Donald Trump’s NFT Success Unveils Former President’s Crypto Ventures

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has made significant strides in the NFT market, as revealed in a recent financial disclosure form submitted to the Office of Government Ethics. The disclosure, which unveils a staggering $1 billion in earnings from various sources, highlights Trump’s ownership of CIC Digital LLC. This company acquires licensing payments for using Trump’s persona on nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and holds a crypto wallet valued between $250,000 to $500,000.

Two sets of digital trading cards have been released as a result of Trump’s entry into the NFT market, and both have had a big influence. The first season, which debuted in December, sold out on the first day, a feat that the second season also accomplished. Despite a 60% drop in the price of the original collection following the unveiling of the second series, the “Trump Digital Trading Cards” have remained a hot commodity on the NFT marketplace Opensea.

The second series, sold for $99 each on the Polygon blockchain, generated over $4.65 million in revenue with 47,000 assets in the collection. The sales, conducted by wrapped Ether transactions, brought around $2 million worth of new funds into the Polygon network. This success came despite a downturn in the NFT market, with Trump’s NFTs experiencing a spike in sales after his indictment earlier this year.

In addition to his NFT ventures, Trump’s media pursuits include an ownership stake in Trump Media and Technology Group, valued between $5 million and $25 million. The group’s revenue streams include over $1 million in advertising revenue from a conservative live-streaming site.

Trump’s diverse income sources also extend to more traditional avenues. For speaking engagements, he claimed getting $12.6 million in fees, including $1.4 million from a live tour with an American journalist. He also disclosed large earnings from the sale of his Washington hotel, which totaled $284.5 million, and from the administration of his Dubai golf club, which brought him over $1 million.

As the world of digital assets continues to evolve, Trump’s involvement in the NFT market underscores the growing intersection of politics, celebrity, and cryptocurrency. With his digital trading cards making waves in the NFT space, it remains to be seen how this venture will influence his financial pursuits moving forward.

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Coinbase Uses Multi-Party Computation to Enhance Crypto Wallet Security and User Experience

Coinbase is making strides towards simplifying the onboarding process for web3, bolstering both security and recovery for crypto wallets. The company is deploying a cryptographic technique called Multi-Party Computation (MPC) to eliminate key management hurdles that have long been a barrier to mainstream web3 adoption.

The MPC technique allows multiple parties to collectively compute a function on their private inputs, all while ensuring their inputs remain confidential. This technique increases the security of wallet private keys by requiring at least two participants to create valid signatures. It further simplifies key management by distributing individual key shares among the participants, thereby reducing the likelihood of wallet break-ins.

According to research by Chainanalysis, an estimated 20% of bitcoin tokens, equivalent to over $100 billion in market value, are lost due to key mismanagement. Coinbase aims to address this issue by deploying MPC technology within its products, highlighting its benefits to end users.

In traditional web3 wallets, a user’s private key unlocks wallet ownership, much like an account password. However, there are no reset or recovery options for standard wallets. A lost private key results in the loss of access to the wallet’s funds. Coinbase believes that for web3 adoption to increase, private keys need to be secure yet recoverable. The application of MPC technology allows key control to be distributed among multiple parties, offering more reliable key recovery and stronger security.

Coinbase’s use of MPC technology addresses three major workflows: Key generation, signing, and key backup & recovery. The company leverages a threshold ECDSA (tECDSA) MPC cryptography protocol, which requires at least two out of total key shares to participate in signing to reach a consensus.

To make the wallet experience more user-friendly, Coinbase provides user-owned backup options like cloud, local, and hardware backups. These are faster and offer offline recovery, allowing users to transfer or recover their wallet without involving Coinbase servers.

In addition, Coinbase Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS) splits the encryption key of the backup between the user and Coinbase, allowing users to authenticate themselves and regain access to their wallet while preserving their privacy and legal identity.

With its focus on bringing the next billion users on-chain, Coinbase is looking forward to setting the industry standard in the web3 ecosystem by removing friction and complexity from crypto transactions and dapp interactions. The company is currently developing products for both developers and users, including a new SDK for native apps to connect with Coinbase Wallet, and an open dapp marketplace accessible without a Coinbase account.

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Cogni Launches KYC-Backed NFTs for Crypto Wallet Users

A recent upgrade has made it possible for users of the noncustodial multichain crypto wallet offered by Neobank Cogni to have access to a previously unavailable feature. Users of the wallet that the bank provides will soon be able to receive soulbound nonfungible tokens (NFTs) that incorporate information from the Know Your Customer (KYC) protocol. The NFTs, which will be constructed on the Polygon network, will provide customers the chance to convert their “Web2” KYC verification, which was performed by the bank when the client established their account, to a Web3 setting. This will be made possible via the Polygon network.

The cryptocurrency wallet that was introduced by Cogni in January allows users to send, receive, and store cryptocurrencies as well as NFTs. These capabilities were first made available to users. Users of wallets will now have the option to mint non-transferable soulbound NFTs, which can only be decrypted by decentralized apps (DApps) with the owner’s explicit authorization. Wallet users will be able to do this by using their private keys.

According to Ganesh Ravishankar, the Chief Executive Officer of Cogni, the user experience and a lack of faith in the ecosystem are the reasons why a lot of people have not jumped on the decentralization bandwagon just yet. This data was provided by the Chief Executive Officer of Cogni. The information about bank-level KYC that is contained on the NFT, on the other hand, satisfies the KYC rules in the United States, and it will be made available to cooperating DApps without the need for any further action on the part of those DApps.

Cogni’s mission is to provide a marketplace for decentralized apps (DApps) that can be connected to with just a few clicks, and this will include the KYC verification procedure. The use of wallets that do not contain custodial services has been on the rise, especially in light of the failure of large cryptocurrency organizations to escape bankruptcy during the crypto winter. This failure led to the money of customers being frozen in custodial wallets, which resulted in the increased popularity of wallets that do not include custodial services.

It is planned that sometime over the summer, the Cogni soulbound NFT will be made available to the general public. Initially, however, it will only be accessible to a select group of users. The objective of the firm is to improve the user experience of decentralized finance (DeFi) by creating a platform that is easy to use, has security on par with that of banks, and validates the identities of users.

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NFT Co-Founder Faces Lawsuit Over Crypto Wallet Dispute

The world of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) has been rocked by a lawsuit that has been filed against one of the co-founders of the Rebase project, Edmond Truong. The lawsuit has been brought by Krzysztof Gagacki, who claims to be a co-founder of the project and alleges that Truong has acted in bad faith by misappropriating $2 million into a separate wallet that is owned and controlled by him without Gagacki’s consent.

In the filing, which was made on April 17, 2023, in a United States District Court in California, Gagacki accuses Truong of eight separate complaints, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, defamation, and trademark infringement. He is demanding a jury trial, claiming that Truong has “gone rogue” by stealing money from a joint crypto wallet and ousting Gagacki from the firm.

According to Gagacki, the professional relationship between the two had deteriorated by October 27, 2022, when Truong breached their partnership contract. Gagacki claims that he owns a 50% share of the funds in the joint crypto wallet but that Truong refuses to provide him with the private keys to the digital wallet.

Gagacki further alleges that Truong has “ousted” him from the business by presenting himself as the “sole owner” and “decision maker” for Rebase. He claims that Truong has made several defamatory statements to the firm’s business contacts about him, causing damage to his reputation.

Furthermore, Gagacki claims that Truong has intentionally interfered with several prospective deals that he had been working on for the firm. One of these deals involved American celebrity Bella Hadid, who featured in the firm’s Cy-B3lla NFT project. The filing alleges that Hadid refused further collaboration with the project after it was made apparent to her that the two co-founders had clashed.

It is unclear when the professional relationship between Truong and Gagacki started to deteriorate, but Gagacki claims that Truong has been acting in bad faith by misappropriating funds and making defamatory statements about him. The lawsuit is expected to be closely watched by the NFT community, which has seen explosive growth in recent years. As the use of NFTs continues to expand into different industries, legal disputes like this one could become more common.

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Vanity Rolls Out Solution Enabling Crypto Users to Customize their Wallets

For a more personalized experience in the crypto space, Vanity Global has developed a blockchain-based technology that generates a custom prefix of not more than 11 leading characters for any crypto wallet. 

Per the announcement:

 “An ordinary address consists of random letters and numbers, for example 0x0xb1c7f…, which can lead to stressful operations while sending funds to and from an exchange/wallet due to countless double checks.”

The report added:

“Vanity offers a real solution to this problem by giving crypto users a way to customize their wallet address, like 0xC0DE911.., and instantly recognize it as their own, simplifying the process of making a transaction.”

The long characters accustomed to crypto wallets usually trigger the anxiety of losing funds. Since Vanity is a blockchain solution corporation, it seeks to take this worry away by offering a new security layer and peace of mind to crypto investors through the new solution. Per the report:

“While generating an address with Vanity two pieces are required to be merged in order to generate the custom wallet private key, which is the “password” that is used to import and interact with the wallet.”

Since any crypto wallet consists of an address and private and public keys, Vanity makes the user-end generation serverless. 

 

As a result, a new key pair is produced, whereby the split key generation is made possible by Vanity’s high computing power and the public key. 

 

Vanity stated:

“At this point, the customer has everything needed to create the private key of the desired address and using again user-end generation, it only requires pasting the Vanity Key saved and clicking one button to generate the final Vanity address private key.”

Meanwhile, Samsung announced that its flagship phone Galaxy S22 Ultra would be equipped with a crypto wallet and users would also be able to store ID documentation and keys in digital format, Blockchain.News reported. 

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Opera Web Browser Gets into Web3 Space, Adds Multiple Tokens into Its Crypto Wallet

Opera, a popular Norwegian technology firm that specializes in web browser development and fintech applications, announced Wednesday the addition of support for eight more blockchain networks into its in-browser crypto wallet.

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The move is part of the company’s continued effort to introduce Web3 to more than 380 million mobile and desktop users worldwide. As a result, the browser company said that it has added support for eight major blockchain ecosystems – Bitcoin, Solana, Polygon, StarkEx, Ronin, Celo, Nervos Network, and IXO – across its apps and web browsers.

This implies that Solana, Bitcoin, Polygon, StarkEx, Ronin, Celo, Nervos DAO, and IXO, will join Ether as cryptocurrencies supported by the crypto-focused browser’s built-in wallet. This also means that Opera users will now have access to decentralized apps (dApps) and services within such blockchain networks. Opera’s crypto browser is already available on PC and Android with a further integration on iOS release underway.

The tens of millions of active Opera users are now set to benefit from blockchains and decentralized apps (dapps) and services within the eight different blockchain ecosystems. Opera’s desktop crypto browser now enables users to access the Polygon and Solana DApp ecosystems, as well as the benefits of Layer 2 DeFi (Ethereum Layer-2 ecosystems) via StarkWare-powered DiversiFi. The browser will “soon” plug into the rest, Opera stated.

By getting access to such blockchains, users can benefit from faster transactions and lower gas fees while minimizing their carbon footprint and still leveraging Ethereum’s robust security and decentralization.

The integration of multiple blockchains and mainly Layer 2s is the key strategy in Opera’s mission to remain chain agnostic and easily onboard millions of users to Web3 and to do so in an environmentally-conscious manner.

Susie Batt, Crypto Ecosystem Lead at Opera, talked about the development and stated: “Providing environmentally conscious solutions for our users is a key mission for Opera and moving activity on to layer 2 goes a long way to minimizing users’ carbon footprint. To attract mainstream audiences, Web 3 needs a Web 2 makeover – both in terms of user interface and user experience. That’s where Opera excels.”

Driving Crypto Infrastructure Adoption

The latest integration is part of Opera’s continued commitment to build on its recently launched Crypto Browser initiative.

In January, Opera launched its Web3 “Crypto Browser” with features such as a built-in crypto wallet, easy access to NFT/crypto exchanges, support for decentralized apps (dApps), and many more. With the launch, Opera aims to simplify the Web3 user experience that often seems difficult for mainstream users to understand.

The built-in non-custodial wallet enables support of blockchains including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Celo, Nervos, Polygon, and many more from the get-go. Opera’s aim is to let users access their crypto without the need for any extensions, and giving them the option of using third-party wallets as well. With the crypto browser, users can buy crypto and fiat currencies via crypto on-ramp, swap crypto directly in-wallet, send and receive funds, and check their wallet balance.

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Justice Department Seizes Over $3.6 Billion Worth of Bitcoin Linked to Bitfinex Hack

The U.S. Justice Department has seized $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin, marking the largest seizure of cryptocurrency of all time and the biggest financial seizure ever.

In a statement, the Justice Department says it seized over 119,754 BTC from 34-year-old Ilya Lichtenstein, and his wife, 31-year old Heather Morgan.

The Bitcoin seized by the feds was directly linked to the Bitfinex hack of 2016 when the crypto exchange experienced the biggest digital asset hack in history.

According to court documents seen by the Justice Department, Lichtenstein and Morgan allegedly attempted to launder Bitcoin that was stolen from Bitfinex after a hacker breached the exchange’s systems, and then sent the stolen crypto to a wallet under Lichtenstein’s control in over 2,000 unauthorized transactions.

“Over the last five years, approximately 25,000 of those stolen bitcoin were transferred out of Lichtenstein’s wallet via a complicated money laundering process that ended with some of the stolen funds being deposited into financial accounts controlled by Lichtenstein and Morgan.

The remainder of the stolen funds, comprising more than 94,000 bitcoin, remained in the wallet used to receive and store the illegal proceeds from the hack. After the execution of court-authorized search warrants of online accounts controlled by Lichtenstein and Morgan, special agents obtained access to files within an online account controlled by Lichtenstein.”

The Department says that the files seized by the agents contained the private keys required to access the alleged money launderers’ crypto wallets and recover the BTC.

After allegedly getting ahold of the stolen Bitcoin, the feds say that Lichtenstein and Morgan used a series of complex strategies to try and obfuscate their digital paper trail, including sending the crypto to darknet markets, utilizing fake identities, and using US-based business accounts to legitimize their banking activity.

Last week, the stolen BTC was spotted moving around the blockchain in a flurry of massive transactions. Currently, it’s unclear whether that activity was related to the US government seizing the Bitcoin.

The two suspects are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, plus conspiracy to defraud the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

FBI Deputy Director Paul M. Abbate warns aspiring crypto money launderers that US authorities have the ability to prevent illicit digital activity.

“Criminals always leave tracks, and today’s case is a reminder that the FBI has the tools to follow the digital trail, wherever it may lead…Thanks to the persistent and dedicated work of our FBI Investigative teams and law enforcement partners, we’re able to uncover the source of even the most sophisticated schemes and bring justice to those who try to exploit the security of our financial infrastructure.”

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any loses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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Robinhood To Roll Out Crypto Wallets To 1,000 Users In Phase One

Robinhood is conducting a beta test of its new crypto wallets program. The 1,000 people at the top of their waitlist will receive access first. Then again, in March 2022, this will expand 10,000 individuals able to use these digital currency wallets at any given time before opening up registration for all remaining spots available.

Last year, Robinhood planned to begin testing crypto wallets, with one goal being a broader rollout by 2022.

Robinhood is connecting crypto holders with the blockchain ecosystem for the first time. They’re allowing people with cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Litecoin in their accounts on Robinhood to freely move them between external wallets without any hassle or cost imposed by third parties like banks.

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In addition, they are also testing out some key features which will shape how we use these coins in general. If you don’t like something about it, just let them know – beta testers love feedback, so give yours today.

The beta phase of Robinhood wallet follows months of “alpha phase” for development and testing.

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The company said,

“Through our alpha program, we sought feedback from a tight-knit group of customers from our wallets waitlist.”

Users on Robinhood can trade cryptocurrencies through the platform, but they cannot store, swap, or manage digital assets. A crypto wallet will now allow users to manage all their crypto holdings within the application.

Robinhood Crypto Wallet Daily Limit

Users can withdraw $2,999 per day in ten transactions. They also need to enable two-factor authentication.

Some people call Robinhood the “Amazon of finance” for its disruptive business model and banking-like features. For example, the company offers commission-free stock trading and cash management accounts.

However, not everyone is excited about this new app on their device because several regulators scrutinized them over the past year regarding ‘gamification‘ schemes that seemed too good possibly aren’t real.

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Trading Titan Robinhood Rolls Out Crypto Wallet Beta Program

American financial services giant Robinhood is rolling out the beta version of its crypto wallets program after months of anticipation.

According to a new blog post, the company will hand out crypto wallets to the 1,000 customers who were on top of the program’s waitlist for testing and safety checks.

Robinhood says that by March, the number will be increased to 10,000 before the wallets are eventually distributed to every person on the waiting list.

Participants will be responsible for testing out the core features of the wallet, including potential updates as well as its safety features. The beta version of the wallet will allow users to send and receive crypto assets from Robinhood to external crypto wallets, connecting holders of digital assets on the popular trading app to blockchain projects for the first time ever.

“Beta testers will help us test core functionality and provide critical feedback to inform the final version of the product…

Connecting millions of Robinhood customers to the blockchain ecosystem in a safe, accessible setting is a massive undertaking. We take this responsibility seriously, which is why we’re rolling out wallets methodically.”

Beta testers will have a daily limit of $2,999 in total withdrawals and will be limited to just 10 transactions per day.

Robinhood first announced the crypto wallets projects last September. Currently, the trading giant supports trading for seven digital assets: Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), and Litecoin (LTC).

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Robinhood crypto wallet testing is live: 1,000 users can now withdraw

Online retail investing platform Robinhood has released its long awaited crypto wallet for beta testing which will finally enable users to withdraw crypto from the platform.

The first 1,000 users that signed up to the waitlist for ‘Wallets’ are eligible to take part in beta testing. Wallets testers will be able to withdraw crypto valued up to $2,999 over a maximum of 10 total transactions daily.

Robinhood is a financial services platform backed by Citadel Securities that offers stock and crypto trading. Robinhood’s crypto purchaser users have awaited the release of Wallets since mid 2021 when the waitlist was first created. The last public count of sign-ups to the waitlist revealed by Brown stood at 1.6 million in November, or about 7% of its total user base.

While the current limit of testers is capped at 1,000, the company plans to raise the cap to 10,000 by March. A Jan. 20 announcement from Robinhood stated that:

“Beta testers will help us test core functionality and provide critical feedback to inform the final version of the product.”

Wallets testers will be required to perform know-your-customer (KYC) identification if they are not existing Robinhood users and use a two-factor authentication app.

Robinhood’s Crypto COO Christine Brown tweeted today that while the Beta program is ongoing, the company will work “to finalize the send and receive flows and add delightful QR scanning experiences, improved transaction history, and block explorer support.”

Up until the release of Wallets, any crypto bought on the platform could not be withdrawn nor stored privately, making it essentially a crypto transaction in name only.

Now however, Robinhood’s growing crypto division is beginning to resemble a full-fledged crypto exchange that the company says will “fully connect Robinhood crypto holders to the greater blockchain ecosystem for the very first time.”

Related: Robinhood hits new low as FTX.US and Bitstamp USA move into stocks

Many of its traders favor Dogecoin (DOGE) as their coin of choice. DOGE accounted for 41% of Robinhood’s total revenue in Q2 2021 and 19% in Q3. There are also rumors that the company will list Shiba Inu (SHIB) since Robinhood co-founder Vlad Kardapoltsev recently commented on the rising number of SHIB token holders.

Brown ha stated that listing SHIB would depend on regulatory feasibility.

Robinhood (HOOD) share price has fallen to an all-time low of $13.50 in after hours trading.