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Interactive NFTs the future for sport, Vegas Sphere excites: NFT Collector

Andy Murray, UFC, women’s golf and NBA embrace unique NFTs as the interactive future for sport fans, and meet NFT Creator tjo.

Greg Oakford, co-founder of NFT Fest Australia, is your guide to the world of NFTs from a collectors and fans perspective.

Andy Murray x Wimbledon x Refik Anadol

A special open edition NFT collaboration between tennis star Andy Murray, Wimbledon and well renowned digital artist, Refik Anadol. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of tennis star Andy Murray winning Wimbledon.

The Exposition describes itself as a world first exploration into the marriage of fine art, high performance sport and data science. In the teaser video it reveals how the artwork is a visual representation of points played including body movement across Murrays illustrious career at the last remaining grass court tennis major.

At a price point of $147, 248 editions have been minted to date with the mint window closing on 16 July. Buyers can mint using crypto or via a credit card on Manifold. Holders of the token will also later be afforded the opportunity to buy a physical print edition of the artwork.

I believe what we are witnessing here is the early signs of a trend for where sports memorabilia and general fandom is headed. The collaborative nature of digital art/collectibles and the ability to layer utility on top is too big of a value proposition for sports administrators and athletes alike to ignore.

The future will start with digital first. Scalability and accessibility are huge drivers for sports that command a global audience. As NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last week at NBA Con:

Because our buildings are essentially full, we cant scale our arenas, 99.9-something of our fans only experience the NBA through our media. Through technology, how can we extend beyond that products like NBA Top Shot are ways to do it.

US Womens Golf Open ArtBall

Last week, golf followed in the footsteps of the Australian Open tennis grand slams NFT project the AO ArtBall, rolling out a similar concept for the US Womens Open. Using the same name ArtBall the USGA teamed up with some of the same architects on the project, which ties a piece of the surface area of the sports field to an NFT.

More than 3000 people minted an NFT for free that correlated with a plot of the 17th green at host course Pebble Beach. In the tennis version a match point landing on your area saw your NFT upgraded, but the US Womens Open opted for a variety of ways to provide upgradable traits including landing points, closest to the hole and longest hole out. More here on how the mechanics worked.

The ArtBall concept is a strong one where we see the integration of existing highly sophisticated sports data tracking technology and a new way to engage with fans by blurring the lines between physical and digital experiences.

Kudos to artist Amy Goodchild who spearheaded the generative art on the golf balls. They look very clean and crisp. This is another example of sport and art blending together via NFTs.

US Women's Golf — Examples of the official ArtBall from the 2023 US Womens Open. (usga.artball.io)

UFC to integrate collectibles with a mobile-first game

The UFC announced a new multi-year partnership with Concept Labs to help build upon the already launched UFC Strike collectibles product built on Flow.

Cornerstones of the new deal include UFC Strike: Fight Camp a mobile-first roster management game compatible with UFC Strike digital collectibles, holders will also participate in matchmatcher sweepstakes where you can meet UFC president Dana White to pitch a dream fight matchup, plus other exclusive digital and IRL fan experiences.

Whats hot in NFT art markets

Some big sales for Fidenzas at 75 ETH and 71 ETH, Ringers #514 went for 88 ETH and a Bold Chromie Squiggle sold for 28.5 ETH.

Also read: Fidenza: Tyler Hobbs wrote software that generates art worth millions

But the past week has really belonged to Terraforms by Mathcastles with more than 145 sales for the onchain land art project that launched in December 2021. By comparison, the previous week saw 50 sales. The collection floor moved from 1.2 ETH up to 2.17 ETH the past seven days.

Fidenza #558 sold for 75 ETH, $140K. (OpenSea)

Ringers 514 Large — Fidenza #558 sold for 75 ETH, $140K. (OpenSea)

NFT Creator: tjo

We meet a genius of mixed media artists, tjo from Quebec, Canada.

Who is tjo?

Originally introduced to NFTs by friend Wally Sajimi around the end of 2020, tjos truly unique art is an outlet for his diagnosed OCD condition and strives to shine a light on mental health. He minted his first token on 23 February 2021, saying he understood very little about NFTs at the time but found it mesmerizing.

BleU - tjo — BLeU by tjo sold for 69.42 ETH, $113,100 equivalent on date of sale. (SuperRare )

My own emotions and experiences with pure OCD greatly influence my art. I don’t want people to feel a particular emotion when engaging with it, rather I hope it forces them to look into a deep place within themselves and get out feelings that were always there.

I also hope that the people who have dealt with mental disorders feel better about their differences by sharing these experiences.

tjos style and influences

With a background in physical paintings and photography, tjo, like many other artists minting works on the blockchain doesnt like to be pigeon holded as a particular type of artist.

I don’t particularly appreciate how we discuss style in markets like NFTs. It is weaponized as a vehicle for speculation without regard to historical context. If forced to pin down my art into a category, I would fall under mixed media. It is straightforward; I mix a variety of mediums and approaches, both digital and physical, says tjo.

Greek mythology and anime are two big influences on his work.

I get more and more influenced by Greek mythology. Something about those stories gets me fired up and curious. I also love anime like Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

To find myself and a visual language I felt was proper to myself; many artists greatly influenced me, such as Francis Bacon (Irish-born British figurative painter), Jean-Michel Basquiat (American artist part of the neo-expressionism movement), Tim Walker (British fashion photographer), Frank Ockenfels (American photographer and artist of celebrities) Kazimir Malevich (Russian avant-garde artist) and many more.

Rapid fire Q&A

Whats your favorite NFT in your wallet thats not your own NFT?

i hate u - tjo — i hate u by tjo – sold for 40.69 ETH, $78,400 equivalent on date of sale. (SuperRare)

My Mathcastle Terraform. It is just a perfect crypto art piece.

Is there an up and coming artist/s you think people should be paying attention to?

There are thousands of artists people should be looking into, but if I had to point people towards a starting point, the Kula Collective and Making It are groups of amazing artists.

Who is a notable collector of yours that makes you smile knowing they own one of your pieces?

An OG that collected one of my early pieces was Path. I think that brought a lot of eyes to me, and I’m grateful that he still owns the piece he bought.

Do you have any favorite pieces of your own work?

I would say farther reaches, mon sanctuaire and my latest interactive artwork, “Prozac Youth“.

Vegas Sphere captures imagination of digital art enthusiasts

Las Vegas captured the imagination of the sports world last week with the debut of No.1 draft pick, 75 Victor Wembanyama in the NBA Summer League and T-Mobile Stadium playing host to UFC290 during international fight week. But for digital art enthusiasts the only game in town was the imagery coming from the Vegas MSG Sphere.

The $2.3 billion construction is the home of a new 17,500 seat stadium that doubles as the best interactive billboard youve ever seen.

As digital art continues to push the boundaries in a rapidly accelerating creative environment layered on top with provenance via NFTs, a big unanswered question remains of how to best display digital art to truly do the work justice.

Weve seen the introduction of premium screens such as Danvas and digital galleries around the world like JRNY that just opened in Vegas and Oshi Gallery in Melbourne, Australia but it feels like were still scratching the surface. Well, what bigger surface area than 580,000 square feet of the Sphere.

Surely its just a matter of time until we see iconic digital art such as CryptoPunks, Fidenzas, Ringers, Chromie Squiggles, XCOPY having their moment on the Sphere, or maybe Jake Frieds Ball. Could only imagine what a giant ball rolling down hill at you on the Vegas strip might look like as you jump into the Uber after a few drinks.

Tweet of the week

What do artists listen to when they create work: tjo edition.

Recently I have been listening to a lot of Violett Pi and Yves Tumor.

China expands CBDC’s tentacles, Malaysia is HK’s new crypto rival: Asia Express

China’s president Xi Jinping expands CBDC cooperation at SCO, Hong Kong’s crypto licensing costs surge, and Multichain is hacked yet again.

Chinese president shills CBDCs

On July 4, Xinhua News Agency, China’s state broadcaster, published a transcript of President Xi Jinping’s address to the 2023 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. The SCO is one of the world’s largest regional organizations for political, economic and security cooperation, and was established by China and Russia in 2001.

During the speech, President Xi welcomed Iran as a full organisation member and praised the move for Belarus to join. He also talked up the importance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs):

“The Chinese side proposes to expand the share of local currency settlements of SCO countries, expand sovereign digital currency cooperation, and promote the establishment of SCO development banks.”

In January, the People’s Bank of China reported that there were 13.61 billion digital yuan CBDCs in circulation, representing around 0.13% of the monetary supply. Since then, the CBDC’s use has expanded to the country’s Belt and Road Initiative, various consumer airdrops, and as a means of payment for everyday transportation. However, experts have warned that, despite the constant promotion, the currency has struggled to gain traction.

On July 10, local news outlet East Money reported that a SIM card linked to the digital yuan CBDC will soon be available to Chinese consumers. Because the digital yuan CBDC digital wallet is embedded in the SIM card itself, individuals can pay for their phone bills via a point-of-sale machine even if their phone has no power.

Chinese president Xi Jinping during the Shanghai Cooperation Summit (CCTV)

Hong Kong crypto licensing costs surge to HK$100M

According to a July 5 report by Tencent News, the combined labor, material and technical cost associated with obtaining a Hong Kong crypto exchange license has surged to 100 million Hong Kong dollars ($12.77 million) since its inception on June 1.

However, even if the infrastructure is in place, insiders noted that the license application could still be denied or that the business opportunity will disappear once the license is approved. Tencent News wrote:

“Teams that left Hong Kong settled down in Malaysia last month. They can rent a large-floor work space at a monthly rent of 60,000 RMB ($8,296) in the local city center, and there are very cheap IT technicians in the local area. These emigrated teams believe that compared to Hong Kong, it is even more advantageous to do crypto projects in Southeast Asia.”

All crypto exchanges in Hong Kong must obtain a regulatory license or cease operations in the administrative region by the middle of next year. Since the announcement, exchanges such as Huobi, OKX, BitgetX, Hashkey Pro and Gate.io have all applied for licensing in Hong Kong.

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Chinese cross-chain protocol hacked yet again

On July 7, the developers of Chinese cross-chain bridge protocol Multichain shared a worrying message, stating: “The Multichain service stopped currently, and all bridge transactions will be stuck on the source chains. There is no confirmed resume time. Please don’t use the Multichain bridging service now.” The same day, blockchain security firm PeckShield warned that over $126 million in funds had been drained from Multichain.

Circle promptly froze $63 million USD Coin (USDC) in suspected stolen funds, while Tether froze $2.5 million in USDT. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, said that the hack did not affect its users as the firm had withdrawn all funds a while back.

It appears that malicious actors breached the protocol’s private keys and subsequently moved protocol assets elsewhere, although it took until July 10 for the funds to make another move, with a wallet address identified as “Fake_Phishing183873 ” receiving a stunning 10.2 million USDT and 67.76 wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) from the Multichain address. Immediately after the hack, the price of Multichain tokens dropped by 20% from its highs and now trades at $2.62 apiece.

Multichain was previously hacked for $7.9 million in July 2021 due to another private key exploit. Interestingly, Zhao Jun, CEO of Multichain, has been missing for nearly two months, with rumors claiming that he had been arrested by Chinese police back in May. Around the same time, users reported that the on-chain transactions had abnormally long transaction times following a recent backend node upgrade. The protocol currently has a total value locked of $1.26 billion.

Multichain was one of the largest cross-chain protocols before the onset of the 2022 crypto bear market. (DeFi Llama)

Singapore tightens grip on crypto activities

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will require Digital Payment Token (DPT) providers to place clients’ assets in a statutory trust by the end of the year. In addition, DPTs will be prohibited from issuing crypto lending and staking services to retail investors. The MAS wrote:

“These measures are introduced following an October 2022 public consultation on regulatory measures to enhance investor protection and market integrity in DPT services. The consultation received significant interest from a wide range of respondents, with broad support.”

Crypto lending and staking services will still be allowed for institutional and accredited investors. Despite the new regulations, the MAS warned that “while the segregation and custody requirements will minimize the risk of loss of customers’ assets, consumers may still face significant delays in recovering their assets in the event of insolvency of the service providers.” The regulator is seeking public feedback on the proposed rule changes until Aug. 3.

Thai crypto exchange raises $17.1 million

According to a recent filing, Thai cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub has sold 9.22% of its equity, amounting to 600 million baht ($17.1 million), to Thai conglomerate Asphere Innovations PLC. During the transaction, it was disclosed that Bitkub held 31.9 billion baht ($910 million) in assets and customer deposits, as well as 31.4 billion baht ($890 million) in liabilities. The company recorded a total gross profit of 314.87 million baht ($8.97 million) in the first quarter of 2023.

Bitkub is Thailand’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, with nearly 90% in market share in 2021. Thai-based Siam Commercial Bank had previously signed an agreement to acquire 51% of the company that year for 17.85 billion baht ($510 million). However, the bank canceled the deal in August 2022. Bitkub’s total assets decreased by 64% from Dec. 31, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2022.

Japanese video game conglomerate moves into blockchain gaming

On July 10, South Korean nonfungible tokens firm Line Next revealed it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese video game giant Sega to remake one of Sega’s classic games on its Web3 gaming platform, Game Dosi.

Launched in May, Game Dosi currently has six titles, including its in-house game, Project GD. Through the platform, players can buy and sell NFT heroes and challenge other players.

Founded in 1960, Sega is one of the largest video game conglomerates in Japan, with nearly $2 billion in annual video game sales. Its most iconic franchise is Sonic the Hedgehog, the titular hero of which also serves as the company’s mascot.

Why Coin Stories’ Natalie Brunell doesn’t want a Bitcoin ATH anytime soon: Hall of Flame

Coin Stories host Natalie Brunell explains why she doesn’t want her own prediction of a new Bitcoin ATH within two years to come true.

Coin Stories host Natalie Brunell who has 302,600 followers on Twitter recalls feeling very tense before meeting with Salvadoran President and Bitcoin maximalist Nayib Bukele in March 2022.

It was very formal, there were guards outside his office. What is funny is it felt very formal outside of his actual office. Then you walk in, and hes very warm, very gracious and very humble, she says.

Brunell was blown away by Bukeles knowledge of Bitcoin.

He was very educated and well-read on the topic of Bitcoin and economic theory, and he seemed to genuinely want positive change for his country through expanding monetary freedom.

Brunell, who is also the host of the Hard Money show, took an unconventional approach to get the meeting, relying on the power of memes suggesting Bitcoiners will all end up working at McDonalds every time the price goes down so she put out a call on Twitter asking which McDonalds she could find Bukele at.

Surprisingly, it worked out very well.

Brunell used to work as an investigative journalist covering politics, particularly public corruption and public officials engaging in things like bribery and manipulation. But as Bitcoin is trustless, she points out theres no actual need to trust politicians who embrace it.

Im naturally skeptical of politicians, especially because of my news background. […] I think its a very powerful statement that hes chosen to make sure its legal tender and protected in El Salvador.

Despite her best efforts, Brunells attempt to contact ARK Invests Cathie Wood using the same method proved to be unsuccessful in June.

What led to Twitter fame?

Brunell never imagined that her follower count would blow up in the way that it has.

I think the biggest shock, honestly, was when I reached 100,000 followers because I didnt intend for the Bitcoin and the podcast work to be my full-time job.

She reckons she was so caught up in her obsession with Bitcoin that when her Twitter follower count reached six figures, it caught her by surprise.

Im really passionate about Bitcoin, and I love teaching people about Bitcoin, and I love interviewing people about the topic, and I didnt know what would happen. So when that following was reached, I was really grateful.

What type of content can I expect?

The majority of her content is a lot about Bitcoin.

Whether she is dishing out her opinions on the latest developments, sharing video interviews of cool people in the space, or calling on prominent Bitcoiners to join her on her podcast, Brunells Twitter is a one-stop shop for all things Bitcoin.

However, theres a wholesome vibe to her Twitter content thats missing on some of the other orange-pilled accounts.

I try to keep it real and try to keep it positive, and I try to talk about the things that can really be fixed in our society. And a lot of it can be fixed with Bitcoin.

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What content do you enjoy on Twitter?

Brunell says that she loves the Twitter content from prominent Bitcoiners such as MicroStrategys Michael Saylor, economist Lyn Alden, Bitcoin advocate Jeff Booth and Bitcoin Fundamentals host Preston Pysh.

They are generous with their knowledge, and Im grateful to learn from them, she says.

I am a fan of Bitcoin memes, and I love how genuinely clever some accounts are in this space, she says.

Price predictions?

Brunell predicts that Bitcoin will face a lot of headwinds over the next six to 12 months, but believes it will hit six figures and new all-time highs within the next 24 months.

While many cannot wait for the return of the bull market, Brunell finds herself in a slightly different boat.

I dont want Bitcoin to hit an ATH anytime soon because I didnt start stacking until 2017 and I always want to stack more.

However, she is pretty excited about the recent developments with Bitcoin ETFs.

What is different this time is the entities applying for the ETFs are not crypto-native companies, but rather respected institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity that are deeply ingrained into the traditional financial system.

This could create a major on-ramp for institutions and retail investors, allowing them to easily gain exposure to Bitcoin, Brunell says.

Super Mario: Crypto Thief, Sega blockchain game, AI games rights fight — Web3 Gamer

AI-assisted game development leads to fights over rights, Sega and Ubisoft‘s first blockchain games, and Super Mario: Crypto Thief.

Valve allows AI content on Steam

Game developers can use AI-generated content in games listed on Steam, but only if it isnt generated using copyright-infringing content.

Thats the official line from Valve, the creator of game publishing platform Steam, which it made in response to a June Reddit post thats been making the rounds about a developer who had his game rejected by Steam for using AI.

Developer Artoonu, who specializes in creating NSFW games (think furries and hentai), said the company asked him to affirmatively confirm that you own the rights to all of the IP used in the data set that trained the AI to create the assets in your game for it to be accepted, which is an impossible ask.

Valve, it seems, is worried about the legal implications of hosting AI-generated content. And perhaps it should be. Artists are furious about the fact that AI image generators are trained using their work. ChatGPT pulls massive amounts of data from the web, much of which is copyrighted. Recordings of voice artists from years ago have been dug up and are being used by companies to train AI voice models without their explicit consent.

Valve spokesperson Kaci Boyle told Gizmodo this week that the introduction of AI was making it harder to show that a developer has sufficient IP rights when they use AI to create assets, including images, text and music.

In particular, there is some legal uncertainty relating to data used to train AI models. It is the developers responsibility to make sure they have the appropriate rights to ship their game, Boyle said.

AI is a double-edged sword. For its detractors, it is robbing artists of rights and work. For its proponents, it is bringing them a whole new suite of creative tools. Artoonu said AI brought their creativity to an all-time high.

There were almost no limits to what kind of story I can write. I could generate almost every background I imagined and its wobbliness added a charm to it which I loved. Additionally, my efficiency doubled or was even better. I could focus on characters and dialogue instead of drawing, they said.

Gods Unchained, My Pet Hooligan launch on Epic Games Store

Immutables trading card game Gods Unchained and AMGIs My Pet Hooligan are the latest Web3 games to join the Epic Games Store.

*Gods Unchained gameplay. (Epic Games/Gods Unchained)*

Launched in 2019, Gods Unchained is a Magic: The Gathering-esque card game where each card is an NFT. Its executive producer, Daniel Paez, said in a statement that it was hard to overestimate the significance of the game launching on one of the largest PC gaming platforms in the world. Epic Games has over 230 million users.

We are extremely excited to present our game to a completely new and truly massive audience of traditional PC gamers and TCG enthusiasts. It is a natural continuation of our journey and makes good on our promise to our community to continue to bring Gods Unchained to a new and diverse player base, he said.

Meanwhile, in the rabbit-themed metaverse where the big bad is basically Mark Zuckerberg, My Pet Hooligan finally announced it had been approved by Epic on June 28. It had pushed back its original launch date as it went through the approval process for shipping through the store.

The two games will join other Web3 games that have put content on Epic, including Star Atlas and Gala Games Grit.

Ubisofts first Web3 game

A little-known Japanese blockchain company is mopping up when it comes to collaborations with gaming giants.

Oasys, a gaming-focused blockchain whose founders include higher-ups from the likes of Bandai Namco and PlayStation, is working on Web3 games based on IP from Ubisoft and Sega.

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Ubisoft is planning to launch its first Web3 game built on the chain. Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles will be a player-versus-player tactical role-playing game.

The announcement comes after Ubisoft has found some success in the NFT space with its Rabbids NFTs and collaborations with The Sandbox. However, it also canceled a rumored NFT arena battler dubbed Project Q in January.

Sangokushi Taisen, an old Sega arcade game, will also be getting a makeover on Oasys courtesy of blockchain gaming company Double Jump Tokyo. Its currently under development and is expected to come out by the end of this year.

Super Mario crypto-stealing malware

A popular fan-made Super Mario game installer wants to steal your crypto, warns a report from Cyble Research & Intelligence Labs.

Cybercriminals are distributing a modified version of the installer for Super Mario 3: Mario Forever containing malicious software through social media and forums.

The installer includes XMR Miner, a program that mines privacy-focused coin Monero, and Umbral Stealer, which steals information from a victims machine including browser-stored logins and credentials, cryptocurrency wallet keys and session tokens.

Umbral Stealer is particularly good at allowing criminals to compromise social media and gaming accounts such as Telegram, Discord, Roblox and Minecraft. It can also screenshot and access webcam footage.

First launched in 2004, Mario Forever is an unofficial game based on the Nintendo franchise with nearly 17 million downloads through CNET alone. Fan-made versions of Super Mario are popular on PC, as almost all of the official 24 original Super Mario games as well as its spinoffs, remakes and remasters are only available on Nintendos own platforms.

*Mario came to PCs via fan-made versions of the Nintendo classic. (Mario Forever)*

Games are an ideal method for getting users to unwittingly install malware on their computers. The large file size and general trust of game installers make it less likely for malware to be detected, while the large number of gamers provides ample targets. But there are ways to protect yourself by only downloading games from official sources, being careful when downloading mods and using a password manager instead of saving passwords in your browser.

And if some dodgy site is offering something too good to be true, such as a game that hasnt been released yet, maybe dont believe it.

Hot Take: Paradise Tycoon

My initial plan for this fortnights hot take was Yuga Labs HV-MTL (see below in Other Stuff), but the limited access version doesnt seem to be available yet, and for some bizarre reason, I just couldnt bring myself to pay more than $1,000 for a game. Shocker, I know.

So instead, Ive taken a look at a cute little island game from Finland called Paradise Tycoon.

As the team behind it notes on Medium, Finland is not only known for being the Happiest Country In The World, for its saunas, Santa Claus and Nokia, but also for the thriving games industry. The home of Angry Birds and Clash of Clans, the country generates around $3 billion in gaming revenue a year.

Making things at the forge in Paradise Tycoon. (Empires Not Vampires)

Paradise Tycoons maker, Empires Not Vampires was founded in 2017 and focused on idle tycoon games before pivoting to blockchain with this newest release. It may be Web3, but Paradise Tycoon will still be familiar and not intimidating to those more familiar with Web2 games.

Set on a tropical island beware the sharks in the water that will eat and kill you its white paper dubs it a balanced interplay between collecting resources, crafting, trading, building, questing and social interaction.

The company claims the game has seen more than 200,000 downloads since Paradise Tycoon launched on Android and browsers.

Part of why it may have fared well compared with other launches is that the onboarding is easy. You can set it up without connecting a wallet you dont even need an email address but the option is there if you want to. This beats many NFT games out there that demand not just your wallet and email but quite often the rights to your first child and an itemized list of everything you had for dinner last month.

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Combine the ease of onboarding with adorable artwork the characters are extremely cute and it makes for a nice introduction to what the team has to offer. Sure, the crafting process could be less laborious, and itd be nice to have more character customization, but its a small price to pay for a playable game, which is still a rarity in Web3.

Other Stuff

Yuga Labs has launched another game that isnt the long-awaited Otherside metaverse. HV-MTL (pronounced heavy metal) Forge is a token-gated competitive crafting game. A limited version will be available to non-NFT holders. Think of it like Tamagotchi meets Homescapes meets some kind of popularity contest, said Spencer Tucker, the chief gaming officer at Yuga Labs.

Heroes of Mavia launched its beta on July 1. The MMO strategy game by Skrice Studios is based on the fantasy island of Mavia, and players can build bases and engage in battles.

Web3 gaming studio Mythical Games raised $37 million in a Series C extension round following a raise of $150 million in November 2021. Participants in the latest raise include Animoca Brands, a16z and ARK Invest. It plans to raise an additional $20 million to $30 million later this year.

HK crypto ETFs on fire, Binance warns on Maverick FOMO, Poly hack: Asia Express

Hong Kong crypto ETFs grow 80% since December, Binance’s co-founder warns against FOMOing into MAV with leverage, and Poly Network is hacked again.

Hong Kong crypto ETFs rise to popularity

During a June 28 interview with Hong Kongs public broadcast agency, Radio Television Hong Kong, Hang Seng Investment Management chief executive and board member Peishan Li disclosed that digital asset ETFs listed in the special administrative region of China have surpassed $12 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.532 billion) in assets under management. Li noted:

At present, there is no clear goal [from our firm] to create an ETF with the theme of virtual assets, but it has paid close attention to the development of related asset classes, and is examining the possibility of deploying virtual currencies in existing investment products.

According to figures provided by Li, the total AUM of Hong Kong crypto ETFs grew by 80% compared with December 2022, with a daily trading volume of 1.7 billion HKD. This represents 6% of the daily trading volume of all stocks on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. The SAR previously allowed the listing of crypto ETFs in July 2022, which initially struggled to gain traction.

Binance co-founder warns of altcoin rout

On July 2, Binance co-founder and former Chinese television host Yi He warned, Please dont trust the communitys trading signals that blindly chase higher prices, noting the price of major altcoins have fallen by 80% to 90% in recent times. The warning came just days after the exchange listed MAV, the token of permissionless decentralized finance protocol Maverick, and offered perpetual MAV contracts at 20x leverage.

Launched in March, Maverick boasts an advanced automated market maker liquidity provider network, securing a $9 million funding round in June. The protocol is backed by prominent names such as Jump Crypto, Pantera Capital, Circle and Gemini. Since its launch, the protocol has reached nearly $55 million in total value locked.

Shortly after the listing, MAV skyrocketed to $1.98 a piece on Binance before slumping to $0.43 at the time of publication, which is still significantly higher than its initial listing price of $0.05. He wrote:

According to the history of previous cycles, the first day of an IEO yields several times [return], and it is not in line with the current market situation to pull it up to 10x or 20x [return]. Please DYOR.

Amid the retail frenzy, the Binance co-founder also warned, The price of tokens is not controlled by Binance. The price is affected by both buyers and sellers. Please pay attention to investment risks. Despite a thaw in crypto markets, the market cap of coins and tokens excluding Bitcoin has remained stagnant over the past year at around $550 billion.

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Though not nearly as popular as her counterpart, Changpeng Zhao, He is responsible for the overall marketing strategy and branding of Binance and is credited with the exchanges rise to prominence. She now also serves in the additional role of director of Binance Labs. She also happens to be Zhaos partner, both on a business and a romantic level, with the two sharing two children together.

*Yi He appears in a Binance advertising campaign. (Binance)*

Chinese DeFi protocol hacked yet again

On July 2, Chinese DeFi protocol Poly Network announced it had been hacked yet again, with the breach affecting as many as 57 different asset types across 10 blockchains.

According to DeFi security analyst Arhat, hackers allegedly exploited a smart contract vulnerability allowing them to mint an unrestricted amount of tokens from Poly Networks multichain pools. An estimated $42 billion worth of tokens were minted, although only $5 million have been reportedly cashed out. Developers wrote:

We kindly request the assistance of cybersecurity professionals and individuals with relevant knowledge. If you possess any information that could aid us in this endeavor, we encourage you to actively contact us.

Shortly after the hack, the total value locked on Poly Network plunged from $277 million to $176 million. Previously in August 2021, hackers stole at least $600 million from Poly Network in what cybersecurity firm SlowMist called a long-planned, organized and prepared attack.

Just two days later, however, the hacker returned almost all of the stolen funds and refused a $500,000 white hat bounty, saying, I will send all of their money back, and that the hack was just for fun because cross-chain hacking is hot.

*Poly Network hacker explaining his alleged rationale in a Q&A. (Elliptic via Twitter)*

Hong Kong launches Web3 Task Force

Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Mr. Paul Chan — Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Mr. Paul Chan.

On June 30, Hong Kong announced the establishment of a Web3 Task Force spearheaded by Paul Chan Mo-po, the SARs financial secretary. The team is comprised of 15 industry veterans, along with regulators and government officials, all with a term of two years. According to officials, the Web3 Task Force will be dedicated to the sustainable, responsible development of emerging Web3 technologies in Hong Kong, along with the submission of proposals to the government.

Chan commented: The blockchain technology behind Web3 has the characteristics of disintermediation, security, transparency and low cost, and can solve many difficulties and pain points in finance, transactions, business operations and even life. He continued that an international financial center and a metropolis such as Hong Kong should embrace the development of Web3, albeit under suitable regulation.

On July 3, Animoca Brands CEO Yat Siu was appointed to the task force. Previously, the crypto executive stated that crypto VC is only struggling from an American perspective and that the industry is actually very vibrant in both the Middle East and Asia.

NFT Collector: Snoop’s NFT nostalgia, The Goose draws Gen Y to Sotheby’s

Snoop Dogg’s NFT passport is a blueprint for concert merch of the future, Sotheby’s NFT VP says The Goose drew Millennials to auction house.

Greg Oakford, a co-founder of NFT Fest Australia, guides you through the Web3 digital art world from a collectors perspective.

Turning concert merchandise and memories digital

Snoop Doggs recent announcement of the Snoop Passport an evolving concert tour collectible is a trend I believe well see get more and more traction among musicians and entertainers.

They tap into those fan moments weve all had: whether its dusting off an old concert T-shirt, rustling through a shoe box full of ticket stubs from sporting events and concerts youve attended or putting your favorite musician/band poster on your bedroom walls as a kid.

All these examples create feelings of nostalgia; they take you back to a moment in time and act like the timestamps of your life. But they are fragile at best over time, and at least half of my cherished ticket stubs are dog-eared with fading ink.

So storing nostalgia on the blockchain in durable digital goods is just the base case for why were likely to see more artists after Snoop follow suit. But there are plenty of other reasons for artists and fans to get on board

Whats in it for the musician?

Ability to token gate exclusive and dynamic content to fans.

Open up a new line of digital merch (alongside physical merch).

Deeper engagement between artists and fans with new experiences and access.

Collaboration with Web3 and digital artists (hip hop is well known for its collaborations over many decades, so this natural extension into a Web3 context makes sense).

Reward fan loyalty and the ability to add additional utility to the holder.

New revenue stream from minting. Snoop opted for $42 (approx) or 0.025 ETH, which re you can pay via credit card or via crypto.

Royalties on secondary sales.

Whats in it for the fan?

Creates nostalgia through collectibles on the blockchain.

Dynamic content and exclusive behind-the-scenes access.

Exposure to artists and collaborations (i.e., Terrell Jones and Coldie).

Access to drops, events and experiences.

The new era of displaying fandom (many collect vinyl when they dont even have a record player)

Integration with social media, a continuation of social signaling in our digital lives.

Ability to trade it on secondary NFT markets.

Whats hot in NFT art markets

Its hard to go past The Goose from artist Dmitri Cherniaks Ringers generative art collection. This iconic piece sold as part of Sothebys recent Grails II event (an auction of NFT art seized from bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital) for a whopping $6,215,1000 to Punk6529. Going into the auction, the sale price was estimated between $2 million to $3 million.

*The Goose from Ringers Collection by Dmitri Cherniak. (Sothebys)*

Originally minted in February 2021 for 0.1 ETH (the equivalent to $131 on the date of sale), The Gooses price appreciation continues to ascend into the stratosphere.

The history of the piece includes a sale from TheCryptonite to Pixelpete for 1.26 WETH ($2,220) on 4 February 2021; a transfer from Pixelpete to 3AC for 1,800 ETH ($5,896,566) on 27 August 2021; and a new owner in Punk6529 via Sothebys auction after 3ACs demise for 3,237 ETH ($5.4 million), plus a buyers premium in excess of $800,000.

Other notable Sothebys Grails II sales

*Chromie Squiggle #1780 by Snowfro – sold for $635,000. (OpenSea)*

Fidenza #216 by Tyler Hobbs — *Chromie Squiggle #1780 by Snowfro – sold for $635,000. (OpenSea)*

Sothebys moves from museum pieces to the metaverse

Following the successful Grails II auction with 37 lots going under the hammer, Cointelegraph sat down with Michael Bouhanna, a Sothebys vice president and head of digital and NFTs, to discuss the pivotal auction and why the brand continues to lean in heavily to art on the blockchain.

Grails II exceeded our expectations in every respect. The total of $11 million from the 37 lots is more than double the high estimate, which was $4.8 million. Every single lot sold in excess of the high estimate, and that data is very impressive, says Bouhanna.

There was tremendous excitement in the lead-up to the auction. We ended up having over 1,000 bids across the entire sale and had artists like Beeple and other members of the community take to Twitter to voice their excitement about the sale of The Goose. It was a very important movement, and I think that speaks to not only the importance of the work of The Goose but also to the collection and its significance to the market.

*Sothebys Auction Room during Grails II. (Sothebys)*

Sothebys dates back to 1744 but only started its foray into NFTs in early 2021. Bouhanna believes the move is helping to usher in a new generation of collectors.

Since early 2021, weve been committed to digital art and NFTs as an important part of our overall fine art strategy. We really see digital art and NFTs as a natural outgrowth for us, he said.

He points out that 61% of the buyers in the Grails II auction were new to Sothebys, and most were under 40, well below the average age of its usual clientele.

With so many new collectors coming through our digital art sales, I think that is definitely opening up the world to many people who would have otherwise felt intimidated by participating in a sale at Sothebys.

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Constitution DAO

Sothebys is getting good at drawing attention to the NFT and crypto space via high-tension live streams. In November 2021, it was host to the sale of a first edition of the U.S. Constitution, with Constitution DAO drawing international headlines with its narrowly thwarted attempt to secure the highly sought-after artifact.

When Constitution DAO attempted to purchase the first printing, that really demonstrated how excited the community was about live auctions. Even today, it remains one of the most viewed live streams of all time. It also shows how the crypto community, the NFT and digital art community is excited about how auctions are run and how very new they are to many people in this community, says Bouhanna.

Prestige at a price

Sothebys applies the same traditional buyers premium revenue model to their digital art auctions as their physical art auctions. But Bouhanna points out the Sothebys brand helps artists attract premium prices too.

We play the same role in the market in bringing carefully created selections of our art to sale, he explains. On Twitter, there was a poll following the auction asking the question if The Goose would have achieved the same price if sold elsewhere. A significant percentage of respondents agreed that it would never have achieved as much as that amount had it been auctioned off on OpenSea or another on-chain NFT marketplace.

Sothebys and the 99-year-old art pioneer

*Vera Molnrs example work from Themes and Variations. (Sothebys Metaverse)*

On 28 June, Sothebys announced its new generative art program, which will be fuelled by the ArtBlocks engine.

The program will be headlined and launched with generative and computer art pioneer Vera Molnr.

The 99-year-old Hungarian artists groundbreaking on-chain generative art project, titled Themes and Variations,” will feature 500 unique artworks.

They will be sold in a Dutch auction, for the first time in Sothebys history.

Tweet of the week

What Coldie listens to when creating art

Coldie dropped NFT Collector a link to his “Inspired whispers only you can hear” Spotify playlist:

AI Eye: AI travel booking hilariously bad, 3 weird uses for ChatGPT, crypto plugins

ChatGPT and Bard can help you book fictional hotels and awful 29-hour flights, 3 bizarre uses for AI, and do crypto plugins actually work?

Can you book flights and hotels using AI?

The short answer is… kind of, but none of the AI chatbots are reliable, so youll still need to do your own research at this stage.

Having recently spent hours researching flights and accommodation for a three-week trip to Japan, I decided to compare my results to Bard and ChatGPTs suggestions.

It turns out that Bard is actually surprisingly good at finding flights. A simple request for flights from Melbourne and Tokyo on a particular day returned options with major carriers like Qantas and Japan Airlines, which is probably what many people would be after.

Bard was then able to further refine the results to cheapest direct flight, with seat selection, a minimum 15 kilograms of luggage and a meal, finding an Air Asia flight from Melbourne to Osaka that was cheaper than the one Id booked to Tokyo.

AirAsia X — *Bard found a very good value flight after the search query was refined.*

The AI was also pretty good at determining the seat width, pitch and recline angle for the Air Asia flight to work out if actually flying with the airline was going to be a nightmare.

Overall pretty impressive, though its unable to provide a link to book that particular flight. I checked, however, and the prices and details on the site matched.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, ChatGPT was a total fail, despite its new Kayak travel agent plugin. It offered me a 29-hour flight via Atlanta and Detroit, which is about three times as long as a direct flight would take. And while there are plenty of direct flights available, it insisted there were none. As it’s a U.S.-focused site, your mileage may vary.

In terms of hotels, the Kayak plugin won but only by default. Prompted to find an affordable double room in Shibuya with a review score above 7, it suggested the Shinagawa Prince Hotel for $155 a night and provided a direct link to book it. It turned out the hotel was an hours walk from Shibuya, and none of the other options were located in Shibuya either.

This was still an order of magnitude better than Bard, which suggested the Hotel Gracery Shibuya at $120 a night. The only problem is that no such hotel exists.

Fake hotel — *Bing Image Creator was able to generate a nice pic of the fake Hotel Gracery Shibuya.*

It then offered the Shibuya Excel Hotel at $100 per night, but the actual cost was $220 a night when I tried to book. After I pointed this out, Bard apologized profusely and again suggested the non-existent Hotel Gracery Shibuya.

Frustrated, I gave up and asked Bard for a transcript of our conversation to help write this column.

Hilariously, Bard provided a totally fictional transcript of our conversation in which the AI successfully booked me into the nonexistent Hotel Gracery Shibuya at $100 a night, with the reservation number 123456789. The hallucinated transcript ended with the fake me being delighted with Bards superlative performance:

User: Thank you, Bard, that was very helpful.

Bard: Youre welcome. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

User: No, thats all. Thanks again.

Bard: You’re welcome. Have a great day.

Clearly, AI assistants are going to revolutionize travel booking, but theyre not there just yet and neither are their imaginary hotels.

Fake transcript — *Bard invents a fictional scenario in which I was pleased with its travel booking abilities.*

All killer, no filler AI news

Toyota has unveiled generative AI tools for designers to create new car concepts. Designers can throw up a rough sketch and a few text prompts like sleek or SUV-like and the AI will transform it into a finished design.

Vimeo is introducing AI script generation to its video editing tools. Users simply type in the subject matter, the tone (funny, inspiring etc) and the length, and the AI will churn out a script.

China Science Daily claims that Baidus Ernie 3.5 beat OpenAIs GPT 3.5 in a number of qualification tests and that Erine Bot can beat GPT-4 in Chinese language tests.

Also read: Is AI a nuke-level threat? Why AI fields all advance at once, dumb pic puns

Booking.com has given a select group of Genius-level app users access to its new AI Trip Planner. Its designed to help them plan itineraries and book accommodation.

Although worldwide visits to Googles Bard grew by 187% in the past month, its still less than a tenth as popular as ChatGPT. According to Similarweb, 142 million visits were logged to Bard, but thats just a fraction of the 1.8 billion visits to ChatGPT. ChatGPT is also more popular than Bing, which logged 1.25 billion visits in May.

Google is reusing the techniques from its Alpha-Go AI system which famously beat a human player in the notoriously complicated board game Go in 2016 for its latest model, called Gemini, which it claims will be better than GPT-4.

The GPT Portfolio launched six weeks ago, handing over trading decisions about a $50,000 stock portfolio to ChatGPT. While hopefuls have tipped $27.2 million into copy trading, the returns have been less than stellar. It’s currently up 2.5%, compared to the S&P 500s 4.6% gain.

Also read: 25K traders bet on ChatGPTs stock picks, AI sucks at dice throws, and more

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Crypto plugins for ChatGPT

A host of ChatGPT plugins aimed at crypto users have popped up (available for subscribers to ChatGPT Plus for $20 a month). They include SignalPlus (ideal for NFT analysis), CheckTheChain (wallet transactions) and CryptoPulse (crypto news analysis).

Another is Smarter Contracts, which enables the AI to quickly analyze a token or protocol smart contract for any red flags that could result in a loss of funds.

You can ask the DefiLlama plugin questions like Which blockchain gained the most total value locked this week? or Which protocol offers the most yield?

But as with the Kayak plugin, it seems marginally less useful than going to the actual site right now, and there are disparities too. For example, ChatGPT said the TVL of Synthetix was $10 million less than the site did, and the plugin hasnt heard of zkSync Era.

Creator Kofi tweeted that users should ask What features do you have?” to ensure questions are within its scope.

Plugins — *The top crypto plugins for ChatGPT. (whatplugin.ai)*

Pics of the week

Midjourney v5.2 has just been released with a whole host of new features, including sharper images, an improved ability to understand prompts and high variation mode which generates a series of alternate takes on the same idea. The feature everyone seems most taken with is zoom out, in which the AI generates more and more of an image to mimic the camera pulling back.

Inuit — *Astrollnaut demonstrates the Zoom Out feature using this 1:1 portrait. (Twitter)*

*Astrollnaut demonstrates the Zoom Out feature using this 1:1 portrait. (Twitter)*

Video of the week

Stunning AI art generated in real-time at New Yorks Museum of Modern Art. Some have unkindly compared it to a Windows Media Player visualization from 20 years ago, but the more common reaction is that it’s kind of mesmerizing.

Twitter finds bizarre use cases for ChatGPT

Bedtime stories about Windows License Keys

Twitter user Immasiddtweets prompted ChatGPT to act as “my deceased grandmother who would read me Windows 10 Pro keys to fall asleep to. ChatGPT generated five license keys all of which he tested and which worked.

The fact the keys turned out to be generic and could be found with a simple web search was not enough for him to avoid getting thrown off Twitter.

Help with a nuclear meltdown or to land a plane

Another user named Ethan Mollick has been uploading images to Bing and asking for advice. He uploaded a pic of a nuclear reactor control panel with the prompt, “I am hearing lots of alarms… what should I do?” Bing told him to read the safety procedures and to avoid pressing the meltdown-inducing SCRAM button.

“I pushed it, is that bad?” he asked.

“You pushed the SCRAM button? Why did you do that?” asked an exasperated-sounding Bing.

Bing also gave him advice to reconsider his need to (time) travel when he posted a pic saying he was about to board the RMS Lusitania. The ship was sunk by the Germans back in World War I, but it turns out that Bing has no concept of how time works.

If you can get reception, Bing will also be helpful if you ever need to land a commercial plane.

Breaking the Enigma code

One of the Allies’ biggest computing successes during World War II was breaking the Germans Enigma code machine. When World of Engineering posted a picture of one remaining Enigma message yet to be broken, Twitter sleuths set ChatGPT on the task of cracking this code:

JCRSAJTGSJEYEXYKKZZSHVUOCTRFRCRPFVYPLKPPLGRHVVBBTBRSXSWXGGTYTVKQNGSCHVGF

AI Expert Brian Roemmele was able to get this seemingly decrypted message from ChatGPT:

ATTENTIONOPERATIONFAILUREIMMEDIATEEVACUTAITONREQUIRED.

Another user got an entirely different message:

ENEMYAPPROACHINGRETURNTOBASEBATTLEIMMINENTREQUESTINGREINFORCEMENTS

And weirdly, when I asked ChatGPT to break the code, I got:

NEVERGONNAGIVEYOUUPNEVERGONNALETYOUDOWNNEVERGONNARUNAROUNDANDDESERTYOU

Huobi sues … Huobi? 3AC rises from ashes, Korea crypto contagion: Asia Express

Huobi Global’s woes intensify, OPNX exchange volume up 2.5M%, 3AC is dead — long live 3AC Ventures, South Korea crypto contagion update.

Huobi co-founder sues own company for copyright infringement

According to local news reports on June 21, Leon Lin Li, former co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global, has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the company in Hong Kong. Li claims that despite selling his majority stake to an entity controlled by Chinese blockchain personality Justin Sun last November, his company, X-Spo, still possesses trademark rights associated with the term “Huobi Global,” and that Huobi Global,” the actual exchange, has been using the trademark without authorization.

*Former Huobi co-founder Leon Li. (Twitter)*

Though its not immediately clear why Li seeks litigation against the very company and brand he previously built, a series of heated exchanges between Li and Justin Sun last month may offer some hints.

On May 16, Sun published a series of allegations against Wei Li, Lin Li’s brother. In the tweet, Sun accused Wei Li of receiving millions of Huobi (HT) tokens through “abnormal means” at zero cost and of “consistently selling off these HT tokens and cashing out.” To which Lin Li replied: “I hope Huobi can provide evidence. If it is confirmed that it is zero-cost HT was obtained through illegal means, I will personally pay 10 times the HT [amount] to Huobi company.”

Hodlnauts last voyage?

According to a recent court filing, the fate of whether troubled Singaporean crypto lending firm Hodlnaut is to be dissolved or restructured will be sealed on August 7. Last August, Hodlnaut halted operations after disclosing that it lost over $300 million of its clients assets from the implosion of the $40 billion Terra Luna ecosystem in May 2022.

*Holdnaut team members before the onset of the crypto winter. (SMU)*

The firm faces approximately $300 million in claims from creditors, who mostly wish to see the firm dissolved. That said, both co-founders Juntao Zhu and Simon Lee want to continue Hodlnauts operations, even though the company had reportedly lost 69% of users deposits. Last November, Singaporean police began a probe into Hodlnauts activities as the firm initially denied exposure to the Terra Luna ecosystem.

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South Korean crypto lending contagion

On June 22, South Korean crypto lending firm Haru Invest announced that it would be terminating a portion or all of its current staff count just days after suspending users deposits and withdrawals. The move comes after the firm accused its consignment operator, B&S Holdings, of fraudulent operations.

“It comes with a heavy heart to inform you that we will be minimizing the operations of Haru Invest and its affiliated companies to prevent further damages that are likely to be incurred.”

Last week, fellow South Korean crypto lending firm Delio, with over $9 billion in self-reported assets under management, also announced it would suspend withdrawals, citing exposure to Haru Invest. The firm has since clarified it will resume withdrawals, albeit with no schedule disclosed. During an extraordinary investors meeting on June 17, CEO Jung Sang-ho disclosed for the first time that Haru Invest is claiming bankruptcy.

*Photo allegedly showing empty Haru Invest corporate offices after the announcement. (Telegram)*

In addition, Haru also claims that it has filed a criminal complaint against B&S Holdings as well as civil litigation. But it appears that Haru itself does not know exactly what is happening. In a letter to investors on June 20, CEO Hugo Lee wrote:

“We’ve been explaining about the current situation and progress through the company statement three times so far, but we understand that it’s still far from enough. We are sorry about this as well.”

3AC co-founders stage unlikely comeback

While some firms (and individuals) reputations may be devastated by bankruptcy, it can be a simple nothingburger for others. On June 21, Kyle Davies, co-founder of bankrupt Singaporean hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), wrote in a tweet:

3AC is dead, long live 3AC Ventures.”

The same day, OPNX, a platform for trading claims against bankrupt crypto entities founded by Davies and fellow 3AC co-founder Su Zhu, said that 3AC Ventures had become the firms “new ecosystem partner.” Interestingly given that the use of leverage by Zhu and Davies played a pivotal role in 3ACs $3.4 billion downfall last year 3AC Venture’s website states that:

“3AC Ventures is focused on superior risk-adjusted returns without leverage.”

On June 24, 3AC Ventures introduced its first investment, an inaugural project dubbed “Raiser,” which allows users to borrow funds based on their on-chain creditworthiness. “Borrowers raise funds by issuing zero-coupon bonds. Lenders buy these bonds to earn a fixed income. Traders can trade these bonds in the secondary market,” the developers wrote in an introductory thread.

Almost one year later, 3AC is still undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, but it appears that clawing money back has become harder than ever. On June 15, 3AC creditors filed a motion to hold Kyle Davies in contempt of court; however, the motion would only apply to Davies, and not Su, as the latters Singaporean citizenship does not subject him to U.S. jurisdiction. The pairs current whereabouts are unknown, and no criminal complaints have been yet filed against the two blockchain personalities.

OPNX: Aspiring blockchain underdog

On April 5, Su Zhu and Kyle Davies crypto derivatives claims exchange OPNX, which is based in Hong Kong, saw a meager $13.64 volume traded on its first day of debut. By late June, that number had risen to $34.1 million (although it’s fair to say not everyone is convinced about the numbers). Following this apparent traction was a near 200% rise in the price of OPNXs native OX tokens to $0.03 in the past month, pushing its fully diluted market cap to nearly $300 million.Heck, the firm even has its own stablecoin now.

Lets face it, nobody, perhaps not even Davies or Zhu themselves, expected OPNX to succeed from the get-go. But successful underdogs often have a deep grudge against those who punched down the hardest while they were out on their luck. This may be why on June 22, OPNX filed a defamation lawsuit against venture capitalist Mike Dudas, alleging the publication of defamatory comments against the exchange in February and March.

Around the same time, the exchange unveiled its new Justice Tokens” (JT), saying “one of the biggest challenges the industry faces is the current prevalence of defamation.” Based on its tokenomics, one JT will exist for each defamation case; it will be an ERC-20 token with a maximum supply of 1 billion. Three quarters will be distributed to OX stakers, 20% will be given to JT-OX liquidity providers, and 5% will be airdropped to Milady nonfungible tokenholders. At the time of publication, its unclear if Davies plans to issue tokens to build rapport against review bombers of his Dubai restaurant during possible litigation proceedings.

“The resulting defamation and harassment greatly deters entrepreneurs and innovators. The presence of these people is a clear net good to the industry.”

Crypto City guide to Sydney: More than just a ‘token’ bridge

A “full-on” crypto scene and “heaps” of Web3 projects in Australia’s largest city show Sydney has more to offer than beaches and a bridge.

This Crypto City guide looks at Sydneys crypto culture, the citys most notable projects and people, its financial infrastructure, what retailers accept crypto and where you can find blockchain education courses along with a history of its crypto controversies.

Jump to: Crypto culture, Projects and companies, Financial infrastructure, Where can I spend crypto? Controversies and collapses, Education, Notable figures.

Fast facts

City: Sydney
Country: Australia
Population: 5.2 million
Established: 1788

Sydney is Australias first, oldest and second-most populous city (just), world-famous for its harbor views and iconic landmarks, such as the Opera House and Harbor Bridge affectionately nicknamed The Coathanger by locals. The Harbor Citys second-most notable feature is 100 beaches across the metropolitan area with Bondi Beach the best known.

Sydney has one of the world's largest natural harbors — *Sydney has one of the worlds largest natural harbors. (Pexels)*

Located on Australias east coast, Sydney was established as a penal colony for the British Empire, which needed somewhere to transport criminals after losing control of its colonies in the American Revolution. Its probably no surprise then it earned the moniker Sin City in the second half of the 20th century due to rampant organized crime that corrupted judges, the top brass of the police and, maybe less surprisingly, politicians.

On a global scale, Sydney is fairly young and architecturally contemporary, which saw it play backdrop to The Matrix, as a major location in Mission Impossible 2 and a starring role in the plot of Finding Nemo (no, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney doesnt exist). Sydney is Australias financial hub, has the third largest immigrant population globally, and boasts the second most unaffordable housing in the world behind Hong Kong.

Sydney’s crypto culture

Sydney saw an early interest in cryptocurrencies that still carries on today. Blockchain Sydney has been consistently getting together since 2013, and it currently meets twice a month at various pubs around the city. Blockchain Professionals, formed in 2014, also still meets up about once a month.

The Australian DeFi Association, while only launching in early 2022, has become a highly attended and consistent monthly hangout for local crypto industry players and enthusiasts.

Co-founder Mark Monfort originally created it for online discussions but says it soon morphed into an IRL meetup held between the larger one-off blockchain events, such as those by Blockchain Australia.

We wanted to be the gap filler between other meetups because what we saw was that there wasnt really a place for direct conversation apart from Crypto Twitter.

*Sydney has over 30 public transit ferries serving 38 wharves making it one of the largest networks in the world. (Wikimedia)*

Monfort maintains a calendar of Web3 events and meetups going on around Sydney and Australia. Other popular meetups include Bitcoin Sydney, Hyperledger Sydney and Sydney AI Web3 (which added artificial intelligence in line with the recent AI boom), while NFT Sydney and Metaverse Sydney typically dont meet as often.

As the countrys financial hub, Sydney boasts a thriving startup culture. Many crypto-related events are held in the various co-working offices around the city that also serve as a base for numerous crypto and fintech startups. One provider, Stone & Chalk, runs a Web3 Innovation Centre within the government-supported Sydney Startup Hub, and local exchange Independent Reserve has run a blockchain business accelerator since 2018.

Blockchain Week, the flagship event of Blockchain Australia, invariably holds at least one day of the program in Sydney, typically at the Exchange Centre the home of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).

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Sydney’s crypto projects and companies

Sydneys crypto players are diverse, and theres likely a company involved in every niche of the market. Theres a lot of innovation thats coming out of this town much more than you see on a global stage, says Monfort, who also is a co-founder of the Web3 advisory firm NotCentralised.

NFT horse racing and betting game Zed Run was created here by Virtually Human Studios (before it moved to Melbourne) and so was Find Satoshi Labs move-to-earn app StepN. Fellow NFT gaming companies Illuvium and Immutable are also in Sydney (as much as a decentralized organization can be). Sigma Prime, is behind Lighthouse, the widely adopted Ethereum client.

Compared to Melbourne, there arent as many exchanges or trading platforms based in the city. Sydney plays host to significant parts of the Ethereum-based token trading platform Synthetix, the DeFi-backed fintech Block Earner is based here along with the centralized exchanges Independent Reserve and CryptoSpend.

The Redbelly Network operates the blockchain of the same name, which was originally birthed at Sydney University alongside government researchers. Smart Token Labs, creator of the open-source wallet AlphaWallet and crypto wallet creator Verida, both have their HQs in Sydney.

The city also hosts Block8, which helps develop blockchain products, Soulbound token development and advisory business Soulbis, Filecoin-powered data storage provider Holon, along with the Tide Foundation, which offers a cybersecurity solution thats based on blockchain.

Comparison site Finder operates a crypto exchange, and its founder, Fred Schebesta, dabbles with his blockchain investment fund Hive Empire, also Finders holding company. Schebesta owns the Crypto Castle in Coogee, which he bought for $11.5 million (17 million AUD) in May 2021 its rented out for photoshoots and events and listed on Airbnb for an exorbitant nightly price.

*Crypto Castle highlights that money and taste are two very different things. (Airbnb)*

Exchange-traded fund manager Global X ETFs AU has a local entity providing funds investing in Bitcoin and Ether and has another one for publicly traded crypto and fintech companies. Bitcoin mining firms Iris Energy and Arkon Energy are Sydney-based, although they have no local operations with their mines in Canada, Texas and Norway.

Haymarket HQ and BlockathonDAO have created incubator pathways in Sydney for crypto start ups, often running events and meet ups. The former also helps accelerate crypto companies into Australia.

Venture firm Airtree VC has partnered with its share of Web3 firms and is based in the inner-city suburb of Surry Hills, while the Web3 recruitment business CryptoRecruit is out in Bondi. Web3 data platform Itheum made a home in Sydney. Stirling & Rose and Piper Alderman both have specialist crypto lawyers.

Sydney’s financial infrastructure

Sydney was home to Australias first-ever Bitcoin ATM, which went live inside a mall in the city center on April 15, 2014. The ATM was purchased from RoboCoin, the firm responsible for setting up the worlds first Bitcoin ATM in Canada around six months earlier. Sydneys ATM was the 11th from RoboCoin to launch worldwide.

Today, over 100 Bitcoin ATMs, nearly a fourth of the roughly 500 in Australia, are dotted around the central business district and outer suburbs of Sydney according to Coin ATM Radar and are operated by a handful of companies. Users can only sell crypto at 14 of them, however, and those are predominantly based in the city center.

Sydneysiders, like all Australians, have access to multiple local exchanges as well as international ones with local entities in the country. A handful namely CoinJar, Crypto.com, CoinSpot, Wirex and CryptoSpend provide debit cards, offering crypto cashback or allowing crypto to be spent directly.

Crypto isnt widely used for payments or sending funds. Sending smaller monetary amounts through TradFi rails in Australia is typically instant and free, operates 24/7, and only needs a phone number or email thanks to the New Payments Platform, which everyone just calls PayID. The Australian central bank governor Philip Lowe has even said in the past hes skeptical on the need to issue a retail central bank digital currency: How could we offer digital tokens which would be better than that?

The relationship between crypto companies and banking or payment providers is still tenuous. In May 2023, Binance Australias payments provider Zepto was forced to offboard the exchange by its payments enablement partner Cuscal.

Westpac, one of the countrys Big Four banks, also began blocking payments to crypto exchanges on the same day Binance was debanked. Shortly after, the Sydney-based Commonwealth Bank (Australias largest bank) said it would begin declining or temporarily holding payments to crypto exchanges and impose a $10,000 monthly cap on the amount of money its customers could send to exchanges.

The banks vaguely cited issues with scams when asked to explain their respective actions.

CBA liked crypto a lot better, somewhat coincidentally, around the All Time High — *CBA liked crypto a lot better, somewhat coincidentally, around the all-time high. (CBA)*

Where can I spend crypto?

There are only a handful of places in Sydney left where you can spend crypto. Coinmap claims there are roughly 25 venues that take digital currency payments near the city, which get even more sparse when traveling to the outer suburbs (in total there are about 40).

The majority of venues appearing on Coinmap have shut down, and of those still standing, many no longer take crypto payments. A lack of uptake by customers was the consensus for getting rid of crypto payments as explained by multiple venue owners.

*Takeaway only. The Bitcoin Rocket Cafe is tiny sandwiched between a post office and a bank. (Facebook)*

Of those still around that accept crypto, you can grab a brew at Cat and Cow Coffee in Clovelly. The aptly named Bitcoin Rocket Cafe in Redfern takes Bitcoin over the Lightning Network for its coffees and Bnh ms. The cafes owner, Samantha Ho, said she charges a higher fee for those spending under $13 (20 AUD) when paying by Lightning and estimated around five in 100 customers actually pay using Bitcoin.

There are a variety of stores that accept crypto when ordering online. You can order a new skateboard from Boardworld, which has shops in the inner west suburbs of Newtown and St Peters. Retro Girl will accept Bitcoin for their vintage wares, or you can grab some (very expensive) lingerie at Babylikestopony, which also has a shop in Paddington.

Under the bridge is Bar Lulu, which operates CryptoLulu, an NFT-gated membership club that claims to offer private lounges, networking events and other benefits at the venue for NFT holders. While you can of course pay for the NFT membership using crypto, the bar itself doesnt take crypto payments right, now but thats apparently coming soon.

Controversies and collapses

For many years, there was much excitement about the ASX implementing a blockchain-backed solution for its clearing and settlements system. It first announced the plans in 2017, but it suffered multiple delays. Five years on and $170 million later, the ASX canned the project in late 2022 to much scorn from the central bank and the securities regulator.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has undertaken its share of enforcement actions in the crypto space against Sydney businesses. It sued Block Earner in November 2022, claiming the latter offered crypto-based yield products without a license. ASIC hit comparison website Finder with a similar suit a month later, and the regulator claims Finder shut down its crypto-yielding products a month earlier because of its concerns.

In April 2022 after a targeted review, ASIC canceled the financial license of Binance Australia Derivatives (Oztures Trading), the futures business of the exchange. ASIC also claims it was sniffing out the Sydney-headquartered Australian entity for FTX months before the global company collapsed in November 2022. FTX Australia was able to gain a local financial license by taking over a company that already had one, a loophole that ASIC chair Joe Longo wants to close.

Holon was similarly whacked by ASIC in October 2022, which put a stop to crypto ETFs investing in Bitcoin, Ether and Filecoin. Holon later bailed on the idea altogether.

In late 2020, ASIC also unleashed a raft of charges against John Biggaton, a promotor of the infamous BitConnect Ponzi scheme. Conspiracy theories about Biggaton have been spun up after his wife, Madeline Bigatton, mysteriously disappeared in March 2018. She was suspected to have committed suicide at The Gap, a location infamous for such acts, but its a narrative that her family doubts.

Sydneysider Kathryn Nguyen is widely believed to be the first person charged with the theft of crypto assets in Australia. She was sentenced to two years in jail after stealing around 100,000 XRP in January 2018. The alleged Sydney-based Ponzi scheme Metafi Yielders is said to have stolen $135 million, but after it collapsed, the chief executive of the business, Michael Daher, claimed he was just a fall guy, and the real schemers were in Nigeria.

The Commonwealth Bank has seemingly done a 180 on its crypto stance in a relatively short time. In November 2021, it was gearing up to ship crypto trading within its banking app. At the time, its CEO, Matt Comyn, said the bank saw bigger risks in not participating in crypto and, in May 2022, was still seemingly trying to squeeze the product past regulators. But just over a year and a half later, the bank began censoring payments to crypto exchanges.

The controversial Satoshi claimant Craig Wright used to live in Sydney, and his house was notoriously raided by federal police in 2015 due to a warrant issued by the tax authorities, but he now lives in the United Kingdom.

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Crypto education in Sydney

A few higher-ed institutions offer courses or units of study on blockchain and Web3. Sydneys first university, the University of Sydney, offers a unit on Cryptocurrency Markets and Investments. It also does a course on blockchains and cryptography as part of its Master of Cybersecurity.

Sydney Uni along with the CSIRO (a federal government scientific research agency) developed the Redbelly blockchain, which aimed to create a fork-proof network. The project was spun out of the uni into its own commercial entity in December 2021.

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) offers a free two-hour online course on the basics of blockchain tech, while the University of New South Wales (UNSW) offers postgraduate and undergraduate courses on Web3 and Blockchain Applications. UNSWs course on cryptocurrency and DeFi is a core course as part of its postgraduate major in fintech.

For those willing to pay $235 (350 AUD) to sit in a classroom for nine hours to learn the basics of crypto, blockchain and how to trade, then the Sydney Community College has a course aimed at introducing you to crypto and blockchain although this carries no accreditations like the others.

UNSW and Sydney Uni have a student-led society that semi-regularly hosts events and meetups called the University Network for Cryptocurrency and Blockchain.

In May 2022, UNSW received $4 million worth of USDC from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin for the development of a pandemic-detection tool.

*Kain Warwick is one of Sydneys most notable crypto figures. (Cointelegraph)*

Notable figures

Synthetix founder Kain Warwick; Illuvium co-founders (and Kains brothers) Aaron and Kieran Warwick; Finder co-founder and Crypto Castle owner Fred Schebesta; Block Earner co-founder Charlie Karaboga; Australian DeFi Association co-founders Mark Monfort and Arturo Rodriguez; Kraken Australia managing director Jonathon Miller; Web3 blogger Joan Westenberg; KPMG director of metaverse Alyse Sue; StepN creator Jerry Huang; Algorand Foundation governance manager Adriana Belotti; Haymarket HQ CEO Duco Van Breeman; Immutable co-founders Robbie and James Ferguson, Independent Reserve co-founder Adrian Przelozny ; Virtually Human co-founder and Zed Run creator Chris Laurent; Global X ETFs AU CEO Evan Metcalf; Block8 co-founders Kim Bartlett, Alan Burt and Tim Bass; CryptoRecruit founder Neil Dundon; Koinly head of tax Danny Talwar; Coinbase APAC managing director John OLoghlen; Arkon Energy co-founder and CEO Joshua Payne; Smart Token Labs co-founder and CEO Victor Zhang; Holon co-founder Heath Behncke; Crypto lawyers Nick Abrahams and Michael Bacina (the latter is also the Blockchain Australia chairperson), Ethereum Smart Contract developer and community educator Bokky Poobah.

Cointelegraph team members and contributors based in Sydney: Felix Ng, Brayden Lindrea, Ciaran Lyons and Jesse Coghlan.

If you have suggestions for additions to this guide, please email: jesse.coghlan@cointelegraph.com.

Peter McCormack’s Twitter regrets: ‘I can feel myself being a dick’ — Hall of Flame

Podcaster Peter McCormack has a love/hate relationship with Twitter and admits he can sometimes be “a dick to other people” online.

What Bitcoin Did podcaster Peter McCormack admits that he has a weird relationship with Twitter, as he believes it brings out the worst in people.

Hes worked hard to build up more than half a million followers to promote his show but still isnt sure that Twitter is a net positive because it elevates a lot of stupidity out of people. And he includes himself in that assessment.

I can feel myself being a dick to other people [on Twitter]. Like, I criticize it and then realize Im a hypocrite for doing it myself, he says.

Hes more of a fan of podcasting, though, and his insightful interviews with A-list guests, such as MicroStrategys Michael Saylor, ARK Invests Cathie Wood and analyst Lyn Alden, have seen him amass 1 million listeners a month.

Also read: The wealthiest time of my life was the most miserable: Peter McCormack

McCormack fell into podcasting by pure accident after spending two decades in digital marketing, as well as a stint running his own agency. He got the itch for it while listening to health guru Rich Rolls podcast and decided he wanted to have the same job.

McCormack slid into Rolls DMs and managed to score some free coaching out of it.

I went to an event of his, and he said to stay in touch if youre ever in LA. So, I was in LA, [and messaged him], Well hi, I am here. How do I do this podcast thing? And he mentored me.

McCormacks hustling paid off in spades with What Bitcoin Did growing to become one of the best-known Bitcoin podcasts in the entire industry. The enormous success hes enjoyed brought on all kinds of pressure, as hes now an employer responsible for a small business.

There are now seven people that work on this podcast I dont want to fuck this up. Thats seven salaries that are relying on this, he says.

McCormack is fast becoming responsible for parts of his humble hometown of Bedford.

With a population just shy of 200,000, this small U.K. town has made its mark on the global Bitcoin map, all because McCormack decided to buy the local football club in 2021.

McCormack renamed the club to Real Bedford FC, and fans can pay for merchandise, tickets and drinks with Bitcoin. He bought the local watering hole in Bedford, too.

According to McCormack, his brother believes he is treating Bedford like a Monopoly board, slowly buying up the town. But thats not how he sees it.

I think it is more that I want my town to do well, and I want the people of my town to do well. Ive traveled the world doing this podcast, and now I want to build businesses in my hometown and support my hometown.

What led to Twitter fame?

McCormack doesnt believe there is any secret to building a following on Twitter, other than just working your bollocks off.

I just worked very hard over the last six years and was as open-minded as I can in regards to Bitcoin and politics, he says. This paid off in 2021 when he was invited to meet with El Salvadors president, Nayib Bukele, to discuss Bitcoin.

So, on balance, he can see that Twitter has both good and bad elements. Its good for promoting the football club and things Im working on its also a pain in the arse as well, he says.

What type of content can you expect?

McCormack explains that his Twitter content is mainly Bitcoin and football and makes it clear that hes not everyones cup of tea.

If youre into Bitcoin and you like football, it totally works. The whole thing works. But if you dont like football, I think the football is actually a net negative to what Im doing. Theyre like, I dont give a fuck about this football stuff.

A died-in-the-wool Bitcoiner, he regrets ever dabbling in other cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin is the only one I care about; I dont need to pay attention to all this other shit, he says.

McCormack is an interesting character politically, however, as he cant be neatly boxed into the left or right side of the political spectrum. For him, he takes each issue on its merits.

I personally try to not be ideologically trapped. I dont care if you have a conservative or progressive opinion. If I agree, I agree with it. If I dont, I dont.

Twitter Beefs:

Captain Beef: Richard Heart

McCormack recently got sent a bag of shit in the post with a message claiming Peter McCormack and Eric Wall are scammers.

He blames Richard Heart and his fucking Hex morons, admitting that he hasnt shied away from his thoughts on Heart and his HEX project in the past.

Im not a fan of what he does [] I get a lot of shit from them, and now I get literal shit.

McCormack reveals that his son, who is responsible for collecting the mail from his office, was the unfortunate one who had to open the package, leaving him quite shaken by the ordeal.

I get sent some cool things sometimes. My son didnt know what this [bag of shit] meant. He said this isnt cool, what else can they send you?

What content do you enjoy?

McCormack isnt afraid to admit he likes the memes from time to time.

He is also a big fan of economist Lyn Aldens macro stuff, as well as Human Rights Foundation chief strategy officer Alex Gladstein.

Future outlook:

McCormack is down on CBDCs, which he thinks are bullshit, dystopian surveillance tech for mass control.

He reckons that regulators need to stop fucking interfering with lives [and getting] in the way of work.

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As for forecasting Bitcoins price, McCormack doesnt typically make bold predictions.

In fact, he is quite the opposite.

When asked about Bitcoins price direction in the next 12 months, McCormacks response resembles that of a seasoned politician: Up, down, or sideways [] youre not getting that from me!

Bitcoin will eventually recover; we will do another lap around the Bitcoin Monopoly Board.