, President Nayib Bukele announced that El Salvador's GDP growth in 2021 was 10.3%.

The main driver was exports, which increased by 13%.

Recall that the decision of the country's authorities to legalize cryptocurrency has been repeatedly criticized by the International Monetary Fund. In January, the organization recommended that El Salvador deprive bitcoin of the status of legal tender.

Back in August 2021, Moody's downgraded El Salvador's long-term foreign currency credit rating to Caa1 with a negative outlook. In early 2022, the firm’s experts noted that the government’s purchases of bitcoin are putting further pressure on the level of credit confidence in the country.

However, El Salvador has not abandoned plans to issue $1 billion worth of Bitcoin bonds in partnership with Blockstream and iFinex. The issue of debt securities is expected to take place in March.


Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fall due to growing tensions on the Ukrainian border.
February 22, 2022

The price of bitcoin today updated at least two weeks, other cryptocurrencies are also getting cheaper due to the escalation of tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
The bitcoin quotation as of 12:54 Moscow time was $37.192 thousand. During the trading, the price of the digital currency fell to the lowest in more than two weeks $36.370 thousand.

Ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency in the world, is depreciating by 1.4% to $2,548 thousand, approaching a minimum since the end of January.

Analysts attribute the decline in cryptocurrency rates to the growing tension between Russia and Ukraine. The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) and instructed the Russian armed forces to carry out peacekeeping functions in the self-proclaimed republics.

Such actions of Russia were sharply negatively perceived by world markets, which fear a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, writes CNBC.

Previously, cryptocurrencies had a reputation as a defensive asset, akin to gold. However, their dynamics during recent crises indicate that cryptocurrencies show a much greater correlation with equity markets.

Meanwhile, Du Jun, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Huobi, noted that the start of a new bullish trend in bitcoin should not be expected until 2024 or early 2025.



Glassnode analysts pointed to the risks of a continued fall in the price of bitcoin.
February 22, 2022

Expectations of a key rate hike by the Fed and geopolitical tensions fuel the pessimism of bitcoin investors and increase the likelihood of sales of "unprofitable" coins. These are the conclusions made by Glassnode analysts.

The bearish trend is confirmed by on-chain indicators: the number of active bitcoin addresses has dropped to the lower boundary of the corridor. This indicates a decrease in demand for the asset. The growing nature of this range characterizes the increase in the share of hodlers since 2018.

The share of bitcoin investors in profit fluctuates between 65.78% and 76.7%. About 10.9% of the issued coins were purchased by market participants at prices ranging from $33,500 to $44,600. If the price recovers, seller pressure may increase, Glassnode stressed.

The bigger picture suggests that the unrealized loss is borne by the holders of 4.7 million BTC. 54.5% or 2.56 million BTC are held by short-term investors (coin holding period is less than 155 days).

The average acquisition cost of bitcoin by short-term investors is $47,200. At ~$37,000 at the time of writing, their unrealized loss reached 21.6%.

The first metric is above the Liveliness price of $38,600, which reflects the fair price of hodlers. The bearish phases of 2013-2014 and 2018 ended when these moving averages recrossed. In other words, there is a possibility of further price reduction, experts explained.

To reduce the risks of a continuation of the downtrend, the price needs to approach the range of $42,000-$50,000. The majority of coins held by speculators are concentrated in this corridor. For now, they represent a source of selling pressure in the absence of an equivalent increase in demand, analysts warned.

Recall that the co-founder of Huobi predicted a bear market for bitcoin until the end of 2024.




The creator of Ruby on Rails called criticism of bitcoin a mistake.
February 22, 2022

The creator of the Ruby on Rails web framework, David Heinemeier Hansson, called his negative position on bitcoin amid the situation with protests in Canada erroneous.

“I still can’t believe this is a protest that will prove that every bitcoin weirdo is a prophet. And I had to admit I was wrong about the fundamental need for cryptocurrencies in Western democracies,” wrote the Danish programmer.

Since the end of January, actions against anti-COVID restrictions initiated by truckers have been taking place in Canada. On February 15, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergency Act of 1988, which gives the government sweeping enforcement powers and allows banks to freeze the personal accounts of anyone associated with or supporting demonstrations without a court order.

Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the aforementioned law covers “crowdfunding platforms and payment service providers, […] all forms of transactions, including digital assets such as cryptocurrencies.”

In the blog, Hansson recalled that since the beginning of 2010, he was skeptical about bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. According to him, the main arguments against were "energy consumption during mining, transaction fees, lack of real decentralization, alleged fraud using the stablecoin Tether (USDT)" and others.

“Now it’s clear to me that I rushed to completely abandon cryptocurrency because of everything that is wrong with it at the moment. Instead of appreciating the fundamental freedom of transactions, which we can best protect now, ”the programmer emphasized.

Cryptocurrency podcast host Neil Jacobs retweeted Hansson's post and remarked that there were "tons of lies" in the bitcoin article.

“But still [it] shows that the situation in Canada will accelerate the adoption of bitcoin,” he admitted.

On February 15, Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony Pompliano also noted that “authoritarian power is the marketing team” of the first cryptocurrency.

A similar opinion was expressed by the founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin. According to him, the measures of the Canadian authorities clearly illustrate why cryptocurrencies exist. However, he did not justify the actions of the protesters.

Recall that the heads of Kraken and Binance admitted the possibility of blocking assets at the request of law enforcement officers without a court decision. Jess Powell and Changpeng Zhao recommended the use of non-custodial wallets and decentralized platforms.


The trader called the conditions for the rise in the price of bitcoin.
February 22, 2022

Vadim Shovkun, a practicing trader and founder of the Crypto Shaman project, talks about the current situation on the market.

The aggravated geopolitical situation has led to a decline in the stock and cryptocurrency markets. Now it is rather difficult to indicate where the price will move with 100% probability, but some signals can be considered.

The entire decline, starting at $44,000, is clamped in a falling wedge. The price almost approached the PoC of the two-week trade in January. On February 21, a fairly large volume was poured in to buy, comparable to the volume on February 10. If the latter can be characterized as sales (due to absorption), then today's - as purchases at the moment.

Bearish moments should also be noted. The S&P 500 index has absorbed the entire rebound in recent weeks. The Bitcoin weekly timeframe has two bearish candles in a row with pinbars on top. Impulse growth since the beginning of February is completely absorbed and the monthly timeframe has a long shadow on top at the moment.

As long as the price is above $37,000, the expectations are long. To form a full-fledged growth, a flat trend is needed for a couple of days in the $38,000-$39,000 area, as well as the appearance of buyers on the S&P 500 index.

In this case, you also need to keep an eye on the geopolitical situation — for a full-fledged growth, the situation must reach a certain plateau so that the injection does not continue for at least a few days.

Fixing below $37,000 (PoC) will force us to reconsider the situation in favor of updating the low at $33,000.


Bulgarian Stock Exchange Lists ETN Based on Bitcoin and Ethereum
February 22, 2022

The Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) has added eight ETNs based on Bitcoin and Ethereum to the list of traded instruments. Money.bg writes about it.

The press release states that the BSE has followed the lead of European exchanges. The initiative is being implemented jointly with Deutsche Börse and market maker Tradegate.

ETN is compliant and will allow customers to invest in cryptocurrencies without the need to create and store keys. The instruments are denominated in euro. Trades are held during the regular session on the BSE.

“We are responding to the increased market interest in crypto-instruments,” explained the head of the exchange, Manyu Moravenov.

According to the publication, Finance Minister Assen Vassilev said earlier that the country is exploring options for introducing a crypto payment mechanism “in the short and medium term.” The issue is being discussed with the Central Bank of the country and representatives of the industry.


Nassim Taleb: bitcoin will not save investors from inflation and falling markets.
February 22, 2022

Philosopher and author of the cult work "The Black Swan" Nassim Taleb criticized the first cryptocurrency and called it "the perfect game for losers" in an environment of low interest rates.

The bitcoin critic also used the Latin idiom "Hannibal ante portas", meaning imminent serious danger and corresponding to the phrase "Enemy at the gates".

“Bitcoin does not insure against inflation, falling oil prices and stocks. And of course, bitcoin does not hedge against geopolitical events - in fact, quite the opposite, ”Taleb wrote.

On February 21, the price of bitcoin broke through the $38,000 level. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency market capitalization has fallen below $1.8 trillion, according to CoinGecko.

In May 2021, Taleb compared digital gold to a Ponzi scheme. In June, he criticized bitcoin and quarreled with members of the crypto community.

Recall that in February 2022, the co-founder of the Huobi exchange, Du Jun, predicted a bear market for the asset until the end of 2024.



Intel Showcases Bitcoin ASIC Miner Based on Bonanza Mine Chip.
February 22, 2022

Intel demonstrated a specialized chip (ASIC) for bitcoin mining Bonanza Mine and a device based on it during the international conference ISSCC. This is reported by WikiChip Fuse.

The Bonanza Mine System setup contains 300 chips on four boards and can provide a hash rate of 40 TH / s with a power consumption of 3600 watts. An Intel representative noted that the system is capable of reaching even higher speeds.

During the presentation, the company compared its miner with Bitfury Clarke and Canaan Avalon A9 devices. With a hash rate of 47.7 EH/s, the Intel system achieves an energy efficiency of 55 J/TH. Bitfury Clarke has 40 EH/s and 56 J/TH, while Canaan has 30 EH/s and 58 J/TH.

Notably, the liquid-cooled Antminer S19 Pro+ Hyd, introduced in January, Bitmain’s new flagship Antminer S19 Pro+ Hyd has an energy efficiency rating of 27.5 J/TH. MicroBT’s WhatsMiner M31S+ bitcoin miner, which entered the market in 2020, has a figure of 42 J/TH.

Intel's presentation was purely technical. The company did not disclose prices for products and the timing of the start of sales.

In early February, Intel Senior Vice President of Architecture, Graphics and Software (IAGS) Raja Koduri announced that Bonanza Mine would be released in late 2022. Companies such as Jack Dorsey's Block (formerly Square), Argo Blockchain and GRIID Infrastructure are on the product waiting list, he said.

Recall that Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger criticized bitcoin mining for its negative impact on the environment.

The company has scheduled a presentation at the ISSCC conference of a “high-performance” chip for cryptocurrency mining in January.



Chinese Customs Detain 49 Smuggling Bitcoin Miners.
February 21, 2022

Huangpu Customs (Guangdong Province, China) announced the detention of 49 used bitcoin miners. They tried to transport them across the border, indicating false information in export documents, local media reported.

The discrepancy was revealed during the inspection of goods declared as “shoe materials”. Upon a detailed inspection, customs officers found 49 ASIC miners, some of which had traces of rust.

Devices must be disposed of according to local regulations.

In April 2021, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department detained a fishing schooner carrying Nvidia CMP HX mining graphics cards.

Recall that in February 2022, inspectors of the St. Petersburg customs detained an ASIC miner that was heading from China to a resident of Veliky Novgorod without an import permit.



Bitcoin failed the level of $40,000, and Ukraine adopted the law "On virtual assets"
February 21, 2022

The price of bitcoin fell below $40,000, the law “On virtual assets” was adopted in Ukraine, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation clarified the limits for the purchase of cryptocurrencies and described the preliminary scheme for their taxation, as well as other events of the outgoing week. Bitcoin failed the level of $40,000

On Friday, February 18, the quotes of the first cryptocurrency fell below $40,000. Edward Moya, a senior analyst at OANDA brokerage, cited “short-term geopolitical risks and potential overly aggressive tightening of monetary policy” by the Fed as the reasons for the fall.

Despite a protracted correction, as a result of the next recalculation, the complexity of bitcoin mining increased by 4.78% and reached a new all-time high at around 26.97 trillion hashes.

At the time of writing, digital gold is trading near $38,400. Hourly BTC/USDT chart on the Binance exchange. Data: Trading View.

Traditionally, the flagship pulled the rest of the market with it. All digital assets from the top 10 by market capitalization closed the week in the red. Data: CoinGecko.

According to the CoinCodex service, the token of the decentralized autonomous organization API3 has risen in price most of all among digital assets with a moderate capitalization over the week. Its price increased by 54.68%.

The MobileCoin cryptocurrency has fallen in price more than others. The MOB price dropped by 44%. Data: CoinCodex.

The total capitalization of the cryptocurrency market amounted to $1.83 trillion. The Bitcoin Dominance Index dropped to 39.88%. Media: the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has prepared bills to ban bitcoin and fines up to 1 million rubles.

The Bank of Russia has prepared bills to ban the issuance and organization of the circulation of "private digital currencies" in the country, media reported.

The regulator proposed to fine individuals in the amount of 300,000 to 500,000 rubles for organizing the issue or circulation of cryptocurrencies, legal entities up to 1 million rubles. For accepting payments - up to 50,000 rubles and up to 1 million rubles, respectively. The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation described the preliminary taxation scheme for cryptocurrencies and clarified the limit on their purchase.

The Ministry of Finance opened until March 18 a public discussion of two bills regulating the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia. Publication of the texts is envisaged at the next stage.

The first one, “On Digital Currency,” aims to create a regulatory framework for the implementation of “activities related to transactions with digital currencies and their issuance.” The second makes changes to separate acts.

Tax revenues to the budget from the legalization of the cryptocurrency market were estimated by the Ministry of Finance at 10-15 billion rubles, with the main amount of payments expected from miners. Later, the department announced that they would temporarily waive special taxation of the latter in the first version of the bill due to difficulties in assessing their income.

Individual investors are offered to take personal income tax after the sale of digital assets at a rate of 13%.

Simultaneously with the drafting of the bill, the Ministry of Finance is discussing limiting the maximum amount for investments in cryptocurrencies for unqualified investors at the level of 50,000-100,000 rubles.

At the same time, Andrei Lugovoy, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, said that the ban on bitcoin in the Russian Federation does not make sense. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov also expressed his point of view:

What else happened in the Russian Federation: Sberbank announced the readiness of the banking infrastructure for the cryptocurrency market. The head of the Association of Russian Banks proposed to finance the development of infrastructure to control the circulation of cryptocurrencies at the expense of users. The State Duma in the second reading allowed the collection of digital assets from officials. Binance entered the expert council of the Association banks of the Russian Federation on cryptocurrencies. Ukraine adopted the law "On virtual assets"

On February 17, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, during the re-consideration, adopted in the second reading the generally updated law “On Virtual Assets”, which regulates operations with cryptocurrencies in the country. The document was supported by 272 deputies.

According to the updated law, the state regulation of the virtual assets market, within their powers, is carried out by the National Commission for Securities and Stock Market (NSSM) and the National Bank of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Digital Development of Ukraine commented to ForkLog on its exclusion from the number of supervisory authorities, and the National Securities and Stock Market Commission told how the virtual assets market will be regulated. Coinbase, FTX, and Crypto.com Featured Super Bowl Ads.

On February 13, the final game for the title of champion of the National Football League was held in the United States. Cryptocurrency companies showed an industry-record number of ads during the Super Bowl. In 2022, placement for 30 seconds cost $6.5 million. A tenfold increase in mining tax was discussed in Kazakhstan.

The Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan proposed to increase the tax rate on cryptocurrency mining by 10 times - from 1 to 10 tenge (from $0.0023 to $0.023) per kWh. The authorities also announced the creation of an interdepartmental group to combat illegal miners. Involved in assets stolen from Bitfinex released on $3 million bail.

D.C. court releases woman accused of money laundering on $3 million bail assets stolen from the Bitfinex bitcoin exchange by Heather Morgan. Her husband and second person involved in the case, Ilya Lichtenstein, remained in custody.

The judge acknowledged that there was no substantive evidence against Morgan other than the allegation that she "allegedly received funds related to the case." The Monero community is concerned about the potential threat of a 51% attack on the network.

One of the network pools - MineXMR - at the moment concentrated 50% of the network's computing power under control, which caused users to worry about a possible 51% attack. By the end of the week, the situation stabilized - the pool controls 38% of the hashrate. The head of Intel criticized bitcoin for its impact on the environment.

CEO of one of the largest chip manufacturers Intel Pat Gelsinger criticized the first cryptocurrency for its impact on the environment. According to him, one transaction in the Bitcoin network “consumes enough energy to power the house throughout the day.” He called this situation the “climate crisis”. In 2012, lawyers told Ripple that XRP had no signs of a security.

A consultation provided to Ripple by law firm Perkins Coie in 2012 argued that the XRP token is not a security. However, the experts noted a “small” risk that SEC investigators might disagree with this analysis.

According to attorney James Filan, the leaked documents are “generally favorable” for Ripple. He noted that the company "acted very proactively." Vitalik Buterin: the actions of the Canadian authorities illustrate why cryptocurrencies are needed.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin did not justify the actions of the protesters in Canada, but noted that the measures of the authorities clearly illustrate why cryptocurrencies exist. He called decentralized systems "the return of the rule of law".

On Feb. 19, Nunchuk, a non-custodial wallet, also reported that the Ontario Supreme Court issued a Mareva Injunction or freezing injunction to the company for those involved in the protests.

Also on ForkLog: Khabib Nurmagomedov entered the ring against Max Holloway in the metaverse. Charles Munger compared cryptocurrencies to a “disease”. Elon Musk reacted to the publication. OpenSea initiated an investigation into the theft of NFT users. VKontakte will add NFT support for content monetization and copyright protection. What else to read and see.

Together with the experts who took part in the creation of the law “On Virtual Assets” and third-party specialized specialists, ForkLog found out what awaits the owners of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine.

In 2020, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for attracting more companies and investments to the country - according to him, by 2025 the volume of the latter in the mining industry should have grown to 500 billion tenge.

However, while the players in the sector were actively moving to the country, the conditions in it began to change. We figured out why Kazakhstan, which has barely begun to become a Mecca for the mining business, risks losing it all.

As part of a series of materials on passive earnings on cryptocurrencies, Terra was reviewed. In particular, we considered stablecoins and synthetic stocks in the project ecosystem.

Some investors and analysts are inclined to believe that the bear market is either already here or on the way. JPMorgan strategists are convinced that the fair price of bitcoin is below $40,000.

We told you how to make money on stablecoins in a bear market using popular DeFi platforms and the Binance exchange.

Traditional digests collected the main events of the week in the fields of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector continues to attract increased attention from cryptocurrency investors. ForkLog has collected the most important events and news of recent weeks in a digest.



The head of Intel criticized bitcoin for its impact on the environment
February 19, 2022

The CEO of one of the largest chip manufacturers, Intel, Pat Gelsinger, in an interview with Bloomberg Technology, criticized the first cryptocurrency for its impact on the environment.

“One transaction on the bitcoin network consumes enough energy to power a house throughout the day. This is a climate crisis,” he said.

The CEO of Intel also recalled the company's plans to release a new mining chip that will "help advance the technology in a responsible and sustainable way."

According to the announcement, the devices will be released on "tiny chips", so their release will have a minimal impact on current production processes. Details were promised to be revealed at the ISSCC international conference in February.

Gelsinger also promised to work on fixing the situation and added that the technology could transform currency, transactions and supply chains.

In January, the non-profit organization Cardano Foundation reached the goal of one million trees planted as part of the Cardano Forest environmental project using the ADA token.



AscendEX bitcoin exchange hack began laundering assets
February 18, 2022

The hacker who hacked the AscendEX cryptocurrency exchange in December 2021 began selling stolen assets.

According to PeckShield experts, the attacker exchanged ERC-20 tokens, including Route, Rio Fuel, MATIC, REVV, Clearpool and MAPS, for Ethereum through the Uniswap decentralized exchange.

The sales volume exceeded $1 million, the hacker aggregated funds in one wallet. At the time of writing, the address contains 2,459 ETH, worth about $7.2 million.

On December 12, AscendEX confirmed the hack of Ethereum, Polygon, and Binance Smart Chain hot wallets.

PeckShield estimated the damage at $77.7 million. The largest amount of stolen assets fell on tokens in the Ethereum network - $60 million.

AscendEX was created in 2018 under the name BitMax. In March 2021, the company rebranded, and in November it raised $50 million from Polychain Capital, Hack VC and other investors.

Recall that in January, PeckShield experts reported on the hacking of the Crypto.com cryptocurrency platform. The latter's team said that customer funds are safe and withdrawals are on hold due to "suspicious activity."

Two days later, Crypto.com confirmed that about 400 user accounts had been hacked. The damage amounted to about $34 million. The platform fully compensated for the losses of customers from its own funds.



Gary Gensler explained the reasons for the rejection of applications to launch a spot bitcoin ETF
February 18, 2022

The SEC has not come close to approving a spot bitcoin ETF due to filings failing to meet Securities Act standards to curb fraudulent or manipulative practices. This was stated by agency chairman Gary Gensler in response to a request from Congressman Tom Emmer.

The SEC chairman reaffirmed his position of "neutrality" to technology and promised that he would "carefully study" the issues raised by Emmer.

In November 2021, Emmer and his colleague Darren Soto sent a letter to Gensler calling the agency's position on spot bitcoin ETF "unacceptable".

The co-founder and CEO of CoinRoutes, David Weisberg, considered the response of the head of the SEC “nonsense”. He argued that prices in the futures [the Commission approved a similar product] and spot markets are 99% correlated, and the latter are “extremely transparent” and can show an aggregated “glass” for all regulated platforms in the United States.

Emmer emphasized that after the current response from the head of the regulator, he will continue to "supervise the SEC in its mission to maintain fair and orderly markets and promote capital formation."

In February, the agency delayed a decision on Grayscale Investments' application to launch a spot bitcoin ETF. The investment company called the Commission's actions regarding the approval of exchange-traded funds based only on bitcoin futures "arbitrary and illegal."

Previously, the SEC rejected similar applications from Fidelity Investments, WisdomTree and VanEck, and also postponed a decision on applications from Bitwise and Valkyrie Investments.



The trader estimated the probability of the bitcoin price going out of the flat
February 18, 2022

For two weeks now, the price of bitcoin has been moving in the range of $41,100-$44,200. The main reason for the decline now is the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and in particular, the aggravation of the situation in Donbass. US President Joe Biden said today that he expects an attack on Ukraine in the next few days. This, most likely, is an informational reason for the fall in quotations.

Analyzing the angle of attack of market players, we can talk about increased aggression of sellers. At the same time, the volume in the last eight-hour candle is comparable lower at the moment. The weekly timeframe is currently formed by two pin bars. The trading volume of this two-week range is concentrated right at the upper border, which can be characterized as a serious containment of buyers.

While the asset is flat, the main expectation of movement is built from border to border. The $41,300 and $40,600 levels are potential bounce points. The latter is likely to form through a microflat.

Bitcoin is in a precarious position. The correlation with the S&P 500 is very high, while the index itself looks weaker. The indicator could not rebound impulsively, if bitcoin fixes below $40,600, the next potential stop zone will be at $38,500.



Bitcoin exchange Binance suspends operations in Israel
February 18, 2022

The Israel Capital Markets Authority has reached out to the Binance cryptocurrency exchange for clarification regarding services provided in the country and obtaining licenses. It is reported by Globes.

The regulator noted that the exchange, unlike other companies in the industry, did not apply for approval.

About 200,000 Israelis used Binance, according to the Authority. Previously, the platform set up activities in Hebrew aimed at investors from the country.

“At this stage, following the intervention of the Authority, Binance has ceased marketing to Israelis and all Israeli-focused activities while the licensing issue is being considered,” the regulator said.

A local community representative confirmed to CoinDesk that the exchange has removed support for Hebrew and the Israeli currency, the shekel, on the trading platform.

Throughout 2021, regulators in a number of countries, including the Netherlands, Italy, the UK, Poland, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Africa, issued warnings regarding Binance or took action against the exchange. The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) in Canada warned about the company's lack of a license.

Against this background, the exchange decided to abandon the decentralized business model that raises the most questions from regulators. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, first named France as possible jurisdictions for hosting the headquarters, and then Singapore or the United Arab Emirates.

In December, the exchange withdrew its license application from the island-state regulator and received approval in principle to operate in Bahrain.

Recall that in January, Reuters published an investigation according to which Binance repeatedly withheld information from regulators and neglected KYC procedures contrary to the recommendations of its own compliance department.



ConocoPhillips to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Through Bitcoin Mining
February 17, 2022

American oil company ConocoPhillips sells associated gas (APG) at the Bakken field in the North Dakota region to bitcoin miners, CNBC reports.

The company is implementing a pilot project to use APG for cryptocurrency mining. The mining operation is handled by an unnamed partner, with ConocoPhillips selling it gas it would otherwise flare.

The firm had previously set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. ConocoPhillips plans to solve the problem of APG flaring by 2025.

Crusoe Energy Systems is one of the start-ups involved in bitcoin mining on the energy of associated petroleum gas in the Bakken formation area. He installs mobile modular data centers next to an oil well. APG is sent to generators to be converted into electricity that feeds cryptocurrency mining installations.

Crusoe estimates that by eliminating direct gas flaring, the technology reduces CO₂ equivalent emissions by 63%.

ConocoPhillips did not disclose when it launched the mining pilot. However, at a presentation in 2021, the company demonstrated an APG capture solution, presumably for cryptocurrency mining.

Earlier, Crusoe startup provided its technology to another Bakken oil and gas company, the Norwegian Equinor Energy.

Recall, according to the media, two 23-year-old residents of Texas earned $ 4 million on bitcoin mining using associated gas from fields in the eastern part of the state.



The US Senate proposed to mitigate the risks from the legalization of bitcoin by El Salvador
February 17, 2022

A group of members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has submitted a bill on cryptocurrency liability in El Salvador for consideration. It involves the preparation of a "plan to reduce potential risks to the US financial system."

The bill was sponsored by Jim Rish, Bob Menendez and Bill Cassidy.

If adopted, the State Department, in coordination with other departments, will generate an appropriate report. Not later than in 90 days he will present a set of measures. The document also mentions "other countries that use the US dollar as legal tender."

Legislators are interested in the process of establishing bitcoin as the official currency in El Salvador, its impact on citizens and businesses, including the extent of use, as well as the ability of the authorities to withstand cybersecurity risks.

Additionally, the report will need to reflect data on the share of the population not covered by banking services and the volume of money transfers to the country from the United States.

The State Department is yet to characterize bilateral economic and commercial ties and the possibility of El Salvador reducing its use of the US dollar. The senators also requested data on the country's interaction with the IMF and the World Bank.

“This move has the potential to weaken US sanctions policy by empowering malign actors such as China and organized crime organizations,” Risch said.

The President of El Salvador, Naib Bukele, responded to the initiative.

“OK Boomers… You have zero jurisdiction over a sovereign and independent state. We are not your colony, not your backyard or front yard. Do not interfere in our internal affairs. Don't try to control what you can't control," he explained.

Recall that El Salvador adopted a bill recognizing bitcoin as a legal means of payment on June 9, 2021.

By February 2022, 4 million Salvadorans were using the Chivo digital wallet. They include 70% of the country's population, which did not have bank accounts.

By March 15–20, the country’s authorities will prepare the issuance of $1 billion bitcoin bonds.

Earlier, the IMF expressed concerns about the risks associated with El Salvador's bitcoin bonds. The organization has repeatedly called on the state to abandon the first cryptocurrency as a means of payment.

On February 9, Fitch downgraded El Salvador's rating from B- to CCC. As justification, analysts cited an increased reliance on short-term financing in light of the upcoming $800 million bond issue in January 2023, as well as difficulties with extending cooperation with the IMF in 2022-2023.



Cryptocurrencies show strong growth
February 16, 2022

Cryptocurrencies are rising in price today along with other types of risky assets amid a decrease in tension between Ukraine and Russia.
The cost of bitcoin at 16:45 Moscow time was $44.209 thousand, having increased by 4.62% over the past 24 hours. Ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency, has risen in price by 6.73% to $3,112 thousand. Almost the entire cryptocurrency market is trading in positive territory on Tuesday, CNBC notes.

The positive dynamics is largely ensured by the announcement of the Russian Ministry of Defense that units of the Western and Southern military districts are starting to return from exercises to their bases. Previously, the United States, other NATO countries and Ukraine announced the concentration of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border and claimed that Russia was preparing to attack Ukraine.

Cryptocurrencies over the past few months have been trading in the same dynamics with other types of risky assets, such as stocks, for example. On Monday, global stock markets ended trading mostly lower amid rising geopolitical tensions. Bitcoin showed the same dynamics at the end of the session, although quotes changed in different directions during the trading session. Experts attribute this to the increasing institutionalization of the sector.

However, many still consider cryptocurrencies to be safe haven assets that ideally hold their value in times of volatility.



Fidelity International Receives Bitcoin-ETP Listing on Two European Exchanges
February 16, 2022

Deutsche Börse's SIX Swiss Exchange and Xetra have added Fidelity International's physically backed bitcoin ETP to its listing. CoinDesk writes about it.

The instrument received the ticker FBTC. It tracks the price of the first cryptocurrency and is available to professional clients of Fidelity International in Europe.

Custodial services are provided by Fidelity Digital Assets.

Total Expense Ratio will be 0.75%.

Fidelity International was established in 1969 as a subsidiary of the financial corporation Fidelity Investments. In 1980, it became an independent investment company with $812.8 billion in assets.

In November 2021, WisdomTree announced the listing of three crypto ETPs on the SIX Swiss Exchange and Xetra.

In the same month, the German stock exchange made a similar decision regarding the “physical” bitcoin ETP from the investment company Invesco.



FOREX-Euro pauses rally, but holds firm, traders watch tensions in Ukraine
February 16, 2022

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The euro's rally, which began yesterday, fizzled out in Asian deals on Wednesday, although the currency held on to gains overnight, as optimism after reports that Russian troops had partly pulled back from Ukraine's borders was tempered by news of cyberattacks.

In addition, the dollar was supported by well-established expectations that the Federal Reserve will start a rather aggressive series of interest rate hikes at the March meeting.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was trading at 95.991 by 08:55 Moscow time.

Overnight, the dollar "lost ground as Ukraine's geopolitical risk premium pulled out of the markets, but expectations for an aggressive Fed rate hike cycle should keep the (dollar index) underpinned," analysts at Westpac said.



The President of Belarus signed a decree on the creation of a register of bitcoin wallets
February 15, 2022

In Belarus, a law has appeared regulating activities in the field of cryptocurrencies. The corresponding decree was signed on February 14 by President Alexander Lukashenko.

According to the document, free circulation of digital currencies is allowed in the country, but the authorities will monitor the situation and, if necessary, change the regulatory norms.

The decree involves the creation of a register of addresses of virtual wallets used in illegal activities. The High Technology Park (HTP) will form the register.

Accounting for seized or arrested cryptocurrencies should be carried out by the authorities conducting the criminal process.

“The sale of cryptocurrencies in enforcement proceedings is carried out on a contractual basis through the operator of the cryptoplatform or the operator of the exchange of cryptocurrencies with their consent. The transfer of crypto-currency for sale by the enforcement authorities is carried out without establishing its value, ”the document says.

The return of seized assets or funds received from their sale is made on the basis of decisions of the bodies conducting the criminal process. The amount of funds returned should not exceed the amount received from the sale of cryptocurrencies.

The value of assets sold is the actual amount of cash credited to settlement bank accounts. Expenses, including commissions and remuneration, related to cryptocurrency transactions within the framework of criminal enforcement proceedings, are not reimbursed to cryptocurrency owners.

Until the seized or arrested cryptocurrencies are transferred for sale, legal entities cannot perform any operations with these assets.

The government believes that the new rules will protect participants in the digital asset market from the loss of property and prevent inadvertent involvement in activities prohibited by law.

The Council of Ministers must take measures within three months to implement this decree, after which it will enter into force.

Recall that on March 28, 2018, the Decree on the Development of the Digital Economy came into force in Belarus, which established framework conditions for the use of cryptocurrency and tokens, and also introduced tax incentives for cryptocurrency transactions.

In June 2020, the National Bank proposed to involve banks in the creation and implementation of transactions with utility tokens through HTP residents.

In early February 2022, the Ministry of Finance of Belarus prepared a number of legislative changes that, in particular, will allow investment funds to invest in digital assets.



Tom Lee called the driver for the growth of bitcoin to $200,000
February 15, 2022

Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, in an interview with CNBC, called $200,000 a target for bitcoin and explained what contributes to its achievement.

According to the analyst, the total net worth of US households exceeds $141 trillion. The Fed's monetary policy means that over the next decade, people are guaranteed to lose money on investing in bonds.

Consequently, Li expects an influx of speculative capital into crypto that could be “huge.”

He also noted that digital money is much easier to manage and move. Another feature is the transparency and traceability of transactions.

In his opinion, the high price of bitcoin is an obstacle to mass adoption of the asset. Therefore, he supported the idea of ​​​​switching to Satoshi - a millionth of a coin.

Regarding price predictions for the cryptocurrency, the analyst emphasized that hardly anyone has enough conviction to make specific predictions for the next decade.

“If there is no crystal ball, it is very difficult to be accurate in cryptocurrency,” he joked.

Lee recalled the skepticism that was met with Fundstrat's entry into the cryptocurrency industry. However, now most of the firm's clients perceive digital money as a legitimate asset class.

The analyst noted that it is worth allocating a “reasonable” share of the investment portfolio for cryptocurrencies.

In February, Tom Lee-founded firm FSInsight predicted that the first cryptocurrency would reach $200,000 in the second half of 2022.



Tensions around Ukraine, comments from Fed officials hit the euro
February 15, 2022

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The euro rose slightly in Asian deals on Tuesday but has yet to recover from two sessions of sharp declines as tensions in Eastern Europe fueled investor interest in the dollar and the safe-haven yen.

The euro edged up 0.08% to $1.1314 by 06:27 GMT, falling to $1.1278 the day before, a week and a half low, while the safe-haven yen rose 0.15% against the dollar to 115 .36 yen.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies fell 0.16% to 96.22.

US Federal Reserve officials continue to argue over how aggressively it should raise interest rates at its March meeting. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Thursday he has moved "dramatically" more hawkish in light of the highest U.S. inflation rate in nearly 40 years and is now advocating a 50 basis point rate hike.

According to Kim Mundy of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA), tensions around Ukraine and more aggressive Fed rate forecasts are supporting the dollar in the short term.

"The best way to understand what's having the most impact is to look at the dollar/yen pair. It's been trading weaker over the past day or two, which suggests that the markets are closely watching what's happening on the Ukrainian border," Mundy said.



Temasek got rid of the shares of the bitcoin exchange Coinbase
February 15, 2022

Singapore-based investment holding Temasek has sold shares in Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. This is evidenced by a report for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to documents for the third quarter of 2021, Temasek owned 8,168 shares of the American platform, worth about $2.1 million.

There is no information about Temasek's position in Coinbase shares in the fourth quarter reporting. The holding's total portfolio at the end of last year was estimated at $301 billion.

On April 14, 2021, Coinbase shares (ticker: COIN) were listed directly on Nasdaq. The opening price was $381. During the first session, the company's capitalization exceeded $85 billion.

On May 17, stock quotes for the exchange fell below the reference price ($250) for the first time. The fall occurred against the backdrop of a correction in the cryptocurrency market - bitcoin at the moment reached $42,185.

That same month, Coinbase announced a private placement of $1.25 billion of convertible bonds maturing in 2026.

In September, the company announced plans to conduct a private placement of two $1.5 billion bond issues.

The closing price on Monday, February 14, 2022 was $194.53. Since listing, COIN shares have fallen over 40%.

In April 2021, asset manager Ark Invest, through its three exchange-traded funds, bought 749,205 Coinbase shares on the first day of trading.

In the same month, Kathy Wood's company bought $110 million worth of stock exchange securities.



Creating a City for Bitcoin Supporters
February 15, 2022

Investing.com - A crypto investor announced the creation of a city for supporters of bitcoin in the Pacific, and the hash rate of the bitcoin network updated an all-time high - these and other important news of the cryptocurrency market in our daily review.

Texas residents Brent Whitehead and Matt Lochstroh created a company that extracts bitcoins from oil fields. Their containers with ASIC miners are located in East Texas wells. Natural gas released during drilling is fed to generators, which convert it into electricity to power equipment, writes CNBC.

British crypto investor Anthony Welch purchased the 300-hectare Lataro Island and renamed it Satoshi. He is going to build a smart city there for fans of digital assets, according to The Guardian.

On Monday, February 14, a Twitter user (NYSE:TWTR) responded to a post by Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) creator Elon Musk asking if SpaceX and Starlink merchandise stores can accept Dogecoin as payment. The billionaire reacted with a winking emoji.

The concept for regulating cryptocurrencies proposed by the Russian Ministry of Finance takes into account all the risks voiced by the Bank of Russia. This was stated by Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev. According to him, a complete ban on cryptocurrencies and mining, as the regulator proposed to do, would lead to an outflow of experts from the country, TASS writes.

On Saturday, February 12th, the bitcoin network hashrate hit an all-time high above 248 EH/s. During the day, the indicator increased by more than 30%, according to Glassnode.



Miners from the USA earned $ 4 million on the extraction of bitcoin by burning natural gas
February 15, 2022

23-year-old Texas residents Brent Whitehead and Matt Lochstroh founded a company that extracts bitcoins from oil fields. Writes about it CNBC.

Their shipping containers with thousands of ASIC miners are located in East Texas oil wells. Natural gas released during drilling is fed to generators, which convert it into electricity to power equipment.

According to a study by Denver-based Crusoe Energy Systems, this process reduces CO2-equivalent emissions by about 63% compared to continuous flaring.

The idea to go into mining first came to Whitehead and Lochstroch in 2019, when they were sophomores at Texas A&M University. They invested money from part-time school jobs in the creation of Giga Energy Solutions.

For many years, oil and gas companies have faced the challenge of discovering natural gas reservoirs while drilling wells. To be able to sell the found gas, an additional pipeline is needed. However, in remote fields, drillers have to flare it. At the same time, such an installation can emit up to 25% of methane into the atmosphere, polluting it.

Under such conditions, the use of associated gas to generate electricity becomes the most efficient - when it enters the engine or generator, 100% of methane burns without loss.

“As a child, I always saw gas flares and realized how wasteful it was. Our project allows not only to reduce emissions, but also to monetize gas,” said Brent Whitehead.

Giga Energy Solutions has signed deals with more than 20 oil and gas companies, four of which are publicly traded, he said. They are also in talks with sovereign wealth funds and aim to expand the business. During February 2022, six additional employees will join the team of 11 people.

Lochstroh and Whitehead are betting that bitcoin mining has the potential to change the economics of the energy industry.

“Bitcoin is not controlled by anyone, and you do not need to ask permission to use it,” said Matt Lochstroh.

Entrepreneurs estimate that in 2021, Giga Energy Solutions generated more than $4 million in revenue. By the end of 2022, they expect to earn over $20 million.

Lochstroh predicts that in the next phase, the energy companies themselves will start mining bitcoin.

Recall that in 2020, Gazprom Neft opened the possibility of using energy from the processing of associated gas at the field in Khanty-Mansiysk for bitcoin mining. Read more about this in the ForkLog special project.

In the same year, the Norwegian energy company Equinor Energy announced its readiness to send associated gas obtained from oil production at the Bakken field in the United States to electricity generation and bitcoin mining.

In a separate article, ForkLog analyzed whether it is profitable to mine bitcoin using solar energy.



The crypto investor announced the creation of a city for Bitcoin supporters in the Pacific Ocean.
February 15, 2022

British crypto investor Anthony Welch bought the 300-hectare Lataro Island and renamed it Satoshi. He plans to build a smart city there for digital asset advocates, writes The Guardian.

According to the publication, for the past 12 years, Welch has been living on the island with his partner Teresa. They expect 21,000 crypto investors from all over the world to join soon.

“Yes, we already have an island. Yes, we can develop as advertised. Yes, the government supports our plan. Yes, our team has the relevant experience,” the project description says.

Satoshi Island is located in the Vanuatu archipelago between Australia and Fiji. According to the plan on the site, its public opening is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023.

The team announced cooperation with the financial and land regulators of Vanuatu. The authors of the project expect to act "under conditions of a certain autonomy." There are no taxes on income, dividends, income or capital gains in the republic.

The team intends to turn Satoshi’s private island into the “cryptocurrency capital of the world.” To do this, they are going to build offices and high-rise residential buildings on it.

In early January, registration for obtaining "Satoshi Island citizenship" in the form of NFTs was opened. Residents will also have to obtain Vanuatu residency for an investment of $130,000, according to The Guardian.

The site talks about the commitment to sustainable development and plans to offset the carbon footprint. The island team intends to generate 100% of the required energy in-house using renewable sources.

Despite this, Twitter users criticized the idea for not being environmentally friendly.

“We need to know that nature will be respected, otherwise this project will be a disgrace to the world of cryptocurrencies,” wrote Carles Cortes Costa.

The French-American actor Sebastian Rocher joined the criticism. He called "the destruction of the island's tiny and intact ecosystem" a bad idea.

“It will soon become uninhabitable. It would be funny if it weren't so sad. Greed is terrible,” wrote Roche.

According to the publication, Welch previously tried to sell the island for $12 million and even applied to the local government with a request to declare it a wildlife sanctuary to prevent the rare giant coconut crabs from disappearing.

In a comment to The Guardian, the owner called the former plans a purely voluntary initiative that does not prevent the construction of a smart city.

One user likened the idea to the controversial Fyre festival, which was initially positioned as a large-scale musical event on the island, and later turned out to be a major fraud.

Recall that in February, a family of bitcoin nomads talked about moving to Portugal due to favorable taxation.



Crypto investors are facing more uncertainty after a rocky start to 2022.
February 15, 2022

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors are bracing for another surge in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as fears of a hawkish stance by the Federal Reserve threaten to dampen risk appetite in all markets.

Volatility, traditionally characteristic of cryptocurrencies, has been fully manifested in recent weeks. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, is up 33% since January 24, up 0.45% to $42,248.03. As such, the digital coin has rebounded from a fall that halved its price from its all-time high in November. Main competitor Ethereum is up about 45% since Jan 24 and traded at $2,872.77 after dropping almost 56% from its all-time high of $4,868 also hit in November.

The recent volatility came amid a broader sell-off in the market as investors reassessed portfolios to take into account the more aggressive Fed policy: the regulator, as markets now expect, will raise rates seven times this year to combat rising inflation. The S&P 500 is down 5.5% year-to-date, while the high-tech Nasdaq is down 9.3%.

Investors believe that the escalation of tensions in Ukraine, where, according to Washington, Russia could invade at any moment, could also provoke strong market fluctuations.



DBS Bank will launch a bitcoin exchange with a focus on retail clients.
February 15, 2022

The largest bank in Singapore, DBS Bank, intends to open a digital asset trading platform focused on individual investors by the end of 2022. This was stated by its CEO Piyush Gupta at a conference with analysts, writes CoinDesk.

The top manager said there is "a huge amount of work" to be done in the DBS Bank initiative in the area of ​​anti-fraud and regulatory compliance. Details are not given.

In early 2021, the institution launched a bitcoin exchange for institutionals. Forklog reported on similar plans in October 2020. The platform's turnover for the past year amounted to about $819 million, for the fourth quarter - $595.5 million.

In the first half of 2022, the bank will focus on moving the service online for existing customers. Currently, they are forced to submit trading orders "by voice".

As a reminder, in August 2021, DBS Bank announced an “in principle” approval by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to provide crypto-currency services to asset managers and companies.

In May, the bank floated SGD 15 million ($11.3 million) worth of security tokens on its digital asset platform.



The hash rate of the bitcoin network has updated its historical maximum.
February 13, 2022

On Saturday, February 12, the bitcoin network hashrate hit an all-time high above 248 TH/s. In a day, the indicator increased by more than 30%, according to Glassnode.

The hashrate chart of the first cryptocurrency, smoothed by a 7-day moving average, has been moving along an upward trajectory for the past three months. During this period, the indicator increased by almost 50%, to 201.36 TH/s.

In January 2022, digital gold mining difficulty reached a record high of 26.64 trillion. During the last recalculation on February 4, the value slightly increased and amounted to 26.69 trillion.

The growth of the total computing power of the network indicates an increase in the stability of the blockchain and indicates the development of its infrastructure. The indicator has fully recovered after the “Great Migration” of Chinese miners.

On February 6, the Ethereum network hashrate also hit an all-time high above 971 TH/s. The graph of the indicator, smoothed by the 7-day moving average, is at its peak level - on February 12, the value exceeded 955 TH/s.

Recall that in January 2022, the income of bitcoin miners amounted to $1.21 billion, which is 15% lower than in December. The share of commissions in the income of miners of the first cryptocurrency fell to a record level - 1.15% or $13.9 million.



Bill Miller called bitcoin insurance against financial disasters.
February 12, 2022

Legendary billionaire investor and founder of Miller Value Partners Bill Miller, in an interview with CNBC, called bitcoin insurance against financial disasters and said that he still holds a significant part of his personal funds in the first cryptocurrency.

“Bitcoin is insurance against financial catastrophes like the one we saw in Lebanon or Afghanistan, or many other countries where it was observed during the pandemic,” he said.

According to Miller, the theses about the lack of intrinsic value of bitcoin are erroneous. He likened the digital asset to collectibles like baseball cards and Picasso paintings.

“It's like an insurance policy. Insurance policies have no intrinsic value. What you really want is for them to have no intrinsic value. You don't want your house to burn down and you don't want to get into a terrible accident, but you pay for insurance every year in case this happens, ”said the billionaire.

Miller also noted that the media misinterpreted the words he said during a January interview with WEALTHTRACK. Then it was reported that the billionaire invested half of his personal fortune in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

He explained that he invested only a few percent of his fortune in digital assets, which then, as the cryptocurrency market grew, turned into half of his personal funds.

“Now this amount is less because the price has halved since November. But it's still a very big position," Miller added.

Recall that in November 2021, the billionaire called bitcoin digital gold and compared his bet on it with buying Amazon shares during the collapse of the dot-com bubble.



NFT on YouTube and BTC as catastrophe insurance: crypto market news.
February 12, 2022

Investing.com - Binance Labs invested in Automata Network, and YouTube announced plans to use NFT to monetize content - these and other important news of the cryptocurrency market in our daily review.

YouTube is going to integrate NFT to monetize content on the platform, Neil Mohan, product director of the service, said.

Physically backed cryptocurrency exchange products (ETP) provider 21Shares announced the listing of FTX Token (FTT) and Decentraland (MANA)-based instruments on the BX Swiss exchange.

Cross-chain swap protocol HydraDX won the auction for the ninth slot of the Polkadot parachain. Users blocked more than 2.46 million DOTs worth $50.65 million in support of it.

Bill Miller, founder of Miller Value Partners, called BTC insurance against financial disasters in an interview with CNBC. He also said that he still holds most of his personal funds in the first cryptocurrency.

The venture division of the Binance crypto exchange announced an investment in the startup Automata Network. It develops privacy software for dapps.



Intel has named customers for a new chip for bitcoin mining.
February 12, 2022

At the end of 2022, Intel will release a specialized bitcoin mining chip, and several companies have already been added to the waiting list. This is stated on the website of the chip manufacturer.

Some of the early clients are Block (formerly Square) by Jack Dorsey, mining companies Argo Blockchain and GRIID Infrastructure. The latter disclosed a deal with Intel in a filing with the SEC.

"Intel will promote an open and secure blockchain ecosystem, and help advance the technology in a responsible and sustainable manner," the company said.

According to the report, the chips will be released on "tiny microcircuits", so their release will have a minimal impact on current production processes. Details were promised to be revealed at the ISSCC international conference in February.

Recall that in 2018, Intel filed a patent application for a hardware “accelerator” for mining, designed to reduce energy costs when mining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

In January 2021, it became known about the company's plans to present a "low-voltage, high-performance ASIC miner" of the first cryptocurrency at the ISSCC demo session on February 23.



In Israel, the bank refused to credit the pensioner with profits from investments in bitcoin.
February 11, 2022

Israel's largest bank, Hapoalim Bank, has filed an objection to a lawsuit filed by 69-year-old Esther Freeman to reject her demand to deposit 1 million shekels (~$320,000) received from investments in bitcoin. It is reported by Ynet.

Eight years ago, on the advice of her relatives, a pensioner bought her first cryptocurrency for 10,000 shekels (less than $3,000 at the time).

“I listened to my son and nephews, young guys, and said that I would try. Without any knowledge of the subject, with the real naivete of an ordinary person. I never thought that 10,000 shekels would turn into almost a million, ”said Freeman.

In July 2021, she decided to convert digital assets to fiat.

However, Hapoalim Bank, in which the woman owned an account for 40 years, refused to accept funds on deposit. The financial institution motivated this by the fact that Freeman invested cash and the bank could not track the movement of money.

In a letter to a client of Hapoalim Bank, he noted that "the characteristics of virtual currencies allow them to be transferred anonymously and without supervision, often bypassing financial structures that provide anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing."

In November, Freeman filed a lawsuit against the bank, demanding that she be allowed to deposit the amount received from the sale of bitcoin to the account.

Hapoalim Bank in a statement indicated that the plaintiff was unable to confirm any connection between the money in her account and the purchase of cryptocurrency. The bank noted that Freeman purchased bitcoin from an unknown person and "did not provide actual information about the price" of the asset.

Hapoalim Bank also referred to the position of the regulator, which does not approve of receiving funds from transactions with virtual assets without a "satisfactory explanation of the routes of movement of money."

Freeman's attorney expressed regret at the financial institution's "baseless claims". According to him, they are built on "baseless hypotheses." The position of the bank was also influenced by distrust of the fact that the pensioner could invest in cryptocurrency, the lawyer believes.

Recall that in 2019, crypto investors in Israel faced difficulties in paying taxes due to the refusal of banks to accept funds from operations with digital assets.

In 2020, the local tax office required cryptocurrency holders to disclose their assets and profits.

In 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Finance proposed setting a threshold of NIS 200,000 for this requirement.



Bill Miller called bitcoin insurance against financial disasters.
February 11, 2022

Legendary billionaire investor and founder of Miller Value Partners Bill Miller, in an interview with CNBC, called bitcoin insurance against financial disasters and said that he still holds a significant part of his personal funds in the first cryptocurrency.

“Bitcoin is insurance against financial catastrophes like the one we saw in Lebanon or Afghanistan, or many other countries where it was observed during the pandemic,” he said.

According to Miller, the theses about the lack of intrinsic value of bitcoin are erroneous. He likened the digital asset to collectibles like baseball cards and Picasso paintings.

“It's like an insurance policy. Insurance policies have no intrinsic value. What you really want is for them to have no intrinsic value. You don't want your house to burn down and you don't want to get into a terrible accident, but you pay for insurance every year in case this happens, ”said the billionaire.

Miller also noted that the media misinterpreted the words he said during a January interview with WEALTHTRACK. Then it was reported that the billionaire invested half of his personal fortune in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

He explained that he invested only a few percent of his fortune in digital assets, which then, as the cryptocurrency market grew, turned into half of his personal funds.

“Now this amount is less because the price has halved since November. But it's still a very big position," Miller added.

Recall that in November 2021, the billionaire called bitcoin digital gold and compared his bet on it with buying Amazon shares during the collapse of the dot-com bubble.




Ukrainian volunteers pointed out an error in the Elliptic report on the volume of bitcoin donations.
February 10, 2022

Amid the military conflict, Ukrainian volunteers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies as a source of funding for their activities, according to the Elliptic analytical company. However, some of the figures given in the report are not true.

Since 2014, public organizations have collectively received more than $570,000 worth of cryptocurrencies from individuals, most of which came in 2021 (an increase of over 900%), according to researchers.

Among such organizations, Elliptic names the Ukrainian Cyber ​​Alliance (UCA), an association of cyber activists from different cities of Ukraine and countries of the world, founded in 2016.

Analysts say the UCA relies “only on crypto donations” to raise funds. According to them, over the past year, the organization has received about $100,000 - in bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and stablecoins.

However, in a comment to ForkLog, Andriy Baranovich, co-founder of the Ukrainian Cyber ​​Alliance, denied these calculations. According to him, their organization owns only two bitcoin wallets, which have received 0.26 BTC and 0.15 BTC during their existence.

“0.41 BTC passed through our two wallets in 2016-2020. Since then, we have not collected donations in crypto,” he said.

In a public statement, the organization said that the said bitcoins, equivalent to approximately $3,000-$4,000, were spent in the period 2017-2019 on server rentals and domain purchases.

Baranovich suggested that the confusion may have arisen because Elliptic's study "mistakenly included some other wallet."

The activist also denies the UCA's cooperation with Ukrainian law enforcement and intelligence agencies stated in the report.

“Before the police and the SBU fabricated a criminal case against us in March 2020, we really maintained informal contacts with the military and special services. After that, as we said already then at a press conference, we do not interact with the state,” Baranovich emphasized in a conversation with ForkLog.

Elliptic mentions a number of other NGOs receiving donations in cryptocurrencies. Among them, founded in 2014, the Come Back Alive Foundation (Russian: Come Back Alive). According to the report, the organization started accepting bitcoin in 2018. In the second half of 2021 alone, its volunteers received the equivalent of $200,000, analysts say.

ForkLog examined the fund's wallet. For all the time, it received 18 transactions for a total of 3.85 BTC.

The Peacemaker Center has been accepting crypto donations since 2016.

Disclaimer
In August 2016, the Oktyabrsky District Court of St. Petersburg decided to recognize the information disseminated on the myrotvorets.center website as violating the Federal Law “On Personal Data” and ordered Roskomnadzor to block access to this portal.

Elliptic estimates that the organization has received at least $268,000 in bitcoin to date from more than a hundred philanthropists. The researchers suggested that the organization switched to cryptocurrency after PayPal closed their account and confiscated the funds.

According to Blockchain.com, the Peacemaker wallet received a total of 70 transactions worth 6.9 BTC (over $303,000 at the time of writing).

Elliptic also spoke about the Belarusian group of activists “Cyberpartisans”, which allegedly collects donations “exclusively in bitcoins”.

Disclaimer
In August 2021, the court of the Tsentralny district of Minsk recognized two telegram channels “Cyberpartizan” as extremist.

Over the past six months, the group has received $84,000 in the first cryptocurrency, the researchers said.

The group's wallet contains 97 transactions totaling 1.77 BTC (just over $78,000 at the time of writing).

In a comment to ForkLog, representatives of the Cyber ​​Partisans specified that, in addition to bitcoins, they accept donations in Ethereum, USDT, Monero, and Litecoin. In six months, they received approximately 1.5 BTC and 100 XMR. They also stressed that their activities are primarily aimed at countering "Russian aggression against Belarus, not Ukraine."

ForkLog is awaiting comments from the Turn Back Alive Foundation and the Peacemaker Center.

“In most of the fundraising campaigns reviewed in our study, cryptocurrencies accounted for a small portion of the funds received. The majority of donations were received through traditional payment methods such as bank transfers and online payment services,” Elliptic said in a report.

Analysts note that cryptocurrency wallets remain the most acceptable alternative for receiving donations, given that banks can block the accounts of public organizations. In addition, digital currencies make it easier for volunteers to access foreign donations.

Recall that in September 2020, against the backdrop of protests against the government of Alexander Lukashenko, the non-profit organization Belarusian Solidarity Fund based in the Netherlands began paying compensation in bitcoins to Belarusians fired from enterprises for their active citizenship. In December 2021, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus recognized this unit as an extremist formation.



JPMorgan analysts named the real fair value of bitcoin.
February 10, 2022

The fair value of bitcoin is now about 12% below its current exchange price. This is the conclusion reached by the strategists of the American investment bank JPMorgan Chase.

The calculation was based on the level of volatility of bitcoin, the price of which now fluctuates four times more than gold, chosen by analysts as a benchmark. So, now the cryptocurrency should cost 38 thousand dollars, not 44 thousand. In the event that the level of volatility decreases from four to three times relative to the volatility of gold prices, the fair price of bitcoin will increase to 50 thousand dollars, analysts concluded.

"Bitcoin's biggest challenge going forward is its volatility, as well as up-and-down price cycles that hinder its further institutional adoption," Bloomberg quoted JPMorgan as saying. The investment bank believes that in the long term, bitcoin will aim for a value of $150,000. If this bar is reached, then the total market value of bitcoin will equal the value of all the gold concentrated in the hands of private investors. Now the capitalization of bitcoin exceeds 800 billion dollars.

In October last year, investment bank CEO Jamie Dimon said that the organization's clients are extremely interested in investing in bitcoin, while he himself believes that cryptocurrency does not carry any value.

The price of bitcoin has increased by more than 10% in the last week. The historical maximum of the price was recorded in November last year, when the price on the stock exchange came close to 70 thousand dollars, but could not overcome this mark. Since then, the price has fallen by more than a third.



U.S. prosecutors have seized a record $5 billion worth of bitcoin.
February 9, 2022

The US Department of Justice announced a record seizure of bitcoins - in the amount of $ 5 billion. The cryptocurrency was stolen in 2016. Then, as a result of the hacking of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange, hackers appropriated 120,000 bitcoins. The previous record confiscation of $2.3 million in cryptocurrencies was carried out by FBI prosecutors last year when they returned ransom money paid to hackers by the Colonial Pipeline.

The U.S. Department of Justice conducted the largest cryptocurrency confiscation in history - 120,000 bitcoins worth more than $5 billion, CNN reports citing prosecutors. Bitcoins were stolen in 2016 as a result of a hack on the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange. Then they were estimated at $71 million.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite said the seizure of the cryptocurrency is strong evidence that the US authorities "will not allow cryptocurrency to be a safe haven for money laundering or a zone of lawlessness in our financial system." According to the Ministry of Justice, an unknown hacker hacked the Bitfinex crypto exchange in 2016 and made 2,000 illegal transactions. He transferred the cryptocurrency to a digital wallet run by 34-year-old Ilya Lichtenstein from New York.

Prosecutors charged Liechtenstein and his wife, 31-year-old Heather Morgan, with attempted money laundering. According to investigators, the couple laundered about 25,000 stolen bitcoins through various accounts over the past five years. To do this, prosecutors believe they used a variety of methods to cover their tracks, from fake IDs to converting bitcoins into other digital currencies. The investigation involved investigators from Washington, New York, Chicago and Ansbach (Germany).

Bitfinex said in a statement that the crypto exchange cooperated with the investigation and is pleased that the stolen funds were returned. If Lichtenstein and Morgan are found guilty of fraud and conspiracy to defraud the US and launder money, they face up to 25 years in prison each. The seizure of assets was carried out by the National Anti-Cryptocurrency Team, created by the Ministry of Justice four months ago.

Earlier, she also set a record by seizing $2.3 million worth of cryptocurrency from hackers from the DarkSide group and thereby partially returning the ransom money paid to them. Colonial Pipeline paid out $4.4 million in crypto to the perpetrators of a cyberattack on the largest U.S. pipeline from DarkSide. In May, the attack caused it to temporarily cut off fuel supplies to the US East Coast.



FSInsight Analyst Predicts Bitcoin at $200,000 in 2022
February 8, 2022

The price of the first cryptocurrency is able to reach $200,000 in the second half of 2022, FSInsight analyst Sean Farrell suggested.

According to his observations, the correlation of bitcoin with stocks increased in the last quarter of last year. Digital gold fell in price as soon as the Fed's monetary tightening narrative emerged. The rest of the cryptocurrency market is now also closely correlated with technology stocks.

However, according to Farrell, the dominance of bitcoin over altcoins remains unshakable. The price of BTC, despite the “shaky start” at the beginning of 2022, is able to eventually reach $200,000.

The FSInsight report also states that the Ethereum platform is undervalued - the second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization can reach $12,000 this year.

The analyst is optimistic about the transition of Ethereum to the Proof-of-Stake algorithm. If the process goes smoothly, capital inflows into the ecosystem will increase, “regardless of the performance of bitcoin.”

Recall that earlier JPMorgan analysts lowered the fair value of the first cryptocurrency from $150,000 to $38,000.



ETF with shares of mining companies will appear on NASDAQ
February 8, 2022

https://investing.com - On Tuesday, Feb. 8, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) from Valkyrie Investments with a basket of mining stocks will begin trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol WGMI, according to Cointelegraph.

80% of the fund's assets are in the securities of companies that receive at least 50% of the profits from bitcoin mining. The remaining 20% ​​of the Valkyrie fund's assets will be invested in companies with a significant proportion of net assets held in bitcoin.

At the end of 2021, several bitcoin futures ETFs were launched. The first such fund was Bitcoin Strategy ETF (ticker BITO) by ProShares, which began trading on October 19 on the NASDAQ stock exchange. After that, Bitcoin ETFs from Valkyrie Investments (ticker BTF) and VanEck (ticker XBTF) were launched.



Glassnode analysts pointed to the reasons for the recovery of the price of bitcoin.
February 8, 2022

The recovery of bitcoin quotes from the lows of January was due to the historical underestimation of the asset on a number of metrics and a sharp increase in the number of new addresses. These are the conclusions made by Glassnode analysts.

The range of $30,000-$40,000 reached during the January-February correction in 2021 and 2022 acted as a solid support zone three times.

About 2.35 million BTC (12.41% of the market supply) replenished the wallets of investors in the zone between $36,200-$41,200; 4.775 million BTC (25.2%) - at higher levels and at the time of writing were "unprofitable" for their owners.

The 30-day moving average of daily price increments fell below the 30% threshold in January, which has historically been interpreted as an oversold condition. In the last five years, a similar signal has occurred five times.

The derivatives market made an insignificant contribution to the reversal of price dynamics, as the volume of liquidations of short positions was of a moderate nature, and open interest in futures remained at an elevated level of $15 billion, or 1.91% of capitalization.

The daily growth rate of the number of new bitcoin addresses in January-February exceeded ~15,000 typical for the accumulation period by hodlers, amounting to ~18,500. Until 2021, such episodes were observed during periods of bull market corrections in the first and second quarters and during the May collapse. The current increase in the indicator can be explained by renewed buying interest after the price declined to more attractive levels.

For the first time since the end of November, the STH-SOPR on-chain indicator moved from bottom to top of 1. This indicates an improvement in market sentiment and the fact that most investors are taking profits, not losses. For more than two months, holders of BTC purchased less than 155 days ago have been spending it at lower prices than they bought it.

A similar picture was observed in March 2020 and August 2021 — after a long period of being below the threshold value, STH-SOPR moved into the zone of values ​​above 1.

The current persistence of the indicator above this mark will indicate a resumption of demand, while a fall in the indicator will be a bearish signal indicating insufficient demand to absorb the supply of short-term investors.

Recall that on February 8, the price of bitcoin crossed the mark of $45,000.

Earlier, Fundstrat analysts predicted that bitcoin would reach a local bottom in the coming months.



Goldman Sachs warns about Bitcoin's dependence on Fed policy
January 30, 2022

Digital assets are not protected from the impact of macroeconomic factors such as monetary tightening. CoinDesk writes about this, citing a Goldman Sachs report.

The current pullback in the cryptocurrency market says that mainstream adoption could be a “double-edged sword.” The decline in quotes was mainly due to reasons not related to digital assets, analysts noted.

Experts associated it with "the fall in the shares of low-margin technology firms and companies that have recently gone public with IPOs." This segment of the stock market turned out to be the most sensitive to the signals of the upcoming increase in the Fed's key rate.

The massive adoption of cryptocurrencies could boost valuations and likely correlations with other financial market variables. This reduces their diversification advantage.

The specialists drew attention to the positive correlation of bitcoin with inflation risk indicators and the innovative technology sector. At the same time, they found a negative price relationship with real interest rates and the value of the US dollar.

Further development of blockchain technology, in particular in the form of metaverses, may eventually provide a “tailwind” for certain digital assets. At the same time, they will not be "immune to macroeconomic forces," experts warned.

Recall that the correlation between the first cryptocurrency and the shares of companies in the US technology sector has updated an all-time high, according to Bloomberg.

In January, the IMF warned of the risks of "contamination" of the stock and bitcoin markets.

Earlier, experts from MSCI reported on the growing influence of cryptocurrencies on the dynamics of securities portfolios.


Moody's criticizes El Salvador's Bitcoin purchases
January 15, 2022

The El Salvadorian government’s bitcoin operations are helping to weaken the country’s already low credit rating and indicate a growing likelihood of default. This was stated by Moody's analyst Jaime Reusche in an interview with Bloomberg.

According to him, the fact that the government holds part of the assets in the first cryptocurrency “definitely adds to the risk portfolio.” He emphasized that operations with digital assets pose a threat, especially for the state, which "has experienced liquidity difficulties in the past".

El Salvador's bitcoin fund has 1,241 BTC on its balance sheet. Reusche stressed that the amount of government investment is not large enough to deprive him of the ability to fulfill its obligations. However, in his opinion, the likelihood of such a threat will increase if President Nayib Bukele does not change the course of monetary policy.

“If it [the volume of the fund] becomes much higher, this will pose an even greater risk to the solvency and fiscal profile of the issuer,” Reusche said.

Moody's also noted that the high yield (more than 35%) of bitcoin bonds issued in November last year closed the government's access to foreign markets, and the lack of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund increases the risk of default in the country.

In August 2021, Moody's downgraded El Salvador's long-term foreign currency credit rating to investment grade Caa1 with a "negative" outlook.

Recall that on September 7, 2021, a law recognizing bitcoin as an official means of payment along with the US dollar came into force in El Salvador.

In the same month, the government of the country purchased 700 BTC through a specially created fund.

In October, the authorities increased the reserves in the first cryptocurrency by another 420 BTC, and the following month they purchased an additional 100 BTC.

In December, El Salvador purchased 21 BTC. According to President Bukele, the country invested in bitcoin to celebrate "the last 21 days of 21 years of the 21st century".


Musk named the possible creator of Bitcoin
December 29, 2021

Investing.com - Founder of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk has expressed his opinion on who might be the creator of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. He expressed his assumptions about this in the course of a podcast on YouTube.

The entrepreneur said that Nick Szabo, a computer science and cryptography scientist, may be hiding behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. According to Musk, the ideas that Szabo is promoting are very similar to the principles underlying the first cryptocurrency.

In 1998, Szabo created a decentralized digital currency algorithm called bit gold. Despite the fact that the system has not been implemented in practice, it is considered the predecessor of Bitcoin. At the same time, Szabo himself denies his involvement in the development of the first cryptocurrency.

Satoshi Nakamoto is an anonymous developer or group of programmers who published the document Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System in 2008. A year later, the Bitcoin blockchain was created and the first block was mined.


Cryptocurrencies fell yesterday on concerns over "omicron"
December 29, 2021

Major cryptocurrencies declined yesterday amid concerns over the spread of the new omicron strain of coronavirus infection.
Bitcoin price fell 7.4% compared to the close of previous trading, to $ 47.601 thousand. But the cryptocurrency quotes remained 1.6% above the monthly minimum of $ 46.835 thousand, reached on December 13. Bitcoin is down more than 30% from its all-time high of $ 68.99K in November.

According to the Kraken platform, the price of the cryptocurrency at 11:50 Moscow time on Wednesday rose by 0.38%, to $ 47.784 thousand.

The cost of ether, the second most popular cryptocurrency in the world, dropped on Tuesday to $ 3.807 thousand, which is 6.9% below the level of the closing session on December 27. By 12:00 Moscow time on Wednesday, ether quotes dropped 0.24% to $ 3.798 thousand. Ether lost 20% of its value on Tuesday from a record high of $ 4.866 thousand, also reached in November.

Quotes of less expensive tokens also declined during the trading of the previous day: Luna dropped in price by 8.9%, to $ 86, Polkadot - by 13%, to $ 28. The popular "meme" cryptocurrency Dogecoin lost 9% of its value, Shiba Inu - 11.3%. The quotes of these two cryptocurrencies closed at $ 0.17 and $ 0.000035.


Ray Dalio calls bitcoin "gold for young"
December 16, 2021

The first cryptocurrency actually acts as an alternative to gold for the younger generation. The blockchain revolution is inevitable, but some governments may outlaw it, said billionaire Ray Dalio.

In an interview with MarketWatch, the founder of Bridgewater Associates urged not to keep only cash, which is “eaten by inflation,” and to form an “all-weather” portfolio as a safety net. It should be diversified across currencies, asset classes, countries and industries.

A certain part of such a portfolio can be occupied by bitcoin. Dalio likened it to gold, a blue chip in relation to Fiat.

The billionaire doubted that the authorities of all countries of the world will eventually ban the first cryptocurrency. He found no reason to expect it to be included as a reserve asset by central banks and large corporations.

Dalio recalled that in order to diversify, he transferred part of the assets to bitcoin because of its "conditionally calculated value".

During the conversation, the billionaire expressed concerns about a possible economic downturn amid tightening monetary policy by the Fed. According to the expert, this may happen if the interest rate rises above market expectations.

Recall that following the meeting on December 14-15, the Fed allowed three increases in the key rate in the next two years.

Previously, Dalio predicted that Bitcoin would be taken under control by regulators in the event of its massive success.


Arabian night, oil and bitcoins: VIP | BTC talks about the work of crypto companies in the UAE
December 15, 2021

Islam is one of the few religions that directly influence the laws and regulation of the financial market. The Koran forbids selling what does not belong to you: Muslims cannot short futures and buy put options. What about cryptocurrencies?

The VIP | BTC exchange service talks about the preferences of Arab crypto investors, the specifics of doing business in the United Arab Emirates and the role of Dubai in the region.

Not by oil alone.

There is a myth that the UAE economy is powered by oil, but this is not the case.

In 1970-1990, oil revenues actually accounted for half of the country's budget. The sheikhs used the money to build factories, power plants, ports and office skyscrapers, and gradually adapted laws to suit the needs of entrepreneurs.

Since 1990, 40 free economic zones (FEZ) have been opened in the country, where companies from different countries could operate without transferring most of the shares to residents of the Emirates.

Around the same time, developed countries in the Middle East like Iran and Lebanon lost their economic stability. International trading companies and banks have moved their branches to the UAE, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi have become regional logistics and trade centers.

Thanks to this, by 2017, the share of oil revenues in the budget decreased to 20%. Most of the money came from construction, trade, tourism and financial services.

The country's authorities are loyal to new technologies. In 2014, the first crypto exchange igot.com was opened in Dubai, and in 2016 the Sheikh of Dubai took an initiative that included the development of regulation of the cryptocurrency market and financing of blockchain research, including the digital national currency - the drachma.

Cryptocurrency legislation in the UAE.

The United Arab Emirates legalized cryptocurrencies in 2017. This was preceded by a lengthy development of the legal framework by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) in collaboration with representatives of the crypto industry.

At this point, platforms for fundraising, custody storage services for cryptocurrency, exchangers, exchanges and companies that tokenize assets are allowed in the UAE.

“Although the legal system of the United Arab Emirates is based on Sharia law, legislation is rapidly adapting to new conditions. For example, Sharia law prohibits loans at a fixed interest rate and currency speculation. At the same time, the laws of the UAE allow banks, exchangers and stock exchanges to operate, ”comments the VIP | BTC lawyer.

The UAE is a federal state consisting of seven states (emirates) with their own laws. This also applies to cryptocurrencies.

For example, in Abu Dhabi, it is allowed to trade a limited set of cryptocurrencies, and companies from the Dubai Free Zone can work with any coins and even accept payments in them.

94% of the UAE's oil reserves are located in Abu Dhabi. There is almost no oil on the territory of Dubai; it is the financial, trade and tourist center of the region, which provides 24% of the country's GDP.

Regulators in Dubai have developed a legal framework for cryptocurrency trading and securities tokenization, and are now working on laws for dealing with utility tokens and stablecoins.

Free economic zone business.

Cryptocurrency companies can open a branch in the UAE in two ways:

obtain an SCA license to work in one of the free economic zones of the emirates;
obtain permission from the Abu Dhabi Global Market Regulator and the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
In any case, you need to prove that the company complies with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws, personal data protection and information protection measures.

“Large companies with B2B products usually go to Abu Dhabi, since registration and rent there are more expensive. Dubai is the preferred jurisdiction for companies that work with individuals, ”explains VIP | BTC.

One of the most popular areas for crypto business is Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC). At the moment, it employs 18,000 companies in various fields.

Since June 2021, the office of the blockchain community DMCC Crypto Center has been operating in Dubai, whose members help foreigners to understand the UAE legislation, licensing and regulation of the crypto market. The opening ceremony was attended by the UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, the chairs of the Bitcoin Foundation, Tether and EOS Alliance.

The DMCC Crypto Center regularly hosts blockchain conferences: Crypto Expo Dubai, Future Blockchain Summit and World Blockchain Summit.

In late 2021, Binance, Huobi and several other cryptocurrency exchanges announced plans to move their headquarters to Dubai.

Crypto trading in Arabic.

According to the VIP | BTC team, UAE residents are loyal to cryptocurrencies, although there are many tourists among the service's clients.

Religion and mentality do not affect business in Dubai: the cryptocurrency market brings together cultures from all over the world.

The office is often approached by business owners related to real estate, electronics or luxury cars. Most of them buy cryptocurrency for long-term investments or diversification of savings, and only a small part for trading.

The most popular cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin and USDT. Recently, the Arabs are eagerly buying NFTs: they like to own something unique.

Conclusions.

The UAE has long ceased to be a gas station country and has become a regional leader in the production of building materials, food products and electricity.

Dubai has become a global financial center, where investments from all over the world flock. Loyal cryptocurrency legislation of the emirate attracts more and more players in the cryptocurrency market.

UAE residents know about cryptocurrencies and use them for long-term investments. According to VIP | BTC, these factors make the region one of the most promising for the cryptocurrency business.


Miners mined 90% of the coins from the total emission of bitcoin
December 14, 2021

At block # 714,000, the bitcoin network has reached the point where it remains to mine 2.1 million BTC, or 10% of the available emission volume.

However, according to CTO Casa Jameson Lopp, digital gold reached 18.9 million coins mined after only 32 blocks. This is due to the fact that some early miners did not claim the reward.

For the same reason, the total cryptocurrency supply will not be equal to 21 million BTC, as provided by the algorithm.

In addition, earlier Chainalysis experts estimated that 3.79 million BTC could be lost forever. In theory, these coins exist, but they do not participate in circulation.

Also, about 1 million BTC is stored on addresses that are associated with the creator of the first cryptocurrency, Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoins were mined in the early stages of the network's development and have not moved since then.

Nakamoto left his last public message on the BitcoinTalk forum 11 years ago.

Digital gold is expected to reach its emission limit around 2140 as regular halvings gradually lead to a zero release rate.

Recall that after the halving of the reward for the mined block, which took place in May 2020, its size is 6.25 BTC.


Marathon will host over 100,000 bitcoin miners at Compute North facilities
December 2, 2021

Nasdaq-listed mining company Marathon Digital Holdings has expanded its agreement with infrastructure provider Compute North to host over 100,000 Bitcoin mining devices.

Under previous agreements, the infrastructure firm has pledged to install 73,000 of the company's miners at facilities in Texas.

Following Compute North's execution of the new agreement, Marathon will deploy all previously purchased equipment.

As a result, the total number of the company's bitcoin miners will be 133,000 units, which will provide a hash rate of approximately 13.3 EH / s. Marathon's mining operations will be 77% carbon neutral.

Compute North continues to build new renewable energy data centers. The first 280 MW facility in Texas is expected to start operating in the first quarter of 2022, with the remaining miners expected to be operational by mid-year.

The deployment of Marathon miners at the firm's existing facilities continues.

Recall that in November, Marathon announced the attraction of $ 500 million in debt financing for the acquisition of bitcoin and installations for its production.

In October, the firm agreed with Silvergate Bank to open a $ 100 million revolving credit line.


Supermarket chain in Croatia starts accepting bitcoin
December 2, 2021

The largest supermarket chain in Croatia, Konzum, has allowed customers of its online store to pay for goods with cryptocurrencies. The initiative was implemented in partnership with the Electrocoin processing service.

Konzum supports payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Dai, XRP, Stellar, as well as stablecoins (USDT and USDC). In the future, the company plans to implement this feature in supermarket chains.

“As the largest retail chain in Croatia, which has consistently led the domestic market in terms of business results and technological advances over its nearly 65-year history, we are proud to be leaders in another field that is rapidly evolving and shaping the future.” said a member of the board of directors of Konzum Urosh Kalinich.

Recall that in September, the American online retailer Shop.com added support for payments in cryptocurrency.

Formerly the leading telecom company in Latin America and the Caribbean, GoldConnect has integrated support for cryptocurrency payments via BitPay.


Public company Phunware invested $ 23.8 million in bitcoin
November 23, 2021

Nasdaq-listed enterprise mobile software developer Phunware announced an additional purchase of 398 BTC for ~ $ 23.8 million at an average price of $ 59,917.

According to the press release, as of November 22, the company owns approximately 529 BTC (~ $ 31.8 million spent on them, based on an average purchase price of approximately $ 60,191).

Phunware is best known for creating an app to support Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign. According to Fortune, it tracked the movements of his supporters and offered personal access to their social media.

In early November, the developer announced the purchase of 100 BTC for about $ 6.2 million at an average price of ~ $ 62,030. At that time, Phunware announced that it owned 127 BTC for $ 7.75 million.

In August 2020, MicroStrategy was the first public company to invest part of its equity capital ($ 250 million) in bitcoin. Later, the board of directors approved a policy to increase investment in digital gold at the expense of cash reserves.

After that, Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, expressed confidence that other private firms would follow the company's example. In the United States, Jack Dorsey's Square and Elon Musk's Tesla decided to make such investments.

In December 2021, the analytics software provider placed $ 650 million in convertible bonds to buy bitcoin.

In February, the company issued more than $ 1 billion in debt securities and again invested the funds raised in cryptocurrency.

In March, MicroStrategy acquired 328 BTC, about 205 BTC and 262 BTC. The firm invested $ 15 million each in digital gold in April and May. The company later bought 229 BTC for $ 10 million.

In June, the organization invested another $ 489 million in the first cryptocurrency, having bought 13,005 BTC, in August - an additional $ 177 million, in September acquired another 5050 BTC.

As a reminder, Sailor compared bitcoin to property that is not to be parted with.


El Salvador To Place $ 1 Billion Bitcoin Bonds On Liquid Network
November 22, 2021

The El Salvadorian government has struck a deal with Blockstream and iFinex (the parent company of Bitfinex and Tether) to place a $ 1 billion bitcoin bond on the Liquid Network.
According to a press release, half of the proceeds from the sale of bonds will be directed to the development of the infrastructure for mining the first cryptocurrency based on geothermal volcanic energy. The other 50% is for the purchase of digital gold for a government trust.
“We have negotiated with El Salvador for many months and have put a lot of effort into designing and modeling bonds. We believe that the bond offering will be attractive to a wide range of investors, primarily cryptocurrencies, as well as yield seekers, hodlers and ordinary people. The tool is able to accelerate hyperbitcoinization and lead to the emergence of a new financial system based on bitcoin, "- said in a statement Blockstream.
The tokenized share trading platform Bitfinex Securities will handle the issue. As part of the agreement, the latter will also help the El Salvadorian government develop a regulatory framework for blockchain-based digital financial instruments.
After the entry into force of the new legal regime, Bitfinex Securities will receive a license to operate in the country. The platform will become the exclusive partner of the El Salvadorian government, according to iFinex.
Blockstream noted that the emergence of a regulatory framework "could pave the way" for other tokens issued on the Liquid Network, such as Blockstream Mining Note (BMN) or Exordium (EXO).
President Naib Bukele also announced the construction of a Bitcoin City along Fonseca Bay. To supply the city with energy, a geothermal power plant will be erected near the volcano located in the region. Its power will also be used for bitcoin mining.
According to Bukele, Bitcoin City will become a full-fledged metropolis with residential and business districts, restaurants, airport, seaport and train station. The city is recognized as a special economic zone, which does not levy taxes on income, property, capital gains and wages.
El Salvador's state bitcoin fund acquired an additional 420 BTC in October. The structure now has 1,120 BTC on its balance sheet.
Recall that the country uses part of the profit from operations with the first cryptocurrency to finance the construction of 20 modern schools and a veterinary clinic.
Earlier, the creator of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, called the legalization of bitcoin in El Salvador "recklessness."


Buffett's Income and Dalio's Tips: Most Popular Tools and News
November 22, 2021

Investing.com - SHIB / USD, Bitcoin, Brent oil futures, USD / RUB and Ethereum were the most popular financial instruments (according to Investing.com Russia) during the week of November 15-19.

As for the news, the most interesting for the week were the following: Buffett's income grew by 3000% due to a bet on a competitor Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), 3 shares that billionaire Ray Dalio advises to acquire, Cardano: goal - $ 15-20, Expert: BTC could drop another 12% and Buffett: inflation is a giant corporate tapeworm.

Despite the current problem - the global shortage of semiconductors, the electric car market is experiencing a real boom, as evidenced by the rally of almost all manufacturers in this sector. Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ: RIVN), which went public just a week ago at $ 78 per share, is now trading at almost $ 150. Lucid Group Inc (NASDAQ: LCID), which went public this summer thanks to its SPAC deal, is up 77% in the past month. Market leader Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is not far behind, despite the recent drop. Elon Musk's company has risen in price by 125% over the year. Read on

Against the backdrop of a serious rise in inflation in the United States, which amounted to 6.2% in October on an annualized basis, billionaire Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, gave advice to investors, recalling that the worst asset right now is cash, writes Yahoo. Read on

Cryptocurrency Cardano (ADA) admitted defeat to Solana (SOL) and was forced to leave the 5th largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $ 68 billion.The recent rally in Solana led to an increase in its market capitalization to $ 72.8 billion, leaving no ADA chances. Read on

BTC's failed breakout this week could mean another 12% drop if it fails to gain a foothold above the $ 58,000 support level, according to analyst Katie Stockton of Fairlead Strategies, writes Business Insider. Read on

During the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: NYSE: BRKb), Warren Buffett could not ignore the topic of inflation, noting the rapid rise in spending and aptly comparing inflation to a "giant corporate tapeworm" for investors and enterprises, writes Business Insider.

Buffett: inflation is a giant corporate tapeworm

Investing.com - During the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKb) annual meeting, Warren Buffett could not ignore the topic of inflation, noting the rapid rise in spending and aptly likening inflation to a "giant corporate tapeworm" for investors and businesses, Business Insider writes.

According to the famous billionaire investor, companies that trade in small assets that can easily drive up prices and scale just as easily can handle rising prices best.

Warren Buffett told shareholders that he foresees "very substantial inflation" this year, as well as continued growth in housing costs.

The Berkshire CEO back in 1980 called high inflation a "capital tax" that discourages corporate investment. The "threshold rate", or return on capital, required by investors to generate real returns, rises in parallel with the rise in prices.

Buffett compared the average investor who pays taxes today to a man who runs down an escalator, not up, but down, whose speed has increased so much that his upward movement is reduced to zero. Inflation can harm such a taxpayer even more than the income tax itself, as it can turn positive investment returns into negative ones. If prices rise high enough, then people who have made a nominal return on their investment may end up with less purchasing power than they did before the investment.

Inflation is also eating up money for companies as rising costs force them to spend the money they generate just to maintain existing physical volume of business.

Inflation acts like a giant corporate tapeworm (tapeworm) that consumes the required daily ration of investment funds, regardless of the health of the owner, that is, the company's profits, and it has to spend more money on paying off accounts receivable, inventories and fixed assets. just to produce the same volume of units as a year earlier. The less prosperous a business is, the more money the tapeworm claims to have. Companies with large assets and meager returns on equity have no leftovers to spend on expanding their business, paying off debt, paying dividends or making acquisitions, Buffett said. Spending money in these areas can mean sacrificing sales volume, long-term competitive position, or financial strength.

Companies that have valuable intangible assets and little need for tangible assets, or those firms that have a significant brand and can raise their prices without sacrificing significant market share or unit volumes, and adapt to a significant increase can cope with inflation and survive in such conditions. business volumes in dollar terms without significant additional capital investments. An example is the companies that are among the largest holdings in the Berkshire portfolio - Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and See's Candies.


Jordan Peterson invested in bitcoin after talking with Saifedin Ammus
November 19, 2021

Jordan Peterson, a philosopher and professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, said that he "bought some more bitcoin" after talking to economist Saifedin Ammus on the air of his podcast.

"I like it. I learned a lot of new things. I bought some more bitcoin. Damn inflation, ”he wrote.

In a conversation with Peterson, Ammus noted that the first cryptocurrency manages to maintain true decentralization, since its network "has no insiders and administrators." The author of the book "A Brief History of Money, or Everything You Need to Know About Bitcoin" called the act of creating digital gold "immaculate conception."

“Bitcoin only has users - no administrators. No one has a master key. […] In the end, what made me pay attention to bitcoin is that it is neutral money that no one can control, ”said the economist.

The interlocutors also touched upon the topic of monetary policy. Ammus stressed that, from the point of view of the Austrian school of economics, money is a market product, and therefore government intervention is "irrational."

“State intervention in monetary affairs is irrational and cannot be successful for the same reasons that central planning fails. It is also the root cause of most of the economic problems that concern all experts, ”he explained.

Recall that in May, Ammus criticized Tesla's decision to abandon the sale of electric vehicles for Bitcoin.


The dollar took a break, stopping at a 16-month high
November 18, 2021
HONG KONG (Reuters) - The dollar is trading near a 16-month high on Thursday, yielding to the New Zealand dollar, while traders are looking at whether the US currency's recent rally is starting to fade.
Markets 'assessments of the world's central banks' various responses to rising inflation have largely determined exchange rates in recent weeks.
The New Zealand dollar jumped 0.44% to $ 0.7028 by 09:14 Moscow time after a central bank poll pointed to the likelihood of rising inflation in the fourth quarter.
On the eve of the pound sterling rose 0.5% to a weekly high against the dollar after the October surge in UK inflation in October increased pressure on the Bank of England, which will discuss rate hikes at next month's meeting.
The pound on Thursday traded virtually unchanged at $ 1.3488.
The Japanese yen fell 0.09% against the dollar to 114.17 yen.
The euro was steady at $ 1.1317, near a 16-month low.
Strong US retail sales data earlier this week added energy to a dollar rally that began last week after strong US inflation data reinforced market expectations that the Federal Reserve would be forced to raise rates around mid-2022.
The dollar index shed 0.02% against a basket of six major currencies to 95.805.
"The resilience of the current dollar strength in the next few months looks far from straightforward," said Luc Luiet of Pictet Wealth Management.
"Market expectations for the Fed are starting to get particularly hawkish, suggesting limited support for the US dollar in the future from this factor."
The Australian dollar gained 0.14% to trade at $ 0.7274, trading near a six-week low.



Fidelity Receives Approval To Work In Canada As Bitcoin Custodian
November 18, 2021
IROC approves Fidelity Investments to launch an institution-focused Bitcoin trading and custodian platform. This move will allow the management company to launch an ETF based on the first cryptocurrency.
Fidelity has already submitted a relevant application.
“The demand for investment in digital assets is growing rapidly and institutional investors are looking for a regulated service to access this asset class,” said Scott McKenzie, president of Fidelity Clearing Canada.
The platform launched by the firm will be the first of its kind in Canada. Local regulated Bitcoin ETFs leverage the power of US registered custodians.
Earlier, Fidelity predicted bitcoin growth to $ 100,000 by 2023.
In September, company representatives, in a meeting with SEC officials, presented arguments in favor of approving a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Recall that in February, Canada was the first in the world to approve an exchange-traded fund based on the first cryptocurrency. In April, the country's regulators gave permission to launch similar products based on Ethereum.




Tether will develop bitcoin-based "atomic economy"
November 17, 2021
Stablecoin issuer Tether has launched a division of Synonym Software Ltd, which will focus on building services using Bitcoin, Cointelegraph reports. The head of the initiative, John Carvalho, said: “Hyperbitcoinization will not happen by itself. We need a plan and conditions to change the entire economy if we want to live in a future without huge banks, oppressive rules and technology companies that define our existence. " The Bitcoin scaling solution Lightning Network will play an active role in the new Tether platform. The first Synonym product will be Slashtags, a service for connecting private networks without using blockchain. Among other things, it will allow you to log into accounts on different sites using bitcoin keys. The company also intends to introduce the Blocktank protocol, with which it will be possible to purchase and manage connections to the Lightning Network. This is expected to simplify the process of joining new users and eliminate the need to launch technically complex Lightning channels on their own. In addition, Synonym's plans include a content publishing platform and decentralized social media.



Anthony Scaramucci: Bitcoin will be trading at $ 500,000
November 16, 2021
Bitcoin will “easily” reach the price of $ 500,000. This forecast was given by the founder of SkyBridge Capital Anthony Scaramucci on the air of CNBC, referring to the limited emission of the first cryptocurrency and the potential number of wealthy investors in it.
There are at least 49 million dollar millionaires in existence, according to JPMorgan, but digital gold supply is limited to 21 million coins, he noted.
“You don’t have enough bitcoins for every millionaire in our society to have at least one coin,” Scaramucci said.
In his opinion, the price of the first cryptocurrency will reach the specified mark by the end of 2024 or mid-2025, if Katie Wood's forecast comes true. Earlier, the founder of Ark Invest predicted that by this time the number of bitcoin wallets will reach a billion.
Scaramucci called digital gold insurance against inflation and said that the current level of quotations is still an early opportunity to enter the asset.
“As for me, I am struggling to explain to people why they should own this right now,” the investor added.



Marathon will raise $ 500 million to buy bitcoin and ASIC devices.
November 16, 2021
Marathon Digital Holdings, a mining company listed on the Nasdaq, will issue convertible bonds with a par value of $ 500 million. The funding received will go towards the purchase of bitcoin and the equipment for its production.
Debt instruments maturing on December 1, 2026 will be offered to qualified investors. The latter will have an option to purchase additional securities in the amount of $ 75 million within the next 13 days.
Marathon Digital Holdings will reserve the right to repurchase the bonds, in part or in full, from December 6, 2024 to 21 trading days prior to the maturity date. This can happen if the share price exceeds 130% of the conversion price during the specified period.
The bonds provide for the payment of semi-annual coupons. The interest rate, conversion rate and other essential conditions will be determined upon placement.
As a reminder, in October Marathon agreed with Silvergate Bank to open a revolving credit line for $ 100 million for a period of one year with the option of prolongation.
At the end of the third quarter, the mining company kept 7,035 BTC as reserves with an estimate of $ 336.3 million at that time.
In November, the British Argo Blockchain announced plans to raise $ 57.5 million through the placement of bonds.



Experts talked about the impact of a shortage of chips on bitcoin miners.
November 16, 2021
The shortage of chips in the market, which arose due to a decrease in production volumes and changes in the delivery schedule during the pandemic, affected manufacturers of various equipment, including devices for mining cryptocurrencies. According to the WSJ, the semiconductor shortage will continue into 2022.
Affected industries modify devices and revert to legacy designs. ForkLog found out from experts how critical the shortage of chips is for the mining industry.
According to the head of the Six Nines data center, Sergei Troshin, network hash rates are growing more slowly against the backdrop of a global shortage of chips.
“The more equipment, the higher the hashrate of the entire network and the more difficult it is to mine cryptocurrency. Moreover, every moment a certain number of new devices are added to the network, which creates competition. However, now, due to the lack of semiconductors, it comes in less, and this leads to a slowdown in hash rate growth, ”he explained.
Mining equipment has grown in price, and its delivery times have increased. This applies to both ASIC miners and video cards.
"The price of" ASICs "is formed on the basis of the payback period of 12 months, excluding electricity, and video cards - 18 months. In proportion to the growth of the network hashrate and the cost of cryptocurrencies, the price of equipment grows, "Troshin said.
He noted that manufacturers of video cards of a wide profile orient them towards mining and include this in their cost. It has become more difficult and not profitable for gamers to buy GPUs.
The head of the Comino liquid-cooled computer company, Evgeny Vlasov, is convinced that the shortage of chips had a positive effect on mining. Cryptocurrency rates are growing amid inflation and equipment margins.
“Mining and all related areas are currently on the rise. Judging by the growing hashrate schedule - it has doubled since July - there is no shortage of equipment, ”he said.
Vlasov did not rule out that small companies may experience a shortage of equipment, since the market is centralized around large players. At the same time, a gray market is growing, where "hardware" without a guarantee can be bought cheaper than in a store.
“If you look deeper, the potential of many current chips has not been fully squeezed out - the software previously developed in the paradigm of an almost endless IT resource,” the expert noted.
He recommended for beginners to hedge risks, since excess profits in mining are usually temporary.
The effect of the shortage of chips for the production of miners was offset by two factors at once, continued Roman Nekrasov, co-founder of the ENCRY Foundation. After last year's halving on the Bitcoin network, most of the equipment has become insufficiently energy efficient and profitable.
“The fact that in one region with one electricity price is unprofitable may be quite beneficial for use in another region with a low electricity price. Thus, large volumes of mining machines of previous generations appeared on the secondary market, ”he said.
The second reason for the saturation of the secondary market, according to the expert, is the ban on mining in China. This led to the fact that, despite the worldwide shortage of chips, mining manufacturers, in particular Bitmain, chose to reduce or suspend the production of computers in order to support market prices.
“As such, there is no shortage of mining machines on the market. But there is a shortage of new energy-efficient and more powerful computing equipment, such machines are ordered at least three months before delivery and even more, "Nekrasov summed up.
Recall that the ban on mining in China in May 2021 led to a reduction in the hash rate and a decrease in the difficulty of Bitcoin mining.
According to Bitfury's calculations, the Chinese miners turned off the equipment, the aggregate hash rate of which was 90 EH / s, and the power consumption reached 5.2 GW - the capacity of several large power plants.
In July, the hashrate of the first cryptocurrency began to recover amid the migration of miners to other jurisdictions.
On November 15, as a result of another recalculation, the difficulty of bitcoin mining increased by 4.69% - to 22.67 trillion hashes.



The first bitcoin update in four years has taken place.
November 16, 2021
The first bitcoin update in four years, called Taproot, was released on November 14, according to CNBC.
Most of the updates are related to privacy and electronic signatures. Currently, this digital currency runs on a system thatcreates an electronic signature using a wallet key, and this ensures that only the rightful owner can spend bitcoin. In the updated version, transactions can be carried out with mult
iple signatures. In practice, this will make it possible to better preserve the anonymity of users, the TV channel reports.
The changes will also expand the use of smart contracts - transactions “encrypted” on the blockchain. As a result of the renewal, such contracts “became cheaper and smaller” in terms of their information volume. In the future, they can be used for transactions of any kind. Also, smart contracts can remove intermediaries when paying for various services or goods.
Last week, the CEO of the crypto bank Chatex, Michael Ross-Johnson, said in an interview with Gazeta.Ru that within a month bitcoin could either add about $ 10,000 more in price or fall by $ 10-15 thousand. the price of this cryptocurrency exceeded $ 68 thousand (about 4.84 million rubles), updating the historical record.



The expert named the main factors of growth in the value of bitcoin in the near future
November 15, 2021
Kostarev: the launch of new crypto funds and low volatility will push the cost of bitcoin.
The launch of new crypto funds, low volatility, as well as the perception of bitcoin as a protection of funds from inflation will push the cost of the most popular cryptocurrency to new highs, Gleb Kostarev, director of the largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance in Eastern Europe, told RIA Novosti.
By 12.43 Moscow time, bitcoin on Binance rises in price by 2.25% per day, to $ 65,850. At the same time, at the auction on November 10, bitcoin quotes reached a new all-time high at around 69 thousand dollars.
"Inflation in the US hit an alarming 6.2% in October and bitcoin hit a new high last week. This is further evidence that the market is looking for an asset that will protect investors from rising inflation. Attention is now focused on the possible launch of new exchange-traded funds (ETFs), in particular from Grayscale Investments and BlockFi, which will push Bitcoin to new highs, "explains Kostarev.
The expert adds that in the last week in the cryptocurrency market there was a consolidation of prices, and the level of volatility of bitcoin reached 2.7%, approaching the lowest level of this indicator since the beginning of the year. He explains that the sustained low volatility of the first most important cryptocurrency signals the mature development of bitcoin, and also strengthens its position as an alternative class of investment assets with positive returns.



Bitcoin price has set a new record
November 10, 2021
The cost of bitcoin (BTC) has reached a record value - a mark of $ 69 thousand This Wednesday, November 10, according to data from the Coindesk portal.
Bitcoin as of 18:23 Moscow time has risen in price to $ 68.34 thousand, and 30 minutes earlier it reached a historical maximum of $ 69 thousand.
The day before, the cost of bitcoin exceeded $ 68 thousand. The Coindesk portal noted that the rise in the price of the world's first cryptocurrency was caused by concerns about the scalability of the Ethereum blockchain and high transaction fees. As such, buyers continue to be attracted to alternative Ethereum tokens such as solana (SOL), polkadot (DOT), terra (LUNA) and avalanche (AVAX).
On the same day, Chen Limin, chief financial officer, head of the trading operations department of the ICB Fund crypto fund, said that the rise in the price of bitcoin to $ 68,600 was due to the dynamics of the cryptocurrency market, which was mainly due to the actions of large players.
The find director added that the current upward movement of bitcoin has been developing since the end of 2020, if "viewed globally and starting in October, if we talk specifically about the resumption of growth after the May correction."
Bitcoin is a decentralized system of the eponymous cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology, which can be "mined" (issued) by any user participating in the system. To do this, you need to create new blocks of the system.