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FLUUS Announces $FLUUS Token Presale On FantomStarter Launchpad

by Blockchain NewsMay 5, 2023

Island Majuro, Marshall Islands, May 4th, 2023, Chainwire

Crypto payment startup FLUUS announced it will be conducting a presale of its native token $FLUUS on the FantomStarter launchpad. The token will be available to buy at a discounted rate on the platform from May 2 – 23, with whitelisting available until May 17, before it becomes available to trade publicly on major cryptocurrency exchanges from May 24 onwards.

FLUUS is creating a fiat-to-crypto on- and off-ramp that will provide consumers with access to Web3 services including token swapping and staking. It has created a best-in-class payment solution that’s designed to eliminate friction and simplify the process of entering and exiting the crypto economy for new users.

$FLUUS is a pre-minted utility token for the FLUUS payment platform, with a maximum supply capped at 1 billion. The token is designed to fulfill several use cases, providing fee reductions for developers that integrate FLUUS into their decentralized applications, and acting as a means of collateral for on- and off-ramp partners, in order to protect users against fraud or disputes. $FLUUS will also be rewarded to retail users as yield for providing capital to $FLUUS liquidity pools or staking $FLUUS tokens. Finally, it will serve as the main governance token for the FLUUS DAO that oversees the project, giving holders voting rights.

FantomStarter is a popular launchpad that allows investors to participate early in some of the most exciting Web3 ventures and crypto projects building on the Fantom blockchain. By providing capital to projects promoted on FantomStarter, investors gain early access to their native tokens before they’re publicly listed for sale. In the case of $FLUUS, early investors will have the opportunity to earn higher rewards once FLUUS’s staking programs launch.

To date, more than 27 projects have launched successful token presales on FantomStarter, including the AI- and crypto-powered marketing startup Chirpley and the DeFi- and NFT-farming focused platform Wingswap. FLUUS is anticipating big demand for $FLUUS in the FantomStarter token presale, as it exceeded the quorum of one million votes required to be listed on the platform in just two days. Moreover, the presale follows FLUUS’s successful first presale on the AllianceBlock’s Fundrs in March, when all tokens were sold out within just three hours.

FLUUS currently offers two flagship products, including FLUUS Pay, which is a regulated and compliant crypto ramping service delivered in partnership with fintech operators and money transfer networks, and FLUUS Auth, an SDK that enables developers to integrate secure and user-friendly Web3 onboarding into their applications.

FLUUS will use the funds from the presale to advance the development of these products and expand its crypto-to-fiat on- and off-ramping platform to a global audience.

About FLUUS

FLUUS is on a mission to enhance global access to Web3 and make cryptocurrency globally accessible, particularly in emerging markets. Its crypto on- and off-ramp makes it easier for web3 users to acquire and liquidate digital assets. Developers, meanwhile, can integrate FLUUS’ payment widget into their applications, delivering crypto conversion on demand.

Contact

Dan Edelstein
pr@marketacross.com
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THORChain Pauses Network Amid Reports of Vulnerability

by Blockchain NewsMarch 28, 2023

THORChain is a decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol that enables users to swap assets between different blockchain networks without needing centralized exchanges. The platform, founded in 2018, currently offers swaps between eight different chains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.

On March 28, THORChain announced that it had temporarily paused all trading due to reports of a potential vulnerability with a THORChain dependency that could impact the network. The decision was made as a precautionary measure while the reports were verified, according to THORChain. Social media reports had indicated that THORChain’s liquidity platform, Nine Realms, and its dedicated security team, THORSec, had received “credible reports” of a possible vulnerability affecting THORChain. As a result, the THORChain network was halted globally.

“Network preemptively paused by NO’s to investigate the report; updates will follow,” Nine Realms tweeted.

THORChain’s native token, Rune (RUNE), has dropped about 5% in value following the news, according to CoinGecko data. As of this writing, the token is trading at $1.32, down 18% over the past 30 days.

This is not the first time that THORChain has had to pause its network due to issues. In October 2022, the network was paused due to a software bug that caused “non-determinism between individual nodes.” After 20 hours of maintenance, the network was fully functional once again.

In 2021, THORChain also had to halt its network after suffering a breach, resulting in hackers stealing $7.6 million worth of cryptocurrency assets.

After about eight hours of the initial announcement, THORChain updated its Twitter account, stating that the vulnerability was credible but would require a malicious node in the last churn, which is when new nodes are added to the network. THORChain has resumed trading as no nodes can exploit the current vulnerability, according to the update.

In conclusion, THORChain’s temporary network pause due to a potential vulnerability serves as a reminder of the risks associated with decentralized protocols. While such protocols offer many benefits, they can also be susceptible to security vulnerabilities and breaches. THORChain’s quick response and resolution to the situation demonstrate the importance of having a dedicated security team and protocol in place to handle potential issues swiftly and efficiently.

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Tagged : DECENTRALIZED PROTOCOL / News / Thorchain / Token / Trading / Vulnerability

wBTC Supply Hits 9-Month Low After Major Burn

by Blockchain NewsMarch 4, 2023

The supply of wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token that mirrors the value of Bitcoin and is pegged 1:1 with its price, has hit its lowest point since May 2021. This follows a significant burn of 11,500 wBTC linked to the now-bankrupt crypto lender Celsius, which has turned its growth rate negative. The current total supply of wBTC stands at 164,396, with a monthly growth rate of -7.39%.

wBTC was co-developed in 2019 by Bitgo, blockchain interoperability protocol Ren, and multichain liquidity platform Kyber. It is managed by the decentralized autonomous organization wBTC DAO, which comprises over 30 members. When merchants want to exchange BTC for wBTC, they start a burn transaction and alert the custodians. The merchant transfers real BTC to a custodian address on the Bitcoin blockchain, which is locked. Once it receives the real BTC, the custodian address mints the equivalent amount in wBTC on Ethereum. Being an ERC-20 token makes the transfer of wBTC faster than normal Bitcoin, but the key advantage of wBTC is its integration into the world of Ethereum wallets, decentralized applications, and smart contracts.

During the peak of the bull run, wrapped tokens became a popular tool of use in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. The supply of wBTC peaked at 285,000 in April 2022, when the price of BTC was trading above $48,000. However, with the advent of the bear market and numerous crypto contagions, the demand for wBTC started to fade away.

The first signs of lowering demand came after the Terra collapse, which forced several crypto lenders to redeem their wBTC. According to one report, Celsius Network redeemed about 9,000 wBTC amid a growing withdrawal demand. A similar scenario occurred in November 2022 after the FTX collapse, where reports indicate the now-bankrupt crypto exchange tried redeeming 3,000 wBTC just before filing for bankruptcy. After the FTX collapse in November, wBTC experienced its largest monthly coin redemption, with over 28,000 wBTC redeemed back to the original coin.

The market contagion caused by the FTX collapse also depegged wBTC from the original value of BTC. Although the slippage was just about 1.5%, it raised serious concerns about whether such synthetic tokens were a viable mode of value transfer.

The recent burn of 11,500 wBTC linked to Celsius is significant, as it is the second-largest single-day burn of wBTC. This burn has turned the growth rate of wBTC negative, meaning its supply is decreasing. The total supply of wBTC has now hit a nine-month low.

Despite this, wBTC remains an important player in the DeFi ecosystem, offering a bridge between the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks. Its integration into the world of Ethereum wallets, decentralized applications, and smart contracts provides an added advantage to its users.

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Tagged : #WBTC / Burn / Erc-20 / Ethereum / GROWTH RATE / News / Supply / Token / Wrapped Bitcoin

Metropoly Pre-Sale Raised 300k After Releasing Beta

by Blockchain NewsDecember 16, 2022

Interest in Metropoly’s presale can be attributed to the fact that more investors are looking for alternative investment opportunities. Real estate-based projects are seen as a strong hedge against inflation and fluctuating market prices.

Implementing crypto in the real estate industry could disrupt one of the oldest industries in the world. It has the potential to remove the middlemen and all the associated fees and delays with buying real estate the traditional way.

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Metropoly is the first real-estate NFT marketplace backed 100% by properties. It allows users to invest in real estate properties through NFTs. These NFTs are tied to properties in the real world, and Metropoly users can invest no matter their country or credit score.

Holders of the Real Estate NFTs still receive all the benefits of real estate ownership. This includes earning passive monthly income through the renting out of the property and the long-term appreciation of property values.

With the Metropoly platform, a real estate deal that used to take months to finish can be completed in seconds. It makes it easy for anyone, anywhere in the world, to enter the real estate market and hedge against inflation.

The project has also launched a $1 million dollar giveaway where the winner will gain access to a $1 million dollar apartment in the Burj Khalifa. The winner stands to earn up to $100,000 USD per year in rental income from this property alone. There are 10 easy ways to enter this contest, mostly by spreading the word about Metropoly, such as joining its Telegram channel, tweeting about the project, and referring friends.

Metropoly has released a beta version of its platform, whose features include a marketplace, auctions, and mortgages. There is also a designated area to monitor monthly payouts made directly to your wallet in USDT.

The METRO token powers the entire Metropoly ecosystem. It is an ERC20 with a limited supply of 1 billion METRO tokens. The token will be used as a payment and reward method on the Metropoly platform and offers more than 20 use cases.

The Metropoly (METRO) presale is ongoing, and the token can be purchased with USDT, ETH, or BNB. During the current presale stage, 1 METRO token costs $0.05, and the minimum investment is $100 USD.

CertiK has audited the METRO smart contract and has verified the team’s identities during an extensive KYC process to guarantee maximum transparency and security.

How to buy METRO

Step 1: Get a crypto wallet: Download MetaMask or Trust Wallet and follow the on-screen instructions to set it up.

Step 2: Buy ETH, USDT, or BNB.

Step 3: Head to Metropoly’s Presale page and click “Connect Wallet,” then follow the on-screen instructions.

Step 4: Buy METRO tokens: Select the preferred currency, then enter the amount to exchange, click on “Buy Now,” and confirm the transaction.

For more information about Metropoly.io, visit:

Website | Twitter | Telegram | Burj Khalifa Giveaway

Contact

Head of PR
Alex Meyer
Metropoly

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Tagged : Blockchain / Crypto / Cryptocurrency / METROPOLY / Press Release / Token

DeFi Startup Arch Secures $5m from Seed Round, to Achieve ‘BlackRock of Web3’

by Blockchain NewsOctober 10, 2022

Arch Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) startup, has acquired $5 million in funding from a seed round to make an effort to accomplish its goal of becoming the “BlackRock of web3.”

As reported by The Block, this new seed round funding will be used to tokenize an extensive range of decentralized finance indices and to build the platform into a decentralized asset management protocol.

According to the company release, the fundraising is co-led by Digital Currency Group and SoftBank spinoff Upload Ventures. Other investors include the venture arm of Latin America blockchain firm Ripio, TechStars, and GBV.

Andres Fleischer, managing partner of Ripio Ventures, stated that Arch Finance provided solution is compelling since it’s bringing in something complex but making it easy for everyone to do it.

Arch is a portfolio management startup that aims to make investments in DeFi accessible to the public.

Christopher Storaker, co-founder and CEO of Arch, in an interview with The Block, stated, “diversification is the only free lunch in finance,” and he wants to make it simple for the web3 ecosystem.

Storaker said his decentralized asset management protocol, Arch finance, creates well-diversified tokenized investment portfolios that individuals will be able to buy using smart contracts and self-custody.

When asked why investors should choose Arch over buying a crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) from a player like BlackRock or 21Shares, Storaker replied, “Arch will take a different approach by going beyond just Bitcoin and Ethereum to provide investors exposure to the cutting-edge of what’s happening in web3.”

“When we say ‘BlackRock of web3,’ we really want to be on par on the methodology side with what they do and what people expect from passive products,” said Storaker.

Notably, Arch Finance has previously raised a pre-seed round and went through the TechStars accelerator program.

The portfolio management platform will offer two index tokens, including the Arch blockchain token. These index tokens would be used to track the largest blockchains, and the Arch Ethereum Web3 token will track native tokens of notable protocols like Uniswap and Chainlink.

Speaking of seed rounds, in June, Astaria, an NFT lending platform unlocking instant liquidity, raised a total of $8 million in a seed round from significant venture capital and angel investors to Improve NFT Lending Liquidity.

With this series of funding, even amid the bear market, the saying “bear markets are for building” seems to have been justified.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Tagged : Blockchain / Cryptocurrency / DeFi / Finance / Fundraising / SEEDROUND / Token / Web3

DeFi Startup Arch Secures $5m from Seed Round to Become ‘BlackRock of Web3’

by Blockchain NewsOctober 10, 2022

Arch Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) startup, has acquired $5 million in funding from a seed round to make an effort to accomplish its goal of becoming the “BlackRock of web3.”

Andres Fleischer, managing partner of Ripio Ventures, stated that Arch Finance provided solution is compelling since it’s bringing in something complex but making it easy for everyone to do it.

Arch is a portfolio management startup that aims to make investments in DeFi accessible to the public.

“When we say ‘BlackRock of web3,’ we really want to be on par on the methodology side with what they do and what people expect from passive products,” said Storaker.

Notably, Arch Finance has previously raised a pre-seed round and went through the TechStars accelerator program.

With this series of funding, even amid the bear market, the saying “bear markets are for building” seems to have been justified.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Tagged : Blockchain / Cryptocurrency / DeFi / Finance / Fundraising / SEEDROUND / Token / Web3

Cryptex Finance Launches NFT Index Token JPEGz

by Blockchain NewsOctober 3, 2022

Cryptex Finance, an open-source financial solutions-driven firm for the global Crypto community, announced its new NFT index token JPEGz, powered by Chainlink NFT Floor Pricing Feeds from Chainlink Labs and Coinbase Cloud.

Ever since last year, when the NFT market gained traction within the industry, the rise of NFTs has been seen to have increased, with the NFT market hitting over 1,000,000 sales despite how volatile non-fungible tokens are.

Even some of the most significant Web2 companies, like Adidas, eBay, Samsung, and so on, joined the moving train of the rapidly growing NFT market, making the NFT Market Cap reach an all-time high of over $2B – according to CoinMarketCap. With this large amount of funds flowing into the NFT market, the NFT market called for creating an NFT index.

Speaking with a keynote at SmartCon 2022 in New York City, “Today marks a groundbreaking point for Cryptex and our newfound ability to fully tokenize this unique asset class for crypto users worldwide,” said Joe Sticco, CEO and Co-Founder of Cryptex Finance.

The NFT JPEGz is an index token that will give users broad real-time exposure to the NFT market. An index token is a cryptographic token that tracks the price performance of a particular market index.

Before this announcement of Cryptex to launch an NFT index, in September, Coinbase announced its collaboration with Chainlink Labs to launch NFT floor pricing feeds earlier last week in September.

Launching the NFT floor pricing feeds enables the latest NFT pricing data to be easily accessible to developers, allowing them to deploy unique smart contracts across DeFi use cases and more with high-quality pricing data and an optimal liquidity profile.

Cryptex Finance’s index token JPEGz is said to reference Chainlink NFT Floor Pricing Feeds to help ensure the JPEGz token reflects globally accurate floor prices for popular NFT projects.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Tagged : Blockchain / CHAINLINK LABS / Coinbase Cloud / Cryptex Finance / JPEGZ / NFT / NFTINDEX / Token

Nexo Allocates Additional $50M to Long-standing Token Buyback Initiative

by Blockchain NewsAugust 31, 2022

Switzerland-based crypto lending firm Nexo announced on Tuesday that it approved an additional $50 million for its token buyback program.

The development follows the previous $100 million Buyback which Nexo completed in May this year.

The crypto lender said on Tuesday that it will purchase $50 million worth of its native token NEXO over the next six months.

According to the terms of the buyback program, the firm is now authorized, at the company’s discretion, to periodically repurchase NEXO on the open market.

The repurchase is expected to be completed within the next six months after which the Nexo Board of Directors may decide on whether or not to prolong the buyback.

Antoni Trenchev, Nexo Co-Founder and Managing Partner talked about the development: “The allocation of an additional $50 million to our buyback plan is a result of our solid liquidity position and Nexo’s ability and readiness to spur on its own products, token, and community, alongside its outward-facing initiatives of injecting liquidity into the industry.”

The NEXO Token is the company’s native cryptocurrency which enables token holders to access numerous benefits on the platform.

The NEXO token is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token used to pay out dividends (interests) from earnings on the platform. The token is currently trading at $0.982 with a market capitalization of $549 million and has risen 4.35% over the past 24 hours.

The firm said it won’t be able to use those repurchased tokens immediately, as it will send the repurchased tokens (buyback tranche) to the company’s Investor Protection Reserve (IPR) with a vesting period of a minimum of 12 months.

The company said that the repurchased tokens will be used for strategic investments via token mergers, and also for daily interest payouts to clients who receive their yields in NEXO.

Trenchev said the ongoing difficult market conditions have consistently moved the NEXO Token consistently with the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum, thus demonstrating the demand for the company’s native asset remains strong. The executive said that the token buyback will ensure added stability as the company emerges from the current market crash.

Crypto credit crisis

Nexo so far has avoided drastic moves associated with the current market downturn and appears to have remained unaffected by some of the worst debacles.

The crypto lending platform managed to avoid headlines in the multibillion-dollar crash of the Terra blockchain and the collapse of the crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.

This year’s crash in crypto prices has adversely impacted retail depositors while big industry players experiencing huge losses on assets they had lent out in search of yields.

Crypto lenders such as Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, among others, froze withdrawals and later declared bankruptcy.

But Nexo has positioned itself in recent months as a potential acquirer of ailing crypto companies.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Tagged : BUYBACKINITIATIVE / Crypto / News / Nexo / Token

Binance.US To Delist AMP following SEC’s Claim Token as Security

by Blockchain NewsAugust 2, 2022

Binance.US, the U.S. arm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, announced on Monday that it will delist the AMP token after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) described the token as a security.

Last week on July 21, the SEC identified nine crypto assets as securities, and the AMP token was one of them.

In a statement made on Monday, Binance.US said that the exchange always supports transparency while adhering to compliance with the directives of federal authorities.

The exchange stated that projects trading under its platform should continue to meet the listing standards based on the legally approved scope of the Digital Asset Risk Assessment Framework.

Binance.US said it will delist the AMP token “out of an abundance of caution” of potential enforcement by federal regulators.

The exchange disclosed it will close down deposits of Amp (AMP) and remove the AMP/USD trading pair from its platform on Aug 15. The exchange said the move follows the token’s mention in legal action from the SEC.

According to its blog post, Binance.US stated: “We believe that, in some circumstances, delisting an asset best protects our community from undue risk. We operate in a rapidly evolving industry, and our listing and delisting processes are designed to be responsive to market and regulatory developments.”

Binance.US said AMP is the only token of the nine mentioned in the SEC’s legal case trading on its platform. The exchange added that it may resume trading of AMP in the future on its platform, according to the regulator’s decision.

Implications of SEC Calling Coins Securities

On 21st July, The SEC brought insider trading charges against a former Coinbase (COIN) product manager and other two individuals. The regulator also mentioned nine cryptocurrencies as securities, with potential plans to charge the issuers and the exchange listing the so-called securities.

The designation of the nine cryptocurrencies as securities could have wide implications in the crypto markets. The designation means that the coins will be regulated as if they were a stock or a bond. The issuers of such tokens will also have to comply with the country’s securities laws to be able to offer the assets to investors within the US.

Such designations would make running a crypto exchange more expensive and complex. Furthermore, exchanges would face continuous scrutiny by regulators, which could lead to penalties, fines, penalties and, in the worst case, prosecutions if criminal authorities got involved. This could also mean losing future funding from investors who may abandon trading because of fear of increased compliance burdens and regulatory scrutiny.

And more implications are yet to come as SEC’s rulings are underlay.

In its simplest form, whether an asset is or is not a security under US rules is basically a question of how much such a token looks like shares issued by a firm raising money.

To determine that, the SEC applies a legal test from a 1946 US Supreme Court decision. Under that framework, the SEC can consider an asset as security if investors raise or pump in funds with plans to profit from the efforts of the company’s leadership.

In December 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs Inc., for allegedly raising funds by selling the XRP digital token without registering it as a security.

The regulator claimed that the firm was funding its growth by issuing XRP to investors, betting its value would rise. The case is now a massive legal battle between the SEC and Ripple.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Tagged : AMP / Binance.Us. / Delisting / Exchanges / Legal / SEC / Token

FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Urges ‘Federal Oversight of Crypto’

by Blockchain NewsJuly 25, 2022

Since the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a memo christening as many as nine different tokens listed on Coinbase Global Inc as securities, the entire industry has seen a polarising discourse about the take of industry leaders on the subject.

FTX co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Sam Bankman-Fried has shared his take on this and taking to Twitter, and he said some tokens could be classified as securities and those that are not.

Designating a token as security requires the issuers to register it with the SEC; legal obligations are attached to it. In the digital currency ecosystem nowadays, a number of blockchain startups present themselves as a decentralised entity when in reality, a particular firm is in charge of the issuance and administration of the tokens.

The SEC has taken a stance against this position but has not yet given clarity as regards how crypto firms can define if their token is a security or not. The commission and blockchain payments firm Ripple Labs Inc are currently in a legal battle as regards the state of XRP as a security.

The case’s outcome is bound to set a precedent upon which many other crypto tokens will hinge their case on.

For Bankman-Fried, he believes by the time clarity is fully defined, the SEC will automatically be tasked with regulating securities. At the same time, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is billed to regulate those not categorised as such.

He said he wants a federal oversight of the crypto industry, a move consistent with his role in lobbying regulators over the past few years.

It is unclear how the SEC is planning to approach the confusion tied to the status of the bulk of crypto assets. However, the commission is obligated to align with other government agencies to establish a regulatory framework to guide the industry in obedience to the Executive Order issued by President Joe Biden back in March.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Tagged : Cftc / Cryptocurrency / Exchange / FTX / Industry Expert / Regulation / Sam Bankman-Fried / SEC / Securities / Token