Kategorie: Crypto Markets

CACHE Gold, a DeFi protocol that supports fully backed, redeemable and regulated tokenized gold assets, has integrated Chainlink Proof of Reserve on the Polygon mainnet. After the integration CACHE Gold users can now verify on-chain cross-chain CACHE Gold tokens (CGT) on Polygon are fully backed by CGT tokens on Ethereum in a ratio of 1:1.

The latest Chainlink Proof of Reserve integration on Polygon builds upon the previous integration of Chainlink Proof of Reserve and Chainlink Price Feeds on the Ethereum mainnet. The integration on Ethereum helps users monitor the locked gold currently backing the CGT tokens. It also allows users to accurately verify that the token’s value accurately reflects the real-world market price of gold.

The combination of Chainlink integrations gives users an assurance that sufficient real-world gold reserves bake the CGT tokens on Polygon.

The CACHE Gold Token (CGT)

The CGT token is a fully backed, redeemable, and regulated tokenized gold asset. One CGT token represents one gram of pure gold stored in vaults around the world.

The CACHE Gold protocol ensures that the number of CGT tokens in circulation remains equal to the amount of stored physical gold. Every gram of the physical gold is tracked by the asset tracking platform GramChain and then verified by Chainlink Proof of Reserve and the proof is published on-chain.

The recurring verification enabled by Chainlink Proof of Reserve allows for transparency of the actual status of the reserves backing the tokens.

The assets (gold) long viewed by investors as safe-haven assets can now be used as a source of collateral in Polygon’s DeFi ecosystem.

Chainlink Proof of Reserve

Chainlink Proof of Reserve allows for the automation of smart contracts on-chain by keeping up-to-date reference contracts thus removing the need for manual audits. It also provides highly accurate and viable data by sourcing data from financially incentivized premium providers.

Chainlink Proof of Reserve Feeds are also decentralized at the oracle node level and data source thus removing central points of failure in the sourcing and delivery of external data to Polygon.

Lastly, Chainlink Proof of Reserve Feeds is transparent. They can be monitored by anyone in real time; a feature that allows any user to independently verify asset collateralization.

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Binance developers have today announced the release of the temporary urgent patch v1.1.16. The patch will fix the cross-chain infrastructure between the BNB Beacon Chain and the BNB Smart Chain after the recent $100 million cross-chain exploit.

The patch will re-enable cross-chain communication which had been temporarily hampered after the attack.

The v1.1.16 patch is more of a hard fork of the mainnet and the testnet. The Moran hard fork upgrade for the mainnet is expected to happen at block height 22,107,423 on October 12 at around 8 AM UTC while the upgrade for the testnet is expected to take place at block height 23,603,940 on October 11 at 8 AM UTC.

What the upgrade seeks to fix

In a nutshell, the upgrade will fix the vulnerabilities in the IAVL hash check, make the relayer whitelisted to the genesis, and introduce a block header in sequence check in the CrossChain Contract.

Validators will be required to check and upgrade with the patch immediately after the upgrade goes live since it is an emergency patch fix aimed at fixing issues and potential risks on the BNB Chain.

Binance developers have confirmed that users will be able to receive their funds immediately after the completion of the upgrade and the staking rewards will also recover the next day.

Afterwards, Binance will announce further improvements.

BNB token price continues to fall

The BNB price has been in a freefall mode since the BSC Token Hub exploit on October 7.

After a 5% drop on the very day of the exploit, the BNB token has dropped by a further 8%. At press time, it was trading at $271.22, which is way below its highs above $297 at the start of October.

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Crypto exchange Coinbase has announced in a press release that it has received preliminary regulatory approval from Singapore’s monetary authority (MAS) to offer crypto services in Singapore. Following the in-principle approval, Coinbase can now offer “regulated digital payment token products and services in Singapore.”

Following the approval in Singapore, Coinbase has become one of the few crypto exchanges that have successfully gone through the painfully lengthy and rigid licensing process enacted by the MAS.

In an interview with Financial Times, the top fintech officer at MAS, Sopnendu Mohanty, claimed that the regulatory body had enacted the “painfully lengthy and rigid licensing process for institutions to prohibit bad behaviour rampant in the crypto sector.”

Coinbase expansion into Singapore

Coinbase has quietly been expanding its presence in Singapore has launched a technical hub in the region and increasing its efforts to hire Web3 personnel in the city-state.

Coinbase Venture arm has also invested in more than fifteen Singaporean Web3 startups in a push to boost crypto adoption in Singapore.

Besides announcing the regulatory approval, Coinbase’s press statement also added that the company’s CEO and co-founder, Brian Armstrong would be attending a stage event in Singapore alongside MAS’s chief fintech officer.

The statement reads:

“We are also excited to confirm that our CEO and co-founder, Brian Armstrong, will be taking the stage at the Singapore Fintech Festival on November 4th, in a fireside chat with Sopnendu Mohanty, the Chief Fintech Officer at MAS.”

In the recent past, Singapore has grown into a global finance hub housing a large number of fintech institutions, asset managers, hedge funds, insurance firms, and corporate banks. This growing pool of fintech institutions has also expressed a desire to explore the budding crypto industry including investing some stake in some of the sector’s digital assets.

Prior to Coinbase’s in-principle approval, the MAS had granted in-principle approval to Crypto.com.

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Dapper Labs, the Vancouver-based company behind Flow blockchain, has suspended Russian accounts following the sanctions imposed on Russia and Russian nationals by the European Union on Thursday.

Dapper Labs stated in a press release:

“It is now prohibited to provide crypto-asset wallet, account, or custody services of any value to accounts with connections to Russia. However, Dapper has not closed the accounts.”

What the suspension means

Besides Flow blockchain, Dapper Labs specializes in non-fungible token (NFT) collectables. It has launched several NFT collectables including the famous Cryptokitties, Cheeze Wizards, and NBA Top Shot.

Dapper Labs was directed to take action on Russian accounts by its payment processing and store value partner which is subject to European Union regulations.

The Russians impacted by the suspension will not be able to buy, sell, or gift UFC Strike, NBA Top Shot, and NFL All Day NFT collectables. They shall not also be able to withdraw funds from their Dapper accounts or buy anything with their account balances.

The Russian users will however be able to still access accounts and view the digital assets that they purchased. Dapper maintained that the affected users still retain their ownership rights over the assets that they had purchased although they cannot sell them.

Dapper stated:

“Regardless of this new regulation, any NFT previously purchased by an impacted user continues to belong to that user. Any Moments you own and any Dapper Balance continue to be your property.”

Through its UFC Strike NFT collection, Dapper allowed the sale of NFTs related to Russian fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov who have participated in the UFC.

EU sanctions

The updated sanctions against Russia and Russian nationals are an escalation of the previous sanctions established in April, especially on crypto.

The existing prohibitions on crypto assets have been tightened by banning crypto services regardless of a wallet’s value. The wallet value was previously capped at €10,000.

Last week, Russia also took steps to restrict crypto transactions and backlisted OKX, which is one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges.

More crypto and web3 companies are expected to follow suit with restrictions following the updated EU sanctions.

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Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has stated that the global leading digital-asset platform may spend more than $1 billion on investment by the end of this year. Zhao, commonly referred to as CZ within the crypto space, revealed this in an interview with Bloomberg.

The statement from Zhao comes after an attack on the BNB chain, and a day after Binance acquired a license to operate in Kazakhstan.

According to CZ, the bulk of the funds will go to investments and asset purchases.

Binance investment plan

In the recent past, Binance has invested in excess of $325 million in more than 67 projects despite the bear crypto market. The Venture Capital arm of Binance has made a number of investments in Aptos, a firm founded by former Meta employees.

FTX, a close Binance competitor has embarked on purchasing assets from distressed crypto firms, and answering a question about buying out crypto firms, Zhao said:

“Many of them, they just take a user’s money and give it to somebody else. There’s not a lot of intrinsic value. In that case, what’s to acquire? We want to see real products that people use.”

Not interested in acquisitions

Binance is yet to show interest in any distressed crypto firm. On the contrary, Binance is focused on offering solutions for DeFi and NFT Protocols. To be precise, it is focused on addressing persistent problems within the crypto market like software attacks and tightening regulations.

Zhao claimed that Binance has been investing heavily in non-fungible tokens (NFTs), fan tokens, and traditional payment service providers. He also stated that Binance has remained economically viable despite the current economic turmoil across the crypto markets and the largest financial sector.

On traditional payment service providers, Zhao said that Binance might venture into acquiring minority stakes in traditional gaming and eCommerce companies. 

Binance has an additional $7 billion fund for partnerships and it has a team of more than 30 members focused on acquisitions and mergers.

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