P2P Networks

TransUnion to begin providing identity-protected credit scoring for DeFi lending

The American credit reporting agency is teaming up with Spring Labs and Quadrata for a new service that should make DeFi borrowing easier and less risky.

TransUnion, one of the three major United States credit reporting agencies, announced on April 20 that it would begin supplying credit scoring to public blockchain networks. Off-chain credit data have not previously been available to Web3 and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

In the new TransUnion service, credit information will be made available to decentralized applications, or DApps, at the consumer’s request. Complete credit information will be delivered to the consumer, and excerpts will go to the DApp.

TransUnion partnered with Spring Labs and Quadrata to provide credit data through a digital passport network that will protect the consumer’s identity on the blockchain. The project apparently took some time to get off the ground, as it was first announced over a year ago.

TransUnion executive vice president of financial services Jason Laky said the new product will help minimize lenders’ risk while “providing borrowers more opportunity for better terms.” TransUnion claimed it “can offer credit scoring for nearly the entire U.S. adult population” and has operating associates in more than 30 countries.

Credit scoring has long been a sore spot for DeFi. TransUnion competitor Experian announced at the beginning of 2023 that it was partnering with Bulgarian DeFi lending platform Credefi. That deal gave Credefi “the rights to use Experian’s officially recognized and reputable brand materials.” Experian will participate in European Green Company scoring through the deal. In October, Equifax, the other major TransUnion competitor, said it was partnering with the Oasis blockchain to provide Know Your Customer services.

Related: DeFi securitization of real-world assets poses credit risks, opportunities: S&P

Masa Finance recently launched an identity protocol based on soulbound tokens that also accommodated on-chain credit information. Pngme, which, like Masa Finance, was founded by Brendan Playford, helped create scores for “credit invisible” people in Africa based on mobile money data.

Magazine: 6 Questions for Lisa Fridman of Quadrata

Paxful shutdown hits Nigeria harder than the rest of the world — Here’s why

Paxful’s shutdown has left its global community heartbroken, but it has significantly impacted the Nigerian community, where it pioneered P2P crypto use.

The shutdown of the peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency marketplace Paxful has left its worldwide community searching for alternatives, but it appears to have significantly affected the Nigerian crypto community. 

On April 4th, Paxful declared that it would halt its operations. The reason for this decision, according to the founder and CEO Ray Youssef’s blog, was due to “key staff departures” and the regulatory environment.

According to “The 2020 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report” by Chainalysis, Nigeria ranked eighth in crypto adoption and usage among 154 countries included in the study. Acceptance and usage of crypto in Nigeria were not as high until Paxful pioneered the use of peer-to-peer technology in the country, helping expand the crypto industry.

A Nigerian crypto user, Emmanuel Susegh, told Cointelegraph that the shutdown of Paxful feels like “the death of a loved one,” as the exchange helped him make his first $100,000. Susegh went on to say that Paxful was the go-to platform he used to trade gift cards from Amazon and Apple for Bitcoin as far back as 2015.

Another member of the Paxful Nigerian community, data analyst Obinna Uzoije, mentioned that in the early days of his career, he used Paxful to exchange the dollars he received from his employers as pay for Nigerian naira. At some point, freelancers in Nigeria who work for international companies were paid through Skrill, an online payment platform. Certain users on Paxful accepted the funds, so the freelancers could easily exchange it for Bitcoin or cash. Uzoije explained that this shutdown leaves a lot of other crypto enthusiasts in Nigeria wondering what the future holds for crypto marketplaces.

Related: Paxful to return lost Celsius funds to Earn users

Over-the-counter (OTC) vendor Akeem Abdullahi expressed that a generation of OTC vendors was created by Paxful’s escrow service. The vendors could buy gift cards from individuals who wanted to sell and were not literate enough to use the platform.

Some community members took to Twitter to express their worry about users getting their funds back. However, Youssef has assured users in a tweet that the Paxful team is working on clearing users’ send-outs.

Magazine: Journeys in Blockchain: Ray Youssef of Paxful

Nigerian crypto investors question central bank’s decision to flag p2p users

Crypto P2P users in Nigeria worry over using various platforms to launder funds as the country’s central bank cracks down on bank accounts that receive a share of Flutterwave’s rumored stolen funds.

Nigerian crypto investors using peer-to-peer (P2P) services have expressed concerns about the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) flagging their bank accounts. CBN’s decision to flag accounts is believed to be in relation to the near $6.3 million (2.9 billion nairas) Flutterwave hack, as the bank accounts have yet-to-be-proven affiliations with the hack.

According to local news sources, on February 19, 2023, Albert Onimole, legal counsel for Flutterwave, a Nigerian fintech company, allegedly reported a case to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, in Yaba, Lagos, of almost $6.5 million (3 billion nairas) that had been illegally transferred from the accounts of his client.

On February 27th, a motion ex-parte was filed and granted in support of Flutterwave’s claims. According to the motion, 107 accounts, including their fifth beneficiaries, will be put on lien/Post-No-Debit (PND). So far, some of the locals have confirmed that their accounts have been frozen in connection to the hack.

The situation has gone on to discourage P2P users from interacting with the various over-the-counter (OTC) — markets that allow trading of securities between two counterparties executed outside of formal exchanges and without the supervision of an exchange regulator, as the hacked sum flowed into the Nigeria crypto market on different OTCs and users now have problems with financial intermediaries when they want to use P2P services for crypto transfe.

Investors across the world use P2P as a medium of direct exchange of crypto between parties without the involvement of a central authority. They may choose to swap cryptocurrencies for cryptocurrencies or crypto for cash. In 2021, the CBN announced a regulation that prevented financial institutions like banks from enabling crypto use. However, Nigerians were able to find a way forward and still maintain their leading position as the largest crypto hub of Africa through the use of P2P platforms.

Some community members believe this could affect the general interest of Nigerians who are yet to get on board the crypto digital ecosystem in acquiring digital assets.

A concerned Nigerian stated that the situation is causing some businesses to crumble. This is because unsuspecting entrepreneurs have received payments for their services with funds that were allegedly linked to the hacked amount, resulting in confusion and possible legal repercussions.

Related: Binance recommends P2P as Ukraine suspends hryvnia use on crypto exchanges

Despite strict crypto regulations by the CBN, the P2P market has aided Nigerian trade. However, a financial analyst known as Sadeik calls it a black market hub for scammers laundering fraud funds. Sadeik went on to say that a friend of his lost more than 500,000 because the person he transacted with had his account flagged in the Flutterwave hack.

In an official statement, Flutterwave denied the hack saying it identified an unusual trend of transactions on some users’ profiles and immediately launched a review in line with its standard operating procedure, which revealed that some users who had not activated some of our recommended security settings might have been susceptible. The statement adds that Flutterwave was able to address the issue before any harm was done to its users.

Magazine: What really goes on at a crypto OTC desk?

Nigerian crypto investors question central bank’s decision to flag P2P users

Crypto P2P users in Nigeria worry over using various platforms to transfer funds as the country’s central bank cracks down on bank accounts that received a share of Flutterwave’s rumored stolen funds.

Nigerian crypto investors using peer-to-peer (P2P) services have expressed concerns about the Central Bank of Nigeria flagging their bank accounts. CBN’s decision to flag accounts is believed to be in relation to the near $6.3 million (2.9 billion naira) Flutterwave hack, as the bank accounts have yet-to-be-proven affiliations with the hack.

According to local news sources, on Feb. 19, Albert Onimole, legal counsel for  Nigerian fintech company Flutterwave, reported to police in Yaba, Lagos, that almost $6.5 million (3 billion naira) had been illegally transferred from the accounts of his client.

On February 27th, a motion ex-parte was filed and granted in support of Flutterwave’s claims. According to the motion, 107 accounts, including their fifth beneficiaries, will be put on lien/Post-No-Debit (PND). So far, some of the locals have confirmed that their accounts have been frozen in connection to the hack.

The situation has gone on to discourage P2P users from interacting with the various over-the-counter (OTC) markets, which allow the trading of securities between two counterparties executed outside of formal exchanges and without the supervision of an exchange regulator. That’s because the hacked sum flowed into the Nigerian crypto market on different OTCs, and users now have problems with financial intermediaries when they want to use P2P services for crypto transfers.

Investors across the world use P2P as a medium of direct exchange of crypto between parties without the involvement of a central authority. They may choose to swap cryptocurrencies for cryptocurrencies or crypto for cash. In 2021, the CBN announced a regulation that prevented financial institutions like banks from enabling crypto use. However, Nigerians were able to find a way forward and still maintain their leading position as the largest crypto hub of Africa through the use of P2P platforms.

Some community members believe this could affect the general interest of Nigerians who are yet to get on board the crypto digital ecosystem in acquiring digital assets.

A concerned Nigerian stated that the situation is causing some businesses to crumble. This is because unsuspecting entrepreneurs have received payments for their services with funds that were allegedly linked to the hacked amount, resulting in confusion and possible legal repercussions.

Related: Binance recommends P2P as Ukraine suspends hryvnia use on crypto exchanges

Despite strict crypto regulations by the CBN, the P2P market has aided Nigerian trade. However, a financial analyst known as Sadeik calls it a black market hub for scammers laundering fraud funds. He went on to say that a friend of his lost more than 500,000 naira because the person he transacted with had his account flagged in the Flutterwave hack.

In an official statement, Flutterwave denied the hack, saying it identified an unusual trend of transactions on some users’ profiles and immediately launched a review in line with its standard operating procedure. The review purportedly revealed that some users who had not activated recommended security settings might have been susceptible to hacking. The statement added that Flutterwave was able to address the issue before any harm was done to its users.

Magazine: What really goes on at a crypto OTC desk?

Bitcoin nodes data: Frankfurt houses the largest city-wide network

Distributed across 5,773 cities worldwide, over 60% and 14% of the Bitcoin nodes run on IPv4 and IPv6 protocols, respectively, while more than 25% run anonymously on .onion.

While the United States holds the biggest share of Bitcoin (BTC) hash rate contribution and ATM network, the city hosting the most reachable Bitcoin nodes — a crucial pillar of the Bitcoin network — is Frankfurt, Germany.

Bitcoin nodes are a distributed network of computers that run the Bitcoin software and accept a set of proof-of-work (PoW) consensus rules to validate and broadcast transactions on the blockchain. Of the 43,706 nodes hosted across 134 countries, the U.S. hosts 9,999 (30.53%), while Germany ranks second with 4,529 (13.83%) nodes, according to data from Bitnodes.

List of top 10 countries with most number of Bitcoin nodes. Source: Bitnodes

However, when it comes to the contribution of individual cities, Frankfurt was found to host the largest number of IPv4/IPv6 Bitcoin nodes at the time of writing. Nearly 2%, or 652 nodes, remain active in Frankfurt. The U.S. city of Ashburn takes the second spot with 517 (1.58%) nodes, as shown below.

List of top 10 cities with most number of Bitcoin nodes. Source: Bitnodes

Due to factors such as internet service provider firewalls and private networks, nearly 18% or 5,865 Bitcoin nodes were not attributed to any specific location — aiding Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision for a truly decentralized payments system. The top 10 cities with the highest Bitcoin nodes include Helsinki, Toronto, London, Amsterdam, Moscow, Tokyo, Dublin and Nuremberg.

Cast your vote now!

Distributed across 5,773 cities worldwide, over 60% of the nodes run on IPv4 protocols, 14% run on IPv6 protocols and more than 25% run anonymously on .onion.

Related: Lightning Network gets physical form in Australia with Bitcoin ATM

Amid skyrocketing hash rates and increased adoption, the growth of the Bitcoin ATM network seemed stagnant over the past six months.

Chart showing the number of crypto ATMs installed over time. Source: CoinATMRadar

Just 94 Bitcoin ATMs were added to the global network between July and December 2022, with a modest 4,169 ATMs added during the year’s first six months.

Bitcoin hash rate marks all-time high as BTC price drops below $25K

Complimenting the new hash rate ATH of 231.428 exahash per second, Bitcoin’s network difficulty stands at a strong position of 30.283 trillion.

Bitcoin (BTC) hash rate, a network security measure based on computing power for mining, achieved a new all-time high (ATH) of 231.428 exahash per second (EH/s) amid an ongoing bear market that witnesses BTC price plunging below the critical $25,000 mark.

Hash rate is directly proportional to the computing power of mining equipment for confirming transactions, which deters bad actors from manipulating on-chain transactions. Complimenting the new hash rate ATH, the Bitcoin network difficulty stands at a strong position of 30.283 trillion.

The estimated number of TH/s the Bitcoin network is performing in the last 24 hours. Source: Blockchain.com

Some of the most popular Bitcoin mining pools based on market share include Poolin, AntPool, F2Pool, ViaBTC and SlushPool. However, a majority of the total hash rate is contributed by distributed miners, shown as ‘Others’ in the graph below.

An estimation of hash rate distribution amongst the largest mining pools. Source: Blockchain.com

Despite the market crash that threatens to wipe numerous crypto projects out of existence, the Bitcoin ecosystem continues to strengthen its core by consistently recording new ATHs for hash rate, network difficulty and network capacity.

In addition, the Bitcoin Lightning Network — the layer-2 technology built on Bitcoin — increased its capacity to 4,000 BTC, furthering its goal to enable faster and cheaper peer-to-peer BTC transactions.

With continued support from miners, traders and developers, Bitcoin remains well-positioned to be hosted on the most secure blockchain network in the world.

Related: Lowest weekly close since December 2020 — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

Block subsidiary TBD announced plans to build “Web5,” a new decentralized web centered around BTC, underscoring founder Jack Dorsey’s belief that the largest blockchain network will play a major role in the internet’s evolution.

Unlike Web3’s aim to decentralize the internet, Dorsey envisions Web5 as an identity-based system that runs only on the Bitcoin blockchain. As previously explained by Cointelegraph, based on TBD’s prototype documents, Web5, as a decentralized web platform (DWP), allows developers to create decentralized web apps via DIDs and decentralized nodes. 

Bitcoin ATM installations record low in May, biggest drop since 2019

Since January, Bitcoin ATM installations have seen a gradual slowdown, eventually falling 89.75% from December 2021’s 1,971 new installations.

Bitcoin (BTC) ATM installations across the globe have seen a steep decline throughout the year 2022, with May recording just 202 new BTC ATMs, a range last seen three years ago in 2019.

Since January, Bitcoin ATM installations saw a gradual slowdown, eventually falling down 89.75% from December 2021’s 1,971 new installations. However, data from Coin ATM Radar reveals an evident comeback in the installation numbers, as the world saw 817 Bitcoin ATMs installed in June — in just the first five days.

Net change of cryptocurrency machines number installed and removed monthly. Source: Coin ATM Radar

Some of the key factors contributing to the slowdown of crypto ATM installations include geopolitical tensions across the world, unclear or anti-crypto regulations, market saturation and business impact due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

Coin ATM Radar’s data confirms that the United States is home to 87.9% of the total 37,826 crypto ATMs worldwide. Europe houses a network of 1,419 ATMs, representing 3.8% of the global ATM installations.

Number of cryptocurrency machines installed by manufacturer over time. Source: Coin ATM Radar

Crypto ATM manufacturer Genesis Coin maintains its position as the leader in terms of the market share, representing 41% of the total operational crypto ATMs across the globe. Other manufacturers with prominent market share include General Bytes (21.6%), Bitaccess (16%), Coinsource (5.4%) and Bitstop (4.7%).

Related: Bitcoin Lightning Network capacity crosses 3,900 BTC, marking a new ATH

While real-world challenges may have a momentary impact on Bitcoin’s physical expansion via ATMs, at its core, the Bitcoin network continues to outperform its previous records in securing, decentralizing and speeding up the impenetrable peer-to-peer network.

Cumulative Bitcoin capacity across all channels. Source: BitcoinVisuals node

As Cointelegraph reported based on data from Bitcoin Visuals, the Bitcoin Lightning Network (LN) capacity attained an all-time high of 3,915.776 BTC — further improving BTC transaction speeds and reducing fees over the layer-2 protocol. The Bitcoin LN was first implemented into the Bitcoin mainnet in 2018 to address Bitcoin’s infamous scalability issues.