Category: Cryptocurrency News

The Senegalese Bitcoin community is flourishing: there’s a homemade Bitcoin exchange, Bitcoin seminars in the local language and a growing list of merchants accepting Bitcoin in 2022.

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The initiative is focused on expanding credit and financing options for small- and medium-sized businesses in Latin America.

Bitcoin’s price increased momentum early Monday, breaking through the 38,500 barrier zone, but mostly wobbled after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear deterrence alert announcement. The cryptocurrency attempted an upside run beyond $39,500 and $40,000 but corrected down on Sunday as Putin increased the alert level on his country’s nuclear deterrence in the face of new Western sanctions for assaulting Ukraine. Following a 0.27% decrease on Saturday, Bitcoin fell 3.65% to close the week at $37,704. Additionally, it was a gloomy session for the remaining major cryptocurrencies. AVAX was down 8.07%, while LUNA fell 7.30%. ETH declined 5.84%, SOL weakened 5.12%, ADA fell 3.48, BNB lost 3.65%, and XRP shed 3.92%. Related Article | Russia Said SWIFT Ban Could Be Tantamount To A Declaration Of War Following a sharp upward move, BTC encountered sellers at the $39,500 and $40,000 levels. BTC has begun a downward correction and is currently trading below $38,290. It has now established a new high above the $37,500 support zone. The next critical support level is near $37,200, below which BTC may fall to $36,500. Total crypto market cap at $1.701 trillion in the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com Nuclear Deterrence Drags Down Cryptocurrencies The news of Russia’s nuclear forces being placed on “special alert” and the West’s synchronized response impacted market confidence. The European Union responded by announcing that it would finance the “purchasing and supply of weapons” and other gear to a country “under assault.” Additionally, it closed its airspace to all Russian aircraft and prohibited the Russian state-owned television network Russia Today and news agency Sputnik from operating. BTC is stabilizing above the $38,500 and $38,800 resistance levels in general. If the cryptocurrency surpasses $38,800, it may make a run at the $40,000 mark. Bitcoin must break through the $38,202 pivot point in order to challenge the first big resistance level at $39,360. Related Article | Russia Said SWIFT Ban Could Be Tantamount To A Declaration Of War Broad Market Support Required For BTC Bitcoin – the world’s most desired digital asset – would require broad market support to break through the $39,000 barrier. The Russian invasion of Ukraine will continue to be the primary focus of attention. Any further escalation by Russia or the West would put Bitcoin and the larger crypto market’s backing to the test. Apart from the news, US President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address on Monday night and Federal Reserve Chairman Powell’s Testimony on Wednesday and Thursday is also expected to weigh down on the broader market sentiment. Meanwhile, on the regulatory front, we’re keeping an eye on the White House Executive Order on cryptocurrency and the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets launch. MICA is a proposed regulatory framework for digital assets that parliamentarians are actively considering. Featured image from Deccan Herald, chart from TradingView.com

BTC dominance can directly affect altcoins by displaying the market’s trading volume in BTC vs. altcoins.

The Acardex Defi platform has begun token sales to develop the world’s largest decentralized exchange and cross-chain NFT marketplace on the Cardano Blockchain. The Acardex platform enables users to transfer native tokens and NFTs from other Blockchains to the Cardano Blockchain efficiently and seamlessly. Acardex functionalities When users join liquidity pools, Acardex allows them to become a liquidity provider on the Cardano Blockchain using the AMM protocol and generate passive revenue by collecting fees on “ADA — Cardano Native Tokens pairs.” Acardex’s development team is also developing a native assets lending protocol, which will allow users to obtain loans and pool assets for usage in various DeFi applications. The native token for the Acardex network will be $ACX, with a total quantity of 1,000,000,000 ACX. $ACX Token Use Cases Examples of Acardex use cases include, but are not limited to: ADA may be exchanged for other Cardano Native Tokens. Ability to vote and participate in the platform’s governance Swap and slippage charges, for example, can be paid. Participation in Acardex’s NFT decentralized marketplace, which is open and accessible to all. (Will be launched in Q3 this year.) Early adopters of the Acardex token will have exclusive access to NFT Drops, be able to list their NFTs, establish a price, and sell their assets on its marketplace. ACX Token Seed-Sale Details 1 ACX = 0.00125 ADA 1 ADA = 800 ACX Minimum Buy: 300 ADA Maximum Buy: 30,000 Users should only utilize Cardano native wallets like Yoroi Wallet, Daedalus Wallet, Nami Wallet, or Adalite Wallet to participate in the ongoing $ACX Seed-Sale. A complete guideline on participating in the ACX Seed-Sale will be made available. Users should keep in mind that they may only engage in the Seed-Sale via the website: https://acardex.io/seed-sale.html.

After a steep contraction resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, sub-Saharan economies are expanding, leading to a boom in the logistics sector as the need for transportation rises. However, more than half of active vehicles in the region are inefficient 2-stroke petrol-powered motorcycles, mostly used in taxi and delivery services that drive hundreds of kilometers per day. The fuel that they burn is costly for drivers, and produces toxic CO2 and fine particulate emissions in large volumes. Recognizing the need for cheaper and more efficient transportation solutions, Bob Eco Ltd., a rapidly-growing electric vehicle and clean energy company, entered the African markets with a line of orange-clad electric two and three-wheelers designed for the needs of taxi and delivery drivers. Since the first one hit the road in October of 2020, Bob Eco’s bikes have created a total of 2.6 jobs per bike, and saved 5  tons of CO2 emissions from being released into the atmosphere every year. Able to save on fuel costs, drivers that make the switch to one of Bob Eco’s vehicles nearly quadruple their take-home pay on average – enabling them to support their families and equip their homes with basic necessities like running water. Further, Bob Eco provides its bikes on a lease-to-own basis, giving drivers the chance to accumulate wealth once they pay off their rides. Being the clear choice for both drivers and the environment, Bob Eco has attracted the attention of African governments. This has already led to several partnerships at the state level, including an order for 232,000 vehicles from the Senegalese government. In order to keep up with demand, Bob Eco signed a 200-million-dollar production deal with manufacturing juggernaut Jincheng Suzuki for annual volumes reaching 200,000 units. Bob Eco has also recently opened a manufacturing facility focused on tricycles and Tuk Tuks, popularly used for comfortably transporting voluminous goods and larger groups of people. This facility has an annual production capacity of 1,500,000. The electric vehicles produced by this facility alone have the potential to save over 1,500,000 tons of CO2 emissions by 2024. Using the UN Environment eMob calculator, scenario calculations show that 11 billion tons of emissions could be saved by 2050 with a global shift to 90% battery-electric motorcycles. Given the rapid growth of two and three-wheelers in Africa, Bob Eco is focused on areas where it can make the greatest impact. However, Bob Eco is not fighting only for the environment. Bob Eco also runs several social programs in Africa serving people in need. These programs include feeding hungry children nutritious meals via planting fruit trees and rearing animals, building new water sources for local communities, providing schools with scholarships and resources, and providing shelter solutions for those without any. In an effort to do good in more places, Bob Eco launched its BobCoin (BOBC) ICO-WA on the primary market in March of 2021. A massive success, Bob Eco sold 25% of all BOBC for tens of millions of dollars to investors in over 40 countries. Bob Eco is now “going public” and beginning its second round of funding by selling BOBC on the primary market, currently accessible to retail investors via presale on the reputable www.Knaken.eu crypto platform. The expected listing valuation is $0.8 billion to $2.1 billion.

Safety is one of the most important topics of the crypto sphere, and with good reason. Even the most significant self-custody platforms, such as OpenSea, are vulnerable to malicious behavior and attacks. Read on to find out why security should be your number one priority, and learn from a recent, serious phishing attempt on OpenSea. What does self-custody mean? Essentially, self-custody in crypto refers to holders’ sole responsibility to handle and store their information data such as private keys. Consequently, a self-custody platform does not keep any kind of record of private keys, and thus delegates the task of safeguarding them to key owners. About the OpenSea phishing attack Phishing is a type of malicious activity that manipulates the victim into sharing confidential credentials or information, mostly by fake communication. Phishing is a serious threat even today, and it’s also one of the hardest attacks to discover, as it’s disguised as ordinary messaging. To demonstrate how real this issue is, here’s the recent case of OpenSea, one of the most important Non-Fungible Token (NFT) marketplaces of its time. According to official sources, the phishing attack influenced 32 platform users, who actually suffered damages to their holdings because of the event. The company’s CEO, David Finzer, highlighted that the attack is likely not directly connected to OpenSea’s platform, and users signed the malicious action elements somewhere else, which just underlines the significance of keeping your sensitive data safe when using a self-custody platform. Overall, while some rumors said that the stolen value was somewhere in the $200M range, David Finzer mentioned that the address, which they believe to be the hacker’s, has $1.7M to its name, which is still an outstandingly high figure. Why should safety be a priority? With the advancement of technology came the progress of hacks as well, and so nowadays, it’s more important than ever to take all the necessary precautions that aim to prevent such events. This is especially true when using self-custody platforms, since it’s the users’ responsibility to safeguard their private information, including their private keys. The reason why safety should come first is quite straightforward: the more one accumulates, the better the target for hackers, and if security is neglected, all those hard-earned funds can permanently disappear, faster than one would think. Implications of safety while trading Safety is also vital when it comes to trading cryptocurrencies, be it on a centralized exchange (CEX), or a decentralized exchange (DEX). Unfortunately, there are very few platforms out there that actually put sufficient emphasis on the topic. A great example of a DEX that ticks the box of high-level security is FOMODex, which is a multichain automated market maker (AMM), supporting Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Ethereum (ETH), and Polygon (MATIC). The platform recognized that without proper safety measures, everything else is basically useless, as results are only as good as their protection. Therefore, its team reportedly created FOMODex to be one of the most secure DEXs, despite its multichain environment and high volume of transactions. To further emphasize this, FOMODex launched as the first DEX that is regulated in the U.S., which means users’ protection is elevated, and grounds are provided for legal cases, should fraud occur. This is a remarkable achievement, as U.S. regulators are notoriously hard to get approval from. Final thoughts As demonstrated by both theory and real-world events, safety is truly one of the most overlooked, yet extremely vital aspects of dealing with cryptocurrencies. However, with next-generation platforms and users recognizing its importance, proper security will become the number one feature users look for when choosing where to conduct business in the near future.

It is standard for DeFi platforms to offer over-collateralized loans, in which borrowers deposit more in assets than they withdraw. Some DeFi platforms (like AAVE) support a newer type of loan, the flash loan. When a loanee takes out a flash loan, no collateral is required. This is achievable because flash loans are repaid within the same transaction that they are taken out – a smart contract is used to rapidly perform a series of transactions that result with the loanee ultimately repaying the loan.   Flash loans are atomic, meaning that they are only processed if all included transactions are executed. If they are not, they are rolled back. This enables individuals to borrow massive sums with almost no risk. It is common for borrowers to withdraw tens of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of dollars at once, albeit for a brief period.   What Are Flash Loans Used For?   Flash loans have three primary uses: trading arbitrage, collateral swapping, and self-liquidation. Here’s an explanation of each:   Trading Arbitrage: Different exchanges may charge different prices for certain assets, opening opportunities to purchase and sell the same assets on different exchanges for a profit. This process is called “trading arbitrage”. While it can be done manually, doing so usually doesn’t yield much of a profit, since the prices of these assets usually only differ by a fractional amount. Flash loans can be used to automatically execute large arbitrage orders, quickly turning a much larger profit.   Collateral Swapping: Changing the base collateral used in DeFi loans can be frustrating and time-consuming, especially for those who diversify their collateralized assets. Flash loans can be used to quickly pay off loans in order to free locked assets, then swap those assets for others.   Self-Liquidation: If a traditional DeFi loan’s base collateral decreases in value too greatly, it will be liquidated. Meaning, collateralized assets will be sold at a discount in order to repay the loan, yielding a loss for the borrower. Flash loans can be used to self-liquidate, fully paying off the loan and withdrawing the collateralized assets without a loss.   What Are The Real Risks of Flash Loans?   Because flash loans are atomic, they are risk-reduced. However, they are not entirely risk-free. Flash loans incur network fees regardless of whether or not they succeed. This exposes loanees to front-running, in which other parties execute identical flash loans while paying higher network fees. Front-ran flash loans are processed first, often leaving original loanees with nothing but network fees to pay.   Most flash loan platforms use the Ethereum Network because it was the first major DeFi-supportive network to gain mass adoption. With Ethereum gas fees as high as they are, front-running has become a major issue for those seeking flash loans.   The use of Ethereum for flash loans poses another serious risk. Ethereum smart contracts are vulnerable to reentrancy attacks, during which hackers withdraw all funds stored within a smart contract. This is done using an external smart contract that withdraws funds multiple times before the withdrawn balance is confirmed.   Ethereum smart contracts are uniquely vulnerable to reentrancy attacks due to Ethereum’s Solidity programming language. Technical jargon aside, Ethereum smart contracts are only secure if coded in a very specific way. Minor mistakes can leave them highly vulnerable. In fact, a single misarranged line of code allowed hackers to steal USD 60 million of Ether in the infamous “The DAO” hack.   How To Avoid Flash Loan Risks   If a reentrancy vulnerability is found within the smart contracts of popular Ethereum-based DeFi platforms, flash loaners could lose millions. Needless to say, many are looking for DeFi solutions outside of the Ethereum Network. One alternative that has been gaining popularity recently is White Whale, the first cryptocurrency project to offer flash loan UST arbitrage within the Terra ecosystem.   Flash loans on Terra are much more secure than flash loans on Ethereum. This is because Terra is built using Cosmos, which powers several other popular projects like Binance Chain. Cosmos’ smart contract engine (CosmWasm) does not allow calls to external smart contracts, and Terra’s smart contract language is far more forgiving than Ethereum’s. This makes White Whale’s arbitrage system immune to reentrancy attacks.   As for frontrunning, it is an inescapable risk. The best course of action is to reduce its likelihood and the damage that it causes. Most front-running attacks are performed on the Ethereum Network by bots, which take advantage of Ethereum’s high and volatile gas prices. Switching to a network with lower and more stable network fees can greatly reduce frontrunning risk.   White Whale offers a sleek and easy web-app interface that makes arbitrage accessible to everyone.