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The Open Network, Toncoin’s blockchain of choice for Telegram 

What is The Open Network: the blockchain of TON coin and Telegram

What is The Open Network? Discover the Toncoin (TON) crypto blockchain, chosen by Telegram for its Web3 projects!

Among the social networks looking to integrate with the blockchain is Telegram! The messaging service started to develop its decentralised network in 2019. However, due to legal issues it decided to discontinue the project. The Open Network has thus passed into the hands of developers who have built a Proof-of-Stake blockchain that aspires to become a benchmark for dapps. The Telegram team remained committed to The Open Network, to the extent of integrating the Toncoin crypto into the app. Find out what The Open Network is and what Toncoin, Telegram’s cryptocurrency of choice, is for!

What is The Open Network?

The Open Network is a Layer 1 Proof-of-Stake blockchain founded in 2019, also known under its acronym TON. Although the initial idea for the project was developed by Telegram’s team, the messaging app shelved The Open Network in 2020. The development of TON was in fact blocked by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Now, The Open Network is a community-driven blockchain, reborn through the efforts of its developers, via the TON Foundation.

Telegram vs. SEC lawsuit over Gram’s crypto ICO 

In 2019, the Telegram team, led by brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov, began exploring blockchain solutions for the messaging app. Thus, in 2019, the first testnet of The Open Network was launched with an ICO of the network’s crypto, which was then called Gram. On this occasion, the SEC opened an investigation to verify that Telegram had not sold the Gram crypto without authorisation as if it were a security. After several legal battles, applying the Howey test, the SEC ruled that Gram’s purchasers reasonably expected profits to be derived from the company’s entrepreneurial efforts and that Gram’s was therefore an unauthorised sale of securities. The lawsuit stopped the distribution of Gram. Telegram was ordered to pay a fine to the SEC of $18.5 million and to return $1.2 billion to those who had participated in the ICO. 

At this point, we are in 2020, Telegram decides to abandon the project. In a post, Pavel Durov expresses his displeasure at the outcome, sarcastically pointing out that the United States has the power to decide not only whether a coin can be distributed in its home state, but also worldwide: ‘perhaps even more paradoxically, the US court has declared that Grams cannot be distributed not only in the US, but globally. Why? Because, according to the court, a US citizen could find a way to access the TON platform after its launch. Therefore, in order to prevent this from happening, Gram crypto should not be distributed worldwide, even though every other country on the planet seems to be perfectly OK with TON’.

The Open Network: blockchain reborn thanks to community

After Telegram left the scene, the project was taken over by the developers themselves. From the original core of TON, two parallel projects were born, one of which kept Telegram’s way via the TON Foundation: ‘a decentralised community started by Anatoliy Makosov and Kirill Emelyanenko after Telegram walked away from the project’. 

The second project born from the ashes of Telegram’s crypto experience is FreeTON, which is now called Everscale, another Layer 1 Proof-of-Stake blockchain. Everscale works mainly on scalability, with over 200 secondary and parallel chains processing transactions together.

The restoration of The Open Network blockchain began in January 2021. After ten months, the blockchain was brought back to life with the basic infrastructure and tools. In November 2021, The Open Network was inaugurated and during 2022, the efforts of the developers were concentrated on providing The Open Network with the appropriate technology and security. Most of the assets and services on the network were created this year: tokens, non-fungible tokens, staking, domain names, marketplaces, multifunctional wallets, DEX and other decentralised finance services. TON also has two bridges, one on Ethereum and one on the Binance Smart Chain. The network’s native crypto is no longer called Gram but Toncoin (TON) and is used to pay fees to execute smart contracts, to use dapps, to participate in governance, and to be staked and contribute to the consensus mechanism. To date, The Open Network is operational with 200 validators and has 1.4 million accounts.

Toncoin (TON) has become Telegram’s cryptocurrency

Although Telegram is no longer actively involved in The Open Network, TON still remains linked to the app. The crypto TON has become Telegram’s crypto. Thanks to Wallet Bot developed by Telegram’s developers and launched in April 2022, it is possible to buy TON and send crypto to users via chat and without fees. With Wallet Bot, it is also possible to buy cryptocurrencies with a credit card and perform peer-to-peer transactions. 

The Open Network is also used by Telegram for its ‘TON domain name service’. Via the Fragment platform, users can buy crypto TON names for Telegram in the form of non-fungible tokens, names that are in effect NFT domains. The biggest sale was of the Telegram name @news, bought on the 18th of November for 994,000 TON (almost $2 million). This was followed by @auto at 900,000 TON and @bank at 850,000 TON. 

Like any NFT domain, a telegram name grants exclusive ownership of a username and a digital identity. 

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Nike dotSWOOSH and other NFT news on Polygon

Nike NFTs on Polygon with the new dotSWOOSH platform

Nike’s NFT projects move from Ethereum to Polygon, here’s dotSWOOSH, a platform to buy and create wearables for avatars in video games and the Metaverse

After Starbucks, Disney and Adidas, Nike is also taking part in the list of brands building on Polygon‘s blockchain! Nike continues its exploration of the NFT world with dotSWOOSH, a Web3 platform that will host all the collections of Nike and the most creative users of its community. And the founders of Polygon are crying out for adoption! Discover Nike dotSWOOSH and the latest NFT news on Polygon.

Nike chooses Polygon for its next NFT projects

Nike has launched dotSWOOSH (or “.SWOOSH”), its new platform for non-fungible tokens. From the 18th of November, dotSWOOSH will be available in beta version to be tested by selected users from strategic areas of the US and Europe. The platform has been conceived as the home of all Nike NFT collections, relating to different disciplines and moments in sports culture. Specifically, Nike’s digital creations are so-called ‘wearables‘, i.e. clothing and accessories for avatars in video games and the Metaverse. On dotSWHOOSH, non-fungible Nike tokens can therefore be purchased. However, the highlight of the project is the possibility to create your own Nike-branded NFTs and put them up for sale while also receiving royalties. With .SWOOSH, Nike wants to expand its definition of sport and give birth to a new generation of sportspeople. The platform will be fully active and available to everyone in 2023 and will be inaugurated with an NFT collection created together with the community. And all this will happen on Polygon!

“Polygon’s ecosystem continues to grow at an exciting pace, be it DeFi, Gaming, NFT, Brand, Big Tech adoption or anything else,” commented Sandeep Nailwal co-founder of MATIC blockchain about the collaboration. Nailwal went on to reiterate that this kind of news about cryptocurrency adoption is a sign that events like the FTX epilogue will not have a long-term impact on Web3.

The dotSWOOSH project has been on the back burner for a few months. Last May, in fact, Nike bought an NFT domain on Ethereum Name Service: ‘dotswoosh.eth’ for 19.72 ETH (about $35,000 at the time).

Nike’s first NFTs and the digital store on Roblox

At the launch of dotSWOOSH, the Nike team thanked the ‘friends and mentors’ of RTFKT (pronounced ‘artefact’) for their support. Nike’s NFT adventure began just a year ago with the acquisition of RTFKT, a startup dedicated to making wearables in the form of non-fungible tokens. Nike’s first NFT collection with RTFKT is ‘CryptoKicks’. These tokens depict trainers and were minted on Ethereum. Nike in 2021 also opened a virtual shop on the Roblox metaverse, the Nikeland store hosted more than 7 million visitors in its first two months.

According to Vogue Business, Nike has so far earned $185.3 million with its Web3 products, overtaking its direct competitors in the NFT field: Adidas ($11 million) and Puma ($1.3 million).

The NFT of Steve Jobs’ Birkenstocks was sold for $200,000

Steve Jobs on the other hand was not a fan of trainers, he preferred Birkenstock sandals! Apparently the mind behind Apple had a soft spot for German footwear, whose practicality and functionality he admired. Between the 11th and the 13th of November, an auction was held to bid for a pair of sandals worn by Steve Jobs and the corresponding NFT mint on Polygon.

The auction run by Julien’s Auction fetched $218,750, and the anonymous (and lucky?) buyer took home the 1970s Birkenstocks with Steve Jobs’ footprint prominently displayed, along with the NFT that digitally represents them in full and guarantees ownership. The Birkenstocks in question are considered valuable because they were worn by Jobs at historic moments in Apple’s history and were also on display at the Salone del Mobile in Milan in 2017 and at Birkenstock’s headquarters in Germany. It really is true that everything is built on Polygon!

Bangalore Airport has its own Metaverse

In collaboration with Polygon, Amazon Web Service and Intel, Bangalore Airport in India released its Metaverse: Metaport on the 11th of November.

The Metaverse on Polygon gives airport visitors the opportunity to create their own avatar, visit virtual art exhibitions, go shopping, organise meetings and interact with other users, and access various types of entertainment.

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Binance and FTX: what’s happening in the crypto world?

Binance and FTX: What's happening in the crypto world?

The Binance and FTX case explained point by point. What is happening in the crypto world? How is the community reacting?

2022 is turning out to be a busy year for the cryptocurrency sector. In recent days, a succession of events, from Binance’s sale of FTT tokens to the news of the FTX exchange’s bankruptcy, has shocked the market ; which is currently experiencing a major decline. In this article, you will find an account of the story in all its passages and the reactions of the community. What is happening in the crypto world?

Who is involved in the affair?

Before getting to the heart of the matter, let’s summarise who the main actors involved are:

  1. Binance: one of the largest and most widely used centralised cryptocurrency exchanges, founded in 2017 and based in the Cayman Islands;
  2. Changpeng Zhao: CEO and founder of Binance, also known as CZ;
  3. FTX: another centralised exchange, founded in 2019 and based in the Bahamas. Its utility token is FTT;
  4. Sam Bankman-Fried: also referred to by the initials SBF, founder of FTX and Alameda Research;
  5. Alameda Research: a trading company whose CEO is Caroline Ellison. Alameda Research was founded by SBF and is these days accused of being not so transparently connected with FTX.

The relationship between Binance and FTX over the years

Binance and FTX are two of the leading centralised exchanges (CEXs) competing for supremacy in the crypto sector. Last year they generated 30% of all trading volume on CEXs together, totalling $27.5 trillion. Binance and FTX have not always been business rivals, in fact the two companies have been very close in the past. In 2019 Binance was one of FTX’s earliest backers and investors, and the partnership between the two exchanges continued until 2021 when FTX bought back its shares in Binance for $2.1 billion, most of this sum was settled in FTT tokens.

The crucial moments of the Binance vs FTX saga

Twitter has become the stage for all the key events in the crypto world. In order not to get lost in the memes, let’s clarify by following all the steps of the Binance-FTX affair.

• 6/11: CZ announces that Binance will sell all its FTT tokens

With a tweet on his personal profile, CZ announced on the 6th of November that he would be selling all FTT tokens held by Binance, due to ‘recent revelations that have come to light’. On this occasion CZ assured that the Binance team would try to minimise the impact on the market of this transaction (spoiler: the crypto market devolved into chaos) and that the decision was made looking at the mistakes that were made in the past with LUNA, the crypto that collapsed in May 2022. The founder of Binance also explained that this was in no way a move to harm a competitor.

Within hours of the publication of this tweet, the price of the FTT token dropped more than 10%. CZ’s decision threw users into a panic (ever heard of FUD?) and in 72 hours more than $6 billion was withdrawn from FTX.

• What are the ‘recently emerged revelations’ CZ is talking about?

The ‘revelations’ referred to by CZ are rumours about the financial difficulties of FTX and Alameda Research. On the 2nd of November, CoinDesk published a report on the financial state of FTX and Alameda Research. Alameda’s balance sheet showed that the trading company is ‘heavily’ dependent on the FTT token, which it uses as collateral. In other words, the FTX exchange would be involved with Alameda much more than SBF has always claimed. For CZ this proved problematic, as the lesson learned from the collapse of Terra (LUNA) is: “never use a token that you created yourself as collateral”. In general, FTX and SBF have been accused of a lack of transparency.

Reinforcing these allegations, Reuters claims that FTX secretly transferred USD 4 billion to Alameda between May and June.

• 6/11: Caroline Ellison of Alameda denies everything

The managing director of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, denied the rumours circulating about the trading company, explaining that Alameda also owns other assets besides the FTT token. Ellison also proposed that CZ buy Binance’s FTT tokens for $22 each. 

• 7/11: SBF’s denial makes an appearance (now deleted from Twitter)

On the 7th of November, SBF wrote on Twitter that all rumours are unfounded: ‘a competitor is trying to attack us with false rumours. Assets are fine’. The tweet, however, was deleted.

• 8/11: FTX blocks withdrawals and news of takeover arrives

After the blocking of withdrawals on the FTX exchange, news came of a possible takeover by Binance. CZ stated that FTX had asked for Binance’s help and that the acquisition would have the protection of users as its primary purpose. The founder of Binance then signed a non-binding agreement.

• 9/11: Justin Sun at work with FTX

On the 9th of November, Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron blockchain, said he was working with FTX to find a solution and protect the holders of Tron tokens on FTX.

• 10/11: Binance backs off

‘Following corporate due diligence and the latest news regarding the mismanagement of client funds and alleged investigations by US agencies, we have decided not to pursue the potential acquisition’. With these words, CZ announced that Binance would no longer buy FTX. In a series of tweets, CZ went on to explain how the failure of FTX is a defeat for the entire industry and that regulation of crypto is likely to be increasingly aggressive from now on.

• 11/11: FTX files for bankruptcy

After scrambling for funds (about $9 billion) to solve liquidity problems, on the 11th of November, SBF resigned as CEO of the exchange and FTX filed for bankruptcy.  

The secondary effects of the FTX crisis

On the 10th of November, the crypto market opened with -16.1% for BTC, -24.1% for ETH and -43% for SOL. The uncertainty of the situation made itself felt. The crypto that seems to be suffering the most in this situation is SOL, Solana’s coin. Why SOL in particular? SBF has always been a supporter of Solana, almost becoming its unofficial ‘ambassador’. In recent years, SBF has supported Solana and helped the project to grow. This close relationship has contributed to the drop in the price of SOL. Anatoly Yakovenko, founder of Solana, reported on Twitter that Solana Labs has no equity in FTX.

Among the companies that instead have dealings with FTX are venture capital firm Sequoia, which has alerted its shareholders to a $213.5 million exposure in FTX, and Galaxy Digital with $76.8 million. Amber Group said it has 10 percent of its funds locked up on SBF’s exchange, while Crypto.com has $10m (an insignificant amount according to CEO Kris Marszalek). Kraken stated that it has 9,000 FTT tokens but is not in contact with Alameda.

The FTX crisis has mainly affected user confidence, we see the issues raised by the community.

The reaction of the crypto community

The first topic discussed by those in the crypto world is the enormous power CZ and Binance have shown themselves to have over the markets. For some, it was CZ that engineered the whole affair that led to the collapse of FTX, starting with the insolvency rumours circulated. Beyond that, as in the case of Elon Musk and Twitter, CZ’s actions influenced the market. On this consideration, there are those who have dusted off the issue of the crypto world’s cult of personalities, suggesting that what is needed is true decentralisation that does not make the future of projects depend on the decisions of individuals. Isn’t that why Satoshi Nakamoto chose never to reveal his identity?

On the challenge of centralisation versus decentralisation, Stani Kulechov of Aave and Hayden Adams of Uniswap spoke out. The former argued that the only regulation for crypto is decentralised finance itself.

Adams also expressed himself in the same vein: ‘the basic financial infrastructure, such as the ability to exchange value, is too important to be controlled by corruptible centralised entities. This is one of the many reasons why I work on DeFi and decentralised exchanges.

For some, the collapse of FTX was the perfect opportunity to reaffirm the supposed superiority of the ideals of decentralisation. On the other hand, there are those who point out that these ideals at the moment seem to remain unchanged. Even for the most established dapps, security remains a challenge. At the moment, CEXs remain the connecting link between users, cryptocurrencies and traditional systems. It is up to the latter to ensure the security of users through regulations.

Could a single crypto regulation make a difference?

The absence of clear and unique rules for all industry players is another perspective from which to look at recent events. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, pointed out that the FTX crisis is a symptom of this lack in the US. A country from which cryptocurrency exchanges flee because of oppressive policies, and that paradoxically find themselves with full freedom once they move abroad.

On the European side, Stefan Berger, a member of the European Parliament’s economic committee, explained that with the MiCA (Market in Crypto Assets) in place, an episode like FTX would never have occurred.

Meanwhile, in a press release from the 10th of November, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation announced that it had opened an investigation into the collapse of the FTX exchange.

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What will happen if Elon Musk brings crypto to Twitter?

Cryptocurrencies arrive on Twitter thanks to Elon Musk?

What role will cryptocurrencies play in Elon Musk’s new Twitter? Can it really become a decentralised social network?

Twitter is the platform on which the crypto community moves and also where the main topics of the sector are discussed. With over 300 million active users, it is one of the social networks with the most cultural and political influence. Since the social network has a new owner, some have wondered whether cryptocurrencies will arrive on Twitter thanks to Elon Musk. The entrepreneur’s ideas about Twitter’s crypto future are currently unclear. And that is why there are those who are beginning to move on to alternative, decentralised social networks.

The story of Elon Musk who (maybe) wanted to buy Twitter

After months of back-and-forth and twists and turns, Elon Musk finally bought Twitter for $44 billion. It all started in April 2022 when Musk became Twitter’s largest shareholder with a 9.2 per cent stake. The entrepreneur at first wanted to join the board of directors, then offered to buy the social network at $54.20 per share. However, after signing a binding agreement, Musk had second thoughts, complaining about the excessive presence of bots and scam profiles on the social network. In July, Musk announced that he would buy Twitter because the social network had meanwhile sued the entrepreneur to force him to comply with the agreement. Musk could not change his mind so easily! So in October the deal was finalised.

On the 29th of October, the day of the official takeover, Twitter’s shares closed trading up 0.3% at $53.86 and the following Friday Twitter was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Elon Musk entered the headquarters of the social network and the first thing he did was to fire some Twitter managers and employees.

After the takeover: Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter

After buying Twitter and becoming its owner, Elon Musk shared a series of tweets to explain his future plans. It would appear that Musk wants to create an ‘all-in-one’ app that is not only a social network, but also a platform for shopping, messaging and money transfers.

The changes being discussed are:

  1. Ensuring maximum freedom of speech and expression;
  2. Fight against scam profiles and eliminate scams;
  3. Review policies on advertisements and advertisers;
  4. Monetising content to favour creators;
  5. Establish a paid subscription for verified accounts at $8 per month;
  6. Enabling payments in Dogecoin.

Musk has not yet announced a precise roadmap, the possible innovations for the social network are all sketched out in tweets and statements. The community and Twitter users have been commenting and asking questions for days, and several controversies have arisen. The one that stands out (and is most worrying) is the possible rehabilitation of censored accounts like Donald Trump‘s.

What happens if cryptos enter Twitter?

Is Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter good for the crypto world? There are reasons to think that the answer is ‘yes’, however the hopes of seeing Twitter decentralised are not high. We know that in the crypto world, Elon Musk is capable of moving the markets, and his entry into Twitter has boosted the price of Dogecoin (DOGE). After all, it is no mystery that Musk is a holder of DOGE and BTC (through Tesla).

However, the link between cryptocurrencies, blockchain and Twitter remains very vague. The most plausible option is to introduce crypto as a payment system and dedicate sections to NFTs. Twitter in fact already offers functionality for non-fungible tokens and the use of cryptos could be facilitated by the collaboration with Binance, which participated financially in the acquisition. On the issues of monetisation of content, data ownership and governance there are still no indications. Therefore, many are sceptical about the possibility of Twitter becoming a Web3 social network.

The decentralised alternative to Twitter: Mastodon

On hearing the news of the change of owner, many users moved elsewhere, to less centralised ‘social’ solutions. In the four days following the takeover, 120,000 people registered with Mastodon, a decentralised and open source (but not on blockchain) social network. Mastodon was born in 2016 from the idea of Eugen Rochko who was disappointed with Facebook’s data management and security policies.

Mastodon is organised in ‘lists’ or ‘interest groups’ to which one can subscribe and write and read ‘toots’ (the equivalent of ‘tweets’). Mastodon has a strong policy on data ownership and proudly states that ‘It is not for sale’. Nothing on Mastodon can be decided by companies or advertisers, all decisions are up to the users. Just as content is not determined by algorithms or advertising. At the moment Mastodon has about 4 million users. Other decentralised social alternatives are making their way, but the most eagerly awaited is Bluesky. The social on blockchain that is being planned by Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter.

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Who stole Sex.com? The domain that took everyone to court

Sex.com: the internet domain theft worth 14 million dollars

In 1995, one of the most expensive domains in Internet history was stolen under mysterious circumstances. Here is the story of the theft of Sex.com!

Would you expect drama, mystery and bounty hunters from the affairs of an Internet domain? The reports from the Web are surprising, especially those from the beginning of its history. Similarly to the Crypto.com domain, Sex.com was disputed by many. At stake were court cases, millions of dollars and an epic scam. If blockchain had been involved in this story and if Sex.com had been an NFT domain, would things have turned out differently?

The mysterious theft of the Sex.com domain

This story takes place mainly in a US courtroom. On one side we find Gary Kremen, an engineer and businessman, who was clever enough in the 1990’s to register a series of generic domains such as Jobs.com, Housing.com and Sex.com. On the other, Stephen Cohen, a hardened fraudster, who became his worst enemy. Kremen had registered the domain Sex.com in 1994, the year he also founded the online dating site, Match.com.

Eight months after registering the domain, the engineer received an unusual message informing him that the email associated with the Sex.com domain had been changed. For Kremen, this was suspicious and upon checking, he realised that the domain ownership information had been changed. In other words, Kremen was no longer listed as the rightful owner of Sex.com. The engineer immediately called the indicated helpline number to ask why instead of his name there was that of a stranger, on the phone he found Cohen’s calm voice: ‘because the domain is not yours’. From here on, for the next twenty years, Kremen and Cohen will chase each other playing cops and robbers between the United States, Mexico and the rest of the world.

Could blockchain save the Sex.com domain?

It was initially unclear how Cohen had managed to pull off the theft of Sex.com, a domain worth millions of dollars even then. Apparently, Cohen cheated Network Solutions, the company that had sold the domain to Kremen, by posing as the new owner with a forged letter. Once he had obtained the domain, Cohen started to run the site by selling advertisements and earning half a million dollars a day. All this at a time when there was no Google or search engines, and people surfed the Internet using domain names directly. And not surprisingly, the word ‘sex’ attracted many curious people. Daily visitors to the Sex.com site hit record figures for the time.

Would the theft of the Sex.com domain happen with blockchain? Unlike traditional internet domains managed by centralised providers, the certification of ownership of NFT domains is immutably recorded on the blockchain and therefore difficult to falsify. Perhaps it would not have been so easy for Cohen to steal Sex.com if it had been an NFT domain. You cannot send letters to the blockchain and ask it to modify a smart contract. As with all NFTs, the NFT domain information is transparent and certifies that it is unique and in your possession. And anyone at any time can verify this. This is why NFT domains are used to keep your identity safe on the Internet. 

Manhunt in Mexico and Sex.com today

After five years of litigation, Kremen won the case and a precedent was set. Domains are in effect property, even if intangible, and therefore can be stolen. In 2001, Sex.com was returned and Cohen was ordered to pay Kremen $64 million in damages for lost profits from the use of the site. Here begins the second part of the incredible story of the Sex.com domain. Cohen, in order not to reimburse Kremen, fled across the border to Tijuana. The engineer then plastered the Mexican city with ‘wanted’ signs worthy of an old western film and thus unleashed bounty hunters who were unsuccessful. Kremen is still looking for Cohen.

Meanwhile, in 2006, Kremen auctioned Sex.com, which was bought by Escom for USD 14 million. After just four years, Escom was forced to sell the domain because it could not repay its debts and was about to face a lawsuit for insolvency (another trip to court). In 2010, Sex.com passed to Clover Holdings for USD 13 million. Currently, the domain is associated with a pornography site where users can upload and share with other users.

The story of the internet domain Sex.com is key to understanding why the internet needs the blockchain. On the Ethereum Name Service, a platform to buy NFT domains on Ethereum, the NFT domain “Sex.eth” was registered in 2019. While Unstoppable Domains‘ “Sex.crypto” was sold for 230 ETH (about $90,000) in 2020, making it the most expensive “.crypto” domain to date.

Will history repeat itself? Maybe even NFT domains with a ‘sex’ theme will be contested like Sex.com, for sure there will be a blockchain to support them with all its advantages.

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Lord of the Rings tokens and NFT news for October

NFT: The Lord of the Rings collection and October news

October NFTs news summarised in 5 items: Lord of the Rings, Art Gobblers, Reddit, blue chip collections and the royalties debate!

So, what happened in the NFT market this October? Among the new collections is the eagerly awaited Lord of the Rings collection, as well as Art Gobblers, a sui generis crypto art project. Record NFT sales involve blue chip collections, but all that glitters is not gold… Reddit’s NFTs continue their conquest of the industry, which in the meantime is busy deciding: should NFT royalties be paid to artists?

New: Lord of the Rings NFTs

Among the most interesting collections of the past month is certainly the one involving Lord of the Rings NFTs. On the 21st of October, Warner Bros. released 10,999 NFTs based on the first chapter of the saga inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe, The Fellowship of the Ring. The NFT collection is part of the broader ‘Warner Bros Movieverse‘ project unveiled by the film studio to create Web3 experiences and digital collectibles for fans (examples include exclusive behind-the-scenes content or augmented reality set exploration). The collection was built on the Eluvio blockchain, which describes itself as a ‘crypto content chain’. The Lord of the Rings NFTs were released in two different purchase options:

  1. “Mystery Edition”: at a cost of $30 (payable in fiat or crypto coins), an NFT representing the landscape of the Shire (common), with Rivendell (uncommon) or the Mines of Moria (rare) is minted and randomly awarded. By purchasing one of these tokens, you receive access to the extended 4K version of the film, eight hours of special content and commentary, images and themed collectibles. These NFTs were minted in 10,000 copies (at the time of writing, 5,230 are still available);
  2. “Epic edition”: at a cost of $100, it was possible to purchase an NFT depicting one of the landscapes from the “Mystery Edition” or to surprise others with additional special content. The 999 Lord of the Rings ‘Epic Edition’ NFTs are sold out.

In addition to the rights to Lord of the Rings, Warner Bros. owns those to the Harry Potter saga, DC heroes, Scooby Doo and the Hanna-Barbera classics. But it would seem that the next literary universe to enter the Warner Bros Movieverse will be that of the Iron Throne, as Game of Thrones NFTs were announced a few hours ago in collaboration with marketplace Nifty’s. The collection dubbed ‘Game of Thrones: Build Your Kingdom’ will be released in December 2022.

The top collection of the month is from the creator of Rick and Morty

Although Lord of the Rings NFTs were a real hit with fans, the token collection that really exploded in October was Art Gobblers. It was imagined by Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland, in partnership with Paradigm, a well-known crypto-themed venture capital fund. Art Gobblers NFT was launched on the 31st of October on Ethereum. In just four days, it raised over $45 million ($13 million in the first two hours after launch alone). What is the special feature of this collection?

The Art Gobblers project is a ‘decentralised art factory’ owned by aliens, but that is another story. Using a drawing tool available directly on the site, anyone can create illustrations or patterns that are then randomly combined to generate unique NFTs. The Art Gobblers are called this way because they incorporate and display artists’ works directly in their stomachs. The NFTs are created without human intervention, meaning that Art Gobblers is a generative art project. The collection will consist of 10,000 pieces, and the first 2,000 non-fungible tokens were minted on the 31st of October. The remaining 8,000 can be created directly by the artists by paying a commission in the GOO token, owner of the project. One of the rarest Art Gobblers, number #9949 was purchased for 21.5 ETH (about 33,000 USD).

Reddit’s NFTs bring 3 million people into the crypto world

Reddit’s first NFTs were launched in July as avatars for use on the platform. On the 21st of October, the ‘second generation’ of avatars came out. Around 40,000 copies all sold in a single day for between $10 and $100 (although the most expensive was bought for $40,000). The tweet by Mihailo Bjelic, co-founder of Polygon, the blockchain on which Reddit’s NFTs were developed, shows the economic impact of the collection. But it’s not just for the sales figures that these tokens have attracted attention. Apparently, Reddit’s NFTs have brought 3 million users into the crypto world without ever having used the words ‘NFT’ or ‘cryptocurrency’ (and ‘blockchain’ only once). Millions of users were unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies but intrigued by a useful and curious initiative for Reddit users. The campaign to communicate and promote these NFTs took place under the terms ‘digital collectibles’. In fact, according to Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, the term “crypto” would have confused people.

Blue chip collections still in the rankings but their value is no longer the same

The collections with the highest sales in October are obviously the blue chips we know very well, such as CryptoPunks and the Bored Ape Yacht Club. The most substantial sales were:

  • CryptoPunks #924 for $737,160;
  • CryptoPunks #9476 for $487,830;
  • Fidenza #783 for $471,150.

However, the biggest winners in the NFT space are also the biggest ‘losers’. On DappRadar you can see that although these collections are the most valuable, their value has dropped dramatically within a year. For example, the CryptoPunks #5822 previously bought for $23.58 million is now worth ‘only’ $2.64 million. Or the Bored Ape #8817 sold for $3.4 million by Sotheby’s auction house and now has a market value of $805,043.

Marketplaces and NFT artists fight over royalties

The NFT world in October was also marked by the debate on royalties for non-fungible tokens. A ‘royalty’ means the percentage of a sale that goes to the artist or author of a work. Earlier this month, Magic Eden, the NFT marketplace on Solana decided not to make it compulsory for buyers to pay royalties, with the aim of attracting more collectors. Recently, this strategy was also adopted by the LooksRare marketplace. For some, royalties are indispensable to support artists’ work and are the basis of the creator economy. For others, royalties have become just a way to enrich the owners of large collections.

Confirming the latter thesis is Galaxi Digital’s report showing that the creators of collections on Ethereum have so far earned $1.8 billion from royalties from secondary sales on marketplaces such as Opensea. Of this figure, 20 percent is in the hands of only ten collections, the remaining 80 per cent is split between 482 projects. Topping the list in terms of royalty earnings is Yuga Labs with a take of $147 million, keep in mind that only royalties are being considered, this therefore excludes the cost of the NFTs themselves.

Magic Eden, despite the controversy over its decision and the dissatisfaction of crypto artists, registered 300,000 trader sign-ups in October.

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Tourism in the Metaverse: stop in Italy with Monuverse

The Monuverse metaverse: tourism and heritage with NFTs

The Monuverse metaverse promises to enhance cultural heritage through NFTs. How can the blockchain benefit tourism?

It has been a year since Facebook turned into Meta and brought the word ‘metaverse’ into the limelight. Since then, all centralised projects, such as Roblox, or decentralised projects (the most popular being Decentraland and The Sandbox) that virtually connect people from all parts of the world have gained popularity. This is particularly welcome in light of what was experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. But what can be done in the metaverse today? The different platforms offer services and experiences of all kinds, from play-to-earn video games to concerts, fashion shows and art exhibitions. Many projects, such as the Italian Monuverse initiative, have shown that the metaverse lends itself to enhancing the arts and tourism sector.

Blockchain for tourism and cultural heritage: use cases

The crypto metaverse, with its blockchain-based technology, promises to improve many aspects of our daily lives. If we consider tourism and the art world, NFTs and the metaverse are already being used on various levels. Non-fungible tokens, for instance, are being used as a format to sell tickets for events and exhibitions. The metaverse also allows people to visit museums and archaeological sites directly from their homes. Crypto metaverses in the style of Decentraland host reconstructions of monuments and digital art exhibitions as in the case of Decentraland Art Week. In general, the blockchain is used by tourism operators to build platforms for booking crypto holidays, tracking data and organising loyalty programmes. NFT artwork is also used as a tool to finance the reconstruction or preservation of historical monuments, as in the case of the Ukrainian Meta History Museum of War or the Monuverse metaverse,

In the Metaverse, art and monuments are boundless

From the point of view of the public, tourists, art lovers and collectors, the metaverse has arrived to enhance their experience by making it borderless. Digital museums are truly for everyone. Reconstructing a monument in the metaverse means making works of art more accessible both economically and geographically, as it should always be according to the concept of public goods. The experience in the metaverse, without replacing a trip to the real world, can be an opportunity to experience a work of art from an unusual point of view. As well as being free, accessible from home and environmentally sustainable. With the blockchain, tourism becomes unconditional and limitless because sites of interest are always available at any time. Digital tourists can discover the world with their own eyes, from wherever they are. The digital experience can only complement that of offline tourism.

The Monuverse metaverse: close to culture with NFTs

Monuverse, the crypto art project supported by Reasoned Art, fits into this landscape. Monuverse is building a virtual reality (accessible with Oculus) to host all the world’s most important monuments in NFT format, thus making them visitable by anyone. The Monuverse metaverse will become a central environment for digital tourists, artists, creators and brands by hosting cultural promotion events. The monuments in this metaverse will then be transformed into collectable NFTs. Regarding Italian monuments, Monuverse has an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage to donate a percentage of royalties on NFT sales to institutions that restore works. The first monument chosen by Monuverse is the Arch of Peace in Milan, built in 1807 under Napoleon’s rule as an entrance to the main road that connected the Lombard capital with Paris.  In this case, Monuverse entered into an agreement to donate a percentage of NFT sales to the Milan Superintendence of Cultural Heritage for the conservation and restoration of the monument itself. 

The Peace Arch NFTs are examples of the generative art style and will be minted (in crypto jargon, created and registered on blockchain) on the 11th of November in 7,777 copies with different rarities.The owners of these NFTs, with their purchase, will directly contribute to the preservation of the Peace Arch and will be able to decide what the next work in the metaverse will be.

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What is KYC for? Identity verification explained simply

KYC: what it is, how it works and what it is for

What is KYC, how does it work and what is it for? Read all about identity verification on Young Platform

Ever heard of Know Your Customer or KYC? It is a set of procedures that allows Young Platform to get to know its users in depth and thus comply with legal obligations. KYC is nothing more than an identification and due diligence process used by banks, financial intermediaries or cryptocurrency exchanges to certify that users who register are natural persons and not. As a result of this process, it is also possible to detect abnormal behaviour and thus avoid potential illegal activities such as money laundering or terrorist financing. KYC is carried out by filling out a questionnaire directly in the app and entering some information such as residential address, social security number and identity document. 

KYC procedures must be carried out as a legal requirement (in Italian law, according to Legislative Decree 231/2007 as amended) and are mandatory in services related to digital finance, whether centralised or not. We are here to explain how KYC works on Young Platform, how it is done and why it is so important!

What is the purpose of KYC on Young Platform?

Identity Verification is essential to activate your Young Platform profile and start using all the services of the exchange, from buying and selling crypto to the Earning Wallet. With the Identity Verification procedure, Young Platform guarantees you as well as all other users a secure experience that complies with all Italian regulations. With Identity Verification, you protect yourself and your company from online fraud and money laundering attempts. KYC is the most effective tool cryptocurrency exchanges and financial institutions have to defend their users from financial crimes.

Identity verification on Young Platform: 5 steps in 5 minutes

Concretely, KYC on Young Platform simply consists of entering data. During the course of the procedure you will be asked to communicate and confirm:

  • your address of residence;
  • your home address;
  • your date of birth and nationality;
  • the origin of the funds you intend to use on Young Platform;
  • the validity of your ID document.

You can read our policy in detail by clicking here.

Identity verification is carried out quickly with software from Onfido, a world leader in artificial intelligence-based identity verification management.

Identity Verification takes place on the Young Platform app (or on the web platform) under User > Account > Account Levels > Level 1.

Have an identity document (ID card, passport or driving licence) and the camera on your mobile phone handy. Now follow these 5 steps to complete the Verification in 5 minutes:

1. Enter your first and last name

Please enter your first and last name as they appear on your ID card. If you have a double barreled first name or surname, enter both of them. Your personal data must be complete! During verification, it is important that your first name and surname match the photo of the ID document you will be asked to submit.

2. Enter your document details

You can use your ID card, passport or driving licence as a document. Make sure that the document is valid and that it is not damaged or discoloured.

3. Select the purpose for which you intend to use Young Platform

4. Take a picture of your document

Upload one shot for the front and one for the back of your document. The picture must capture the entire document, so be careful not to crop out the edges! Shots should be in colour, sharp and in focus. For a flawless photo, choose a well-lit environment.

5. Take a selfie

It is now your turn to pose for the camera. Take a selfie of your face while keeping your hand still, and do not wear any accessories. Get rid of your glasses, hats or anything that can hide your face.

Can’t complete Identity Verification? Here are the most common errors

After following these 5 steps, your procedure will be finalised automatically in about 5 minutes. If it takes longer than expected, this is because the Onfido system is unable to match your selfie to your ID photo, or because some of the data is illegible. Don’t worry, manual checks will be carried out. They will take between two and five working days. You will soon be able to use your account.

If the procedure does not succeed even with manual verification, you will receive a warning e-mail stating one of the following reasons. Let’s see in detail which errors you may have come across:

  1. User already registered with another account: in this case the name you entered in the procedure is already registered. On Young Platform each person can only register once.
  2. Please use an alternative document: the document you have chosen is expired or invalid.
  3. The picture of the document is not valid: the photo of your documents is of poor quality. Try again by following the small steps explained above!
  4. The picture of the face is not valid: your face is not clearly visible from the selfie you took or cannot be associated with the ID photo you uploaded.

Additional info: who counts as a “politically exposed” person?

During the data collection process, you will be asked to indicate whether you are or have close ties with a politically exposed person (PEP). This category includes all persons who hold public office or who have ceased to hold it for less than a year. We are therefore talking not only about MPs, senators or members of political parties, but also about other categories for which you can find the full list by clicking on this link. You are also required to report if you are a family member of a politically exposed person, i.e. a parent, a spouse or if you have close ties.

Why is this information important? Again, it is the law that requires it! Specifying whether you are a PEP is an additional form of protection against exposure to financial crime or money laundering risks. If you declare that you are a PEP or a family member of a PEP, our team will contact you for details.

Now that you know what KYC on Young Platform is, how it works and what it is used for, you might ask yourself: is it safe to share my documents online?

The answer is: yes, if you do so consciously. Before sharing your data on any online platform or service, please investigate its reliability. A first indication of seriousness and security is the presence of legal documents showing the procedures adopted for KYC and those for processing personal data. You can find the legal documents relating to Young Platform here.

The data you share with Young Platform is handled in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Notice, please note that the purpose of the Identity Verification procedure, according to Regulations (EU) 2016/979 and (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council and relevant national legislation, is considered to be in the public interest. 

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Crypto.com: the story of the internet domain worth millions of dollars

The Story of the Million Dollar Sale of the crypto.com domain

The story of the million-dollar sale of the Crypto.com internet domain tells of the importance of having a recognisable name on the web!

To those of us who use the Internet on a daily basis, the decisive role of Internet domains may escape your attention. Between the late 1990s and the beginning of the new millennium, domains were the subject of real speculation. In even more recent times, the sale of certain addresses has reached astronomical figures. Such is the case of the Crypto.com domain, registered in the 1990s and resold for millions of dollars in 2018. The story of the million-dollar sale of the Internet domain Crypto.com provides much food for thought on the importance of identity on the Web!

‘Crypto.com’ is not the real name of the exchange

You may not know that ‘Crypto.com’ is not the original name of the well-known centralised cryptocurrency exchange. The company was founded in Hong Kong in 2016 by Bobby Bao, Gary Or, Kris Marszalek and Rafael Melo. It was created under the name ‘Monaco’. Only a few years later, in 2018, the exchange was renamed ‘Crypto.com’, thanks to the purchase of the rights to the internet domain of the same name. The company spent a huge amount of money to obtain this domain, fighting with the previous owner who for many years refused any offer. How much was Crypto.com bought for? The negotiation has always remained secret, but the estimated figure is between 5 and 10 million dollars.

Who was the owner of the Internet domain Crypto.com?

The first owner of the Crypto.com domain was Matt Blaze, a professor and cryptography researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, who registered it in 1993 at the beginning of his academic career. Blaze had deposited the domain for free at the time, because it was not until 1995 that the organisation that managed the Domain Name System (DNS) decided to monetise domain registration. Blaze used the domain Crypto.com as the address of his personal cryptography-themed blog in which he shared resources and tried to dispel the myth that cryptography is a business for criminals. As early as 2000, a company called ‘Crypto.Com, Inc’, which dealt in encrypted communication services, made the first proposal to buy the domain owned by Blaze. But it was only with the cryptocurrency boom, around 2016, that Blaze was inundated with offers for Crypto.com. However, the professor never intended to give up his valuable domain, stating repeatedly and publicly that Crypto.com was not for sale.

Crypto.com, a valuable internet domain (for many reasons)

Throughout its history, Crypto.com has proved to be a valuable domain because it is unique and capable of communicating a precise identity, that of the cryptocurrency world. Anyone who uses it will immediately be associated with the sector it represents.

The Crypto.com domain was so coveted that a potential buyer came to Blaze’s office at the university, begging the professor to accept his offer.

But why did Blaze so strongly oppose the sale of the Crypto.com domain? Again, the question of identity returns. In a nutshell Blaze argued that the domain should refer to a cryptography project and not a cryptocurrency project, since the original meaning of ‘crypto’ relates to the former semantic field. Blaze criticised the use of the term ‘crypto’ to refer to cryptocurrencies; ‘crypto’ originated as an abbreviation of ‘cryptography’ and not ‘cryptocurrency’. The professor did not want to fuel the association of cryptography with cryptocurrencies, which he personally has always viewed with suspicion and little connection to cryptography.

In support of this thesis, Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, a journalist with expertise in hacking and cybersecurity, also spoke out in 2017. Franceschi-Bicchierai showed how on Google News or according to vocabulary, ‘crypto’ referred to cryptography. “Think, for example, of the term ‘crypto wars’ (‘Crypto Wars’), which refers to government (originally the US) efforts to undermine and slow down the adoption of unbreakable communication systems”. The journalist’s contribution also includes a statement by Emin Gün Sirer (who had not yet founded Avalanche) in which he explained that cryptography in cryptocurrencies is an ‘ancillary’ element and that the real innovation is the use of blockchains as consensus mechanisms and distributed systems.

This was the case in 2017, but now the situation is definitely reversed. Language has evolved and searching for ‘crypto’ on Google means coming across content and information exclusively related to the world of Bitcoin&Co. Today in dictionaries, the first meaning is ‘abbreviation for cryptocurrency’, only the second is ‘relating to crypto’.

The Million Dollar Sale of the Crypto.com Domain

Suddenly, however, in 2018 Blaze writes on his blog: ‘over the past few years I have received a growing series of offers, many of them obviously not serious, but some of them frankly attention-grabbing, for the Crypto.com domain. I ignored most of them, but it became increasingly clear that keeping the domain made less and less sense for me. Earlier this year, I entered into confidential discussions with some serious potential buyers. Last month, I reached an agreement to sell the domain.

The cryptographer Blaze had actually sold the Crypto.com domain to cryptocurrency exchange Monaco for a few million dollars. After the purchase, the former company ‘Monaco’ implemented the rebranding operation to become ‘Crypto.com’ as we know it now. The case of Crypto.com is just one of many examples of how important a domain name can be in the identity of a brand. Being recognisable on the Internet, with the most appropriate name, becomes a (million-dollar) business matter. The Hong Kong exchange’s operation has ensured that its brand is directly identified with its product, crypto.

Many other crypto-themed domains have had a similar history to Crypto.com and have passed into the hands of companies in the industry. Among these Internet domains are Tokens.com sold for $500,000, Cryptoworld.com for $195,000, Eth.com for $2 million and Bitcoinwallet.com for $250,000.

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Polkadot: new parachains on board, here comes auction No. 30!

Polkadot parachain auctions: 4 new projects in October 2022

Which latest projects won Polkadot’s parachain auction? There are four of them and they will be active in the Relay Chain from October 2022. Find out what they are all about!

Almost a year after the launch of the first parachain auctions on Polkadot, the Dotsama (Polkadot + Kusama) ecosystem is experiencing the peak of its technological development. According to GitHub data, more than 500 programmers per day were working on Polkadot’s infrastructure in September 2022. Polkadot’s developers, together with those of Ethereum and Cosmos, are the most active in the industry. At the end of September, the Polkadot team released an updated roadmap presenting upcoming features, including the launch of paratherads, i.e. blockchains that pay for the use of Polkadot’s Relay Chain without participating in auctions. In total, 30 auctions have taken place already and there are 27 active parachains on Polkadot (41 on Kusama). Let’s look at the four projects that won the auctions for Polkadot parachains between the end of August and the beginning of October 2022.

What are parachain auctions on Polkadot?

Parachain auctions on Polkadot are ‘sales’ of slots on the Relay Chain. Polkadot is a multichain ecosystem that offers its infrastructure to build blockchains with specific use cases. Projects that win one of the slots can develop their own blockchain idea using the core network for the consensus mechanism and security, becoming parachains for all intents and purposes. These are ‘candlestick’ auctions, i.e. auctions that end at a random time during a period of about a week. At the end of the auction, the project that has collected the most DOT, the Polkadot coin, wins. To participate in the auctions, various projects bid by locking in DOT (bonding) collected internally within the project or through crowdloans among the community. The slots on Polkadot last for a maximum of 2 years (96 weeks). After the end of the period, the DOTs in bonding are released and are made available again to the project that had initially blocked them. 

1. Aventus Network

Aventus Network won the 26th auction for Polkadot parachains by raising 200,000 DOT (approximately $1.2 million). It is a blockchain founded in 2016 with the aim of making decentralised services on Polkadot and Ethereum accessible to companies that want to include them in their customer offerings. Aventus Network thus proposes the development of NFTs, video games, loyalty programmes, event tickets, and supply chain management. One of the projects already using Aventus Network to manage its tokenomics and blockchain transactions is FruitLabs, the social network for gamers. On FruitLabs, gamers get PIP token rewards when they share their gameplay.

2. Watr

The winner of Polkadot’s 27th parachain auction was Watr, a blockchain that wants to introduce a method to market a ‘new class of ethical commodities’. By definition a ‘commodity’ is a raw material e.g. oil, coal, sugar. Watr was created to make commodity trading ethical and tracked via blockchain. The services this new parachain wants to offer are the tokenisation of non-digital assets (real world) and management of production chains. Watr’s project is still in its infancy: the whitepaper is in the works these days as well as the tokenomics of their WATR token. The mainnet is scheduled to launch in January 2023. To win its slot, Watr raised 125,224 DOT ($778,893) at auction.

3. OAK Network

OAK Network, with OAK standing for On-chain Autonomous Kernel, is the winning parachain of the 28th auction with 149,998 DOT in bonding ($932,990). OAK Network’s target sector is DeFi. Specifically, the project wants to build tools for ‘event driven’ automated payments and trading: ‘one of the great opportunities of blockchain technology is the concept of “programmable money”. The ability for entrepreneurs to create, trade and use digital assets globally will likely have the same impact as when people were able to create and consume information globally through the web’. According to the OAK team, this opportunity is not adequately exploited because “today most transactions on the blockchain are simple one-off events”. What OAK is aiming for is to create a DeFi hub to enable buying and selling transactions at certain prices or events as well as recurring transactions. In a nutshell, it is about creating tools for automated trading. Before offering itself as a parachain on Polkadot, OAK network tested its chain with the Turing Network project, a parachain on Kusama.

4. Bitgreen

The fourth new project that will be operational on Polkadot from October is Bitgreen. Already from its name, you can guess the distinct environmental vocation of this parachain. Bitgreen wants to offer itself to NGOs and Web3 projects to support important sustainability initiatives on topics such as renewable energy, forest conservation and the development and support of local communities. For example, Bitgreen enables the creation and trading of carbon credits.

Together with Sequester, another project that aims to provide tools to minimise the environmental impact of the Dotsama ecosystem, Bitgreen suggested to turn the parachains’ micro-fees into carbon credits. This initiative aims not only to make Polkadot’s ecosystem neutral but also positive in terms of its environmental footprint.

Bidding for the Polkadot No. 30 parachain auction is active from the 18th of October (17:53 UTC) for approximately five days. The winning project will win a slot on the Relay Chain usable from the 20th of November 2022 to the 25th of September 2024.