Digital Asset

OpenSea launches advanced NFT marketplace aggregator

The launch of OpenSea Pro is the result of OpenSea’s acquisition of NFT aggregator Gem in April 2022.

NFT marketplace OpenSea has unveiled OpenSea Pro, its new nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace aggregator aimed at serving the needs of professional users. OpenSea’s acquisition of NFT aggregator Gem in April 2022 enabled it to develop and refine Gem’s platform to create the new OpenSea Pro.

According to the announcement, OpenSea Pro seeks to offer a new level of optionality, selection, and control for professional collectors. The platform plans to offer a suite of improved features that allows collectors to discover the best deals and insights across 170 marketplaces and access sophisticated tools that meet their need for automation.

In addition, OpenSea Pro has introduced an “advanced orders” feature that allows users to “sweep across the deepest liquidity of any NFT marketplace aggregator,” giving users more control over their purchases. OpenSea Pro is also mobile-compatible and optimized for mobile devices, allowing users to browse, sweep and list from their phones.

The platform shared that users can list on OpenSea with 0% fees through OpenSea Pro for a promotional period, with no additional fees. To express gratitude to Gem’s early adopters, the Gem team is providing a special “thank you” in the form of a Gemesis NFT drop to coincide with the launch of OpenSea Pro. Eligible users who purchased an NFT on Gem before March 31 can claim a free Gemesis NFT until May 4,.

Related: Security team creates dashboard to detect potential NFT hacks in OpenSea

In 2022, OpenSea acquired Gem for an undisclosed amount to improve the experience of its more seasoned “pro” users. Gem enabled traders to purchase NFTs across various collections and multiple marketplaces in a single transaction, lowering gas fees.

In February, OpenSea implemented a strategy to win back its NFT user base, which had been lost to rival NFT marketplace Blur. Blur had surpassed OpenSea in daily Ether (ETH) trading volume as users sought a trading platform that favored their NFT investments. To counter this, OpenSea implemented a 0% fee policy to attract users back to its platform. 

BitKeep Wallet hits 10 million users driven by successful Arbitrum airdrop

In March, the platform claimed to have successfully onboarded over 560,000 new users.

Decentralized multichain digital wallet solution BitKeep Wallet has announced that it has surpassed 10 million users as of April. The platform has seen tremendous growth in recent months, with over 560,000 new users onboarded in March alone. The surge in users can be attributed to several successful campaigns with popular blockchains like Arbitrum and Sui.

BitKeep’s Arbitrum campaign saw the successful launch of ARBK. This native token recorded 708,800 on-chain transactions and was airdropped to over 100,000 users participating in campaign-related tasks and activities. During the campaign period, ARBK was exchangeable for ARB, the official native token of the Arbitrum chain, and ranked first on Arbitrum’s ecosystem popularity chart with 150,000 token-holding addresses, with an interaction volume of 330,000.

Following BitKeep’s recent success, cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Bitget has invested $30 million into the platform. As a result of the investment, BitKeep will be rebranded as Bitget Wallet but will continue to function as an independent entity both operationally and structurally. BitKeep will focus on building its ecosystem and independent tokenomics while protecting the rights and interests of existing BitKeepers and BKB holders during the transition process.

According to the announcement sent to Cointelegraph, BitKeep plans to continue expanding its Swap function by introducing new cross-chain support for Optimism and Conflux Space, as well as decentralized exchange aggregation support from Swappi, Camelot, and WOO Network. BitKeep has also set its sights on enhancing its range of products, with plans to explore MPC (multi-party computation) and AA (account abstraction). Additionally, the company shared that it is developing functionalities related to Web3 DID (decentralized identity) and is extending support for the zk-Rollup ecosystem.

Related: BitKeep completes compensation for $8M APK exploit, announces rebranding

On March 24, Cointelegraph reported that the recent Arbitrum (ARB) airdrop had garnered significant attention, as blockchain analysis platform Lookonchain reported that token hunters consolidated around $3.3 million worth of ARB into two wallets. The first wallet received 1.4 million ARB from 866 addresses, which were subsequently added to Uniswap for liquidity provision. This amount of ARB is currently valued at around $2 million. The second wallet received 933,375 ARB from 630 addresses, amounting to roughly $1.38 million. These consolidations suggest that some users are taking advantage of the airdrop by accumulating large amounts of ARB tokens.


Crypto exchange Bittrex to wind down operations in the US

The exchange shared that all customer funds are safe but advised U.S. customers to withdraw their funds by April 30, 2023.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex has announced it will be winding down its operations in the United States due to a challenging regulatory and economic environment. The announcement was made on the platform’s ninth anniversary, marking a bittersweet moment for the company. 

Co-founder and CEO Richie Lai said that as the crypto ecosystem evolved, regulatory requirements have become increasingly “unclear” and “enforced, without appropriate discussion or input,” leading to an uneven competitive landscape. This environment has made it economically unviable for Bittrex to continue its operations in the United States.

The company’s founders have decided to focus on helping Bittrex Global succeed outside the United States. Bittrex clarified that U.S. customers don’t have to worry about the safety of their funds, as all of their capital is safe and available for withdrawal. The platform shared that it will permit trading until April 14, 2023, but advised customers to withdraw all funds by April 30, 2023.

Founded in 2014 by three cybersecurity engineers, Bittrex offered features like full-service API, near-instant atomic transactions, wallet infrastructure and offline cold wallet solutions.

Related: Elizabeth Warren is pushing the Senate to ban your crypto wallet

The winding down of Bittrex’s U.S. operations is a reminder of the challenges faced by cryptocurrency businesses navigating an uncertain regulatory environment.

On March 3, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse warned that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulatory approach puts the U.S. at “severe risk” of missing out on being an attractive hub for the next evolution of blockchain and crypto innovation.

In a Bloomberg interview, Garlinghouse suggested that the crypto industry has “already started moving outside” of the U.S. because the country’s crypto regulation is “behind” other nations like Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Switzerland.

Polygon to help fight NFT scams with Web3 infra protocol partnership

Polygon partners with Wakweli, a Web3 infrastructure protocol that issues certificates of authenticity for NFTs to certify originality.

Wakweli, a Web3 infrastructure protocol that issues certificates of authenticity for nonfungible tokens (NFT), has officially partnered with layer-2 scaling platform Polygon to make NFT authentication possible.

The partnership between Polygon and Wakweli means all digital assets on Polygon will be compatible with Wakweli’s certification system. According to the announcement, every NFT project holder on the Polygon chain can request authenticity certificates for each asset. The collaboration generally aims to enhance the security of the digital ecosystem.

In response to the cost of the certificate authentication for users, Antoine Sarraute, co-founder of Wakweli, told Cointelegraph that staking WAKU — Wakweli’s utility token — is necessary to create a certificate request. The amount to stake in a request is dependent on and linked to the level of trust needed for each case.

The partnership agreement negotiations between the two companies began in August 2022, with the final details of the agreement concluded this March.

Wakweli’s testnet will be available in April and can be used with Polygon’s Mumbai testnet. Alpha testing with Polygon’s mainnet will begin in Q2 2023, with general mainnet compatibility is expected to be ready by Q3 2023.

By providing a medium for detecting counterfeit NFTs, the partnership between the two companies has unlocked a definitive way to fight these scam attempts, thereby creating more trust in the thriving ecosystem, Sarraute explained. 

Related: Polygon’s ‘holy grail’ Ethereum-scaling zkEVM beta hits mainnet

The Wakweli platform and application programming interface will offer developers access to advanced use case scenarios, including automatically generating certification requests when minting or accessing more detailed certification information.

In the past month, the Polygon Foundation has also collaborated with the South Korean multinational conglomerate Lotte Group to showcase the company’s NFT projects.

Polygon has gained significant traction through partnerships with major brands such as Starbucks and Adidas, leading to increased adoption of the network among cryptocurrency users. 

Magazine: Justin Sun vs. SEC, Do Kwon arrested, 180M player game taps Polygon: Asia Express

Traditional finance fears drive digital asset investment inflows to $160M

According to CoinShares, crypto investment products experienced weekly inflows of $160 million, the largest since July 2022.

On March 27, European cryptocurrency investment firm CoinShares published its latest “Digital Asset Fund Flows Report,” revealing that digital assets continue to attract investors’ attention as concerns over the stability of traditional finance continue to grow. 

According to the report, investment products in digital assets experienced inflows of $160 million last week, the largest since July 2022, marking a significant reversal after six weeks of outflows totaling $408 million. The report also noted that “while the inflows came relatively late compared to the broader crypto market,” investors are increasingly concerned about the stability of the traditional finance sector.

Investments came from various countries, including the United States, Germany and Canada, with inflows of $69 million, $58 million and $26 million, respectively.

According to the report, Bitcoin (BTC) products received inflows of $128 million due to clients viewing it as a “safe haven” for the first time. However, not all investors shared this view, as short-Bitcoin products also saw inflows of $31 million. Nevertheless, short-Bitcoin remains the investment product with the most inflows year-to-date, though it is not the best-performing product from a price perspective.

On the other hand, Ether (ETH) products experienced outflows of $5.2 million last week, marking the third consecutive week of outflows. The report attributes this trend to investor anxiety over the Shanghai upgrade, expected to occur on April 12. Various altcoins also saw inflows, with Solana’s SOL (SOL), Polygon’s MATIC (MATIC) and XRP (XRP) products attracting $4.8 million, $1.9 million and $1.2 million, respectively.

Related: Breaking: First Citizens snaps up Silicon Valley Bank — Branches open Monday

Overall, the report cited rising concerns over the stability of traditional finance as the reason for the growing interest in digital assets, as many investors are starting to view the sector as a “safe haven.”

Additionally, over the last couple of weeks, many investors have rotated their portfolio investments due to the banking crisis, which has resulted in the sending of over $286 billion into United States money market funds so far in March, according to Emerging Portfolio Fund Research data obtained by the Financial Times.

The influx of money into money market funds can be attributed to concerns about the stability of the financial system, as banks in the U.S. and Europe are experiencing liquidity constraints due to tightening monetary policies. During times of uncertainty, money market funds are a preferred investment option for many, as they offer high liquidity and low risk. Presently, these funds are providing some of the best yields in years due to the continuous interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve aimed at curbing inflation.

Magazine: ‘Account abstraction’ supercharges Ethereum wallets: Dummies guide

Arbitrum airdrop: Hacked vanity addresses used to siphon $500K

The tokens were stolen by someone who compiled vanity addresses eligible for ARB airdrops.

Hacked vanity addresses have reportedly been used to steal $500,000 worth of tokens from layer-2 scaling solution Arbitrum’s March 23 airdrop.

A vanity address is a customized cryptocurrency address containing specific words or phrases chosen by the user, aiming to make them more personal and easily identifiable. However, the safety of vanity addresses is questionable.

The tweet explained that the tokens were stolen by someone who compiled vanity addresses that were eligible to receive ARB tokens, then generated similar addresses using vanity address generators, directing the airdropped tokens to them instead. The hacking of these vanity addresses makes it impossible for the original owners to claim their ARB tokens.

Several crypto users have expressed sadness as they tweeted about their stolen ARB tokens. Most individuals affected are unaware of the reason behind the loss and have no idea what to do about it.

Screenshot of the funding addresses. Source: Twitter

Creating a vanity address requires using special software or services that could potentially compromise the security of users’ private keys. Hackers who gain access to the private key could steal any crypto assets tied to that address.

Related: Arbitrum airdrop sells off at listing, but traders remain bullish on ARB

Arbitrum’s token giveaway caused a lot of excitement and overwhelmed several websites. However, according to the blockchain analytics platform Nansen, 428 million ARB tokens are still available to claim. As of late Thursday, March 22, around 240,000 addresses had not yet claimed governance tokens, even though 61% of eligible crypto wallets had already done so. The 428 million unclaimed tokens, worth nearly $596 million as of publication time, represent 37% of the total 1.1 billion ARB allocated for Arbitrum’s airdrop.

Considering these figures, certain eligible addresses that haven’t been able to claim their token could be in the category of hacked addresses.

This isn’t the first time scammers have compromised vanity addresses in the crypto space. In January, MetaMask warned crypto users about address poisoning.

Magazine: Features ‘Account abstraction’ supercharges Ethereum wallets: Dummies guide

Real-world assets tokenization lacks infrastructure, not just regulation

Assets tokenization has been held back by lack of infrastructure and regulatory standards worldwide.

The next generation of securities and asset tokenization has been held back by a lack of infrastructure and regulatory standards worldwide, according to BlackRock’s Larry Fink. The merger between decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional assets, however, has been held back by a lack of infrastructure and regulatory standards worldwide, according to sources Cointelegraph recently spoke with. 

“There simply haven’t been good institutional-grade systems for these companies to get involved. Obviously, they’re not going to just run their whole system using a regular blockchain wallet and centralized exchanges,” said Colin Butler, global head of institutional capital at Polygon.

Tokenization is a path to fractionalization, allowing multiple people to own a portion of an asset that would previously have to have been sold as a whole with a higher value. Big Four firm PwC predicts global assets under management to reach $145.4 trillion by 2025, a massive market expected to welcome more investors and, thus, improve assets’ liquidity through tokenization.

Institutional investors — those managing this capital across the world — are seeking “services that work well with what they’re already doing, that are easy to implement, flexible and upgradeable,” said Butler.

Polygon said it has been working with many of those global players. In January, investment firm Hamilton Lane announced the first of three tokenized funds backed by Polygon, bringing part of its $824 billion in assets under management on-chain. By tokenizing its flagship Equity Opportunities Fund, Hamilton Lane was able to lower the minimum required investment from an average of $5 million to $20,000.

Another example is JPMorgan. In November, the American giant executed its first cross-border DeFi transaction on a public blockchain. The initiative was part of a pilot program exploring DeFi potential for wholesale funding markets. The trade was also performed on the Polygon network.

Despite recent progress in integrating DeFi into traditional markets, the lack of clarity regarding regulation continues to keep many from embracing emerging technologies. One major question about this topic is: What are securities? The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has been asserting through enforcement actions that the definition may apply to a broader range of assets and services than many crypto firms expected. As Butler asked:

“If you tokenize a security, does the digital token become a security itself, or just represent one?” 

Jez Mohideen, co-founder and CEO of Laser Digital — the crypto arm of Japanese banking giant Nomura — believes the lack of regulation is affecting digital asset risk management, as it prevents firms from effectively separating units and business models.

“More regulation is especially necessary in certain parts of businesses — for example, making sure capital is looked after by individuals with fiduciary responsibilities. As more and more regulatory enforcement of this nature comes into play, there will be an increasing amount of institutional interest,” he told Cointelegraph.

Signum Digital scores approval to offer security tokens in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s Security and Futures Commission greenlights Signum Digital to offer security tokens in the city after inviting applications for virtual asset trading licenses.

Signum Digital, a joint venture of Coinstreet and Somerley, has announced that it has received an approval-in-principle from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for its security token offering (STO) and subscription platform.

Security tokens are a new category of digital assets built on blockchain technology representing ownership of tangible assets, such as private equities, real estate, art and collectibles. By being linked to real-world assets, the tokens may lower risks for potential investors, facilitate research processes and provide a foundation for the market value of the investment opportunity.

Signum Digital has claimed that, following the receipt of final authorization from Hong Kong’s SFC, it will manage the STO platform using the brand name “CS-Pro.“ This platform will be a pioneering development in Hong Kong, according to Signum.

Last month, the Hong Kong SFC released preliminary regulations for virtual asset trading platforms and urged the general public to provide their input. Under the upcoming licensing system scheduled to begin in June, the SFC mandated that digital currency exchanges submit license applications that would let everyday investors trade specific high-capitalization tokens.

Hong Kong has been proposing new initiatives for the city’s cryptocurrency and digital asset sector since last year when it invited firms interested in providing STO services to pitch proposals.

Related: Hong Kong’s losses to crypto scams doubled to $217M last year: Report

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global also announced last month that it is applying for a license to operate in Hong Kong, possibly moving headquarters from Singapore to the special administrative region.

Recently, Hong Kong has displayed much interest in becoming a crypto hub, investing heavily in supporting the potential of technologies like Web3.

In mid-December 2022, Hong Kong launched its first two exchange-traded funds for cryptocurrency futures, which raised over $70 million ahead of its debut. The event came soon after the head of Hong Kong’s SFC announced in October that Hong Kong is willing to distinguish its crypto regulation approach from the Chinese crypto ban enforced in 2021.

Developed markets lagging behind in digital payments: BlackRock CEO

In a letter to investors, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink highlighted the benefits of digital assets and said developing nations like the U.S. are lagging behind in innovation.

The CEO of American investment company BlackRock, Larry Fink, highlighted the potential of digital assets and tokenization for the asset management industry in his annual chairman’s letter to the company. 

The letter was published on March 15 and addressed various topics of interest to the firm over the last year, including digital assets. Fink highlighted the rising and sustained interest in these types of assets despite the FTX catastrophe.

He said beyond the hype, “interesting developments” are happening in the space. He especially noted the “dramatic advances” in the digital payment solutions that help forward financial inclusion in many emerging markets like India, Brazil and Africa.

However, according to Fink, developing markets are not at the same pace innovation-wise:

“By contrast, many developed markets, including the U.S., are lagging behind in innovation, leaving the cost of payments much higher.”

BlackRock currently manages around $8 trillion in assets and is one of the largest asset managers in the world. Fink said the asset management industry could have some “exciting applications” of the technology underlying these digital asset innovations.

Specifically, he praised the tokenization of asset classes with their potential in “driving efficiencies in capital markets, shortening value chains, and improving cost and access for investors.”

His statement ended not leaving out the risks and need for regulation of the crypto space but still pointing out that the company will be further exploring digital assets going forward.

Related: It’s not the end of crypto: EU asset manager gives 5 reasons why

This is not the first time Fink has made commentary on decentralized finance. After the fall of FTX, he commented that the FTX Token (FTT) caused the exchange’s downfall because it goes against “the whole foundation of what crypto is.

However, in the same conversation, he openly called the underlying technology of crypto and the blockchain revolutionary.

Back in September 2022, BlackRock released a new exchange-traded fund that invests in 35 blockchain-related companies.

Salesforce Web3 to help brands build trusted and scalable NFT programs

The platform promised to help companies create, manage and deploy non-fungible tokens in a trusted, scalable and sustainable way.

Salesforce, a customer relationship management software firm, announced the limited release of Salesforce Web3 on March 15. The company said it will be a platform that helps companies create, manage, and deploy non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a trusted, scalable, and sustainable way. The service will allow brands to connect with their customers in a whole new way by integrating their Customer 360 with Web3 data, in order to help brands gain a comprehensive understanding of how customers interact with their brand across traditional and emerging digital environments.

According to Salesforce, its Web3 platform offers a range of features that enable brands to “create personalized, omnichannel experiences across Web2 and Web3, providing a 360-degree view of how customers interact with their NFT collections.”

The company also partnered with global consulting partners like Accenture and Deloitte Digital, as well as digital agencies and strategy consultants like AE Studio, Media.Monks, Time, and Vayner3, to help businesses implement Web3 and experiment with blockchain, digital wallets and NFT minting.

Devin Nagy, director of technology and emerging platforms at Diageo North America, said that Salesforce helped the company reimagine and digitally scale Crown Royal’s Purple Bag Project by giving them a trusted partner to support their front-end commerce site and back-end data connector to support the #ThatDeservesACrown campaign. She added: 

“For every digital collectible claimed, we sent a care package to active duty U.S. military members around the world.”

Claire Boots, global CRM manager at Scotch & Soda, said that the company chose Salesforce Web3 as a trusted partner to securely deploy their Club Soda 3.0 NFT pilot program, which took less than two weeks and gave them real-time insight into the 30% of net news. 

Related: Web3 could seize on the decades-old software-as-a-service business model

Over the last couple of years, Salesforce has been working to integrate its services with Blockchain technology. In 2018, Cointelegraph reported that the company had announced plans to offer a Blockchain and cryptocurrency solution for its customers by September 2018.

In 2019, Italian luxury sports car brand Lamborghini used Salesforce Blockchain to authenticate heritage Lamborghini cars. Using Salesforce Blockchain, Lamborghini was able to trace, certify and authenticate heritage cars faster and more securely.

Additionally, over the years, Salesforce has played an active role in the blockchain fundraising space, contributing millions to TRM Labs and blockchain startup Digital Asset.