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EBay Snaps Up NFT Marketplace KnownOrigin
One of the first NFT marketplaces, KnownOrigin has generated almost $8 million since launching in 2018.
EBay and KnownOrigin announced in a joint statement today that the e-commerce giant has acquired the NFT marketplace for an undisclosed sum.
CEO Jamie Iannone said last year that his company was exploring crypto payments and looking at NFTs, which became available on eBay in May 2021.
The move comes among a number of NFT marketplace acquisitions. Just yesterday, Uniswap Labs, the company behind decentralized exchange Uniswap, said it was acquiring NFT aggregation platform Genie. And in April, OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, acquired NFT aggregator Gem.
An NFT (non-fungible token) is a unique token linked to digital or physical content, providing proof of ownership. They have exploded in the art and music world.
KnownOrigin is a UK-based platform that allows for the buying and selling of NFT artwork. It runs on the Ethereum blockchain and allows artists to mint NFTs too. Read More
Shopify Adds NFT-Gated Option for Online Retailers
The e-commerce platform is allowing brands to make their shops more exclusive.
Shopify is leaning into NFTs as the future of e-commerce.
The online shopping giant, which allows small businesses to create custom e-commerce shops, is launching NFT-gated storefronts as a new feature for brands looking to make their stores more exclusive, Shopify announced Wednesday.
“Invite your community into a world that recognizes and rewards loyalty,” a narrator says in Shopify’s announcement video, which features a skateboarding woman who goes through a pastel portal and turns into a Doodles NFT.
“Token holders connect a crypto wallet to unlock exclusive shopping experiences, from early access to drops and limited collections to one-of-a-kind experiences and other surprises,” the video explains.
Shopify’s “gm” shop (gated merch, and a pun on the Crypto Twitter acronym for “good morning”) is currently in beta, and only those with existing NFT collections are eligible to apply for early access. Read More
Ripple Launches Engineering Hub in Toronto, Boosting Crypto Growth and Innovation
Ripple, a leader in enterprise crypto and blockchain solutions, has opened a key engineering hub in Toronto, Canada, to enhance crypto innovation.
In a statement, Ripple revealed that 50 engineers would initially be hired in the new Toronto office. Still, plans are underway to bring on board hundreds of blockchain software engineers, such as data scientists, applied machine learning scientists, and product managers.
Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s CEO, noted:
“Crypto and blockchain present an incredible opportunity for engineers to tackle difficult problems, with the potential for these solutions to impact the movement of value around the world.”
Despite various crypto players announcing hiring freezes and layoffs amid the crypto winter in the market, Ripple said that they are looking for a bigger picture of presenting world-class talent, which would spur innovation in coming years.
Garlinghouse pointed out:
“We are continuing to scale and invest in our business by expanding our presence globally with our first office in Toronto.” Read More
Chainalysis launches reporting service for businesses targeted in crypto-related cyberattacks
The firm said it was starting a "Crypto Incident Response" hotline to "help bring bad actors to justice and demonstrate that crypto is not the asset class of anonymity and crime.”
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has launched a hotline that will accept reports o incidents of hackers demanding cryptocurrency payments from platforms or companies.
In a Wednesday blog post, Chainalysis said its "Crypto Incident Response" hotline would operate 24/7 for victims of a “hack, ransomware attack, code exploit or flash loan attack” in which “cryptocurrency funds are either demanded or stolen.” The company attributed the launch of the reporting service on crypto-related ransomware attacks presenting “national security concerns” as well as potentially undermining confidence in the crypto industry.
According to Chainalysis, hackers were responsible for the loss of more than $3 billion in crypto value through theft and ransom demands from 251 attacks in 2021, with transactions to and from illicit addresses representing 0.15% of total transaction volume in the space. Upon receiving a report, the firm said a team would work with the victim to trace funds, if necessary, and potentially coordinate with local authorities.
“Attacks are increasing in frequency and severity, presenting a significant barrier to building trust in cryptocurrency,” said Chainalysis. “We’re investing in this service not just to assist organizations in their times of need, but also to help bring bad actors to justice and demonstrate that crypto is not the asset class of anonymity and crime.” Read More
What Does The Wallet Do? What Does It Mean For You?
The launch of the Markethive wallet is approaching, so it’s time to start beating the proverbial drum. It is the start of an exciting time with the advent of many integrations to follow the release of the wallet that will bring Markethive into prominence as an unprecedented platform. The combination of inbound marketing, social media, digital broadcasting, video, conference rooms, e-commerce, gamification, etc.
Markethive is a blockchain-driven crypto economy, all-inclusive, with a distributed database system required for this decentralized, monolithic global project. We’re almost there with the release of the wallet that will initiate entrepreneurial sovereignty and open the floodgates of this divine enterprise with its plethora of systems and services, including the new interface and dashboard.
We now have a complete working wallet with the Solana Network, and we also have a fully functional crypto merchant account. The Markethive wallet is being polished with the finishing touches, keeping mindful that it’s not just a simple wallet but a comprehensive, dynamic engine centralized for you that powers your platform and business.
Markethive is fundamentally a sophisticated inbound marketing and storefront platform, integrated with a social network, and not just another social media platform you see popping up to counter the media tech giants we’ve come to know as oppressive, censoring you and using your personal data for their own gain. Read More
The community-centered approach to Web3 — Aave founder and CEO
"What if we actually can have ownership on our own presence in social media — our profiles, our social identities?” asked Stani Kulechov.
Aave (AAVE) founder and CEO Stani Kulechov said the firm was continuing to develop its decentralized social media platform, with Web3 potentially changing the way many view ownership.
Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Collision conference in Toronto on Thursday, Kulechov said Web3 — a buzzword often thrown around, which generally describes the next evolution of an internet based on blockchain technology — could impact how people use social media in much the same way cryptocurrency changed perceptions on finance. The Aave CEO remarked how developers had adapted protocols to handle custody, and the rise in nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, seemed to point to a community-centered approach.
“I think Web3 is quite a lot related to the concept of ownership,” said Kulechov. “As we have ownership of [...] financial protocols and communities and creators, what if we actually can have ownership on our own presence in social media — our profiles, our social identities?” Read More
Bank of England Deputy Governor: Crypto Crash Survivors Could Become Tomorrow's 'Amazons and eBays'
The latest crypto slump could be decisive in determining the industry’s future winners, according to Bank of England deputy governor Jon Cunliffe.
The Bank of England's deputy governor Jon Cunliffe has likened the current crypto market crash to the dot-com crash of the late 1990s—and suggested that the survivors could evolve into the "Amazons and eBays" of tomorrow.
"The analogy for me is the dot-com boom when $5 trillion was wiped off values," Cunliffe said during the Point Zero Forum in Zurich on Wednesday, as reported by Bloomberg. "A lot of companies went, but the technology didn’t go away."
He added that a decade later, "Those that survived—the Amazons and the eBays—turned out to be the dominant players," he said.
The Deputy Governor added that no matter what happens to cryptocurrencies in the coming months, he expects "crypto technology and finance to continue. It has the possibility of huge efficiencies and changes in market structure." Read More
How blockchain can open up energy markets: EU DLT expert explains
The main barrier to the wide adoption of DLT solutions by the energy system stakeholders is how energy markets are structured.
Aside from the buzzing neologism of Web3, there is a bit less catchy but hardly less important concept of Industry 4.0, which includes the new and revolutionary drivers of the next generation’s industrial landscape. And, especially when it comes to the energy sector, blockchain lies at the heart of these technologies.
The authors of a recently published EUBlockchain Observatory report “Blockchain Applications in the Energy Sector” are convinced that distributed ledger technology (DLT) could become a key enabler technology and has a very high potential to influence or even disrupt the energy sector. This comes as a no surprise, given the five D’s of the Digital Green Shift: deregulation, decarbonization, decentralization, digitization, and democratization.
The report highlights the major directions for blockchain in the sector and supplements them with the actual case studies and insights from energy market stakeholders such as Volkswagen, Elia Group, Energy Web Foundation, and others.
Cointelegraph spoke to one of the report’s co-authors, commercial director of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region at Energy Web and a member of EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum, Ioannis Vlachos. Read More
What Should Web 3.0 Builders Focus on To Emerge Stronger From the Bear Market?
All markets are cyclical, and Web 3.0 is no exception. Here’s what the community needs to work on to spur the next bull market.
As pointed out in a16z’s recent 2022 State of Crypto Report, crypto has historically followed something the authors term the ‘price-innovation cycle.’ A wave of rising prices attracts new builders, who develop novel solutions to long-standing problems, even as prices fall.
These new applications renew interest in Web 3.0, which brings waves of users into the space, causing cryptocurrency values to rise again. Though there are ups and downs, the trajectory overall is one of growth.
The silver lining is that, with less hype and euphoria about rising prices, builders can devote more attention to developing truly innovative protocols. Recall the major advances that led to the ICO craze, DeFi summer, and the NFT boom.
Each major rally was preceded by a phase where imaginative people rolled up their sleeves and put in the work. We are in such a phase right now. Here are four key areas where builders should be investing their time and talent if they want to ride the next bull market. Read More
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
