This week, Laura Shin welcomed Do Kwon onto her Unchained podcast to give us his inside take on the collapse of Luna and the events that followed. From the charges against him to a message for Terra victims, Do Kwon broke it all down. You can still tune into the recording for all the details.
Markets Spotlight
Note: Market prices captured in US$ at the time of reading. Explore more on Crypto.com/Price.
News Snaps
Konami to explore NFTs, Web3, and Metaverse. Japanese entertainment and video game company Konami recently posted job openings looking for individuals specialised in NFTs, Web3, and Metaverse. Konami stated that it has conducted research into the latest technology and how to implement it into games and content. The company also plans to launch an NFT trading platform for players to trade in-game digital items. Visit Cointelegraph for more.
Aptos announces launch of network. Coindesk reports that the highly anticipated Layer-1 blockchain Aptos recently announced that it will launch its mainnet. Aptos is a blockchain that originated from the Facebook blockchain initiative known as ‘Libra’. While Aptos may technically be seen as “live,” it is still some steps away from considering itself complete.
Magic Eden to move to an optional royalty model. Coindesk reports that the top NFT marketplace on the Solana ecosystem, Magic Eden, announced its move to an optional royalty model. The platform will also waive its 2% platform fee, both in efforts to stay competitive and follow the general market trend in that direction.
Frax Finance announces liquid staking protocol. Frax Finance plans to introduce liquid staking for users to mint a derivative of Ether, known as Frax Ether (frxETH), on its platform. Frax has completed a security audit for this liquid staking token and now allows users to unlock the value of their staked tokens. See The Block for the full story.
Rarible marketplace introduces NFT aggregator. NFT marketplace Rarible will offer users an aggregator to help them find bargains. The tool will allow users to explore and filter NFTs based on trending projects, blockchain type, and price by displaying and comparing options for NFTs across several marketplaces. Check out The Block for more.
NFT Spotlight
At the intersection of art, music, and skateboarding is football, Banksy, DJ Zinc, and the Metaverse — all within the unlikely NFT collaboration between lifestyle collective Clown Skateboards and football club Paris Saint-Germain with their drop this past Thursday. The drop also has a social purpose baked in: helping the communities these brands serve.
Both Clown and PSG have the idealism that you take what you know and then use that to help others; they have [a] foundation and we have In Action, so to join up and do stuff together is simple.
Co-founder Jeff Boardman, on Clown’s collab with PSG
Read Crypto.com’s full interview with the founders of Clown Skateboards or check out their recent NFT collab with PSG.
Product Picks
Unveiling the GEN 3.0 Crypto.com Exchange soon
In approximately two weeks, we’ll unveil the GEN 3.0 Crypto.com Exchange, a monumental upgrade unifying all products into one engine and wallet, built for the evolved needs of all traders. It will greatly improve product functionality and accessibility, including intuitive trading experiences, flexible USD bundle trading pairs, and best-in-class performances. Read our announcement for more information.
Target Price: Automatically trade 140+ tokens with precision
DYDX, EPX, ETHW, GLMR, and more have been added to the growing list of over 140 supported tokens for Target Price Orders. Gain greater control over your trades when you buy and sell tokens at your preferred price. Find out how you can automate your trades here.
Crypto Level Up
Crypto Fear and Greed Index
Track prices — and sentiments too. Here’s how to make use of the Fear and Greed Index to better understand the market.
In a nutshell. The Fear and Greed Index captures two opposing market sentiments: fear and greed.
Fear. When fear is dominant, people are likely to sell their assets, and you’ll find prices declining.
Greed. When greed is dominant, the opposite happens: people buy more, and this causes the market to trend upwards.
Backed by data. The Index is calculated using data points including volatility, market volume, social media interest, and search trends.
Learn More About the Fear and Greed Index.
Crypto IRL
The smell of the beach and ocean never gets old — and it gets more classic with the hint of green. — Our friend @Simon17174381 with Crypto.com Jade Green Visa Card.
Decoder
Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is a platform for executing smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain network. EVM is a software programme that developers and programmers can use to create decentralised applications (dapps). This programme also acts as the bedrock for the Ethereum network’s entire operating system, storing all Ethereum accounts and smart contracts. These smart contracts are typically written using high-level programming languages like Solidity and compiled into a readable format known as ‘Bytecode’. This makes it possible for smart contracts deployed on EVM-compatible blockchains like Polygon and Avalanche to be recognised by Ethereum nodes. It also provides an efficient way for developers to transfer tokens from Ethereum to other EVM-compatible blockchains.
This Week in Crypto History
PayPal accepts Bitcoin. Around this time in 2020, Bitcoin witnessed a major change. PayPal, one of the world’s largest payment systems, would allow for its over 346 million customers to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency directly with their PayPal account. With this news, Bitcoin jumped 7% and managed to hit a record high in 2020. PayPal marked a significant moment for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as a whole.
That’s it for this week’s Snapshot. Want more? Head over to our Insta feed for bite-size crypto lessons.
