Vladimir Okhotnikov

US crypto lobby has become more powerful than ever The growing debate around cryptocurrency regulation is a matter of concern among crypto-related entrepreneurs.  I am no exception. The problem is that restrictive policies stifle innovation in the industry. In response to these unfair anti-crypto measures, crypto companies started organizing their own crypto lobby. They realized that it’s practically impossible for the crypto sector to advance without a strong presence in Washington D.C. to influence government policy and regulation. Recent reports indicate that crypto lobbying efforts increased tenfold. The most active here are major firms like Coinbase and Apollo Global Management. As a result, the US crypto lobby has become more powerful than ever. They work tirelessly to ensure the interests of cryptocurrency businesses. However, this surge is just the beginning. When compared to other sectors, it turns out that the crypto industry is underrepresented in lobbying.   This is a devel

  Bitcoin: Digital Gold and Safe Haven Today we see the unfolding economic crisis very clearly. Let’s call it more precisely: this is the crisis of the fiat economy. We won’t talk about its causes, just look at the consequences. With a high probability that the coming crisis will lead to a change of financial system, fiat can be replaced by cryptocurrencies. What place will Bitcoin take? Will it be a payment tool? This is unlikely. Bitcoin is good for individual purchases, but it is not very suitable for everyday retail settlements. These are both emission limitations and rather slow transactions. It is, rather, ideologically designed for constant cost growth. In its functionality, Bitcoin is similar to objects of investment, that is, what Cathie Wood called "digital gold". A fiat crisis may also lead to the depreciation of traditional assets. Securities, various goods, and real estate can lose liquidity. The only exception is gold, a universal asset symbolizing value. Howeve

  SEC Targets OpenSea Marketplace The parade of absurdity continues as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issues a Wells Notice to OpenSea, the largest web3 NFT marketplace. The core issue is the same as always. SEC believes that all NFTs may qualify as unregistered securities.   Devin Finzer, OpenSea’s CEO, voiced his readiness to challenge the SEC’s stance. He also argues that the SEC targeted hundreds of thousands of online artists and creatives who don’t have enough resources to defend themselves. As a result, the platform promised to allocate $5M to each artist and dev to cover their legal fees if affected. It's business as usual. Instead of fostering innovation, the regulator stifles it. SEC ignores the nuances of blockchain technology and digital art, and risks depriving the country of a vibrant economic opportunity. I wonder how long this heavy-handed approach will continue. #SEC #OpenSea #CryptoRegulation #NFTs #DigitalArt #Blockchain #Innovation #

  The build-up of the debt problem is inevitable, and it can only be resolved through a crisis.  Yes, there will be a crisis, hopefully it will not reach catastrophic proportions. But it will pave the way for the construction of a new, healthy, decentralized economy. Read more here . #crisis #dollar #financial_system

  Privacy is Not a Crime, or Is It? Should the platform’s owner be responsible for abuses occurring through their platform? In light of Durov’s arrest the question is widely debated in mass media. Despite French authorities’ attempts to frame their actions as a response to serious crimes facilitated through Telegram, public opinion appears to lean in favor of the platform. Elon Musk, SpaceX and Tesla CEO, reacted with a series of tweets and the #FreePavel hashtag. Tucker Carlson, the former FOX News host and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have voiced their concerns for free speech in Europe. Tech entrepreneur Kyle Chassé made a provocative statement: “Privacy is not a crime. We live in a world where we supposedly have freedom of speech and privacy. Then why did the arrest Telegram’s founder. They want us controlled. They want us silenced. They want us to live according to their narrative” Though Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, criticized Telegram’s policies before, he admitted that Dur

 All This Time Satoshi Nakamoto Was Nearby — Chinese Language Experts Solved the Riddle Experts familiar with Japanese Hiragana characters converted the word "Satoshi Nakamoto" into symbols and found that if the characters were interpreted as English letters, they formed the word "Hal Finney." The report states that Japanese syllabary experts have transliterated the name "Satoshi Nakamoto." And when they looked at the resulting characters as Latin letters, they came up with the phrase “Hal Finney.” Harold Thomas Finney II is an American programmer who joined PGP Corporation as the second developer hired by Phil Zimmerman. However, this name is directly associated with the creator of Bitcoin. Hal Finney assumed that if Bitcoin in the future became the dominant payment system used throughout the world, then the total market value of the coin would have to be equal to the value of all the world's wealth. He estimates that the total assets of all household

UAE Leads the Way in Crypto Adoption with Bold New Initiatives When I witness a country taking bold steps toward innovation, it reaffirms my belief in the power of forward-thinking leadership.While some countries are slow to embrace change, others take a cautious approach, navigating through endless law-making procedures. There are also those who resist change until it becomes unavoidable. In this way life itself drags them into the future.  But let’s focus on a model of how things should ideally unfold. What the United Arab Emirates is doing in the sphere of crypto adoption is truly remarkable.  The country has adopted a series of laws in August that completely transform its economic landscape. First, UAE bank accounts now allow direct cryptocurrency trading. Specifically, the M2 cryptocurrency exchange has implemented this initiative. The residents of the country can trade cryptos from their bank accounts. On August 19, a Dubai court recognized crypto as valid salary payment.  Finall

Despite the drop in market value to $4-7 billion, every day 1.2 million unique wallets interact with gaming protocols, generating 15-25 million transactions. This is a colossal potential! Moreover, positive trends have emerged. Optimism, OP Stack and Starknet are growing in popularity for game development and the TON network is promising. In 2023, 76 new gaming-oriented blockchains will be launched. Of course, there are also difficulties. Attracting players to Web3 is 77% more expensive than traditional gaming. And only 5% of projects can boast an audience of more than 100 people who come in to play every day. However, the market potential is enormous. And with the right approach, blockchain games have a bright future. #GameFi #Metaverse #Web3 #Blockchain #DeFi #Crypto

  Crypto education Olga Kharif of Bloomberg raises an issue that already has a significant impact on the crypto business, and, in the long run, could become critically important. It is an issue of professional personnel able to ensure the development of the industry.  Do you want to become a financial analyst and get the appropriate certificate? You will have to study for at least 900 hours, and you will be given a paper with a signature and a seal, and you can be called a certified financial analyst. Becoming an accountant is easier - you need to learn at least 300 hours. And how to become a certified specialist in the field of blockchain or cryptocurrency? I wonder, is it harder than becoming a financial analyst?  You have no idea how much easier this is.  You pay $229, take an 11 hour course and become a blockchain professional. At least the Blockchain Council offers such a magical educational technique. However, this is not the limit! If you have $795, you can take a four-hour cour

  Binance Prevents $2.4 Billion in Fraud Losses, Secures 1.2 Million Users Binance has unveiled that it prevented more than $2.4 billion in fraud losses from January, 2024. In this way it can boast of 1.2 mln protected users. According to the platform's press-release, it employs an advanced internal risk engine that detects and monitors suspicious transactions in real time. The engine takes advantage of the hybrid of AI technology and manual reviews and demonstrates perfect results. Operating across all verticals of the ecosystem (payments, p2p, withdrawals, and other domains), it determined that 45% of prevented losses are associated with suspected crypto scams withdrawals. Previously, Binance reported that it had secured more than $73 million in funds that were either misplaced or lost by external users.  I think, by combining AI technology with manual reviews, Binance has set a high standard for the industry. If other market participants were to implement similar measures, the c

  The Future of Metaverses: Why Free Doesn't Mean Good Have you ever wondered why free cheese is only found in a mousetrap? I'm convinced that metaverses need to introduce paid subscriptions to achieve real success. Payment creates a sense of value and commitment. When people pay for something, they strive to get the most out of it. This forms a healthy ecosystem where users receive a quality product, and developers have an incentive to constantly improve it. The right monetization strategy, combining paid premium content and free basic features, will allow metaverses to become an integral part of our digital future. #metaverses #monetization #digitalfuture

  $40M Venture Fund Launched to Support Innovative Apps on TON Blockchain TON blockchain has made a significant step forward with the launch of a new venture capital fund. This initiative, established by the network's development foundation, is an independent, non-profit entity.  The fund has already secured 40 million dollars in capital already aimed at fostering the creation of consumer applications with broad appeal.  The TON ecosystem has experienced a rapid surge in popularity driven by successful projects such as Hamster Combat and Notcoin.  Earlier a famous digital investment firm platform Panthera Capital stated that it made the largest investment in its history when invested in TON. In April, Tether supported the platform with peer-to-peer payments between Telegram users.   The ecosystem managed to attract millions of users with web3 games. It demonstrates the platform’s potential and the blockchain’s capability to support large-scale, engaging applications. Something tell

  Optimism Unveils Vision for Superchain Interoperability to Simplify and Speed Up Ethereum Transactions Optimism, a layer-2 (L2) ecosystem, has unveiled its roadmap for the Superchain interoperability project, which aims to address the issues of fragmentation among different Optimism chains. It’s worth reminding that the project’s goal is to enable users to transact more cheaply on top of Ethereum. The roadmap introduces the company’s native interoperability solution designed to unify the affiliate networks. As a result, transactions across various chains will feel as seamless as transactions within a single chain. The project tries to create a closer connection between platforms that join its L2 network. Streamlining token transfers within this network will make transactions faster, cheaper, and more secure. I think this initiative will enhance user experience  and will bring us closer to a more user-friendly blockchain future. #Optimism #Superchain #Interoperability #Layer2 #Ethereu

  Uniswap Labs Launches Unprecedented $2.35M Security Challenge Uniswap Labs, the primary development team behind the widely-used decentralized exchange Uniswap, has announced a security competition with a prize pool of $2.35 million. This security challenge is tied to the launch of the platform’s new v4 protocol.  The platform wants to encourage developers and security experts to thoroughly examine the code to report issues and vulnerabilities they discover. Such competitions known as ‘bug bounty’ are rather common. However, a huge prize pool makes the event unprecedented and attracts attention with its record-breaking prize pool.  This is the largest prize in the DeFi history, so it underscores the importance of security for its team. Moreover, its substantial reward ignites excitement and attracts attention – the effect they presumably wanted to attain.  #Uniswap #DeFi #CryptoSecurity #BugBounty #Blockchain #Cryptocurrency #CyberSecurity #Web3 #Ethereum #DigitalAssets #TechInnovatio

 Bitcoin sidechain developers improve scaling of the Bitcoin system Bitcoin scaling issues have long been a topic of debate. But what if there was a way to supercharge its transaction capacity without touching its core code? Bitcoin Virtual Machine (BitVM) is the answer. BitVM was designed to perform more complex operations on the Bitcoin network. It can be compared with Ethereum's Virtual Machine (EVM), which does the same for Ethereum.  Developers working over the second version of BitVM have released a new whitepaper, which outlines updates to the BitVM bridge.   In my opinion, this approach is definitely a smart move by the developers. They addressed the scalability concerns, one of the most pressing issues in today’s crypto landscape, without compromising security and decentralization. It can bolster Bitcoin's ability to handle more complex and higher-volume transactions, increasing its utility and appeal.  #Bitcoin #BitVM #Crypto #Blockchain #Scaling #Ethereum #EVM #Bitco

 NFT: Revolutionary Protection of Digital Assets Current laws struggle to protect digital property rights, while decentralized services offer greater transparency and reliability. Interestingly, NFTs are becoming as valuable as traditional collectibles in the digital sphere. Users should not lose access to platforms and their content due to the actions of a company. Looking to the future, he suggests developing technologies to stabilize the NFT market and increase its cultural significance. Want to learn how to make your digital items truly yours? Click here   to learn more! #NFT #Blockchain #DigitalAssets #Cryptocurrency #TechnologicalInnovation

  The US invests $285 million in creating digital twins for metaverses!  The government sees this technology as key to successful virtual worlds of the future. Digital twins allow testing scenarios without physical prototypes, optimizing production and saving resources. Experts predict that by 2030, digital twins will become an integral part of industry, taking it to a new level of efficiency.  Virtual reality is no longer just entertainment, but a powerful tool for optimizing work processes. VR glasses are becoming a common work tool that increases productivity. The future belongs to "smart" factories that can independently optimize processes and prevent equipment breakdowns.  #DigitalTwins #Metaverse #Technology #Future

Behind the Facade: Unveiling the Risks of USDT Despite the importance of USDT for accessing global finance, its transparency raises questions. Tether aims to cooperate with the US, but this may threaten the principles of decentralization. Additionally, there are serious doubts about the full backing of USDT. Particularly concerning is the possibility that government intervention could significantly impact the entire crypto market. Behind the attractive facade of USDT, serious risks may be hidden. Read more at the link . #crypto #USDT #Tether #cryptocurrencies

  ETF for Solana and Ripple - a step forward or backward for the crypto market? Recent news about the launch of ETFs for Solana and Ripple marks a turning point in the history of the crypto industry. Securities legislation may significantly slow down the integration process. There are concerns that some tokens may be classified as securities, which would entail a number of legal issues. Moreover, frequent scandals in the crypto world may lead to a decrease in investor confidence in digital assets as a whole. Read more at the link . #crypto #ETF #blockchain #Solana #Ripple

  Bitcoin's Creator: The Invisible Billionaire Behind the Blockchain Imagine this: in early January, someone sends $1.2 million in Bitcoin to Satoshi Nakamoto's account. Just like that, without any apparent reason. This happened right after the 15th anniversary of the first Bitcoin network transaction. Coincidence? I don't think so. Could it be a fan? Or is someone trying to uncover the identity of Bitcoin's creator? Or maybe it's just a clever marketing move before the launch of the Bitcoin ETF? You know what's most interesting? Anonymous donations continue to pour into various addresses supposedly linked to Satoshi Nakamoto. Ironically, the original block never made it onto the blockchain, and the coins in this wallet are almost impossible to spend. They will remain in storage forever. Researchers estimate that wallets associated with Bitcoin's creator may contain between 750,000 and 1.1 million coins. This makes him the largest individual holder of the cr