Ey (Ernst & Young) Launches Blockchain-enabled Solution for Secure Business Agreements

EY (Ernst & Young) has recently introduced a groundbreaking blockchain-enabled solution called EY OpsChain Contract Manager (OCM). This tool is designed to streamline complex business agreements, reduce costs, and enhance security.

EY OpsChain Contract Manager (OCM) runs on the Ethereum public blockchain, enabling truly decentralized operation in a trust-worthy environment. EY OCM helps enterprises to execute complex business agreements, supporting confidentiality, helping improve time efficiency, and achieving cost reduction, with automatic adherence to the agreed terms.

Purpose and Features

Contract Management: EY OCM facilitates the fulfillment of complex, multi-party business agreements while ensuring confidentiality and adherence to agreed-upon terms.

Data Synchronization: It synchronizes data across business partners, enabling uniform enforcement of key business terms such as standardized pricing, volume discounts, rebates, and strike prices.

Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs): To enhance contract integrity and mitigate value leakage, EY OCM utilizes public blockchain's security and accessibility with data privacy through ZKPs.

ZKPs allow parties to verify the accuracy of information without revealing the information itself. When parties interact with the contract, they can validate its integrity without exposing sensitive details.

This ensures that critical contract terms, transaction details, and value chain confidential information remain shielded, granting enhanced privacy.

Decentralized Operation: The solution runs on the Ethereum public blockchain, ensuring decentralized operation within a trustworthy environment.

API Integration: Enterprises can easily integrate EY OCM into existing systems through a standardized API.

Challenges Addressed by EY OCM

Multi-Party Contracts: EY OCM tackles the challenge of managing business agreements that span internal and external operational and technology silos.

Value Fragmentation: By aggregating spend across systems and business partners, smart contracts prevent value fragmentation, making it easier to track and qualify for discounts and rebates.

Use Cases

Power Purchasing Agreements (PPAs): Initial test users are implementing complex PPAs that include market prices and strike prices with minimum and maximum purchase criteria.

According to Zion Market Research, the global smart contracts market is projected to reach $1 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 24% between 2023 and 2030.

EY (Ernst & Young) is actively involved in developing various blockchain solutions to address business challenges and enhance efficiency. Some of the notable EY blockchain solutions include — EY Blockchain Analyzer (Smart Contract/ Token Review and Tax Calculator), EY OpsChain Traceability (for traceability and transparency across supply chains by leveraging notarization and tokenization), EY OpsChain Public Finance Manager, and EY Blockchain Analyzer: Reconcile.

PayPal Held Over Half A Billion in Bitcoin, Ethereum Last Quarter

Payments platform Paypal held over half a billion dollars worth of the two largest cryptocurrencies — Bitcoin & Ethereum — as of December 31, 2021, according to its year-end report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

It was in October 2020 when PayPal entered the cryptocurrency market, announcing that its customers will be able to buy and sell Bitcoin and other virtual currencies using their PayPal accounts.

As per SEC filings, PayPal Held $291 million in Bitcoin (BTC), and $250 million in Ethereum (ETH). Besides, another $63 million in assets were held in both Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC), bringing PayPal's total crypto held on behalf of its customers to $604 million.

The amount is less than the previous quarter's figures, which logged $694 million in crypto as of September 31, back when Bitcoin traded at $19,400. That was also before the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, which resulted the Bitcoin's price went down to $16,600 by the end of the year.

PayPal mentions in the filing, "We allow our customers in certain markets to buy, hold, sell, receive, and send certain cryptocurrencies as well as use the proceeds from sales of cryptocurrencies to pay for purchases at checkout. These cryptocurrencies consist of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin. We engage third parties, which are licensed trust companies, to provide certain custodial services, including holding our customers’ cryptographic key information, securing our customers’ crypto assets, and protecting them from loss or theft, including indemnification against certain types of losses such as theft.

"Our third-party custodian holds the crypto assets in a custodial account in PayPal’s name for the benefit of PayPal’s customers. We maintain the internal recordkeeping of our customers’ crypto assets, including the amount and type of crypto asset owned by each of our customers in that custodial account. Given that we currently utilize one third-party custodian, there is concentration risk in the event the custodian is not able to perform in accordance with our agreement. ", mentions the filing by PayPal.

In June last year, PayPal started allowing users to withdraw their crypto astets to external wallets however just as a host of centralized exchanges and lending firms began to freeze user assets, PayPal too followed the knack. 

Besides these, recently it was reported that Paypal is exploring the creation of a stablecoin.“We are exploring a stablecoin,” a Paypal executive told reporters at the time. "If and when we seek to move forward, we will, of course, work closely with relevant regulators."

Open-Source, Carbon-Neutral Layer-1 Blockchain the XDC Network Secures $50 Mn from LDA Capital

The XDC Network Secures $50M From LDA Capital to Drive Ecosystem Development

The founders of the XDC Network have leveraged a portion of their personal token allocations to secure a $50 million commitment from global alternative investment group LDA Capital Limited to accelerate the expansion and development of Layer 2 projects across the XDC Ecosystem and to facilitate network adoption and real-world utility. LDA support will help fund new ventures and entities laser-focused on increasing network adoption among retail and institutional participants, jumpstarting on-chain activity and Total Value Locked (TVL), and supporting technological innovation.

Launched in 2019, the XDC Network is an enterprise-grade, carbon-neutral, hybrid blockchain purpose-built from the ground up to meet the growing needs of global financial institutions, retail users, and entrepreneurs for fast, secure, decentralized network products. The number of (Smart Contract based) projects built on XDC has already grown relentlessly and exponentially, despite macro-economic conditions being what they are, with DEXs, Metaverses, NFT marketplaces, oracles, decentralized email providers and cloud storage, payment dApps, legal document repositories, and tokenized real-world assets (to name but a few) all planting roots in the network in recent months. And, with the addition of LDA’s support, the pace of growth will only accelerate further.

"Our collaboration with LDA will usher in an exciting new period in the XDC Network’s history by enabling unprecedented growth of the Layer 2 ecosystem across various use-cases, with an emphasis on bringing ever more value TVL (“Total Value Locked”) to the network via hyper-scalable dApps, DEXs,TradeFi/DeFi and advanced products filling the gaps between traditional and decentralized finance." - Ritesh Kakkad, Co-founder XinFin (XDC) Network.

“Though there have been many institutional funds eager to participate in the XDC Network over the years, we’ve always looked for genuine strategic partners, not just funders, who can actively and strategically advance the ecosystem, while bringing utility to the network, and making XDC the preferred Layer 1 for institutions the world over–in LDA, we’ve found such a partner.” - Atul Khekade, Co-founder XinFin (XDC) Network.

"LDA Capital is pleased with the developments made in the XDC Network by the XDC ecosystem. In addition to its funding, LDA will offer strategic counsel and support to help XDC Blockchain Network assume its position as a market leader." - commented Anthony Romano, LDA Capital Ltd.

About LDA CAPITAL 

LDA Capital is a global alternative investment group with expertise in cross border transactions worldwide. Our team has dedicated their careers to international & cross border opportunities having collectively executed over 250 transactions in growth stage businesses across 43 countries with aggregate transaction values of over US$11 billion. For more information please visit: www.ldacap.com; For inquires please email: info@ldacap.com.

About XDC Network

The XDC Network is an open-source, carbon-neutral, enterprise-grade, EVM- (Ethereum virtual machine) compatible, Layer 1 blockchain that has been operationally successful since 2019. The network obtains consensus via a specially delegated proof-of-stake (XDPoS) technique that allows for 2-second transaction times, near-zero gas expenses ($0.0001), over 2000 TPS, and interoperability with ISO 20022 financial messaging standards. The XDC Network powers a wide range of novel blockchain use cases that are secure, scalable, and highly efficient.

Website: www.xinfin.org

Nasdaq Establishes New Digital Biz, To Offer Custody Services for Cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum

American stock market exchange Nasdaq has announced the launch of “Nasdaq Digital Assets,” a new business that will power the digital asset ecosystem. 

With this new digital business, Nasdaq has indicated that it is ready to offer custody services for cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum following increased institutional demand. Nasdaq Digital Assets Will Provide a Proprietary Custody Solution with Liquidity and Execution Services for Financial Institutions.

According the Nasdaq's press release, Nasdaq Digital Assets will initially develop an advanced custody 
solution that will incorporate liquidity and execution services to address industry challenges around connectivity, availability, and efficiency.

Nasdaq’s custody solution will bring together the best attributes of hot and cold crypto wallets through an innovative technology offering, which will provide a high degree of accessibility and scalability without compromising security. Nasdaq’s offering is subject to regulatory approval in applicable jurisdictions.

Custody services provided typically include the settlement, safekeeping, and reporting of customers' marketable securities and cash. The custodian (Nasdaq, in this case) is responsible for the safety of the financial products. With this crypto holders may make additional income on custody assets by loaning cryptos on a short-term basis. In 2022, Wall Street has increasingly taken an interest in cryptocurrencies despite the slump in prices.

Nasdaq, which is the second largest U.S. stock market exchange, has announced the introduction of custody services among its many products. According to a press release by the stock market operator, this move was motivated by increasing institutional interest. Although the post has not specified the digital assets the operator will offer, two obvious coins have captured the attention of institutional investors in the last couple of years- Bitcoin (BTC), and Ethereum (ETH).

For most institutional investors, the two largest cryptocurrencies offer the most network security, price stability, and liquidity to act as introductory investments in the crypto space.

Tal Cohen, head of North American markets at Nasdaq, expressed confidence in the latest venture, noting — "Demand among institutional investors for engaging in digital assets has increased in recent years, and Nasdaq is well-positioned to accelerate broader adoption and drive sustainable growth."

Bloomberg has since reported that while the company is open to working with native crypto firms, there were no immediate plans to acquire a crypto firm.

10,000 Air Cleaners To Be Deployed in Maharashtra and Karnataka By Ethereum Founder’s Balvi Fund and ActiveBuildings

• Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin’s Balvi Fund & ActiveBuildings sign an MoU to deploy low-cost air cleaners, in Maharashtra and Karnataka
• Balvi Fund has partnered with ActiveBuildings for monitoring and filtration of air quality in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka with an initial investment of 1 million USD
• The MoU aims to cover 600,000 sq. meters of indoor spaces, with 10,000 units of air cleaners in public places of Maharashtra and Karnataka
• Deployment to focus on public spaces such as government hospitals, and schools that lack access to clean indoor air quality

In a bid to improve indoor air quality in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka, Vitalik Buterin led Balvi Fund and ActiveBuidings joined forces for the next one year to deploy 5000 Indoor Air Quality monitors measuring carbon dioxide emissions and 10,000 air cleaners to keep indoor air pollution in check and to collect real-world data on indoor air quality.

Balvi Fund has partnered with ActiveBuildings with an investment of 1 million USD for executing the following :

Deploy 5000 Indoor Air Quality monitors measuring CO2, where the devices will be connected to a cloud server and dashboard to show data in real-time.

In 1500 of these devices, ActiveBuildings will also add PM2.5 as a parameter for monitoring particle pollution and aerosol pollution as it is the most lethal air pollutant for human health.

Deploy another 10,000 low-cost air cleaners, inspired by Corsi Rosenthal* boxes, across the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka at critical locations of public importance.

This contract to deploy air purifiers and Indoor Air Quality monitors and gather data is the largest such project ever undertaken in any low-medium income country, and it will serve up to 1 million Indians

The deployment will focus on government hospitals, government schools that typically do not have the budget to spend on clean air.

According to a recent study by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), there are unsatisfactory levels of air pollution in 28 of the 73 sites(locations) that were monitored. The ambient quality of the air at these sites were classified as being in the “very unhealthy or worse” category. The worst sites were found in Mumbai, followed by Thane, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Raigad. These are all industrial regions that produce large quantities of pollution from automobiles, dust generated by the construction industry and factories.

Additionally, the same report suggested that Karnataka had the worst air quality in the whole of the south of India. It stated that polluted air was responsible for 95 deaths out of every 100,000 people. The national average is 90 per 100,000. Over 50 percent of deaths attributable to air pollution are younger than 70 years old.

Talking about the partnership, Abhinav Gupta, CEO at ActiveBuildings said, “We are glad to partner with Balvi Fund in the movement to create awareness around the fact that clean indoor air is a fundamental requirement. With the help of this partnership, we intend to cover 600,000 sq. meters of indoor spaces, that will be protected with the help of 10,000 units of the Bubble CR boxes* to public spaces like schools, healthcare facilities etc. The idea to tap such areas is to ensure access to clean breathable air to every strata of the community.”

Adding to Abhinav, Vitalik Buterin said, "Covid is primarily an airborne disease, and one of the most powerful ways to fight Covid is to improve indoor air quality and reduce airborne transmission. Air filters are very effective at reducing airborne spread of Covid and other viruses, and work entirely in the background, and CO2 sensors can detect poor air quality and suggest when filtration or ventilation might be required. ActiveBuildings' ambitious project in India will mass-manufacture and distribute monitors and air filters, paving a path toward making clean indoor air a standard in India much like clean water has become a standard in much of the world today."

ActiveBuildings through this partnership plans to drive public dialogue in India highlighting the importance of clean indoor air quality as a necessity. They aim to :

Donate Bubble CR boxes to public spaces (schools, healthcare facilities etc) that cannot afford devices that curb aerosol pollution.

To cover 600,000 sq. meters of indoor spaces, with 10,000 units of air cleaners that are inspired by the Corsi Rosenthal boxes of international acclaim.

Provide 5000 units of RESET certified IAQ sensing devices to monitor, track and analyse the impact of Bubble CR boxes in the spaces where it is deployed.

Open-source the designs of Bubble CR boxes and a simple IAQ monitoring device to provide public access to critical tools that help fight aerosol pollution.

About ActiveBuildings:

ActiveBuildings is a start-up founded by Abhinav Gupta and Priyans Murarka. ActiveBuildings is engaged in the research and development of technological products for enhancing the health, comfort and productivity of buildings and their occupants. It has successfully developed RESET certified Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) monitoring sensors and a low-cost affordable air filtration device inspired by Corsi-Rosenthal boxes. ActiveBuildings has deployed over 1000+ sensors and air cleaners across India and provided affordable low-cost air quality testing to over 6 million sq. ft of real estate in India and Middle East. In addition, the company has donated over 120+ low-cost air cleaners to local schools and health care spaces as a part of a joint campaign with a community of aerosol scientists and engineers.

*Corsi–Rosenthal Box, also called a Corsi–Rosenthal Cube or a Comparetto Cube, is a design for a do-it-yourself air purifier that can be built comparatively inexpensively. It was designed during the COVID-19 pandemic with the goal of reducing the levels of airborne viral particles in indoor settings by cleaning out aerosols from the air (indoors).

Cypher Capital Allocates $5 Million Fund To Invest in Ocean Protocol Ecosystem Projects

Cypher Capital Allocates $5 Million Fund To Invest in Ocean Protocol Ecosystem Projects

Cypher Capital, a venture capital firm located in the UAE, today announced that it has set up an ecosystem fund together with Ocean Protocol according to which it will be allocating $5 million to invest in Ocean Protocol projects. Ocean Protocol is a platform for data exchange and monetization that builds on Ethereum and other EVM-compatible blockchains. Ocean Protocol is available on WazirX, India's Most Trusted Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Exchange.

The open-source protocol facilitates the exchange and monetization of data and data-based services, allowing people to buy and share information securely while preserving privacy. Ocean Protocol makes use of "datatokens" to give businesses and individuals access to data, where tokens can be redeemed to access information.

Ocean Protocol aims to build a new Data Economy powered by a dynamic group of builders and start-ups. So far, over 150 projects have been funded via OceanDAO and Shipyard programs to encourage and support grassroots innovation. Projects like Algovera, DataUnion, Data Whale, DataX, Felt, Ocean Pearl, Swash and Transport Genie are some of the many funded initiatives that are now positioned as catalysts for Ocean's wide scale adoption. Created by an Indian Founder, Manan Patel, DataX aims to further the growth of Ocean ecosystem through innovative DeFi tooling for datasets.

Bijan Alizadeh, Co-Founder and Partner of Cypher Capital, stated, "We are so excited to be investing in projects together with Ocean Protocol. We will support data marketplaces backed by top-tier corporations that are integrating Ocean Protocol into their data-driven business models and building applications tailored for data services through the Ocean Protocol platform."

Cypher Capital's investment team will review and evaluate Ocean Protocol's proposals, off of which decisions will be made. The $5 million investment will be spread out across 20 projects over 24 months, or two or three investments of a minimum of a quarter-million each per quarter if a project is highly recommended by the Ocean Protocol team.

Vineet Budki, Managing Partner and CEO of Cypher Capital said, "We are thrilled to be the enablers of the rising Data Economy. Our interests are aligned with the mission of Ocean Protocol as it creates an inclusive, secure, decentralized data exchange platform for publishers and consumers across the globe. We look forward to the enhanced role of data and AI in solving global issues through equal opportunities to access and harness data."

Manan Patel, Founder, DataX added, "Ocean Protocol has a growing ecosystem of interesting projects ready to disrupt the Data/AI industry. Being initially funded by OceanDAO and as an integral part of Ocean's ecosystem, DataX is at the forefront to lead the Data Ownership and Data Finance narrative and is well-positioned to help scale Ocean's efforts in unlocking the true value of data and promoting data privacy and ownership. And, we will see significant growth in these efforts in the Indian market. India is strategically relevant here because of its ever-growing digital user base and fastest-growing Web 3.0 talent pool. Like DataX, I believe, we will see more projects arising out of the Indian Web 3.0 market, expanding Ocean's footprint in India."

Ocean Protocol Founder Bruce Pon commented: "Cypher Capital's commitment to invest in the Ocean Protocol ecosystem is a recognition of the potential of a new Data Economy and Ocean's leading role in the space. The Ocean ecosystem has generated a pipeline of promising projects which are nearing viability for seed funding. Meanwhile, Cypher Capital brings deep connections with the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia ecosystem that projects can leverage to springboard forward. With Dubai accelerating its push to be the node for global crypto-innovation, Cypher Capital's extensive resources, and the innovation emanating from the Ocean community, we're excited to see the next wave of adoption focused on data."

Ocean Protocol is spearheading the move to unlock a new Data Economy by breaking down data silos and making quality data accessible. Ocean's marketplace technology allows data to be published, discovered, and consumed in a secure, privacy-preserving manner. Ocean helps to give data owners the comfort and safety to share and monetize data without losing control.

With a hands-on approach of nurturing start-ups in their initial phase, Cypher Capital has played an important role in the growth of successful crypto and blockchain start-ups including Kilt Protocol, Sheesha Finance, PAID Network, Splinterlands, CasperLabs, Matterless Studios, Prasaga, AukiLabs and Cross The Ages.

Cypher Capital is building a 10,000 sq. ft. hub for crypto start-ups which is set to open in Q4 2022 in Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai. The hub reflects the company's commitment to the blockchain community and its vision to provide mentorship and guidance to its members in all matters relating to their projects.

Cypher Capital is a venture capital firm based in the UAE focused on crypto, blockchain, and digital asset-related projects worldwide. Cypher Capital takes a holistic approach in creating an ecosystem in which crypto, blockchain, and digital asset-related projects can thrive under the mentorship and relationships that Cypher Capital has to offer. The venture capital firm has recently announced a $100 million seed fund aimed at investing in such projects.

Kryptrx Users Can Benefit the Premium Utilities From Ethrlin, the Native Kryptrx Token

Kryptrx as an organization itself as well as a central trading entity leveraging Ethereum will be challenging the most orthodox ways like having central business in a decentralized universe. Kryptrx will be launching its own bep-20 token to pour in the liquidity and make the most out of investments.

By carving the term "trust" anew by establishing their own central exchange (kryptrex), with the graphical user interface so simple that even a novice can use it. Futuristic cross-chain compatibility of the platform will bundle up the fragmented liquidity along with best-in-class security policies and regulations to deter hostile attackers and hackers. Kryptrx has actualized the concept of "onionize" into practice to set down the ground rules to mitigate the brute force attack, flexible countermeasures to keep open to mold the policy paradigm according to situation call, and dedicated cyber security teams.

Ethrlin will be resolving the already entangled central exchange market pressure points like lack of liquidity and unorganized, shady documentation acting as quicksand to obscurity in terms of laws, regulations, and policies checkpoints.

Ethrlin and kryptrx have forged a flagship by threading the needle into engraving trust by the implementation of clearly, regulated documentation, policies, and laws that will empower the people to invest in ethrlin and as a result, it will increase the liquidity altogether.

kryptrx will become a bow piercing every possible opportunity with ethrlin as its arrow. It has set its sights on delivering a flawless exchange experience utilizing ethereum's smooth transactions, all while nearly doubling the return. Kryptrex is excited to see the investors go for the stars, which will be done through the futuristic implementation of their well-thought-out strategy for nft development and decentralized exchange.

For the 1st Time, TIME Magazine Releasing Its Full Issue as an NFT

TIME, a nearly 100-years-old  New York-based news magazine & website, will release the first-ever fully decentralized magazine issue available as an NFT on the blockchain, on this Wednesday (March 23).

The magazine, which had featured Prime Minister Narendra Modi in one of the 100 most influential people of 2021, publishes its issues twice a month. This Wednesday, the full NFT issue will features TIME’s cover story - The Prince of Crypto Has Concerns, on 28-years-old Vitalik Buterin’s fight for the future of Ethereum. Vitalik Buterin is one of the co-founders and the inventor of Ethereum.

Cover Image of upcoming TIME's fully NFT Issue

This cover story is by Andrew Chow, who is editor of TIME’s "Into the Metaverse" newsletter.

The upcoming issue will be in an interactive NFT format, created in partnership with the LITDAO, a web3 cultural currency and NFT project that conceived and created the first fully decentralized book earlier this year.

TIME will airdrop the NFT issue to select TIMEPiece, a Web3 community initiative from TIME, and genesis LIT community wallet holders.

In addition, the magazine also announced the hiring of its first-ever VP of web3 Operations, Will Ban, who will focus on operationalizing TIME’s web3 vision and development of television shows based on IP from the web3 community.

Notably, TIME claims that its evolution into web3 version has generated more than 10 million in revenue and a community of over 25,000 artists, collectors and enthusiasts – of which, over 5,000 TIMEPiece holders have connected their digital wallets to TIME.com.

Ethereum Software Maker ConsenSys Raises $450 Mn in Series D Funding as Its Wallet MetaMask Reaches Over 30 Mn MAUs

• The latest raise values ConsenSys at over $7 billion USD, more than doubling its valuation since its $200 million Series C raise in November 2021.
• In January, MetaMask exceeded 30M monthly active users accessing Web3 applications, a 42% increase in 4 months.
• Infura is the leading Ethereum development platform, with 430,000 developers and in excess of $1 trillion in annualized on-chain ETH transaction volume supported through Infura’s Ethereum API.
• Funding will support the hiring of over 600 new employees globally, and continued reinvestment in development and tooling for the extended Ethereum ecosystem.

Today, ConsenSys announced the close of a $450 million USD financing round, bringing its valuation to $7 billion USD. ParaFi Capital led this raise after participating in ConsenSys’ Series C round in November 2021. They were joined by new investors, including Temasek, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Microsoft, Anthos Capital, Sound Ventures, and C Ventures. Series C investors — Third Point, Marshall Wace, True Capital Management, and UTA VC, United Talent Agency’s venture fund — also participated in this round. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as ConsenSys’ legal advisor in this transaction.

ConsenSys has been a pioneer in creating the foundational software for the next wave of the internet, Web3. Our mission is to unlock the collaborative power of communities by making DAOs, NFTs, and DeFi universally easy to use, access, and build on.

Consensys entered India in 2018 with opening an office in Delhi to build a “very strong” ethereum blockchain-developer community. The blockchain firm then also signed an agreement with NITI Aayog, the policy think tank of Indian government.

The acceleration of Web3 adoption globally is also illustrated by the rise of leading self-custodial wallet, MetaMask, which now supports more than 30 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs), growing 42% in only four months. A global user base relies on MetaMask to mint and collect NFTs, join DAOs, and participate in DeFi protocols. The United States, the Philippines, Brazil, Germany and Nigeria represent some of MetaMask’s most active markets.

All proceeds from the round will be converted to ETH to further build ConsenSys’ “ultra sound money” position as a rebalance to its ETH to fiat ratio in line with ConsenSys’ treasury strategy. ConsenSys has long maintained a significant treasury of ETH, stablecoins and other crypto tokens, and is actively using its own financial infrastructure, such as MetaMask Institutional and Codefi Staking, to put these assets to work in DeFi protocols and via staking in anticipation of Ethereum’s upcoming merge to Proof of Stake.

Joseph Lubin, Founder and CEO of ConsenSys said, “I think of ConsenSys as a broad and deep capabilities machine for the decentralized protocols ecosystem, able to rapidly capitalize at scale on 
fundamental new constructs that emerge, such as developer tooling, wallets, security audits, DeFi, NFTs, Layer-2 scaling, DAOs, and more. This view has resonated with our crypto native and growth investors in a Series D that will enable us to execute exciting growth strategies. This round takes in digital assets as well as fiat and converts all immediately to ETH. Next round will be our ‘Series ETH’ where we will assist investors in getting fully crypto native and contributing ETH as a symbol of and commitment to the ongoing paradigm shift.”

Funding will also support the rapid expansion of MetaMask with a major redesign scheduled for release later in 2022, as well as the roll out of a plug-in extensibility system that will allow integration with a wide variety of blockchain protocols and account security schemes. This roadmap expansion also builds on ConsenSys’s recent acquisition of MyCrypto, which will enable MetaMask to bolster its industry-leading security infrastructure and create a cohesive user experience across desktop, mobile, extension, and browser wallets.

Funding will be used to accelerate the global adoption of Infura’s development toolsuite as well as ConsenSys’s efforts to drive NFT adoption for artists, content creators, brands, intellectual property owners, game publishers, and sport leagues.

With nearly 700 full time employees at present, ConsenSys’ hiring will surge this year as it is on track to scale to over 1,000 employees by the end of 2022. ConsenSys maintains a core objective to be an industry leader when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, partnering with organizations like Work180, CryptoChicks and the Black Women Blockchain Council. Since September 2020 ConsenSys has increased gender balance in the workforce from 19% to 25% as of December 2021. Its belonging scores also continue to trend up, reaching 91% in the latest survey. ConsenSys is proud to be a major driver of the transformation to the “age of community."

“ConsenSys has emerged as one of the most important companies in the blockchain space,”said ParaFi Capital Founder and Managing Partner, Ben Forman. “In particular, Metamask is the gateway for over 30 million users to access web3 and DeFi applications every month, making it one of the most widely used blockchain products in the world for consumers and businesses. As a long-time power user of ConsenSys’ products and services, ParaFi is thrilled to be an investor and thought partner as the company continues to operate at the forefront of decentralized infrastructure."

Neil Cunha-Gomes, investor for SoftBank Investment Advisers said, “We’re delighted to partner with Joe and the team in their mission to power access to the decentralized web. We believe ConsenSys’ ecosystem of simple, neutral, and secure Web3 products continues to foster unprecedented levels of engagement and we’re excited to help them take Web3 adoption to the next level.

About ConsenSys

ConsenSys is a leading Ethereum and decentralized protocols software company. We enable developers, enterprises, and people worldwide to build next-generation applications, launch modern financial infrastructure, and access the decentralized web. Our product suite, composed of Infura, Quorum, Codefi, MetaMask, Truffle, Diligence and our NFT platform, serves millions of users, supports billions of blockchain-based queries for our clients, and has handled billions of dollars in digital assets. Ethereum is the largest programmable blockchain in the world, leading in business adoption, developer community, and DeFi activity. On this trusted, open source foundation, we are building the digital economy of tomorrow. To explore our products and solutions, visit http://consensys.net/.

Polygon Invests in Colexion to Boost NFT Adoption in India

The investment will offer users a theft and forge free trade experience along with a secured infrastructure.

Polygon, one of the leading platforms for Ethereum scaling and digital infrastructure development has announced an investment in Colexion - Asia’s biggest NFTs marketplace. As a result of this investment, Polygon, which has a vast presence in the cryptographic ecosystem, will deploy many of its digital tools to boost NFT adoption in India, leading to a seamless purchasing and minting experience for its users.

Speaking about the investment, Abhay Aggarwal, Co-founder & CEO, Colexion said, “This is a historical event in the Colexion’s growth journey, and we are proud to be the chosen partner for investment by Polygon. This move will enable our users in India to benefit from the NFT ecosystem.”

“Polygon’s investment in Colexion is all set to revolutionize the NFT space in India by enabling Indian users to now buy/sell NFTs faster than ever, with surprisingly lower transaction fees, and with an over-the-top user experience.” Bibin Babu, Co-founder & COO, Colexion, added.

The investment will offer benefits such as theft and forge free trade experience, highly advanced dashboards and tools for NFT exchanges, a trustworthy platform that allows artists and talents to interact with their fans and NFT traders, and most importantly a secured infrastructure. It will cater to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications, focus on the performance of the platform and user experience while solving any security concerns that may arise.

“The main purpose of this investment is to bring transformation in the NFT marketplace,” Sandeep Nailwal, Co-founder & Chief Operations Officer, Polygon, he further added, “The rapidly growing adoption of Polygon can alone answer its vast popularity in this ecosystem. While Polygon ensures the security and ownership transparency of non-fungible digital tokens, Colexion aims to give NFTs the value that it deserves, thereby also allowing artists and fans to interact and trade on this trustworthy platform.”

Presently, Colexion is already making a buzz by launching a premium NFT marketplace in the sports, entertainment, art, and lifestyle category. The platform has onboarded international celebrities from the entertainment and sports industries, where each one of them will be launching their NFTs exclusively.

About Colexion:

Colexion is a leading marketplace for digital collectibles which aims to bring NFTs into mainstream trading options. Thus, it works relentlessly to help artists and communities to come together on its platform with the primary aim of NFTs trade. The platform has successfully managed to attract many budding investors. It is all set to launch its exclusive collection of NFTs having now been officially integrated with Polygon Blockchain infrastructure. It focuses on building a relationship between artists and fans by creating a value-added platform and digital infrastructure for digital token’s trade. Many renowned celebrities and sports personalities have already signed up for this portal to launch their exclusive NFTs. Morne Morkel, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo, Mika Singh, Krissann Barretto, Salim-Sulaiman, and many others are included in the list.
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About Polygon:

Polygon is one of the leading platforms for Ethereum scaling and digital infrastructure development. This Indian company is growing with its wide range of deliverables and easy-to-handle products that are offered to the developers. Its infrastructure solutions include sidechains, hybrid solutions, stand-alone, enterprise chains, data availability solutions, security assets, and many more. Polygon primarily aims to solve pain points associated with blockchain technology.

Notable collaborations of Polygon include Infosys Ltd for M-Setu, Google Cloud's BigQuery also included Polygon into its ITB offerings. There are also several other significant collaborations by Polygon which made it establish its brand value in this ecosystem. Polygon’s network frame improves the transaction speeds, which is another reason why Colexion users will be extremely satisfied.

Is Cryptocurrency a Worthy Investment?

With cryptocurrency investments in 2021, it will be possible to get filthy rich. The downside is that you could lose any money you have. Both are true, but how? Crypto-asset investments can be risky, but also extremely lucrative.

Cryptocurrencies are a good investment if you want direct exposure to the demand for digital currencies. Stocks of companies with exposure to cryptocurrency are a safer but potentially less lucrative alternative.

Take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of investing in cryptocurrency.

Are Cryptocurrencies safe?

Cryptocurrency is not completely safe, at least not right now. On the other hand, other evidence suggests that it may be here to stay.

Risks associated with cryptocurrency

Unlike stock exchanges, cryptocurrency exchanges are more susceptible to hacking and becoming targets of other criminal activity. Investors who have had their digital currencies stolen have suffered significant losses due to these security breaches.

Cryptocurrencies require more security than stocks or bonds when it comes to storing them. Bitcoin (crypto: BTC) and Ethereum (Crypto: ETH) can both be bought and sold on cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), but many people prefer not to store their crypto assets on exchanges due to the risk of cyberattacks and theft.

It is common for cryptocurrency users to choose offline "cold storage" options such as paper or hardware wallets, but cold storage comes with its own set of challenges. Essentially, it is impossible to access your cryptocurrency without your private key, which is the most significant risk.

Furthermore, investment in a crypto project does not guarantee success. Cryptocurrency projects are fiercely competitive, and there are countless scam projects in the industry as well. Cryptocurrency projects will ultimately thrive in a limited number.

Cryptocurrencies may also face enforcement by regulators, especially if governments see them more as a threat than an innovation.

In addition, cryptocurrency technology is on the cutting edge, which increases the risk for investors. It is still a work in progress and hasn't been extensively tested in real-world settings yet.

Adoption of cryptocurrencies

Although cryptos and the blockchain industry have inherent risks, they have grown significantly over time. Increasingly, investors can access institutional-level custody services, thanks to the building of much-needed financial infrastructure. Cryptoassets are slowly becoming more attainable for individuals and professionals alike.

A range of companies is becoming direct participants in the cryptocurrency sector by establishing crypto futures markets. Several financial giants, including Square (NYSE: SQ) and PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), are making it easier to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on their platforms, while others, including Square, collectively have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin and other digital assets. In early 2021, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) bought Bitcoin worth $1.5 billion.

Although there are still factors that affect the riskiness of cryptocurrencies, the increasing adoption rate is a sign that the industry is maturing. Cryptocurrency is gaining popularity with both individual investors and businesses since several large companies are investing their money in it.

Cryptocurrencies are good long-term investments, but what about the short-term?

During the launch of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, lofty objectives are often set, which will be achieved over time. Although any cryptocurrency project is not guaranteed to succeed, if it succeeds, then early investors could reap significant rewards over time.

In order to be considered successful in the long run, cryptocurrency projects must achieve widespread adoption.

Long-term investing in bitcoin

Due to its widespread popularity, Bitcoin is the most widely known cryptocurrency, benefiting from the network effect -- more people want to own Bitcoin since the majority owns it. Some investors consider Bitcoin to be "digital gold," however, it is also capable of being used as a digital currency.

As a result of the fixed supply, Bitcoin is believed to have gained value over the long term, unlike fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen. It is estimated that the supply of Bitcoin will never exceed 21 million coins, compared with currencies controlled by central banks. Fiat currencies continue to depreciate, which will increase the value of Bitcoin.

Many Bitcoin enthusiasts believe Bitcoin can be used widely as digital cash in the long run, and will thus become a truly global currency.

 
Bitcoin has the following important features:

• The blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies like bitcoin allows data to be sent securely in cyberspace via the payment method
• There is a mining process for every bitcoin
• The total number of bitcoins that can be mined totals 21 million
• As cryptocurrencies cannot be regulated by centralized authorities, such as governments or central banks, they are "decentralized."

Investing in Ethereum over the long run

Investors looking to gain exposure to Ethereum can buy Ethereum's native coin, Ethereum, to increase their portfolio exposure. Ethereum operates as a global computing platform that supports many other crypto-currencies and a massive ecosystem of decentralized applications (dapps). Bitcoin can be viewed as a form of digital gold.

Because Ethereum is the platform for many cryptocurrencies, and dapps are open-source, it offers Ethereum the opportunity to take advantage of the network effect and create sustainable, long-term value. With Ethereum, smart contracts can be developed, which are written in code and execute according to the terms written in the contracts.

Smart contracts are executed on the Ethereum network with the help of Ether collected from users. With smart contracts, massive industries, such as real estate and banking, can be disrupted as well as brand new markets made possible.

With the increasing adoption of the Ethereum platform, the Ether token is becoming more valuable and useful. The Ethereum platform offers a long-term opportunity for investors who are bullish on its potential to make money by owning Ether.

Cryptocurrencies: Is it worth investing in them?

Investing in Bitcoin can increase your portfolio's diversification because the price of cryptocurrencies has rarely correlated with the value of U.S. stocks. Since cryptocurrency usage is likely to become even more widespread in the future, you might want to consider adding a little crypto to your portfolio as part of a diversified investment strategy. When investing in cryptocurrencies, come up with an investment hypothesis that explains why that currency will endure.

Cryptocurrencies are increasingly popular today, but buying them can be risky. If buying them seems too risky, consider other means of profiting from the rise of cryptocurrencies. CME Group (NASDAQ: CME), a company that facilitates crypto futures trading, allows you to invest in the stock of Coinbase, Square, and PayPal, or you can invest in an exchange like CME Group. The upside potential of investments in these companies may be very small compared to investing directly in cryptocurrency.

Final Words

In conclusion, learning and investing in Cryptocurrencies has been very profitable over the years and the market is growing bigger every day, and it’s stated to be the future currency and kindly check our website, AskCrypto which is a cryptocurrency forum and is focused on crypto enthusiasts and helps to promote networking and communication in a better way to benefit everyone.

Mars Hackathon Launched in India to Empower Developers With Robust Decentralized Storage Solutions

Organized by Filecoin, IPFS and Polygon

‘Mars Hackathon’ aims to strengthen and enhance the developer ecosystem in India

 Winners of this two-month-long hackathon to gain incentives worth $30K

Filecoin, an innovative open-source cloud storage network in association with Interplanetary File System (IPFS), a unique peer-to-peer storage protocol, announced the launch of Mars Hackathon 2021 today.

Launched in partnership with Polygon, an Indian layer 2 Ethereum scaling solution and organized by Lumos Labs, an innovation management firm, this virtual hackathon spanning over two months is part of the larger Asia Hackathon Season 2021.

The Asia Hackathon Season is a multi-month Asia-focused hackathon series aimed at identifying, accelerating, and highlighting the impressive advancements being achieved on Filecoin and IPFS stacks by talented developers in the Asian subcontinent.

The Web3 wave in India has attracted global attention and the Indian developer community has proven its competency by solving relevant real-world issues through accessible solutions. The overall Indian public cloud services market is likely to touch $7.4 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 22.2% for 2020-24.

With its first India-focused hackathon, the Mars Hackathon 2021, Filecoin aims to strengthen the community further and pave the path towards more creation and innovation within decentralized storage technologies. It will be focused on providing the right tools to the robust developer ecosystem of India and helping them in creating and improving their innovations.

This eight-week hackathon is open to beginners as well as experienced coders and is a platform for developers to explore the world of decentralized storage. Participants can learn by creating new or enhancing existing dApps that solve everyday decentralized storage problems on FIlecoin or IPFS networks or by building on Polygon while exploring the utility of Filecoin and IPFS for their storage requirements. Starting from September 7, 2021, this unique hackathon is aimed at revolutionizing the world of storage in Asia.

Grants and prizes worth $500K are available to the teams, startups, projects, and entrepreneurs choosing to continue their journey of building on the Filecoin and IPFS stacks. Beyond hackathons, together with the collaborators and partners of the FIlecoin and IPFS ecosystem, participants stand to gain networking opportunities that will open various platforms for their ideas to grow into winning ventures.

"We are looking forward to witnessing the new and innovative solutions that will come through during the Mars Hackathon. The growth of the Indian developer ecosystem in the decentralized space has been highly impressive till now and we are delighted to have the opportunity to see it in real-time. Through Mars Hackathon, we hope to encourage and empower developers and entrepreneurs to solve significant problems, ship innovative applications and shape the future of the web to be more decentralized, robust, and secure. Asia is a budding technology ecosystem and blockchain technology has brought certain regions of Asia to the forefront globally. We hope to be a part of this growing ecosystem through Filecoin, our decentralized storage solution and help in fixing the pitfalls of the current centralized cloud infrastructure.” mentioned Angie Maguire - Head Of Growth and Marketing, Filecoin

"We have seen the decentralized world boom rapidly due to its independent nature and have seen India at the forefront of this boom since the beginning. As part of the Indian developer community ourselves, we have witnessed the growth right in front of us, and are well aware of the potential of the Indian blockchain ecosystem. Through this hackathon, we are excited to see what more can the developer and builder community of India create in the Web3 ecosystem space.” added Sandeep Nailwal, COO and Co-Founder, Polygon

The Hackathon is launched in partnership with Lumos Labs, an innovation management firm specializing in running technology open innovation programs in India. The entries will be judged by a distinguished panel of industry leaders and subject matter experts on three primary aspects of problem selection, solution innovation, and impact achieved. The registration window will be open from September 7 - October 10, 2021, which will be followed by multiple rounds of filtration, and finally five teams in the final cohort will present their solutions in the Final Demo Day.

If you have an interesting blockchain use case and are excited to apply for the Mars Hackathon visit: https://www.marshackathon2021.com/

To learn more about the Asia Hackathon 2021, feel free to visit - https://events.filecoin.io/asia-hackathon-season

Microsoft, Alibaba Group and Carnegie Mellon University Working on Ethereum Blockchain-based Anti-Piracy Solution

Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash

For effective piracy campaigns bringing full transparency is needed and for the same software giant Microsoft and its collaborators, including China's Alibaba Group and and US-based Carnegie Mellon University, believe that incentivizing people is necessary.

A research paper, released by the Microsoft Research Lab, introduces Argus, a fully transparent incentive system for anti-piracy campaigns that involves the public Ethereum blockchain network. The groundwork of Argus is to formulate the objectives for fully transparent incentive mechanisms, which securely and comprehensively consolidate the different interests of all roles in any Anti-Piracy campaign.

According to the paper, anti-piracy is fundamentally a procedure that relies on collecting data from the open anonymous population.. The paper discusses on how to incentivize credible reporting --- a question at the center of the problem. "Industrial alliances and companies are running anti-piracy incentive campaigns, but their effectiveness is publicly questioned due to the lack of transparency.", says the paper. 

The full transparency of a campaign is necessary to truly incentivize people. It means that every role, e.g., content owner, licensee of the content, or every person in the open population, can understand the mechanism and be assured about its execution without trusting any single role.

Argus' system will protect the identity of the informers but allow the firm to backtrack the source of the pirated content. The anti-piracy system’s goal is to incentivize people in the open population to report the pirated copies to the system. The paper refer to these people as the informers.

In Argus, the incentive model ensures that the total reward of the informer and all his Sybils is less
than the reward he would get without forging the Sybils. In other words, the Argus model disincentivizes Sybil attacks, so the informers’ interest is aligned with the owner’s. In addition, the Argus system model is superior to previous models because of several other properties for better incentives.

The system effectively optimize several cryptographic operations so that the cost for a piracy reporting is reduced to an equivalent cost of sending about 14 ETH-transfer transactions to run on the public Ethereum network, which would otherwise correspond to thousands of transactions. With the security and practicality of Argus, Microsoft research team hopes real-world anti-piracy campaigns will be truly effective by shifting to a fully transparent incentive mechanism.

In the research paper, Microsoft and its collaborators present the design, implementation and evaluation of the Argus system. 

The paper claims that Argus is the first public anti-piracy system which does three things ---

1. Does not hinge on any “trusted” role; 
2. Treats every participant fairly (in particular, it is resilient to greed and abuse, and resolves conclusively every foreseeable conflict); and 
3. Efficient and economically practical to run on a public blockchain (e.g. it achieves an impressive off-chain throughput of 82.6 data-trades per second per machine, and incurs only a negligible on-chain cost equivalent to sending 14 ETH-transfer transactions per report on the public Ethereum blockchain.

In Largest DeFi Cryptocurrency Theft, Hackers Steals $600 Million in Ethereum

Hackers have stolen more than $600 million in Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. This is the biggest theft ever in the decentralized finance or DeFi space.

On Tuesday, hackers allegedly breached blockchain-based platform Poly Network and extracted more than $600 million in cryptocurrencies, the company announced on Twitter, marking the biggest hack ever in the decentralized finance space that’s heating up among investors.Poly Network is a platform that allows users to exchange crypto tokens.

It is believed that the most affected cryptocurrency in this theft is Ethereum. Hackers stole $273 million worth of Ethereum, $253 million worth of Binance Smart Chain and $85 worth of US Dollar Coin (USDC) tokens from the Polygon network.

Besides Ethereum, Tether worth about $33 million was also stolen, but it was frozen by the issuer as soon as the attack was discovered. This means that hackers cannot use these tokens. Poly tweeted that there was an attack on PolyNetwork. The tweet also shared the address of the attackers on which the stolen amount has been transferred.

Important Notice:
We are sorry to announce that #PolyNetwork was attacked on @BinanceChain @ethereum and @0xPolygon Assets had been transferred to hacker's following addresses:
ETH: 0xC8a65Fadf0e0dDAf421F28FEAb69Bf6E2E589963
BSC: 0x0D6e286A7cfD25E0c01fEe9756765D8033B32C71

— Poly Network (@PolyNetwork2) August 10, 2021

The crypto attack has happened at a time when the cryptocurrency market is going through a lot of turmoil. Poly Network said preliminary investigations revealed that hackers took advantage of the vulnerability between contract calls. There have been many attacks this year but such a huge amount has not been stolen yet.

Era of Altcoins: Most Perspective Cryptos in 2021

Even just 10 years ago, Bitcoin dominated on the crypto market making its own rules. A decade later, more than 3 000 alternative coins or altcoins have ascended on the arena. BTC still remains a legend, but it is gradually starting to lose its influence giving the way to others. Let’s have a look at the most perspective cryptocurrencies in 2021.

Ethereum (ETH)

Market capitalization of Ethereum: $317.5 bln

Ethereum is proved to be, albeit not a ‘master of the universe”, but surely a king. Being the second most popular coin after bitcoin, ETH is not just a mean of exchange. It is a stable decentralized blockchain platform.

Quick Tip -  Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) hosts regular webinars -- through varieties of webinar tools e.g. WebinarCare -- featuring EEA members and guest speakers on a range of Enterprise Ethereum and Mainnet Ethereum blockchain topics. In addition to its webinars for all participants, EEA also offers our members regularly scheduled webinars and recordings on a number of Ethereum/ETH related topics.

Having appeared in the result of hard fork, Ethereum became the best version of itself. Before it shifts to Proof of Stake algorithm, everyone has a chance to mine coins using productive home hardware. An additional bonus is ETH can be used as a base coin in dual mining increasing a level of profitability. Don’t miss what is dual mining and how does it work.

You may buy ether on any large exchange, for example, Robinhood or PayPal.

Binance Coin (BNB)

Market capitalization of Binance Coin: $62.1 bln

Binance Coin is a cryptocurrency released by a famous exchange Binance, and it functions in its own blockchain Binance Chain.

To use tokens is possible in 3 ways: to pay for trade commissions and to receive discounts, to invest in projects, to exchange and to sell. But you can’t mine the crypto as the total amount was issued for single use.

The advantage of Binance Coin owning is a low or zero commission for trading on Binance.

Cardano (ADA)

Market capitalization of Cardano: $56.4 bln

Blockchain ecosystem Cardano represents an effective technological platform for financial applications launching.

Three teams of developers are working on improving of Cardano: Foundation, Input Output HK (IOHK) and Emurgo, so there is no need to doubt efficiency of the cryptocurrency.

Chainlink (LINK)

Market capitalization of Chainlink: $13.2 bln

Chainlink is a blockchain platform protecting users of unauthorized access while exchanging data during operations with smart contracts.

The project has helped such big corporations as Google, Gartner, Binance, AAVE and many others. Today the service works only with Ethereum smart contracts, but it is planned to expand infrastructure and add other blockchains in the near future.

In 2020, a course of LINK increased from $1.50 to $20. It is situated in the list of coins with the highest return on investment in the period from March to December 2020.

Litecoin (LTC)

Market capitalization of Litecoin: $5.792 bln

Litecoin boasts one of the speediest process of mining. Reward for a block is quite high - 25 LTC. Litecoin cannot be described as the most profitable cryptocurrency, but it stably occupies the highest positions in the list of the most popular coins among miners as well as provides a good income with dual mining. You may read about tendencies of dual mining in 2021 in this article.

Some analytics predict that the rate of LTC will grow after halving and will be $300 more in three years.

This Antivirus Program Now Offers Users Mine Ethereum Cryptocurrency

In a rare move where not all antivirus programs offers such feature, at least till date, one of the world's best-known anti-virus software makers is adding cryptocurrency mining to its product. Norton 360 customers will have access to an Ethereum mining feature in the "coming weeks".

NortonLifeLock (formerly known as Symantec Corporation) has announced the launch of Norton™ Crypto, a new feature designed to enable consumers to safely and easily mine cryptocurrency through its trusted Norton™ 360 platform.

Starting today, select Norton 360 customers in Norton’s early adopter program will be invited to mine for Ethereum initially and thereafter, in the coming weeks, Norton Crypto is expected to become available to all Norton 360 customers.

(Graphic: Business Wire)

However, the company said that for mining the cryptocurrency Norton 360 customers may require certain PC hardware to use this service. Norton also warns of "allowing unvetted code on their machines" and the danger of storing earnings on a hard drive which could fail.

Norton Crypto delivers a secure, reliable way for consumers to mine for Ethereum without opening themselves and their devices up to these pitfalls. Once cryptocurrency has been earned, customers can track and transfer earnings into their Norton Crypto Wallet, which is stored in the cloud so it cannot be lost due to hard drive failure.

Vincent Pilette, CEO of NortonLifeLock said --

As the crypto economy continues to become a more important part of our customers’ lives, we want to empower them to mine cryptocurrency with Norton, a brand they trust. Norton Crypto is yet another innovative example of how we are expanding our Cyber Safety platform to protect our customers’ ever-evolving digital lives.

Ethereum Creator Vitalik Buterin to Deliver Keynote at Virtual FinTech Forum 2021

Asian platform to discuss Industry 4.0, ESG & Sustainability

Mumbai, May 25, 2021: Amid rising use of blockchain in finance and cryptocurrencies emerging as Digital Gold for millennial investors across Asian markets, the alternative investment class will take centre stage at Virtual FinTech Forum on May 27 when Ethereum Creator, Vitalik Buterin delivers a keynote address on The Progress of Ethereum and its role in Future of Finance.

As the flagship fintech label co-founded by Finstep Asia Limited and Novsphere Limited, the Virtual Fintech Fair (VFF) is the region’s first fully virtual Fintech event and has become a significant platform for the fintech industry in Asia and a key constituent of the StartmeupHK Festival. Last year, StartmeupHK was attended by over 180,000 delegates from over 90 countries. VFF 2021 is supported by over 40 partners including AWS, InvestHK, S&P Global Intelligence, Vacuum Labs and Krungsri Finnovate.

Bénédicte Nolens, Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, Bank for International Settlements and Christopher Hui Ching-yu, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, The Government of Hong Kong SAR, will also deliver a keynote address.

Among speakers from Indian technology companies and BFSI space include Priti Rathi Gupta, Founder LXME, Anand Kumar Bajaj, MD & CEO, PayNearby, Monica Jasuja, Head of Product Management, Mobile Financial Solutions, Comviva, Dilip Modi, Chairman and Founder, DiGiSPICE Technologies & Spice Money, Ankit Ratan, CEO & Co-founder, Signzy, Srinivas Jain, Executive Director and Head of Strategy, SBI Mutual Fund.

Global speakers at VFF include Kalidas Ghose, Vice Chairman & CEO, FE Credit, Kampanat Vimolnoht, Head of Investment and Strategic Partnership, Krungsri Finnovate, William Bao Bean, General Partner, SOSV & MD Chinaccelerator & MOX, Michael Bruck, Managing Director, Vacuum Labs, Greg Krasnov, Founder & CEO, Tonik, and Ronit Ghose, Global Sector Head for Banks Research, Co-Head of the FinTech Group and Head of MENA Research, Citi.

Virtual Fintech Fair Co-Founder, Musheer Ahmed said, 

As the world moves to the next year of the pandemic a complete relook at the global financial system is warranted by all ecosystem partners from banks to new age fintech companies. VFF2021 will pursue discussion that will help leaders navigate business and reach out to customer as the world increasingly shifts to digital services.

The largest Asian BFSI and fintech platform will draw over 5000+ delegates to listen and interact with 50+ renowned speakers across global financial institutions and financial technology firms. From key decision makers including Global Asset Managers, Banks and Technology firms, have been received from 100+ countries for VFF2021.

This full day forum is expected to engage industry stakeholders on discussion around Silicon Valley of the East, Asian investment landscape, talent 4.0, virtual banking in Asia, blockchain and crypto payments, fintech for Green Finance & sustainability, RegTech, InsurTech and banking the unbanked in Asia.

The premier edition of VFF was held in August 2020 drawing over 3000+ delegates from 90+ countries.

About Virtual Fintech Fair:

Over the last year, Virtual Fintech Fair events have been attended by over 10,000 delegates from 100+ Countries. VFF has showcased over 100 innovative Fintechs from across Asia and over 200 thought leader speakers covering Digital Banking, WealthTech, InsurTech, RegTech, Digital Assets, Islamic Finance, Financial Inclusion and Women & FinTech, and more.

For more information, including how to participate in or sponsor the event, please go to virtualfintechfair.com

Bitex Launches Ethereum based Utility Token Through Initial Exchange Offering

Monark Modi, Founder and CEO, Bitex

Bitex launches Ethereum based utility token through Initial Exchange Offering

20 percent of 1Bn Bitex Coin (BTX) to be sold through public sale

Mumbai, 13 May, 2021: To address challenges in mass adoption of cryptocurrencies owing to hurdles in fiat to crypto conversion, bank related delays and high fiat deposit/withdrawal fee, Bitex has launched Bitex Coin (BTX) – a utility token to trade on the exchange, make payments and exchange crypto at a lower fees. Currently, high fiat deposit/withdrawal fee, custody of fiat funds and 2-5 days to process fiat withdrawals are other major deterrents to trading on cryptocurrency exchanges.

Of the total limited supply of 1billion token to be issued by Global Cryptocurrency Exchange, 20 percent will be available for public sale through an Initial Exchange Offering (IEO).

The token will be available at a face value of INR 10 during a pre-sale till June 1. BTX will list on Bitex exchange on June 4 and a second round of the public sale will begin on July 4.

A decentralized digital asset based on Ethereum, BTX is designed as the native currency of Bitex Cryptocurrency Exchange. The token has been developed for trading other cryptocurrencies on exchanges, crypto credit cards payments, payments processing, traveling bookings, entertainment, investment, loans & transfers in future.

Bitex Founder & CEO Monark Modi said, "A significant interest in cryptocurrencies has been observed since last year across India and around the world. Yet despite the mainstreaming of the digital asset, it continues to be concentrated among few investors and mass adoption is still at the periphery owing to several systematic challenges ranging withdrawal/ deposit time, banking related delays among many others. BTX is our endeavour towards removing the current imbalance in the cryptocurrency ecosystem by giving regular retail investors a chance to be part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem without facing these hurdles. We are unlocking the future of crypto payments with our utility token."

As part of the industry global ritual Bitex shared a whitepaper on the BTX's role in the ecosystem explaining potential users about the purpose of the cryptocurrency. The whitepaper states it as a 'reward to early adopters and supporters of Bitex'. (Read: https://bitex.com/whitepaper-btx.pdf).

Some of the benefits of the utility token include zero trade fee on BTX trading pairs, 50 percent trading fee discount for other cryptocurrencies and to pay fee or interest on amount borrowed for margin trading.

BTX benefits will also extend to bounty programs, trading competition rewards, staking rewards, exchange listing and investment rewards, promotion campaigns, token burning and investor returns.

About Bitex

Founded in 2018 in UAE, Bitex is a leading digital currency exchange and a professional trading platform that operates in global markets including India. Bitex provides mobile and web platform to invest and trade in digital assets with a matching engine that can handle up to 1 million transactions per second. Through its secure cryptocurrency wallet, users can send and receive digital assets to third party wallets. The digital asset exchange provides advanced charting tools, order books and one-click trade options and a derivatives platform that offers quarterly futures trading contract and margin trading. Bitex is a fully regulated and compliant financial exchange which follows a stringent Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) policy.

BTCC Exchange: Crypto Trends to Look Out for in 2021

Looking forward to 2021, with many uncertainties ahead, the world's longest-running cryptocurrency exchange, BTCC launches AMAs on the topic "Crypto Trends to Look For in 2021" to help the cryptocurrency community to clear the uncertain economic times ahead.

LONDON, Jan. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- At the beginning of 2021, the world's oldest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has seen an all-time high of over $35,000 on 6 January 2021, which is not surprising for institutional investors as well as high-net-worth individuals who consider BTC as a hedge against extraordinary fiscal stimulus programs. Here is an AMA summary from Chief Research Officer, Dan at BTCC.

ETH Price Prediction in 2021

The world's largest financial derivatives exchange, CME Group, announces its ETH derivative product will go live on February 2021, following the launch of Bitcoin derivative product. It means ETH will be considered as a financial product, and will be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). We expect that the launch of ETH derivative product next year will bring more institutional funds into the market, thus the price of ETH is very likely to see a massive rise.

Growing Number of Institutional Players Entering the Crypto Market

The year of 2020 also has seen numerous examples of institutional investors turning their attention to the world's most popular cryptocurrency. For example, one of the largest insurance firms, MassMutual, has purchased $100 million of Bitcoin on December 2020.

We expected to see the crypto market to rise from the end of 2020 to 2021. The difference between the bull run this year to the one in 2017 is that previous bull was driven by individual investors and some whales. However, the bull run this year is mainly driven by institutional investors pushing the price up.

Top 10 Cryptocurrencies to Look Out for in 2021

The major theme of crypto market next year will be around DeFi, Polkdot, and ETH 2.0, therefore we will expect ETH remain unchanged at the top 2. While XRP, BCH, LTC and EOS are not what the market needs for next year, we expect to see these coins fall out of their current ranking.

Here is a prediction of crypto ranking in 2021 by Dan: BTC, ETH, USDT, LTC, XRP, BNB, LINK, UNI, DOT, BCH.

BTCC currently offer 9 major cryptocurrency trading pairs including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), EOS (EOS), Ripple (XRP), Stellar (XLM), Dash (DASH), and Cardano (ADA). Users can trade Bitcoin weekly contract, and perpetual contract at BTCC with leverage of 10x, 20x, 50x and 100x. BTCC also offer Bitcoin daily contract with 150x leverage.

About BTCC

Founded in 2011, BTCC is the world's longest-running crypto exchange and currently headquartered in the UK. With nearly 10 years of operating history, BTCC is known for its safe and stable, top-end market depth, and as well as faster transaction speed. For more information, visit www.btcc.com.

BTCC Website

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CoinDCX set to launch Liquid ETH-backed token for users; partners with US-based Staked to provide staking services

CoinDCX is set to launch 1:1 ETH-backed token in the last week of Jan 2021; the token will be liquid and tradeable on CoinDCX markets. Upon completion of 2000 staked ETH target ($1 million worth of ETH), multitude of token benefits will be provided to token holders

Mumbai, December 16, 2020: CoinDCX- India's largest cryptocurrency exchange is all set to issue 1:1 token Ethereum token, to all Ethereum staked holders, who have staked and may stake in the future. The token will be issued in the last week of January 2021. 

CoinDCX recently launched an ETH staking product where its users can stake ETH for as low as 0.1 ETH. All the users have to do is lock their ETH for staking. Taking note of the increasing demand from users on ETH2 staking, CoinDCX is all set to launch the token. The roadmap and token launch will happen simultaneously in the last week of January. CoinDCX will release a whitepaper on 7th January and the benefits of the paper will be released in the said whitepaper.

CoinDCX will also be organizing community-led activities before the launch to come up with a token name and logo.

Once the token is launched, it will be available for all the users who have staked ETH and will be staking ETH, in the future. The token will be liquid and will be tradeable on CoinDCX markets. This will allow traders and investors to enter and exit ETH 2 staking seamlessly.

The backed token will be pegged to Ethereum price. This will be hugely beneficial to every type of Ethereum investors (short or long term). On one side, investors can earn staking rewards (15-20% as per the current ETH2 blockchain staking rewards), and also they can trade in CoinDCX markets. However there are more benefits in store, once the 2000 ETH target is met, the token will function as a utility token across the CoinDCX ecosystem.

Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founder of CoinDCX said, "Staking is slated to improve the efficiency and scalability of the Blockchain technology. But the assets locked in staking can cause a liquidity deficit in Cryptocurrency markets. With this token, CoinDCX aims to solve that problem for Ethereum. Staked ETH via CoinDCX will be highly liquid."

Token holders will receive benefits on trading fees, discounts, lucrative airdrops, and more which will be enumerated in the whitepaper. CoinDCX will be also providing a loan facility. Users can also get stablecoin backed loans, and can borrow collateral for Margin trades on CoinDCX.

CoinDCX is launching this token which is not only ETH backed, but it is community-backed too. The token is powered by the most-awaited technological transformation on the world's most widely used Blockchain. CoinDCX will create an ecosystem for its community to reap the benefits of Ethereum 2.0 and this token will serve as a fuel which will be powering this ecosystem providing a series of benefits to its users.

U.S-based Staked, which provides non-custodial staking services for institutions and is the leading independent validator for Ethereum 2.0, is partnering with CoinDCX to support Ethereum 2.0 staking.

Tim Ogilvie - Co, CEO and co-founder of Staked said, "We are thrilled to extend our support to CoinDCX in such a way that the exchange's users can now take advantage of our staking infrastructure to participate in Ethereum's major upgrade."

CoinDCX has always been at the forefront of adopting and integrating innovative solutions within the crypto ecosystem that will help crypto services. Association with Staked, will help CoinDCX provide top of the line, industry graded staking solutions and will contribute to the growth of CoinDCX ecosystem.

About CoinDCX:

CoinDCX is India's largest and safest cryptocurrency exchange and top liquidity aggregator in the world. The exchange has instant deposit and withdrawal facilities. The versatile wallet structure provides the best fee structure in the industry. Established in 2018, the exchange is today deemed by many market participants as India's most trustworthy cryptocurrency exchange.

CoinDCX offers users a single-point access to a diverse suite of crypto-based financial products and services:

Insta - Provides fiat onboarding from INR to crypto

Spot - Gives access to trade cryptocurrencies across 500+ markets

Lend - Decentralized lending service wherein users can earn 12.87% APR Margin - With up to 6x leverage trades across more than 250 markets

Stake - Users can earn passive income by staking their cryptos

The exchange has a powerful yet simple interface that provides fast and reliable trading experience for professional and novice customers alike. CoinDCX is backed by world-class security processes which includes a safe & instant KYC verification process and insurance cover to safeguard users' funds.

For more information, visit https://coindcx.com/

About Staked

Staked helps investors earn yield from staking and DeFi lending without taking custody of their crypto assets. Founded in 2018, the Company runs staking infrastructure for 25 proof-of-stake blockchains and their RAY token delivers the highest yield in DeFi for ETH and stablecoins. Staked works on behalf of leading crypto funds and offers an API that allows custodians, exchanges and wallets to offer these tools to their customers. Staked investors include Pantera Capital, Winklevoss Capital, Digital Currency Group, Parafi Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Fabric Ventures, and other leading blockchain investors. For more information, please visit: https://staked.us/