Fortune Unicorn Club (FUC), the First DIY-Mint Method NFT Project, Has Won 2 Million in Funding in the ForChain Labs’ Seed Round

PRESS RELEASE. ForChain Labs was founded in April 2022 as a web 3 startup company. Meanwhile, the NFT project, Fortune Unicorn Club, was being developed. ForChain Labs has raised 2 million funds in its seed round and will use the funds to develop and operate Fortune Unicorn Club (FUC), the first NFT project to utilize DIY-minting.

As reported, ForChain Labs currently manages investments in four major segments: industrial, technology, finance, and web 2, with 198 portfolio companies and $9.3 billion in assets. As a result, the venture capital sector is actively exploring opportunities in the Web 3 market, and ForChain Labs has become one of the VC’s first companies to be backed by a Web 3 company. Due to confidentiality agreements, we cannot disclose more information about the venture capital firm at this time.

Fortune Unicorn Club (FUC) allows people to select traits during their mint. It offers 500+ high-quality 3D traits for people to assemble their FUC avatar, so the minter is the one to decide what the metadata is and the one to decide what each unique FUC avatar looks like. Thus, the NFT collection is generated by pure human aesthetics rather than generated by a cold random program or AI. ForChain Labs hopes people can put their personalities and stories into each FUC avatar using the DIY-mint method. In addition, it lets each FUC avatar carry an additional sentiment value, making the FUC collection more meaningful.

Furthermore, FUC has built its Create-to-Earn system. Minter (who decides what the unique FUC avatar looks like) will become Avatar Creator and receive 3% royalties on the avatar they created for life. Minters can claim their royalties anytime in FUC Holder Portal. The team aims to lower the threshold of co-creation and encourage people to co-create an NFT collection through this approach.

Metaverse and AR are also parts of FUC’s roadmap. However, the team claims it will never build its metaverse but will keep adapting for more popular metaverses. The team believes there are more proper ways to bring holders value than creating a metaverse. Instead, they will bring holders eternal value by building its compatibility and adapting FUC avatars into increasingly popular metaverses. Soon, holders can get into metaverses with the FUC avatar they created.

More Info:

https://fortuneunicorn.club/

https://twitter.com/FortuneUnicornC

https://discord.gg/joinfuc

 

 

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This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

from Bitcoin News

Coinbase Fined €3.3 Million in Netherlands, Exchange Considers Appeal

The Dutch central bank has imposed a fine on crypto exchange Coinbase for providing services in the past without the necessary registration. The trading platform, which has until March to object to the measure, is currently considering an appeal against the move.

Dutch Monetary Authority Fines Coinbase for Operating Without Registration

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) has imposed an administrative fine of €3,325,000 (over $3.6 million) on Coinbase Europe Limited, on Jan. 18, 2023. An announcement explained the penalty with the exchange offering crypto services in the Netherlands in a past period without registering with the central bank.

That, according to the regulator, constitutes non-compliance with Dutch rules as companies that want to provide crypto-related services are required to register with the DNB under the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act.

The monetary authority further detailed that the base amount for this category of fines is €2 million while pointing out that the fine in case with Coinbase has been increased “due to the severity and degree of culpability of the non-compliance.”

“In increasing the fine, DNB took into account the fact that Coinbase is one of the largest crypto service providers globally. Moreover, Coinbase has a significant number of customers in the Netherlands that make use of its crypto services,” the bank said and noted the exchange hasn’t paid any supervisory fees.

The Dutch central bank also highlighted that Coinbase operated without registration for a prolonged period of time, between mid-November, 2020 and late August, 2022, emphasizing it considers that a severe non-compliance.

However, the DNB also reduced the fine by 5% as it said Coinbase had always intended to obtain registration in the Netherlands, which it did on Sept. 22, last year. The registration requirement for crypto service providers was introduced in May, 2020.

The lack of registration meant that the global exchange was unable to report unusual transactions to the Dutch Financial Intelligence Unit during the said period and these transfers may have gone unnoticed by the investigative authorities, the bank insisted.

Coinbase will be able to object to the fine until March 2, 2023. The exchange was quoted by Reuters as stating it disagreed with the decision of the DNB, which it said “includes no criticism of our actual services.” The crypto company is now considering an appeal.

In July 2022, De Nederlandsche Bank imposed an identical measure against Binance. The world’s largest crypto exchange was also fined the same amount in euros for offering crypto services in the Netherlands without the required registration.

Do you think the Dutch central bank will fine other crypto service providers? Tell us in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Financial Advisors See Strong Interest in Crypto — 90% Receive Inquiries About Crypto Investing, Survey Shows

A new survey shows that interest in cryptocurrency remains strong among financial advisors’ clients. “Despite market performance, the most common question was: ‘Should I consider an investment in crypto?'” the survey results reveal.

Financial Advisors Bullish About Crypto Long Term

Crypto asset manager Bitwise Asset Management published a report titled “Bitwise/Vettafi 2023 Benchmark Survey of Financial Advisor Attitudes Toward Crypto Assets” on Tuesday. This is Bitwise’s fifth annual study conducted in collaboration with Vettafi, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) platform.

The survey was conducted between Nov. 25, 2022, and Jan. 6, 2023, with the participation of 491 financial advisors, including independent registered investment advisors, broker-dealer representatives, financial planners, and wirehouse representatives from across the U.S. According to the survey findings:

Despite the sharp market correction of 2022, financial advisors remain highly engaged in crypto markets, with 15% allocating in client accounts and 90% receiving inbound questions from clients about the space.

“The survey is a reminder that crypto is one of the best business development opportunities in the financial advisor market,” said Bitwise’s chief investment officer, Matt Hougan.

The majority of respondents are bullish about bitcoin in the long term but bearish this year, with 63% expecting BTC to fall in 2023 while 60% believe it will be higher in five years. “While advisors’ interest in bitcoin (41%) was roughly twice that of ethereum (20%), their bullishness toward the two largest crypto assets was almost evenly split,” Bitwise described, adding that 53% favored BTC while 47% preferred ETH.

Reiterating that client interest in crypto “remains strong” as 90% of financial advisors “received a question about crypto from clients last year,” the report details:

Despite market performance, the most common question was: ‘Should I consider an investment in crypto?’

“Despite market volatility, 78% of advisors who currently have an allocation in client accounts plan to either maintain or increase that exposure in 2023,” the survey additionally found. Among respondents, 59% said “some” or “all” of their clients were investing in crypto on their own.

Moreover, “crypto equity ETFs” were financial advisors’ top crypto investment choice for 2023. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved several bitcoin futures ETFs but has yet to approve a spot bitcoin ETF.

Vettafi’s head of research, Todd Rosenbluth, commented:

Advisors and their end clients continue to want to learn more about crypto investments despite the volatility incurred in 2022. For those with a long-term focus, interest remains high.

What do you think about this survey? Let us know in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Arizona Senator Launches Bill to Make Bitcoin Legal Tender

A senator in the U.S. state of Arizona has introduced a set of cryptocurrency bills, one of which seeks to make bitcoin legal tender. “Centralized digital money controlled by the central bankers is slavery. Decentralized bitcoin is freedom,” the lawmaker said.

Arizona Lawmaker Wants to Make Bitcoin Legal Tender

Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers has introduced several crypto-related bills, including one to make bitcoin legal tender in her state.

“Launched my crypto bills today,” Rogers tweeted Tuesday. The bills are co-sponsored by her state senate Republican colleagues Jeff Weninger and J.D. Mesnard.

One of the bills proposes making bitcoin legal tender. The legislation defines the cryptocurrency as “the decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency in which a record of transactions is maintained on the bitcoin blockchain and new units of currency are generated by the computational solution of mathematical problems and that operates independently of a central bank.”

Another bill proposes allowing state agencies to enter “into an agreement with a cryptocurrency issuer to provide a method to accept cryptocurrency as a payment method of fines, civil penalties or other penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges, revenue, financial obligations, and special assessments to pay any amount due to that agency or this state.”

Rogers introduced a similar bill to make bitcoin legal tender in Arizona last year but it was quickly shot down. She tweeted last April:

Centralized digital money controlled by the central bankers is slavery. Decentralized bitcoin is freedom.

In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar. Since then, the country, led by the pro-bitcoin president Nayib Bukele, has purchased thousands of BTC for its treasury. Last November, Bukele announced that El Salvador is buying bitcoin every day.

Do you think bitcoin will become legal tender in the U.S.? Let us know in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

Russia Mulls Gold-backed Stablecoin, Lawmaker Confirms After Iran Visit

Russia may issue a stablecoin backed by gold to use in international settlements, a high-ranking member of the Russian parliament has admitted. The matter has been discussed during a recent visit to Iran where officials have also signaled interest in such an initiative.

Iran and Russia Talk Stablecoin Payments for Bilateral Trade Settlements

The Russian Federation is considering the creation of a stablecoin backed by gold that can be employed for cross-border settlements, including with Iran, the chairman of the Financial Market Committee at the lower house of Russian parliament, Anatoly Aksakov, told the Parlamentskaya Gazeta newspaper.

“We discussed the issuance of stablecoins, digital financial assets (DFAs) backed by certain valuables. For example, I spoke about gold, gold bars, refineries can provide them, or centers where gold is stored, and DFAs are issued against these reserves,” the lawmaker explained after a visit by a Russian delegation to the Islamic Republic.

Such a stablecoin can then be used as a means of payment, in mutual settlements between Russia and Iran for example, Aksakov elaborated, also quoted by the Interfax news agency. He added that the proposal has been received with interest from the Iranian side.

The high-ranking member of the State Duma further noted that Iran has a large debt for goods supplied by Russia. At the same time, the Iranian currency, the rial, fluctuates significantly and has two exchange rates to the U.S. dollar — the official, approved by the Central Bank of Iran, and the market rate — which is inconvenient in terms of calculations for Russian exports.

News that Tehran and Moscow are discussing the possible launch of a digital currency backed by gold came out earlier in January when the head of the Russian crypto industry association told the business daily Vedomosti that Iran’s central bank is mulling over developing one with Russian participation. The token would be used to facilitate trade in the Persian region, the executive revealed.

Gold-Backed Russian Digital Currency First Proposed in 2019

The idea to issue a Russian gold-backed stablecoin was initially circulated in May 2019, during a meeting at the State Duma joined by the governor of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina. At the time, the member of the house Vladimir Gutenev suggested that the central bank should initiate talks on the matter with the other BRICS countries and insisted:

Gold is the least vulnerable asset. We could probably find understanding in China, India, and Brazil.

“But these are rather not cryptocurrencies, maybe so-called stablecoins,” remarked Anatoly Aksakov, while Nabiullina indicated that the monetary authority is open to a stablecoin backed by a real asset. A proposal for a ‘golden ruble’ stablecoin was also featured in a report by the VEB.RF Institute for Research and Expertise released in the summer of 2022.

Pressed by Western sanctions, Russia and Iran have been also exploring options to use decentralized cryptocurrencies to circumvent restrictions in foreign trade. In August, last year, Iran placed its first official import order using crypto while Russia is taking steps to legalize cross-border crypto payments. A digital ruble and a crypto rial that are not backed by gold are also under development.

Do you think Russia will issue a stablecoin backed by gold in the near future? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

from Bitcoin News

PAYB․IO Makes Shopping Easier for Cryptocurrency Holders and Significantly Saves Their Time

PRESS RELEASE. (London, United Kingdom) – The operator of cryptocurrency purchases on the e-commerce market, PAYB.IO improves and expands its international operations.

Their innovative solution allows cryptocurrency holders from around the world to use a multi shopping cart to place orders in multiple online stores simultaneously, saving time and streamlining the shopping process.

With PAYB.IO and its new multi-basket, users in one transaction can place an order in up to 10 different stores in various countries and pay for them all with just one cryptocurrency transaction. This eliminates the need for multiple logins and payment transactions in different FIAT currencies. Such a unique solution, pioneered by PAYB.IO, makes shopping substantially easier and saves users’ time.

Save with PAYB.IO

The company is open to cooperation with projects that have their own token, enabling clients or team members to pay with them in online stores. Furthermore, PAYB.IO establishes partnerships to offer additional discounts for cryptocurrency holders. For more information on these deals, follow PAYB.IO on social media.

About PAYB.IO

PAYB.IO is a European company that supports purchases in online stores that do not accept cryptocurrency payments. The platform also offers a growing list of supported cryptocurrencies and constantly expands to include more tokens.

In addition to its secure and licensed payment system, PAYB.IO has gained the trust of its users by handling both large and small purchases.

For more information on PAYB.IO and its services, visit their website and watch their explanatory video.

Social Media & Contact:

Website | Twitter | Telegram | YouTube | Facebook | [email protected]

 

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This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

from Bitcoin News

Lido Protocol Reveals Plans for Withdrawal Feature Ahead of Ethereum’s Shanghai Hard Fork

While the Ethereum community prepares for the upcoming Shanghai hard fork in March, the development team for the liquid staking project Lido revealed plans to create an in-protocol withdrawal feature. Lido’s team is seeking community feedback on the proposal that would allow withdrawals after the Shanghai upgrade is completed.

Lido Dominates Defi Economy With $7.9 Billion in Total Value Locked, Team Prepares for Shanghai Withdrawals

As of the time of writing, the decentralized finance (defi) liquid staking protocol Lido is the most dominant defi protocol today, in terms of total value locked (TVL). Statistics from defillama.com show that Lido’s $7.92 billion TVL dominates the $46.56 billion TVL held in defi today by approximately 17.01%.

Lido is the largest holder of staked ethereum as the protocol commands around 29% of the staked ether supply. Lido’s ethereum derivative token STETH is the 13th largest market valuation in the cryptocurrency economy with $7.73 billion. Furthermore, Lido has a governance token called lido dao (LDO), which has a market capitalization of around $1.96 billion on Jan. 25, 2023. The day prior, Lido’s development team published a proposal concerning withdrawals after the Shanghai upgrade.

Ethereum developers are determined to make the Shanghai hard fork happen this March and the main focus is allowing staked withdrawals. “The design proposed by Lido on the Ethereum Protocol Engineering team addresses these challenges with the in-protocol withdrawal requests queue,” the Lido team explains in a summary of the withdrawals landscape via the Lido protocol. “The process has to be asynchronous, due to the asynchronous nature of ethereum withdrawals,” the Lido developers add.

The Lido developers explain there would be various modes of withdrawals including a “turbo” feature and a “bunker” feature. Further penalties and slashing would be codified for validators that break the rules. The summary explains how slashings affect a user’s withdrawal request fulfillment.

“We are seeking the community’s feedback to make sure that our proposal takes all important considerations into account and to identify any potential improvements,” the Lido team details. “Your feedback is invaluable to create a proposal that is effective, efficient, and fair for all stakeholders.”

What are your thoughts on Lido’s proposal for in-protocol withdrawal requests and the upcoming Shanghai hard fork? Do you think this feature will have a significant impact on the crypto and defi market? Share your opinions in the comments below.

from Bitcoin News