Author: Jeremy Ryan

Blockchain Uniswap, the second largest decentralized exchange (DEX) by total value locked (TVL), has made a significant advance with its latest version. The DEX has announced its integration with the Boba network. Initially launched in 2018, Uniswap version 3 aims to provide a secure and straightforward platform for exchanging ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. During the initial stages of DEX, Uniswap was merely a basic smart contract that facilitated token exchanges without the need for intermediaries. As DeFi gained popularity, some challenges emerged, including the requirement of multiple smart contracts to complete an exchange. To address these issues,…

Three financial watchdogs in the United States have issued a warning to investors considering certain individual retirement accounts with exposure to cryptocurrencies.In a Feb. 7 notice, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, the North American Securities Administrators Association, and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said self-directed individual retirement accounts, or IRAs, may include assets with potential risks, including cryptocurrencies. According to the agencies, some of the aforementioned IRAs could offer exposure to crypto assets that qualify as securities “without SEC registration or a valid exemption from registration” and without providing the information necessary to…

On Feb 8, a jury trial in the Southern District of New York reached a verdict in Hermès’ lawsuit against MetaBirkins. The court ruled that artist Mason Rothschild had violated the trademark protections of the brand Hermès. Rothschild’s 100 “Metabirkins” NFTs were found to not be artistic commentary and therefore not protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.According to a report by Vogue Business, a nine-member jury found Rothschild liable for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and “cybersquatting,” awarding Hermès $133,000 in damages. Notably, the decision marks the first time the relationship between digital art, NFTs, and physical fashion…

In 2022, the concept of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) faced criticism from those who questioned their utility. However, the team behind the “A Hard Working Man” (AHWM) digital collectibles project is eager to change that perception. In collaboration with Cointelegraph and Animal Concerts, the team behind the hit single “A Hard Working Man” — including Grammy-award-winning production duo The Avila Brothers — is releasing an NFT collection with real utility featuring hip hop icon Snoop Dogg and country music mogul Billy Ray Cyrus. Explore the collection hereTo add to the excitement of the NFT drop and ensure real-world utility for its owners,…

Though not as splashy as some of the other web3 games, Upland has quietly remained one of the most played blockchain games since its launch back in 2020. Since then they have expanded to over a dozen cities and added further layers of depth to their game. It’s been a while since we’ve written about Upland, so let’s catch up with what they have been up to lately! Upland continues to grow — adding new cities, new customizations, new block explorers (avatars), new partners, and more! Their most recent addition, 3D avatars, allow players to create and customize their persona…

Japanese financial software firm Soramitsu has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Bank of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic Payment Systems Department on the launch of a proof-of-concept project for a Laotian central bank digital currency (CBDC). Under the agreement, a digital form of the Lao kip, called the DLak, would launch Feb. 7.According to an explanatory video, the central bank would provide DLak to commercial banks in exchange for fiat currency, and the user would exchange fiat for DLak from the commercial bank. The user would then make purchases from participating sellers using a QR…

New NFT marketplace Blur has outpaced its established competitor and NFT giant Opensea in global market share.Despite only launching in October, Blur has captured 46% of the weekly market share, compared to OpenSea’s 36%.So far in February, Blur has topped daily trade volume in the NFT sector, averaging about $14.3 million, compared with OpenSea’s $11.3 million. This should come as no surprise as Blur has consistently exceeded OpenSea’s trade volumes since early December.However, OpenSea still leads in terms of the number of trades conducted. Data shows that Blur has a smaller group of dedicated traders who process significant amounts, with…

NFT Legendary hip-hop music label Def Jam Recordings is the latest to try its hand at creating a musical act built around NFT avatars, today announcing a collaboration with Solana-based project Catalina Whale Mixer to create a virtual band. Called The Whales, the virtual band will pair colorful whale avatars from the Solana profile picture (PFP) collection with music from what the companies claim will be “an all-star cast” of musicians and producers. Those collaborators have yet to be announced. It’s similar in approach to Kingship, a virtual band made up of Bored Ape Yacht Club avatars turned into band…

Today, Splinterlands opens up the sale of DEC Batteries, or DEC-B. These batteries allow players to lock DEC tokens away, while spending only 80% of the value in the battery. Sort of like a locked savings account, DEC-B provides an opportunity to get extra value from your DEC tokens. Today marks the beginning of the sale of DEC-B, or Dark Energy Crystal Batteries, in Splinterlands. There will two billion DEC-B tokens available. Each one costs 0.8 DEC or 0.1 VOUCHERS. However, this is kind of like a staking system or savings bond. There is no current use case for DEC…

Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has petitioned the court to delay civil proceedings against former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried “until the conclusion of the parallel criminal case”.In Feb. 7 filings, Williams requested that the court issue an order staying civil proceedings as well as discovery from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission against Bankman-Fried until after his criminal case, scheduled to go to trial in October. According to Williams, the criminal case against Bankman-Fried was “likely to have a significant impact” on the SEC and CFTC…