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TL;DR Immutable X is a layer-2 scaling solution for NFTs on Ethereum. It offers instant trade confirmation and near-zero gas fees for minting and trading NFTs. Users can easily create and trade NFTs without compromising the security of their assets. Immutable X uses an engine called Zero-Knowledge Rollup to achieve scalability. It can facilitate up to 9,000 transactions per second. Immutable X’s shared global NFT order book can efficiently enhance NFT liquidity and increase their trading volume. NFTs can be bought and sold on any marketplaces built on Immutable X. IMX is an ERC-20 utility and governance token. It’s used to pay for transaction fees and incentivize users and developers on Immutable X. Token holders can earn rewards through staking and participating in the platform's governance. Learn more on Binance.com Introduction Trading and minting NFTs on Ethereum can be expensive, especially during times of high traffic. Users need to pay higher gas fees to have their transactions confirmed quickly. It’s also common for minting transactions to fail, causing significant losses. Article By Binance: (APE) ApeCoin - What Is It? BAYC, MAYC And BAKC Explained| FXMAG.COM What is Immutable X? Immutable X is a layer-2 scaling solution for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Ethereum. It aims to improve Ethereum’s scalability and user experience. Immutable X was founded in 2018 by James Ferguson, Robbie Ferguson, and Alex Connolly. It offers instant transaction confirmation and near-zero gas fees for minting and trading NFTs. Users can easily create and trade ERC-721 and ERC-20 tokens at lower costs without compromising the security of their assets. How does it work? At the core of Immutable X is a scaling technology called Zero-Knowledge Rollup (ZK-Rollup), which is a layer-2 protocol for validating transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. Instead of adding every transaction data to the blockchain, ZK-Rollup batches hundreds of transactions into a single zero-knowledge proof known as the zk-STARK proof. Zk-STARK stands for zero-knowledge succinct transparent arguments of knowledge. It’s a verification method used to prove possession of certain knowledge without revealing any information about it. It can provide Immutable X transactions with increased levels of privacy and security.  After batching the transactions, the proof is submitted to the blockchain and verified by a smart contract. The ZK-Rollup smart contract maintains all transaction details on layer 2, so that the proof can be quickly verified as they don’t contain the complete data of every transaction. The computing and storage resources required for validating a block will be lower too. This is how Immutable X can facilitate up to 9,000 transactions per second (TPS) with significantly reduced gas fees. For the end-users, Immutable X transactions have zero gas fees. Another unique feature of Immutable X is a set of powerful REST APIs that can simplify complex blockchain interactions NFTs users trade or mint on Immutable X are 100% carbon-neutral. For example, minting 8 million NFT trading cards for the play-to-earn game Gods Unchained would consume approximately 490 million kWh (490 MWh) on Ethereum. With ZK-Rollup compressing the data required for minting, Immutable X only used 1,030 kWh to mint the same amount of NFTs, which is 475,000 times less energy consumption. The minuscule energy consumption remaining is offset with carbon credits. Article By Binance: Altcoins: Harmony (ONE) - A Blockchain Project Explained| FXMAG.COM Another unique feature of Immutable X is a set of powerful REST APIs that can simplify complex blockchain interactions. Users can create and transfer NFTs easily via API calls without having to interact directly with smart contracts. Combined with Immutable X’s simple software development kits (SDKs), developers can integrate the APIs and Wallet to their platforms easily. This will allow them to build NFT projects, such as play-to-earn games, in just a few hours rather than weeks.  To facilitate a third-party NFT marketplace ecosystem, Immutable X provides a global order book that allows NFTs to be bought and sold on any marketplace that implements their scaling solutions. This means that orders created in one marketplace can be filled in another, effectively increasing the trading volume and liquidity of NFTs. Immutable X also supports all desktop Ethereum wallets. Users can seamlessly trade NFTs on different NFT-enabled crypto wallets without moving their assets across networks. What is IMX? IMX is the native token of Immutable X. It’s an ERC-20 utility and governance token with a 2 billion total supply. IMX is used to pay for transaction fees and incentivize users and developers on Immutable X. They can earn IMX tokens by contributing to the platform’s growth, such as trading NFTs and building applications.  As a utility token, IMX allows token holders to earn rewards through staking in reward pools. They can also participate in the governance of Immutable X by submitting and voting on community proposals. The more IMX coins they hold, the greater their voting power.  Read next: (UKOIL) Brent Crude Oil Spikes to Highest Price For April, (NGAS) Natural Gas Hitting Pre-2008 Prices, Cotton Planting Has Begun How to buy IMX on Binance? You can buy Immutable X (IMX) on cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance.  1. Log in to your Binance account and click [Trade]. Select either the classic or advanced trading mode to start. 2. Search “IMX” to see the available trading pairs. We will use IMX/BUSD as an example. 3. Go to the [Spot] box and enter the amount of IMX you want to buy. In this example, we will use a Market order. Click [Buy IMX] to confirm, and the purchased IMX will be credited to your Spot Wallet.     Closing thoughts Immutable X leverages layer-2 scaling technology to bridge the gaps in trading NFTs on Ethereum. It creates a platform for NFT businesses to grow, including play-to-earn games and marketplaces.

Summary: Binance places sanctions on certain Russian account holders. Terra’s LUNA coin topples Binance. Despite today's drop, BRISE is still on an overall increase. (BNB) Binance Price drops today. Read next: ECB Announcements to Possibly Tighten Monetary Policy Strengthens the Euro. EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, AUD/NZD and EUR/CHF All Increased | FXMAG.COM   The overall price of Binance has decreased throughout trading today. On Thursday Binance announced the removal of its services for Russian coin holders of certain accounts that hold any value of more than 10000 Euro, the move came in an effort to comply with EU sanctions on Russia. The affected accounts will only be allowed to withdraw their investments. Binance Coin Price Chart Terra’s LUNA coin price continues to rise. Terra’s LUNA coin has increased in price today, continuing on the upward trend the coin has been following for the past couple of days. This price surge came on monday as a result of the algorithmic coin taking over from Binance (USD) as the third largest stablecoin (based on circulation). Terra USD Price Chart Related article: Altcoins: IOTA, Litecoin (LTC) and Cardano (ADA) Threatened? Crypto Markets Lie in The Hands of Regulations and Government Policies? | FXMAG.COM Bitgert (BRISE) price on the rise the past week As of today, the price of Bitgert (BRISE) has decreased, however looking at the price of the coin over the past week it has been on the rise. The coin's value in the future will be dependent on market sentiment and current market conditions. Bitgert (BRISE) Price Chart Sources: finance.yahoo.com, coindesk.com

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. Binance has no relationship to these projects, and there is no endorsement for these projects. The information provided through Binance does not constitute advice or recommendation of investment or trading. Binance does not take responsibility for any of your investment decisions. Please seek professional advice before taking financial risks.   TL;DR In 2021, the meme coin market saw exponential growth, especially the dog-themed meme coins. As of November 2021, one of the most popular “breeds” is Dogecoin (DOGE) and its rival Shiba Inu (SHIB).  Meme coins are meme-inspired cryptocurrencies. They tend to be highly volatile compared to major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). This is likely because meme coins are heavily community-driven tokens. Their prices are usually influenced by social media and online community sentiments. This often brings a lot of hype but also FOMO and financial risk. While it’s true that some traders became rich with meme coins, many lost money due to market volatility. Binance Academy: (APE) ApeCoin - What Is It? BAYC, MAYC And BAKC Explained| FXMAG.COM Introduction Some say 2021 was the year of “dogs” for crypto. The doggy duo Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) led the meme coin pack and skyrocketed in price and market capitalization. As of November 2021, DOGE has gained over 8,000% since the beginning of the year and is ranking #9 by market capitalization on CoinMarketCap. Its competitor, SHIB, has pumped more than 60,000,000% since January. Learn more on Binance.com What are meme coins? Meme coins are cryptocurrencies inspired by memes or jokes on the Internet and social media. The first meme coin created was Dogecoin (DOGE). Launched in 2013 as a parody, DOGE was inspired by the popular Doge meme of a Japanese Shiba Inu dog. Meme coins tend to be highly volatile. They are mainly community-driven and can gain popularity overnight due to online community endorsements and FOMO. Still, their price can also slump unexpectedly when traders turn their attention to the next meme coin. Another characteristic of meme coins is that they often have a huge or unlimited supply. For example, Shiba Inu (SHIB) has a total supply of 1 quadrillion tokens, while DOGE has no maximum supply, and over 100 billion tokens are already in circulation. As meme tokens generally do not have a coin-burning mechanism, the huge supply explains their relatively low prices. With just $1 USD, you can buy millions of meme tokens. Why are meme coins so popular? While it’s hard to define specific reasons, some say that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the crypto market grew as retail investors wanted to hedge against inflation. Meme coins also boomed amidst the hype, growing both in market capitalization and variety. Read next: Binance Academy: Immutable X Token (IMX) - What Is It? IMX Explained. How To Buy IMX?| FXMAG.COM It all started after the “meme stock” saga of GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment (AMC) in late 2020, where the Reddit community pumped up the prices of these shares to as much as 100 times in a few months. In January 2021, a Reddit group joked about pumping up the price of DOGE to create a crypto equivalent of GME. The trend caught on, and along with the influence of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweets, DOGE price rallied. Dogecoin reached a new all-time high of $0.73 USD, with an increase of over 2,000% in five days. In May 2021, Elon Musk joked about DOGE publicly on TV, and many say it was the cause of the following price drop However, in May 2021, Elon Musk joked about DOGE publicly on TV, and many say it was the cause of the following price drop. Several traders then turned to other meme coins on the market, such as the “Dogecoin killer” SHIB. At the same time, retail investors were FOMOing into meme coins hoping to become millionaires overnight, sparking yet another meme coin rally. Another reason why retail investors find meme coins attractive is that they typically only cost a few cents or even a fraction of a cent. Technically, the low price doesn’t mean much because these coins have huge supplies. Still, holding millions of a certain meme coin feels different than holding a fraction of ETH or BTC. Traders can get thousands or even millions of DOGE, SHIB, or Akita Inu (AKITA) tokens with just a few dollars. Binance Academy: Polkadot (DOT) Explained - A Pinch Of Origins And History| FXMAG.COM Apart from the potential profits, the meme coin frenzy is also driven by their respective community sentiments. As mentioned, meme coins are inspired by popular Internet memes, intended to be fun and sometimes considered an “insider joke” for a community. Buying meme coins, in a way, is showing support for their respective community. Following the GME stock market saga, meme coin traders inspired by the Reddit group SatoshiStreetBets started a “David vs. Goliath” battle to bet against the mainstream cryptocurrencies. The crypto market in 2021 was therefore flooded with community-driven meme coins. Potential risks of investing in meme coins Meme coins might have seen exponential growth in 2021, but like all cryptocurrencies, trading and investing in meme coins carries high financial risk. First of all, the tokenomics of meme coins can be concerning. Take Bitcoin as an example. It has its blockchain, a well-written whitepaper, an established ecosystem, and a deflationary nature. We are seeing more institutional adoption of bitcoin in recent years as well. Compared to BTC, most meme coins are inflationary with no maximum supply. Their ecosystem, use cases, and fundamentals are often defined by the collective jokes of the community. Only a few meme coins were built on the technology of major cryptocurrencies. For example, DOGE’s technology was derived from Litecoin (LTC), and SHIB was built on the Ethereum blockchain.  As the meme coin market continues to grow, you should be aware that there might be projects taking advantage of the hype to scam traders Another potential risk is that meme coins are heavily community-driven and are more speculative than the larger market capitalization cryptocurrencies. This volatility constantly leads to unexpected pump and dump. The lifecycle of meme coins is generally short-lived. Their prices can rocket thousands of times from celebrity shilling or FOMO, or crash unexpectedly when the community decides to move on to the next meme coin. As the meme coin market continues to grow, you should be aware that there might be projects taking advantage of the hype to scam traders. For example, Squid Game (SQUID), a meme coin inspired by the popular Netflix show of the same name, surged over 86,000% in a week. However, the development team rug-pulled suddenly and caused the price to plummet by 99%. What’s worse is that holders were not allowed to sell their SQUID tokens. Therefore, you should always be careful and DYOR before trading or investing in meme coins. An overview of the popular meme coins Leading the meme coin market with the highest market capitalization are Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB). After the success of DOGE and SHIB, a large number of dog-themed meme coins entered the market and gained traction within the second half of 2021. Dogecoin (DOGE) Dogecoin (DOGE) was created in 2013 by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. It was inspired by the meme of a Shiba Inu dog and was intended to be a joke cryptocurrency to attract mainstream attention. As a fork of Litecoin (LTC), DOGE adopts the same Proof of Work (POW) mechanism, and it has no maximum supply. For a more comprehensive overview of DOGE, check out What Is Dogecoin?. Shiba Inu (SHIB) Shiba Inus (SHIB) is the rival of DOGE and is often referred to as the “Dogecoin killer”. SHIB is also named after a Japanese dog breed. It was created by an anonymous developer named Ryoshi in August 2020. The main difference between DOGE and SHIB is that the latter has a limited supply of 1 quadrillion tokens, of which 50% were burnt and donated to charity. SHIB’s ecosystem also includes a decentralized exchange, an NFT art incubator, NFTs, and an NFT game. To learn more about SHIB and its ecosystem, check out What Is Shiba Inu (SHIB)?. Dogelon Mars (ELON) Dogelon Mars (ELON) closely follows the doggy duo in terms of popularity. As the name suggests, ELON is named after Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his passion for his company SpaceX. ELON is a fork of Dogecoin and has a circulating supply of 557 trillion tokens. As of November 2021, ELON has surged over 3,780% since its launch in April 2021. Akita Inu (AKITA) There are many other meme coins using Japanese dog breeds as their mascots, such as Akita Inu (AKITA), Kishu Inu (KISHU), and Floki Inu (FLOKI). AKITA was heavily inspired by DOGE. It was launched on Uniswap as an ERC-20 token in February 2021. Its tokenomics is very similar to SHIB. Like SHIB’s developer Ryoshi, the AKITA team locked 50% of its total supply on Uniswap, while the remaining 50% was sent to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. However, AKITA only has a total supply of 100 trillion tokens, which is 1/10 of the total supply of SHIB. AKITA gained traction alongside its fellow doggy coins in May 2021 and is seen by some community members as another “Dogecoin killer”. Samoyedcoin (SAMO) Samoyedcoin (SAMO) is a dog meme coin project built on the Solana blockchain. At launch, 13% of SAMO supply was airdropped to members of the community. According to their website, SAMO roadmap includes burning events, airdrop tools, a decentralized exchange (DEX), and the creation of NFTs. Samoyedcoin recently gained popularity due to a sudden increase in price. SAMO grew over 4,300% within a month. In October 2021, the price went from $0.005 to over $0.22 in roughly 30 days. Read next: Solana (SOL) - Let's Have A Look At This Altcoin| FXMAG.COM Kishu Inu (KISHU) Kishu Inu (KISHU), another canine-themed meme coin, has grown exponentially since it launched in April 2021. KISHU includes participation rewards for active users, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and a DEX called Kishu Swap. It has been growing in popularity and recorded over 100,000 holders and 2 billion dollars market capitalization within one month after its launch. SafeMoon (SAFEMOON) Another meme coin newcomer that capitalized on the rally was SafeMoon (SAFEMOON). It is a BEP-20 token launched on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) in March 2021. SAFEMOON rewards long-term holders by penalizing those who sell the token with a 10% exit fee, of which half of the fees will be distributed to existing SAFEMOON holders, and the other half will be burnt. It attracted retail investors’ attention after it soared in April. As of November 2021, SAFEMOON has a 9418.54% ROI, according to CoinMarketCap. How to buy meme coins on Binance? You can buy the more popular meme coins, such as DOGE and SHIB, on cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance. For other less prominent meme coins, you can go to decentralized exchanges.  Let’s take DOGE as an example. 1. Log in to your Binance account. Then, head to [Trade] at the top bar to select the classic or advanced trading page. 2. On the right side of the screen, type “DOGE” on the search bar to see a list of the available trading pairs. We will use DOGE/BUSD as an example. Click “DOGE/BUSD” to open its trading page.   3. Scroll down to the [Spot] box and enter the amount of DOGE to purchase. You can select different order types to buy DOGE. We will use a Market order in this example. Click [Buy DOGE] to confirm the order, and you will see the DOGE you purchased in the Spot Wallet.   Closing thoughts With new meme coins entering the market every day and traders hoping to replicate the profits posted by DOGE and SHIB, it is important to DYOR before committing to any meme coins. Keep in mind that meme coins are highly volatile compared to other digital currencies. Trading or investing in cryptocurrencies involves high risk. Meme coins are largely community-driven and might crash unexpectedly, so you should never invest what you cannot afford to lose. Read next: Litecoin (LTC) Explained - The Way It Works, Terms Associated With LTC| FXMAG.COM

TL;DR Yield Guild Games (YGG) is a gaming guild focused on blockchain play-to-earn games. It’s a community that invests in NFT assets and connects blockchain gamers around the world. Their goal is to build a network of players and investors who help each other get started and grow in the NFT gaming space. Introduction Since the success of Axie Infinity, the space of play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain games has been growing rapidly. While the P2E trend has attracted millions of people around the world, gaming NFTs are not affordable for many players, especially in developing countries. Yield Guild Games is building a P2E community and offering a solution to these players, so they can get started with NFT gaming. Learn more on Binance.com What is Yield Guild Games (YGG)? Yield Guild Games (YGG) is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) that invests in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) used in blockchain games. These games are part of a broader concept known as the metaverse. The term metaverse refers to the many elements of blockchain-based digital worlds, including digital land, digital assets, and more. Read next: Binance Academy: Meme Coins - What Are They? Dogelon Mars (ELON), Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), SafeMoon (SAFEMOON), Kishu Inu (KISHU) And AKITA| FXMAG.COM The idea of creating a global play-to-earn gaming community arose in 2018. Gabby Dizon, the YGG co-founder and CEO, noticed that blockchain gaming was trending in Southeast Asia. At that time, many gamers were looking to get started in the popular NFT game Axie Infinity, but they lacked the money to buy the in-game NFT characters called Axies. Understanding that blockchain gaming can be an empowering tool for those living in developing countries, Dizon started lending his Axies to other players who couldn’t afford to buy their own. This inspired him to co-found Yield Guild Games with Beryl Li in 2020 to help gamers thrive in the world of NFTs and blockchain gaming. How does Yield Guild Games work? Yield Guild Games combines Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and NFTs to create a metaverse economy on the Ethereum blockchain. The YGG DAO is an open-source protocol with rules enforced by smart contracts. It serves many different purposes, such as carrying out governance decisions voted by the community, issuing rewards, and facilitating NFT rentals. YGG is made up of multiple SubDAOs, which consist of groups of players from a specific NFT game or geographical location. Each SubDAO has its own set of rules to manage the activity and assets of the respective play-to-earn game. Read next: Binance Academy: Immutable X Token (IMX) - What Is It? IMX Explained. How To Buy IMX?| FXMAG.COM This model allows players of the same NFT game to work together to maximize their in-game profits. It also enables guild members to rent and use the community-owned NFT assets to earn in-game rewards. In return, those that lend their NFTs via the DAO can share a portion of the gamers’ earnings. On YGG, all NFTs and digital assets are stored within the YGG Treasury, which is controlled by the community. The treasure provides the NFTs to each SubDAO, and it includes P2E assets from multiple blockchain games. YGG Scholarships To maximize the value and utility of gaming NFTs, the YGG DAO uses an NFT rental program known as scholarships. The idea was initially introduced by the Axie Infinity community to benefit both NFT owners and play-to-earn gamers.  In Axie Infinity, Axie owners can lend their gaming assets to help new players get started in return for a percentage of their in-game rewards. The process is done through blockchain smart contracts in a way that scholars can only use the NFTs in-game. Only the manager (owner) can trade or transfer the NFTs. Similarly, YGG provides scholarships to new players under a revenue-sharing model, where they can get NFT assets to start playing and earn in-game rewards. The scholars don’t need to invest any money upfront, but they share a portion of their earnings with their managers. Apart from NFTs, new players will also receive training and guidance from community managers. YGG scholarships are not limited to NFTs in Axie Infinity. The YGG Treasury also owns virtual lands in The Sandbox and League of Kingdoms, virtual cars in F1 Delta Time, among other play-to-earn games.  SubDAOs As mentioned, the YGG DAO is primarily composed of SubDAOs. You can think of SubDAOs as localized communities within the main YGG DAO. These local communities consist of players from a specific P2E game or location. For example, there is a SubDAO dedicated to Axie Infinity players, a SubDAO for The Sandbox players, another SubDAO for Southeast Asian players, and so on. By grouping players into different SubDAOs, they can discuss gaming strategies and help each other maximize performance. Read next: (APE) ApeCoin - What Is It? BAYC, MAYC And BAKC Explained| FXMAG.COM Each SubDAO manages its respective game’s activities and assets under its own set of rules and conditions, but they still contribute earnings to the YGG DAO. In a SubDAO, there is a community lead, a wallet, and a SubDAO token. Token holders can share the yields generated from the gameplay based on their contributions. They also get to make suggestions and vote on governance decisions related to the SubDAO, such as whether to purchase more in-game NFTs, or how to manage their assets. What is the YGG token? Yield Guild Games (YGG) is an ERC-20 token that gives holders the right to participate in the governance of the YGG DAO. It has a total supply of 1 billion tokens, and 25 million YGG was sold via an Initial DEX Offering (IDO) on SushiSwap in 2021. To support the community, YGG has set aside 45% of the total supply to be distributed to users gradually over four years.  As the platform’s native token, YGG is used to pay for services on the network. It can also be staked to earn rewards in the YGG vaults or used to unlock exclusive content on the YGG Discord channel. In addition, YGG holders can submit proposals and vote on decisions regarding the guild’s technology, products, projects, token distribution, and overall governance structure. The winning suggestions that eventually get implemented on the DAO will be rewarded YGG tokens. YGG Vault The YGG DAO adopts a different approach to yield farming than most DeFi staking platforms. Typically, tokens are staked to earn fixed-rate interest. On YGG, each vault represents a token reward program for a specific activity that YGG operates. For example, one vault may provide yields based on the performance of a scholarship program, while another vault rewards stakers based on the Axie breeding program. YGG also plans to develop an all-in-one super index vault that represents all yield-generating activities in its ecosystem. This vault will reward stakers based on the guild’s revenue from subscriptions, merchandise, rentals, treasury growth, and SubDAO index performance. Token holders can stake for the activity they support, and rewards will be distributed proportionally to the amount of YGG they stake via smart contracts. Depending on how the vault is programmed, rewards might also include YGG tokens, Ether (ETH), or stablecoins.  How to buy YGG on Binance? You can buy Yield Guild Games (YGG) on cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance.  Log in to your Binance account and click [Trade]. Select either the classic or advanced trading mode to start. Click on [BTC/USDT] to open the search bar and type “YGG” to see the available trading pairs. We will use YGG/BUSD as an example. Go to the [Spot] box on the right and enter the amount of YGG to buy. In this example, we will use a Market order. Click [Buy YGG] to confirm your order, and the purchased YGG will be credited to your Spot Wallet.   Closing thoughts Through a unique revenue-sharing model, YGG is building a decentralized community in the real world. It offers participants an opportunity to thrive in these virtual worlds through an innovative gaming economy. As metaverse projects are on the rise, NFT guilds like Yield Guild Games could benefit from the influx of newcomers and crypto enthusiasts looking to explore play-to-earn NFT games for an alternative source of income.

TL;DR The Crypto Fear and Greed Index provides a score of 0 to 100 for crypto market sentiment. It’s based on the CNNMoney Fear and Greed Index for analyzing the stock market.  Fear (a score of 0 to 49) indicates undervaluation and excess supply in the market. Greed (a score of 50 to 100) suggests an overvaluation of cryptocurrencies and a possible bubble. Noticing changes in the level of fear and greed can become part of your trading strategy when choosing to enter or exit the crypto market.   Introduction When deciding if you should buy in or sell out of the crypto market, a good trader or investor will always look for supportive data. There are charts to look at, fundamentals to analyze, and market sentiment to tap into. However, studying every metric and index available isn't the most efficient use of time. With the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, a combination of sentiment and fundamental metrics provide a glimpse of market fear and greed. While you should not rely on this indicator alone, it can help you figure out the overall feeling of the cryptocurrency markets.    Learn more on Binance.com What is an index? Traditionally, an index takes multiple data points and combines them into a single statistical measure. You might have already heard of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), a famous index that tracks the stock market. The DJIA is a price-weighted combination of 30 large companies listed on numerous stock exchanges in the U.S. Traders and investors can buy DJIA to get a combined exposure to these companies' stocks. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index is also a weighted measure of market data, but that's where the similarities end. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index is not something you can purchase nor any kind of financial instrument. It’s just a market indicator that can complement your analysis.   What is a market indicator? Market indicators make it easier for traders and investors to analyze market data. Indicators exist in all forms of market analysis: technical analysis, fundamental analysis, and sentiment analysis. If you've experimented already with technical analysis (TA), you've probably already got some experience with indicators. These range from simple moving averages to complex chart patterns like Ichimoku Clouds. TA indicators are concerned with analyzing prices, trading volume, and other statistical trends. Fundamental analysis indicators take a different approach. When you research a token or stock, you’re essentially trying to determine the underlying fundamental value of the project. For example, your research could include the number of users and total market value combined into an indicator. In addition, we have market sentiment indicators that measure the feelings and thoughts of investors and traders. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index is just one of many. Other examples include The Bull & Bear Index from Augmento and WhaleAlert that tracks large transfers from whales in crypto markets. To an extent, crypto research relies heavily on analyzing social media, the community, and public opinion. For this reason, sentiment analysis can come in handy for this asset class.   What exactly is a Fear and Greed Index? CNNMoney originally created the Fear and Greed Index to analyze market sentiment for stocks and shares. Alternative.me have since then made their version tailored to the crypto market.  The Crypto Fear and Greed Index analyzes a basket of different trends and market indicators to determine whether the market participants are feeling greedy or fearful. A score of 0 indicates extreme fear, while 100 suggests extreme greed. A score of 50 shows the market is somewhat neutral. A fearful market could be an indication that cryptocurrencies are undervalued. Too much fear in a market can lead to overselling and excess panic. Fear doesn't necessarily mean that the market has entered into a long-term bearish trend. Instead, you can think of it as a short or mid-term reference to overall market sentiment. Greed in the market is the opposite situation. If investors and traders are greedy, there's a possibility for overvaluation and a bubble. Imagine a situation where FOMO (fear of missing out) causes investors to pump the markets, overvaluing Bitcoin’s price. In other words, the increased greed may lead to excess demand, artificially inflating the price.   How does the Crypto Fear and Greed Index work? Each day, Alternate.me calculates a new value from 0 to 100. As of July 2021, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index only uses Bitcoin-related information. The reason behind this is BTC's significant correlation with the crypto market as a whole when it comes to price and sentiment. There are plans in the future to cover other large coins, presumably including Ether (ETH) and BNB.     You can divide the index's scale into the following categories: 0-24: Extreme fear (orange) 25-49: Fear (amber/yellow) 50-74: Greed (light green) 75-100: Extreme greed (green) The index calculates the value by combining five different weighted market factors. Let's take a look: 1. Volatility (25% of the index). Volatility measures the current value of Bitcoin with averages from the last 30 and 90 days. Here, the index uses volatility as a stand-in for uncertainty in the market. 2. Market momentum/volume (25% of the index). Bitcoin's current trading volume and market momentum are compared with the previous 30 and 90-day average values and then combined. Constant high-volume buying suggests positive or greedy market sentiment. 3. Social media (15% of the index). This factor looks at the number of Twitter hashtags related to Bitcoin and, specifically, its interaction rate. Typically, a constant and unusually high amount of interactions relates more to market greed than fear. 4. Bitcoin dominance (10% of the index). This input measures BTC's dominance of the market. Increased market dominance shows new investment into the coin and the possible reallocation of funds from altcoins. 5. Google Trends (10% of the index). By looking at Google Trends data for Bitcoin-related search queries, the index can provide insights into market sentiment. For example, a rise in "Bitcoin Scam" searches would indicate more fear in the market. 6. Survey results (15% Index Score). This input is currently paused and has been for some time.   Why is the Crypto Fear and Greed Index useful? The Crypto Fear and Greed Index can be a valuable tool for checking market sentiment changes. Large swings may provide an opportunity to enter or exit before the rest of the market follows the trend. We can see a brief example of this by checking the last three months of total cryptocurrency market cap versus the index figures.     Point 1 shows April 26, 2021, the bottom of a significant swing in the index value from 73 (Greed) to 27 (fear). Point 2 shows the start of another slide on May 12, 2021, from 68 (greed) to 26 (fear). We can see if this has matched with the crypto market by comparing these changes with the overall crypto market capitalization.     Point 1 again shows April 26 starting at $1.78 trillion (USD) before climbing up to a peak of $2.53 trillion on May 12. If you combine this with what we see above, you see a large swing in sentiment from greed to fear coinciding with a local bottom in the crypto market cap. As the market becomes more greedy, the overall market cap rises until it reaches its maximum. At the maximum, sentiment once again sharply drops. With our example, the index has proven helpful in finding a buying opportunity and predicting a sell-off in the market. Using the index, you can check whether your emotional reactions are overblown or in line with the market. But will it always be helpful for every situation? More than likely, no.   Can I use the index for long-term analysis? The indicator doesn’t work as well on long-term analysis of crypto market cycles. Within a bull or bear run, there are multiple cycles of fear and greed. These switches are useful for swing traders to take advantage of. However, for investors who want to hold, it will be difficult to predict the change from a bull to a bear market just from the index. You will need to analyze other market aspects to get a long-term perspective. As always, recommended advice is that you don't rely solely on one indicator or style of analysis. Make sure to do your own research (DYOR) before investing any money and only invest what you can afford to lose.     Closing thoughts The Crypto Fear and Greed Index is a simple way to gather and summarize a whole range of fundamental and market sentiment metrics. Rather than have to do this yourself, you can rely on the indicator to track social media, Google Trends, and other statistics. If you want to include it in your analysis, consider complementing it with other metrics and indicators to get a more balanced view.

TL;DR A typical crypto card lets you earn crypto rewards or instantly convert your crypto to fiat currency to pay for goods and services. Both Mastercard and Visa issue crypto cards, meaning you can use your crypto in millions of locations globally. A prepaid crypto card is similar to a debit card in that it has to be pre-loaded with crypto to spend. You can get a crypto card from a licensed issuer such as a crypto exchange or bank. However, crypto cards aren't without risk. Your funds stored on the card can still lose their market value, and any transactions you make with your card are likely to be taxable. Crypto credit cards work more like standard credit cards with crypto rewards. You can pay your credit card bill with fiat cash but receive crypto bonuses on the money you spend.  Binance offers a Binance Visa Card for KYC and AML verified customers. You can complete the sign-up process in under a few minutes and enjoy zero administration or transaction fees, cashback, and other benefits.   Introduction While much of crypto's interest is in its investment potential, it still has a use case in transferring value. Satoshi Nakamoto didn't create Bitcoin to make people billionaires. It was, however, designed as a global, digital payments system. One way to achieve this goal is with crypto cards. This payment method is now helping people use crypto and digital assets in their daily lives and even receive crypto rewards as well.   Learn more on Binance.com   What is a crypto card? A typical crypto card acts in a similar way to your debit card. You can pay for items or services that accept the card provider. While it might sound like you are paying a vendor directly with digital currencies, this isn't actually what happens. The vendor receives fiat cash into their account and not crypto. Your crypto card takes the cryptocurrency in your linked account, converts this into the local currency you're paying in, and then uses this cash to pay. We'll explain this with an example later on. Both Visa and MasterCard offer crypto cards with partner companies who apply for a license. These are the two most commonly used payment providers globally, making crypto cards almost universally accepted by retailers. Some crypto cards only offer crypto rewards on the money spent with the card. These cards are usually credit cards that require a credit check to sign up for.   How does a crypto card work? As we mentioned, a crypto card doesn't actually pay the vendor with crypto. It conveniently converts your crypto into cash which you can spend with the vendor through the card.  For example, imagine you have $500 (US dollars) of BNB in your Binance Card's Funding Wallet. At a restaurant, you go to pay the $100 bill with your crypto card. Once you have inserted your card and agreed to the payment, Binance sells $100 of BNB and loads the fiat onto the card. The restaurant then gets paid $100, and you're left with $400 of BNB in your Funding Wallet. All of this happens within the few seconds it takes to use your crypto card. You can also use crypto cards for ATM withdrawals if your service provider supports them. The same method above is used to withdraw your physical cash.   What are the differences between a crypto card and a credit or debit card? There are a few minor differences between credit and debit cards and crypto cards. For the most part, they function in the same way when it comes to paying. The most significant difference between a crypto card and a credit/debit card is that you load your typical crypto card with cryptocurrencies. A debit card is pre-loaded with fiat currencies, and a credit card's transactions are paid off later with fiat. A prepaid crypto card works similarly to a traditional debit card. You must have the funds in your account before you can spend them. You cannot load your cards with fiat cash but only with crypto. When you make a payment, your funds are converted immediately in your crypto wallet. On the other hand, Crypto credit cards extend a line of credit that lets you purchase now and pay later. Gemini and BlockFi both have released crypto credit cards with crypto cashback. Your credit card bill is payable in normal fiat currency, meaning that the crypto credit card is basically a rewards credit card. To order a card, you will have to be a customer with a company that already provides a crypto card, such as a crypto exchange or crypto-supporting bank that supports crypto. The process will involve you completing Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering procedures before you can order your crypto card, just like with any regular credit or debit card. With a crypto credit card, you will also need to pass a credit check.   What are the benefits of using a crypto card? The key benefit of a prepaid crypto card is the ability to use your crypto for everyday purchases. This has traditionally been difficult to do unless a vendor directly accepts crypto. Even then, some coins like Bitcoin can take 30 minutes for a transaction to confirm. The price is also volatile, meaning you may actually pay more or less than expected. Many crypto cards also come with benefits like cashback rewards or discounts with certain subscriptions like Spotify or Netflix. These benefits lure you towards a specific card provider and are similar to those offered with standard debit/credit cards. Make sure to compare what each card offers to find the best benefits for you. Don’t also forget to look out for possible exchange fees you might have to pay in the conversion process.   Do crypto cards have any risks? Having a crypto card provides all the same risks as holding crypto. If you have loaded up your account with Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH), your account’s fiat value will constantly change. This means you may not have the exact amount of money in your account as you think, depending on exchange rates. You should also remember that in many tax jurisdictions, the spending of crypto is a taxable event. This doesn't matter if you're spending a few dollars on a coffee or thousands of dollars on a car. If you have made any gains or losses on your crypto before you use it to purchase something with your crypto card, you'll have to pay or write off the appropriate taxable amount. You can avoid this problem by purchasing stablecoins to use with your crypto card, as the price very rarely changes from its pegged value.   What is Binance Card? Binance Card is a Visa debit card connected to your Binance account. By loading up your Card's Funding Wallet, you can spend crypto anywhere that Visa is accepted. It acts in the same way as the prepaid crypto debit cards mentioned above.   Which countries is Binance Card available in? Binance card is available only to users from selected countries, including:  Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.   How to apply for a Binance Card Getting a card is simple if you've already got a Binance account and live in an eligible country. If you aren't yet registered with Binance, you can follow our Binance Beginner's Guide and be set up in minutes. You will need to complete all relevant KYC and AML processes before successfully applying for a Binance Card. To order your card, make sure you're logged in and go to the Binance Card page. You can also navigate to this page by hovering over [Finance] on the Binance homepage and clicking [Binance Visa Card].     Next, click [Get Started] followed by [Order Card]. You'll now see some KYC information and an agreement to confirm.     After confirming, you will land on the Order Card page. Here you can choose the format of your name to appear on the card. Once you have confirmed your choice, click [Continue].       You will now find your details pre-filled out with extra missing information for you to fill in. Finally, agree to the Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Cardholder Agreement before clicking [Order Your Binance Card]. Once you've ordered your card, you'll also have access to a virtual card to use before your physical one comes. You can add this card to Google Pay Send, or even use it for online purchases. If you prefer to use the Binance mobile app, you can also order your card there. For more details on how to order a Binance Card, head to our FAQ.   Benefits of using Binance Card Apart from allowing you to spend your crypto in stores, restaurants, and VISA acceptors worldwide, Binance Card also has some unique benefits and perks. 1. Zero Fees - A Binance Visa Card is free for any Binance user. There are no Binance administrative, processing, or annual fees, but you may occasionally be subject to third-party fees. 2. You can keep holding your crypto - There's no need to exchange your crypto into fiat in preparation for purchasing something. Binance converts it exactly when you need to, which means that your crypto can still earn possible market gains.  3. Up to 8% cashback - Depending on your BNB monthly average balance, you will get up to 8% cashback on all your purchases. This cashback is given to you in BNB in your Binance account. You can read more details on the cashback program here. 4. Safe funds - Your crypto funds are SAFU and protected by Binance. Binance has a high level of safety and uses robust security standards.     Closing thoughts If you have some crypto that you no longer want to HODL, a crypto card makes converting to fiat simple. Without using a crypto card, you'd need to go through the conversion process and transfer the fiat manually to your bank account. This can take days to do, depending on your bank and cryptocurrency exchange. A crypto card really is one of the fastest ways to use your crypto for purchasing things and is a welcome development. However, always make sure that you keep accounts of what you spend for tax reasons.

BWT Alpine F1 Team's Fernando Alonso made it back-to-back points-scoring finishes after taking seventh place in a rain-affected and twice red-flagged Monaco Grand Prix. Esteban Ocon crossed the line in ninth, but a five-second time penalty for causing a collision meant the Frenchman left without scoring points as he finished in twelfth place.Heavy rain in the region minutes before the race at 15:00pm meant the start was twice delayed before laps under the Safety Car were brought to a halt by the first of two red flags. Once racing resumed, both drivers ran full Wet tyres on a challenging first stint with some other teams pitting early for Intermediates. Both drivers remained on Wets before double stopping for Hard tyres on lap 21, with an eye on driving to the end of the 78-lap race.The second red flag for Mick Schumacher's heavy crash after the Swimming Pool chicane on lap 30, brought a further delay to the afternoon. Both Fernando and Esteban swapped to Mediums in the interval looking to conserve and go to the end of the race, which was now against the clock. Fernando managed his tyres and pace to cross the line a comfortable seventh place with Esteban behind in ninth. However, a five-second time penalty applied after the race for an incident with Lewis Hamilton meant Esteban ended in twelfth and outside of the points. Esteban Ocon, started P10, finished P12: "Today's result is tough to swallow, and I'm frustrated that we leave Monaco without scoring points. Inside the car it felt like a racing incident with Lewis [Hamilton], especially at a track like Monaco where any overtake attempt is likely to involve some contact. The team has worked so hard all weekend, especially in finding the gains between Friday and Saturday, and we now leave without scoring deserved double points. We'll have to move forward and I'm looking to put it right in Baku where we race next." Fernando Alonso, started P7, finished P7: "It was a very difficult race today with the conditions, so we can be pleased with a seventh-place finish and more points added to the championship. It was a tricky race to manage with difficult choices on strategy at times, but we did everything well as a team and it was all well managed. At the wheel, it was not easy, and I had to be careful at times not to make any mistake to make sure we brought the car home in the points. On the dry stints, because of what we learned on Friday, we had to be careful on the tyres, especially for me after the second-red flag. We held on to seventh comfortably, so I'm pretty pleased with today's job." Laurent Rossi, CEO Alpine:  "Today's Monaco Grand Prix was very eventful and it's always good when you come out of those races with strong points in the bag. As a team, we were expecting it to be a challenging weekend at a circuit with so many slow-speed corners, which does not tend to suit our car. We've had to dig deep all weekend to make improvements between Friday and Saturday, which not only helped us this weekend, but also bodes well for the future where we can take forward this knowledge in adapting our car to all types of tracks. Both drivers drove good races today to cross the line in seventh and ninth, respectively, which is probably where we deserved to be in today's race. Esteban's time penalty is a tough one as it was probably 50-50, so we won't dwell too much on it and we'll keep our heads down and look ahead to the next one. I'd like to thank everyone at the team for their hard work after a very busy two weeks across Spain and Monaco. We'll take some rest this week before refocusing ourselves for Azerbaijan and Canada next time out where we're hungry to add two lots of double points."

TL;DR Lisk is an open-source blockchain application platform that improves Web3 accessibility for developers and users. It offers a simple-to-use software development kit (SDK) that enables developers to build blockchain applications using JavaScript, one of the most widely used programming languages. Lisk is designed to eventually allow developers to deploy sidechains onto their network, so that their blockchain applications can scale while staying connected to the wider Lisk ecosystem.   Introduction One of the major challenges blockchain technology faces in the Web3 era is the lack of accessibility. Different blockchains use a variety of programming languages, which makes it difficult for developers to build applications that can be flexibly used across multiple platforms. What is Lisk? Lisk is an open-source, layer-1 blockchain application platform that aims to help projects onboard users into the crypto and Web3 space. Through its easy-to-use SDK, developers can build scalable blockchain applications easily. The metaverse projects, DAOs, NFT marketplaces, and many other applications they create can also offer faster transaction speed at lower fees for users.   How does Lisk work? Lisk was founded in 2016 by Max Kordek and Oliver Beddows. It focuses on improving Web3 accessibility for developers and users. Some of Lisk’s main features include:  Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) Lisk uses the Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus algorithm to secure the blockchain. DPoS is considered a more efficient and democratic version of the popular Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism. It allows validators to outsource the block validation through a voting system. On the Lisk blockchain, voters can use their LSK tokens to vote for a maximum of 10 delegators to secure the network on their behalf and share the LSK rewards among them. Generally, a delegator with more votes is more likely to be selected to generate the subsequent blocks. Since the process is distributed among 100+ delegated validators, Lisk can operate in a fairly decentralized manner. It also enables the network to achieve scalability and increase its transactions per second (TPS) rate.  The Lisk SDK A unique feature of Lisk is its software development kit based on JavaScript, one of the world’s most widely-used programming languages. Popular blockchain networks often rely on different languages. For example, Bitcoin (BTC) uses C++, while Ethereum is built on Solidity. Unless they have a strong command of several languages, it can be challenging for developers to interact with different blockchains.  Lisk’s solution to this is an open-source and modular SDK on JavaScript to make blockchain and Web3 universally accessible to a broader range of developers. Using a very common programming language removes the hurdle for those new to building blockchain applications. Newcomers can start building using JavaScript and TypeScript immediately, without having to invest time and effort in learning blockchain-specific languages.  Furthermore, after the launch of the prospective Lisk Platform, developers will be able to leverage the Lisk SDK to implement their applications on sidechains instead of smart contracts. The sidechains’ interoperability will enhance scaling and keep transaction fees minimal. The Lisk SDK is also expected to support the development of NFTs, P2P, and Proof-of-Authority (PoA) modules. Scalable sidechains To facilitate interoperability between all application-specific blockchains in the network, Lisk is building the Lisk Platform, which is designed to allow developers to build scalable applications with greater autonomy and flexibility on sidechains. Sidechains are separate blockchains that connect to the main chain. On Lisk, developers will be able to deploy their own sidechains to scale their blockchain applications and offer lower transaction fees and greater TPS. Sidechains will communicate with one another directly through cross-chain messages. This interoperability is expected to ensure smooth asset exchange between sidechains and the main Lisk blockchain.  The Lisk team is working on expanding its ecosystem by facilitating interoperability with other layer-1 blockchains and protocols, such as Ethereum (ETH), Polkadot (DOT), and Cosmos (ATOM). The vision is for users to benefit from a growing ecosystem of apps interconnected through Lisk bridges.   What is LSK? Lisk (LSK) is the native cryptocurrency and utility token of Lisk. It is used to pay transaction fees and reward delegators on the network. LSK holders can also use the token to secure the Lisk network through DPoS. They can stake their LSK tokens in the Lisk Desktop wallet to vote or delegate, and the tokens will be locked for as long as the user is performing either of these roles.  LSK’s utility is expected to grow, with more use cases emerging as the Lisk network achieves interoperability with other blockchains. For example, LSK could be used for registering blockchain applications or transferring messages between different applications.    How to buy LSK on Binance? You can buy the Lisk token (LSK) on cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance.  1. Log in to your Binance account and click [Trade] - [Spot]. 2. Search “LSK” to see the available trading pairs. We’ll use LSK/BUSD as an example. 3. Go to the [Spot] box and enter the amount of LSK to buy. In this example, we will use a Market Order. Click [Buy LSK] and the purchased tokens will be credited to your Spot Wallet. Closing thoughts Many believe that one of the key components to achieving the mass adoption of Web3 is to make blockchain technology more widely accessible. With projects like Lisk, more developers can build blockchain applications easily using coding languages they’re already familiar with. At the same time, users can benefit from a growing ecosystem of interconnected applications with faster transactions at lower fees. Source: What Is Lisk (LSK)?

TL;DR Soulbound Tokens (SBTs) are digital identity tokens that represent the traits, features, and achievements that make up a person or entity. SBTs are issued by “Souls,” which represent blockchain accounts or wallets, and cannot be transferred.  Introduction Soulbound Tokens (SBT) is a concept proposed in May 2022 by Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin, lawyer Puja Ohlhaver, and E. Glen Weyl, an economist and social technologist. The whitepaper, entitled “Decentralized Society: Finding Web3’s Soul,” lays out the foundation of a fully-decentralized society (DeSoc) governed by its users and how Soulbound tokens (SBTs) can function as the credentials we use in everyday life.  What are SBTs? Soulbound tokens (SBTs) are non-transferable tokens representing a person’s identity using blockchain technology. This could include medical records, work history, and any type of information that makes up a person or entity. The wallets that hold or issue these records are called “Souls.” People could have multiple wallets (or Souls) representing different parts of their lives. For example, someone could have a “Credentials Soul” for their work history and a “Medical Soul” for their health records. Souls and SBTs would allow people to build a verifiable, digital Web3 reputation based on their past actions and experiences. On the other hand, Souls can represent an entity that allocates SBTs. For example, companies can be Souls, issuing SBTs to each employee. A digital country club could issue SBTs to verify membership status. The logic behind soulbound originates from the popular online game World of Warcraft.  Players cannot sell or transfer soulbound items. Once picked up, soulbound items are forever “bound” to the player’s “soul.” Now, imagine this idea but applied to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Today, most NFTs are ownership certificates for digital art or collectibles, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club. People will buy, trade, or show off NFTs as a symbol of status and wealth. SBTs aim to turn the NFT concept into something beyond money and bragging rights, a token that is both one-of-a-kind and non-transferable. While NFTs represent assets and property, an SBT represents a person or entity’s reputation. And unlike an NFT, SBTs hold zero monetary value and cannot be traded once issued to someone’s wallet.  How can SBTs be used? SBTs have a wide range of potential use cases. Here are some examples that could potentially find use in everyday life. 1. Education history – When people graduate from university, they receive a certificate proving completion of the required courses. The university could be a Soul issuing the SBTs, and the students would be Souls on the receiving end. The SBT would store the student’s credentials, proving they hold the relevant qualifications and are a member of the university. Simply put, the SBT would function as proof of attendance. 2. Job applications – In theory, job applicants could submit all their prior work history and professional certificates using official SBTs issued by previous companies and institutions. The SBTs would function as proof of skill certificates. 3. Health records – Switching doctors or healthcare providers could be accelerated using an SBT that holds a person’s medical records. Hypothetically, the SBT would replace the often slow process of filling out paperwork, verifying your medical history, and going back and forth with someone on the phone. How do SBTs work in Web3? Trust is one of the main challenges affecting the Web3 industry. How can you trust a person’s reputation in a system designed to be trustless? Let’s use lending money as an example. Similar to traditional bank credit scores, SBTs could track a user’s DeFi borrowing history as well as other metrics that determine their risk profile. SBTs are also a proposed alternative for decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) voting. Instead of the current governance model, which is based on how many tokens a member holds, DAOs could issue SBTs that assign voting power based on users’ interactions with the community. This model would prioritize voting power for the most dedicated users with a strong reputation. Besides creating a reputation-based voting system, SBTs may potentially improve the integrity of DAO voting — namely, defending against Sybil attacks — one of the biggest threats to the current DAO governance model. During a Sybil attack, an individual or a group of bad actors overthrow a DAO by purchasing the majority of governance tokens. Those with majority voting power can manipulate voting proposals and steer the project’s direction in their favor. The public and verifiable nature of SBTs could help detect and prevent bad actors from entering the DAO and, in turn, deter corruption and Sybil attacks from occurring.  What are examples of SBTs in action? As of August 2022, SBTs only exist on paper. Glen Weyl, one of the co-authors who contributed to the original SBT whitepaper, believes there will be early SBT use cases by the end of 2022. Binance also recently announced its own SBT called Binance Account Bound (BAB). The BAB token is non-transferable, has no monetary value, and is the first-ever SBT issued on the BNB Chain. BAB aims to tackle identity verification issues in Web3, serving as a digital verification tool for Binance users who have completed KYC. In addition to the Binance ecosystem, third-party protocols will be able to use BAB tokens to airdrop NFTs, prevent bot activity, and facilitate DAO governance voting, among other use cases. Closing thoughts SBTs have become a hot topic in Web3. In theory, SBTs could allow people to establish their own digital reputation and assess someone else’s on the blockchain. It remains to be seen if an SBT can function as Web3’s version of the “identity card.”   Source: What Are Soulbound Tokens (SBT)?

BWT Alpine F1 Team previews the fifteenth race weekend of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the Dutch Grand Prix.Drivers Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso and Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer share their thoughts on the fifteenth race of the season at Zandvoort.Otmar Szafnauer: "Last year, the Dutch Grand Prix was a highlight of the season, as it brought something a little bit different to the calendar. Above all, it's a great race for the fans, who create a fantastic atmosphere and that only makes racing even more enjoyable. It will be interesting to see how the event has improved since last year. The on-track racing was great last season with overtaking possible around the lap. Our target is to be in the mix for points again and aim to have a similar, if not better, result than we did last weekend in Belgium and extend our lead in fourth place in the Constructors' Championship. There's a long way to go in the season but being consistently strong is at the top of our priority list."Esteban Ocon: "It's great to come back to such a historical circuit like Zandvoort. Of course, the sport made a comeback to The Netherlands last year and I also raced there in DTM in 2016 so I know the circuit and enjoy driving it for sure. The contrast between Zandvoort and Spa is huge. We go from long and flowing laps to a much shorter and very twisty track. It's a cool circuit, really undulating, fast and flowing which requires a huge amount of focus and commitment. The setting is also pretty spectacular, being right on the beach, and it is also very close to Amsterdam which is always a cool and vibrant city to visit. And the fans really put on a great show, the atmosphere all weekend is electric."Fernando Alonso: "Zandvoort is a fun place to visit. We have only been there once before, but it's now obviously much bigger thanks in part to the rise of Max [Verstappen]. The whole atmosphere and buzz from the Dutch fans reminds me a little of the early 2000s when the Spanish fans really fell in love with the sport. The atmosphere is really great and I'm sure we will experience the same thing again this weekend. It's a double header but we are excited to get back in the car especially after the team's performance in Spa also with the fastest pit stop."  2022 Dutch Grand Prix Factfile:  The grid for the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix was Spain's best-ever in the history of Formula 1, with Fernando Alonso starting third and Carlos Sainz first. •    Fernando has nine consecutive top ten race finishes, with the highest position being fifth recorded at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. It's a run only bettered by Championship leader Max Verstappen. •    Esteban Ocon has also raced at Zandvoort in the DTM in 2016. Shortly after, he joined Manor in Formula 1 for the remainder of the season.•    The team have finished with double points in four races in a row, a run dating back to the Austrian Grand Prix. •    Both Alpine drivers scored at last year's Dutch Grand Prix, with Fernando finishing in sixth and Esteban ninth. •    The first-ever Dutch Grand Prix was in 1952. •    Renault-powered cars have had one win, four podiums, and four poles, one fastest lap, and 39 points in the Netherlands.

TL;DR The Internet is on the verge of a new era, with both crypto projects and public companies exploring the possibilities of the metaverse. Some companies have confidently entered the metaverse early, while others have been on the fence despite their technology being an obvious fit. Such companies usually work with immersive hardware, 3D, interactive platforms, connectivity, blockchain, semiconductors, and security, which are essential for making the metaverse a reality. Introduction The metaverse has the potential to be one of the technological trends to disrupt current market structures. The new technologies required to build the metaverse will also present opportunities for anyone to be part of this next step of the Internet, be they new projects, public companies, or even individual investors. Learn more on Binance.com The metaverse has gained massive popularity in a short time. Facebook's rebranding to Meta was may have established the metaverse as something more than a passing trend. Apart from crypto projects, numerous big companies have begun to recognize the metaverse as the next stage of Internet evolution. The Internet has undergone a series of major changes throughout its history — namely, Web1, Web2, and Web3. The first version of the Internet consisted mainly of static sites that could display only information. Today, in the Web2 era, users have social media platforms and dynamic websites that allow them to alter their data and upload their own content. We are currently anticipating the emergence of Web3, which could see the metaverse come to fruition. Web3 will consist of more open, connected, intelligent websites and web applications that will allow users to have greater ownership and control of their data and content. As such, Web3 could also weaken the power held by large, centralized Web2 enterprises today. Like the metaverse, Web3 doesn't actually exist yet. However, some of its essential technologies do. For instance, blockchain and cryptocurrency could bring decentralization and digital economies to Web3. In addition, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) could enhance online social interactions on Web3 platforms. At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) could improve language processing (such as for customer service bots) on Web3 due to its ability to link human-created content to machine-readable data. With the metaverse, everyone has a chance to be part of the next phase of the Internet. For example, new projects could build metaverse components and solve the Internet’s current problems. Additionally, companies that are less financially restricted could build vital technologies and explore how their current products and services could contribute to the metaverse. Even individual investors can participate in Web3 by buying stock in metaverse-related companies. Publicly listed companies have been exploring the metaverse to see how it may suit their needs. For instance, Microsoft is focusing on virtual offices and working environments in the metaverse, while Google is developing an AR solution that connects the digital and real worlds. Similarly, Fortnite producer Epic Games plans to connect AR, VR, and 3D content to its platforms. These developments give users a vision of what the companies behind them are trying to achieve. While there’s no way of knowing which companies will succeed in the metaverse, users can already buy their stocks — one way users can involve themselves in the metaverse ecosystem to aid its progress. Businesses risk losing their competitive advantage if they don't keep up with fundamental changes in the economy, such as technological development. These changes usually give rise to new dominant companies and can cause one-time market leaders to lose their positions or even vanish from the market. Growing interest in the metaverse may be the result of companies perceiving it as the next so-called secular trend. Secular trends are major changes in the industry that continue to develop over a long period of time, with prime examples including  personal computers, mobile devices, and e-commerce. Companies might therefore see involvement in the metaverse as necessary to support their future trajectory. There are various ways in which public companies can enter or support the metaverse. This article will dive into immersive hardware, 3D creation software, interactive platforms, connectivity, blockchain, semiconductors, and security. Immersive hardware The popular consumer products of today are limited to sight and sound. Even our view of future metaverse hardware usually incorporates only VR headsets. However, immersive hardware could bring the dimension of touch to the metaverse. For instance, potential haptic devices could allow people to have a physical connection with the virtual world.  3D creation software Creating digital environments that mimic the real world as closely as possible can be difficult and time-consuming. With 3D cameras, however, 3D creation software may be able to solve these problems. Developers would first capture natural environments on film, then feed the 3D spatial data to the relevant software. This software would then process and generate a virtual double that could be used in the metaverse as a base on which users can build. Interactive platforms Online shopping is huge in the Web2 era — with interactive tools, users can add things to their shopping carts and move between pages via links by clicking the correct spots on their screens. Similarly, native interactive tools and venues are needed to enable users to interact with the metaverse. Interactive platforms would make this a reality and drive activity in the metaverse.  Connectivity Fast connectivity has been indispensable since the advent of the Internet. The metaverse will likewise need lightning-fast connection to enable users to work, socialize, and play in real time. Computers must also be powerful enough to render 3D to ensure smooth connectivity. Blockchain Blockchain technology could become a foundational layer of the metaverse. It allows for a decentralized and transparent way to achieve digital proof of ownership, digital collectibility, and governance. It also promotes accessibility and interoperability.  In addition, cryptocurrency is built on the blockchain and enables users to transfer value while they work and socialize in the metaverse. Other blockchain applications for the metaverse include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance (DeFi).  Semiconductors As mentioned above, the metaverse will have higher computing power requirements, thereby necessitating advancements in semiconductor technology. Furthermore, improved semiconductors are essential for the metaverse as it will generate a large amount of data to be stored. Security The metaverse will collect a vast amount of data from its users, many of whom would prefer to remain anonymous and not leave any trace of their identities, finances, or other sensitive data in the wrong hands. This is why the metaverse will require cybersecurity solutions. Unity Software Unity Software is the industry leader in 3D software, with half of all 3D content produced today using its software technology. It stands to reason, therefore, that Unity Software could be involved in creating metaverse content. Shopify, Inc. Shopify is one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms. Its current software products are aimed at online retailers, assisting them with payments, analytics, and order completion. This gives it the potential to shape commerce relations in the metaverse. Shopify already has an NFT platform in beta that allows NFT sales using its storefront. It also has a token-gated commerce platform its clients can use to connect with fans and drive sales. Meta Platforms Inc. Since its rebranding from Facebook, Meta has invested billions of dollars in developing metaverse content, software, and AR and VR headsets. Match Group Inc. Match Group is the parent company of popular dating apps like Tinder and Hinge. It acquired leading South Korean social discovery and video technology company Hyperconnect in 2021 to create new digital channels through which people could meet and engage with new connections, regardless of borders and language barriers. CrowdStrike Holdings CrowdStrike Holdings is a cybersecurity technology company that offers cloud-delivered protection to stop breaches and as such, could meet the metaverse’s cybersecurity needs.   Closing thoughts The metaverse is a hot topic in the technology industry that has already attracted investments from many companies despite not actually existing yet. Web3’s potential to shift power from centralized Web2 giants to the people may well lead new projects, public companies, and even individual investors to invest in its critical infrastructure.

TL;DR The internet has evolved from the “read-only” Web 1.0 to the current state of Web 2.0, which is often described as participatory and social-driven. Now, we are gradually moving toward the next phase of the internet, Web 3.0, often styled Web3 in the digital asset space. Web3 holds the promise of allowing people to own things digitally, easily transact online, and have more control of their personal data. Blockchain and crypto ecosystems already have working products for Web3. For example, users can make peer-to-peer (P2P) payments and collect digital items with crypto wallets. Many blockchain-based projects are decentralized by design and allow anyone to use them. Introduction Digital assets can become an intrinsic part of Web3 – a new internet that is expected to remedy the ills of the current Web such as the concentration of power at the hands of a few centralized social media platforms and exploitation of users’ personal data. The decentralized and permissionless nature of blockchains is instrumental in distributing communication power rather than granting it to central authorities. While digital assets bring native digital payments to Web3, they can also function as tokens programmed to play a wide range of roles in digital economic systems. Blockchain and crypto could also make Web3 more community-centered through decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).  Learn more on Binance.com How is Web3 different from Web2? The main evolutionary steps of the internet are often represented as the qualitatively different phases dubbed Web1, Web2, and Web3. In the Web1 era, users couldn't change online data or upload their own content to the websites they were interacting with. The internet back then consisted of static HTML pages that enabled simple, one-way experiences, such as reading information forums. Web2 allowed content consumption and simple interaction. Then, Web2 has gradually emerged as a more interactive internet where users were more involved in generating their own content. Since these modes of online interactions were mainly facilitated by social media platforms, Web2 saw the rise of new types of centralized tech giants. The current Web2 ecosystem is changing again as more of its failings get exposed. For example, internet users have become more concerned about data tracking and ownership, as well as censorship issues. The power of centralized companies has become especially noticeable when they began leveraging it to ban specific users and organizations form their platforms. Web2 companies also use the data to keep users on their websites and create targeted ads for third parties’ benefit. Such economic incentives can drive such companies to act not in users’ best interest. The vision of Web3 is that of the next step toward a better internet. Its central promises include making online platforms decentralized, trustless, and permissionless. It could also bring about digital ownership, digital-native payments, and censorship-resistance as a new standard of Web products and services. Blockchain and crypto are perfectly positioned to become essential technologies of Web3 because they are inherently decentralized, permitting anyone to record information on-chain, tokenize assets, and create digital identities.  How do blockchain and crypto fit into the Web3 ethos? Decentralization. As noted above, one of the central problems of Web2 is concentration of power and data at the hands of a few major players. Blockchain and crypto can decentralize Web3 by facilitating a wider distribution of information and power. Web3 could employ blockchain-powered public distributed ledgers to allow for greater transparency and decentralization. Permissionlessness: Blockchain-based projects replace proprietary systems of traditional companies with openly available code. The permissionless nature of the applications built on the blockchain allows anyone worldwide to access and interact with them without restrictions. Trustlessness: Blockchain and crypto eliminate the need to trust any third party, such as a bank or an individual intermediary. Web3 users can transact without the need to put trust in any entity but the network itself.  Payment rails: Cryptocurrencies could serve as the digitally native payments infrastructure of Web3. Digital assets can potentially improve the expensive and bulky payment infrastructure of Web2 because they are truly borderless and don't require intermediaries. Ownership: Crypto already offers tools like self-custodial crypto wallets that allow users to store their funds without intermediaries. Users can also connect wallets to decentralized apps to use their funds in a variety of ways or showcase their digital items. Anyone can verify ownership of these funds and items using a transparent public ledger. Censorship resistance: Blockchains are designed to be censorship-resistant, meaning that no party can unilaterally alter the record of transactions. Once the record has been added to the blockchain, it's nearly impossible to remove it. This feature could help preserve all manner of speech from government and corporate censorship. Are blockchain and crypto essential for Web3? Web3 may well rely on technologies that are not related to blockchain or cryptocurrency. For example, technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), the internet of things (IoT), and the metaverse may become essential to the new era of the internet as well. While the blockchain could operate more on the infrastructure side of Web3, these technologies and solutions could help make the internet more immersive and connected to the real world. IoT could connect various devices through the internet, while AR could embed digital visual elements into the real world, and VR could construct computer-generated environments populated by items represented as digital assets. Finally, scaling and bringing these technologies together could make a unified metaverse the reality of Web3. Crypto could provide digital-native payment rails and much more. Utility tokens can unlock a universe of use cases essential for Web3. Also, non fungible tokens (NFTs) could help verify identity and ownership within the digital realm in a way that does not compromise users’ control of their personal data. What will Web3 with crypto and blockchain look like? Blockchain technology can become one of the foundations of Web3, but users might not even notice it. If the applications built on blockchains are user-friendly and intuitive, people will not give the underlying infrastructure another thought – much like we rarely consider the data servers and internet protocols that are foundational to social media platforms that we use daily. NFTs could enable users to display digital collectible items to other users and help create and maintain their unique digital identities. They could also serve other functional purposes, such as underpinning many key processes in online gaming. Blockchain and crypto can transform the way Web3 users coordinate and enforce collective action through decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). DAOs empower people to organize around a shared interest without a central decision-making authority. Instead, token holders vote to determine the best course of action together. In addition, all the activity and votes are visible on a blockchain. Therefore, DAOs can drive Web3 to be more decentralized, transparent, and community-centered.  Closing thoughts Web3 may solve the big problems of today’s internet and minimize the power of the tech giants. However, it is still largely an aspirational vision rather than tangible reality. Still, the technologies that will likely underpin the next iteration of the Web are indeed already in development. Blockchain and crypto are often considered to be the among the technologies that are most likely to usher in the Web3 revolution because they are designed to facilitate decentralized, permissionless, and trustless interactions. In addition, blockchain technology and digital assets do not rival other key components of Web – such as AR, VR, and the internet of things – as they are likely to yield the most promising solutions when combined with one another.

TL;DR   Polymesh is a public permissioned layer 1 blockchain focused on improving the security token industry. Using its utility token POLYX, it rewards and fines actors in the blockchain ecosystem accordingly to increase blockchain security. POLYX also facilitates governance and staking within its ecosystem. Introduction   Securities are tradable financial instruments that hold real-world value. By tokenizing securities, the securities market — which is worth hundreds of trillions — has the potential to grow even more. This could improve the market’s efficiency and transparency, among other benefits.  Tokenized securities, or security tokens, are issued on blockchains such as Polymesh, which is an institutional-grade blockchain built specifically for regulated assets like security tokens.  Learn more on Binance.com What is Polymesh? Polymesh is a layer 1 public permissioned blockchain built for security tokens, which  are digital contracts for fractions of assets that hold real-world value.  As a public permissioned blockchain, anyone can view the network. However, you must complete an identity verification process to participate in it. This verification process applies to all actors on the chain, from issuers and investors to stakers and node operators.  Node operators in particular must be permissioned and licensed financial entities. This increases network security, since these entities face greater reputational risk than unidentifiable actors.  Polymesh enables market participants to enjoy the unique benefits of private and permissionless networks, offering trust in the network without compromising on transparency. How does Polymesh work?   Node operators and stakers work together to secure the layer 1 blockchain and validate blocks.  Node operators who successfully validate blocks are rewarded in POLYX, Polymesh’s utility token. Stakers stake their POLYX on node operators to increase the latter’s chance of being selected for the validator pool every 24 hours. After node operators collect a commission of up to 10%, stakers will receive POLYX. Securing Polymesh Polymesh employs a Nominated Proof-of-Stake (NPoS) consensus model, which was developed by Polkadot, to define the network's roles, rules, and incentives. This system is designed to help increase the blockchain’s security, as it makes harmful behavior costly and difficult to execute. Through this mechanism, node operators and stakers are rewarded or fined in POLYX, according to their performance.  Polymesh’s fee structure Many public permissionless blockchains have a fee market, where fees can vary greatly in a matter of seconds. For instance, if users compete for space on the blockchain to run code or store data (i.e., the blockspace), this would likely incur higher fees. Polymesh keeps transaction costs low and consistent by basing fees on the on-chain weight (in bytes) and complexity of the transaction, with Polymesh Governance having the authority to adjust the rate. Polymesh Governance is a democratic system consisting of a council of key stakeholders, the Polymesh Governing Council, and POLYX holders.  The Polymesh Governing Council sets and charges protocol fees for certain native functions, such as reserving a token ticker. Fee payment is split at a 4:1 ratio between the Network Treasury — maintained by Polymesh Governance — and node operators. Network Treasury funds are typically used for improving or securing the network.  What makes Polymesh unique?  Polymesh is one of the few layer 1 blockchains built for security tokens. Currently, most securities-focused projects are layer 2 initiatives built on pre-existing blockchains like Ethereum or Solana. Polymesh, however, is a standalone layer 1 blockchain. With its infrastructure, Polymesh hopes to improve the security token industry by solving governance, identity, compliance, confidentiality, and settlement challenges.  Governance  Built on the Substrate framework, Polymesh takes advantage of seamless upgrades to offer forkless architecture, so there will only ever be one version of the chain. An on-chain governance model featuring a council of key stakeholders can easily resolve any issues. Identity  Unlike most public blockchains that allow anyone to participate, Polymesh’s mandatory identity verification process generates an on-chain identity for every individual or entity participating in the network. On-chain interactions can be traced back to known, real-world entities. Compliance The ability to create and manage security tokens is built into the base layer of the blockchain. Additional characteristics like compliance and rules are optional and can be automated and enforced at the token level via smart contracts. Confidentiality Polymesh’s protocol MERCAT (Mediated, Encrypted, Reversible, SeCure Asset Transfers) enables confidential asset issuance and transfers. Users can maintain trade privacy, while Polymesh does not have to sacrifice compliance or transparency.  Settlement Instant settlement is possible for both on- and off-chain assets through Polymesh’s on-chain settlement engine, two-way transaction affirmation, and near-instant deterministic finality. What is POLYX?   POLYX is Polymesh’s native token. It is classified as a utility token under Swiss law, based on guidance from Swiss financial regulator FINMA. POLYX is used for governance, securing the chain through staking, and creating and managing security tokens. Governance  Governance is facilitated through Polymesh Governance. Any verified POLYX holder can influence Polymesh’s direction in two ways: submitting a Polymesh Improvement Proposal (PIP) or voting using POLYX. To submit a PIP, a user has to bond POLYX to it using Polymesh Governance. Once approved, PIPs are voted on by the Governing Council for implementation.  Staking  Any verified POLYX holder can participate in staking by bonding POLYX to a node operator of their choice to increase that operator’s chance of receiving rewards.  The Polymesh ecosystem Existing participants in Polymesh’s ecosystem include cryptocurrency exchanges, experienced players in the tokenization space (Polymath), and companies with sizable security token portfolios (RedSwan). The Polymesh Association aims to encourage further development through two programs:  The Grants Program for individuals and businesses building open-source functionality on Polymesh. The Ecosystem Development Fund for businesses with closed-source technology that integrate Polymesh. There is a wealth of information available for developers who want to integrate Polymesh, including the Polymesh SDK library and dedicated support channels for the community. How to buy POLYX on Binance?   You can buy POLYX on cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance.  1. Log into your Binance account and go to [Trade] -> [Spot].  2. Type “POLYX” in the search bar to view the available trading pairs. We will use POLYX/BUSD as an example. 3. Go to the [Spot] box and enter the amount of POLYX you want to buy. In this example, we will use a market order. Click [Buy POLYX] to confirm your order, and the purchased POLYX will be credited to your Spot Wallet. Closing thoughts   To build an improved security token space, the Polymesh team is also working on other areas, including stablecoin infrastructure, non-fungible token (NFT) implementation, confidentiality via the MERCAT protocol, and user onboarding.

S&P 500 closed on declining volume higher yesterday, but bonds weren‘t truly confirming for much of the session. Still, the table was set for the break higher, and I didn‘t hesitate in calling for it even in absence of bond or USD confirmation. Till the closing bell, the bonds chart posture improved somewhat, leaving the stock market upswing more well rounded than it would otherwise have been if you looked only at sectoral strength. The dollar went down a bit too much, bit too fast yesterday, and even though real assets (with copper bucking the trend today as much as it did yesterday with its close in the red) are modestly down on a less than decent USD upswing. Crypto daily woes remain isolated to the FTX (FTX-Binance) trigger, and are unlikely to spill over into other markets. Precious metals and copper offered a pleasant sight for the bulls, amply justifying my change of tune in the weeks gone by and still to come – note that even gold consolidated on declining volume, proving that there isn‘t much willingness to sell. As for today‘s S&P 500 levels, 3,815 has to hold as support while 3,848 – 3,855 represents solid resistance that can be reasonably overcome only on a sharp risk-on turn in bonds, which doesn‘t look to get a catalyst during today‘s session. Let‘s see about a possible pleasant surprise – still, the medium-term trend is up, and it‘s only a matter of time (more likely facilitated by Thursday‘s CPI confirming the notion of inflation peak being in, than midterms) before this level gets broken to the upside. This explains today‘s title „More of the Same“ = „Grinding Higher, not a Turnaround Tuesday“. This run can continue alongside the commodities and precious metals upswings, but the real asset one would prove more durable as in Q1 2023 stocks would look around and ask „based on what have we been rallying“. Crude oil would be comfortably in the triple digits by then... Keep enjoying the lively Twitter feed serving you all already in, which comes on top of getting the key daily analytics right into your mailbox. Plenty gets addressed there, but the analyses (whether short or long format, depending on market action) over email are the bedrock, so make sure you‘re signed up for the free newsletter and that you have Twitter notifications turned on so as not to miss any tweets or replies intraday.

US stocks rallied as Americans head to the polls in what is expected to be an election that gives Republicans control of the House. ​ It might take longer than election night to get a final conclusion on the Senate. ​ The Senate is up for grabs as there are five races (Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona) that polls suggest are a toss-up. There is a chance that we won’t find out the Senate result for weeks if the Georgia seat requires a runoff election. ​ ​ ​ 43 million Americans voted early and today’s turnout is expected to be strong as a plethora of issues are motivating Americans to cast their ballot. We might not get all the results tonight but it seems Republicans have a very good shot at gaining control of the House and that could be confirmed early tomorrow morning. At the Save America rally in Vandalia, Ohio, former President Trump announced he will be making a “big announcement” on November 15th. â€‹ It is widely expected that he will launch his 2024 presidential campaign. â€‹ A number of prominent Republicans do not support another Trump ticket, with many preferring Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. ​ It is a long time before Republicans have their candidate but regardless if it is Trump or Desantis, it seems they have a good chance in 2024. ​ ​ FX The dollar got crushed today as a short-covering move accelerated as investors embraced risk appetite ahead of the midterm elections and Thursday’s pivotal inflation report. â€‹ ​ The dollar fell to a six-week low as Treasury yields declined. â€‹ Cryptos take a tumble Cryptos are tumbling after a liquidity crunch for FTX led to their sale to a top competitor. ​ Today is a bad day in crypto. ​ Binance had to step in to save Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange. ​ SBF has been the white night during this crypto winter and a liquidity crunch for him has triggered a wave of uneasiness across the cryptoverse. ​ Binance will buy FTX.com, which is the non-US unit that generates the lion’s share of revenue. ​ Financial terms were not disclosed. ​ This is a major setback for many investors in cryptos who viewed SBF as a white knight and one of the leaders in the space that was supposed to thrive once we got beyond this crypto winter. ​ Many crypto companies will likely be vulnerable to further selling pressure here given the current macro backdrop but that probably won’t deter a lot of the institutional money that is still coming in or is locked into the space. ​ This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. Election Day, stocks rally, dollar short-covering, cryptos down on Binance rescue of FTX - MarketPulseMarketPulse

FTX set to be acquired by Binance. Aave votes to deploy on zkSync v2 testnet. GALA crashed as pNetwork was misconfigured. Deribit halts withdrawals post-US$28M hot wallet hack. Weekly DeFi Index This week’s market cap, volume, and volatility indices were all positive at +4.39%, +33.21%, and +120.98%, respectively.         In preparation for its mainnet release, Chainlink announced that its Early Access Eligibility App for Chainlink Staking v0.1 has been launched. Chainlink Staking v0.1 is part of a broader initiative around Chainlink Economics 2.0, and the staking pool will initially be capped at 25 million LINK tokens, with plans to scale up to 75 million LINK over time. Project Spotlight Cronos ID announced the upcoming minting and public launch of 500 million Cronos ID native governance tokens, $CROID. This token will offer extended functional utility such as discounted prices for rare Cronos ID domain names. It also partnered with the Crypto DeFi Wallet, enabling users to send and receive tokens by using their (or their recipients’) human-readable Cronos ID “.cro” domains.  DeFi and NFT analytics platform DexCheck has integrated Cronos into its analytics platform, enabling the tracking of tokens, trades, or individual wallets. Check out the app on DexCheck.         News Highlight On Tuesday, FTX announced that the exchange will sell its non-U.S. business to Binance. This ‘strategic transaction’ was set in motion a day after FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted that the company and its assets were ‘fine’ (the tweet has since been deleted).  Matter Labs’ proposal to deploy Aave on the zkSync 2.0 testnet has been approved, following a unanimous vote by Aave community members. The vote marks the first stage of the decentralised lending protocol’s rollout to a zero-knowledge rollup. A suspicious address minted US$2 billion worth of GALA on the BNB Chain on 3 November. The newly printed GALA tokens were dumped to PancakeSwap and drained the BNB/GALA pool, earning approximately $4.5 million in the process. This was followed by GALA’s price dropping dramatically by 25.6%. Then, some arbitrageurs found the transactions and started buying GALA from PancakeSwap and selling the tokens on Huobi, causing a price crash from $0.04 to $0.0003 on the exchange. GALA Games confirmed that the cross-chain bridge it uses, pNetwork, initiated the minting to safeguard its liquidity pool from vulnerabilities. Banking giant JPMorgan executed its first live DeFi trade on a public blockchain as part of Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Project Guardian initiative, which explores ways that financial institutions can leverage asset tokenisation and DeFi protocols.  U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin Magic Internet Money (MIM) briefly dropped to nearly $0.95 on Tuesday due to the FTT token tanking. FTX’s native token FTT accounts for 33% of MIM’s underlying collateral, which saw a drop from $22 to $5 within 24 hours early this week.    Crypto exchange Deribit halted withdrawals after suffering from a security breach, with hackers taking away nearly $28 million. Deribit confirmed the attack has now been isolated and quarantined to its BTC, ETH, and USDC hot wallets, and developers have control of the exploit. Recent Research Reports     Research Roundup Newsletter [October 2022]In this issue, we cover our recent Bloomberg Terminal integration, special research report for the Singapore Fintech Festival, and feature articles on NFT financialisation and utility. NFT Financialisation and Utility: An OverviewAs NFT utility grows, so does the potential to make money from them. Financialisation could help to achieve greater liquidity for and unlock the value of NFTs. NFT Utility: A Multifaceted Overview and Use CasesFor NFTs to increase in value and be deemed viable economic and financial assets, they have to go beyond collectability and aesthetics. One way to tackle this is through utility. Disclaimer The information in this report is provided as general market commentary by Crypto.com and its affiliates, and does not constitute any financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other advice. This report is not intended to offer or recommend any access to products and/or services. While we endeavour to publish and maintain accurate information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information in this report nor do we adopt nor endorse, nor are we responsible for, the accuracy or reliability of any information submitted by other parties. This report is not directed or intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of, or located in a jurisdiction, where such distribution or use would be contrary to applicable law or that would subject Crypto.com and/or its affiliates to any registration or licensing requirement. The brands and the logos appearing in this report are registered trademarks of their respective owners. Author Research and Insights Team Get fresh market updates delivered straight to your inbox: Subscribe to newsletters   Be the first to hear about new insights: Follow us on Twitter Tags CRYPTO RESEARCH CRYPTOCURRENCIES DEFI LAYER 2 Source: crypto.com

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao downplayed user concerns, arguing that external factors are driving the fear, uncertainty and doubt in BNB and the exchange. The world’s largest exchange witnessed a spike in customer withdrawals since the weekend, with the uncertainty surrounding Binance. Rumors surrounding allegations of money laundering, drug conspiracy cases and insolvency have resulted in massive withdrawals from the exchange. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao believes that external factors are creating fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) among the exchange’s users and BNB holders. Binance, the world’s largest exchange by volume, has been experiencing a massive rise in withdrawals from its platform, amid concerns of money laundering. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao addresses FUD surrounding the exchange Binance, the world’s largest exchange by trade volume, has been surrounded by controversies since the collapse of Samuel Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange. Binance has witnessed a spike in withdrawals, including a 24-hour window where $3 billion worth of cryptocurrencies left the exchange in the past month. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance addressed user concerns and said that the recent wave of FUD has come from external factors. The executive shared nine potential reasons for the uncertainty in a Twitter thread and argued that external factors are driving the fear among investors that are withdrawing funds from the exchange. Forbes recently reported that Binance is currently under investigation for money laundering. At the same time, the crypto exchange assisted the US Drug Enforcement Administration in a drug conspiracy case. The platform was used for money laundering by an illicit drug distributor and Binance cooperated with law enforcement, assisting the investigation. Twitter and social media platforms are flooded with rumors of Binance’s insolvency. Read next: According to investor and billionaire, David Tepper, Fed will keep raising rates| FXMAG.COM Binance and CZ are currently navigating allegations of money laundering A recent development revealed that the crypto exchange CEO sent out personal emails to each client and addressed the FUD surrounding Binance. However, despite the reassurance from the exchange platform and the CEO, the number of hacks and exploits on the BNB chain could pose a challenge for users to trust the platform and its native token. BNB is currently trading at $243 and the token wiped out 12% in gains for holders over the past two weeks.

Bitcoin continues its attempts to break through resistance at $25K. Volatility was muted on Monday as the primary driver of it - US equity markets – was closed yesterday. Cryptocurrency market capitalisation rose 1.2%. According to CoinShares, investments in cryptocurrencies fell by $32 million last week, the second consecutive week of declines and the highest in seven weeks. Investments in Bitcoin fell by $25 million and Ethereum by $7 million. Investment in funds that allow to short bitcoin increased by $4 million. Despite bitcoin's unsuccessful attempts to consolidate above $25K, intraday pullbacks from this resistance are becoming smaller, indicating a continued buying-the-dip pattern. A break above $25K is only a matter of time, potentially opening the door to $28K. Hong Kong will allow retail investors to trade cryptocurrencies on exchanges Galois Capital, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency-focused hedge funds, announced its closure. The fund lost around half of its capital after the FTX collapse. The next cryptocurrency bull market will start in the East. The US will only have two options: embrace cryptocurrencies or be left behind, said Gemini exchange co-founder Cameron Winklevoss. Such comments came amid moves by US regulators against cryptocurrency companies. Read next: Sony Network Communications and Astar Network to launch a web3 incubation program| FXMAG.COM The G20's Financial Stability Board (FSB) intends to draw up standards for cryptocurrency regulation by July. Hong Kong will allow retail investors to trade cryptocurrencies on exchanges. Trading venues will be subject to mandatory licensing. Meanwhile, Binance's introduction of a zero fee for bitcoin trading and the collapse of the FTX exchange allowed it to capture 98% of the BTC spot trading market.

Bitcoin closed below $24K for the first time in 8 days on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, however, buyers regained the upper hand, pushing the coin up to $24.4K. BTC came under pressure on Tuesday and Wednesday amid falling stock indices. Last night, the decline paused, which helped the crypto market recover some of its losses, bringing its total capitalisation back to $1.11 trillion. Interestingly, according to Bloomberg, the monthly correlation between bitcoin and the S&P 500 has fallen to its lowest level since 2021. And it was easy to see how long cryptocurrencies ignored the decline in equities. In our view, these markets remain interconnected and only "hear" each other's murmurs when they are persistent and pronounced. Less pronounced trends are perceived as noise that is filtered out. The technical view of bitcoin's short-term momentum leaves room for further upside, as the most recent downside momentum was stopped at 61.8% of the upside momentum from last week's lows. Without the strong negative momentum of the equity indices, bitcoin retains a chance to test the 25,000 level before the end of the week. Such sustained attempts to climb higher could well take it there. The Ethereum team has scheduled the rollout of the Shanghai-Capella New York's financial regulator is stepping up its crypto market oversight as its Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has announced an update to its tools for monitoring illegal cryptocurrency activity among its regulated entities. The Ethereum team has scheduled the rollout of the Shanghai-Capella (Shapella) update to the Sepolia test network for 28 February. This update will follow The Merge and allow validators to withdraw funds from stacks. After Sepolia, the hardfork will be tested on the Goerli network and then (probably in March) implemented on Mainnet. Read next: Undoubtedly, the Shanghai upgrade will significantly impact ETH's price and volatility | FXMAG.COM Shops in France will start accepting bitcoin payments thanks to a partnership between the Binance exchange and credit card company Ingenico. The programme will later be extended to European countries where Binance is licensed to operate, including Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Cyprus, Poland and Sweden.

The last few weeks have not been kind to the leading cryptocurrency exchange, which is Binance and its company operating in the United States - Binance US. The stock exchange has more and more problems with financial supervision in the US, which, unfortunately, may also affect its global business and the outflow of clients from around the world. On Sunday, a journalistic investigation came to light, suggesting that Binance US was de facto fully dependent on the Binance exchange, which may result in a powerful financial penalty for which the exchange... is already preparing. Black clouds over Binance According to a Wall Street journalistic investigation Journal, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, which is Binance, created the Binance US platform from scratch, which served clients on the American market, feigning its independence and thus wanting to avoid problems with the effects of American regulations that could affect Binance's global business. WSJ journalists gained access to internal conversations of Binance employees on Telegram, and also received a copy of a presentation that assumed various strategies for circumventing US regulations by the exchange. The collected materials show that Binance shared some employees with Binance US for a long time, also maintaining financial ties. In addition, the WSJ article shows that the global branch of the Binance exchange had access to the database of users of the Binance US platform, which would be a significant violation of US regulations. This is important not only in the context of the growing image problems of the world's largest exchange in terms of volume, but also the SEC's ongoing since the beginning of last year proceedings regarding the linking of Binance US with two companies that were market makers for the exchange, while belonging to Changpeng Zhao, the president and founder of Binance. Moreover, since December last year, the US Department of Justice proceedings against Binance US for a potential violation of US AML (anti-money laundering) regulations have been pending. Last month, Patrick Hillmann, director of strategy at Binance, admitted that the exchange expects significant financial penalties from US regulators, preparing financial reserves for this purpose. A few days ago, one of the SEC representatives stated that, according to the Commission, Binance US is operating as an unregistered stock exchange, which is a violation of US law. Former and future president of financial supervision as an advisor? An interesting plot from a Wall Street journalistic investigation The Journal is an alleged attempt by Binance US to hire Gary Gensler as an advisor on financial regulations. Gensler, as the former head of the CFTC (in 2009-2014), i.e. the American supervision of derivatives, was also intended to bring Binance US closer to the environment of American officials responsible for the supervision of cryptocurrency exchanges in the USA. Gensler is currently the chairman of the American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but in 2018-2021 he worked as an academic lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And it was then, at the turn of 2018 and 2019, that Ella Zhang (head of Binance Venture Capital) and Harry Zhou (founder of Koi Trading, which received funding from Binance) met with Gensler twice, offering him the role of advisor at Binance US. The former president of the CFTC did not accept this offer, which was not the only one - at that time, various cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the USA were to address him with similar proposals. Harry Zhou would later write in an internal chat that while Gensler "wasn't interested in being an advisor, he was quite effusive when it came to sharing tips to help with licensing." Gary Gensler has been the head of the SEC since April 2021, and less than a year later, in February 2022, the Commission led by him initiated proceedings against Binance US. It was about business relations with two companies that are market makers for the American platform - Sigma Chain and Merit peak. Both were directly controlled by Changpeng Zhao, president of Binance, which, according to the SEC, could violate competition rules and act to the detriment of market participants. Read next: In crude oil, we are increasingly likely to see a year of two distinctive halves| FXMAG.COM The case did not get much publicity at the time. Also interesting was the comment of the Binance US press officer , who did not age very well. She then stated that the use of market makers who are somehow related by capital to the exchange itself is a "market standard", giving as an example... the FTX exchange and its market maker Alameda research. Both companies filed for bankruptcy in November last year after it emerged that they had been involved in a series of irregularities that left several billion dollars of customers' accounts missing from the exchange's accounts. Unsinkable Binance is history Binance exchange has long been positioned as a role model among cryptocurrency exchanges. Existing since the second half of 2017, the platform achieved spectacular success, becoming the leading crypto exchange in terms of trading volume in the first few months of operation. Until late last year, Binance was considered "too big to fail." Image problems began after the high-profile bankruptcy of the FTX exchange. Shortly after, in November last year, Binance released a Proof of Reserves report , which was supposed to confirm that the exchange has full coverage of the funds that its clients hold on the platform and that it will not share the fate of FTX. In late December, however, it came to light that the Binance report did not confirm this at all, which led to massive withdrawals of customer funds from the exchange. However, it must be admitted that Binance had no problems with the execution of withdrawal orders even on such a large scale - within a week, customers withdrew funds worth over $3.5 billion from Binance, and its president Changpeng Zhao rightly noted that such a cyclical "stress test" would be useful for any exchange. Binance's panic and image problems resulted in an over 25% drop in the market capitalization of the flagship stable-coin of the Binance USD exchange, which clearly shows that it has lost a large part of its previous trust. However, this is not the end of the problems, because in mid-February the SEC announced that it would take legal action regarding Binance USD, which - according to the regulator - is an unregistered security, which violates the "collective interests of investors from the United States". In addition, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) initiated proceedings against Paxos Trust, which is the issuer of BUSD, while prohibiting it from releasing new units of the token Binance USD to the market. As if that wasn't enough, last week the Coinbase exchange announced that on March 13, it will remove stablecoin Binance USD from all its trading platforms, justifying it by the fact that BUSD no longer meets the stringent conditions necessary for the instrument to be listed on the platform. This was another image blow for Binance, which in itself resulted in BUSD capitalization already falling by 55% from its peak in mid-November last year.

WeChat, China's leading social networking and payment app, has added the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC) to its payment services, following Alipay's move. The digital yuan wallet feature allows users to make payments on certain WeChat mini-programs and other platforms, and payments can be made through the app once activated. The digital yuan is being piloted in at least 26 Chinese provinces and cities, and saw a jump in transaction volumes during the Lunar New Year shopping season. The move is expected to broaden the appeal of the digital yuan by partnering with established payment platforms instead of creating a new one. Biden to impose 30% mining tax? The US Treasury Department has proposed a 30% tax on cryptocurrency miners' electricity costs and plans to eliminate tax-deductible losses from wash-trading crypto tokens. The tax is expected to be introduced over three years in 10% annual stages starting from Dec. 31, 2023. Read next: The softening in some of the metrics in the February jobs report is easing fears of a more hawkish Fed, especially in light of the failure of SVB| FXMAG.COM The department cited negative environmental effects and increased energy prices as reasons for the proposal. The White House also included a proposal to apply wash sale rules to digital assets to close tax loopholes in President Biden's 2024 Fiscal Year budget. The US could raise $24bn from fixing the loophole. Binance gets the green light to take over Voyager Binance US has been given approval by a US judge to purchase $1.3bn of Voyager's troubled cryptocurrency lending assets, following objections from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The judge dismissed the SEC's concerns, allowing the sale to go ahead along with a $20m payout scheme to Voyager's clients. Voyager's attorney recently stated that based on cryptocurrency asset prices, customers could recover around 73% of their investment. Voyager could still decide to sell its assets and return profits to clients instead of moving forward with the Binance US deal, which would give Voyager's clients an additional $100m. Read the first part of the Top 10 News of the week by coinpaprika: Kraken to launch a bank, the professionals handling the FTX bankruptcy case billed a total of $38 million plus expenses for January, according to court records | FXMAG.COM

Bitcoin is swimming in the troubles of the US banking industry, gaining 9% in the last 24 hours and over 25% from Friday's lows. Remember that bitcoin was created in 2008 to respond to distrust in the global financial system. This function of bitcoin as capital preservation was recalled over the weekend and worked out on Monday. BTCUSD returned strongly above its 50-day moving average, indicating that long and medium-term sentiment remains bullish. At the same time, the short-term sentiment is more wait-and-see. Since last night, bitcoin has been bouncing around the 24.5 level. About a month ago, selling pressure prevented the price from going higher. The latest stop is an attempt to breathe before a new surge. On the weekly timeframe, bitcoin has passed the 50-week mark and is testing the 200-week mark. After the pullback of the past three weeks, the chances of a breakout have increased significantly. Fundamentally, cryptocurrencies are being helped by a change in monetary policy expectations. In less than a week, the markets have gone full circle on expectations, from a 25-point hike to a 50-point hike and back. In addition, expectations for further hikes later this year fell on Monday and Friday, which is positive for cryptocurrencies, the Nasdaq index and gold. Another recalculation resulted in a 1.16% increase in the bitcoin mining difficulty. The index hit an all-time high of 43.55T. According to Santiment, cryptocurrency "whales" and "sharks" have started to accumulate extremely fast According to CoinShares, investment in crypto funds fell by a record $255 million last week, the fifth consecutive week of outflows. Bitcoin fell by $244 million and Ethereum by $11 million. Read next: Credit Suisse Group Management Will Not Receive Bonuses| FXMAG.COM According to Santiment, cryptocurrency "whales" and "sharks" have started to accumulate extremely fast. Major BTC holders added $821 million to their accounts in just one week. Another bank has been closed in the US. The Fed shut down Signature Bank, one of the largest lenders in the cryptocurrency industry. The regulator stressed that all of Signature's deposits would be returned to its owners and the Silicon Valley bank's customers. Against this backdrop, the USDC and DAI stablecoin exchange rates have almost returned to $1. Changpeng Zhao, chief executive of the Binance exchange, said banks had become a risk to stablecoins backed by fiat currencies. And fiat currencies themselves, he said, could pose risks to cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and financial stability in general.

Binance burned upwards of $676 million in BNB tokens amidst regulatory crackdown from the CFTC. Binance’s burn of 2 million BNB tokens has fueled a price rally in the native token of the exchange. The US Federal Agency Chair Rostin Behnam called out the exchange for intentionally breaking regulations, according to Bloomberg’s report. Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, announced a burn of $676 million worth of BNB tokens. Burning an asset removes it from the circulating supply permanently, reducing the selling pressure on it. BNB price rallied in response to the exchange’s 2 million token burn. Also read: Ethereum price explodes, ETH deposits pick up pace Binance burns over 2 million BNB tokens Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, burned 2,020,132 BNB tokens worth $676,744,304, according to its recent announcement. The burn reduced the supply of the exchange’s native token, reducing the selling pressure on BNB in the long term. As Binance tackles regulatory crackdown, there is a spike in concerns surrounding the exchange’s native token and BNB price is struggling to wipe out losses amidst rising selling pressure on exchanges. BNB burn Binance’s move to burn 2 million BNB is therefore timed to fuel a recovery in the native token. How BNB burn fueled a price rally in the native token The 2 million BNB burn was followed by a recovery rally in the asset. BNB price yielded nearly 4% gains to holders since Thursday. The exchange’s native token was exchanging hands at $332.88 at press time, after nearly 7% gains since April 7. As seen in the BNB/USDT price chart below, the native token of the exchange is currently in a short-term uptrend. Binance Coin price climbed above the resistance at the 23.6% Fibonacci level at $327 and is inching closer to the $339.80 target. BNB/USDT 4H price chart Once Binance Coin’s price crosses the hurdle at $339.80, it could rally to the $346 level, BNB’s mid-March peak. BNB price is currently above three key Exponential Moving Averages at 10, 50 and 200-day. A decline below $327 could invalidate the bullish thesis for the exchange token. Binance continues to battle regulatory hurdles Binance is facing intense regulatory scrutiny. According to Bloomberg’s recent report, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair, Rostin Behnam criticized the exchange for “intentionally” breaking regulatory rules. Behnam was quoted in an event at Princeton University on Thursday, These are not unsophisticated individuals. They are starting large companies and offering futures contracts and derivatives to US customers. The exchange’s battle with regulators seems uphill with recent developments and commentary from the CFTC chair. The SEC is therefore not alone in bringing allegations against the exchange and regulatory authorities have joined forces in their crackdown on the trading platform.

Binance has shifted its focus with the launch of its Ether-Wrapped Beacon ETH token in a pool on Curve Finance. The pool ranks eighth among liquid staking derivatives, amassing $129.9 million in total value since its release in late April. Binance Coin, the native token of Binance, could outperform competitors with its rising dominance in the DeFi landscape. The largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, Binance, is gearing up to establish its dominance in the DeFi landscape with the launch of Ethereum-wrapped Beacon Ether (ETH-wBETH) liquidity pool on Curve Finance. Binance is incentivizing users with staked Ether rather than native tokens like other protocols. This has helped the pool amass $129.9 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) since its launch on April 27. Also read: Bitcoin mining difficulty hits record high, signals likely influx of selling pressure on BTC Binance ETH-wBETH pool on Curve Finance gains $129 million TVL in two weeks The wrapped Beacon Ethereum (wBETH) token was launched on April 27 and Binance introduced it in an ETH-wBETH liquidity pool on Curve Finance. Each wBETH represents one Beacon Ether and the accrued staking rewards from the Beacon Chain at the rate of conversion of 1.002. Within two weeks, 70.9K wBETH tokens have been minted and the current TVL is $129.9 million. wBETH ranks eighth among Liquid Staking Derivatives. wBETH statistics Binance can gain an edge over its competitors by inviting users to deepen the liquidity of the ETH-wBETH pool. In order to make this possible, the largest exchange by trade volume needs voting rights and needs to lock Convex Finance (CVX) tokens. The exchange is currently incentivizing vlCVX (vote locking CVX) holders with 11.381 wBETH, instead of a native protocol token. This opens up an opportunity for vlCVX token holders to gain staked Ether instead of other tokens like wstETH (wrapped staked Ether) offered by Lido Finance that need to be exchanged further for unlocked staked ETH. Binance’s dominance in DeFi could fuel BNB price recovery The exchange’s native token BNB benefits from Binance’s dominance in the DeFi landscape. BNB is in an upward trend that started in mid-June 2022 and Binance’s native token is on track to break past the 50% Fibonacci retracement (of the decline from April 2022 highs of $460 to June lows of $184) at $322. The 50-day Exponential Moving Average at $318.80 is the immediate resistance for BNB in its upward trend. BNB/USD one-day price chart In the event of a price decline, the 38.2% Fibonacci level at $289.50 would be key. A drop below this level could invalidate the bullish thesis for Binance Coin. Equal low at $267.7 is likely to act as support for BNB in the event of a decline in the native token of the exchange.

Market picture The cryptocurrency market hit a sell-off on Monday night, losing 3.8% in the last 24 hours, down to a capitalisation of $1.091 trillion - near almost three-month lows.   Bitcoin is losing 4% to 25.7 over this period; Ether is losing 3% to $1814, with top altcoins losing between 3.7% (Tron) and 7.9% (BNB).   The sharp move down has pushed Bitcoin's price below its 200-week average ($26.3K). And now all the attention of position traders is focused on whether the price returns to territory above that line before the end of the week. If not, we should be prepared for a big sell-off down to $22K. This is the main working scenario, given the series of lower highs and lower lows over the past two months.   An alternative and less likely scenario would be a reversal to the upside after a brief dip below the 200-week average. This dynamic could assert that big players are gaining on Bitcoin at this level, suggesting considerable upside potential.   According to CoinShares, investments in cryptocurrencies fell by $62M last week, the 7th week of outflow. Bitcoin investments fell by $3m, as did Ethereum. Tron, a smart contracts platform, saw a $51m outflow over the week due to the closure of the offering by one of the providers.     News background According to Bloomberg strategist Mike McGlone, Bitcoin won't be able to show significant growth in the summer months. He also doesn't rule out a substantial drawdown in the crypto market amid a halt to change and a stagnant equity market.   According to The Block, bitcoin's 30-day average volatility on a year-over-year basis has fallen from the asset's characteristic average of 71% to 32%. The famous Meta and Amazon stocks have overtaken digital gold on this measure.   The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao. The regulator brought 13 charges, including unregistered offers and sales of BNB and BUSD tokens, Simple Earn and BNB Vault products, and staking.   JPMorgan will speed up interbank transactions in India using blockchain. The financial giant has agreed with five Indian banks to implement its blockchain-based Onyx settlement platform.

Crypto Industry News: Over the past week, BTC miners have been sending their Bitcoins to exchanges en masse. It is worth adding that according to the Glassnode analytical platform, this is the largest BTC transfer to trading platforms in the last 5 years.   The cryptocurrency community is watching the actions of the SEC and sees the impact on the market. The miners' actions may be a preventive sale of their BTC, for fear of further declines. The first cryptocurrency established by Satoshi Nakamoto is still going strong. Miners are constantly mining more Bitcoins, and the value of this cryptocurrency is currently around $26,000 for one BTC.   Bitcoin is currently more than 60% away from its ATH. The outflow of BTC to trading platforms is very clearly visible and it is the largest transfer in the last 5 years. Nevertheless, the miners of the first cryptocurrency still hold 1.829 million BTC, which is worth about $50 billion in total. The BTC transfer was most visible after the actions of the American SEC regarding the Coinbase and Binance exchanges.   On June 11, experts from Glassnode reported a significant BTC transfer by miners in just a week. USD 70.8 million worth of Bitcoins entered the exchanges.   This is the third record BTC inflow, but lower by USD 30.2 million from the record USD 101 million recorded during the 2021 bull market.   Technical Market Outlook: The BTC/USD pair has been seen rallying over 17% from the low made at the level of $24,753, so the last local high made at the time of writing the analysis was located at $28,996. The bulls had broken above the technical resistance located at $28,446 and now this level will work as the technical support. The market conditions are extremely overbought on the H4 time frame chart, but the next target for bulls is still seen at the level of $32,350.    

After breaking the key resistance level of 21,700 in March, Bitcoin pulled the quotes of popular altcoins into the bull market zone. In the middle of last month, the BTC/USDT pair again became the driving force behind the positive dynamics of the digital currency market. In just two days, on June 20 and 21, the BTC/USDT exchange rate grew by 12%, and at the end of June, the pair updated its 12-month high at the 31,443 mark. The sharp growth of Bitcoin, which Ethereum later joined, occurred amid several positive news for the crypto market.     In particular, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June received applications from five major asset management companies: WisdomTree Inc., Invesco Ltd., Valkyrie Funds, Fidelity Investments, and BlackRock Inc. to create a new investment product (spot Bitcoin ETF). Companies Citadel, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab launched their own decentralized crypto exchange. At the end of the month, another of the world's largest investment companies, Invesco, applied to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF.   The rapid growth of interest from large corporations in cryptocurrencies may also be due to the anticipation of their approval by global regulators as a means of payment. Thus, after the Fed meeting that ended on June 14, Chairman Jerome Powell announced the need for the Fed to be involved in the regulation of the stablecoin market, which he called a "form of money," not securities. If the Fed approves stablecoins as a means of payment, they will become a real alternative to fiat money. At the end of last month, the largest U.S. asset management company, BlackRock, also filed an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF to the SEC. After these reports, trading volumes in the crypto market began to grow and, at the beginning of last week, already amounted to 19.5 billion dollars. Buyer interest in stablecoins is supported, among other things, by an unstable geopolitical situation in the world, remaining tense amid a military conflict in Ukraine and a brewing conflict in Taiwan, threatening a direct clash between the U.S. and China.   Negative points for the crypto market include the continued pressure from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on leading digital platforms Binance and Coinbase, which is also spreading in European countries. In the UK, the Binance branch (Binance Markets Limited) will no longer be able to operate in the country, as it lost its license from British regulators. Binance branches in Germany and Belgium are also in a difficult position. At the end of last month, it also became known that U.S.   President Joe Biden promised to reform the tax system, "eliminating loopholes for Bitcoin and crypto traders." This could specifically refer to the short-term trading operations of crypto traders, who sell and buy ba ck cryptocurrencies in a short period of time, allowing them to avoid higher tax rates. Moreover, speaking at the European Central Bank Forum last week, Fed Chair Powell confirmed the possibility of further interest rate hikes, which could support the U.S. dollar, including in relation to cryptocurrencies (in pairs with the USDT stablecoin).   Therefore, despite the bullish sentiment of Bitcoin buyers, a somewhat contradictory situation has developed in the digital currency market, not allowing Bitcoin and other popular altcoins to develop a more confident upward trend.  

In a world where the unpredictable often takes center stage, last week provided no exception. From the surreal landscapes of the Burning Man festival to the bustling stock markets, events unfolded that left people both exhilarated and perplexed. This rollercoaster ride of a week saw stranded festival-goers, restless investors, and soaring airline rankings, all while diamond prices took a dramatic plunge and another Binance executive bid farewell. Let's embark on a journey through the past week's fascinating headlines. Burning Man's Mud-Filled Exodus Thousands of adventurous souls set out for the annual Burning Man festival, eager to immerse themselves in a unique blend of art, music, and self-expression in the arid Nevada desert. However, nature had other plans. A fierce storm swept through the festival grounds, transforming the desert into a mucky quagmire. Festival-goers found themselves stranded in a surreal landscape, battling the elements in a quest to return to civilization. As the desert turned to mud, it was a stark reminder that even the most carefully planned adventures can take an unexpected turn.   Wall Street's Unease Meanwhile, on the bustling streets of Wall Street, investors were grappling with their own set of uncertainties. After a summer rally that saw markets surging to new heights, the fall season brought with it a sense of unease. The latest US jobs report became a focal point, with investors closely analyzing the data for clues about the economy's direction. The Dow led the indices with a 0.33% gain, showcasing its resilience amidst the fluctuations. Asian markets also experienced surges, particularly Hong Kong's HSI, proving that the global financial landscape remains as unpredictable as ever.   Delta's Soaring Success Amidst the turbulence, there was a beacon of success for Delta Airlines. The airline secured its place as the No. 1 domestic carrier in several categories, including on-time arrivals, service quality, and passenger comfort. In an industry often fraught with challenges, Delta's achievement serves as a testament to its dedication to passenger satisfaction and operational excellence.   Xi's G20 Summit Decision On the global stage, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a surprising decision. He opted to skip the upcoming G20 summit in India, instead sending Premier Li Keqiang as the country's representative. This move raised questions and sparked discussions about China's diplomatic strategy and priorities. As the world watches, it's clear that even international politics is not immune to unexpected twists.   Diamonds Lose Their Sparkle In the realm of luxury and glamour, there was a stark contrast as diamond prices experienced a significant and unexpected decline. While diamonds have long been a symbol of wealth and beauty, one key segment of the market saw prices plummet. This shift left industry experts and enthusiasts pondering the reasons behind this sudden change and its potential repercussions.   A Farewell at Binance To add to the week's intrigue, another executive bid farewell to the cryptocurrency exchange giant Binance. This departure is part of a larger trend of key figures leaving the company. Such transitions in the world of cryptocurrency can have far-reaching implications, leaving stakeholders and enthusiasts wondering about the future direction of the industry. In a world filled with surprises, last week's events served as a compelling reminder of the unpredictable nature of life, whether one is reveling in the desert at Burning Man, navigating the turbulent waters of financial markets, or witnessing shifts in global politics and industry dynamics. As we move forward, one thing remains clear: the only constant is change, and embracing the unexpected is the key to navigating the twists and turns that lie ahead.    

In the shadows of the financial world, a web of high-stakes transactions is unfolding, setting the stage for significant shifts in the global landscape. As these intriguing developments continue to evade the spotlight, we delve into the intricacies of these deals, their implications, and their potential to reshape industries. While the headlines may be dominated by larger-than-life stories, it's often the unassuming deals that hold the power to shape our financial world. In this article, we pull back the curtain to reveal the hidden maneuvers driving the market's undercurrents.   Microsoft's Game-Changing Acquisition Microsoft's audacious move to acquire Activision Blizzard for a staggering $69 billion has raised eyebrows. With the UK's antitrust regulator hinting at a green light, this deal could redefine the gaming industry's landscape.   NBA's Golden State Warriors Stake Sale  The minority owners of the NBA's Golden State Warriors are discreetly exploring a 10% stake sale, potentially valuing the team at an astounding $7 billion. Could this be the next game-changer in professional sports?   Vodafone's Spanish Unit in the Spotlight  Vodafone Group's hushed talks with Zegona Communications about a potential deal for its ailing Spanish unit could lead to a transaction worth over $5.3 billion. Will this strategic move revive Vodafone's fortunes?   Silicon Carbide's Silent Surge Four Japanese conglomerates are quietly vying for a stake in Coherent's silicon carbide business, valuing it at up to $5 billion. This investment could have far-reaching implications for the automotive industry's semiconductor supply chain.   Petroliam Nasional's Indian Investment  Malaysia's state oil giant, Petroliam Nasional, is on the brink of securing a $1.6 billion deal for a 25% stake in India's AM Green ammonia unit. How will this investment impact the global energy landscape?   Costa Group Holdings: A Tasty Deal  Food produce supplier Costa Group Holdings has agreed to be acquired by a consortium led by US private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners, valuing the company at $963 million. What's cooking in the world of food supply?   SBB's Swedish Portfolio Shuffle Struggling Swedish landlord SBB has gained a discreet cash infusion of $720 million by selling a further stake in its portfolio of school buildings to Brookfield Asset Management. What's behind this property play?   A Mining Deal Down Under  Australian mining-focused consulting services provider Ausenco is poised for a $578 million acquisition led by Todd Boehly's holding company, Eldridge Industries. What riches lie beneath the Australian soil?   Pendragon's Revamped Offer UK automotive retailer Pendragon has received an enhanced offer from Hedin Mobility Group and US-based PAG International for a buyout worth $548 million. Will this deal steer the company in a new direction?   TotalEnergies' North Sea Retreat TotalEnergies' decision to divest its remaining 40% stake in UK North Sea gas fields within the Greater Laggan Area signals a strategic shift. What's driving this exit, and who's eyeing these offshore assets? Venture Capital's Silent Rise: While the giants make their moves, the venture capital scene is quietly abuzz with startups securing substantial investments. From insurtech to robotics, biotech to digital assets, we uncover the rising stars in the startup world.      

CZ steps down as head of Binance as scandal emerges   The CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is the latest addition to a growing list of crypto personalities facing legal trouble and is resigninging following the company's admission of guilt on Tuesday to various charges, including violations of the Bank Secrecy Act—an anti-money laundering law.   In response to these transgressions, Binance has agreed to a historic settlement, agreeing to pay over $4.3 billion, marking the most substantial penalty ever imposed by the Treasury Department as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in prepared remarks, asserted that Binance had engaged in "consistent and egregious violations of U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions laws." The Justice Department, in a news release, further highlighted that Changpeng Zhao, the CEO, has pleaded guilty not only to the aforementioned charges but also to the failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.    As part of the settlement, Zhao has consented to a $50 million fine which may not seem like much to the billionaire but further underscores the idea that at least in the crypto industry, no one is too big to fail.  The development underscores heightened regulatory scrutiny on cryptocurrency platforms and emphasizes the importance of compliance with financial regulations in the burgeoning digital currency space.    While this is a positive development for regulation, it certainly shakes confidence in the sector, particularly among those that were already doubting the legitimacy and legal compliance of those working in the industry at a high level. There is some irony in the fact that CZ is in part credited with exposing FTX's fraud which led to its collapse and is now himself the subject of an investigation highlighting that no one is immune to scrutiny, not even the crypto king.

Cryptocurrency markets face pressure amid lingering uncertainty At the start of the week, the cryptocurrency market reflects predominantly bearish sentiments, marked by moderate declines across several currencies. Bitcoin has undergone a correction of several percentage points since Friday, when bullish activity drove its price to levels around $38,500 as Ethereum retreated from its $2150 peak, which approached yearly highs. These declines coincide with short-term investors, holding BTC for less than 155 days, enjoying nearly 15 percent average gains, historically foreshadowing heightened short-term selling pressure and preceding corrections, as suggested by Glassnode's analysis.   Interestingly, J.P. Morgan, in its analysis of the prevailing market conditions, highlights the positive implications of Binance's settlement with the US Department of Justice, viewing it as advantageous for both the exchange and the overall crypto market as the investigation into the leading cryptocurrency platform did not unveil concerns regarding liquidity or user funds, diminishing the likelihood of a 'second FTX' scenario in the eyes of the market.    Additionally, recent on-chain data indicates a slightly elevated selling activity by long-term investors with the critical trading range between $35,300 and $36,000 being deemed pivotal for Bitcoin's momentum as December has traditionally proven successful for Bitcoin, yielding an average return of 12%, potentially hinting at prices approaching new highs by the month's end. In any case, the situation remains uncertain and any major news event could have significant repercussions on the price of not only bitcoin, but the entire cryptocurrency market.  

Since its inception in 2019, Wexo has been a trailblazer in merging traditional finance with the dynamic realm of digital currencies. Boasting a robust community exceeding 200,000 users, Wexo distinguishes itself with a user-friendly platform, making cryptocurrencies comprehensible and accessible to everyone, from newcomers to seasoned investors. Exploring Wexo's Features Wexo's primary goal is to showcase that in today's innovative world, cryptocurrencies can function just like regular money. The app facilitates secure cryptocurrency purchases through various methods, including credit cards, Apple Pay/Google Pay, or bank account transfers. Notably, sending crypto on the platform is as simple as inputting a phone number, underscoring Wexo's commitment to a user-friendly experience.   Additional Features Wexo goes beyond standard crypto apps by offering unique features such as standing orders, bulk payments, and transaction history exports, providing a comprehensive suite of services catering to modern crypto enthusiasts and forward-thinking entrepreneurs.   EURO Wallet: Bridging the Fiat-Crypto Gap A standout feature appreciated by users is the EURO Wallet. This addition fulfills a critical need in the crypto space, enabling seamless exchanges between crypto and fiat currencies. With a straightforward mechanism for euro deposits, withdrawals, and exchanges, Wexo's EURO Wallet serves as a vital bridge for users navigating both financial realms.   Bitcoin Lightning: Speed and Efficiency Harnessing the power of the Bitcoin Lightning Network, Wexo ensures lightning-fast transactions that are not only efficient but also cost-effective. This integration aligns with Wexo's commitment to staying at the forefront of blockchain technology, meeting the demands of today's fast-paced digital economy. Empowering Businesses: Business App and wPOS Terminals Recognizing the significance of corporate clients and small business owners, Wexo introduces the Business app. This interface offers comprehensive functions for businesses, complemented by the wPOS crypto terminal, enabling cryptocurrency payments in boutiques and shops.   Martin Kuchár, Chief Product Officer, states, "Building payment systems for the finance of the future is our long-term vision. We offer the business sector an easy way to use cryptocurrencies in their business, not only for payment acceptance but also for marketing, significantly contributing to the global adoption of cryptocurrencies.”    REGISTER Bitcoin Cashback: A Unique Loyalty Program Wexo plans to roll out Bitcoin Cashback in Q1 2024, enhancing cooperation between entrepreneurs and their customers. This unique feature in the loyalty program rewards regular paying customers with cashback to their Bitcoin Lightning wallet, irrespective of the payment method used. In addition to the features highlighted, Wexo caters to the crypto community's demands by offering notifications, a blog with the latest updates, and clear and informative charts. The inviting and intuitive interface makes Wexo an ideal tool for entrepreneurs incorporating cryptocurrencies into their business assets.   Moreover, trying out the Wexo app is entirely free, with a quick registration process and straightforward identity verification akin to platforms like Binance. Whether you're a crypto novice, an experienced professional, or an entrepreneur seeking a clear and simple crypto app, Wexo emerges as the preferred choice. Experience the seamless journey into the world of digital currencies with Wexo.   Download App