Crypto trading platform AscendEX suffered a loss of $77.7 million in a hot wallet compromise that allowed hackers to access and transfer tokens hosted over the Ethereum (ETH), Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Polygon (POLY) blockchains. Soon after realization, AscendEX proactively warned its users about the stolen funds, confirming that the hackers were not able to access the company’s cold wallet reserves. 22:00 UTC 12/11, We have detected a number of ERC-20, BSC, and Polygon tokens transferred from our hot wallet. Cold Wallet is NOT affected. Investigation underway. If any user’s funds are affected by the incident, they will be …

Why do crypto traders “buy the rumor, sell the news”? Simple. Because whispers of exchange listings or big-name partnerships reach very few people… while an article in Cointelegraph can reach hundreds of thousands of crypto enthusiasts in seconds. While insiders are quietly amassing tokens on rumors, the rest of us are completely ignorant of what may be coming. But with rumors, there are no guarantees. Which can lead to disappointment and serious loss of investment for those traders who gamble that they’re true… and end up wrong. So how can you possibly compete with thousands of other market participants when …

Ethereum scaling solution Polygon has announced it will dedicate a maximum of 250 million MATIC tokens ($627.5 million) to a deal with zero-knowledge cryptography startup Mir. Zero-knowledge algorithms enable external validators to verify encrypted transactions or documents without revealing the sensitive information hidden underneath. It is useful for complex decentralized finance applications, such as decentralized ride-share apps or decentralized health insurance, where nodes need to verify the personal data of blockchain participants without risking privacy leaks. Mir specializes in developing two subcategories of zero-knowledge proofs: PLONK and Halo. Both represent advancements over previous SNARK and STARK cryptography techniques, allowing proofs …

Bitcoin (BTC) and most altcoins sold off on Dec. 4 with massive deleveraging seen in the crypto derivatives markets. Data suggests more than $2.5 billion of crypto liquidations over a 24-hour period. During the recent fall, Ether (ETH) has continued to outperform Bitcoin. While Bitcoin’s market dominance has dropped below 41%, Ether has continued to gain ground and its market dominance has risen above 21%. Some analysts believe that Bitcoin’s recent decline could result in a lengthy phase of consolidation. Decentrader co-founder filbfilb expects Bitcoin to consolidate well into the first quarter of the next year. Lex Moskovski, CIO of …

Silk Roads lead to nonfungile tokens Bidding for a 1/1 NFT auction created by imprisoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht has surpassed 261 Ether (ETH), $1.17 million at the time of writing. The NFT depicts a hand-drawn illustration from Ulbricht of a psychedelic eye, and is part of a collection of writings and nine other artworks he created, some while in prison, that are included as part of the NFT sale. The auction kicked off on day one of the Art Basil Miami art fair on Dec. 2 and is being hosted by SuperRare. The auction is set to conclude …

The revolutionary world of decentralized finance comes with its own set of harsh realities. One of them being, the unpredictable nature of yields on lending platforms that are often reliant on real-time market demand and supply dynamics. To offset the risk involved in permissionless lending, DeFi lending platforms typically require collateral that even exceeds the borrowed amount. Not only does this create an “artificial limit” on demand for loans, but it also leads to low yields that are exceeded by those offered on centralized platforms. Moreover, while the premise of decentralized lending was meant to eliminate middlemen that benefit from …

Layer-two (L2) solutions for the Ethereum network have become a popular topic of discussion and speculation on their associated tokens backed the massive rally seen in many of the protocols this year. The parabolic growth of the decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) sector also led to a surge in the cost carrying out simple transfers and this prompted developers and investors to migrate to L2-supportive platforms. One L2 solution that saw its token price rise to new highs earlier in the year and now looks poised to make another breakout higher is Polygon (MATIC), a proof-of-stake blockchain protocol …

MetaMundo, a virtual nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace focused on the metaverse, has announced the completion of a seed funding round of $2.7 million. Led by Animoca Brands, MetaMundo’s debut funding further included Hypersphere Ventures, Digital Currency Group, OP Crypto, Metacartel Ventures, and angel investments from the co-founders of AAVE and Rarible, among others. Built upon a layer-2 network Polygon, the platform lets designers and creators mint, sell and license their NFT assets for usage in virtual and augmented reality, as well as across an array of metaverse worlds including Decentraland, Cryptovoxels and Somnium Space. The announcement states that using the …

As it currently stands, the gaming world is set up so that distrust is common among enthusiasts with concerns around the management of in-game assets. With the economy growing quicker than ever before, players have had a seemingly difficult time verifying the scarcity of their assets or guaranteeing real ownership, not to mention the concerns around the technology being registered and monitored via a secure system. Among other benefits, blockchain has proven to help many industries that once lacked accountability. The technology itself facilitates transactions that are immutable or unchangeable between two strangers on the internet. In practice, this feature …

Distributed ledger technology, also known as blockchain, is changing financial markets in a variety of ways. Although this has been understood by enthusiasts for several years, it has finally been recognized by mainstream financial authorities. “Recently, the rise of distributed ledger technology, which offers a new approach to recording ownership of assets, has allowed for the creation of a range of new financial products and services—including cryptocurrencies,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated in an address earlier this year. Not only are cryptocurrencies a secure and efficient way to send money, but nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are changing the way we …

Bitcoin (BTC) is witnessing a tough tussle near the $58,000 mark but that has not stopped select altcoins from hitting a new all-time high. This shows that traders are watching the fundamental developments on individual coins. One of the recent top performing major altcoins has been Avalanche (AVAX), which has soared more than 120% in November. The coin caught traders’ attention leading up to the announcement by accounting firm Deloitte which plans to build its disaster relief platforms on the Avalanche blockchain. In another step that shows growing crypto adoption, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced the launch of Bitcoin …

South Korea’s nonfungible token (NFT) space has rapidly expanded throughout 2021 led by the growth of crypto and NFT services offered by Kakao, but competitors are entering the fray. The NFT market in South Korea could be on a path for even more expansion following the Nov. 5 government ruling that NFT purchases will not incur taxes. Klaytn, the blockchain developed by Korean tech startups Kakao and GroundX, is the obvious first choice for Koreans searching for a network to buy and sell NFT’s. Klaytn’s market dominance in Korea is unrivaled as KakaoTalk, Kakao’s flagship products suite, has over 52 …