为什么币圈镰刀比韭菜多

如果把币圈比作是一个大赌场的话,那么赵长鹏其实就是那个开赌场,赚手续费抽水的。

虚拟币交易所真的就这么赚钱吗?虚拟币交易所这个圈子究竟是咋样的呢?

为了解答这个问题,差评君有幸和曾在某虚拟币交易所但现在已经金盆洗手的哥们儿聊了聊。

结果却是不聊不知道,一聊吓一跳。

用一句话来形容这个圈子的话:那就是镰刀比韭菜还多,真 TM 的乱!

交易所有能力随时卷钱跑路_

差评君得知的第一点就是,那些你在交易所里的虚拟币其实并不安全,因为他们随时可能卷款跑路。

这么说吧,一般合法正经的交易所,像是证券或是期货这类的,你的账户都是由银行托管,他们是没权利动你的票子的。

甚至是银行自己,也有央行管着,用存款准备金制度来保证用户的取款和资金的清算。

但是绝大部分的虚拟币交易所呢,是不存在那些玩意儿的。。。所有的资产,都在他们的账户上。

所以这些钱交易所们想动就能动,能相信的只有他们自家的良心。

只不过在大部分情况下,这就约等于靠不住。

随便在网上搜索一下关键词 “ 交易所跑路 ”,大伙们就知道良心值多少钱了。

就拿差评君采访的这位老哥为例,他就曾在全球某 TOP 20( 最高进过 TOP 10 )的数字货币交易所工作过。

他们的前老板就是挪用了用户的资产,去另外一家更大的平台买了比特币合约,而且还是加了高倍杠杆的那种。。。

本想搏一搏,摩托变路虎,可怎想赢只是过程,但输才是结果。

在爆仓了之后,资金链就顶不住了,最后自家交易所连提款都出现了问题。

虽然他们多次自欺欺人地发布公告,说网上流言蜚语都是 “ 谣传 ”,但或许承诺只是因为没把握,最后他们的前老板还是选择了卷款跑路。

并不是只赚手续费_

看到这肯定就有差友会说了,交易所就相当于是开赌场的老板,安安心心地赚手续费,抽个水不是稳稳的幸福吗?何必还要玩各种阴招儿赚快钱呢?

某交易所的手续费率 ▼

理论上是这么讲确实没错。

就拿在美国上市的虚拟币交易所 Coinbase 为例,他们在去年的净收入就有 3 亿多美元,总收入中有 96% 都来自交易手续费。

但是呢,并不是所有的交易所都像 Coinbase 这样,有着数千万的用户排着队送钱的。

一些规模较小的二三线交易所,用户盘子其实没那么大,而且人家也不求上市,没有合规之类的压力。

俗话说得好:为了 100% 的利润,不受监管的资本们就敢践踏一切人间法律。在币圈这个 “ 法外之地 ”,谁又会嫌弃钱多呢?

于是乎,包括挪用用户资产在内的,各种黑的、灰的赚快钱方式就层出不穷了。

有些交易所,给钱就能上_

在这些黑灰产中呢,就有一个名叫 “ 上币费 ” 的玩意儿。

还记得今年上半年,差评君为了讽刺币圈割韭菜的容易,花 5 分钟 “ 发行 ” 的虚拟币吗?

其实 “ 割韭菜 ” 的步骤,我只做到了一半。

因为 “ 发 ” 的这些个币,全都躺自己的钱包里,发币方要割的,应该是用户们买币的钱。

这个时候呢,你只要愿意掏钱,这些交易所就会提供所谓的 “ 上币服务 ”,让你的空气币上架他们的交易所,这样就能面向广大的韭菜们了。

根据爆料老哥的透露,因为他们交易所的体量较小,在 19 年前后,上架一个币的价格大概是 20 万左右( 当年他们上架了数百个新币 )。而某头部交易所 H ,当时最高能收到 200 万。

而这可还没完呢,因为他们还拥有有各种各样的媒体资源。

只要钱给的到位,数百家的 “ 区块链媒体 ” 就可以帮你的币发通稿。

像是什么 XX 日报啊、X 色财经啊,立马就会把你上架的空气币给吹得天花乱坠,吸引韭菜们入局。

而在交易所上好空气币、媒体们宣传到位,用户打开交易所准备交易后。。。

好戏,才真正地开始。

数据造假,专割韭菜_

为了让韭菜们相信某某币的交易很火热,交易所们就为发币方推出了 “ 付费 DLC ”,一个叫做 “ 庄家交易系统 ” 的玩意儿,能够自动刷空气币的交易量和深度。

用简单的话说,其实就是刷单。

爆料老哥给出了一个惊人的数字,除那些主流币之外,不少山寨币 90% 的订单都是机器刷的。

而且不止二三线交易所,大部分的头部交易所也都有刷数据的习惯。

更逆天的是,他们能用这套系统,应项目方的要求,不断地挂多单和收币( 交易所能让自家的买单,只收自家的卖单 ),慢慢地把空气币的价格抬高。

在用户被假的数据吸引,并入套之后,庄家们便可以慢慢抛掉自己手上的币,完成收割。

而且除了控盘之外,时间刺客在某些交易所也是合理的存在。

如果出现了一些项目方和交易所不想看到的 “ 异常交易 ”,交易所立马能使出一招时光倒流,直接撤销交易和抹除交易。

另外啊,为了限制你的交易,像是显示什么网络错误、连接超时也都是家常便饭。

你要是问客服咋回事儿,反正就是一句话,那就是:交易量大,网络拥堵啦,或者是你自己网不好吧。

这样说吧,交易所、发币方和区块链媒体都是他们的人,散户还真的斗不过他们。

也因为各种中心化交易所的丑闻频出,不少散户便开始转战 uniswap、pancake 这一类的去中心平台。

平台的代码开源、而且所有的交易记录都存在区块链上,用区块链浏览器一查,所有交易都一目了然。

这样总不会被割韭菜了吧!

只能说,你们还是太年轻了,虽然交易所去中心化了,但发行项目的又不是去中心化的,一些池子浅的空气币项目方的控盘成本反而更低了。。。

项目方们同样把量化交易软件一开,把一万笔交易批量分散到 100 个账户上,在把每个账户的买卖行为配置的合理,就算数据公开,大部分人也都看不出异常。

无论是去中心化还是中心化,被割,仿佛就是那些传销币散户们的命运。。。

当然啦,有时候被割的不止有用户,发币的项目方也偶尔会成为那个冤大头。

据内幕老哥透露,他们就曾遇到过那种,赔到裤衩都没了的项目方。

其中就有一个不愿买付费 DLC 的,他们只付了上币费,默默地上架了自家的空气币。

或许是为了省钱,没买 “ 量化交易服务 ” 的项目方,相当原始地雇了十几人在他们的交易所手动刷单。。。

结果也可想而知,在默默上架之后,因为没 “ 热度 ”,所谓的社区、流量也都没有,币价也就默默归零了。

开个交易所,有钱就行_

散户会被割韭菜、区块链媒体会被整治,就连项目方都可能血本无归。

这么说,好像只要身为平台的交易所自己不乱搞,就可以稳赚不赔。

那么问题来了,开了一个交易所,大概需要多少钱呢?

其实啊,虚拟币交易所圈子,早就形成了自己的一条产业链。

给差评君爆料的那位老哥,他们的公司除了自己有交易所之外,就还有代开交易所服务。

稍微咨询了一下,你要是想开个交易所,最低只需要 5 万块一个月。。。而且除了钱之外,需要提供的只是一个域名罢了。

在你的小交易所开张之后,赚到的手续费呢,提供服务的他们就会先收着,之后再一一跟你们这些小交易们所分成。

而你直接凭本事拉来的上币费,他们一般就不怎么抽成,这部分的票子小交易所们可以全拿。

其中就有一个有趣的故事。

化名为小 A 的大兄弟,就曾找爆料老哥所在的公司代开交易所,但是呢,却只开一个月。。。

大家都在纳闷儿,为啥有人会只开一个月的交易所?

后才得知,这完全就是个局。因为小 A 混迹各种山寨币空气币社群,认识了个想发币上交易所的冤大头项目方,但这项目方其实啥都不懂。

而小 A 开交易所的目的,就是为了坑这一个项目方。上币成功,拿到上币费跑路,这可不是就开一个月就够了吗?

只可惜那位冤大头,本想上币割韭菜,自己却输得那么彻底。

另外呢,市面上还早就有专门提供 “ 合约服务 ” 的商家了,简单地说就是提供期货系统,一些没能力自建合约系统的交易所们,往往就会花钱买他们的服务。

甚至某些交易量 TOP 5 级别的虚拟币交易所,也都是买的 SaaS 商家的服务。

所以总得来说,建一个割韭菜的虚拟币交易所,其实是一件不需要多少技术含量,随便花点小钱就能做成的事儿。

你要是想自己做个 demo, 网上直接就有现成的代码。

当然啦,说了这么多,差评君可不是为了告诉大家,这里人傻钱多速来。

而是为了提醒一波大伙们这里水有多深,门槛有多低,别当韭菜被割了。

但俗话说得好,命运中的一切馈赠,早已在暗中标好了价格。

由于旗下小交易所的里各种虚拟币的控制权,是在提供服务平台的手上的。

最后爆料老哥前老板的爆仓跑路,就连引发了一些的暴雷,连着带崩了几十家用他们服务的交易所。。。

那些在国内打着 “ 技术服务公司 ” 的幌子,实则在给交易所提供技术外包服务的公司,也有一些被警方找了包,后面就进去了。

而且今年在国家对整治虚拟币乱像的大前提下,不少的交易所也纷纷注销了国内主体,清退大陆用户。

最后呢,还是那句话。

对于区块链技术本身,差评君是看好的,但是这可并不是币圈的一系列炒作和割韭菜的合理理由。

而那想继续借此行骗的人,他们的结局应就像爆料老哥所讲的那样:双手抱头、蹲在地上。

因为法律的制裁,已经等候你们多时了。

By 差评君

What is Klaytn (KLAY)

Klaytn’s Service Partners

Klaytn is an enterprise blockchain platform developed by South Korean internet provider Kakao. Its modular network architecture is designed to enable businesses to conveniently customize and operate their own service-oriented blockchains built atop Klaytn architecture. These autonomously operated subnetworks are called Service Chains, and provide the core of Klaytn’s enterprise-friendly ecosystem. The flexibility and customizability of these Service Chains means that any kind of web service can feasibly build on Klaytn, although the platform excludes projects centered on gambling or financial speculation.

The Klaytn mainnet launched in June 2019 and quickly attracted more than 40 Initial Service Partners (ISPs) covering a broad spectrum of industries and use cases ranging from entertainment and e-commerce to healthcare and finance. These ISPs span over a dozen countries of origin, and were selected based on the quality of their blockchain-based services and size of their existing user bases. Examples of ISPs thus far include Humanscape, a data marketplace that handles patient-generated health data; Atlas, a blockchain-based travel content and transaction platform developed by Chinese luxury travel company Zanadu; and REDi, a blockchain-based marketplace for new and renewable energy.

Klaytn’s BApp Ecosystem

Several of Klaytn’s ISPs also host BApps, or blockchain applications, on their respective Service Chains. Klaytn utilizes the term “BApp,” instead of the more widely used  “dApp” or “decentralized application,” because the platform does not obligate its app providers to run decentralized web services on their Service Chains. Even centralized BApps can interact with Klaytn’s public mainnet and benefit from its blockchain-enabled transparency and security.

The first batch of BApps was launched on the Klaytn mainnet in June 2019, which coincided with the introduction of several initiatives to encourage development on Klaytn’s BApp ecosystem. These initiatives included the Klaytn Hackathon, a virtual hackathon allowing developers to build useful projects on Klaytn’s public testnet, and Klaytn Horizon, which invited developers from around the world to build applications on Klaytn. In both cases, applicants were judged on their ability to deliver practical services and a user-friendly blockchain experience. The winners of the Klaytn Horizon tournament in 2019 received financial awards from a $1 million USD prize pool.

As of 2020, there were nearly two dozen BApps operating on Klaytn’s mainnet. Most of these BApps are entertainment-focused, with additional blockchain-enabled features such as collectible non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Every BApp uses Klaytn’s native KLAY coins as a medium of exchange to operate and charge for their services. KLAY coins are also rewarded to top-performing BApp developers at the discretion of the Klaytn Governance Council, which is made up of high-profile strategic partners such as LG Electronics and Celltrion. This provides developers with an additional income stream in addition to their profits from operating a successful BApp on Klaytn.

Klaytn’s Far-Reaching External Partnerships

In addition to its ecosystem participants, Klaytn has also attracted a number of established enterprise partners that have made a strategic choice to work with Klaytn to expand user base and reach. While most of these Ecosystem Partners are blockchain-focused organizations, others, such as Woori Financial Group (a Korean financial services holdings company) and BCW Group (a strategy consulting firm focused on traditional and digital payments), are more traditional businesses that seek to benefit from exposure to Klaytn’s ecosystem.

In addition to partnering with multiple cryptocurrency exchanges in an Ecosystem Partnership or Governance Council capacity, in May 2020, Klaytn announced a partnership with Chainlink, a decentralized oracle network. This partnership will help Klaytn build blockchain-powered applications capable of interfacing with traditional off-chain enterprise infrastructures and further its mission of widespread adoption and connection points with existing economies.

The Klaytn Improvement Reserve

In order to further reward Klaytn enterprise users and encourage ecosystem growth, Klaytn launched the Klaytn Improvement Reserve (KIR) in June of 2020. This program rewards strategic partners and ecosystem contributors who have made strides in enhancing Klaytn’s development environment or user experience. It will also fund a wide range of community initiatives and technological research and development. The KIR automatically receives a portion of the KLAY coins generated each time a new block is created on Klaytn’s mainnet. The specific use of these funds is determined via the Klaytn Governance Process.

The first partner to receive funds from the KIR was Ozys, a Korean blockchain service provider that has built a decentralized token swap tool on Klaytn called Klaytn Swap. It has also developed new features for Klaytnscope, a multifunctional block explorer that monitors block activity on the Klaytn platform. In addition to rewarding enterprise ecosystem contributors with KLAY through its Proof-of-Contribution (PoC) evaluation mechanism, Klaytn is currently exploring ways to apply PoC to incentivize and reward the end users on its platform.

As a blockchain network launched by an established telecommunications company geared towards enterprise products without a strict adherence to decentralization, Klaytn presents a unique proposition in the blockchain ecosystem. Klaytn’s model of molding its blockchain products to fit usability today, its large-scale partnerships with legacy companies, and its advocacy for enterprise blockchain tech have already proven fruitful. Now, the promising blockchain is working towards creating lasting value for all participants within its ecosystem and fulfilling its goal of seamless global blockchain adoption.

By cryptopedia

Published
Categorized as Hot Crypto

What is PolySwarm (NCT)

Polyswarm is a decentralized threat intelligence market that uses Ethereum smart contracts and blockchain technologies to operate. Polyswarm rewards fast and accurate threat intelligence about the malintent of files, network traffic, and URLs with exact economic incentives in the $8.5 billion anti-viruses and automated cyber threat intelligence arena. PolySwarm is a real-time threat detection ecosystem made up of businesses, consumers, providers, and security experts from all around the world. Experts create and fine-tune competing “micro-engines” that independently analyze the latest risks in order to surpass their rivals. Threat detection accuracy is PolySwarm’s “Proof of Work”: the market pays specialists who can best defend corporations and end-users.

PolySwarm will lower the barrier to entry, provide larger coverage options, discourage duplication of effort, and ensure interoperability among products and threat intelligence streams, compared to today’s ad hoc market.
PolySwarm is a skill-required variation on a prediction market2, with thousands of micro-engines (“workers”) exploring the latest in malware evolution at machine speed – no humans involved.
PolySwarm will be created by PolySwarm Pte. Ltd. utilizing funds raised via ERC20-compliant token sales.

PolySwarm (NCT) is a cybersecurity firm that assists individuals, businesses, and security teams in detecting and gathering information on new and evolving malware. PolySwarm crowdsources rival security software from antivirus vendors and specialist security professionals to broaden large corporations’ cyber threat coverage and prevention. PolySwarm’s token, Nectar (NCT), is facilitated on the Ethereum blockchain, and suppliers are economically compensated depending on accuracy.

PolySwarm, a crowdsourced threat detection firm, announced the launch of its mainnet in a tweet on Wednesday. The term “mainnet” refers to a blockchain that is currently in use, with active products, services, and coins.

PolySwarm Roadmap

V0.1 Alpha.

A “Bounty Manager” smart contract that keeps Bounty Amounts and Fees, receives Assertions, publishes Verdicts, and compensates accurate Experts is included.
Posting and retrieval of artefacts to and from non-PolySwarm storage (e.g. S3 and/or IPFS)
At Bounty expiration, a prototype method for picking Arbiters has been developed.
Bounty publishing, Assertion response, and Arbiter ground truth determination reference implementations.

V0.2 Beta

Offer Channels: Setup of distributed channels, multiple offers over a single channel, and NCT settlement at channel close
Offer production and response implementation as a model
Arbiter ground truth notification and response implementation as a reference
Smart contracts for fee collection and distribution
Investigate and quantify the level of confidence (in NCT) required for a given Artifact volume.
Bounties and Offers development toolkit: a test and implementation framework for Experts and Ambassadors to automate Bounties and Offers services.

V0.3 Gamma

Worker Description Language (WDL) describes artefact analysis capabilities and expert authorship attribution (for reputation) in a distributed, searchable registry.
Pre-deadline confidentiality Bounty Assertions
Finalize Selection of arbitrators, their responses, and the end-to-end process Feedback loop with a bounty.

V1.0 Stable

Prior to moving from the PolySwarm testnet (test tokens) to the real PolySwarm market, PolySwarm Stable will focus on fixing problems in PolySwarm Gamma.

The threat detection marketplace will use PolySwarm’s nectar (NCT) token, which operates on the Ethereum blockchain.
Here’s how it works: PolySwarm allows users to submit URLs or files to be scanned for malicious code that may be included in them. An automated engine then compares the user-submitted file to a list of other “safe” codes, determining whether it is malicious or not. Nectar tokens are used to conduct transactions for this service, and they are also rewarded to software partners and customers who use PolySwarm.

Security specialists will compete in the marketplace to spot dangers and defend users from them. Nectar tokens will be awarded to those who accurately identify risks. To access the marketplace, both sellers and buyers will require nectar tokens.

PolySwarm’s marketplace is home to over 55 engines, including Crowdstrike, Sentinel One, and Kaspersky. PolySwarm CEO Steve Bassi told CoinDesk that Microsoft and Verizon are among the company’s biggest customers.

The term “token” is tossed about a lot in the blockchain and ICO industry, and it can be difficult to tell them apart. While the distinctions are hazy and not yet defined, one thing is certain: the idea of employing the PolySwarm ecosystem’s utility coin, Nectar. You could be asking yourself, “What does that even mean?” Here’s all you need to know about Nectar, our token, and how it fits within the PolySwarm ecosystem.

Isolation of the Market Using Tokens (Nectar)
We elected to build our own utility token, Nectar, which will be utilized to power transactions within the PolySwarm ecosystem.

What we mean is that if PolySwarm participants transacted directly in Ether (ETH), Ambassadors would be incentivized to buffer a number of Enterprises’ artifacts until the value of ETH falls below a certain threshold, lowering the Ambassador’s Bounty placement cost and, as a result, increasing profit.
This self-centered approach may benefit the Ambassador in the short term, but it will result in a tragedy of the commons, in the long run, potentially producing gridlock due to delayed Bounties (or even delayed Assertions placed on Bounties).https://df36153b5d1145d2f26dcb7ee7002ad0.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

We expect PolySwarm bounties to operate on day or week timescales, orders of magnitude longer than minute fluctuations in ETH value, when considering the ground truth feedback mechanism.

In a Nectar-based PolySwarm, on the other hand, we may set the price of Bounty placement (in terms of NCT required) irrespective of ETH price variations, allowing us to implement stability methods and reduce the return on micro timing decisions that would otherwise be perverse incentives.

The Challenges
The current environment is a market for silver bullets. Both buyers and sellers are in the dark: vendors have no idea what hazards they’re missing, and buyers have no way of distinguishing between sellers. As a result, the market settles for “best practices,” as defenders refer to them, and “cargo cult,” as adversaries refer to it.
In today’s market, overlapping coverage among competing items is rewarded. For all parties, this means duplication of expense and work.

Today’s market leaves no room for specialist knowledge, resulting in a loss in overall coverage. In today’s market, being able to detect esoteric threats is meaningless unless you can also detect WannaCry, which everyone can detect. There’s no need to apply if you’re in a niche.

Interoperability is not rewarded in today’s market, making combinatorial coverage impossible.

Consider the following Venn diagram depicting the panorama of dangers to businesses:

Antivirus A will cover a segment of this landscape (the left circle), whereas Antivirus B will cover a portion of the landscape that partially overlaps with A’s (the right circle). The black color depicts all of the dangers that both products overlook.

Because businesses can’t utilize both products, they must pick one that “best fits” their predicted danger profile and accept the risk of threats that are only guarded by one of the products:

PolySwarm is an attempt to decentralise the threat intelligence market in order to address these market flaws.
Developers can programme new markets using blockchain-based smart contracts (Ethereum today, Tezos tomorrow?). PolySwarm is a pre-programmed market with carefully crafted incentives that address the flaws and hazards of today’s ad hoc market.

CISOs will be able to get more sleep, and businesses will be able to acquire better protection for less money, thanks to a decentralised market. Here’s how to do it:

Participation obstacles are removed as a result of decentralisation. Security specialists from all over the world who are skilled at reverse engineering or can provide unique insight will be able to put their skills to use from the comfort of their own homes or wherever (and whenever) they wish to work. There was no HR department, marketing, or sales; it was just pure research.

Decentralization necessitates the use of open source software that is interoperable. Rules specified in smart contracts and enforced by the community must be followed when participating in the PolySwarm marketplace. Enterprises will no longer be obliged to select the “least worst” or “best fit” solution; instead, they will be able to mix and match intelligence that addresses their threat profile.

PolySwarm encourages threat detection accuracy. If you are a security specialist who detects badness better than your peers, your reputation precedes you. PolySwarm rewards only constantly evolving, precise threat detection, so as an enterprise, you can rest easy.

PolySwarm is a marketplace for specialist services. PolySwarm’s incentive structure promotes specialist threat detection disproportionately.

PolySwarm’s security specialists will be rewarded for standing out, dispersing talent throughout the threat landscape, tackling more dangers than is currently possible, and avoiding the overlap concerns that plague the industry today.

By NIsha Jain

Published
Categorized as Hot Crypto

周杰伦也搞NFT

2022年元旦,元宇宙世界迎来了天王周杰伦。

“2022哥先换个几个月的头像,感受一下元宇宙的感觉”——在Instagram上,周杰伦这样写道。

与换头像这一动作相呼应的是,1月1日,一个名为Ezek的元宇宙平台,联合周杰伦名下潮牌PHANTACi,限量发售了NFT(Non-Fungible Token,非同质化代币)项目Phanta Bear(幻象熊),数量为10000个,每个卖0.26个以太币。

0.26个以太币,贵不贵?目前一个以太币约合人民币23893元,换算下来每个幻象熊价格约合人民币6212元,1万个就是超过6200万!

天王就是天王,周杰伦刚进入元宇宙,就要大杀四方?

幻象熊是啥?

BT财经在以前的文章《 阿里京东腾讯加快布局,中国NFT已进入深水区? 》中曾经提到,NFT的本质是证明某一数字资产的存在和所有权,因此被运用在艺术品等领域之上。简而言之,它为IP(知识产权)在虚拟世界“流通”提供了底层技术支持。

恰好,周杰伦旗下就有这样一个IP。

早在2006年,周杰伦就和他的好友推出了时尚品牌“PHANTACi”,音为“范特西”,和他的第二张专辑几乎同名,代表着天马行空的想象力。这个时尚品牌以流行服饰、鞋帽、箱包等为主要产品,该品牌核心IP就是一只有着星星眼睛的小熊“Phanta Bear”幻象熊,这个形象在该品牌的T恤衫、帽衫等多个单品上都曾经出现,并拥有一定知名度——你可以把它理解为,这个小熊就像迪士尼的米老鼠唐老鸭一样,本身具备了商业价值。

此次登陆“元宇宙”世界、以NFT形式狂扫千万人民币价值的,就是这个幻象熊的形象。

不少“吃瓜群众”不禁认为,天王周杰伦也搞起来元宇宙和区块链了?忍不住想要去看看……

仔细甄别其实可以发现,此次发行NFT的并非周杰伦本人。据多家媒体报道,此次的幻象熊NFT项目是元宇宙平台Ezek联合周杰伦潮牌PHANTACi发售,换句话说发行主体是Ezek。这个Ezek自我介绍道是“潮流艺术娱乐体验平台”,由一个名为Starvision Entertainment Ltd.(S.E.L)的公司建立。据《新晚报》,S.E.L创始人为周杰伦好友刘畊宏;但也有文章显示,S.E.L创始人为Will L(刘畊宏)和另一名为Mark G的个人。

有天王光环加持,这一批幻象熊NFT产品被迅速一抢而光。据《北京商报》,幻象熊销售通道刚打开便有大量用户涌入,甚至令网页一度陷入卡顿,5分钟热销3000个,约40分钟就全部售罄。

据介绍,除了在虚拟世界拥有所购买的卡通形象外,买到幻象熊的消费者还可以将它兼作Ezek Club的会员卡,未来可能用于优先优惠购买明星周边、作为参与明星虚拟演唱会的门票等。

此次幻象熊也并非周杰伦相关的产品首次出现在NFT艺术品市场上。2021年10月,方文山也从今和艺术代理商机构联合推出方文山、周杰伦联名限量版《庞克猫史汀(青花瓷款)》公仔IP,并附有NFT认证。

或许是为了避免误解,周杰伦的“杰威尔音乐有限公司”1月3日通过微博表示,此次幻象熊NFT商业行为并不是周杰伦本人推出NFT,未参与此次策划经营,也没有取得任何收益。

谁在被市场热炒?

正如许多媒体直言,此次幻象熊NFT项目备受关注,很大程度上仍然是周杰伦的天王光环带来的流量。元宇宙、NFT、周杰伦、6200万……多个热门元素交织在一起,营造出的气氛又热闹又嘈杂,很容易让买家和市场冲动入场,而忽视了其中的风险。

从某种意义来说,当不再有下个“接盘侠”出现,那就是所谓NFT艺术品击鼓传花游戏鼓声停止的一刻。无论此前你是以1块还是100万购买的,你所拥有的,本质还是一串代码。

那么问题来了,究竟是谁在被热炒?幻象熊本身这个IP?还是周杰伦本人?

有网友的回答或许反映了一种观点:周杰伦只是“讲义气、友情支持朋友的项目”。尽管Ezek已经在官方网站免责声明中表示“本商品并非金融商品或任何投资理财型商品”,但网友还是会忍不住加上一句“投资需谨慎”的提醒——这无疑反映出卖方声明和买方认知之间的鸿沟。

周杰伦也并非元宇宙世界里面唯一的明星。2021年11月,歌手林俊杰在社交媒体展示了他在虚拟平台Decentraland购买的三个地块,共花费人民币近80万元,他的社交媒体头像也是一款经典NFT作品。《新京报》报道称余文乐也是热衷于收集NFT产品的明星,还靠售卖加密朋克头像赚到了钱,他认为“NFT是未来的大趋势,因为这代表了一个时代的模式”……

因为NFT的本质为虚拟资产、流动性很强,所以在名人效应的放大之下,它更容易成为炒作的工具。归根结底它仍旧是一行由0和1二进制组成的代码,在区块链、元宇宙以及相配套的VR(虚拟现实)等技术都处于起步阶段的当下,加上全球对虚拟货币严格监管的背景,不少专家还是提醒普通人发出警告:谨慎入局。

By BT财经

What is Gods Unchained (GODS)?

Led by the former game director of Magic The Gathering: Arena, Gods Unchained is a free-to-play trading card game built on Ethereum. Designed for both casual and competitive play, players must strategically outsmart their opponents, earn cards and build decks to combat a wide variety of tactics. Unlike other games, players completely own their digital assets, giving them the freedom to trade, sell and use their cards any way they like – just like owning a real, tangible card.

This week, we sat down with the Gods Unchained team to learn more about what they are building, the GODS token, and recent traction. Let’s dive in.

1. To begin, what is Gods Unchained and how does it utilize the blockchain?

Gods Unchained is a free-to-play trading card game where players compete in epic duels using fantasy cards. The game is built to fundamentally change how games work; using Ethereum technology to bring true digital ownership to players, as well as provide the means to earn items that actually matter. Gods Unchained provides real ownership over in-game items by turning them into ERC-721 tokens/NFTs. Players gain the right to sell their items for real money, use them in Gods Unchained, and even embed them in third-party games and tools. This separates Gods Unchained from what’s offered in mainstream games.

2. Can you describe your target player(s)? What type of players and use cases are best suited to leverage Gods Unchained’s economy and ecosystem?

Gods Unchained reaches a global gaming audience. By combining triple-A gameplay with leading edge blockchain technology, our vision is to carve a new path for trading card games and gaming as a whole. This means we will be appealing to all types of users, including but not limited to:

  • Traditional trading card gamers
  • Play to earn gamers
  • Digital TCG gamers
  • Collectors
  • General online gamers
  • Influencers
  • Creators

The trading card game (TCG) genre is a billion dollar industry ripe for disruption. The annual revenue of the digital trading card games market was $1.3 billion in 2017, and has only grown since then. Gods Unchained is set up and positioned to be this disrupting force.

3. Competition in the blockchain gaming space is heating up, with projects fighting for players. Who are Gods Unchained’s competitors and what differentiates Gods Unchained from these games?

At Gods Unchained, we don’t like to view other blockchain gaming projects as ‘competitors’ per se. There’s a larger movement going on here, with the entire industry working towards shifting the current paradigm experienced by gamers, whereby they don’t gain any inherent value from time spent playing.  What we believe will help us achieve this overarching mission is as follows:

  1. Exciting gameplay: Helmed by Chris Clay, former game director of Magic: The Gathering Arena, Gods Unchained provides a dynamic and competitive experience with a strong focus on strategy. We have tens of thousands of players simply playing the game because it’s a fun game with great gameplay and mechanism that rivals similar mainstream titles.
  2. True digital ownership: Gods Unchained provides real ownership over in-game items by turning them into ERC-721 tokens/NFTs. Players gain the right to sell their items for real money, use them in Gods Unchained, and even embed them in third-party games and tools. This separates Gods Unchained from what’s offered in mainstream games.
  3. Play to Earn: To catalyze competitive play and stimulate engagement, players can earn meaningful currencies and items, including the ERC-20 $GODS token, by simply playing the game. The ability to earn tangible rewards serves as the key ingredient to supercharge our future growth.
  4. An epic game economy: $GODS tokens are designed to exist at the heart of the economy, being used by players to purchase new card packs and chests, craft their own NFT cards, and earn staking rewards. By including $GODS in the key facets of the Gods Unchained experience, it creates a sustainable ecosystem where players have the economic freedom to earn from, and contribute to the economy.
  5. Built to scale on Ethereum: Our integration with Immutable X allows for gas-free NFT minting and trading at scale with instant trade confirmation. This creates a massively improved user experience and enables the high volume trading of low cost assets, a key feature of Gods Unchained.

5. What is the inherent value and use case for Gods Unchained’s native token, GODS?

$GODS tokens are ERC-20 tokens designed to become the core in-game currency for Gods Unchained. Similar to existing in-game currencies, $GODS tokens will be rewarded to users through play, however unlike existing currencies $GODS will be scarce and tradeable.

The four main use cases of the $GODS token:

  • Crafting new NFTs that are playable and tradable: Players are able to use $GODS tokens to craft new trading card NFTs that can be used in-game or traded on the marketplace.
  • Staking: Staking rewards will be distributed to all users who qualify as active stakers. These rewards will be distributed from the Staking Rewards Pool, which consists of GODS tokens captured in the Gods Unchained store, the marketplace, and the Forge (The system where players craft new NFTs) .
  • Purchasing Gods Unchained items: The GODS token can be used as partial payment for all purchases made in the Gods Unchained Store as well as for the marketplace fee. If the user opts not to use GODS for a payment or doesn’t have enough tokens to cover the fee, the 20% fee will automatically be swapped on the open market.
  • Governance: Holding GODS enables users to participate in governance voting that relate to general Gods Unchained ecosystem development.

6. How will Immutable X enhance the player experience in Gods Unchained? How will it benefit the token-powered economy of the game?

As touched on before, Immutable X empowers Gods Unchained users to participate in gas-free minting and trading at scale, with instant trade confirmation. Since migrating the Gods Unchained to Immutable X in late June 2021, over 744,000 secondary NFT trades have been made between the community members, completely gas fee.

This creates a massively improved user experience, where any and all users can benefit from high volume trading of low cost assets, an option not possible before Immutable X’s solution was readily available. To go mainstream, we need to remove as many possible hurdles into the blockchain environment as possible, and Immutable X’s gas-free transactions help us achieve this goal.

7. Many crypto games have taken off thanks to their play to earn mechanics. How did your team go about creating your play to earn design and what user behavior are you trying to encourage?

With the introduction of the $GODS token, our teams are super excited about the future of play-to-earn for Gods Unchained.

As we are designing our upcoming play-to-earn system where players are able to earn $GODS from gameplay, there are a couple of key challenges that we are designing our system around:

  1. Remain free to play: This is important to us as we believe that everyone regardless of who they are should be able to play our game and we know that many players are now playing Gods Unchained simply because they find the game super fun! Beyond this, we also are looking for ways to allow our free to play players to participate in our play to earn system.
  2. Sustainability: Creating a sustainable play to earn game economy is challenging and there are important considerations to get it right. For us it is imperative that Gods Unchained provides a fun and engaging experience to players. It must never turn into a mindless click-frenzy game where players are performing a routine just to earn money. Our aim is to make a game that lasts for decades. Therefore we’re designing with a diverse audience in mind: Play to earn grinders, players who play for pure fun and players who value competitive gameplay. Our goal is for the ecosystem to capture enough value and equitably distribute it among all types of players so that the economy remains balanced.
  3. Competitive gameplay: As we scale our play to earn system, we will continue to introduce additional ways for players to earn $GODS. This includes seasoning rank reward and potentially having regular global tournaments where players are competing against each other for a large prize pool.

8. How do traditional TCGs in game economies differ from blockchain/NFT based in game economies? How do you make sure that the in game market runs freely while keeping the game affordable to play?

In traditional card-in-hand TCG in-game economies, players are constrained by things like geographical location and accessibility. In digital TCG in-game economies, players have no way to earn value from their time spent playing, as they’re essentially just being granted permission to use the cards in-game by the game’s company. At any point, digital TCGs could revoke a user’s access to their cards, which is where the importance of the blockchain enabling true ownership comes in. Add on top of that that this lack of ownership means no digital TCG player can truly own their cards, and therefore can’t go on to sell these to earn value.

In regards to Gods Unchained, we’ve focused on creating an in-game economy that is accessible to everyone. Through simply playing the game for free, a user will be able to earn $GODS, fuse NFTs and extract monetary value. This puts the power in their hands, choosing to go on to use that value to purchase additional cards, or trade with their peers. In terms of keeping things affordable, the price points of the marketplace are determined by the users. The accessibility of this is regulated by them, as it’s in their collective best interest to make the game and its assets accessible to as many people as possible. The larger the community, the greater everyone’s success.

9. What blockchain gaming trends are you most excited about for the rest of 2021?

We’re particularly excited about what we’re seeing in regards to scholarship programs that are run by different play-to-earn communities and looking forward to exploring different ways that we can introduce a similar system to Gods Unchained in the future.

A “Scholarship” program is when an individual that owns multiple in-game NFTs (manager) allows a free-to-play player (scholar) to access their in-game NFTs. This allows Scholar to have access to a wide variety of in-game NFT which they can use in-game to earn tokens. The incentive for the manager is that they will be able to take a cut of the token earned by the scholar.

We are very excited about this, as it creates a whole new way for players to be involved in the ecosystem for Gods Unchained. There are folks in Gods Unchained with thousands of Gods Unchained NFTs, with a scholarship program, an additional utility is introduced to the NFTs and it gives our community a stronger reason to continue to build out their collection of NFTs, whilst giving our free-to-play folks a new way to access our future play-to-earn system with a variety of NFT decks to choose from.

10. What is the best way for the community to get involved with Gods Unchained?

You can join our Discord community www.discord.com/godsunchained or alternatively, follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/godsunchained

Which products support GODS? 

 Send/ReceiveTrading
Coinbase          ✔     ✔
Pro          ✔     ✔
Wallet          ✔     ✖️

What regions support GODS? 

 USNYCANEUUKDESGJP
Coinbase   ✖️✖️  ✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️
Pro   ✔TBD   ✔ ✔ ✔✖️✖️✖️
Wallet ✔ ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔✖️

Crypto to fiat trading pairs

 USUKEU
USD ✔ ✖️ ✖️
GBP ✖️ ✖️ ✖️
EUR ✖️ ✖️ ✖️

Note: Coinbase Wallet does not support direct bank transactions. You’ll need to transfer your crypto to Coinbase.com or send it to an external address in order to cash out.

Crypto to crypto trading pairs 

  USDCBTC
ETHUSDT
GODS   ✖️  ✖️
 ✖️   ✖️

See the full list of countries that Coinbase supports for crypto-to-crypto trading.

Note: Only assets hosted on the Ethereum blockchain can be converted through the Coinbase Wallet mobile app at this time. Learn more about trading on Coinbase Wallet.

How many confirmations are needed for GODS?

GODS requires 35 network confirmations. Learn about transaction confirmations.

Which blockchain network hosts GODS?

GODS is hosted on Ethereum. 

What are the minimum and maximum withdrawal amounts?

Coinbase has implemented safeguards to ensure a healthy and efficient network both on-chain and through our platform.  

These safeguards include both minimum and maximum amounts for each cryptocurrency we allow customers to send through the blockchain. These amounts vary by asset and are subject to change.

By Deep Dive , Coinbase

Published
Categorized as Hot Crypto

What is Immutable X? (IMX)

Background 

Previously known as Fuel Games, Immutable created Immutable X to serve as a scaling solution for the blockchain giant Ethereum. 

Immutable’s co-founder, Robbie Ferguson, believes in the massive potential of NFTs, but their true power can only be tapped by making the minting process not only affordable but totally free for every digital asset creator. 

What Is Immutable X? 

Immutable X is the first layer 2 protocol in Ethereum that focuses on NFTs and features zero fees, instant trading, and a secure platform. 

It is also an open-source protocol that provides users with an opportunity to create and develop their decentralized applications, including marketplaces and games. In addition, Immutable X boasts 600x more TPS or transaction per second than any other Ethereum-based NFT marketplaces, which means that both users and gamers wouldn’t experience any interference within the platform. 

Immutable X Exchange 

Immutable X Exchange is the platform’s very own marketplace, even though it was named as an “exchange.”

It is a peer-to-peer platform that offers zero gas fees and 9,000 TPS speed, which is essential for gamers as every second counts, literally, in their gameplays because little delays or interference can cause major negative outcomes in their quests and game standings. 

The Exchange is valuable, not only for gamers but also for artists and traders as well, as it allows them to execute non-custodial trades. The beauty of these features is that it provides users with more power because it retains users’ ownership of their NFTs’ private keys. 

Moreover, the marketplace supports ERC-721 and ERC-1155, giving users an expanded choice and flexibility in managing their NFT assets.  

Immutable X Mint

Immutable X equips users with the capability for the creation and large-scale distribution of NFTs, and whether users mint a single or bulk item, the platform can execute all minting processes free from any charge. 

Also, NFTs that have been minted on Immutable X are immediately available to trade on the open market while maintaining the security provided by Ethereum. 

Immutable X Link 

Immutable X link serves as the user’s connection between their Immutable X key on the L2 exchange and their private key on the main blockchain of Ethereum. 

It has the same functions as the Ethereum wallet manager as it can also execute the same authentication and authorization functions inside the exchange. And after everything has been verified, they will then be transferred to the main blockchain.

Scalability and Security 

While scalability has always been technologically possible with blockchains, one major problem it creates is decreasing decentralization, therefore, compromising security. 

To deal with this problem, Immutable X and Starkware, a software that uses zero-knowledge with cryptographic proofs, have collaborated to increase the blockchain’s privacy and scalability. 

The Immutable X platform can seamlessly execute high-quantity batching of trades off-chain with users signing for the speedy process and all these transactions will then be put on-chain in a single proof that “squeezes” those trades into one transaction at a fixed gas cost. 

Gas fees exist, but Immutable X pays for these fees, making the process virtually free for users. 

Validity-Based Proof 

Using validity-based proof means that users’ assets cannot be traded without their authorization,  in other words, their virtual items can never be taken from them and this is the same security measure that Ethereum mainnet deploys for its platform. 

ZK Rollups: Immutable X’s Sidechain 

ZK Rollup is a Layer 2 option that bundles hundreds of transactions into one, which will then be separated by smart contracts to verify each transaction. 

Its advanced method significantly lowers the storage and computational demand in validating blocks, providing cost-efficiency and greener execution for blockchain transactions. 

It also uses a zero-knowledge proof method for publicly recording transactions on Ethereum and allows almost limitless scalability and quick transactions without giving up any aspects of its security. 

IMX Token 

IMX is Immutable X’s native utility token, an ERC-20 token specifically created to help increase the platform’s growth by providing rewards such as trading transactions and protocol adoption. These incentives are reserved for community members who are helping Immutable X become a scalable NFT ecosystem for Ethereum. 

The token, which has 2 billion supplies, provides platform users with the power to vote on the future path of Immutable X. But one important thing to highlight here is that the platform is not a decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, which means that in the end, the final decision about Immutable X’s direction will still depend on the team. 

Also, its token is not issued by Immutable X itself but by an independent Token Foundation, which means that the team would not have the privilege to acquire part of the token distribution. 

The platform will soon release a staking reward pool, which would allow users to have an additional income stream by staking their IMX tokens. 

NFT Collections On Immutable X 

Moody Krows

Moody Krows is a collection of 10,000 images of randomly generated eye-candy crows that features creative outfits and aesthetic elements that describe their personality. It is also the first PFP collectible in Immutable X, which means that it allows buyers to use their regular MetaMask and ETH with zero gas fees. 

It will soon launch its “Krowmunity Wallet” which is designed to reinvest sales back into its platform to ensure longevity and continued benefits for every community member. 

The collection also has what it calls “Moody Pebbles,” which are rare collectibles with varying rarities and can be acquired by purchasing a Moody Krow NFT crow. The crows will then have to scavenge these pebbles inside their own metaverse, but NFT owners can passively get a pebble through drops. 

Landloot

Landloot is the first-ever project Launchpad on Immutable X, and all members will have the opportunity to vote for the projects they like to be launched on the platform, and in its mechanism, 1 NFT is equal to 1 vote. 

Aside from voting, members can also use their NFTs to help their favorite projects in other ways, which, in turn, would provide them with exciting rewards.

Landloot will leverage Immutable X’s marketing channel and software technology to aid third parties in launching projects on the platform. 

AstroBros

AstroBros is a collection of 10,000 space-themed muscled characters, and each possesses a unique combination of poses, backgrounds, accessories, and items, making each of them truly valuable. 

Just like the previously mentioned NFT collections, AstroBros also takes advantage of Immutable X’s capability to offer zero gas fees, and with this perk, collectors would certainly be encouraged to purchase more characters. 

One of the long-term plans of AstroBros is to increase its NFTs’ use cases, marketplaces where the muscled space-farers can be resold, and networks where it could operate. 

Which products support IMX? 

 Send/ReceiveTrading
Coinbase          ✔     ✔
Pro          ✔     ✔
Wallet          ✔     ✖️

What regions support IMX? 

 USNYCANEUUKDESGJP
Coinbase    ✔ ✖️   ✔ ✔ ✔✖️✖️✖️
Pro   ✔ ✖️   ✔ ✔ ✔✖️✖️✖️
Wallet ✔ ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔✖️

Crypto to fiat trading pairs

 USUKEU
USD ✔ ✖️ ✖️
GBP ✖️ ✖️ ✖️
EUR ✖️ ✖️ ✖️

Note: Coinbase Wallet does not support direct bank transactions. You’ll need to transfer your crypto to Coinbase.com or send it to an external address in order to cash out.

Crypto to crypto trading pairs 

  USDCBTC
ETHUSDT
IMX   ✖️  ✖️
 ✖️   ✔

See the full list of countries that Coinbase supports for crypto-to-crypto trading.

Note: Only assets hosted on the Ethereum blockchain can be converted through the Coinbase Wallet mobile app at this time. Learn more about trading on Coinbase Wallet.

How many confirmations are needed for IMX?

IMX requires 35 network confirmations. Learn about transaction confirmations.

Which blockchain network hosts IMX?

IMX is hosted on Ethereum. 

What are the minimum and maximum withdrawal amounts?

Coinbase has implemented safeguards to ensure a healthy and efficient network both on-chain and through our platform.  

These safeguards include both minimum and maximum amounts for each cryptocurrency we allow customers to send through the blockchain. These amounts vary by asset and are subject to change.

By Sam Lee , Coinbase

Published
Categorized as Hot Crypto

What is Shapeshift FOX Token (FOX)?

The following is a note from our Chief Operating Officer Jon — at the launch of ShapeShift’s zero-commission trading strategy which leverages the FOX token.

Asthe world watched the ICO boom of 2017 and the proliferation of some interesting and many non-interesting tokens, many folks sat up and took notice. What people noticed the most were the huge price swings, the vast sums of money raised through these tokens long before anything was actually built, the proliferation of the words “token” and “blockchain” permeating throughout society, and a lot of warranted skepticism. Though, some of us, especially at ShapeShift, noticed something else. It wasn’t just the trading volumes, speculative price appreciation, and new fundraising model that was so interesting. What was far more interesting was what this Cambrian explosion of tokens made possible.

Since the birth of Bitcoin, the world has been watching a new asset class start to crawl and walk (we aren’t running just yet). Bitcoin grew from nothing to show the world that the mechanism behind how blockchain consensus works is pragmatically valuable and technically sound. What we thought was that a new type of money — and eventually a store of value — could exist electronically, powered entirely by sophisticated technology and the earned belief of its users. This exposed some of the magic underpinnings of how “money” and financial “value” works for many to see, who did not fully realize yet. But this wasn’t just a new type of money. It was a new asset class that broke many previously held definitions.

Sign up to trade for free with FOX in the ShapeShift Platform 🚀

A New Era for Crypto

As Bitcoin continued to mature, we saw the token explosion of 2017. For those who were paying attention, this was the continuing evolution of that magic spark that bitcoin lit. The explosion exposed the further magic (not just the underpinnings) of what we call “money” and demonstrated that this technology could allow for the creation of a plethora of entirely new, category-breaking assets called “tokens”.

That token explosion of 2017 created a snowball, rolling downhill towards the creation of previously impossible asset types and entirely new business engagement models. We’ve only scratched the surface of what is possible; with each development, the snowball has grown a little larger. In the vast scale of things, it’s still pretty small. There’s much more ahead to explore as it tumbles forward and gains further mass.

At ShapeShift, we started exploring some of these concepts in our very early days. Since 2014 we’ve maintained our thesis and philosophy that there would be many different, interesting blockchain assets in addition to Bitcoin and the world needed an easy way to convert from one to another. This thesis drove us to create the original ShapeShift conversion service. In 2016 we started exploring the idea internally of a ShapeShift token that would allow us to further explore the crypto frontier in ways impossible pre-token. The momentum of 2017 was a validation of this thesis, despite the excesses and misguided projects that came and went.

We watched and we waited, and through many internal discussions our potential token took many forms, culminating in what we are distributing to the world for the first time today: FOX token.https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FAnFkX6r32sY%3Ffeature%3Doembed&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DAnFkX6r32sY&image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FAnFkX6r32sY%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube

ShapeShift’s FOX Token

The FOX token is ShapeShift’s biggest leap into the frontier since the original creation of our service, though this will not be obvious immediately. We intend to push the limits of what is possible and what the world has come to understand regarding blockchain tokens. At its genesis, FOX will act in some ways like a loyalty token. Earn FOX by interacting with ShapeShift by actively trading (and other promotions over time). The more FOX accumulated the more benefits endowed to the users who hold them.

Loyalty tokens and programs are not a new concept, they exist all over the world in different forms: airline miles, cash back on a credit card, points at the supermarket or your favorite restaurant — and they, of course, exist in many forms already in the crypto world.Blockchain Tech in Loyalty ProgramsCan crypto innovations enhance the consumer experience?medium.com

What is new, however, is the way tokens let us approach the concept of a loyalty-based program. In particular, the FOX token will be one of the world’s first loyalty tokens that is a perpetual asset. What we mean by that is that unlike the vast majority of utility tokens currently out there, FOX will not require you to consume or spend it in order to receive its value. You get value simply by holding the asset. Starting at launch, this value is $10 of zero-commission trading per FOX every 30 days, and every user who joins our platform starts with 100 free FOX. This is not some nominal promotional value, this is perpetual and important value that the FOX holder receives; the ability to continually trade for free every month. This value does not disappear after using it, free trading replenishes on a rolling 30 day basis simply by continuing to hold FOX. It will do so as long as you hold FOX or until you transfer it somewhere else outside of your ShapeShift Platform account.You Can Now Trade Crypto for Free with ShapeShiftShapeShift now offers zero-commission crypto trading.medium.com

The Perpetual Nature of FOX

We think this perpetual nature of FOX is one of the key pieces that allows us to push the token frontier forward and explore yet another category-breaking asset class, that the world hasn’t quite seen before. FOX as a digital perpetual asset is not just a loyalty program, it’s not just a membership, it’s not just an exchange token, it’s all of these things, none of these things, and it sets a basic foundation for customer engagement that will evolve alongside our company.

One of the magic pieces of tokens is that they can take on a life of their own. All of their utility and use cases are not just determined by the creator and issuer, but by the community that forms around them and directly engages with them. Imagine if your Amazon Prime membership was a token that you could sell off to another person when you no longer wanted it, or airline miles were far easier to transfer among a marketplace, or a Costco membership that didn’t need to be renewed every year — but had perpetual value if you acquired it and could be traded among your friends. These are the types of use cases and situations that the advent of perpetual tokens makes possible.

In some ways, the difference between consumable and perpetual assets can be thought of in the context of renting or buying an apartment. When you are renting, you get the use of the place as long as you pay for it every month. At the end of your lease, the apartment goes back to its owner and you don’t get any of your money back. If you buy an apartment instead, it’s yours and you get the benefit of living there. If you don’t want to live there anymore, you can sell it to someone else who wants to buy it (or even rent it to someone if you want to keep it). The apartment may have gone up or down in value, but it’s yours and you get some value back by selling it.

The majority of tokens that have been seen in the blockchain world allow for some new way to explore this rent concept, like buying a token to get lower exchange fees (but you pay upfront and then it’s gone). With FOX and the evolution of perpetual tokens, we allow for something much closer to really buying and owning something. When you own FOX, you truly own it and it does not need to be burned, consumed, or sacrificed to receive value from it.

Many current models can be changed or looked at differently though this perpetual lense and it can be a push away from “rent-seeking” behavior, towards more experimentation with “ownership-seeking” behavior. This use case can be extended to many places and a single asset can end up having many uses. The important facet is that a new frontier of interesting perpetual utility assets can be opened up and explored. Bitcoin planted this seed, and we are further exploring one little branch of it. Our intention is for the FOX token to further demonstrate what’s possible.

A Token Evolution

We envision a whole world and a plethora of new tokens with perpetual natures and varied use cases. We think FOX can be one of the first examples given to the world of a perpetual utility token that can represent these various use cases. It doesn’t require an ICO, or speculative fervor or anything like that to create value. Instead, its value comes from the attributes it can endow its user simply by holding it (almost like a magical sword in a video game where you can upgrade and stack the powers it gives you). In my view, this is a form of magic and a type of magic the world will find endlessly fascinating.

With the creation and distribution of the FOX token, we peel back and expose a little more of the underlying magic of tokenized value creation. Perhaps this concept will resonate in the minds of other entrepreneurs, creators, and communities, highlighting what is possible in the evolution of new digital assets and tokens.

Which products support FOX? 

 Send/ReceiveTrading
Coinbase          ✔     ✔
Pro          ✔     ✔
Wallet          ✔     ✖️

What regions support FOX? 

 USNYCANEUUKDESGJP
Coinbase   ✖️✖️  ✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️
Pro   ✔ ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔✖️✖️✖️
Wallet ✔ ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔✖️

Crypto to fiat trading pairs

 USUKEU
USD ✔ ✖️ ✖️
GBP ✖️ ✖️ ✖️
EUR ✖️ ✖️ ✖️

Note: Coinbase Wallet does not support direct bank transactions. You’ll need to transfer your crypto to Coinbase.com or send it to an external address in order to cash out.

Crypto to crypto trading pairs 

  USDCBTCETHUSDT
FOX   ✖️  ✖️ ✖️   ✔

See the full list of countries that Coinbase supports for crypto-to-crypto trading.

Note: Only assets hosted on the Ethereum blockchain can be converted through the Coinbase Wallet mobile app at this time. Learn more about trading on Coinbase Wallet.

How many confirmations are needed for FOX?

FOX requires 35 network confirmations. Learn about transaction confirmations.

Which blockchain network hosts FOX?

FOX is hosted on Ethereum. 

What are the minimum and maximum withdrawal amounts?

Coinbase has implemented safeguards to ensure a healthy and efficient network both on-chain and through our platform.  

These safeguards include both minimum and maximum amounts for each cryptocurrency we allow customers to send through the blockchain. These amounts vary by asset and are subject to change.

By Shapeshift and Coinbase

Published
Categorized as Hot Crypto

What is COTI (COTI)?

COTI (COTI) is a token that powers COTI, a project that describes itself as a “DAG (directed acyclic graph) protocol optimized for creating decentralized payment networks and stable coins.” Coti uses Trustchain, a decentralized ledger that can process over 100,000 transactions per second, to power online and offline payments, loyalty payments, stablecoins, and more. Note: Coinbase currently only supports COTI running on the Ethereum blockchain (ERC-20).

COTI is a fintech platform that uses blockchain to run a range of products, including payment processing, financing, white label payment systems, loyalty programmes and cross-border remittance technology. Organisations can build their own payment solutions and digitise any currency to create so-called “stablecoins”, which are pegged to physical currency.

The COTI network is based on seven key elements of operating an effective payment infrastructure:

COTI network

COTI was co-founded by Samuel Falkon, vice president of business development at COTI Group and chief revenue officer at online payment service provider Paywize, a COTI subsidiary that offers merchant credit card processing. Falkon is also the founder of Israel-based management consulting firm Gil Scott. COTI co-founder David Assaraf also co-founded Israel-based fintech start-up Frequants.

Developers at COTI are working in partnership with their peers at the Cardano blockchain and ADA cryptocurrency. Over the past few weeks it has announced several new partnerships and new merchants for the ADA Pay digital payment platform.

In December 2021, it announced a partnership with ADA Handle, an NFT-powered naming solution for the Cardano wallet address, in which the pair will “explore the possibility of allowing support for Handle address resolution directly within their ADA Pay platform”.

Later in December 2021, it was partnering with AdaSwap, an ecosystem aiming to establish the first decentralised exchange on the Cardano network.

Which products support COTI? 

 Send/ReceiveTrading
Coinbase          ✔     ✔
Pro          ✔     ✔
Wallet         ✖️    ✖️

What regions support COTI? 

 USNYCANEUUKIEDESGJP
Coinbase    ✔✖️   ✔ ✔ ✔✖️✖️✖️✖️
Pro   ✔✖️   ✔ ✔ ✔✖️✖️✖️✖️
Wallet✖️✖️  ✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️✖️

Crypto to fiat trading pairs

 USUKEU
USD  ✔ ✖️ ✖️
GBP ✖️ ✖️ ✖️
EUR ✖️ ✖️ ✖️

Crypto to crypto trading pairs 

  USDCBTCETHUSDT
COTI   ✖️  ✖️ ✖️  ✖️

See the full list of countries that Coinbase supports for crypto-to-crypto trading.

How many confirmations are needed for COTI?

COTI requires 35 network confirmation. Learn about transaction confirmations.

Which blockchain network hosts COTI?

COTI is hosted on COTI and Ethereum. Note: Coinbase currently only supports COTI running on the Ethereum blockchain (ERC-20).

What are the minimum and maximum withdrawal amounts?

Coinbase has implemented safeguards to ensure a healthy and efficient network both on-chain and through our platform.  

These safeguards include both minimum and maximum amounts for each cryptocurrency we allow customers to send through the blockchain.

Minimum: 0.000000000000000001 COTI

Maximum: 1,141,553 COTI

By Coinbase , Nicole Willing

Published
Categorized as Hot Crypto

What is Harvest Finance (FARM)

  • Harvest Finance is a yield aggregator on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Polygon. The platform helps users to maximize the returns on their assets by depositing in various projects across the DeFi ecosystem.
  • The platform allows users to stake their assets in the Harvest Finance vaults, while the protocol executes various yield farming strategies on their behalf, and receives staking rewards in return.
  • FARM is Harvest Finance’s native utility token and is used in the following functions:
    • Staking: Users can earn FARM tokens as performance fee rewards when they stake their FARM tokens in the profit sharing pools.
    • Liquidity mining: Users can provide liquidity to LPs on other DEXs to earn liquidity mining rewards (i.e. SushiSwap) and a share of the DEX transaction fees. Users can further stake LP tokens in the Harvest Finance vaults to earn liquidity incentives paid in FARM.
    • Governance: FARM token holders can create and vote on governance proposals.
  • Harvest Finance consists of the following major components working in conjunction:
    • Performance fee sharing: Users that stake FARM in the profit sharing pools are entitled to a performance fee taken from the yield farming strategies. The fees are used to buy back FARM tokens from the open market and rewarded to users that are staking FARM.
    • Auto-compounding: FARM tokens distributed to users are automatically collected and re-staked in the profit sharing pool to improve their returns. iFARM is issued as deposit receipt for auto-compounding, and it is an interest bearing FARM token.
    • fCASH: Enables users to take a loan without needing to sell iFARM. Users provide iFARM as collateral in return for fCASH, which can be swapped to stablecoins (i.e.USDC).
    • AmpliFARM: It is a token that is only rewarded in BSC pools, and it can be claimed immediately at 1:1 bFARM ratio or up to 4.18x depending on the staking period.
  • The project took a fair launch approach, there were no pre-mine or investors. Instead, newly minted tokens are released and distributed weekly.
  • As at August 11th 2021, the total supply of FARM is 639,925 and the current circulating supply is 606,355 (~94.75% of the total token supply).
  • Learn more about the token distribution of FARM here.

What products support FARM? 
  Send/Receive Trading Coinbase            ✔      ✔ Pro            ✔      ✔
Wallet            ✔      ✖️

What regions support FARM?

 USNYCANEUUKDESGJP
Coinbase    ✔ ✔  ✔ ✔ ✔✖️✖️✖️
Pro   ✔ ✔  ✔ ✔ ✔✖️✖️✖️
Wallet ✔ ✔  ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔✖️

Crypto to fiat trading pairs

  USUKEU
USD   ✔ ✖️ ✖️
GBP ✖️✖️
✖️
EUR ✖️✖️✖️

Note: Coinbase Wallet does not support direct bank transactions. You’ll need to transfer your crypto to Coinbase.com or send it to an external address in order to cash out.

Crypto to crypto trading pairs

 USDCUSDTBTCETH
FARM   ✖️   ✔ ✖️ ✖️

See the full list of countries that Coinbase supports for crypto-to-crypto trading.

Note: Only assets hosted on the Ethereum blockchain can be converted through the Coinbase Wallet mobile app at this time. Learn more about trading on Coinbase Wallet.

How many confirmations are needed for FARM?

FARM requires 35 network confirmations. Learn about transaction confirmations.

Which blockchain network hosts FARM?

FARM is hosted on Ethereum.

What are the minimum and maximum withdrawal amounts?

Coinbase has implemented safeguards to ensure a healthy and efficient network both on-chain and through our platform.  

These safeguards include both minimum and maximum amounts for each cryptocurrency we allow customers to send through the blockchain.

Minimum: 0.000000010000000000

Maximum: 2,500

By Binance and Coinbase

Published
Categorized as Hot Crypto

What is Rarible (RARI)

Rarible is a software allowing digital artists and creators to issue and sell custom crypto assets that represent ownership in their digital work. 

Of note, Rarible is both a marketplace for those assets, as well as a distributed network built on Ethereum that enables their trade without a middleman.

The tokens that creators generate on Rarible are known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Each NFT is unique, and unlike bitcoins (or other units of money), they are not interchangeable. This property is known as fungibility, which is why tokens on Rarible are called non-fungible. 

The first and best known example of NFTs is CryptoKitties, a game where virtual cats could be bought and sold. These NFTs could even “breed” with one another to create new cats with different attributes represented in their NFTs.

However, Rarible is proof NFTs have since grown beyond virtual cats. Examples of NFTs found on Rarible’s marketplace include digital artworks, memes and even parcels of virtual land.

Central to the platform is RARI, Rarible’s cryptocurrency. By owning RARI tokens, users can vote on proposals that affect the platform, moderate creators and curate featured artwork.

Who Created Rarible?

Rarible is a company founded by Alex Salnikov and Alexei Falin and based in Moscow. Salnikov has worked in cryptocurrency since 2013, while Falin previously co-founded a marketplace for digital stickers that can be used on chat platforms, according to his LinkedIn profile

In 2020, Rarible raised its first round of funding from the New York-based venture capital firm CoinFund, which has been one of the firms that is most confident about the growth of NFTs. 

It argues that NFTs represent a new way to own digital content, and that digital content will be a massive market in the years to come. 

How does Rarible Work?

Rarible is a marketplace aiming to link sellers (typically content creators such as digital artists, model creators or meme makers) with buyers who can select pieces they wish to purchase.

To turn their work into an NFT, creators must first “mint” a token using Rarible’s software. To do so, they fill out a form on the website and attach their image and other data, such as a listing price, that represents their work. 

The Rarible platform then creates a new token on the Ethereum blockchain. Similar to other tokens on Ethereum, the NFT can be transferred between wallets using Rarible’s software.

Rarible leverages the Ethereum blockchain to embed within an NFT’s code the full history of its owners and transactions. Of note, when a transaction goes through, both the buyer and the seller have to pay transaction fees that go to the Rarible network. 

Royalty payments

One interesting feature of NFTs is the ability to program royalties, or the rights to future cash flows, within these assets. This means that creators on Rarible can set a percentage of future sales and collect them automatically by issuing a token.

This is a major feature drawing creators to this technology, because unlike with traditional content platforms, NFTs can be designed to pay out royalties immediately

For instance, if a piece of digital art listed a 10% royalty, the creator would receive 10% of any consequent sale of that art.

Which products support RARI? 

 Send/ReceiveTrading
Coinbase          ✔      ✔
Pro          ✔      ✔
Wallet          ✔     ✖️

What regions support RARI? 

 USNYCANEUUKDESGJP
Coinbase    ✔ ✔  ✔✖️ ✔✖️
Pro   ✔ ✔   ✔ ✔✖️ ✔✖️
Wallet ✔ ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔✖️

Crypto to fiat trading pairs

 USUKEU
USD  ✔ ✖️ ✖️
GBP ✖️ ✖️ ✖️
EUR ✖️ ✖️ ✖️

Note: Coinbase Wallet does not support direct bank transactions. You’ll need to transfer your crypto to Coinbase.com or send it to an external address in order to cash out.

Crypto to crypto trading pairs 

  USDCBTC
ETHUSDT
RARI   ✖️  ✖️
 ✖️   ✖️

See the full list of countries that Coinbase supports for crypto-to-crypto trading.

Note: Only assets hosted on the Ethereum blockchain can be converted through the Coinbase Wallet mobile app at this time. Learn more about trading on Coinbase Wallet.

How many confirmations are needed for RARI?

RARI requires 35 network confirmation. Learn about transaction confirmations.

Which blockchain network hosts RARI?

RARI is hosted on Ethereum. 

What are the minimum and maximum withdrawal amounts?

Coinbase has implemented safeguards to ensure a healthy and efficient network both on-chain and through our platform.  

These safeguards include both minimum and maximum amounts for each cryptocurrency we allow customers to send through the blockchain.

Minimum: 0.000000000000000001 RARI

Maximum: 6,050 RARI

By Kraken and Coinbase

Published
Categorized as Hot Crypto