Posted on

Sam Bankman-Fried arrested, what happens now?

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested: what happens now?

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested last night in the Bahamas. What happened? What will be the next developments?

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on the morning of the 13th of December (at 5:00 a.m. GMT) in the Bahamas, at his residence in Nassau. Local police forces detained him one day before his testimony before Congress that was scheduled for Wednesday the 14th December 2022. It is now likely to be canceled. But why was SBF arrested today specifically, after weeks of being left free?

There are two main hypotheses. For some, the arrest comes with the fear that Bankman-Fried might move to a country where the US could not extradite him. Others speculate a connection with new allegations made by Do Kwon that were picked up by the media. They concern a possible involvement in the collapse of the Terra (LUNA) ecosystem.

According to the New York Times, there are five charges for the founder of FTX: wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and money laundering. What will be the next developments? Will Sam Bankman-Fried’s collaborators Caroline Ellison and Sam Trabucco also be arrested soon? Are SBF and Alameda Research really responsible for the collapse of the Terra-LUNA ecosystem?

What will happen now to Sam Bankman-Fried and his co-workers?

After being ‘at large’ for quite a long time (it has been about a month since the FTX exchange declared bankruptcy on the 11th November 2022), as of yesterday morning, Sam Bankman-Fried is being held in custody in a Bahamian prison. The FTX founder’s arrest came at the request of the US government, which plans to extradite him to a US federal prison.

Commenting on the incident, the Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said: ‘The Bahamas and the United States have a common interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with the FTX failure who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law.

In these first hours after the arrest, uncertainty reigns. It is not yet clear how many years in prison SBF faces, just as it is not yet known whether he will testify before the US Congress tomorrow as scheduled, although this seems unlikely.

Another question on the minds of many concerns the future of Sam Bankman-Fried’s associates, Caroline Ellison and Sam Trabucco. For the two, respectively CEO and co-CEO of investment fund and market maker Alameda Research, the same fate is probably in store. In the meantime, statements by the FTX founder are circulating again. A few days ago in an interview, he said was sure that he could not be arrested. On that same occasion, he had revealed his commitment to working on a new project with the aim of returning the money lost to his users.

Was it SBF and Alameda that brought down Terra (LUNA)?

What does Terra (LUNA) have to do with the SBF affair? In recent days, there has been talk about the possible responsibility of Alameda Research in the failure of the ecosystem. Alameda was the trading company founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, that has strong ties to FTX for reasons linked to fund management. A large amount of these funds were allocated to FTT, the token of the FTX exchange.

According to these allegations, Ellison and Trabucco’s hedge fund allegedly attacked Do Kwon‘s blockchain in order to destroy its competitor: Three Arrow Capital (3AC). They were heavily exposed to the blockchain’s two main assets: the LUNA crypto and the UST stablecoin.

The accusation, which originated from former Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon and Three Arrow Capital co-founder Su Zhu, has not been ignored by US prosecutors. They have launched an investigation that will result in a market manipulation charge against Bankman-Fried and Alameda Research. Should evidence be found of Do Kwon’s and Sun Zhu’s allegations, the charge of market manipulation could be added to SBF. This would aggravate the legal situation of the FTX founder in no small measure.

There is currently no conclusive evidence to support these allegations. The investigation by the US government will shed light on the facts as it takes course. In short, as of today, there are very few certain answers. Many questions about the future and past of the former FTX CEO remain.

The opinion of crypto Twitter

Meanwhile, on crypto Twitter, all hell has broken loose. Thousands of users are rejoicing and making sarcastic comments about the FTX founder’s arrest. Some wonder how many years in prison he will have to serve, and how he will pay for a good lawyer.

In particular, the crypto Twitter users are summoning the extraordinary lawyer Saul Goodman, star of the series ‘Better Call Saul’. He is the only one, according to them, capable of saving the defendant.

Nothing is sparing SBF in the world of crypto Twitter. A series of tweets have also surfaced that bring up his alleged relations with the US Democratic Party.

Bankman-Fried had secretly given donations to Joe Biden’s party during the election campaign of late 2020 and early 2021. These tweets underline the strange timing of this arrest. Perhaps his statement under oath to Congress could have been quite uncomfortable.

In light of recent events, the plot of the movie that Apple plans to produce is also thickening. Now that he has been arrested, will Sam Bankman-Fried be convicted? Is the founder of FTX really involved in the collapse of Terra (LUNA)? And what will happen to Caroline Ellison and Sam Trabucco?

Posted on

What is FOMO? Social media and crypto anxiety

What does FOMO really mean? Here are some examples

“Fear Of Missing Out” is one of the most common forms of anxiety of our time. But what does it really mean? Here are some examples from the crypto world

The word FOMO stands for ‘Fear Of Missing Out’. FOMO is the feeling of anxiety that you may experience when you fear that you have missed out on something important. It could be an event, an opportunity or a conversation. With the arrival of social networks, this fear has become more widespead although it has always characterised human behaviour. In other words, FOMO is the constant feeling of being excluded from experiences that everyone else but us is experiencing. The term has also become very popular in the context of trading and cryptocurrencies. In this context, it could involve a fear of missing out on an upward price movement or a potential profit opportunity more generally. In this article, you will find out what FOMO is, its origins and what the term means in the world of crypto! 

What is FOMO? Meaning and origins

The term FOMO was created in 2004 by Patrick J. McGinnis, a Harvard Business School scholar, as part of his research on the social behaviour of first-year university students. From 2010 onwards, psychologists have taken up the concept of FOMO to describe a condition found in individuals who are constant users of social networks. These people, who spend a lot of time observing the lives of others, find themselves obsessively comparing their own experiences with those of others. By constantly comparing themselves, they feel like something is lacking, that they are mistaken or lagging behind in certain aspects of life. Psychologists have described this psychological condition as a constant apprehension that others might have experiences from which the person experiencing FOMO was personally excluded.

Is FOMO just social media anxiety?

The ways in which FOMO manifests itself can be different and vary mainly depending on the intensity of the sensation. You may experience it once in a while during a conversation or more continuously, which may turn this feeling into a real pathology. Suffering from this fear on a continuous basis can cause a worsening of mood, feelings of social inferiority, loneliness and anger.

As we stated before, FOMO became particularly popular after the emergence of social networks. This gave birth to a new culture based on influencers but also everyday friends, who share their dream life online. This can lead people to compare themselves and feel inadequate. Måneskin‘s bass player Victoria De Angelis also spoke about this recently. In an interview with Radio Deejay, she said that she suffers from FOMO, and that she can’t stop going out for fear of missing out on an experience. In fact, the fear of being cut off turns into a schedule full of commitments and hectic days spent chasing experiences. Often without feeling truly satisfied anyway!

You may have just come home from a hard day and you can’t wait to settle down on the couch, but you see all your friends on Instagram getting ready for a concert. If FOMO arrives, your only thought is ‘I can’t stay at home while the most important concert of the year is just a few steps away from me’. You get ready and go out. When the concert is over, the feeling comes back: ‘maybe I could follow my friends to that club and have a drink instead of going to sleep’. In the mildest cases, people in this situation just crawl into bed with some discomfort. For others, the thoughts become obsessive and limiting.

FOMO in the crypto world

In the crypto world and in trading, the meaning of FOMO remains the same. However it applies to missed profit opportunities rather than experiences. People get convinced that they have forever missed the chance to buy the next crypto that will explode. Everyone but themselves is guaranteed stratospheric gains. The venture into the crypto world of a person suffering from crypto FOMO is conditioned by thoughts like “why did I sell at that price?”, “I should have bought more” or “I absolutely cannot miss out this token’s presale”. This psychological condition usually affects those who have recently got interested in the market and who therefore do not have enough experience to know and control their anxiety. These users often buy and sell impulsively for fear of losing a potential profit opportunity.

Those who get caught up in FOMO when approaching the crypto world are engaging in outright fear, and emotions can hinder the pursuit of a rational strategy. Behavioural finance explains how rash actions, triggered by emotional aspects, can negatively affect the achievement of your goals.

Examples of FOMO with cryptocurrencies

To better explain what FOMO is in the context of crypto, we can use some practical examples. The term is for instance particularly appropriate in the case of new crypto launches. These launches always come together with presales that allow those who participate in them to financially support a crypto project before the official launch by purchasing the native cryptocurrencies. One feature of presales is that they have limited access. Only the quickest users to purchase can actually participate in the launch. This aspect generates crypto FOMO in those who want to participate and fear being excluded.

Dogecoin’s bullish movements linked to Elon Musk‘s tweets can also explain crypto FOMO. Every time Musk posts a DOGE-themed tweet, the price of the crypto goes up thanks to so-called FOMO buyers. These people decide to buy DOGE in fear of missing out on the price rise.

The JOMO (Joy of Missing Out)

The opposite psychological phenomenon is JOMO ‘Joy of Missing Out’. JOMO can be defined as the pleasure of enjoying your interests and passions without worrying about the fact that other individuals are pursuing more satisfying activities.

Instead of despairing over untapped crypto opportunities, those who live in the name of crypto JOMO simply disregard them. In fact, the term JOMO is usually used by no-coiners, those who do not hold crypto. While those in the throes of FOMO feel the need to spend hours and hours in front of charts looking for the next opportunity, the JOMO team doesn’t even bother to give it any thought.

Now that you know what FOMO means and how it differs from JOMO, you might ask yourself: which of the two is the best attitude for experiencing the world of crypto? Probably neither, both FOMO and JOMO are extremes. On the one hand we have a tendency to get too emotionally involved, on the other hand we have a tendency to avoid situations completely. Knowing the latest trends and cryptos on the upside, in short ‘being on your toes’ about all the industry news is certainly not a bad thing. So is learning to be more detached like JOMO fans.

Posted on

Bear markets in history: 1929 to 2022

A history of bear markets : from the 1929 crisis to the crypto crash of 2022

Do you know about the most important bearish phases in history? What does the crypto bear market of 2022 have in common with past ones?

Following Confucius’ maxim ‘study the past if you want to predict the future’, we are here to analyse past bearish phases with the aim of understanding the dynamics of the bear market we are experiencing now.

If you too are wondering: how long will the 2022 crypto bear market last? Will the price of Bitcoin collapse again? Unfortunately there are no certain answers. However, in this article, you can find information that can help you look at the current state of the market in perspective. For example, we can look at the duration of bearish phases, the elements involved or understand what caused them.

1. The American stock market crash of 1929

The New York Stock Exchange crash of 1929 is the first major crash of a contemporary financial market and the first major crisis caused by free markets and financial speculation. Before the crash of ’29, The United States of America was experiencing one of the most prosperous and economically prosperous periods in history, the so-called ‘Roaring Twenties’. The great economic prosperity of the States seemed unstoppable, made possible by victory in World War I as well as liberal economic policies. However, this economic growth suddenly came to a halt, due to the progressive saturation of the market. Factories closed, products remained unsold and companies began to lay off employees. The crisis of the real economy was reflected on the New York stock exchange through the collapse of the stocks held by both the big capitalists of the time as well as the middle class and small bourgeoisie, who suddenly found themselves without savings.

The real crash came on Thursday 24th October, the infamous Black Thursday. That moment started an intense bear market, nicknamed in retrospect: ‘The Great Depression’. The Great Depression triggered a recession that resulted in a 60% drop in world trade and generated 15 million unemployed people. The Dow Jones, the main US stock index, collapsed by 75% of its value in a few months.

 

2. The ‘dotcom’ bubble

One of the bear markets in history worth mentioning is the one following the ‘dotcom bubble’. The term ‘dotcom bubble‘ is used to describe the phenomenon of unprecedented growth in the share valuations of technology companies, known as ‘dotcoms’, which occurred in the late 1990s. This juncture was characterised by an exponential growth of investments in internet start-ups. It all started with Netscape, the first Internet browser start-up, whose price per share jumped from $28 to $147 in five months. This strong bullish movement brought incredible enthusiasm to the markets, and in particular to the ‘dotcoms’. Alongside Netscape, Yahoo, Amazon and Apple, hundreds of other fledgling companies exploded on the stock exchange.

However, the bubble burst in April 2000, shortly after the all time high (ATH) of the NASDAQ, the stock market index that tracks the prices of the major American technology companies, at 5,048 points. The bubble burst because, in most cases, the dotcoms had no intrinsic value or viable product but were nothing more than aggressive marketing campaigns. This bear market lasted about two years, during which time the NASDAQ index hit 1,111 points, losing more than 75% of its value.

3. The 2008 subprime crisis

The 2008 bear market can be included in the list of major bear markets in history. The economic crisis of 2008 is the one that has most affected our most recent past. Once again, it was the US that started this recession, with the subprime mortgage crisis that erupted at the end of 2006. Subprime mortgages were financial loans granted by major US banks and financial giants, including Chase, JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers to high risk defaulters, i.e. bad debtors. The crisis exploded in September 2008, when the insolvency situation generated by subprime mortgages was combined with a bubble in the housing market. This bubble was the result of accommodative policies by the Federal Reserve (FED), the central bank of the United States. 

The bear market of 2008 did not remain confined to the States but obviously extended to Europe as well. The central banks of the countries found themselves forced to inject huge amounts of money into their economies, through monetary policies of Quantitative Easing, in an attempt to stem the collapse of the global economy. During the 2008 bear market, the S&P 500 (Standard and Poors) stock market index, which tracks the performance of the 500 most capitalised US companies, plummeted 38.5% and the US financial giant Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. The bear market of 2008 had a much bigger impact than can be guessed from the charts. The effects of the systemic crisis generated by the bursting of the subprime bubble are still being felt today.

 

4. The first crypto bear market: the Mt. Gox hack in 2014

The first real crypto bear market arrived in 2014. Sure, Bitcoin existed since 2008, but until 2013, it had no real market. The only way to buy it was through peer-to-peer exchanges, and its use was relegated to Dark Web sites like Silk Road. However, from 2013 onwards, the buying and selling of BTC was building a real market, mainly due to the growth of the then largest crypto exchange in the world, MT Gox. It was responsible for processing the majority of Bitcoin transactions worldwide.

This period was characterised by the emergence of many exchanges and wallets and is nicknamed the ‘Hack Era’. Between March 2012 and October 2013, numerous exchanges including Linode, Biconica and Bit floor were hacked. The first hacks did not affect the price of Bitcoin, which continued to rise undaunted. From $5 in March 2012, the price of BTC reached $1,150 in November 2013.

At this point, however, came the first black swan event in crypto history happened: the Mt. Gox hack, through which 850,000 Bitcoins were stolen. This black swan event kicked off the first real crypto bear market that lasted 391 days. From a price of $1,150 BTC reached $150, losing 73% of its value.

5. Bear market 2018: ICOs

The spirit of the crypto market cycle from 2016 to 2019 can be summed up in one acronym: ICOs. The term is an acronym for Initial Coin Offering, and it is the equivalent of initial public offerings in the cryptocurrency world. They are pre-sales of tokens that allow those who participate in them to financially support a crypto project before it is launched, through the purchase of native crypto.

This way of selling to the public was popularised by Ethereum in July 2014. ICOs have been simultaneously the curse and delight of this crypto cycle. On the one hand, they allowed the Web3 world to grow and many projects to find supporters. On the other hand, they generated a major speculative bubble, comparable in the way it inflated to the dotcom bubble. The proliferation of ICOs and the great enthusiasm for this new market allowed for many fraudulent projects to raise huge amounts of money. Due to the global macroeconomic situation, in particular the restrictive monetary policies including Quantitative Tightening, the ICO bubble burst at the end of 2017. This caused the beginning of the bear market. Quantitative Tightening is an abrupt tightening of a state’s monetary policy that results in an increase in interest rates with the aim of limiting inflation.

Bitcoin’s price collapsed from the $19,100 ATH to the $3,200 level, losing 84% of its value. Ethereum fared even worse, as the value of Vitalik Buterin‘s crypto went from $1,400 to around $150, registering a downward movement of -95%. The bottom, i.e. the lowest point reached by a crypto in this cycle, was reached exactly one year after the ATH was reached, on the 17th of December 2018.

6. The crypto bear market of 2022

The particularities of this market cycle are the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, an event of global magnitude that affected the economy and society, and the entry of institutional investors into the market.

The latter increased speculation, a double-edged sword for all kinds of markets. On the one hand it generates rapid growth, on the other it creates the conditions for an equally rapid descent. This collapse actually occurred on the 12th of May 2021, the day when the price of Bitcoin dropped from around $60,000 to $30,000 in just a few hours. However, this collapse did not signal the start of a bear market as it was reabsorbed in the following months, allowing Bitcoin to reach another high in November 2021. The crypto bear market of 2022 began in the spring, the first catalyst for this bearish phase being the Terra-Luna ecosystem collapse of May 2022. As the months went by, events such as the FED raising interest rates and the failure of the centralised exchange FTX a few weeks ago further fuelled this bear market.

The biggest news in the latest phase of the crypto market, which runs from 2020 to today, concerns adoption. In past bear markets, so-called mass adoption, which was resolved in the number of traditional companies adopting Web3 technologies and the number of users using them, came to an almost complete standstill. The cycle we are currently experiencing seems different. Adoption is continuing despite the conditions of this bear market. An example of this trend is Polygon‘s blockchain, which signed important partnerships with companies outside the world of crypto.

The price differences between the 2018 and 2022 bear markets

So, what are the main differences between this bear market and that of 2018? Let’s look at it from the perspective of the price of the two highest market cap cryptos: Bitcoin and Ethereum. We can start by looking at the price level from which the two bear markets started: in 2018, Bitcoin’s price at ATH was $19,100 while Ethereum’s was around $1,400.

The bearish movement from the highest point reached by the price of Bitcoin to its lowest point in 2018-2019 lasted 364 days, causing BTC and ETH to capitulate at $3,200 and $150, respectively. The price swing was -84% in the case of Bitcoin and -95% in the case of Ethereum.

In the 2022 bear market crypto, the bottom for Bitcoin is for now, is around $15,500. It was reached on the 21st of November 2022, 375 days after the ATH was reached. For the price of Ethereum the situation is somewhat different. The ATH was reached on the 15th of November 2021 but the bottom is located, for now, at around $880, which was reached in July 2022.

Now that you have some information at your disposal, how much longer do you think the 2022 crypto bear market will last? Could the bearish phase have ended a few days ago with the drop to $15,735?

Posted on

Fan tokens explained: what are they and what are they for?

Fan tokens: what are they and how do they work?

Fan tokens are cryptocurrencies created to bring sports teams or artists closer to their supporters and to offer exclusive benefits

In recent years, fan tokens have catapulted a lot of new users into the crypto world, specifically fans of sports teams or music groups. At the moment, these are mainly used in the fields of sports and music, but they can potentially be exploited by anything that involves interaction between a brand and a fan base. Non-sports tokens are also often referred to as ‘social tokens’. In this article, to explain what they are, how they work and what they are used for, we will use the example of the most popular fan tokens : the football tokens on Socios.

What are fan tokens and how do they work?

Fan tokens are a type of cryptocurrency, so in essence they are cryptographic digital coins built on a blockchain. They grant the holder access to a range of benefits or experiences related to the sports team that issues them. The working mechanism of fan tokens is simple: a fan buys them and the team grants rewards such as merchandise, match tickets, experiences with players, and the ability to vote on certain team decisions. Fan tokens were created precisely with the intention of improving and enlivening the relationship between fans and their favourite teams.

So, are they cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin? Technically speaking, fan tokens are created on existing blockchains and use standards developed by third parties. For example if they are based on Ethereum, the standard of reference is ERC-20. In contrast, Bitcoin runs on its own native blockchain. This is precisely why they are ‘tokens’ and not ‘coins’ as in the case of Bitcoin. However, fan tokens share the characteristic of fungibility with Bitcoin. In other words, they are not unique to each other but are interchangeable (so to speak ‘one is as good as the other’). In turn, fungibility differentiates them from NFTs, which are actually an abbreviation of ‘non-fungible tokens’. Fan tokens are therefore not used for collecting.

Are fan tokens utility tokens?

Tokens in the crypto sector are generally classified into utility and security tokens. Utility tokens have a specific utility within the ecosystem that issued them. For example, UNI is the utility token of the Uniswap decentralised exchange, which is used to participate in project governance. On the other hand, security tokens promise a future profit to their holder. In what category do fan tokens fit?

According to the Chiliz team, which actually launched the first tokens of this kind on the Socios platform, they are neither utility tokens nor security tokens. Fan tokens constitute a ‘third’ and new token with specific characteristics, which emerged from the need to unite fans and teams with Web3 tools.

Where can you buy them?

Fan tokens can be bought from platforms that issue them, such as Socios on the Chiliz blockchain. To buy fan tokens on Socios you need to sign up and buy $CHZ. In exchange for this crypto, you then can get your team’s fan tokens. Fan tokens are bought like any other cryptocurrency. Once the purchase is complete, you will find the fan tokens directly in your wallet. In some cases, fan tokens are listed in crypto exchanges.

What can you do with fan tokens?

Fan tokens were created to increase the participation of fans in the events of their team. With them, football clubs can offer direct involvement, making the relationship with fans reciprocal.

Why is this needed to bring fans closer together? As Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz and Socios says, 99.9 percent of fans don’t even go to the stadium. Teams therefore need channels to interact with the entire fan base, not just those who can physically go to the games.

What are fan tokens actually used for? Let’s look at a few examples. Holders can choose how to decorate the team’s dressing room with motivational phrases, or the motto on the captain’s armband (as in the case of F.C. Barcelona). Or, decide the song with which to celebrate anniversaries or the design of the kits (in the case of Inter). Napoli fans these days are voting on the new name for the team’s training ground.

As the owners of the Udinese fan token prepare to redeem their Christmas dinner.

Fan tokens are mainly bought by fans. On the other hand, like all other cryptocurrencies, they can be used by traders for buying and selling transactions. The market for fan tokens has proven to be very much linked to the performance of matches as was evident in the case of the 2022 World Cup and national team fan tokens.

Now that you know what fan tokens are, how they work and what they are used for, you may be wondering what their true value is within the crypto landscape, but also within the sports landscape. Their relevance depends on the importance given to fan tokens. If a team sees its fans only as people who go to games, fan tokens do not seem so interesting. When, on the other hand, fans are the lifeblood of the entire football club, fan tokens are a tool for building relationships and sharing sporting enthusiasm.

Posted on

The 2022 World Cup fan tokens that everyone is keeping an eye on

All World Cup 2022 fan tokens from Chiliz and Socios

Which World Cup 2022 fan tokens are in the spotlight? Socios has prepared a prize game for national team fans!

On Sunday, the 20th of November, the World Cup 2022 officially kicked off with the whistle of the match between Qatar and Ecuador. The match, preceded by a pyrotechnic opening ceremony, kicked off the first World Cup in an Arab Emirate. Socios, the fan token platform built on Chiliz, and its national team fan tokens benefited at the price level from the start of the FIFA World Cup, with bullish movements on the charts.

Socios has also created an ad-hoc section for the 2022 World Cup called Expert Predictions in order to get its users as involved as possible. Find out which World Cup 2022 fan tokens everyone is keeping an eye on and how to play Socios Expert Predictions.

World Cup 2022 fan tokens in the spotlight

The cryptos that have taken centre stage during these last two complicated weeks for the market are the 2022 FIFA World Cup fan tokens developed on Socios. These fan tokens are those of the national teams of Portugal (POR), Spain (SNFT), Brazil (BFT) and Argentina (ARG), which were all released in the summer of 2021. The Italian national team, which unfortunately did not qualify for the competition, also launched its ITA fan token on the 29th of October 2022, in collaboration with Socios and at the initiative of the FIGC.

The recent popularity of these fan tokens can be attributed to the start of the World Cup, which brought interest and buying volumes to these fan cryptos. For example, the fan token of the Portugal team made a bullish movement of almost 100 per cent in 10 days, from a price of around $10 on 10 November 2022 to $19 on 19 November. The fan tokens of Spain (SNFT) and Brazil (BFT) did even better, marking price increases of more than 100% on the chart.

The price of World Cup 2022 fan tokens rose in the days leading up to the start of the competition, so why all this movement even before kick-off? The tokens of Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Brazil may have risen due to fan buying predicting a World Cup victory. Some traders may also have moved in advance trying to capture interest in everything to do with the competition in Qatar.

This hype around the World Cup 2022 fan tokens has also helped CHZ, the Chiliz blockchain crypto that performed well in the days leading up to the start of the competition. Chiliz is the network on which Socios’s platform is built and also the network on which fan tokens are exchanged. Chiliz’s crypto, CHZ went from a price of $0.15 to $0.26 in just over a week. All eyes are on these fan tokens, will the 2022 World Cup matches influence their price?

How to play with Socios Expert Predictions

The World Cup 2022, has a very entertaining element that we didn’t have in previous competitions, thanks to Socios’ Expert Predictions. Socios has come up with a ploy to allow football fans to follow the FIFA World Cup in an even more exciting way thanks to the new Expert Prediction section.

Expert Predictions is a new section of the Socios platform where you can win great prizes, including fan tokens, by guessing the results of FIFA World Cup matches. Playing Expert Prediction is free and very simple, simply go to the ‘matches’ section of the Socios smartphone app and register your prediction. The more accurate the prediction, the more points you earn.

For example, if you guess the correct result, you can earn more points than if you only guess the winning team. The points you earn over the course of the competition are used to determine your position in the standings – the higher up you are, the better your chances of winning one of the prizes. In addition, if you follow the matches live, during half-time you can try the free kick challenge, a mini-game on the Socios smartphone app, which allows you to gain additional experience points that are necessary to climb the rankings. What prizes are up for grabs when playing on Socios? By playing the Socios Expert Prediction you can win, in addition to World Cup 2022 fan tokens, a Playstation 5, football shirts and football boots autographed by the players, and ‘grandstand’ tickets for some club matches scheduled for next year.

As always, when it comes to crypto soccer, we also find the ‘paw’ of Sorare. The Ethereum-based platform has also launched a play-to-earn game dedicated to the World Cup. “Sorare’s ‘Global Cup’ allows all those who are subscribed to its crypto fantasy football platform, to build a team for the World Cup for free, and challenge other users in order to win a wide range of prizes. The first prize for the ‘Global Cup’ includes 3 Ether, around $3,000 at the time, and 3 special NFT cards created by Sorare specially for the occasion.

It promises to be a very interesting FIFA World Cup, also for Web3 fans thanks to the 2022 World Cup fan tokens, the Expert Prediction and the Sorare ‘Global Cup’.

Posted on

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. 

Posted on

Limitazione temporanea della funzionalità Earning Wallet

Sospensione temporanea della funzionalità Earning Wallet

Restrizioni provvisorie all’uso delle funzionalità di Earning Wallet

Con la seguente comunicazione intendiamo chiarire le decisioni preventive introdotte da Young Platform con lo scopo di tutelare gli interessi dei nostri  utenti. È nostro dovere garantire a questi ultimi tutte le informazioni connesse ai rischi derivanti da momenti di forte volatilità di mercato.

La funzionalità “Earning Wallet” di Young Platform viene offerta tramite un partner centralizzato, ovvero Tesseract, l’unico regolato in tutta Europa. 

Fornendo il provider un servizio che limita la disponibilità delle criptovalute in periodi di forte volatilità, non è esente da rischi, in particolar modo:

  • rischio di non poter disporre per un tempo definito o non delle proprie criptovalute in momenti di forte volatilità;
  • rischio di non vedersi riconosciuti i reward previsti dal service provider;
  • rischio di perdita del capitale bloccato in Earning. 

Young Platform ha chiesto delucidazioni al fornitore, alla luce della situazione di mercato attuale. Il partner si è dimostrato collaborativo e trasparente, fornendo evidenze del fatto che i suoi asset sono collateralizzati in rapporto 1:1.

Nonostante ciò, Young Platform ha deciso ugualmente di limitare il servizio di Earning Wallet, dal momento che la situazione di mercato ha afflitto in maniera importante i servizi di lending e borrowing in tutto il mondo. Ciò significa che ha sospeso la creazione di nuovi stake e il rinnovo automatico sugli stake attivi.

In generale, dato il momento delicato, invitiamo tutti a valutare attentamente l’attivazione di servizi che riconoscono incrementi di criptovalute a seguito di un blocco delle stesse.  

Quindi se ora stai utilizzando il servizio Earning Wallet, l’importo in stake e il relativo reward verranno automaticamente accreditati sul tuo Portafoglio principale una volta raggiunto il termine ultimo di blocco, come da prassi. È tua facoltà sbloccare le tue criptovalute bloccate nell’Earning Wallet prima del termine, come da Termini e Condizioni dell’Earning Wallet.

Per qualsiasi dubbio contatta il supporto cliccando qui.

Ti terremo aggiornato su ogni cambiamento. 

Grazie per la fiducia che riponi in noi, 

Team Young Platform

Posted on

Your crypto security in the context of the FTX collapse

Your crypto security in the context of the FTX collapse

In light of recent events, we are here to reiterate that the safety and security of our users’ funds has always been and always will be Young Platform’s priority, both now and in the future

That is why we want to present to you, as well as our entire community of over 1 million people, the measures we are taking to achieve this goal. Young Platform offers innovative and ambitious products, but operates in a cautious and considered manner. This means that our project wants to contribute to the growth of the cryptocurrency industry with responsibility and sustainability. The best way to do this is through transparency.

First of all, we want to reassure you on a few important aspects: 

  • The total balances in your wallet are immediately accessible for withdrawal and are deposited with selected providers that offer some of the best guarantees on the market in terms of soundness and transparency, as well as appropriate insurance cover in the event of negative events such as cyber attacks and/or hacking;
  • Young Platform does not use the deposited funds in any way;
  • Funds are retained by Young Platform in a 1:1 ratio;
  • Young Platform is not financially exposed to FTX or Alameda Research and the FTT token has never been supported by our exchange.

Here are the measures we take to ensure the safety of our users:

  1. We keep your funds safe
    As stated before, we work tirelessly to secure your assets on our platform. In concrete terms, this commitment translates into choosing an industry leader for asset safekeeping such as Fireblocks. We also ensure that all your funds are always available on demand and that you can withdraw when you wish.
  1. We choose industry-leading security protocols
    Young Platform uses the best security protocols. This way we can guard your data and funds from every angle. From asset protection, to privacy protection, risk control and user security alerts.
  1. We work with institutions on compliance initiatives
    At Young Platform, we work closely with Italian and European regulators and institutions to ensure high security standards. Young Platform was the first Italian cryptocurrency exchange to undergo regular audits by an auditing firm and to register with the Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM), which requires the provision of quarterly reports to the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance.
  1. We provide all the tools for a responsible approach to cryptocurrencies free of charge
    Young Platform has everything you need to decide how to use your funds: up-to-date security guides, industry news, resources to get an overview of possible risks. All this is available on our Academy and our Blog. You can start reading about self-custody best practices, or learn more about what happened to FTX and why Young Platform is not involved in the affair.
  1. We work for platform transparency
    We are satisfied with our procedures that guarantee a safe experience for users, but security is a job that never stops. That is why we are looking further and trying to improve on our achievements. In this regard, Young Platform is taking further measures, integrating new systems to improve the technical solutions for the safekeeping of customer assets in the long term and to make them more transparent.

Young Platform recognises its responsibility to create a reliable and secure environment. In this mission, contact with users is crucial. We are proud to offer you comprehensive support through our Support Team. If you have any questions or concerns, our team is available to answer them at any time.

Thank you for your trust in us,

Young Platform Team

Posted on

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.

Posted on

Young Platform on the FTX collapse

“FTX never passed Young Platform’s due diligence checks and we have never had any dependence on FTX. AUM are safe,” guarantees Italy’s largest exchange

The crisis affecting the FTX exchange was triggered by revelations concerning the balance sheet of Alameda, a company founded by CEO Sam Bankman-Fried

Turin, the 10th of November 2022 – The liquidity crisis that hit the FTX exchange, one of the largest in the world, has caused an earthquake in the cryptocurrency sector. However, it is one of a different nature than the collapse of LUNA at the beginning of the year. It is related to the particular condition of the companies FTX and Alameda Research.

The management model represented by Young Platform, Italy’s leading exchange community, differs markedly from what emerged from press reports concerning FTX and Alameda. This can be traced back to the managerial activities of Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX as well as founder of Alameda. The latter company was dedicated to hedge fund and trading activities, and was also previously administered by Sam Bankman-Fried.

“FTX never passed Young Platform’s due diligence checks and we never had any dependence on FTX, so our clients’ Assets under management are safe. Moreover, the FTT token was not even listed on our platform, which means that no Young Platform client has lost money in connection with the FTX affair,” assures Mariano Carozzi, president of the Italian cryptocurrency trading platform, which has over one and a half million members.

FTX and Alameda Research were not as separate as advertised, according to news site CoinDesk, who had learned about Alameda’s balance sheet, causing solvency doubts to arise. This revealed that Alameda’s main asset was the FTX exchange’s token FTT, worth about $3.86 billion out of $14.6 billion in total assets.

Not only that, but the third largest asset was USD 2.16 billion of ‘FTT collateral’. This is therefore a huge component of the balance sheet, but what matters more is the quality of the asset. Not only did half of the balance sheet come from their own centralised entity, but it was linked to an illiquid token whose intrinsic value is almost impossible to calculate. Moreover, in the last period, the exchange had been active in acquiring companies in crisis. So, the balance sheet shows the consequences of these purchases, which may have been economically advantageous but financially very demanding.

“Young’s economic situation is very different, we have recently strengthened our capital endowment with a significant capital increase underwritten by leading Italian institutions, the working group and our business organisation. Moreover, we have never been attracted by financial transactions that, even if advantageous, were nevertheless risky”. This was highlighted by Andrea Ferrero, CEO of Young Platform, referring to the financing round led by Azimut in June and in which a pool of investors participated, including Banca Sella and United Ventures.

Young Platform represents a principled model for managing cryptocurrencies in a secure manner that is beneficial to customers and the company itself. The platform’s goal is to provide access to state-of-the-art crypto products while maintaining a conservative approach to business operations, security and financial resilience. This approach is also embodied in our choice of excellent partners, even at this difficult time for the market, such as our industry-leading custody service Fireblocks.”“Bitcoin is experiencing a moment of high volatility in the short term, but as an asset it does not change its intrinsic value and this makes us confident, despite everything,‘ Carozzi concludes. ‘In addition to the turbulence and inflation of the period, our industry has to deal with regulatory and normative uncertainties that still need to be remedied by institutions, in order to reward quality operators. The great virtue of cryptocurrencies so far has been their ability to learn from their mistakes and strengthen themselves accordingly. We believe that the best players will be rewarded in any regulatory and market environment’.