Gods Unchained, a trading card game on Ethereum layer-2 network Immutable zkEVM, announced the launch of a battle pass ahead of its upcoming season and the new Fallen Age expansion coming on February 18.
The pass, which comes has one free tier and two paid tiers of premium rewards, will be available for pre-purchase from February 9 to February 17, offering users a 25% discount on the top two tracks, Premium and Shiny which are priced at $6.99 and $39.99 respectively.
With each pass tier, users are granted perks like new exclusive cosmetics, as well core card packs and Fallen Age packs from the new expansion.
As users move up tracks, they are granted additional perks like the Gods Unchained token (GODS) on Ethereum. Purchases of Premium or Shiny tracks will offer users 28 and 47 GODS tokens respectively, approximately $3.35 and $5.63 worth at current prices, with additional GODS rewards available as they play through the season.
The Fallen Age expansion set that arrives with battle pass season one will feature 56 cards, with seven legendaries and seven mythic variants, including two new gameplay mechanic cards: “Wither” and “Raid.”
Gods Unchained released its Tower of Dread expansion pack in October. The turn-based card game is available and free to play on iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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An under-the-radar virtual reality metaverse altcoin teased an upcoming app release on the new Apple Vision Pro headset and surged by more than 24% in a matter of hours on Friday.
Victoria VR (VR) is a blockchain-based virtual reality metaverse powered by the 3D creation tool Unreal Engine.
[adinserter block="1"]
The massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) advertises realistic graphics, a digital real estate marketplace and non-fungible token (NFT) trading.
The project’s native token, VR, was trading around $0.0347 when Victoria VR teased a new release on the Apple Vision Pro just before 6 am PST on Friday.
By around 9 am PST, it had surged to a high of $0.0432, though it has since partially retraced and is trading at $0.0374. The 256th-ranked crypto asset by market cap is also up nearly 66% in the past seven days.
The Apple Vision Pro is the tech giant’s first 3D camera. It launched in US stores on Friday and offers immersive viewing for games, shows and movies.
Additionally, the Seychelles-based crypto exchange giant Bitget listed VR in its innovation zone on Friday morning.
Despite the token’s price gains this week, VR remains nearly 94% down from its all-time high of $0.616, which it set back in December 2021, according to CoinGecko.
Victoria VR, a leading virtual reality developer, has announced a pioneering integration with OpenAI into its AI Builder. This historic collaboration positions Victoria VR as the first Web3 project to fuse artificial intelligence with virtual reality, offering unprecedented capabilities in VR content creation.
Empowering Creators with No-Code VR Development Victoria’s VR AI Builder is a user-friendly platform that democratizes virtual reality design. It allows individuals, regardless of their programming knowledge, to craft their own virtual realities, games, and applications. Users can monetize their creations, whether they are games, digital shops, interactive showrooms, virtual offices, online schools, or entirely new VR worlds.
The integration of OpenAI into Victoria’s VR AI Builder promises to unlock a plethora of new creative avenues. It facilitates the design of custom in-game items, virtual accessories, characters, and even entire Metaverses. With OpenAI prompts, users can generate bespoke VR content effortlessly, eliminating the need for coding and enabling the on-demand creation of rich digital spaces.
AI-Powered Content Creation and Rapid Prototyping Scheduled for a late 2024 rollout, the OpenAI integration will be the first of many AI technologies to be incorporated into Victoria’s VR AI Builder. Additional AI capabilities, including DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, will further enhance the platform’s functionalities, accelerating the content creation process.
By integrating these advanced AI technologies, Victoria VR enables users to design intricate 3D assets and environments with ease. The platform empowers creators to bring their imaginative VR worlds to life, supporting mini-games and Metaverse applications built using the Victoria’s VR AI Builder.
One of the standout features of Victoria VR is its support for content rendering as NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). Creators maintain full ownership and control over their digital assets, allowing them to trade and monetize their VR content as they see fit. This innovative approach transforms users into creators, fostering a vibrant ecosystem of unique VR experiences.
Victoria VR sets itself apart with its ultra-realistic graphics and immersive gameplay, delivering a top-tier virtual reality Metaverse experience. Compatible with devices like Apple Vision Pro, Oculus Quest 3, and others, Victoria VR harnesses the power of virtual reality and Web3 technology to create a unique digital realm filled with endless possibilities.
Breaking Down Barriers in VR Development The traditional complexities associated with VR development, such as coding, texture mapping, model creation, and animation, often deter many from entering the VR space. However, Victoria VR’s AI Builder aims to remove these barriers, making virtual reality development accessible to everyone. This accessibility is further supported by the $VR tokens, which drive the Victoria VR ecosystem.
Victoria VR is a cutting-edge Virtual Reality Metaverse equipped with the VR AI Builder, empowering users to create, trade, and monetize VR content as NFTs. Built on Unreal Engine, Victoria VR leverages the latest advancements in virtual reality technology to offer immersive entertainment, discovery, and learning experiences. As the first Web3 Metaverse available on Apple Vision Pro, Victoria VR is paving the way for the future of the Metaverse.
In essence, Victoria VR’s integration of OpenAI marks a significant milestone in the evolution of virtual reality and the Metaverse. By combining the power of AI with user-friendly VR development tools, Victoria VR is poised to redefine the landscape of virtual reality, unlocking new realms of creativity and innovation for creators and users alike.
AUTHOR
Mushumir Butt is a seasoned crypto journalist with over three years of experience reporting on the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. At Blockchain Reporter, he delivers insightful news, in‐depth project reviews, and precise price analysis and predictions. With a strong background in SEO and digital marketing, Mushumir excels at breaking down complex trends into clear, accessible content, ensuring readers stay ahead in the fast‐paced crypto space.
Virtual reality (VR) developer Victoria VR has announced its integration with the creator of the popular artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT, AI giant OpenAI. According to Victoria VR CEO and co-founder Adam Bém, the new application will allow users to experience their first AI integration through the AI builder platform, which enables the enhancement of virtual reality experiences via Victoria VR’s artificial intelligence algorithms.
A Noteworthy Partnership from Two Major CompaniesVictoria VR‘s AI creator allows users to design their own 3D virtual reality experiences, games, and applications without needing programming knowledge. The OpenAI integration will enable the creation of various new content, from in-game elements and virtual accessories to metaverse platforms. Players will be able to use ChatGPT’s AI commands to create these experiences. User-generated content in Victoria VR will be offered as NFTs, making the content tradable.
Although AI and VR are currently some of the trendiest technologies, both have significant limitations. Despite VR experiences still being in the early stages, the hardware costs are steep. Meta’s recently launched Quest 3 is priced at $499 for the 128 GB base version and $649 for the 512 GB version.
Victoria VR also plans to integrate other AI technologies such as DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion. Victoria VR is currently available on Apple Vision Pro and Oculus Quest 3. The platform benefits from Unreal Engine 5, one of the most popular game engines, with over 7.5 million active developers.
Insightful Statements from a Prominent FigureAccording to statements made by Bém, with the current pace of progress, artificial intelligence will become the primary driving force behind virtual reality development within the next five years:
“Artificial intelligence is currently enabling the creation of sophisticated texts, codes, and images and is on the verge of transforming video production and 3D object creation. With the pace of AI technology’s advancement, it is predicted that in the next five years, AI will primarily facilitate the development of virtual realities, relegating traditional roles such as VR developers, 3D modelers, and coders to the background.”
The field of artificial intelligence is already creating new possibilities for gaming, including endless narratives generated by AI and more interactive non-player characters (NPCs) with more realistic responses.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Today, Victoria VR, a leading virtual reality developer, announced breakthrough news of integration with OpenAI that might be a game changer in implementing how AI-based virtual worlds’ capabilities are done.
Revolutionizing virtual reality creation Faced with democratizing the creation of virtual reality content, Victoria VR integrated OpenAI into its VR-building platform. This cutting-edge step positions Victoria VR as the first Web3 project to beautifully synthesize AI capabilities within the virtual reality environment, all to make the content creation process for VR as easy and intuitive as possible.
One of the unique points of this integration is the special Victoria VR AI Builder tool, which allows users to build their VR worlds, games, and applications from scratch without having prior programming skills. Personal features, such as characters and virtual landscapes, can be created easily and with simple instructions using the technology provided by OpenAI. Such innovative tools will further strengthen personalization in the virtual experience.
Enhancing immersion with realistic graphics and gameplay With devices like Apple Vision Pro and Oculus Quest 3, the Victoria VR metaverse is expected to provide the highest level of immersion possible with photorealistic graphics and unbeatable games. It uses the Unreal Engine and thrusts its users into scenic, beautiful fantasy environments that redefine the standards of VR technology.
The company will take these frontiers further and line up new integrations by the end of 2024 with the most futuristic artificial intelligence technologies. Such improvements will enable developers to express their ideas as a 3D asset and setting more rapidly, easing the development of game environments and other metaverse applications.
Victoria VR’s program looks forward to enabling producers to display their content as non-fungible tokens (NFT), which are attached to empowerment in the control and ownership of digital assets. This makes the approach very conducive to developing a virtual world with a friendly environment for creative production, which then, in turn, would nurture a vibrant and crowded society of producers and explorers.
Driving accessibility and engagement with $VR tokens The $VR tokens strive to enhance the VR experience, making it accessible and engaging. By doing so, Victoria VR is again at the forefront of changing the game of how people experience virtual reality, this time with simplicity and engagement like never before.
With OpenAI integrated into its platform, Victoria VR’s goal is to democratize access to and creation of virtual reality content. This frontier effort will open up new chances to innovate and personalize within the virtual world and thus vividly emerge in a lively manner in VR.
This is big; the integration with OpenAI is a major milestone for AI-powered virtual worlds by Victoria VR in its virtual reality builder. With hopes to empower users, expand creative horizons, and ensure accessibility, Victoria VR is a poised brand that turns the tides in the landscape of virtual reality, all for an altogether immersive and engaging product for the creator and explorer alike. Being a pioneer in the metaverse revolution, Victoria VR brings massive new opportunities for the future of VR.
Original Story From https://hackernoon.com/the-dawn-of-ai-powered-virtual-worlds-victoria-vr-leads-with-openai
Prague, Czech Republic, August 13th, 2024, GamingWire
Victoria VR, a blockchain Virtual Reality World and AI VR builder developer, today announced the launch of its latest game, VRtap. Designed as a cutting-edge Strategic PvP for Telegram, the new title mixes play-to-earn with strategic PvP battle to connect realistic Virtual Reality gaming to mobile users.
Allowing players to engage in dynamic gameplay by developing unique characters and champions, competing in strategic PvP battles, and gathering valuable resources, the game features an immersive experience that incorporates the principles of the five natural elements of Feng Shui. Players can master and purchase a variety of champion characters, each with unique abilities, and level them up to enhance their skills in battle. Exclusive champion skins and a quest and task system are essential to gameplay, furnishing additional customization.
With strategic PvP battles at the heart of the game, players use spells to outmaneuver and defeat their opponents. Players earn VR Points as both active and passive income from winning battles or mining resources, offering multiple strategies for wealth accumulation in a unique play-to-earn VR environment.
"With the launch of VRtap, we are bringing a new level of strategic gameplay to mobile devices while introducing immersive experiences that our VR games are known for," said Adam Bém, CEO & Co-Founder at Victoria VR. "Combining the tactical depth of strategic PvP battles with the accessibility of Telegram, we are creating a bridge between mobile and VR gaming. This integration enables our community to engage across platforms in an innovative manner. Additionally, there are rumors that VRtap active users may be rewarded with a completely new category of airdrop, which has never been seen before!”
The Telegram game is a mobile extension of Victoria VR’s PvP Arenas, integrating with the existing VR game to allow players to connect with the community and compete for VR Points.
Play the game here.
About Victoria VR
Victoria VR is a blockchain-based Virtual Reality World with Realistic Graphics. It combines MMORPG elements with a revolutionary VR AI Builder, allowing anyone to create their own VR experiences without any coding skills.
[PRESS RELEASE – Prague, Czech Republic, August 13th, 2024]
Victoria VR, a blockchain Virtual Reality World and AI VR builder developer, today announced the launch of its latest game, VRtap. Designed as a cutting-edge Strategic PvP for Telegram, the new title mixes play-to-earn with strategic PvP battle to connect realistic Virtual Reality gaming to mobile users.
Allowing players to engage in dynamic gameplay by developing unique characters and champions, competing in strategic PvP battles, and gathering valuable resources, the game features an immersive experience that incorporates the principles of the five natural elements of Feng Shui. Players can master and purchase a variety of champion characters, each with unique abilities, and level them up to enhance their skills in battle. Exclusive champion skins and a quest and task system are essential to gameplay, furnishing additional customization.
With strategic PvP battles at the heart of the game, players use spells to outmaneuver and defeat their opponents. Players earn VR Points as both active and passive income from winning battles or mining resources, offering multiple strategies for wealth accumulation in a unique play-to-earn VR environment.
“With the launch of VRtap, we are bringing a new level of strategic gameplay to mobile devices while introducing immersive experiences that our VR games are known for,” said Adam Bém, CEO & Co-Founder at Victoria VR. “Combining the tactical depth of strategic PvP battles with the accessibility of Telegram, we are creating a bridge between mobile and VR gaming. This integration enables our community to engage across platforms in an innovative manner. Additionally, there are rumors that VRtap active users may be rewarded with a completely new category of airdrop, which has never been seen before!”
The Telegram game is a mobile extension of Victoria VR’s PvP Arenas, integrating with the existing VR game to allow players to connect with the community and compete for VR Points.
Play the game here.
About Victoria VR Victoria VR is a blockchain-based Virtual Reality World with Realistic Graphics. It combines MMORPG elements with a revolutionary VR AI Builder, allowing anyone to create their own VR experiences without any coding skills.
There is a 20% chance that Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) could surpass the $70,000 mark by the end of April.
That's according to data from the decentralized marketplace Lyra Finance.
The prediction might catch some off guard, especially considering Bitcoin's 35% increase to $52,000, marking its highest point since late 2021.
This uptrend is driven by significant investments into U.S.-based spot ETFs, showcasing strong bullish momentum.
The broader sentiment among cryptocurrency traders suggests possible further increases in Bitcoin's value.
This optimism is partly due to the expansive U.S. fiscal policy, which is seen as a counterbalance to rising interest rates.
Additionally, the anticipated mining reward halving in April is seen as favorable factors for risk-taking in the financial markets.
Also Read: Deutsche Börse Subsidiary Crypto Finance Unlocks New Era In German Crypto Services
Why It Matters: Options, as financial derivatives, offer insights into market expectations.
These instruments allow buyers to purchase or sell an asset at a set price in the future, without obligation. The pricing of options can reveal where experienced traders predict the market will move in the near term.
Lyra stands as the largest decentralized platform for crypto options, commanding half of the global decentralized exchange (DEX) options volume, which reached $32 million in the past 24 hours, according to DeFiLlama.
The platform recently introduced Bitcoin options set to expire on April 26, coinciding with the anticipated reward halving.
Forster said, "Early trading activity [in the April 26 expiry] has been concentrated in the upside, with call buyers lighting up the $64,000 and $70,000 strikes," indicating a bullish outlook from traders on the future price of Bitcoin.
Read Next: Bankrupt Genesis Gets Green Light To Liquidate $1.38 Billion In Grayscale Trust Shares
Image: Illustrated with MidJourney
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
SponsoredUpdated May 8, 2024, 8:02 a.m. Published May 8, 2024, 7:59 a.m.
3 min read
Coins raining down on an umbrella (Getty Images)Lyra’s new offering allows liquid restaking token holders to automate and package any yield-bearing strategy into an ERC-20 token, which can be used elsewhere.Initially, users will be allowed to tokenize basis trade, followed by a covered call strategy later.Decentralized options platform Lyra Finance now allows holders of liquid restaking tokens (LRT) to generate an additional yield. The platform will let holders of LTR earn extra income using automated versions of popular strategies like basis trade and covered calls.
The so-called tokenized derivatives yield product has been launched in partnership with liquid restaking protocols Swell NEtwork and Ether.Fi.
It will help holders of rswETH and eETH tokens earn an annualized percentage yield of 10% to 50%, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk. That’s significantly higher than the 10-year yield of 4.47% on U.S. treasuries, traditional finance’s proxy for the risk-free rate.
rswETH and eETH are native liquid staking tokens of Swell Network and Ether.Fi, respectively. Staking refers to the act of locking cryptocurrencies in a blockchain network in return for rewards.
Liquid restaking protocols, such as Ether.Fi and Swell Network allow users to deposit their ether {{ETH}} or liquid staking tokens like stETH, which are then restaked in EigenLayer. In return, users receive liquid restaking tokens or LRTs, which can be exchanged with ETH at any time.
Users only need to deposit rswETH and eETH in Lyra and mint a yield-bearing derivative token, which then automatically executes a predefined yield-bearing strategy on-chain. In other words, any yield-bearing strategy can be automated and packaged into a composable ERC-20 token, which can be used elsewhere.
“We believe that tokenized derivatives yield is a game-changing primitive that will underpin the bootstrapping of networks and the expansion of sustainable crypto economic markets,” Forster said.
Forster added the total value locked in the restaking protocols could double to $30 billion in the next 12 months, and Lyra stands out as the only protocol providing a new layer of derivatives yield for stakers and restakers.
Initially, users can tokenize basis trade, a popular market-neutral strategy that seeks to profit from discrepancies in two markets. Lyra told CoinDesk that tokenized covered calls will be made available later.
“The basis trade is a delta-neutral strategy that users can execute to earn an extra yield on the tokens that are already generating restaking yield as well as ETH yield,” Nick Forster, co-founder of Lyra Finance, said in an email.
“The covered call strategy involves more risks but uses liquid restaking tokens as collateral to sell ETH calls. So if ETH finishes above the strike price [at which calls are sold], they will potentially have to give up some of their upside but get the USDC yield in return,” Forster added.
The covered call involves selling call options or upside protection at strikes higher than the underlying asset’s going market rate while holding the asset in the spot market. The premium received for selling insurance against bullish moves represents extra yield on top of the spot market holding. Lyra’s self-custodial vaults automate the strategy.
The platform has launched its sUSDeBULL vault, providing depositors with leveraged upside to ETH’s price increasing.
Lyra Finance, a DeFi platform offering tokenized derivatives and yield, is offering an extra 2.5x on sUSDe yields when ETH rises via a partnership with Ethena.
Users who deposit into Lyra’s new sUSDeBULL vault will be earning LDX Points from Lyra and Ethena Sats, while maintaining exposure to Lyra’s automated options strategy that is meant to increase yields as ETH goes up, and preserve yield when the ETH price chops.
Lyra’s automated options strategy buys bull call spreads with yield generated by sUSDe in the previous week, providing users a leveraged exposure to ETH upside via yield. If ETH trends downwards, users risk earning zero yield on their capital during that time.
sUSDeBULL Projection Table - Lyra FinanceLyra’s total-value locked (TVL) has expanded by over 10 times since the beginning of the year, and is now back at levels it has not seen since Q1 2022, according to DeFiLlama.
The product's deposits began to take off at the end of May, when Lyra introduced liquid restaking token (LRT) deposits.
Notably, the sUSDeBULL vault is launching ahead of the Ethereum ETF. However, Ethereum’s price has been on a steady decline since June, and is down 15.9% on the month, contradicting expectations that the upcoming ETFs would be expected to bode well for ETH holders.
Flamingo Finance, a DeFi protocol operating on the blockchain NEO, has commenced an exclusive partnership. As per the company, it is joining forces with AlphaNet (a cutting-edge AI forum dealing with crypto trading) to enhance the range of products for consumers. The platform took to its official account on the social media forum X to disclose this endeavor.
Flamingo Finance Commences an Exclusive Collaboration with AlphaNet In its recent X post, the firm expressed its enthusiasm for the respective development. It pointed out that the firm will provide the consumers with the products that AlphaNet offers. Nonetheless, the platform clarified that the procedure of introducing the respective products would take place gradually. In addition to this, it mentioned that with the help of the products coming from AlphaNet, the Flamingo ecosystem will benefit users.
The Development Includes the Provision of AlphaNet’s Cutting-Edge Services to Flamingo Finance Users It revealed that this development will reportedly enhance the trading operations of the users. In this respect, the users will get trading insights as well as signals to efficiently carry out their on-chain activities. According to Flamingo, the initiative will also bring AI tools to the consumers. As a result of this, the clients will reportedly get an improved trading experience.
AlphaNet operates as an innovative AI system offering crypto trading services. It reportedly consists of a package of AI-based strategies, signals, and insights. With the help of artificial intelligence, it caters to the exclusive requirements of crypto consumers. As included in this collaboration, it will facilitate the Flamingo Finance users with its services.
AUTHOR
Umair Younas is a cryptocurrency-related content writer linked with this work since 2019. Here, at Blockchainreporter, he serves as a news and article writer. He is a crypto, blockchain, NFTs, DeFi, and FinTech enthusiast. He has strong command over writing authentic reviews about brokers and exchanges and he has collaborated with our education team to write educational content as well. He has a dream to raise awareness among people about digital currencies. His works are well-researched and brimmed with information hence they provide fresh insights. Stay tuned to his posts if you want to stay up-to-date with the crypto-verse.
Flamingo Finance (FLM) has rapidly re-opened the NEO cross-chain bridge amid an uptick in Chinese crypto activity after the Beijing stimulus package.
The leading cross-chain bridge on NEO N3, Flamingo Finance (FLM), has reopened, enabling NEO users to bridge their assets between blockchains once again.
This comes as the Chinese crypto community takes center stage in Bitcoin’s recovery amid a shift in Chinese macro-economic policy – expected to fuel major crypto gains in Q4.
At the heart of this macro-economic reversal is Beijing’s aggressive economic maneuver, which amounts to a jaw-dropping $142Bn fiscal stimulus move—including significant interest rate cuts and a reduction in the cash-on-hand required at Chinese banks.
China… CSI 300 Index … pic.twitter.com/qXSbmddBaT
— MastersInvest.com (@mastersinvest) September 30, 2024
So far, the announcement last week has landed with dramatic success, with the CSI 300 Chinese stock market climbing +8.5% higher in a move not seen since mid-2008.
Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin BTC $64,231.88 1.29% , has benefited from the shift to risk-on sentiment, with BTC prices now targeting a new all-time high above $70K after Chinese capital inflows saw BTC mount its’ best September performance in history.
Will a ‘Chinese Narrative’ Fuel So-Called ‘China Coins’ to New Heights? Yet, this isn’t the only China-linked news stirring bullish sentiment in the cryptocurrency market. The iconic founder of Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), also made headlines this week with a much-anticipated release from his US custodial sentence.
The combination of these events is rapidly charging the idea that Q4 could be dominated by a breakout ‘Chinese Narrative’ (in a repeat of the exceptional performance of Chinese cryptocurrencies in H1, 2023).
And it seems traders aren’t missing a beat, with 3 leading Chinese-linked cryptocurrency projects undertaking major gains over the Weekend.
(CFXUSDT)
Conflux Network (CFX) is leading the charge with a +31.5% gain over the past 14 days, and this has been quickly followed by Neo (NEO) with a +14.92% gain, and also Filecoin (FIL) with a 7.4% gain in the same time period.
This shows an appetite for altcoins in the Chinese domestic market and could hint at key tokens to watch in Q4.
DISCOVER: The State of Chinese Bitcoin Mining Industry in 2024
Flamingo Finance Moves Quickly To Open The Gates For Chinese Narrative Testament to these quick-fire gains, Flamingo Finance Flamingo Finance FLM $0.000803 2.92% , has quickly re-opened its’ vital cross-chain bridge on NEO N3, which had been closed for more than 2-months following a lengthy re-development after security breaches in July 2023, enabling the exploitation of Poly Network.
The Flamingo Finance team has been working to restore the bridge throughout September. It will reopen for ERC-20 tokens on September 6 and Binance’s BNB Chain on September 11.
Yet, the rapid decision to reopen the NEO N3 bridge is likely in response to the surging trading activity in Chinese markets, which often utilize NEO as a ‘Chinese Ethereum.’
It’s clear that this has been a reactive move, rushed ahead of the original schedule. Assets are currently bridgable but limited in volume, and waiting times of up to two days add weight to the idea that this move was driven by significant demand from Chinese traders – although equally, there is a need for Flamingo Finance to ensure smooth and secure operations with the reopening.
Nevertheless, with the FLM bridge now reopened, users can once again bridge assets between NEO and popular networks like Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain once again – a bullish sign indeed, especially as NEO N3 pushes towards the launch of side-chains via it’s sister token GAS.
EXPLORE: Africa Crypto Week in Review: Hamster Kombat Launch A Failure, Pro-Africa Meme Coin Live As EA Capital Approved In South Africa
Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
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A prominent decentralized finance (DeFi) project, Flamingo Finance ($FLM), saw the highest weekly growth on Total Value Locked (TVL). According to data shared by Phoenix Group, which is derived from DeFiLlama, FLM hit a raised TVL of 153%. With a relatively modest market capitalization of $16.5 million, the protocol now has $15.2 million in locked assets.
$SOLV and $NOTE were two of the top gainers after FLM. Total value locked for $SOLV saw a 51.8% increase and currently stands at $1.1 billion. On the other hand, $NOTE gained 45.2% with $10 million in TVL. The native token of QuickSwap, $QUICK, increased by 44%, taking its TVL to $214.3 million. This showed this project’s traction in their ecosystem increasing activity from the user and liquidity side.
Moderate Growth Seen in HYPE, CHESS, Polymarket, and Others Other protocols also grew, but modestly. Accordingly, $HYPE and $CHESS records weekly increases at 21.2% and 19.8%, respectively. $HYPE currently manages $44.6 million locked in assets while $CHESS controls $134.6 million. The next, Polymarket, followed with an 18% increase in TVL, coming in at $31.2 million which does not seem to have a reported market cap figure in the dataset.
$BLUE, $PENDLE, and $LON also observed TVL growth of 15.4%, 13.3%, 11.8%, and 11.4%, respectively. However, $PENDLE and $LON occupied $4.1 billion and $850,700, respectively, in TVL. Though lower in absolutes, these weekly percentage gains show increased momentum in their protocols.
Gradual Growth Continues Among Lower-Ranked Protocols On the lower end, the TVL changes of $VELO, $XCN, $ENA, $ZEUS, and $MORPHO range from 10% to 6.1%. $VELO’s TVL skyrocketed to $103.6 million, and $XCN’s increased to $136.3 million. Another factor worth noting was that $ENA reported a TVL of $5bn and a 9.2% increase in TVL, while ZEUS and $MORPHO had TVL growth of 6.7% and 6.1%, respectively.
AUTHOR
Crypto journalist with years of experience providing in-depth analysis and news on blockchain and decentralized finance. With a keen eye for detail, Shahzaib delivers insightful articles that explore the latest trends, market movements, and innovations within the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. His work focuses on educating readers while offering expert commentary on the evolving landscape of digital assets, DeFi protocols, and the broader impact of blockchain technology.
Flamingo Finance Community Lagoon AMA Notes — October 28, 2025
2 min read
Nov 11, 2025
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Flamingo community, below you can read an overview of what the community and team discussed in October’s Community Lagoon AMA on X Spaces.
October’s AMA focused on new frontiers for Flamingo: real-world assets (RWA) and prediction markets. Guests discussed how these on-chain financial products could be built using Flamingo’s existing DeFi infrastructure (Lend, OrderBook+, FUSD).
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Core products remain stable, and the team continues exploring next-generation DeFi use cases for 2026.
Real-World Assets (RWA)RWAs like tokenized Treasury bills, bonds, and commodities are rising in DeFi. Flamingo’s FUSD and modular design make it well-suited for RWA-based lending or trading once the ecosystem matures. Regulatory and oracle challenges remain, but the team is optimistic and researching this direction further.
Prediction MarketsCommunity discussed building prediction markets on Flamingo, where users could stake FUSD or FLM on real-world outcomes. The concept could leverage Orderbook and smart contract pairs for event-based settlements. The team is open to partnerships or community prototypes exploring this idea.
Platform & EcosystemFlamingo Lend and OrderBook+ continue running smoothly after previous upgrades. FLOCKS revenue sharing ongoing with stable weekly distributions. Team is researching new bridge solutions to improve interoperability and UX. Ambassadors are encouraged to lead education and content efforts.
What’s Next for FlamingoNear-term: keep core systems stable, reintroduce Meme-to-Earn events, and publish more educational content. Long-term: potentially expand into RWA integrations, yield-bearing stablecoins, and prediction-based DeFi products.
The Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance has launched ASI: Train, a new program focused on developing domain-specific AI models. The initiative kicks off with the introduction of Cortex, a $100 million brain-inspired robotics model designed to enhance AI capabilities in real-world applications.
According to a Nov. 26 statement, the program targets complex challenges across various industries like science, medicine, and robotics. Current large language models (LLMs) are great for general tasks but struggle with specialized industry needs.
AI models are expected to offer greater precision, efficiency, and relevance for specialized tasks than general-purpose LLMs.
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With this platform, researchers, investors, and community members can participate in the success of AI development while supporting it through a decentralized framework.
“By combining domain-specific models like ‘Cortex’ with decentralized ownership, we’re creating a DeSci ecosystem where individuals support groundbreaking technology and share value creation,” Humayun Sheikh, CEO of Fetch.ai and chairman of the ASI Alliance, noted.
Users can stake FET tokens to gain ownership of AI models under a DAO-like structure, with assets becoming tradable in secondary markets. ASI: Train will open staking opportunities for investors in mid-December, allowing participation in the model’s development and success.
The first model Cortex, scheduled to begin training in December, will undergo a 12-14 week training period using GPU compute resources.
The model is expected to generate annual revenue of more than $10 million from customers including educational institutions, warehouse companies, robotics startups, and industrial partners.
The ASI Alliance plans to expand its portfolio with additional AI models in the biotechnology, quantum technology, space technology, and material science sectors.
“This is the future of inclusive, sustainable AI development, and we’re thrilled to have our community at the forefront of this journey,” said Sheikh.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Cortex’s volume surged as its price dropped by over 54% on the charts If the trend reversal solidifies itself, CTXC could see a breakout Cortex (CTXC) crypto’s trading volume rose sharply while its price itself declined significantly on the charts. In fact, CTXC’s volume spike was a 4x, in comparison to previous weeks. This was alongside a sharp price drop from a high of approximately $1.05 to a low near $0.37, constituting a fall of around 45%.
CTXC’s ‘orderblock’ at $0.25 historically acted as both support and resistance and at the time of writing, the price seemed to be approaching there. This zone triggered a modest rebound, suggesting some resistance to further declines on the charts.
Source: Trading View Despite the bearish trend, however, the hike in volume accompanying the price drop indicated accumulative activities by traders anticipating potential value.
The MACD indicator pointed to a close convergence and a potential bullish crossover, hinting at possible upward momentum. If this trend reversal solidifies itself, CTXC could register a breakout.
This suggested what the critical area for this potential rally could be if CTXC can sustain itself above the $0.40 resistance level. This is likely to pave the way for a more significant recovery.
Profitability at break even price CTXC’s distribution of addresses based on their profitability, relative to the break-even prices, saw 41.19% in profits. These addresses entered the market at $0.385250.
On the contrary, 57.19% of addresses faced losses with the price points at $0.40 and above up to $0.50, where the largest losses were concentrated. The addresses at break-even were just 1.61%, indicated minimal trading activity.
Source: IntoTheBlock The future market behavior of CTXC could pivot around these levels as addresses in losses could decide to sell if the price approaches their entry points, potentially capping upward price movements.
Conversely, sustained upward trends might convert more addresses to profitability, encouraging a more bullish sentiment in the Cortex market.
CTCX new adoption rate New adoption rate of Cortex saw a notable spike in May 2018, reaching nearly 50%, coinciding with a price peak of approximately $0.30. This trend demonstrated that high adoption rates previously propelled price surges, although this connection lessened over time.
Subsequent spikes in adoption throughout 2019 and 2020 showed a similar, albeit more insignificant, impact on the price. This pointed to diminishing returns from new adoption surges on the asset’s price.
Source: IntoTheBlock By 2024, the adoption rate has steadied around 8.97%, significantly lower than its previous highs. Also, it did not correspond to any notable price changes, as the price stabilized at around $0.80.
This pattern indicated that while early surges in adoption significantly influenced Cortex’s price, the effect has waned. Likely due to market maturation or reduced responsiveness to adoption changes.
If the adoption rate continues to increase, its previous impact on the price suggested that future price movements could no longer correlate strongly with new adoption rates. By extension, this hinted at a decoupling of user growth from direct price incentives.
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Crypto trading platform Robinhood, is reportedly evolving into a financial platform aimed at a diverse array of retail investors. In a significant shift, the company is set to introduce checking and savings accounts later this year for its paying “Gold” subscribers, marking its foray into the banking sector.
Robinhood Aims For Private Banking Experience Deepak Rao, vice president and general manager of Robinhood Money, said the company intends to differentiate itself from traditional banks by offering a “more personalized,” private-banking-like experience. “You get these crazy products, you get really high interest rates,” Rao noted in a recent interview. “Why don’t we do that, but we give it to everybody?”
While Robinhood is venturing into banking, it is important to note that it is not an FDIC-insured bank. Instead, it will partner with Coastal Community Bank to provide Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) protection on customer deposits.
According to Bloomberg, the anticipated annual percentage yield on its high-yield savings accounts is expected to be around 4%, a competitive rate in today’s financial landscape.
In addition to high interest rates, Robinhood’s banking services will offer features typically associated with private banking, such as estate planning and tax advice.
Customers will also enjoy the convenience of requesting cash to be delivered directly to their homes on the same day, a service that some traditional banks provide but with longer wait times.
Human And Robo-Advisory Services This move into banking aligns with Robinhood’s broader ambition to become a “one-stop-shop” for consumers’ financial needs, integrating investing, banking, retirement, and other financial products under one brand.
CEO Vlad Tenev articulated this vision during the company’s investor day in December, and since then, Robinhood has also introduced sports-event contracts, further diversifying its offerings.
In addition to its banking expansion, Robinhood is rolling out a tailored wealth-management service. This service will cap fees for Gold subscribers at $250 per year, granting them access to both individual stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), while minimizing taxable gains.
Steph Guild, president of Robinhood Asset Management, emphasized the company’s commitment to creating a hybrid model that combines the benefits of human advisors and robo-advisors. “We thought we’d take the best of those models and create something that doesn’t exist today,” Guild stated
To further enhance its wealth-management services, Robinhood plans to launch an artificial intelligence tool named Robinhood Cortex. This feature will provide investors with advanced analysis and insights to help optimize their investment portfolios.
The daily chart shows the platform’s stock, HOOD, priced at $44.73 as of Wednesday’s trading session. Source: HOOD on TradingView.com Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Cortex AI Agent, a component of the Cortex blockchain, a deFi platform focused on integrating AI into smart contracts. Build by Synapse and Cortex, it enables developers to execute AI models on-chain, ensuring detailed results across diverse crypto computing environments. Yeah, it’s a complex process.
Basically, Cortex addresses a key challenge in blockchain technology, where traditional chains struggle with efficient AI execution, which often requires off-chain solutions that compromise decentralization.
Sell anything and Buy $HYPE in one click. Today. Only on Cortex.
Hyperliquid. pic.twitter.com/wZmmfol8cy
— cortexprotocol.hl (@Cortex_Protocol) March 31, 2025
DISCOVER: Next 1000X Crypto: 10+ Crypto Tokens That Can Hit 1000x in 2025
Diving Into Synapse Crypto Complexity Synapse just dropped its Cortex AI Agent related to its protocol, a platform facilitating cross-chain transactions in the crypto decentralized space. It comes with its complex functionality, showing an AI-driven interface that assists users in swapping assets, such as converting Base ETH to HYPE.
The Cortex AI agent simplifies the process by preparing and executing transactions, helping users manage crypto assets across different chains.
It operates within its Cortex Virtual Machine, a framework designed for machine learning inference on the blockchain. This allows decentralized applications to incorporate AI models directly. Not stopping, it also supports some use cases like predictive analytics or automated decision-making.
(source)
The goal is enabling on-chain AI execution to eliminate the need for external computation, while ensuring transparency and security in applications that rely on AI-driven outcomes.
Okay, it’s getting more and more complex!!
Synapse Protocol leverages AI agents to streamline “complex” crypto transactions, as seen in its Cortex drop mechanism. The AI assists users by providing clear steps for asset swaps, such as outlining the transaction details and executing the trade. This reduces the technical barrier for users engaging in cross-chain activities, making DeFi more accessible while maintaining decentralized integrity.
(source)
TL; DR, Cortex focuses on embedding AI within smart contracts, while Synapse uses AI to improve user interaction in DeFi transactions. Together, they demonstrate how AI can bridge technical gaps, offering practical solutions for developers and users in the crypto ecosystem.
DISCOVER: The 12+ Hottest Crypto Presales to Buy Right Now
The Other AI Agent that Comes to MIND Undoubtedly, the AI in both Cortex and Synapse displays a growing trend in crypto technology, where intelligent agents thrive. Hovering at a $60 million market cap, Cortex is still one of the cryptos that can print, but not for 100x.
(source)
Let’s be honest here, at a $600 million market cap, Cortex will give 10x returns. While it’s probable, there is another AI agent that’s still cheap and can give higher returns.
Yes, unlike other AI coins, Mind of Pepe($MIND)comes with another explosive narrative, meme!!
It merges an AI-driven meme coin concept with unique utility. Still in its early presale phase, it comes with an evolving AI agent that engages communities and provides insights into crypto trends. Not that complex, right? I mean, Dogecoin is still standing in the top 10 biggest cryptos without the complexity of Cortex.
(source)
At its current price of $0.0037, early investors can acquire tokens before exchange listing, as the presale is soon to conclude, and listing comes after.
Presalers can also earn substantial staking rewards, with a 272% APY, just by holding and staking. $MIND is giving early holders almost three times the free tokens.
And don’t forget, $8 million of smart money has joined. And now it’s your time to decide.
Join the AI explosion!! Go to the MIND of Pepe website, connect your wallet, and purchase $MIND using ETH or USDT. You can also buy this best crypto with your bank card.
For more information, visit the MIND of Pepe website or follow the MIND of Pepe on X or Telegram.
DISCOVER: Best Meme Coin ICOs to Invest in 2025
Join The 99Bitcoins News Discord Here For The Latest Market Updates
Key Takeaways What is Synapse Crypto by Cortex? How Complex is it? With Dogecoin still at the top 10 biggest coin, meme and AI combo is what gonna boom. #Presales
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Much of the blockchain API plumbing that stablecoins and other crypto applications use will see a 66% reduction in latency.Alchemy’s new “Cortex Engine” architecture reduces average response times from 300-400 milliseconds to less than 50 milliseconds.Stablecoins, the dollar-pegged tokens that now rival the volumes of Visa and Mastercard for international payments, are about to get faster.
While their traditional finance rivals can process upwards of 65,000 transactions a second (TPS), the web of decentralized blockchains in existence today offer a variety of latency values. However, the connections between large chunks of today’s Web3 architecture are about to improve dramatically, according to Alchemy, a blockchain infrastructure firm sometimes described as the “AWS of crypto.”
The firm, which handles data exchange between many decentralized applications, says it has achieved a 66% reduction in delays over crypto’s transaction rails, including much of the plumbing for stablecoins.
Stablecoins may have started out as a way to park money while users traded cryptos or participated in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, but these days dollar-pegged tokens handle a large flow of payments, rivalling the volumes of the big card networks.
“We power the vast majority of stablecoin issuers (Paxos, Circle, etc.),” said Alchemy CTO Guillaume Poncin in an email. “We do not directly support Tether Holdings Ltd today, but we facilitate a large fraction of activity that relies on USDT for various purposes – whether money movement, or Defi, or trading, or payments.”
Founded by computer scientists from Stanford University back in 2017, Alchemy emerged with developer tools to make it easier to run blockchain nodes at enterprise scale. The firm, which works with the likes of Coinbase, Stripe, JPMorgan and Anchorage, went on to offer programmable links between programs known as APIs, allowing for data indexing, smart contract automation and wallet optimizations.
In terms of actual speed, Alchemy’s new Cortex Engine architecture reduces average response times from 300-400 milliseconds to less than 50 milliseconds, enabling instant settlement experiences that rival traditional payment rails, according to Poncin.
“We all love when things go faster,” Poncin said in an interview. “I think it's easier for people to understand how things are faster, but we also massively improved the throughput, the scale that we can reach, which is incredibly important once we get to the NASDAQ scale of transactions.
Attempting to put this into perspective, around 200 milliseconds is known to be the point below which people don't notice the response time from computers. Previously, the typical response time on a transaction confirmation or on the screen refresh in a wallet app, was of the order of half a second, and now it's 100 milliseconds, Poncin said.
When it comes to throughput, Alchemy has entered the realm of hundreds of thousands of requests per second, which is roughly the scale of very large applications. In terms of running a blockchain node, this has seen a 1000x increase on the throughput of a single node on any one blockchain, he said.
Users will definitely notice improvements, Poncin said, adding: “We rolled this out to some of our users, silently, without telling them we were doing it. I was trying to see what the response would be like. And people were like, ‘Hey, I opened the app this morning and everything is twice as fast. What did you guys do?’”
Veritaseum isn’t backing down from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as the number of enforcement actions related to the 2017 ICO craze continue to pile up.
The SEC filed an emergency lawsuit last week against Veritaseum in a New York federal court and obtained a temporary restraining order to freeze $8 million in remaining ICO funds held by Veritaseum and CEO Reginald Middleton.
Yesterday, Middleton made public his company’s response to the SEC’s lawsuit—a 423-page document that attempts to answer the Commission’s allegations that Veritaseum conducted an unregistered securities offering and subsequently moved $2 million in an attempt to dissipate funds after being served with a Wells notice on August 12.
Much like the few other crypto startups, such as Kik, that are challenging the SEC’s allegations in court rather than settling their charges, Veritaseum’s response insists that the company’s VERI tokens do not represent securities. Further, the company claims that the movement of 10,000 Ether (worth $2 million at the time) in ICO funds after being notified of the enforcement action "was merely the funding of Veritaseum’s ongoing business operations."
In its filing, Veritaseum is asking the court to unfreeze its assets and lif the TRO. "The temporary freeze in this case has already caused significant harm to the holders of Veritaseum’s utility tokens, the very people the SEC is purportedly seeking to protect," Veritaseum said in its response. Potential harm to token holders is the very same line of reasoning that Kik, perhaps not coincidentally, used in its initial response to the SEC’s Well notice.
A token misunderstandingThe SEC’s investigation of Veritaseum began in the summer of 2017, during which Veritaseum raised $14.8 million in a crowdsale lasting from 2017 into early 2018. The lawsuit alleges that funds were raised on the premise that VERI was a utility token providing access to "products ready to go to market that would replace brokers, banks, and hedge funds."
According to the SEC, the company mischaracterized VERI tokens as utility tokens, manipulated the market for VERI Tokens, and attempted to dissipate ICO funds after receiving the Wells notice.
Veritaseum describes itself as enabling "software-driven P2P capital markets without brokerages, banks or traditional exchanges." Products include VeADIR: Veritaseum Autonomous Dynamic Interactive Research, which pays Veritaseum for "real world research," a vehicle for renting VERI tokens, subtoken creation, and access to the Financial Machine portfolio.
Named for Veritas, the Roman goddess of truth, Veritaseum and its executives appear to think their version of the truth will outweigh the SEC's in court.
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Your favorite altcoin may be up 100% year-to-date, but make no mistake, Bitcoin is currently the alpha of the cryptocurrency pack.
Related Reading: Bears in Charge as Bitcoin Price at Risk of November 2018 Style Dump Since Bitcoin dominance hit some 32% in early-2018, altcoins have underperformed. Dramatically. In fact, dominance for the leading cryptocurrency now sits at 69% and is showing no signs of stopping its growth.
According to a recent analysis by one leading trader, Willy Woo, the carnage seen in altcoin markets may soon end — or at least may take a breather. Bag holders rejoice!
Altcoins May Soon Bottom Against Bitcoin While Bitcoin is a mere 50% lower than its all-time high of $20,000, a majority of altcoins are far from achieving that milestone. Per data from Messari’s OnChainFX, XRP, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin are among the leading altcoins that are still more than 80% down from their all-time high. This bifurcation, as aforementioned, has resulted in a surge in Bitcoin dominance.
Woo, however, believes that altcoins may soon finally find some support against Bitcoin. He posted the below image on Twitter, which shows that the altcoin capitalization-to-Bitcoin capitalization ratio and the altcoin market volume-to-Bitcoin market volume indicators are currently “heading into a region of support.”
Indeed, as the Bitcoin-centric Adaptive Capital partner chart depicts, the two aforementioned indicators are currently poised to encounter two key lines of historical support. Should history repeat itself, altcoins should bounce in the coming months, potentially to kick off what crypto traders call an “altseason”.
Related Reading: Ethereum Price Has Best Risk-Reward Ratio Ever: Crypto Venture Capitalist Woo isn’t the only analyst currently charting for altcoins to finally start baring their fangs.
Per previous reports from NewsBTC, Bitcoin dominance is nearing the apex of a rising/ascending wedge, which, is a technical pattern marked by tightening ranges and a decrease in momentum. With an ascending wedge being seen as a bearish chart structure, BTC dominance may soon collapse and an altseason may come to fruition.
That’s not all, a Telegram technical indicator group recently posted that the weekly Bitcoin dominance chart on TradingView flashed a sell nine for the TD Sequential indicator. This strongly implies a strong trend reversal for altcoins against BTC, which has the potential to last for a number of weeks.
Or Not… Despite the signals that altcoins may finally have some room to run, not everyone is convinced. In fact, 70% of more than two-thirds of nearly 4,900 respondents to a Twitter poll believe that the altcoin carnage isn’t complete. The remaining 30% think that this subset of the crypto asset class has finally bottomed.
Pure fundamentals suggest that Bitcoin may continue to steal all the limelight from altcoins.
Just look to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent attacks against high-profile crypto projects, like Kik’s KIN and Veritaseum, which have both been sued by the financial regulator over recent months.
Also, institutions foraying into this industry have focused nearly solely on Bitcoin. Just look to Bakkt, which will be finally coming to market this fall with its first product — physically-deliverable Bitcoin futures.
At midday yesterday, whales moved around 77,000 BTC—worth a whopping $780 million —into three unknown wallets. To put that into perspective, that’s around 0.43% of all circulating supply.
Then things get even stranger: a day later, someone moved 484,775,570 XRP, worth about $133 million.
Needless to say, speculation about the big moves is raging across the twittersphere. Some pundits believe the transactions are related to the alleged Chinese Ponzi scheme PlusToken— which was accused of scamming users out of $3 billion. The idea here is that bad guys are liquidating their ill-gotten gains. Others say these moves are likely made by the usual suspects— whales— just ahead of what all the chart watchers absolutely swear will be a breakout. That’s right: The market is ready to go way up! Or maybe it’ll go way down. Then again, maybe it's nothing more than exchanges moving things around.
The news initially came from whale-alert, a website that puts out alerts on its Twitter feed whenever someone makes a sizeable transaction between wallets.
The two largest Bitcoin transactions–one for 33,705.87785594 BTC and another for 36,469.17934377 BTC–went to separate wallets, but took place within 30 minutes of each other.
The Bitcoin market felt the vibrations instantly. About an hour after the transaction, the price of BTC rose by about $400 to a high of $10,442.44. A day later, it started to sink like a stone, now at $9,982.30.
The BTC move might have bumped up the price of Ripple. In the hours following the BTC move, the price of XRP rose from $0.267527 to $0.277568.
One Ripple whale snatched the opportunity to make its move of 84,775,570 XRP, worth $133,366,660.
@Kemkem, a keen whale watcher, claims that the Ripple address belongs to the masterminds behind the PlusToken Ponzi scheme, which is quickly dumping hundreds of millions of stolen funds on the market. Indeed, a search for the address brings up Chinese language forums encouraging users to donate to the token. So who knows?
But anyone waggling a finger at PlusToken really ought to hold off for now. Earlier this week, Whale Alert picked up another huge transaction, of 97,750,354 VERI worth some $774 million). Turns out it likely wasn't anything interesting: The Whale Alert twitter account said that the coin, Veritaseum, is a low-volume coin. VeritaseItsum’s market cap currently hovers around $15 million. “It is likely that the devs moved or unlocked the locked supply of the coin (total supply 100,000,000),” tweeted Whale Alert.
For now, speculation remains utter speculation.
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Over the past few months, Bitcoin has dominated the investment scene. Year to date, the cryptocurrency has gained some 200%, which comes as traditional assets have bled out in anticipation of a recession and due to rising macroeconomic risk.
But one not-talked-about fact is that not only is Bitcoin outperforming traditional assets but altcoins too.
CoinMarketCap data shows that Bitcoin dominance — the percentage of the cryptocurrency market’s capitalization that is BTC — has risen to 70%, which is a level not seen in over two years. Even this 70% reading, however, may be understated.
Bitcoin Really is The Crypto King Blockchain analytics firm Arcane Crypto recently released a report, accentuating that the traditional Bitcoin dominance statistic is somewhat invalid. They wrote:
“Using the price and market valuation as signal of strength is of course a weak proxy. Price is far from everything and many projects might be hugely successful without the token capturing a large market capitalization.”
They thus argued that a better way to measure a cryptocurrency’s dominance is by weighting the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies against their trading volume, which they claimed is a measure of market liquidity.
In doing this, their research found that “Bitcoin’s market dominance is pushed well above 90%. This is true whether we use the volumes as recorded on CoinMarketCap, excluding stable coins, which are representations of other assets rather than “true” cryptocurrencies, [or Bitwise’s “Real Ten” exchanges].”
Their research has been indirectly corroborated by a comment from a prominent crypto fund manager.
Speaking on the “Citizen Bitcoin” podcast recently, Murad Mahmudov, a former Goldman Sachs banker, explained that Bitcoin, by many measures, is the only liquid cryptocurrency on the market. He even explained that if you were to place a $1 million sell order of any top 15 cryptocurrency save for Bitcoin, you could crash the market.
Why is Bitcoin Outperforming? As reported by Blockonomi previously, Binance’s research division believes that much of this underperformance stems from a “flight to quality” from low-quality altcoins to the market leader.
You see, the countless altcoins that were propped up in 2017 and early-2018 have failed to deliver. Even bigger names in the cryptocurrency space have underperformed investors’ expectations.
That’s not all. The investors that are foraying into this industry are focusing their sights on Bitcoin. Just look to the media coverage of the cryptocurrency space. Notice how they don’t mention Ethereum, Litecoin, or Bitcoin Cash, but just Bitcoin.
This tacit “maximalism” has been reflected in institutional investors making sorties into this space. There’s a reason why Bakkt, the New York Stock Exchange-backed crypto startup, is starting with Bitcoin futures, not Ethereum futures or an altcoin basket ETF.
And to top it all off, regulators have taken a heavy stance against altcoins, especially those issued via a token sale or generation event. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently begun to wage war against ICOs, bringing lawsuits against Veritaseum and Kik’s KIN, for instance.
These cases have resulted in massive sell-offs for these tokens and have likely only added to the anti-altcoin sentiment currently brewing in the market.
With Bitcoin and Ethereum being the only two digital assets really signed off on by the SEC, traders are likely focusing their investment in these areas to avoid potential regulatory risks.
Do Altcoins Have Any Hope? This may leave you wondering if Bitcoin will continue to dominate.
According to a number of cryptocurrency venture capitalists and investors, Bitcoin’s strength against altcoins — well at least Ethereum — may soon end. Placeholder’s Chris Burniske recently wrote that Ethereum is currently like Bitcoin in 2014 in 2015, which is when the cryptocurrency exhibited “the best risk/reward period for investors”.
His tweet implied that Ethereum’s fundamental momentum and price are bifurcating, but that should history repeat, ETH’s value could soon surge.
1/ $ETH is enduring its 1st mainstream bear market, just as $BTC did in 2014/15.
In retrospect, 2014/15 was the best risk/reward period for investors to get BTC exposure.
— Chris Burniske (@cburniske) August 20, 2019
Nick Chong
I am a writer who has been following the cryptocurrency space since 2013. My insights and interviews have been featured in leading publications in the industry such as LongHash, NewsBTC, and Decrypt. When I am not writing, I work as a team member of the EXODUS division of HTC, a Taiwanese electronics company. I own a small amount of Bitcoin. Contact [email protected]
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seems to be waging a war against the crypto ecosystems. Over the past few months, the American financial regulator has continued to take action against industry firms that it deems in violation of securities laws.
On Thursday, the SEC revealed that it had settled a massive $10 million case with an unregistered cryptocurrency platform.
Crypto Firm Charged Millions For “Defrauding Investors” Announced in a press release published on Thursday, the SEC has settled charges with Bitqyck, a Dallas-based cryptocurrency exchange, and its founders for offering security-like cryptocurrencies and making false statements about its product.
The SEC’s complaint claims that Bitqyck and two founders Bruce Bise and Sam Mendez created and distributed Bitqy and BitqyM without the proper licenses. These sales of the two digital assets affected 13,000 investors and raised more than $13 million.
It was also proposed that platforms affiliated with the cryptocurrencies were operating in bad faith. QyckDeals was purportedly misrepresented as a global marketplace, offering certain products that were not bonafide.
One product QyckDeals sold was “smart contract” ensured fractional shares of Bitqyck. David Peavler, the Director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Office, called these “shares” “very alluring, [as] investors believe they are getting in on the ground floor and will own part of the operations.” Other parts of Bitqyck’s business was also alleged to be fraudulent, including promised “interest payouts” to BitqyM investors and touted a supposed “cryptocurrency mining facility.” Peavler stated in a press comment:
“We allege that the defendants took advantage of investors’ appetite for these investments and fraudulently raised millions of dollars by lying about their business.”
To settle, “Bitqyck, Bise and Mendez consented to final judgments agreeing to all the injunctive relief”. The company itself paid pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest and a civil penalty of $8,375,617. And the founders paid around $850,000 apiece, paying back a majority, if not all of the ill-gotten gains obtained from the operation of Bitqyck.
One of Many Cases As hinted at earlier, this is one of many recent cases the SEC has taken up against members of the cryptocurrency industry.
Earlier this month, the SEC charged ICO Rating, a Russian entity that was focused on research, reviewing, and rating initial coin offerings, for failing to disclose that some reviews were pay-for-play. The firm purportedly agreed to pay just under $270,000 to settle charges. It was also indicated that the SEC believes ICO Rating “produced research reports and ratings of blockchain-based digital assets”, including “tokens” or “coins” that were clearly securities.
A few weeks earlier, an emergency case was filed against Veritaseum, once a popular cryptocurrency project, to stop its founder and the company itself from spending the proceedings of its ICO. Similar to the case against Bitqyck, the SEC purported that Veritaseum made serious misrepresentations about its product.
The governmental agency may not be stopping any time soon, though. In a Bloomberg interview published just the other day, Chairman Jay Clayton asserted that he won’t change securities laws to accommodate cryptocurrencies. While Clayton stated that he isn’t anti-innovation, he thinks the SEC giving this industry some leeway isn’t rational.
The SEC’s commissioners are expected to rule on three Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposals in the coming three months. Despite all the aforementioned cases, pundits are hopeful that the SEC will finally approve a product to give institutional investors a way to invest in the industry.
Nick Chong
I am a writer who has been following the cryptocurrency space since 2013. My insights and interviews have been featured in leading publications in the industry such as LongHash, NewsBTC, and Decrypt. When I am not writing, I work as a team member of the EXODUS division of HTC, a Taiwanese electronics company. I own a small amount of Bitcoin. Contact [email protected]
On Monday evening, as many in the American crypto community were calling it a day, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made a jaw-dropping announcement.
Revealed in a press release published at around 7:00 pm EST, the American financial regulator revealed that it had “settled charges” against the creator of the EOS blockchain. Block.one, for “conducting an unregistered initial coin offering”.
This marks one of the biggest — if not the biggest — crypto-related enforcement actions from the SEC to date.
SEC Issues $24 Million Over EOS ICO According to the press release published on Monday evening, Block.one has settled charges with the SEC “by paying a $24 million civil penalty.”
The blockchain giant, which operates in Blacksburg, Virginia, and Hong Kong, “consented to the order without admitting or denying its findings”, the SEC wrote.
For those unaware, the tension between the SEC and Block.one stems from the latter entity’s year-long sale of EOS tokens that raised some $4.1 billion — a record by a long shot for an ICO.
The SEC remarked in the release that “Block.one did not register its ICO as a securities offering pursuant to the federal securities laws, nor did it qualify for or seek an exemption from the registration requirements”.
Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, argued that Block.One did not provide participants in the sale “the information they were entitled to as participants in a securities offering”.
He added that it is the SEC’s mission to clamp down on firms that deprived investors of material “they need to make investment decisions.”
While $24 million is obviously not a small sum of money, the sum of the settlement paid shocked crypto pundits. Nic Carter, a co-founder of Coinmetrics, noted that Block.one paid 60 basis points (0.6%) of the billions it raised in the sale — effectively nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Others echoed Carter’s concerns, drawing attention to what they claim is just a slap on the wrist, not an all-out enforcement event. Block.one, for instance, spent $30 million on a domain name earlier this year, making $24 million seem much like pocket change.
Despite these concerns over the severity (or lack thereof) of the settlement, it seems that with the $24 million fine, the case is done and dusted.
My mind is absolutely blown by this block one news.
The SEC looked into all the gory details and decided to settle for 60 bips of what b1 raised. WTF
— nic ???? carter (@nic__carter) September 30, 2019
Block.one “Excited” to Resolve Matters To the point and very blunt, the SEC release left much to be desired for, specifically in regards to a response from Block.one itself and the details of the settlement.
As such, the blockchain development firm came out with its own statements in a press release dated October 1st, 2019. In it, Block.one revealed that the settlement “relates specifically to the ERC-20 token sold on the Ethereum blockchain” during the ICO, not the new token that exists on EOS’s own chain.
It was also revealed that with this settlement, the SEC has granted Block.one “an important waiver” so that it will “not be subject to certain ongoing restrictions that would usually apply with settlements of this type”, cementing the idea that the settlement has resolved any current dispute between Block.one and the SEC.
Block.one concluded in the press statement:
“We are excited to resolve these discussions with the SEC and are committed to ongoing collaboration with regulators and policy makers as the world continues to develop more clarity around compliance frameworks for digital assets.”
More to Come… While Block.one’s case is “one and done”, it may be that the SEC isn’t done with big names in crypto just yet.
Over the past few months, the American agency has been on an absolute killing spree against the crypto space, charging firms left and right for seeming wrongdoing. Earlier this year, it went after another high-profile case, bashing Canadian social media company Kik’s $100 million dollar ICO; just a few months back, it aimed to prevent the company behind once-massive altcoin Veritaseum from spending ICO proceedings.
The fact that the SEC went after Block.one, which ran the largest ICO ever, and other top companies in the cryptocurrency sector may be a sign of impending enforcement.
Nick Chong
I am a writer who has been following the cryptocurrency space since 2013. My insights and interviews have been featured in leading publications in the industry such as LongHash, NewsBTC, and Decrypt. When I am not writing, I work as a team member of the EXODUS division of HTC, a Taiwanese electronics company. I own a small amount of Bitcoin. Contact [email protected]
Reggie Middleton, the CEO of blockchain company Veritaseum, yesterday agreed to return over $8 million raised in Veritaseum’s ICO to investors, and pay a further $1 million to the state as part of a settlement with the SEC, according to court documents produced by the New York Eastern District Court.
The settlement with the SEC also “permanently bars” Middleton and Veritaseum from offering digital securities.
The SEC argued that the sale of digital securities was illegal, and that those who bought Veritaseum’s token, VERI, were “victims of Defendants’ fraud.” Middleton neither accepted or denied the allegations, instead agreeing to consent to the fines.
The settlement is the conclusion of SEC’s claim, filed back in August, that Veritaseum illegally raised $14.8 million in an unregistered securities offering.
Per U.S. federal laws, an offering of securities must be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC has taken the position, both through public statements and enforcement actions, that tokens sold through ICOs (like Veritaseum’s VERI) qualify as “investment contracts” and, therefore, securities.
The settlement is reminiscent of the SEC’s settlement with Block.one last month. Block.one raised billions in an ICO, which the SEC judged was illegal. But Block.one, like Veritaseum, neither accepted nor denied the charges, and instead agreed to settle for a fine of $24 million.
The court case has tanked the price of VERI. In the past 30 days, VERI hit highs of $23.82. Now, VERI is worth $16.30.
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