News - Page 21

Cryptocurrency exchange: Phemex

Phemex is a Singapore-headquartered crypto derivatives trading platform. They offer perpetual contracts with up to 100x leverage on an impressive array of coins and

MEXC burns new wave of MX Tokens via ENS index sale

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Recently, the world-renowned cryptocurrency trading platform MEXC launched a new M-Day event. This is a welfare event for MX Token holders and mainstream token traders. Participants can exchange new project tokens at a discounted price or free of charge.

The project launched by MEXC this time is the latest NFT Index token ENSDOMAIN. The index token is supported by more than 20 four-digit pure digital ENS domain names purchased by MEXC. These domain names have then been split into 26 million ENSDOMAIN index tokens.

According to MEXC’s announcement, the winning users who trade mainstream token spots, leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and futures during the event can use MX Token to exchange the index token ENSDOMAIN at a discounted price.

It is particularly worth mentioning that MEXC will burn all the MX Tokens received in this event.

Since December 2021, MEXC has continued to burn more MX Tokens. In MX Token 2.0, 100 million of the 450 million MX Tokens held by the team will be directly and permanently burned. Meanwhile, starting from Q1 this year, 40% of the platform’s profits will be used to repurchase and burn MX Token to ensure its deflation in the secondary market.

According to the data of the Ethereum explorer Etherscan, the total supply of MX Token has dropped from 450 million in December 2021 to about 443 million at present. Since the burning of MX Token in Q2 has not begun yet, the data only includes the number of MX Tokens burned in Q1 2022. 

Up until now, the circulation of MX Token in the secondary market is about 93.8 million. Judging from this MEXC initiative, the platform will not only continue to use the platform’s profits to buy back MX Token to achieve its goal of substantial burning but will also continue to use the platform’s activities and events to strengthen the use cases of MX Token and the burning of MX Token in order to reduce its circulation in the secondary market.

Whether it is a centralized exchange or a decentralized exchange, these platform tokens have always been the sector and projects that have been paid attention to. However, the platform token of the decentralized exchange is currently used for governance only and lacks a certain value, while the platform token of the centralized exchange has already had a large number of use cases within the platform.

For example, MEXC has launched a series of activities, such as M-DayLaunchpadMX DeFi and Kickstarter, that highlight MX Token. MX Token holders can participate in these activities to get rich rewards.

These moves have boosted the value of MX Token. Comparing platform tokens, BNB, MX Token, FTX Token (FTT) and KuCoin Token (KCS) have all increased by more than 800% in the past two years. In the past year, MX Token has had the most outstanding performance, achieving growth of up to 185.42%, while the growth of BNB, FTX and KCS in the past year is only -9.83%, 2% and 3.05%, respectively.

At present, the market capitalization of MX Token is $122 million, and the market cap of BNB, which ranks fifth, is $47.8 billion. The market cap of the former is only 1/391 of the latter.

The analysis agency ICO Analytics used SimilarWeb to analyze and conclude that MEXC’s network traffic increased by 27% in July, making it the trading platform with the largest traffic growth among the 20 mainstream cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world.

In 2021, MEXC won the title of “Best Crypto Exchange in Asia” at the Crypto Expo Dubai. Some analysts pointed out that the core reason why MEXC is well-known to global cryptocurrency traders in just a few years is that it is able to quickly discover high-quality crypto assets, provides professional products and user services, and puts more emphasis on localization when promoting its global operation strategies.

Judging from the achievements of MEXC’s global development in the past two years and the rapid growth of its global users, the market value of MX Token is at an early stage, and its valuation may also be seriously underestimated.

About MEXC

MEXC is the world’s leading cryptocurrency trading platform, providing one-stop cryptocurrency trading services for spot, ETF, futures, staking, NFT Index, etc., and serving more than 7 million users worldwide. The core team has a solid background in traditional finance and has professional financial product logic and technical security guarantees in terms of cryptocurrency products and services. Currently, it supports the trading of more than 1,400 cryptocurrencies and is the trading platform with the fastest launch speed for new projects and the most tradable categories. Visit the website and blog for more information and follow MEXC Global and MEXC Research.


TenUp launches Ludo NFT to allow players to wager smart coins

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TenUp Ludo NFT version 1.1 is here, and we couldn’t be more thrilled about what it means for the future of blockchain and gaming. By releasing version 1.1, we at TenUp hope to reach a wider audience and give people more influence. 

TenUp Ludo NFT version 1.1, a digital recreation of the design and structure of the iconic arcade game, is currently playable at Ludo NFT. In order to play with other players, each player needs 10 TenUp smart coins in their MetaMask wallet. The loser must give the winner TenUp smart coins as a reward. This release features co-op plays for up to four opponents.

Each player’s “yard” starts with four pieces. The program randomly chooses the first participant. Players take turns rolling dice. Any piece from the player’s yard can be used if they roll a six. It can also move a piece by six squares. Any other throw moves the player’s piece to the appropriate number of spaces. If no pieces are on the track, the turn is lost, and the dice are passed clockwise. Players get another throw after rolling a six — and a third try after rolling a second six.

On a player’s third roll, the turn is over. Upon reaching an opponent’s square, a piece is caught and returned to its owner’s yard. To win, a player’s pieces must all be in the middle. Some may keep trying for the bottom rungs.

TenUp plans to release version 1.2 of its Ludo game by the end of 2022, following the successful completion of its first Ludo game. In addition, the company plans to implement nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as part of this endeavor.

In accordance with the terms of this new upgrade, the player will be eligible to receive a prize consisting of an NFT from the TenUp NFT marketplace once they have achieved victory in 20 games. After that, the gamer can utilize the NFT to stake on the company’s NFT marketplace, which will result in the player earning TenUp tokens. Players will have the opportunity to fight for massive bounties and bonus benefits by taking part in the Ludo tournaments hosted by the TenUp team thanks to this brand-new addition.

About TenUp

TenUp is a decentralized platform with the goal of developing Web3 decentralized applications. TenUp has already launched its staking platform and has created its own bridge in order to enhance its blockchain network.

TenUp also launched its analyzer, where users can make wise choices and analyze how markets will react and earn from it. In addition, trading opportunities for TenUp can be found on platforms such as OKX, Bitget, StakeCube, Uniswap, Stex, PancakeSwap and others.
Game: https://ludonft.tenup.io/


Elevate Labs unveils The Wolf of Kensington NFT collection

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Elevate Labs presents a rare opportunity for holders to join the pack with the launch of an exciting new company — operating at the forefront of the global digital art revolution — which has created a unique collection of carbon-neutral nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

The Wolf of Kensington (TWOK), revealed today by Elevate Labs, is a collection of 3D generative digital art described as the most exclusive in the global community. 

Each individual Wolf comes with a range of added benefits for its owner, including access to a prestigious concierge service and exclusive investment opportunities.

Elevate Labs is backed by Woodbourne Ventures, the venture capital initiative by Woodbourne Group. Chief executive Tani Dulay said they have invested close to 1 million pounds ($1.2 million) in developing the product. The team behind the new company includes thought leaders in the Web3 space — leading blockchain developers, artists, animators and marketers who have worked with blue-chip brands from eBay and EA Games to government entities. 

Dulay said, “The launch of Elevate Labs and the The Wolf of Kensington NFT collection follows a long and intense period of creative development and significant investment led by a world-class team.

“We are incredibly proud of the product we have produced. TWOK is a highly coveted, carbon-neutral NFT collection of generative art with real-world utility. The digital assets give holders access to a global and leading concierge service and will also provide investment opportunities that they can benefit from that would otherwise be out of their reach.”

The Elevate Labs team has expertise across a range of specialist fields, including business, artistic and creative, technology and marketing.

Dulay said, “Each wolf provides access to a luxury lifestyle app and concierge service, ahead of the NFT fashion curve. The world class concierge service will provide access to 14,000 pounds ($16,879) per annum of benefits, and the new app will give holders all this luxury at their fingertips.

“Elevate Labs has the bandwidth to help shape the metaverse and create bold, new communities. TWOK is just the start.”

TWOK, which stands to be the most exclusive generative art in the global community, will be launched the third quarter of 2022. A modest, entry-level price will be set nearer to the time. 

NFTs are cryptographic assets on a blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them from each other. 

Woodbourne Group also recently launched an investment company that will champion the next generation of entrepreneurs and wealth creators and build exciting breakthrough businesses. Woodbourne Ventures is a new early-capital and pre-seed accelerator fund that will support other talented entrepreneurs.

Woodbourne Group is an investment and development group that exploits potential across all aspects of real estate through creative flair and entrepreneurial vision. Driven to reinforce Birmingham’s position as a leading sustainable city, its projects continue to regenerate the city and attract both cultural and business investment. Woodbourne Group is facing the sustainability challenge head on, creating people and planet-centered developments that unlock economic opportunities without costing the earth. 

About Woodbourne Group

Based in Birmingham, West Midlands, Woodbourne Group’s team has a combined real estate experience of over 130 years and a track record surpassing 5 billion pounds ($6 billion. Its team’s skills and expertise have played a pivotal role in ensuring the successful delivery of some of the Uited Kingdom’s most notable and complex mixed-use schemes. It is a business built on integrity and hard work, supported by a robust financial position, working alongside joint venture partners and delivering excellent results for landowners, occupiers, fund partners and charitable and public sector organizations. For more information, please visit: woodbournegroup.com.


Brian Armstrong outlines Coinbase’s gameplan amid bear market

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As crypto exchange Coinbase faces industry challenges and economic headwinds, the company is taking a close look at where it can cut costs, CEO Brian Armstrong told CNBC’s Kate Rooney.

Coinbase shares have lost more than 70% of their value this year as the company has grappled with a “crypto winter” tied to the plummeting of bitcoin and ethereum. Armstrong said the downturn is not unusual, as Coinbase has been through four down cycles in the 10 years since he started the company.

Coinbase is facing inflationary pressures and a potential recession, but Armstrong said the macro environment is reminiscent of what the company has dealt with in the past.

“We have this saying internally, I like to repeat a lot, which is you know, it’s never as good as it seems, it’s never as bad as it seems,” he said. “I think one of the reasons Coinbase has been so successful in the last 10 years is we just we try not to get focused on short-term ups and downs.”

Coinbase cut 18% of its workforce in June, and Armstrong previously attributed the layoffs to a possible recession and a need to manage the company’s burn rate and increase efficiency.

Armstrong said the layoffs were meant to be a one-time event, but that “anything could happen.”

“I can’t tell you what the world’s going to be like a year from now,” he said. Armstrong said Coinbase is looking closely at reducing costs related to marketing, external vendors and Amazon Web Services.

He added that the company is looking to convert as many fixed costs into variable costs as possible. That could mean Coinbase Super Bowl ads are a thing of the past, though Armstrong said there will still be a “variety of Coinbase ads out there.”

The bear case for Coinbase has been around potential pressure on trading fees, which accounted for more than 80% of revenue in the second quarter. Noted short seller Jim Chanos is among those betting against Coinbase, claiming that it over earns on fees and as “competition increases amongst the exchanges, you’re going to see fee compression.”

Armstrong said fees will eventually erode as they have in the stock brokerage industry. But Coinbase is not yet seeing price sensitivity.

“I do think there’s going to be margin compression, eventually it has to happen at some point because everything that we’re building, you know, others, eventually you’re going to build it and it’ll become a little bit more commoditized,” Armstrong said. “I’d like to get to a place where more than 50% of our revenue is subscription and services.”

That part of the business, subscription and services, has grown to roughly 18% of revenue from 4% a year earlier. It includes interest income, Coinbase’s premium membership, blockchain rewards and fees for storing crypto on the platform on behalf of customers.

Coinbase and the SEC

Coinbase has also dealt with SEC scrutiny in recent months. The agency charged an ex-Coinbase product manager with fraud and launched a probe into whether the platform is illegitimately allowing users to trade digital assets that haven’t been registered as securities.

Determining how to classify cryptocurrency tokens is controversial, and Armstrong said he expects the company will receive some regulatory clarity after the midterm elections. If cryptocurrencies are considered commodities like other kinds of currency, they would be governed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. But many crypto projects are funded by the sale of speculative tokens.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler has said that “many of these underlying tokens have the attributes of securities” and need to be regulated as such to protect investors.

Armstrong said he’s happy to be working with the SEC.

“You know, we’ve been in actually engaging with regulators and I actually think it’s a good thing,” Armstrong said. “And our overall goal is really to help drive regulatory clarity on a global scale.”

Company culture and remote work

Though Coinbase was started in San Francisco, it has no official headquarters and none of its employees are required to work in an office.

Armstrong said he thinks the remote-first structure has been positive for the company’s recruiting but that it has eroded some of the learning and development, creativity and trust. As a result, he said the company is trying to get employees together with some of their teammates in person at least once a quarter.

Coinbase’s mission statement says the company strives to be a “refuge from division” and does not “engage in social or political activism.” Armstrong gained a lot of attention from CEOs in Silicon Valley and beyond for a blog post he wrote in 2020, declaring that political debates about candidates are off limits.

Armstrong said he was “shocked” by the types of leaders who were reaching out to talk to him about it, but that he thinks the company has become almost too well known for its mission statement.

“I kind of want to just turn the page on it,” Armstrong said. “I’d rather be better known for our products and all the cool innovation that we’re doing, but, you know, in a way it was good that other companies found something interesting in it.”

“I think it’s net positive,” he said. “It’s given us access to a wealth of talent in small towns in various countries.”


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Full details: Copenhagen to host ninth edition of Aging Research and Drug Discovery summit

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The ninth version of the Aging Research and Drug Discovery (ARDD) meeting is taking place in Copenhagen from Aug., 29 to Sept. 2, bringing the best speakers to Copenhagen to discuss all aging-related subjects, from technology to the most recent advances in cellular and molecular biology, translated into cutting-edge clinical approaches. This is the best opportunity to hear the most recent breakthroughs from world-leading researchers, clinicians, companies, innovators and investors in the field.

The ARDD meeting has a long history of delivering the best in the field. For its ninth version, it is inviting everyone from all over the globe to join online from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2, 2022. More than 90 speakers from top institutions will be gathered in Copenhagen with thousands watching online. The organization’s mission is to make science more accessible, and now the largest and most essential meeting on aging and drug discovery is just a couple of clicks away. 

The nonprofit conference continues to grow every year, hosting more than 2,000 delegates over the past two years and expecting an even bigger attendance this year. To add to the growth, it has developed a new workshop on emerging technologies, which will precede the longevity medicine workshop, tailored to clinicians with an interest in improving their patients’ longevity and quality of life. This is followed by four days packed with amazing speakers as part of the main event. Importantly, the first day is free to join. Attendees will have the chance to ask questions to the speakers via Slack, which will be answered even after the talk is finished.

“Aging is emerging as a druggable condition with multiple pharmaceuticals able to alter the pace of aging in model organisms. The ARDD brings together all levels of the field to discuss the most pressing obstacles in our attempt to find efficacious interventions and molecules to target aging. The 2022 conference is the best yet, with top-level speakers from around the globe. I’m extremely excited to be able to livestream our event from the amazing ceremonial hall here in Copenhagen,” said Dr. Morten Scheibye-Knudsen from University of Copenhagen.

“Aging research is growing faster than ever on both the academia and industry fronts. The ARDD meeting unites experts from different fields and backgrounds, sharing with us their latest groundbreaking research and developments. Our last ARDD meeting took place both offline and online, and it was a great success. I am particularly excited that being a part of the ARDD 2022 meeting will provide an amazing opportunity for young scientists presenting their own work as well as meeting the experts in the field,” said Dr. Daniela Bakula from University of Copenhagen.

“Many credible biopharmaceutical companies have now prioritized aging research for early-stage discovery or therapeutic pipeline development. It is only logical to prioritize therapeutic targets that are important in both aging and age-associated diseases. The patient benefits either way. The best place to learn about these targets is ARDD, which we have been organizing for nine years in a row. This conference is now the largest in the field and is not to be missed,” said Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine and Deep Longevity.

About the Aging Research and Drug Discovery meeting

At ARDD, leaders in the aging, longevity and drug discovery field will describe the latest progress in the molecular, cellular and organismal basis of aging as well as the search for interventions. Furthermore, the meeting will include opinion leaders in AI to discuss the latest advances of this technology in the biopharmaceutical sector and how this can be applied to interventions. Notably, it is expanding this year with a workshop specifically for physicians, where leading knowledge from clinical interventions for healthy longevity will be described. ARRD intends to bridge clinical, academic and commercial research, and foster collaborations that will result in practical solutions to one of humanity’s most challenging problems. ARRD’s quest is to extend the healthy lifespan of everyone on the planet. 

About the Scheibye-Knudsen lab

The Scheibye-Knudsen lab uses in-silico, in-vitro and in-vivo models to understand the cellular and organismal consequences of DNA damage with the aim of developing interventions. It has discovered that DNA damage leads to changes in certain metabolites and that replenishment of these molecules may alter the rate of aging in model organisms. These findings suggest that normal aging and age-associated diseases may be malleable to similar interventions. The hope is to develop interventions that will allow everyone to live healthier, happier and more productive lives.


Wagyu Games and Immutable X announce partnership for release of flagship game

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Immutable X, the platform of choice for world-class Web3 games, announces a partnership tournament with first-person shooter (FPS) gaming leader Wagyu Games to release the flagship game, Undead Blocks.

Undead Blocks was born in response to the traditional, outdated gaming model, where players are forced to pay excessive premiums for in-game items that lose value over time due to the inability of the original purchaser to resell the items. For context, in 2020, experts estimated that players spent nearly $74 billion on these in-game items without building any equity on these purchases. Recognizing the negative impact this loss of value has on players, a genre of blockchain-based games emerged with a model that would flip traditional gaming on its head by enabling players to build equity on their purchased assets. 

Calling all survivors — Undead Blocks is inviting the public to participate in the world’s first AAA kill-to-earn first-person zombie shooter and survival game. To bring back the nostalgia of zombie FPS games, players are being introduced to the same unforgettable, heart-racing journey that comes with the traditional fight to the death, now replete with extensive loadout variations (2,700 in total) and lucrative rewards.

However, the real difference in the Undead Blocks release is the power being brought back and given to the gamers. With gas-free and fully carbon-neutral NFTs utilized for each team’s fight, players will experience the play-and-earn mentality — a standard that is vastly unlike the blockchain games currently available in the market. 

Empowering players through ownership

To spread the word, Undead Blocks has announced its partnership with Immutable X, a key collaborator for its strategy to expand its reach into mobile FPS gaming. With the intent to empower gamers through ownership of their weapons and skins as NFTs, Wagyu Games believes this is likely to be a trend-setting development in gaming history. Immutable X will make this possible for Undead Blocks by ensuring all in-game assets are gas-free, fully carbon neutral and tradeable with high speed on the world’s leading open-source blockchain, Ethereum.

In response to this partnership, Grant Haseley, the executive director of Wagyu Games, shares, “As Wagyu Games continues to empower FPS gamers to truly own their weapon and character skins for the first time in their lives, so shall we scale with Immutable, the world’s premier gasless, zk-Rollup solution. Immutable’s placement of entertainment value above all aligns closely with our strategic vision of being the premier Web3 FPS gaming studio for PC, Mac and mobile gamers.”

The joint efforts of Wagyu Games and Immutable X will kick off with a celebratory free-to-play public Partner Launch Weekend Tournament, complete with attractive prizes worth $10,000 in ZBUX, the in-game token that can be swapped for any crypto on the Wagyu Games website.

However, unlike comparable blockchain tournaments, an NFT-compatible crypto wallet is not a requirement to participate in this tournament. Instead, players can participate with an email address, which will unlock access to the tournament. Here, players will use their NFT-based weapons to kill zombies, earning more ZBUX, which can later be swapped for alternate crypto assets via multi-chain withdrawals or used to upgrade Undead Blocks NFTs and purchase other perks.

The Undead Blocks full multiplayer experience is slated to launch in Q4 of 2022. For event details, interested participants are encouraged to follow the official Undead Blocks account on Twitter, where all up-to-date information will be released.

About Immutable 

Immutable is a global blockchain gaming company with a mission to bring digital asset ownership to billions of users through the power of immutable NFTs. The Immutable Group consists of Immutable X and Immutable Games Studio.

Immutable X, in partnership with Starkware, is the leading Layer 2 Ethereum-scaling solution offering innovators and builders incredible speed, security and liquidity across digital worlds. Immutable X has become the platform of choice for world-class Web3 games such as Guild of Guardians, Gods Unchained, Illuvium, Embersword, Planet Quest and many more.

About Wagyu Games

Wagyu Games is recognized around the world as an industry leader in FPS gaming on the blockchain, providing players with a platform where they can have fun and win big simultaneously. The team’s main claim to fame has come from its flagship game, Undead Blocks. The Kill-to-Earn FPS zombie crypto game is now attributed with over 25,000 downloads, 2,700 weapon loadout NFTs and sponsored tournaments in a public beta. The Undead Blocks full multiplayer experience is slated to launch in Q4 of 2022.


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Dreams Quest releases first major lore on Fandom

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Dreams Quest, an open-world action mobile role-playing game (RPG), has released its first major lore, storyline and game update for Origins: The Fall of Azoria on Fandom, one of the most notable websites for gamers and fans. The “alpha leaks” give players a closer look at the history, backstory and peril that has unfolded in the world of Azoria and its other realms.

Released on Fandom, the world’s largest fan platform catering to over 315 million people, Dreams Quest becomes the first blockchain game ever to have a dedicated gaming Fandom site. Players will be able to add new pages and document the game much like other fan pages for games such as Horizon and Skyrim.

Unveiling the reason behind publishing the white paper-styled content on Fandom, Steve Good, co-founder and CEO of Dreams Quest, stated: “Fandom is one of the most popular sites for games, anime, cartoons and tv shows, so it makes sense to become a part of the larger fanbase community. We wanted to build a collaborative website that anyone from the community can build and expand upon. And we wanted to give something more to our players.

“Our initial pages are designed to share insights on gameplay, lore, races, characters, locations, game mechanics and a lot more. And we have more in store for everyone as we prepare to release more content over time.”

Origins: The Fall of Azoria is the first planned release in the overall Dreams Quest game series. The Fandom site offers a glimpse into this immersive game, storyline and gameplay, along with other information, backstories about the realms, hints at major quest lines and introductions to some of the most notable beings and nonplayable characters found in the game. The Fandom site pages are called “Wekapedia,” which refers to Weka, a formless and timeless life force and energy that both moves and is moved by matter and sound.

It creates and maintains a balance of all that is, was and will be. Understanding Weka is a thread within the game that will enable players to understand how to craft, cast spells, level up, and unlock hidden environments and locations through portals.

Paulii Good, co-founder, creative director and chief marketing officer of Dreams Quest, said: “Through Fandom, we intend to create immersive and beautiful content and imagery that will engage players, spark their imagination, and leave them wanting to discover more. More importantly, we celebrate and honor our fans by pushing our content and storylines to one of the more notable wiki sites to invite players to share this game together.”

Dreams Quest Origins marks its first entrance into the fantasy role-playing, open-world and metaverse genres by leveraging both Web2 mobile gaming and Web3 features using nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to enable players to fully enjoy the power of asset ownership, inventory swapping and personal game content creation.

Like traditional RPG games, players will be able to play within the game without any required blockchain features. However, through the Web3 features being developed, players who choose to fully own their assets will receive their inventory and assets within their MetaMask wallet. Changes to player inventory will be dynamically applied to their wallets in near real-time and handled in a highly secure method without any confirmations required.

Origins: The Fall of Azoria will be the first mobile game that enables players to have ownership of their game assets, be synchronized in near real-time between the game server and blockchain, and deliver a truly immersive and game-changing player experience. The synchronization between Web2 and Web3 is a major feature that is setting a new standard for both the blockchain and gaming industries.

About Dreams Quest

Dreams Quest is a gaming and entertainment company producing a variety of products to create an immersive gaming experience. Dreams Quest Origins is an open-world Web3 RPG providing users with a player-versus-environment, quest-based immersive experience. It is also the first-ever game designed with a metaverse-based economy, designed on the core principle of create-to-earn, where every in-game asset is a dynamic NFT that can be crafted, forged, upgraded and traded to let players unlock the value of their game assets.


Ethereum less than a month away from biggest upgrade in its history

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After more than two years of development, Ethereum is less than a month away from the biggest upgrade in its seven year history.

Known as the ‘Merge’, the event will see the world’s second largest cryptocurrency switch its underlying technology from a proof-of-work system to a proof-of-stake. This means that mining Ethereum’s ether currency will no longer require powerful computers to perform complex calculations and instead rely on holders to verify transactions and validate the network.

By some estimates, this update will reduce Ethereum’s electricity consumption by a factor of 1,000.

The Merge has been described by some commentators as “the most anticipated event in crypto’s history”, and has resulted in a major price rally for Ethereum despite a broader downturn for the overall cryptocurrency market. Although still a long way off its peak, the anticipation surrounding the Merge saw Ethereum more than double in price between June and August.

A successful dress rehearsal of the Merge earlier this month was the last major test before the transition on 15 September, with a subsequent price surge suggesting confidence in the switch remains high.

Other cryptocurrencies and projects underpinned by the Ethereum network also saw gains and increased investment from institutional investors, according to market watchers.

“The defined pace with which investors are injecting cash into the Ethereum-linked products is based on the clarity that now surrounds the Merge event,” said Fuad Fatullaev, co-founder of Web3 platform WeWay.

“Once the merge is live, it will herald a whole new ecosystem for Ethereum as it will now be more energy efficient, more scalable, and generally more usable across the board. Investors, particularly institutional buyers, will prefer Ethereum to bitcoin, and the overall potential accounts for why there is an ongoing upsurge in ether’s price at the moment.”

Some even believe it could finally fulfill the hypothetical “flippening” that would see Ethereum overtake bitcoin as the world’s most dominant cryptocurrency.

Speaking to The Independent more than four years ago, one industry expert said the use cases of Ethereum compared to bitcoin would see it eventually surpass its more famous rival.

“From the get-go it was a more versatile tool,” said Hubert Olszeweski, director of Blockchain Board of Derivatives, highlighting its ability to enable applications like smart contracts, as well as underpin the arrival of new Web3 protocols that could transform the entire internet.

The upgrade to a more environmentally friendly technology makes it even more appealing as a platform to build off, according to some analysts, especially considering that attempts to do the same thing for the mining system of bitcoin have so far failed. Some critics of proof-of-stake claim that it would lead to more centralisation and potentially even greater government interference.


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EOS and CHZ post double-digit gains, while FTX’s token drops

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Cryptocurrency prices played follow the leader on Monday, dropping in the red as macroeconomic forces appeared to affect digital assets. With bitcoin (BTC) trending downward, altcoin prices followed suit, but there were some notable exceptions.

Cryptocurrency prices played follow the leader on Monday, dropping in the red as macroeconomic forces appeared to affect digital assets.

With bitcoin (BTC) trending downward, altcoin prices followed suit, but there were some notable exceptions.

Double-digit gains

EOS and chiliz (CHZ) both posted double-digit gains. Chiliz spiked in the hour after conventional markets closed in North America. (All figures based on CoinMarketCap data.)

For the most part, though, price declines prevailed as bitcoin fell below $22,000 and stock markets declined.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ, which contains many tech companies that tend to influence crypto, were down modestly.

FTX exchange coin plunges

The FTX crypto exchange’s coin (FTT) plunged after the company behind it got into hot water with the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

The regulator issued FTX’s US subsidiary a cease-and-desist letter on Friday over alleged misleading statements regarding federally insured accounts. (The FDIC insures bank deposits, excluding cryptocurrencies and stocks.)

FTX president Brett Harrison had stated in a subsequently deleted tweet that “direct deposits from employers to FTX US are stored in individually FDIC-insured bank accounts in the users’ names,” the Verge reported.  

The tweet also said that “stocks are held in FDIC-insured and SIPC [Security Investor Protection Corporation]-insured brokerage accounts.”

After complying with FDIC’s request to delete the tweet, Harrison defended it.

Clash with FDIC

“The tweet was written in response to questions raised on twitter regarding whether direct USD deposits from employers were held at insured banks (i.e. Evolve Bank),” he wrote.

But the FDIC argued that the comment falsely suggested that FTX and investors funds were insured by the FDIC.

“We really didn’t mean to mislead anyone, and we didn’t suggest that FTX US itself, or that crypto/non-fiat assets, benefit from FDIC insurance,” Harrison wrote in another tweet. 

“I hope this provides clarity on our intentions. Happy to work directly with the FDIC on these important topics.”


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Buying.com continues progress to revolutionise the logistics and e-commerce industry

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Buying.com’s team has grown to 110 employees in seven countries, with thousands of drivers. The programming team, led by Utkarsh Khare, has completed all of the current roadmap points ahead of schedule, and the management team, led by Evelyn Rivera, has implemented a reliable structure and dependable processes that keeps Buying running smoothly despite the inevitable challenges associated with starting a business.

Buying’s previous accomplishments

The team has completed every step on the current roadmap, and the platform is now operational in beta production test-mode prior to starting major worldwide marketing efforts. Buying has also completed a cash buyback from TrustSwap of 36 million BUY tokens at spot price.

This was vital to ensure that the token community would be stabilized and that a single holder’s movement would not be able to affect the value and stability of the BUY token’s future growth. Buying has also finished the platform’s Google Chrome extension, which is now downloadable and functional for the token’s cash back program.

Social Group Buying and Cash Back Rewards

Social Group Buying is a novel feature that makes bulk pricing accessible to all customers, not just large corporations with the financial resources to meet minimum order quantities. Customers can now pool their funds to buy products at wholesale prices, thereby providing small businesses a competitive advantage in the e-commerce market.

Consumers can use the Cash Back Rewards program to buy products from thousands of stores that have partnered with Buying and receive not only cash back rewards but also BUY tokens that can be matched with many partners and affiliates. The team is constantly working to develop strategic relationships with additional online retailers.

What else to look forward to?

Buying will work with Otter to provide delivery through its Point of Sale platform. With this partnership, Buying will be able to improve delivery services for restaurants and businesses across the country. Buying’s national delivery infrastructure will be made available to Otter customers, while Otter’s solutions will be made accessible to Buying’s community.

Buying is also excited to announce a collaboration with Shopping.io, which will allow users to use BUY tokens to purchase items from major e-commerce hubs like Amazon and eBay. BUY will also be the platform’s first Algorand token, with its use unlocking discounts at hundreds of stores.

What about Buying’s staking program?

The team wants to emphasize that it values the community’s opinions and feedback and that its considers all of it, along with a slew of other factors, when making crucial decisions. Today, the total number of tokens staked has increased to 270 million. It’s also critical that no one can devalue the BUY token, even if it means delays.

As of Sept. 1, 2022, the APY for BUY will be reduced to 21.25%, which is still a healthy and manageable APY for Buying, allowing for consistent exponential growth and expansion.

Addressing concerns and future plans

Buying announced the $5.5 million acquisition of the domain names Physicians.com, Obgyn.com, and HairRestoration.com. The team believes domain names in the medical fields will boost Buying’s growth and market speed. A completely separate design team has already been hired and is in full design and buildout mode, ensuring that the logistics and cash back rewards are not effected.

An additional sales team is also being hired for partners and affiliates in the medical ecosystem to help with growth, and there are plans to launch the first medically driven Algorand blockchain structure for the medical industry within the next 12 months as well.

Why did Buying choose the medical field?

Physicians.com will change the medical game by making things more streamlined and accessible, and Buying’s sales teams are working hard to register medical practitioners and medical centers worldwide who are eager to join and participate in the services. This will enable Buying to create cost-effective individual niche networks that are significantly valuable resources for patients with specific needs.

Physicians will connect with thousands of doctors and will continue to add world-class professionals to its database. With tele-health rapidly expanding, the timing is ideal for positioning Buying’s token holders in areas other than consumer goods.

About Buying

Buying.com, located in Mount Arlington, New Jersey, is a forward-thinking technology company that is transforming logistics and e-commerce with decentralized blockchain solutions for consumers and businesses. The platform’s on-demand delivery solutions offer restaurants a convenient, easy-to-use, secure and cost-effective last-mile delivery network. The Prime blockchain protocol raises delivery standards to new heights by applying tried and true peer-to-peer models to supply and logistics like Uber or Airbnb.


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