Read in the digest:
- Binance is acquiring a $200 million stake in Forbes.
- Ransomware payments in cryptocurrencies surpassed $600 million in 2021.
- Cardano has facilitated 30 million transactions, TVL tops $157 million.
- OnlyFans launches NFT profile pictures, YouTube to integrate NFTs.
Binance Acquires $200 Million Stake in Forbes
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, has announced a $200 million strategic investment into Forbes, the 104 year old American magazine and digital publisher.
The investment comes as part of Forbes’ intention to merge with Magnum Opus, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, in the first quarter of 2022. Confirming the move, Forbes reported:
“The transactions with Magnum Opus and Binance are expected to help Forbes maximize its brand and enterprise values and use its proprietary technology stack and analytics to convert readers into long-term, engaged customers of the platform.”In addition to this, Forbes has revealed that Binance will assist in advancing its digital assets and Web 3.0 strategy. According to Mike Federle, CEO of Forbes, Binance can provide the American magazine with the experience, network, and resources to continue “providing helpful information about blockchain technologies and all emerging digital assets.”
Flipsider:
- The tie-up between Binance and Forbes has sparked criticism, with PwC crypto leader Henri Arslanian, suggesting that there may be a conflict of interests at play.
Why You Should Care
The news truly demonstrates how large the crypto sector has become, and its increasing influence on the real-world.
Ransomware Payments in Cryptocurrencies Surpassed $600 Million in 2021
Due to their ability and frequency of holding huge sums, projects in the crypto industry have been persistent targets of cyber-attacks. According to blockchain data firm, Chainalysis, ransomware payments in the cryptocurrency sector hit at least $602 million in 2021.
In its report, Chainalysis revealed that at least 140 ransomware strains were responsible for extracting over $602 million, with the average ransomware payment size reaching a record high of $118,000 in 2021.
According to the report, Conti was the most active strain of ransomware in 2021, siphoning more than $200 million in 2021. Darkside followed, with more than $100 million siphoned.
Chainalysis adds that the figure could be even higher than its early estimates due to under-reporting by the victims of ransomware attacks. It highlights that its first report regarding ransomware payments for 2020 was $350 million but was later adjusted to $692 million.
Flipsider:
- Fortunately, the recovery of laundered crypto funds has also been on the rise, notably including the $3.6 billion recently recovered by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Why You Should Care
Although crypto appears to be an ideal target for ransomware attacks, the funds can still be tracked because of the transparency provided by blockchains. Nevertheless, avoid clicking unverified links to reduce your exposure to ransomware.
Cardano Has Facilitated 30 Million Transactions, TVL Tops $157 Million
Cardano has had a milestone week; from launching MELD, to completing the Daedalus upgrade. Data from Google’s studio has revealed that the network, frequently touted as an Ethereum killer, has now processed 30.4 million transactions.
The Cardano network now impressively has over 200,000 daily active addresses, making it one of the most active chains in the industry. Cardano’s increased activity follows a surge in the number of decentralized applications being launched on the Cardano blockchain following the Daedalus upgrade.
Although its smart contracts deployment was initially criticized for being slow, the total value locked (TVL) in the Cardano blockchain has crossed the $157 million mark, making it the 30th largest DeFi chain. As it stands, there are only five dApps on the Cardano network.
The Total Value Locked in Cardano. Source: DefiLlama
Decentralized exchange SundaeSwap is the biggest dApp with $96.2 million at this time. Non-custodial banking protocol, MELD, has $49.32 million in TVL. Over the last 30 days, Cardano’s TVL has risen by 87%, more than any chain ranked above it. A promising sign of things to come for Cardano fans
Flipsider:
- Using the Elliott Wave, Gert van Lagen, a popular crypto analyst, argued that Cardano is actually undervalued, and could skyrocket from its current $1.16 to hit $5 by May 2022.
Why You Should Care
Cardano has steadily improved its network performance and increased its use cases, albeit slowly, in its bid to live up to expectations of being an Ethereum killer.
OnlyFans Launches NFT Profile Pictures, YouTube to Integrate NFTs
Following in the footsteps of Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), OnlyFans, an online creator-based subscription platform best known for adult content, has launched a feature that allows users to set verified non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as their profile pictures.
In its current iteration, OnlyFans only supports NFTs minted on the Ethereum blockchain, however, according to Amrapali Gan, CEO of OnlyFans, “this feature is the first step in exploring the role that NFTs can play on our platform.”
Popular video streaming service YouTube is also looking to join the growing list of social medias exploring the ways through which to maximize creator gains by integrating NFT capabilities into its platform. YouTube is working to make NFTs safer for content creators as a whole.
YouTube explained that it is working on harnessing non-fungible tokens in a way that cuts down on fraud in the rapidly growing digital art market. In addition to this, the Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) subsidiary added that it will use NFTs to proffer a more social viewing experience for gaming content to its users.
Flipsider:
- Although they are currently in the crypto industry spotlight, NFTs represent only 1% of the $2 trillion crypto ecosystem, with the profile-picture “genre” of NFTs generating the most revenue within the niche.
Why You Should Care
While they originally became famous for generating quick, and ofttimes outrageous profits, projects are beginning to attach real utility and use cases to their NFT offerings.
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