Crypto Saving Expert

Dalam putaran investasi baru ini, LayerZero menyatukan kembali 33 pendukung berbeda dengan beberapa investor terkemuka, termasuk a16z Crypto, Sequoia Capital, Circle Ventures, Samsung Next, OpenSea, dan Christie’s. Hampir setahun yang lalu, LayerZero mengumpulkan $135 juta dalam putaran investasi yang dipimpin bersama oleh Sequoia Capital, FTX Ventures, dan Andreessen Horowitz, termasuk Coinbase Ventures dan PayPal Ventures, Tiger Global, Uniswap Labs, dan investor lainnya. Putaran investasi sebelumnya telah menempatkan LayerZero pada penilaian $1 miliar, tiga kali lebih kecil dari yang diumumkan hari ini. Menurut Bryan Pellegrino, salah satu pendiri dan CEO LayerZero Labs, kondisi pasar yang sulit pada pertengahan tahun menjadi alasan LayerZero mulai meminta dana untuk putaran tersebut pada akhir tahun lalu. Namun, dia menegaskan bahwa LayerZero tidak membutuhkan uang tersebut dan uang tersebut dikumpulkan untuk mendukung tujuan ekspansi LayerZero. Pellegrino juga menyebutkan bahwa salah satu tujuan utama tahun ini adalah membuat terobosan besar ke pasar Asia-Pasifik dan industri game. Dengan dua putaran pendanaan, LayerZero Labs telah menerima $263 juta. Menurut sumber yang mengatakan kepada The Block, semua putaran pendanaannya memiliki struktur SAFE (kependekan dari “perjanjian sederhana untuk ekuitas masa depan”) yang sama ditambah waran token.

Sebuah laporan yang diterbitkan oleh De.Fi Security mengungkapkan bahwa industri kripto mengalami kerugian lebih dari $450 juta akibat peretasan dan penipuan pada kuartal pertama tahun 2023. Total kerugian tersebut menurun secara signifikan dari kerugian sebesar $1,3 miliar yang tercatat pada Q1 tahun 2022. De.Fi Security mengungkapkan bahwa dari $451 juta yang hilang, lebih dari $210 juta hilang dalam 20 hari pertama bulan Maret, sedangkan sisanya tersebar pada bulan Januari dan Februari. “Sementara semua perhatian tertuju pada krisis perbankan yang sedang berlangsung dan kenaikan berikutnya di pasar Bitcoin, kami melihat kerugian kripto meningkat hingga 9 digit pada bulan Maret, dan untuk bulan kedua berturut-turut. Peretas dan penipu semakin meningkatkan risikonya. karena kami menghitung total kerugian hampir $400 juta pada kuartal pertama tahun ini," kata laporan itu.

Tindakan SEC yang paling menonjol adalah melawan Ripple Labs karena penerbitan token XRP. Pada bulan Desember 2020, SEC menggugat Ripple dengan tuntutan hukum yang diduga meningkatkan modal melalui keamanan tidak terdaftar. Dua tahun kemudian, kedua belah pihak menolak memberikan satu inci pun. Tindakan SEC telah menyebabkan XRP ditangguhkan dari perdagangan di beberapa bursa, sehingga memperlambat pertumbuhan dan menghambat nilai token. Namun, orang-orang yang sangat percaya pada komunitas ini tetap teguh dalam kasus ini, percaya bahwa Ripple akan menang untuk dirinya sendiri dan kripto secara keseluruhan. Namun bukan hanya Ripple yang menjadi sasaran. Pada tahun 2021 SEC mengambil tindakan terhadap Coinbase atas usulan fitur 'Coinbase Lend' dengan memberikan Pemberitahuan Wells kepada perusahaan tersebut. Pemberitahuan Wells adalah surat yang dikeluarkan oleh SEC yang memberi tahu perusahaan atau seseorang bahwa penyelidikan telah dilakukan terhadap mereka dan bahwa mereka akan mengambil tindakan penegakan hukum terhadap mereka. Dalam hal ini, ini berarti jika Coinbase melanjutkan program Pinjaman yang diusulkannya, SEC akan menuntut mereka. Coinbase mengatakan telah 'secara proaktif terlibat dengan SEC mengenai Pinjaman selama hampir enam bulan' yang berarti Pemberitahuan Wells adalah perubahan yang sangat tidak terduga bagi perusahaan.

Bitcoin telah mengawali tahun dengan gemilang, naik dari $16.500 menjadi lebih dari $28.000, menutup kesenjangan CME yang telah lama ditunggu-tunggu dengan kemunduran minimal atau tanda-tanda pelemahan. Pada dini hari Kamis, Bitcoin menembus level $29,000 untuk memperkuat level tertinggi baru karena kekuatan dan momentum bullish tampaknya tidak memudar. Hal ini penting karena harga telah mencoba untuk mendorong kembali ke kisaran perdagangan sebelumnya untuk membuka kemungkinan ke $32,000. Bitcoin naik ~73% untuk tahun ini pada saat penulisan artikel ini, dengan pasar mata uang kripto pasti berada dalam jalurnya sendiri ketika mengabaikan peristiwa tahun 2022.

Argentina’s Federal Police (PFA) have arrested members of a crypto hacking group that fraudulently obtained hundreds of thousands in digital currency loans from a crypto exchange Buenbit. The exchange is based in Argentina, with operations in other Latin American nations, including Mexico and Peru.

Crypto Loans Exploited

Buenbit started offering crypto loans barely nine months ago, which allowed users to borrow up to one million in Argentine peso-backed stablecoin nuARS. Provided they supply 80% of the requested amount in DAI stablecoin as collateral. The police said the gangs used bots to mass produce fabricated loan applications, using only a particular virtual wallet as a guarantee. In doing so, they reportedly took up to $800,000 from the exchange. Four group members were arrested yesterday across Buenos Aires Province. The police also said it seized debit cards, 15 mobile phones, a notebook computer, flash drives, and three tablets during the raids, which helped dismantle the hackers’ operations.

Scam Group Led by 19-Year-Old

The leader of the group remains at large. According to reports, the leader is allegedly a 19-year-old suspected to have fled to France with an undisclosed amount of the stolen funds. The police said an international warrant might be required to detain and deport the leader to Argentina. Elsewhere, the founder of the exchange co-founder Federico Ogue, stated that the situation is “something unfortunately common and everyday for all companies in the fintech world.” Orgue also said, “the fraud had no impact on our customers’ balances or the company’s operations.” Buenbit is among the leading cryptocurrency firms in Argentina. In 2021, the company raised $11 million in Series A to expand its operation across the Latin American region. Before the FTX crash, the exchange also had plans to raise fresh capital in Q3 of 2022, and even more in 2023.

The Indian government has amassed Rs 157.9 crore ($19.2 million) in taxes from cryptocurrency trading and direct transfers in the financial year between 2022 and March 20, 2023.

India Raises $19M From Crypto Taxes

According to a CNBC report, India's Finance Ministry disclosed the figure to Ram Nath Thakur, Janata Dal party representative in the Rajya Sabha, in a written statement about the taxes received by the government. The ministry revealed that the Union Budget 2022-23, which deducted a 30% tax from Virtual Digital Assets (VDA) trades and a 1% tax deductible at source (TDS) from transfers, generated $19.2 million between the 2022-23 financial year. Recall that the government introduced the taxation regime last February and implemented it between April and July. While crypto remains unregulated in India, the country believes that the tax policies would give investors clarity and direct the regulation of the industry. On the other hand, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has suggested that cryptocurrencies be prohibited, as such assets are borderless and need international collaboration to avoid regulatory arbitrage.

An Unfavorable Crypto Taxation Regime

While India generated taxes from local crypto traders, the domestic industry has recorded massive losses since the implementation of the tax policy. Crypto Saving Expert reported earlier this year that the tax structure caused Indian crypto exchanges to lose billions in their trading volumes collectively. By October, their trading volumes had plunged to $137.6 million from $4.73 billion at the beginning of the year. Trading activities on local exchanges plunged as investors moved their assets to foreign trading platforms. Between July and September, downloads for local exchange applications also dropped by 16%, while that of offshore exchanges increased at the same rate. Indian technology think tank Esya Centre predicted that at the ongoing rate, the tax structure could lead to roughly $1.2 trillion in losses for local exchange trade volume by 2026. Meanwhile, local exchanges hope the government will introduce some crypto tax relief policies in the upcoming Union Budget for 2023–2024 to urge investors to keep trading in the country.

Peningkatan kontrak Safemoon yang baru diduga menyebabkan “bug pembakaran publik”, yang memungkinkan peretas menghapus sejumlah besar token SFM dari “Kumpulan Likuiditas Safemoon-WBNB.” Dengan melakukan ini, peretas secara artifisial menaikkan harga SFM dan menjual kembali token tersebut ke dalam kumpulan likuiditas yang sama, untuk menguras $8.9 juta di WBNB. “Kepada komunitas SAFEMOON: Kami ingin memberi tahu Anda bahwa LP kami telah disusupi,” tim tersebut mengonfirmasi serangan tersebut. “Kami mengambil tindakan cepat dalam upaya menyelesaikan masalah ini sesegera mungkin.”

Disney is no longer interested in the Metaverse. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the one-hundred-year-old media and entertainment company has eliminated the small division charged with ‘developing metaverse strategies.’ The move is part of a company-wide downsizing plan to reduce Disney’s workforce by 7,000 in the next two months. ‘The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney is not something we take lightly,’ Disney CEO Bob Iger wrote in an internal memo. ‘This company is home to the most talented and dedicated employees in the world, and so many of you bring a lifelong passion for Disney to your work here. That’s part of what makes working at Disney so special. It also makes it all the more difficult to say goodbye to wonderful people we care about,’ he added. Other divisions affected by the layoffs include Disney Entertainment, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, and corporate.

Disney Had Only Begun Venturing into the Metaverse

The sudden end to Disney’s Metaverse ambitions comes less than a year after the company enthusiastically embraced the industry, picking six startups to participate in its annual Disney Accelerator program. The six companies specialised in Web3, augmented reality (AR), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and artificial intelligence. The Ethereum layer two scaling solution, Polygon (MATIC), was the only blockchain project chosen by Disney in last year’s accelerator program. Disney additionally hinted that its Metaverse strategy might include fantasy sports, theme-park attractions and other customer-centric experiences. CEO Iger had also been bullish on the Metaverse last year, having invested in and joined the board of Genies Inc., a startup that allows users to create online avatars for use in the Metaverse.

Facebook’s Meta has Also ‘Dumped’ the Metaverse

However, Disney is not the only major global company backtracking on its quest to conquer the Metaverse. In late February, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg quietly shifted focus away from the Metaverse by introducing ‘a new top-level product group at Meta focused on generative AI to turbocharge’ the company’s work in this artificial intelligence arena.

Jumlah investor bitcoin yang memegang 0,1 atau lebih BTC telah mencapai rekor tertinggi sepanjang masa, yakni 4.280.062. Tonggak baru ini dibukukan oleh tim di Glassnode, yang membagikan diagram berikut yang memberikan gambaran visual tentang pertumbuhan kategori investor bitcoin ini.

Jumlah alamat bitcoin yang menyimpan lebih dari 0,1 koin. Sumber: @glassnodealerts di Twitter.com

Pedagang Bitcoin Semakin Menantikan Bull Run

Jumlah alamat yang memegang 0,1 atau lebih BTC mencapai titik tertinggi sepanjang masa muncul ketika semakin banyak pedagang bitcoin menyatakan optimisme bahwa kenaikan harga BTC sudah di depan mata. Misalnya, dalam sebuah Tweet selama akhir pekan, anggota komunitas Twitter kripto @seth_fin berspekulasi bahwa Bitcoin memasuki tren naik pada kerangka waktu yang lebih tinggi. Analisis mereka didasarkan pada fakta bahwa BTC akan segera ditutup pada minggu di atas pita tengah saluran Gaussian.

Selama krisis perbankan baru-baru ini, Federal Reserve, bank sentral Amerika, telah meningkatkan neraca keuangannya untuk pertama kalinya dalam setahun. The Fed telah menaikkan suku bunga sejak Maret 2022 untuk memerangi tingkat inflasi. Selain menaikkan suku bunga, The Fed juga mengurangi neraca keuangannya dengan melakukan pengetatan kuantitatif (QT). Kebalikan dari QT adalah pelonggaran kuantitatif (QE), formula yang diadopsi pada tahun 2020 dan 2021 untuk membantu merangsang perekonomian. Tindakan The Fed dalam mengatasi inflasi telah menekan pasar keuangan karena mereka mengeluarkan uang dari perekonomian. Suntikan likuiditas The Fed menstimulasi perekonomian AS setelah berbulan-bulan lockdown dan menjadi salah satu alasan terjadinya reli besar-besaran di pasar saham dan mata uang kripto.

Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest Bank, sent shockwaves through the banking system on Friday, bringing fresh fears following the Credit Suisse saga. Last week we reported on the Credit Suisse situation as it unfolded as it took an emergency loan from the Switzerland National Bank. The crisis began in the U.S. with the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), but the contagion risk has now made its way to Europe and is spreading like wildfire. After the Credit Suisse saga appeared to have come to a resolution, the situation in Europe had subsided until the news regarding Deutsche Bank unfolded. It was reported to be a rise in the cost of insuring against the bank's default, which rose to a four-year high, that dealt a blow to the stock price, but the situation appears to be worsening. In February, Deutsche Bank published it had generated a profit of €5.6Bn before tax in 2022. Despite this, its finances are allegedly in a mess and could be another domino in the downfall of the traditional banking system. The issue stems from how banks store their customer deposits. Typically, these deposits are invested into long-term bonds, tying the money away for a long-term guaranteed interest rate. Usually, this is fine but leaves the bank vulnerable to a run. It was reported for the 2022 fiscal year-end, Deutsche Bank had ~$1.35 trillion in liabilities. That staggering number sets the scale for this possible disaster unfolding. When the system is shaken, as what has been happening over the past few weeks, customers rush to withdraw their funds, something banks can’t process if the deposits are illiquid. Therefore, the Bank then needs to make a plea for liquidity.

Deutsche Bank Chart

The Deutsche Bank ($DB) Chart. Source: Tradingview

The bank's stock price fell to a daily low of ~$8.85, around 8.31% from where it closed trading on Thursday. At the time of writing, the stock has seen some relief, bouncing back to around the $9 mark. At first glance, it may not appear so bad, 5-8% down, but this isn't an altcoin; it is one of Europe's largest banks but is currently trading as if it were an altcoin. Millions of people have their funds on the line in just this one bank, in addition to the effect on other European banks any negative sentiment could have. From the end of January, $DB is down over 30%, which demonstrates this isn't a one-day occurrence; it has been building up for a while.

Ominous Signs

Curiously, Friday seems to be a day on which large banks have issues. Going back to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, Washington Mutual filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday, 26th September 2008. Friday, 12th September, was the last trading day for Lehman Brothers before their bankruptcy was declared. Friday has been critical in this current banking crisis too. Regulators seized Silicon Valley Bank on Friday, March 10th. That day was also the last working day for Signature Bank before its seizure two days later. The bid by UBS for Credit Suisse also came in last week, on Friday, 17th March. What might be in store this Friday?

The market research company Polaris Market Research published their latest report on the blockchain gaming industry in February this year. The 116-page report, “Blockchain Gaming Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report, By Game Type; By Platform; By Region; Segment Forecast, 2023-2032”, is based on the company’s comprehensive analysis of the current market, emerging trends, and current and predicted growth rates. The research firm collates and bases its analysis on data from validated websites, analyst reviews, press releases, whitepapers and reputed paid databases. Based on the latest market trends, the report predicts the value of the global blockchain and play-to-earn gaming industry to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 68.9% from US $9.12 billion in 2023 to US $1020.02 billion in 2032. That represents a massive 11084% increase in just nine years. The report provides a complete synopsis of the various factors predicted to drive the growth of the blockchain gaming industry. Their research found that a substantial increase in investment in the sector is underway, which could drive an exponential market expansion.

Burgeoning Interest from Traditional Gaming Companies

The first key indicator is that massive players in the traditional gaming sector are beginning to take a serious interest in developing blockchain and play-to-earn products. ‘Most of the world's biggest gaming companies are investing and collaborating with other platforms to provide blockchain gaming infrastructure,’ the report states. Indeed, just recently, gaming behemoth Sony has filed a patent, ‘NFT Framework For Transferring And Using Digital Assets Between Game Platforms, ’ for developing in-game assets that are player-owned and can be swapped between players, games, and gaming platforms. According to the patent, Sony also envisions NFTs, such as unique NFT weapons, awarded to players for achieving certain milestones. The Pokémon Company, owned by Nintendo, recently revealed their interest in exploring the blockchain gaming world when it advertised a job listing on LinkedIn for a Corporate Development Principal. The advertisement lists “Deep knowledge and understanding of Web 3, including blockchain technologies and NFT, and/or metaverse” and “Deeply connected to a network of investors and entrepreneurs in the technology sectors above (Web3 and metaverse)” among the qualities the candidates are expected to bring to the company. The position is in a company department responsible for Pokémon's corporate strategy and development.

Rewards for Gaming

Another critical driver of growth is the fact that gamers are rewarded with assets with real-world value, such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs, for playing. This revolutionary concept allows gamers to profit and make a living from their skill, time, and effort. Gaming NFTs provide gamers verifiable ownership of in-game assets, including weapons, spells, armour, avatar skins, pets, up-grades and power-ups, and the ability to sell these on the secondary market to other gamers. The report's authors see role-playing games as having the most growth potential. The report concluded that although the Ethereum ecosystem currently holds the largest market share, and the most popular blockchain games have been developed on this platform, Binance Smart Chain is expected to be the ecosystem that sees the fastest growth in the future.

Asia-Pacific Will be Hub of Industry Growth

The report pinpointed the Asia-Pacific region as a critical growth area for blockchain gaming. The popularity of gaming and the number of potential gamers in the region are cited as being major factors, as well as the increasingly favourable blockchain regulation being set up by governments in the region. The region is known to have one of the world's highest levels of crypto adoption. Research by Triple A, a crypto payment company, found that 130 million of the 320 million owners of crypto worldwide are located in Asia. Both Singapore and Hong Kong are aiming to become global crypto hubs. Hong Kong has allocated US $6.4 million of its 2023-2024 budget to develop its Web3 infrastructure. The Securities and Futures Commission of the country has also passed recent regulations allowing digital asset trading. The Hong Kong government plans to implement a ‘virtual-asset development’ task force to advise on sustainable and responsible ways to develop the crypto sector.

Increased Investment from the Crypto Sector

The blockchain gaming sector is booming, with multiple new gaming projects being released and developed throughout the bear market. Together, Binance Smart Chain and Animoca Brands have launched a US $200 million asset program that will support the growth of the GameFi industry and foster startup crypto gaming projects. The report also mentions the following crypto companies as key players in the global GameFi market: Sky Mavis, Mythical Games, Dapper Labs, Open Sea, Voxie Tactics, Rokosoft, Gamestation, Pocket Arena, Planet Sandbox, Splinterlands, Animoca Brands, Wemade, AlwaysGeeky Games, G.JIT Japan, Immutable, Horizon Blockchain Games Planetarium, Codebit Labs, and Binamon.

Concluding Thoughts

Despite the huge backlash against play-to-earn gaming and NFTs from traditional gamers and the largely negative sentiment in the gaming sector press, it seems blockchain gaming has only started its journey. If the analysis in this report is accurate, GameFi is set to become a huge industry, especially in the East, where it has been the most favourably received.