Ethereum continues to trade close to its support level of $3,000 on Good Friday, as some financial markets were closed for the holiday weekend. Volatility has slightly eased as a result, with BTC also hovering near its floor around $40,000 during today’s session. Bitcoin Bitcoin was trading lower during Friday’s session, as volatility in crypto […]
Data shows that Turkey accounts for over 7% of the desktop browser access to Binance’s primary platform.
I'm concerned about this impending CBDC that seems to be looming on the horizon. As of now, 87 countries (which make up over 90% of the world's GDP) are considering launching their own digital currencies, which you can see here on this handy little CBDC tracker: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/cbdctracker/ Fed Chair Jerome Powell, in effect, said a…
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The current cryptocurrency landscape, although fast-growing, is still noticeably far from being the inadvertent choice in finance for the average Jane and Joe. Among the few barriers to entry that linger in the crypto space for newbies, price fluctuation (volatility) is a key hurdle to overcome. To put this in perspective, cryptocurrencies can fluctuate in price by upwards of 16% in a single day! What if there was a form of money that was as stable as regular fiat currency but can still be used as a cryptocurrency? This would solve several challenges like not having to liquidate all holdings to your bank account and possibly being liable to pay a higher short-term gain tax. For those reasons, and more, “stablecoins” came into existence. What Are Stablecoins? Stablecoin is very much like a regular cryptocurrency but with a stable value. That means while a stablecoin lives on a blockchain, can be decentralized, and functions in a peer-to-peer ecosystem, its price is theoretically resistant to the crypto market volatility. That’s why the collective market capitalization of all stablecoins has quickly grown to a whopping USD 180 billion. Now, a stablecoin may derive its price stability using different approaches. Some of them are pegged to a basket of fiat currencies and commodities like the US dollar and gold while others are pegged to a mix of crypto, fiat, and commodities. These stablecoins are together termed collateralized stablecoins. Further, there are stablecoins that rely solely on an automated smart contract to maintain their price stability, and they are dubbed algorithmic stablecoins. However, the stablecoin market is mostly dominated by collateralized stablecoins such as USDT, BUSD, and USDC. The Limit of Collateralized Stablecoins Collateralized stablecoins were the first form of stablecoins and are all the rage for the most part. These stablecoins, like USDT and USDC are able to maintain a near-constant ratio of 1:1 with the US dollar with their protocol that “claims” to physically hold one US dollar for every token in the circulating supply. This fiat-backed model of stablecoins has rapidly garnered the trust of investors and governments. While investors are more confident in these coins due to their reliance on fiat currencies, governments have supported the concept as it promotes cryptos without posing any threat to government-backed currencies. While there’s no doubt that the concept is novel and game-changing in many aspects, it also has a few significant shortcomings. Among those, a major limitation is the inability of stablecoins to scale to meet rapidly growing demand. Stablecoin issuers have so far been able to deposit the required fiat currency collateral to mint more coins and meet the rapidly growing demand. But the question arises, how long can they keep on locking more fiat currencies to mint more stable cryptocurrencies? It is obvious that there has to be an upper limit and it will curb the scalability of this otherwise extraordinarily useful digital asset. While regulators and investors strongly support fully collateralized stablecoins over all else, these limitations are factors that we have to take into consideration on priority. To push beyond the apparent scalability limitation and to come up with a truly “working” stablecoin, a new generation of stablecoins is emerging. Enter Beanstalk. Beanstalk: A Credit-Based Stablecoin Protocol Beanstalk solves the challenge of meeting dynamic demands through a unique burning and minting mechanism. Crudely put, Beanstalk’s native token, $BEAN, is able to constantly maintain the price of USD 1.00 by dynamically adjusting the token supply as per demand. For instance, when the price of the token falls below USD 1.00, it is an indicator of low demand. To counter that, holders receive incentives in the form of a higher interest rate to lend $BEAN back to the protocol – and some $BEAN tokens are burned in the process. Similarly, when the price of the token goes above USD 1.00, it indicates a higher market demand, and the protocol mints more $BEAN. More experienced DeFi users may have experienced first-hand the disastrous consequences of failed uncollateralized stablecoins in the past. Once a de-pegging event occurs and stablecoin value falls, many investors risk losing their savings forever. Beanstalk, on the other hand, continues to show by example that its credit-based protocol works: it has so far returned to its USD 1.00 peg 4,700 times, and does so more and more frequently. As the global cryptocurrency market continues its growth, the stablecoin market will surely follow. In order to meet the growing demand, it is imperative that more innovative tools become available. In order to deliver on its promise of stability, many stablecoin projects have deferred to the vital role of collateral while ignoring the unmet demand. However, Beanstalk’s protocol shows that stability does not have to undermine scalability and vice versa. As such, the protocol is a welcoming step towards a more decentralized future with less volatility and more utility in the world of stablecoins.
Universe Island has announced the listing of its $UIM tokens on PancakeSwap which would provide its users with an avenue to trade. The listing is scheduled for the 18th of April 2022, shortly after which the first beta version of the game would be launched. $UIM is a BEP-20 token hosted on the Binance Smart Chain and serves as the official in-game token of Universe Island– a classic 1vs1 shooting game that will take the Play-to-Earn gaming experience of users to a whole new level with its NFT integration and crypto rewards. These tokens will be rewarded to players upon winning the 5 minute long matches and can also be claimed from loot boxes. When it comes to the versatility of these $UIM tokens, the team of Universe Island has done a splendid job at providing players with options on how they wish to use the tokens. The $UIM tokens could be used by token holders to avail several in-game benefits. The tokens could also be used to trade in-game NFT collectibles on the NFT Marketplace provided by Universe Island with no additional fees while using UIM tokens as the currency. However, an additional 5% fee will have to be paid while trading with BNB. Rewards could also be staked by users by staking their $UIM Tokens at the NFT marketplace. Staking would open a host of gateways for rewards such as monthly special airdrop, and better NFT rewards in terms of rarity for those who stake for a longer time while also having the lootbox rewards activated along with NFT equipment reward straight after staking that would be claimable at the market. In fact, six months takers will receive NFT that will give them right to the Whitelist, thereby, enabling them to buy land and much more. Furthermore, the token holders would have a say in the governance of the game and ecosystem of Universe Island. These NFT cards also would provide power-ups that could make all the difference between victory and defeat when put in the mix of skills and efforts of players. Apart from providing unique boosts, these NFT cards could also be put on display at the Metaverse gallery as a badge of honour of how much the player has evolved, and could also be viewed on characters using our AR Technology! The key to better NFT rewards for players is fairly simple- the bigger you hold, the better the rewards! Another thing to note is that the UIM tokens also have the option of being withdrawn on-chain by putting up a claim request that is followed by a week-long verification period. This verification period exists to ensure the detection of potential unfair means that players could have resorted to during games. Promising a limitless metaverse with several features and maps, Universe Island is geared to provide players with a P2E experience of a kind with its story-driven narrative, action-packed matches, NFT incorporation and crypto rewards. All you need is a mobile phone and you are good to go! Disclaimer: The content for this article is provided by Universe Island. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily represent those of Bitcoinist. Bitcoinist does not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of information available in such content. Do your research and invest at your own risk.
From fiat banknotes to fractional reserve banking, the notion of what constitutes money in the U.S. has changed over time. But is the time right for e-cash?
The wave of recent cryptocurrency gaming projects has attracted significant investment, as both digital-facing and traditional venture capitalists have bet big on play-to-earn and NFTs. It’s not just financiers either: gaming studio Ubisoft, the company behind Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, just led a $60 million investment in White Start Capital’s new Digital Asset Fund, much of which is certain to flow into the burgeoning gamefi space. Blockchain games deployed on mobile and desktop are increasingly viewed as an accessible gateway to crypto, a means by which the industry can onboard mainstream users who’ve never owned a Web3 wallet. Titles such as Wonderman Nation, a forthcoming release from the experienced Alt Shift Games studio, promise to furnish players with a riveting experience that combines slick game mechanics and endless earning opportunities. Little wonder this particular project has already won interest from some of the industry’s best-known investors… Tokens Galore Ahead of its public token launch later this month, Wonderman Nation has received the backing of multiple high-profile VCs including Shima Capital, Jump Capital, Chainboost, Sky Vision Capital and ZBS Capital. The likes of Maven Capital, Fomocraft Ventures, Formless Capital, Bitfrost Ventures and AU21 Capital have also thrown their support behind the venture, and in so doing have endorsed its Axie Infinity-esque P2E dual-token ecosystem. NFT game Axie generated a cool $1.3 billion in revenue last year, with players praising its addictive breed-and-battle gameplay. Gamefi, like crypto, is a numbers game. But not all players necessarily expect a ‘return on investment’: those entering the space from the traditional gaming world ultimately want to be entertained. Nevertheless, blockchain-based gaming ventures like Wonderman Nation need to raise capital to build a passionate community and ensure a stable ecosystem. To date, the project has raised $1.6 million from the aforementioned VCs with a second private round for Key Opinion Leaders and other strategic partners to follow. Retail users, for their part, raised a healthy $308k during a short but impactful marketing campaign late last year. The next important date in the calendar is April 21, when an allocation of WNDR governance tokens will be made available to investors via the ChainBoost incubator. In total, some $200,000 will be raised via the protocol’s so-called Boostpad. Then, a week later, another, larger sale ($800k) will commence on Polkastarter. The same day, April 28, a third sale will occur on Blockius, the IDO launchpad formally known as BlockPad. With this final public round, Wonderman Nation will raise $287k, for a total public round raise of $1.287m. All of which is to say that Wonderman Nation is well placed to make a major impact when it launches later this year. Why Wonderman? So, what’s all the fuss about? In a nutshell, Wonderman Nation is a fun, cartoonised game powered by a player-owned economy. Said to combine elements of CryptoKitties, Final Fantasy and Axie Infinity, the project leverages the collective expertise of a developer team whose resumé includes works on popular releases like Zelda, Far Cry, Star Wars, LA Noire, Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons. Even a rockstar team needs a frontman, though, and Creative Director Garth Midgley is the man at the helm. Having worked with the world’s biggest publishers (Nintendo, Ubisoft, Atari), Midgley is quietly confident that the game will bring a freshness to the fast-growing gamefi industry. Wonderman Nation gives players the opportunity to turn their skilful gameplay into rich rewards, whether they’re exploring, battling or breeding colourful creatures (Arcadians) that can be traded on the open market. Interestingly, Arcadians aren’t the only creatures that players can bring into the world: by venturing to new planets and moons, they can unearth mystical new species which can be cross-bred with Arcadians to create highly rare critter NFTs. Gamers can also discover, earn and trade commodities such as food items, which are required to feed hungry Arcadians. With a preponderance of token utility use cases, a gifted developer team, and no shortage of experienced investors, Wonderman Nation is just one of several promising blockchain games hinting at a bright new future for crypto. Let the games begin.
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Sega, the renowned game development company based in Japan, has hinted at the use of NFT (non-fungible token) and metaverse elements in its new game proposal. Dubbed “Super Game,” this new framework includes a series of AAA games that will use the new and existing IP (intellectual property) of the company to innovate using Sega’s […]
Hello everyone! I would like to officially share with you my project: Coinplate – the Ultra-Durable Seed Phrase Backup. I've been working on it for the past few months. I hope you'll like it! Feedback and suggestions are welcome. TLDR: Coinplate is a new ultra-durable seed phrase backup; Seed phrase is protected by two 3/16"…
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