Security Should be at the Heart of Crypto Ventures, HashCash CEO Says

The skyrocketing number of digital asset services shows increased crypto awareness and adoption, which necessitates heightened security features, according to HashCash Consultants CEO Raj Chowdhury. 

With a notable portion of the global population gearing up to cryptocurrencies as an alternative payment ecosystem, Chowdhury believes security feature updates are prudent to safeguard crypto wallet owners from external hackers.

He noted:

“The growth in global crypto adoption is an indicator of the people’s dissolution with conventional finance systems. The volatile crypto markets attract traders seeking huge returns, while increased security integrations protect the wallet-stored assets from cybercriminals.”

According to a recent report by blockchain analytic firm Chainalysis, North Korean hacks on crypto platforms increased seven times after digital assets worth nearly $400 million were looted.

Chainalysis added that individual crypto hacks emerged because of malware available on the darknet.

Therefore, with global crypto wallet owners topping 300 million in 2021, Chowdhury believes boosting security has become more pressing. 

Per the report:

“Trends of crypto theft have increased as cybercriminals continue targeting unsuspecting users as well as platforms with low security. Selecting a trustworthy platform is crucial along with adhering to wallet safety protocols.”

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government is eyeing establishing a regulatory system for the virtual asset industry, as recently disclosed by Hui Ching-yu, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury. 

Regulation continues to be a hot issue in the crypto space because relevant authorities have shown interest in developing systemic and operational frameworks intended to tackle risks like money laundering and scams.

Three European Union regulators recently warned investors within the bloc of potential losses accustomed to the volatile digital currency ecosystem.

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Social token provider Roll raises $10M to tokenize online interaction

Social token infrastructure provider Roll raised $10 million in Series A funding, bringing the company’s total funds raised to $12.7 million to help creators tokenize their interactions with communities. 

Led by IOSG Ventures, the funding round saw participation from Animoca Brands, Alchemy, Huobi Ventures, Weekend Fund, Mischief Fund, Audacity and existing investors like Galaxy Interactive, Hustle Fund, Gary Vaynerchuk, Trevor McFederies, Ryan Selkis and Balaji Srinivasan.

Social tokens are blockchain-based digital currencies that have the potential to be used as the basis of a decentralized creator economy. “Through Roll, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and communities can tokenize, trade, and gate-keep content for those that are part of the community,” IOSG Ventures Founding Partner Jocy Lin explained, adding a social token enables its holders to join and contribute to a community.

Defining the explosive growth and popularity of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as a “cultural bull market,” Roll Co-founder and CEO Bradley Miles said that this bull market became a renaissance for artists, musicians and creators worldwide: “NFTs represent the future of content on blockchains. At some point this decade it will emerge as a new normal for art, videos, games, music and any other content that creators want to make ownable.”

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Miles explained that the launch of a social token is similar to the launch of a YouTube channel or Patreon: “Let your closest supporters know beforehand and broadcast it out on your largest platform when you are ready.”

On the technical side, Roll helps integrate social tokens into web applications such as marketplaces, streaming services and DAOs, by providing the infrastructure and application programming interfaces or APIs. Powered by Ethereum smart contracts, Roll’s social tokens can interact with traditional web platforms and DeFi protocols.

Related: Sports-themed NFTs spark gold rush as projects raise $930M in a week

The company said that the service is currently being used by over 350 creators, including Whaleshark and Terry Crews. Listing some of Roll’s social tokens, crypto exchange Huobi is among the investors via its venture arm. Jerry Yip of Huobi Ventures commented on Roll’s expansion, saying: “Roll’s platform for social tokens has stepped on the two relatively clear trends of influence tokenization and a new emerging economy for communities.”

The company plans to open up its APIs to more developers as early as next year.