Bitcoin ATMs rise 📈, Private ID verification wins 🛡️, Nike's NFTs come to EA Sports games 👟
Daily Crypto, Blockchain & Web3 Update 2023-06-03
CRYPTOCURRENCY
Coinbase Derivatives Exchange set to roll out BTC and ETH futures (2 min read)
On June 1, Coinbase revealed its plans to introduce Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts on June 5 through its Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated derivatives exchange. The futures contracts will be targeted at institutional investors.
According to Coinbase, the newly announced institutional-sized contracts will have a specific size of 1 Bitcoin and 10 Ether.
MUFG to facilitate Japanese bank-backed stablecoins via Progmat Coin platform (2 min read)
Megabank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has announced its stablecoin issuance platform “Progmat Coin” will soon be used by banks in Japan to launch Japanese yen-pegged stablecoins on several public blockchains.
Japanese banks have recently outlined intentions to either look into or launch stablecoins following new regulations that came into effect this month.
In mid-2022, the Japanese government passed a bill prohibiting the issuance of stablecoins by non-banking institutions.
Net Bitcoin ATMs record an increase after 4 months of global downtrend (2 min read)
Breaking the year-long worldwide trend of declining Bitcoin and crypto ATMs, May recorded a steep increase, with nearly 1,400 net installations.
The total number of crypto ATMs consistently declined in the first four months of 2023. During the timeframe, major economies like the United States contributed to the dwindling numbers, but Australia, Poland and Spain increased crypto ATM installations.
Private ID verification wins Binance Web3 reality show (2 min read)
Crypto exchange Binance has announced the winner of its metaverse-based Web3 reality show, “Build the Block.” As a part of the show, startups competed against each other to win an investment from Binance Labs.
In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, Binance said that zkPass, a decentralized identity verification solution that preserves privacy, won the contest after receiving the most votes. The startup relies on multiparty computation and zero-knowledge-proof technology.
NFTs
Nike NFTs to make their way into EA Sports games and its millions of fans (2 min read)
In a major step towards mainstream gamer adoption of crypto, Nike’s nonfungible token (NFT) platform .Swoosh will soon be integrated with EA Sports games, potentially allowing Nike's virtual footwear and apparel to appear in games.
In a June 1 statement, Nike said that its “virtual creations”, its way of saying NFTs, will start being incorporated into EA Sports games in the coming months, though neither Nike nor Electronic Arts has revealed which game titles will include Nike’s virtual goods.
BLOCKCHAIN
Privacy-focused Aleo blockchain gets new wallet as mainnet launch approaches (2 min read)
Demox Labs has debuted a new wallet for the privacy-oriented Aleo blockchain network, according to a June 1 announcement. Called “Leo,” the wallet allows users to generate zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs within their browsers, letting them interact with Aleo’s ZK-based apps. Aleo is in its testnet phase but expects to launch a mainnet later this year.
According to the announcement, Demox also raised $4.5 million from investors to further develop ZK-proof technology through Aleo and other networks. Over 40,000 users signed up for the Leo wallet waitlist in the period leading up to its debut.
BUSINESS
Microsoft pens AI cloud computing deal with former Ethereum miner CoreWeave: CNBC (3 min read)
Microsoft has reportedly signed a deal with former Ethereum miner CoreWeave to use its cloud computing infrastructure to support its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered services.
According to a June 1 report from CNBC, which cites “people with knowledge of the matter,” Microsoft is potentially set to spend billions of dollars on the deal with CoreWeave over multiple years.
OpenAI CTO’s Twitter hacked, shilling ‘scam’ crypto airdrop (1 min read)
Crypto Twitter was flooded with warnings from users on June 2 after the Twitter account of Mira Murati, the chief technology officer of artificial intelligence firm OpenAI, was seemingly hacked to promote a “scam” cryptocurrency airdrop.
On June 2, Murati’s account tweeted what appeared to be a phishing link promising an airdrop of a purported ERC-20 token OPENAI named after the firm that created ChatGPT.
Qatar slammed for not taking enough action against crypto companies (2 min read)
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has slammed Qatar Central Bank (QCB) for making little effort to enforce its own regulations prohibiting virtual asset service providers.
In a report published on May 31, the global money-laundering and terrorist financing watchdog highlighted that Qatar needs to advance its capabilities to effectively combat evolving forms of criminal activity, including sanctioning virtual asset service providers.
QUICK LINKS
Uniswap scam alert: Fraudsters impersonate executives and create fake website (2 min read)
Uniswap and its foundation have no association with the scam as efforts are being made to combat it.
Evertas expands crypto insurance offerings to include mining and raises limits (2 min read)
Crypto insurance underwriter Evertas will increase coverage limits to $420 million per policy while adding additional mining coverage.
Taurus deploys on Polygon blockchain for asset tokenization and custody (3 min read)
Taurus raised $65 million in a funding round three months ago. Its clients can now issue digital securities automatically.
OpenAI commits $1M to support AI-driven cybersecurity initiatives (2 min read)
As criminals devise innovative ways to exploit AI for malicious intentions, OpenAI remains committed to equipping “defenders” with the necessary tools.
CBDC ‘may not be a compelling priority,' says Kenya’s central bank (2 min read)
The central bank released its statement in response to comments on a CBDC discussion paper published in February 2022.
Binance market share chopped with the end of zero-fee BTC trading (2 min read)
A Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company had forecasted the drop after its decision to end its zero-fee Bitcoin trading but that it’s “not a concern.”
OpenAI gets warning from Japanese regulators on data collecting (2 min read)
Japanese privacy watchdog warned OpenAI about collecting sensitive data without permission, threatening further action.