Boxmining v2

Author: Michael Gu

  • Enjin (ENJ) Explained: Blockchain Gaming Platform

    Enjin (ENJ) Explained: Blockchain Gaming Platform

    Enjin is a blockchain gaming platform focused on the creation of digital collectible items that are truly owned by the user. The platform offers methods for creating digital assets (known as ERC1155 tokens) for use across multiple Video Games. Their uses include collectible art or even in-shop coupons. Blockchain gaming allows gamers to have true ownership of their in-game items and trade them for value.

    Enjin Platform uses Blockchain technology for these key benefits:

    • True item ownership – with transactions that cannot be censored powered by the Ethereum blockchain.
    • Convenient Exchange of value – digital items can be traded or sold instantly. The Enjin Wallet also allows users to access decentralised exchanges such as Kyber Network and Changelly.
    • Reserve Value – unwanted digital items can be “melted” into the Enjin Coin cryptocurrency.
    • Single Wallet for all items – the Enjin Wallet users to keep all digital assets in one single location.
    • ERC-1155 Token Standard – a superior version of the ERC20 and ERC721 token. Its transaction bundling and multi-send features mean it will save users’ costs.

    What is Enjin Coin (ENJ)?

    Enjin coin’s (ENJ) value comes from its use case as a stored reserve value in every item created on the Enjin Platform. $ENJ is locked up when items are created and released when items are destroyed.

    Items store (lock up) a certain amount of ENJ, with items such as the infamous “Monolith” storing 1,155,777 ENJ. ENJ from items can only be extracted by destroying the item (“via the melting process”). This creates a situation where more and more ENJ is locked up and overall supply is reduced as the platform is used by more games.

    #meltismurder
    Popular meme “Melt is Murder” discourages the destruction of items

    In terms of economics ENJ is a scarce resource and each game acts as a “value trap” for ENJ – locking up ENJ reserve and increasing the scarcity of $ENJ. With a limited supply of 1,000,000,000 $ENJ, this cryptocurrency acts as a form of “Digital Gold” – its value determined by the dynamics of supply and demand within the game’s ecosystem.

    Enjinx showcases all valuable assets and games on the Enjin Plastofrm

    Cross-game items – Enjin Multiverse

    One of the unique advantages of Blockchain gaming is the ability to create items that can be used across different games by different developers. This means players can carry their items between games like it is a single world (also known as the Multiverse).

    Multiverse items are possible because assets are stored on a decentralised blockchain – so independent developers can all access the item. To encourage the development of cross game items, Enjin announced its newest asset the Stormwall. It is an example of what we can expect with its gaming assets. Stormwall is a shield that moves across Enjin’s Multiverse of games.

    In the below video we see Stormwall being as a playable item in 32 different games including 9Lives Arena, Age of Rust, Cats in Mechs and more.

    Why is a Multiverse Beneficial?

    One of the biggest questions asked about cross-game items is – why is it beneficial for game developers and players? For developers, supporting cross-game items mean that they gain the benefits of additional exposure from games participating in the multiverse and increased retention from players who want to test out the item. This is especially important in this age as player attention is extremely valuable and having players “check out” how an items works in a different game drastically improves player interest.

    For players, having cross-game items mean that their items are naturally move valuable, especially long term value. This means that the effort used to earn valuable items are not wasted if they can be used in new upcoming games.

    The Enjin Coin Ecosystem

    Enjin have created an entire ecosystem where you can create, store, trade and use these items.

    • Enjin Wallet – Cryptocurrency wallet to safely store cryptocurrencies, blockchain gaming assets and exchange value. For more information check our EnjinWallet review.
    • EnjinX – Blockchain explorer to view transactions and items
    • Unity Plugin – Allows game developers to directly implement and issue items in games on multiple platforms like iOS, android, PC and MacOS.
    • Marketplace – buy and list items with the safety of smart contracts that independently facilitate the trade.
    • The Enjin Ecosystem

    Enjin for Mobile Games

    One of the biggest use case for non-fungible tokens is in mobile games. Mobile gaming is currently valued at $63.2 billion USD globally and growing on a year by year basis (Source: newzoo). Enjin has a direct partnership with game engine Unity which hosts the Enjin SDK which allows for easy integration of Blockchain assets directly into the game.

    Enjin Partnerships

    Enjin has a strategic partnerships with increase the rate of adoption of Blockchain Gaming and growth of the ecosystem. On the gaming side there is a partnership is with cross-platform game engine Unity with the introduction of the SDK

    The Enjinwallet has recently become the first wallet to offer full Binance Chain and all BEP-2 (Mithril, ChangeNow) based tokens.

    Enjin and Samsung Partnership

    Samsung’s s10 presentation at MWC Barcelona 2019 that broke the internet

    Enjin has been partnered with smartphone manufacturer Samsung Electronics to as a technology provider. Enjin Wallet directly interacts with the Samsung’s Blockchain Keystore, a trusted zone on new Samsung devices which is specifically designed to key cryptographic private keys safe. Samsung will also support Enjin’s ERC-1155 token standard and increase the adoption of Blockchain based non-fungible tokens.

    Enjin and Microsoft Partnership

    Microsoft Azure Heroes using Enjin ERC 1155
    Microsoft Azure Heroes using Enjin ERC 1155

    Microsoft has chosen Enjin as technology provider with the deployment of Azure Heroes, a program that will directly use ERC-1155 non-fungible tokens as a reward. This Blockchain-based reward will be given to contributors who help produce material for the Microsoft Azure platform, with participants given cute badge(r)s. For example, makers that contribute to the developer community or content heroes will be given rare badgers.

    These collectable badgers are a proof of achievement as an Azure Hero which you can show off on your social media. As these are tokenized assets on the blockchain, they cannot be faked. So no fake achievements or heroes here!

    https://twitter.com/AzureHeroes/status/1310851813164412928

    Enjin has entered the (DeFi) game

    Enjin Coin (ENJ) is now supported by the Aave Protocol. This means users can deposit ENJ in the Aave Protocol and earn interest whilst others borrow your ENJ. The Aave Protocol protects your deposits as it is controlled by immutable and transparent Ethereum smart contracts. Your ENJ is also secured by other cryptocurrencies left on the Protocol as collateral.

    How to connect Enjin Wallet to Aave Protocol

    Now with the Enjin-Aave partnership, you can directly interact with the Aave Protocol with your Enjin Wallet (which in our opinion is the best mobile wallet EVER). Here’s how: On the Enjin wallet, go to “DApp Browser”. On the search bar, go to app.aave.com. Click “Browser wallet” and when asked to choose your market, choose “Aave Market”.

    Connect Enjin Wallet to Aave Protocol
    Connect Enjin Wallet to Aave Protocol

    Enjin and BMW

    After much speculation, Enjin has confirmed they are partnering up with BMW to integrate Enjin Coin token swap into BMW’s Vantage App. The Vantage App is a Korean customer loyalty app for car-owners. Users can use the app to pay for goods/services such as gas, highway tolls and parking fees. There will also be referral rewards for dining and shopping.

    Purchases on the BMW Vantage app are rewarded with BMW Coins which can be used as spending for various activities and be swapped for ENJ.

    Note the token swap feature is not available on the Vantage App yet and according to Enjin, more details will be available once it is live.

    Enjin putting property on NFTs with LABS Group partnership

    Enjin is helping LABS Group put property on NFTs and the blockchain with its partnership.

    LABS Group will be using Enjin’s NFT minting platform to tokenise real estate on the blockchain. LABS Group will be offering fractionalized deeds of real estate for as low as USD$100, allowing retail investors (particularly millennials) to finally enter and invest in the real estate market.

    The range of real estate on offer will include buildings, hotel rooms and apartments. Trades will all take place securely through the regulated LABS Security Exchange.

    This marks the introduction of blockchain into the world’s oldest and largest asset class, valued at approximately USD$228 trillion.

    Enjin enters Japanese cryptocurrency market

    Enjin will be the FIRST gaming cryptocurrency to be listed on Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges. And it is going straight for the top with one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges- Coincheck.

    Enjin ($ENJ) will be listed on Coincheck from 26th January 2021.

    This is a significant first step for Enjin into the Japanese market. Enjin’s aims are twofold- for ENJ to be approved by Japan’s finance regulators and to promote adoption of the Enjin Platform in the Japanese gaming industry.

    This listing was one and a half years in the making, having to pass the rigorous auditing and monitoring of the Japanese Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA)- formally recognised by Japanese financial regulators, the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA). The approval process for cryptocurrencies in Japan is notoriously difficult, with only 15 cryptocurrencies (including Enjin) being approved for listing on Coincheck.

    Japan also has a fiercely competitive cryptocurrency exchange market with over 20 exchanges in operation. Coincheck is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan based on volume, founded in 2014 with over 1.7m users and counting, and prides itself on being the top downloaded cryptocurrency app in Japan.

    As Enjin now has its foot in the door of the Japanese market, the Enjin team is now in discussions with various domestic companies and projects. With Japan being the pioneers of the gaming world (think Super Mario, Pokemon and Final Fantasy), it will be interesting to see what innovations Enjin can bring to the space.

    See Enjin’s official announcement on the Coincheck listing.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Does it cost ENJ to transfer tokens on Enjin Chain?

    Enjin isn’t a blockchain, rather it’s a project built on Ethereum. In order to transfer Items (non-fungible tokens), you’ll need to use ethereum (similar to how ERC20 tokens work). In the future Enjin is explorer additional scaling options (Efinity) to allow for free item transfers.

    What is the most EXPENSIVE item on ENJIN

    The Monolith is the most expensive item on ENJIN, with 1,155,777 ENJ locked in the item. At the time of writing, this item is worth $168,000 USD!

    What makes ENJIN valuable

    ENJIN is a scarce resource, used to lock value into ever item created on the ENJIN platform. This means as time progresses and more games create items on ENJIN, more and more $ENJ will be locked up creating scarcity in supply

    Where can I buy Enjin

    $Enj is listed on all major exchanges, such as Binance.

    Other Resources:

    EnjinX – Blockchain explorer that tracks the Ethereum Blockchain, ERC-20 and ERC-1155 items
    Egamers – Enjin Games news website
    Everything Enjin – Great site covering Enjin Related News
    Multiverse Era – Telegram Channel about the Enjin Multiverse
    Castle Crypto – Coverage of Enjin games
    AsiaCryptoToday – cover of Enjin Platform

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • ERC 1155 Defined: What are ERC-1155 tokens?

    ERC 1155 Defined: What are ERC-1155 tokens?

    ERC-1155 is a digital token standard created by Enjin that can used to create both fungible (currencies) and non-fungible (digital cards, pets and in-game skins) assets on the Ethereum Network. By using the Ethereum network, ERC-1155 tokens are secure, tradable and immune to hacking. To find out more about the specifications of the ERC-1155 standard, check out EIP 1155.

    ERC-1155 a new way of creating tokens that allow for more efficient trades and bundling of transactions – thus saving costs. This token standard allows for the creation of both utility tokens (such as $BNB or $BAT) and also Non-Fungible Tokens like CryptoKitties.

    For more information about the creators of ERC-1155, check out our Enjin Coin Guide.

    ERC-1155 includes optimizations that allow for more efficient and safer transactions. Transactions could be bundled together – thus reducing the cost of transferring tokens. ERC-1155 builds on previous work such as ERC-20 (utility tokens) and ERC-721 (rare one-time collectibles).

    Summary

    • ERC-1155 tokens were developed by Enjin.
    • It is a way of creating both fungible (currencies) and non-fungible (digital cards, pets and in-game skins) assets.
    • They can be used to represent assets or items across Enjin’s ecosystem of blockchain games. So one asset can be used in multiple games.
    Most Expensive ERC-1155 Assets in Existence. These are traded on Enjin’s marketplace

    What are Fungible vs Non-Fungible vs Semi-Fungible Tokens?

    Fungible tokens: ERC-1155 can be used for the creation of fungible tokens- utility coins that act as currency for various platforms. The advantage of ERC-1155 is that it allows the creation of many different tokens under the same contract (with ERC-20, a new contract needs to be deployed for every token). ERC-1155 is more suitable for multi-token economics, for example if a project has one token is designated as a security token (STO) and another Utility token.

    Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): NFTs can take the from of digital collectible cats (such as crypto kitties) or video game weapons. What sets NFTs apart is that each token is unique.

    Every Cryptokitty is unique – they cannot be exchange with each other (ie non-fungible)

    For example, every cryptokitty is unique with different stripes and patterns. This means that cryptokitties are not “fungible”, and cannot be replaced with one another (imagine if someone swapped your pet cat with another – you’ll notice the difference immediately). When it comes to cryptocurrencies, this property of being unique and not swap-able is called “non-fungible“.

    Non-Fungible Tokens Explained

    With ERC-1155, NFTs hold unique metadata which can be modified with time. For example, this metadata can hold information about the lineage of a cryptokitty.

    For more information about the creators of ERC-1155, check out our Enjin Coin Guide.

    An Amazon Gift card could be a “semi-fungible” token

    Semi-fungible tokens: This a new type of token that could “seat a concert” or a “$50 dollar Walmart coupon”. In the case of a Walmart coupon, each token is fungible (same as each other) until the token is redeemed or used in store. Once a coupon is redeemed, it no longer holds value and hence shouldn’t be traded as a normal token. In this example, the coupon is “fungible” until it is redeemed (“non-fungible”), hence the name semi-fungible token.

    Superior Design

    The superior design of ERC-1155 Crypto Items allows for a swap of any amount of tokens in only 2 simple steps (source: EnjinCoin Blog)

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Webinar 28th April: China’s Digital Currency DCEP

    Webinar 28th April: China’s Digital Currency DCEP

    We’re taking into a deep dive into what’s happening with China’s Digital Currency, DCEP with Matthew Graham from Sino Global Capital. China has recently place DCEP as a key global objective this year, effectively digitizing China’s National Currency, the RMB. We’re going explore what has been announced so far with DCEP, including the new apps from Agriculture Bank of China, initial partners such as McDonalds and prototypes. We’ll also explore what DCEP means for the cryptocurrency community – after all DCEP borrows a lot from Bitcoin and Blockchain Technology.

    Matthew is the CEO of Sino Global Capital. He has seven years of mainland China investment banking and four years of blockchain sector experience. As CEO of Sino Global Capital, Matthew focuses on the fintech sector including the Liquid Value “crypto hedge fund”. In his previous role he was a Managing Director at CBC, a Chinese private equity fund with limited partners that included TCL and the cities of Shenzhen and Chongqing.

    Event Time: Tuesday April 28th 2020, 13:00 UTC

    Online Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/103627964030/

  • YFV Finance Yield Farming

    YFV Finance Yield Farming

    YFV (YFValue) is a YEarn inspired governance token that is rewarded to cryptocurrency yield farmers (also known as liquidity miners). YFV functions as a DeFi Yield aggregator – they will release a “Vault” like product which will deploy different strategies to farm DeFi yields. $YFV in the governance coin on the platform which will be used to vote on Decentralized Autonomous Organisation (DAO) decisions. YFV sets itself apart by also minting two elastic supply coins, $vUSD, and $vETH – coins that will rebase to target the price of USD and Ethereum respectively. These tokens will function similar to “Ampleforth” in terms of rebasing functionality. The team behind the project has chosen to remain anonymous.

    The official website for YFV is https://yfv.finance.

    Summary

    • YFValue functions as a DeFi Yield aggregator, releasing a “vault”-like product which will deploy different strategies to farm DeFi yields.
    • There are 2 types of pools for $YFV farming: Seed Pool v2 and Balancer Pool.
    • Farming $YFV also generates $vUSD, and $vETH – these rebase to target the prices of USD and Ethereum respectively.
    • $YFV acts as a governance token for voting on decisions relating to the project. Some people also trade the token on exchanges.

    How do you farm $YFV

    Yield farmers can farm $YFV in two types of pools:

    Option 1: Seed Pool v2. This your classic yield farming pool – tokens are staked into the pool and $YFV will be distributed over time. There is no risk of impermanent loss

    1. Log onto https://yfv.finance/
    2. Connect your wallet
    3. On the “Seed Pool v2” page, deposit either USDT, USDC, TUSD or DAI (i.e. stablecoins)
    4. Click the Stake token button.

    Option 2: Balancer Pools. This is the higher risk pool, where funds are added to a Balancer liquidity pool. This means the funds will be actively used in automated market making and possibly risk impermanent loss. On YFV there is a total of 8 Balancer Pools. For the purposes of this tutorial, let’s look at the example of using the WETH Balancer Pool of WETH:YFV.

    1. Wrap Ethereum into $WETH using the ETH->WETH tool on the sidebar https://pools.balancer.exchange/#/pool/0x10DD17eCfc86101Eab956E0A443cab3e9C62d9b4
    2. Stake WETH & YFV in the Balancer Liquidity Pool https://pools.balancer.exchange/#/pool/0x10DD17eCfc86101Eab956E0A443cab3e9C62d9b4
    3. This will generate BPT tokens
    4. Stake BPT tokens on https://yfv.finance/stake in “Balancer (YFV-WETH)” Pool

    How to claim your YFV

    On the main page, you will easily be able to see how much you have staked into each pool, how much YFV is claimable and the ROI in USD.

    • To claim your rewards, click into the pool. There you will see several important items of information:
    • Next Epoch: When your next rewards will be paid out.
    • Your Estimated 24h Reward: Estimated earnings of YFV in 24 hours.
    • Rewards available: How many YFV tokens are available for collection.
    Staking pool (Image credit: Denome)

    You can claim your YFV rewards by simply clicking “Claim Rewards”. However, this requires gas fees so you need to consider the gas fees paid to stake your tokens in the first place etc and decide if it is actually worthwhile to collect your rewards.

    How are people profiting off YFV? What do I do with the YFV tokens?

    So what is the purpose of farming all these YFV tokens? YFV is the governance token of YF Value protocol. This means holders of the YFV token can use it to determinate and update the functionality of YFV protocol and change or update the rate of distribution of YFV tokens. Those that stake in YFV pools has the right to vote on-chain for the distribution rate. At the end of each week, the total votes will be automatically counted and the distribution rate of YFV will be automatically changed.

    On the other hand, you can also trade your tokens for ETH or USDT on exchanges such as Uniswap, Balancer, Hotbit, BKEX and Bilaxy. The below chart shows the value of YFV/USD.

    What is vUSD and vETH?

    As you can see in the above section “How to claim your YFV”, in addition to YFV tokens, staking YFV also gives you vUSD and vETH tokens. A total of 1,000,000 vUSD and 1,000 vETH will be distributed to all the yield farming pools according to their percentages. According to YFV, once all the pools have been exhausted of YFV, vUSD and vETH will use an oracle price feed to match the prices of USD and ETH. Similar to Ampleforth (AMPL), there will also be a rebase of vUSD and vETH every 24 hours.

    YFV Farming risks

    The biggest risk of YFV farming comes from potential vulnerabilities in the staking contract. on 30th August 2020 YFV announced that the audit of YFV Protocol had been successfully completed by The Arcadia Group. According to YFV, the audit identified a small number of low severity issues relating to code quality and health. No high or critical severity issues were found. The letter from Arcadia and a summary of the audit report can be found here.

    There is also the question of the limited supply of YFV tokens. There is only ever going to be 21,000,000 YFV tokens so some of the (perceived) value of the token is because of its limited supply. But what happens when every YFV token has been mined or distributed? This is unknown and it is worth noting that YFV is currently backed by any other asset.

    Minting Risks

    One of the biggest concerns about YFV was the presence of minter keys – which could potentially mint an infinite number of $YFV tokens. Developers have stated that all minter keys are burned, and pools which could mint new tokens have also had minting features removed.

    YFV had previously also confirmed and addressed community members’ concerns that there was a minting key oversight and exploit related to vUSD and vETH which would allow funds to be locked. What YFV did to remedy this was that they kept the minting keys until they were able to recover the funds that some users may have lost by farming in Pool 0. After that, the team transferred the governance keys of vETH and vUSD from YFV protocol to several members of the community to hold in safe custody. The community members selected were: Reuben Yap (COO of Zcoin), DeFi Dude, Matthew Neimerg (CEO of Cardinal Cryptography), TQT, Ian Ocasio and myself.

    More Information

    YFV Github
    YFV Medium and news
    YFV Telegram
    YFV Discord

    Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more

    With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces

    The DeFi series on this website also covers topics not explored on YouTube. For an introduction on what is DeFi, check out Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Overview: A guide to the HOTTEST trend in cryptocurrency

    Tutorials and guides for the ESSENTIAL DEFI TOOLS:

    More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • SushiSwap ($SUSHI) Explained

    SushiSwap ($SUSHI) Explained

    Before we begin

    We’ve been closely following the events involving SushiSwap and its founder “Chef Nomi”. This article will not be making any comments or conclusions on Chef Nomi’s actions or how SushiSwap is or should be run. This article is simply an explainer on what SushiSwap is and how to use the platform. As with all yield farming projects, SushiSwap involves a huge amount of risk. Anyone intending to participate in yield farming should do full research and consider carefully the risks involved beforehand.

    What is SushiSwap ($SUSHI)?

    SushiSwap is the newest decentralised finance (DeFi) liquidity pool platform. With SushiSwap, people can add their tokens into the liquidity pools and earn. In this article, we’ll have a look at the Sushi Swap platform and how to participate in the liquidity pool. Anyone can participate.

    Sounds interesting? Let’s dive into it.

    Summary

    • SushiSwap is a platform that allows anyone to provide liquidity. In return, the person gets rewarded with token(s) and SUSHI tokens. 
    • As of September 4, 2020, there are 1 billion dollars of locked liquidity.
    • Possibility of very high APY (up to 1,000%) on some liquidity pools. You can check the current yields on SushiBoard.

    Why is SushiSwap so popular?

    Sushi Swap markets itself as an “improved and community-friendly” Uniswap. Unlike a traditional exchange like Binance where they employ market makers, SushiSwap is a community-oriented platform where users provide liquidity. In return, they get rewarded. Indeed, the users are the market makers.

    SUSHI token

    SUSHI tokens are given as rewards for liquidity mining. The token allows its holders to participate in the governance of the platform and entitles them to a portion of the fees paid to the protocol by traders. For the governance of the platform, SUSHI holders can submit a SushiSwap Improvement Proposal (SIP) which token holders can vote on with their tokens.

    Of course, some people also speculate on the prices of SUSHI and the token can be traded on major exchanges such as Binance, FTX and OKEx exchanges.

    Advantages of SushiSwap

    There is no KYC (Know Your Customer) policy. This means anyone can trade and contribute to the liquidity pools. The platform is permissionless, meaning anyone can contribute millions of dollars without asking for permission. 

    Earn tokens from Sushi Swap. SUSHI is Sushi Swap’s native token. When you contribute to the liquidity pool, you earn sushi tokens. You can exchange SUSHI for ETH. 

    Sushi Swap model: 0.25% go directly to the active liquidity providers and 0.05% get converted back to SUSHI and is rewarded to sushi holders. 

    Sounds interesting? Let’s visit Sushi Swap’s home page.

    SushiSwap beginners guide 

    When you first arrive on Sushi Swap’s home page, you’ll see this:

    Click on “Unlock Wallet” or “See The Menu”, either way you will need to connect your ETH wallet in order to this platform. 

    Sushi Swap has the option to use MetaMask, WalletConnect or many other non-custodial wallets. Pick the one of your choice.

    Connect wallet
    Connect wallet

    Give permission for Meta Mask or Wallet Connect to connect to Sushi Swap. Once you’re connected, you’re ready to add your tokens into the liquidity pools. (hummingbirddental.ca)

    You’re presented with various liquidity pools (LPs). Each liquidity pool has a different annual percentage yield (APY).

    In this example, I’ll contribute to the ETH-USDT pool. I add my USDT into the liquidity pool. In return, I’ll get a percentage of USDT and SUSHI tokens. Think of Sushi Swap as a “community revenue share” model.

    To contribute to the liquidity pool, click “Approve USDT-ETH UNI-V2 LP” and give your Meta Mask permission to move your tokens into the liquidity pool. 

    Now what? You wait. The “SUSHI earned” box should populate with your earned SUSHI. You can withdraw your SUSHI token anytime by clicking on “Harvest”.

    2020 roundup and new roadmap!

    Many things have happened within the Sushiswap ecosystem in the last months: it is now time for a quick recap and to look at what the future will bring to this project!

    The number of all the partnerships finalized by the protocol is countless, but one of the most important ones, if not the most important, is certainly the merger with Yearn. The news also sparked controversies: Sushiswap was still considered a sort of “copycat” of Uniswap by some, and when Andre Cronje (Yearn’s father) wrote an article on how it is difficult to build in Defi and how conversely it is easy for anyone to just copy other people’s code, this wasn’t seen as really coherent. The collaboration was born to allow the two teams to cooperate on Deriswap.

    Nevertheless, Sushiswap has been evolving so much that, according to Mira Christanto (one of Messari’s data analysts) they have “put their past behind” and, not being backed by Venture Capitals, they can move faster than competitors. January has seen a real growth in Sushiswap’s TVL (now at $2.1 billion), mostly at the expense of Uniswap’s.

    Among the important milestones in 2020, we find Onsen, the new Sushiswap liquidity mining incentivization program which replaces the old Menu of the week. It brings communities together into the ecosystem and allows voted tokens to become accredited and participate in the mining program. The website also has a new layout of and a lite version.

    2021 Roadmap

    As the new year has already begun, it is also interesting to have a look at what Sushiswap is working on for 2021. The team released a long and detailed roadmap in early January. Notable upgrades are the following:

    • Mirin will be the new upgraded version of Sushiswap’s V3 protocol. It will include many new features like franchised pools, double yield, dynamic yield rebalancing, and many more as you can read here.
    • Bentobox (which should have launched in January) was born in the team’s mind as a new Lending Platform. While they were was working on its code though, it became something more. In simple terms, it will be a single vault that holds all tokens for any protocols and future extensions. It will support several oracles and it will also benefit all the $SUSHI holders.
    • Miso (Minimal Initial Sushi Offering) will be a sort of token launchpad, designed to drive new projects’ launches on the platform. It will include crowd sale options, IDOs (Initial Dex Offering), auctions, and more. We could think of it as something similar to Binance’s launchpad.
    • As Ethereum fees are and will keep growing in the next future until ETH2 will be a reality, most platforms are studying alternative solutions for their users such as Layer 2 possibilities. Unlike Uniswap, which is working on Optimistic Rollups, Sushiswap decided to move in sync with the greater Yearn ecosystem and thus will probably offer Zk-rollups options.

    Together with all these big news, Sushiswap is also planning to move to a new domain as the old one, in their view, is not enough to describe the diversity of the platform anymore. A transition to a fully decentralized governance structure is also planned by the end of 2021. Last but not least, Sushiswap has created a proposal page for people to express their ideas on what they would like to see on the platform. Everyone can be a chef is the place where you can voice your opinion if you like to suggest new ideas.

    FAQs

    Is it risky to provide liquidity to SushiSwap?

    The pool could get hacked if the code isn’t audited. There have been cases of hackers draining funds from smart contracts. It helps if the code is audited by a reputable firm. In the case of SushiSwap, it has been given a “security review” (not an audit) by Quantstamp. 10 issues were identified but they do not appear to be fatal. Subsequently, Peckshield had completed an audit on SushiSwap. They found no critical or high severity issues relating to business logistics but 2 high severity opsec issues that need to be fixed through extra care with deployment.

    What is the reward model of Sushi Swap?

    0.25% go directly to the active liquidity providers and 0.05% gets converted back to sushi and is distributed to active SUSHI holders.

    Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more

    With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces

    The DeFi series on this website also covers topics not explored on YouTube. For an introduction on what is DeFi, check out Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Overview: A guide to the HOTTEST trend in cryptocurrency

    Tutorials and guides for the ESSENTIAL DEFI TOOLS:

    More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Newsletter #14

    Newsletter #14

    Red flags of the week

    Value DeFi ($VALUE) vaults suffered $6 million flash loan exploit, similar to Harvest’s

    If it wasn’t for the recent Bitcoin’s rally, this could have been known as the Hack Season. More and more projects, especially in decentralised finance (DeFi), are getting attacked and no smart contract seems to be safe anymore.

    On Nov 14 at 10:45 AM EST, mere hours after the release of Vault Phase 2 which was celebrated on Twitter as the ”highest security, the best return and the greatest community“ in crypto, a complex “double” flash loan attack exploited the MultiStables vault of ValueDefi Protocol. In what was later defined as one of the most complex attacks seen in DeFi, the hacker used two flash loans, with Aave and Uniswap, to steal USD $6 million.

    A Post-Mortem article by the Team explained what happened: the attack took 80k ETH through a flash loan on Aave, bought 116 million DAI and 31 million USDT, deposited 25 million DAI in the Vault, got back 24 million mvUSD and swapped 91 million DAI and 31 million USDT to USDC. The mvUSD were then withdrawn from DAI and the 80k ETH plus fees returned to Aave. Finally, 33 million DAI were bought back and 2 were sent back to the Deployer (as other times have happened lately). The culprit did this by taking advantage of vulnerabilities within Value DeFi vaults.

    Origin Dollar ($OUSD) has lost millions in a flashloan attack

    Three days later, it was Origin dollar ($OUSD)’s turn to be attacked.

    The Yield-generating stablecoin project suffered a loss of funds of $7 million, $1 million of which were deposits by Origin’s founders, employees and the company itself. The team is still looking into exactly how the attack was carried out but they suspect it was a flash-loan transaction that seems to be the root of the attack.

    Allegedly, following the attack, the hacker was able to sell some of the stolen OUSD, DAI and ETH on Uniswap and Sushiswap. the attacker is also washing the stolen funds using RenBTC.

    You can read the detailed explanation of the exploit in this updated article by the Origin team.

    This was the fifth flash loan attack for Defi in the last month, after Harvest Finance, Akropolis, CheeseBank and Value.

    Overall, according to CipherTrace, Defi hacks are credited to around $100 million in 2020 so far.

    Crypto Exchange Liquid Says User Data Possibly Exposed in Security Breach

    As officially confirmed, crypto Exchange Liquid as been hacked on 13th November.

    The attack consisted in one of the hosting providers incorrectly transferring the account control and domain to a malicious actor which gained access to some of the internal email accounts. This breach resulted in user data exposure. As they stated:

    “We believe the malicious actor was able to obtain personal information from our user database. This may include data such as your email, name, address and encrypted password. We are continuing to investigate whether the malicious actor also obtained access to personal documents provided for KYC such as ID, selfie and proof of address, and will provide an update once the investigation has concluded.”

    This could possibly lead to identity thefts, spam emails and phishing attempts. Even though the team doesn’t believe it would pose an immediate threat for its users, they suggest “that all Liquid customers change their password and 2FA credentials at the earliest convenience”.

    UNI farming ends…what happens next?

    As the $UNI farming was coming to its planned end on 17th November, speculations on the future price of $ETH and of the Uniswap token were emerging, and the first Uniswap Community Call didn’t succeed in establishing any definite decision on the platform’s future steps. More than USD $2 billion worth were locked in four pools that were giving $UNI rewards (ETH-DAI, ETH-USDC, ETH-USDT, ETH-WBTC); all money that were destined to flow back on the market. As $ETH price was in the mid $300 before the farming started in September, many were fearing for an imminent dump as people would swap it to stable coins or more investment-appealing altcoins. Price was not the only concern for Uniswap, as all that pooled money meant very slow slippage on the Dex as well.

    To seize the moment, Sushiswap ($SUSHI) announced an increase in rewards for the same four pools on their platform. Exactly one hour later, Hayden Adams (inventor of Uniswap) advanced a new proposal to continue with the rewards for an additional 2 months at half the rate of the genesis distribution. The proposal is now awaiting the consensus check phase, before farming could restart on 4th December.

    Sushiswap and Uniswap TVL
    Sushiswap and Uniswap TVL (Image credit: DeFi Pulse)

    In the meantime, as we can observe in the next image, the Uniswap TVL has significantly dropped at the expenses of Sushiswap’s, which increased reaching a similar net value to that of its main competitor.  

    Bitcoin continues its rally

    In the aftermath of the US elections, even if the result is still controversial, $BTC continues its rally like it couldn’t care less. In the last days its Market Cap even reached an ATH of $350 billion, surpassing the Dec 16 2017’s previous high (due to $BTC inflation, even if the price is not at ATH there are more coins in circulation than 3 years ago, resulting in a higher market cap). The price is currently over $18k! Finally!

    As $BTC was growing lately, one could bet that the media would start covering the news as well, and that is exactly what happened. We have seen BBC, CNBC’s Fast Money, CNN and many more interviewing “experts” and speculating about the next ATH, paired with a lot of old and new memes being shared everywhere. With wide coverage and more retailers getting onboard fearing of missing out (Paypal’s crypto service reached $25 million in trading volume in the first month since launch) could this mean that the (local) top is getting closer?

    While all of this was happening, it looks like things for Chinese miners are not that good. Wu Blockchain reported that 75% of the surveyed miners are struggling to pay their electric bills. This is due to the restrictions the Chinese government is applying on crypto making it very difficult to buy and sell into $CNY. Many miners have seen their bank cards frozen or their machines shut down because they didn’t have cash to pay the electric bill.

    Therefore, there is also speculation that this big rally has not only been driven by an increase in demand, but also because the dump activity by miners, that creates constant sell pressure, has slowed down.

    What the fork Bitcoin cash?!

    On 15th November Bitcoin Cash ($BCH) has undergone a protocol upgrade, as established by the roadmap.

    This update contained a Hard Fork which has split the chain into two, BCHN and BCHA after block #661647. The reason why this is happening is because of a disagreement on the current state of the blockchain between the Bitcoin Cash Node and the Bitcoin Cash ABC communities after a proposed update by Amaury Sechet (ABC) had been rejected. It looks like $BCHN will be the dominant part as 80% of the miners showed support before the split and it is now 667 blocks ahead.

    This is not the first fork for $BCH as it was, itself, the result of a Bitcoin fork in 2017.

    How’s ETH2 staking race going?

    Less than a week before the deadline, the ETH staked on the Ethereum 2 mainnet are less than half of what’s needed to trigger the start of the Beacon Phase 0. As anticipated by many sources, the community is expecting a decisive increase in deposits rate in the last days before the deadline. If the minimum requirements will be met by 24th November, ETH2 will launch on 1st December, otherwise it will automatically start 7 days after the threshold will be met.

    In a recent AMA, Danny Ryan, Core Researcher at the Ethereum Foundation answered users’ concerns about the possibility of a failed launch. Ryan says the Foundation does have a solution, which is to adjust the threshold down to around 100k+ ETH which they consider to be sufficient. This will avoid leaving the staked ETH in limbo. Ryan also noted that for those who did stake, there will be high rewards for these early adopters. Their Github page also goes into more details on other alternatives.

    Here’s 5 things you NEED to know about ETH 2.0

    Also, learn more about this staking race and its potential implications:

    https://youtu.be/VqEP_c4jhvc
    Will Ethereum 2.0 (ETH) launch successfully?

    OKEx Exchange is finally resuming withdrawals!

    More than one month after the Okex Exchange decided to suspend all cryptocurrency withdrawals, the team has just announced that operations will reopen on or before 27th November. They also reassure that 100% of users’ funds are safe.

    The official announcement confirmed that one of Okex’s private key holders was cooperating with the authorities in a case that has nothing to do with the Exchange itself. They specified that although “OKEx has always used a backup mechanism for private key holders to ensure that each private key holder can trigger the activation of the backup private key in the event of long-term incapacitation, such as death or memory loss”, this particular scenario caught them off guard as no strategy had been prepared for.

    Significant loyalty campaigns will be announced as a sign of gratitude to the community.

    Follow the OKEx developing story here.

    Boxmining happenings: Interviews, giveaways and more!

    • Why do we need privacy and scaling on the blockchain? Privacy is the next big leap for blockchain technology as can be used to allow anonymous data sharing, exchanges without front running, and the real fungibility of tokens. We spoke to Prof. Dawn Song about the need for privacy-preserving smart contracts and how this is implemented on Oasis Protocol ($ROSE): https://youtu.be/JQzKKOV_ycA
    • After months of work our NEWLY REDESIGNED website is up!! https://boxmining.com/
    • We have a fantastic collaboration with the DuckDao team for a chance to win (in our opinion) the best NFT EVER!

    Upcoming events

    *All times are in UTC unless otherwise specified

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Newsletter #17: Bitcoin markets choose between good and bad news

    Newsletter #17: Bitcoin markets choose between good and bad news

    Do you want to hear the good news…or the bad news first? This has been an age old question which the Bitcoin markets had to grapple with this week. As we will see below, there IS a correct answer to this…but has Bitcoin chosen wisely?

    All I want for Christmas is a Ledger!

    Ledger is doing a crypto starter bundle! Get a USD$25 voucher to buy crypto with every Ledger Nano X purchase! Limited to 5,000 vouchers and only available until 29th December 2020!

    Gift yourself or your family a bundle they truly want! Say NO to hand cream gift sets and socks!

    Check out our Ledger Nano X review and CLICK HERE TO BUY!

    Give better gifts this Christmas!

    Market Sentiment: Going sideways?

    This week’s market price action wasn’t very exciting, with Bitcoin and Ethereum mostly going sideways. On 12th December 2020, we saw a reaction that is still continuing today and has brought $BTC back to the $19000 area and $ETH closer to $600.

    Both coins are still at weekly resistances trying to build momentum around the 21 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) on the daily chart. We could expect another attempt to pass ATH in the next few days!

    Key news this week

    Big investors keep accumulating

    Big funds/companies are buying and accumulating Bitcoin and Ethereum.

    Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), has just bought $100M of $BTC through NYDIG, a fund management company in New York. This is reportedly their first Bitcoin purchase and is equivalent to less than 1% of their entire investment account worth around USD $235 billion.

    Grayscale has also increased their holdings. Whilst they are not new to investing in crypto, they have just bought another 130000ETH, reaching a total of 3 million tokens in their accounts.

    Microstrategy announced they had completed “a $650M offering of 0.75% Convertible Senior Notes Due 2025”, to invest in $BTC in accordance with their reserve policy. A few days earlier, the CEO Michael Saylor, tweeted that they hold approximately 40,824 Bitcoin.

    The interest in crypto by financial giants points to increased demand from the wealthy as a form of diversification and are them betting on prices to increase in the future.

    Mt. Gox’s reimbursement deadline approaching

    15th December 2020 will mark the next deadline for Mt. Gox Exchanges’s creditors to hopefully get back what they lost on the platform. The Exchange, one of the most known at the time and launched in 2010, ceased to operate in February 2014 after filing for bankruptcy. A whopping 860,000 $BTC were “missing” of which 200,000 has been “recovered” (and this does not even include other cryptocurrencies which also went “missing”). In 2015 new evidence by Tokyo security company WizSec showed that “most or all of the missing bitcoins were stolen straight out of the Mt. Gox hot cryptocurrency wallet over time, beginning in late 2011.”

    Users of the platform should expect to receive a total of 140,000 $BTC ($2.6 billion dollar worth) which are now in the hands of Nobuaki Kobayashi, the Japanese lawyer in charge of the process.

    Nothing is certain however as the refund deadline had been already postponed several times in the past, the last of which was in October 2020. There is also a serious concern in the market as to the possible consequences of a large Bitcoin market sell-off by victims when they receive their funds after 6 years. Considering Bitcoin in 2014 was worth less than $1000, this would represent now a roughly 20x on their re-acquired funds!

    Thoughts on the Mt. Gox refund

    Singapore’s DBS to launch digital exchange with crypto

    After rumors appeared a few months ago, it is now official: Singapore’s DBS will be the first bank to launch a digital currency exchange.

    The platform will only be open to institutional and accredited retail investors. There will be 4 major tradable cryptocurrencies: $BTC, $ETH, $XRP and $BCH, paired with 4 FIAT currencies: USD, SGD, HKD AND JPY.

    The Exchange will also offer Security Token Offerings (STO) and a platform for tokenized assets like bonds, private equity funds, real-estates and so on. DBS Chief Executive Piyush Gupta said:

    “I believe that the time is right for this”, and added “We are on the cusp of a massive tokenization and therefore you’ll find tokenization of all kind of assets around the world and I think more and more exchanges will start dealing with the tokenized assets”.

    U.S. Congressmen manifesting doubts on new self-hosted wallets regulations

    A couple of weeks ago we mentioned that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was concerned regarding rumors that the U.S Treasury was planning to impose regulations on self-hosted cryptocurrency wallets.

    Self-hosted wallets, whether online (hot) like Metamask or offline (cold) wallets like Ledger and Trezor, let you retain personal and total access to your funds, without any intermediary entities or third parties. The owner possesses their own private keys and takes full responsibility of their funds. Most importantly, wallets don’t usually need KYC procedures to set up. Learn more about hot and cold wallets, and their pros and cons.

    Armstrong stated his thoughts (shared by many other prominent names in crypto space), among which the possibility that regulations could result in being more harmful than anything else. This is because it could essentially exclude those who cannot obtain the documents and proofs for regular KYCs, and those are usually the most disadvantaged groups who may already be excluded from the financial system. Furthermore, this proposal could be a step back in innovation by the US, leading companies and users to bypass them for other countries.

    A few days ago Warren Davidson, U.S. Congressman serving Ohio’s 8th District, together with a few colleagues, embraced these opinions by sending a letter to U.S Treasury. The letter also points out that “multiple reports have shown that digital assets are not widely used by illicit actors”.

    Warren Davidson’s letter to the US Treasury

    What about Europe?

    Meanwhile in Europe, the development of the digital Euro continues. However sources have indicated that the French Finance Ministry is preparing “to not only harden know-your-customer (KYC) rules for crypto firms but also regulate crypto-to-crypto transactions, according to Simon Polrot, president of French crypto association ADAN.”

    This apparently comes as a response to recent terrorist attacks when 29 people were arrested for illegal terrorism funding via cryptocurrencies.

    Other key news

    • Canada has become the first country to have an Ethereum-based Fund listed on a major stock exchange. The Ether Fund (TSX:QETH.U) is offered by 3iQ Corp, a digital asset manager based in Toronto. The Ether Fund is trading at around $11 per share today.
    • The second giveaway of DCEP (China’s National Digital Currency) has kicked-off on in Suzhou, China, on 12th December 2020 for 10,000 winners. Last week, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) also confirmed it is working with the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China on technical pilot testing of DCEP for cross-boarder payments between Mainland China and Hong Kong. You can read more in our article.
    • Messari, a leader crypto Research and Data company, has recently listed their take on the “top 10 people to watch in 2021”

    $YETI Index: the Yearn ecosystem in one token

    After all the recent announced collaborations between the Yearn Finance team and many other big Defi projects, such as Cover Protocol ($COVER) or Sushiswap ($SUSHI), the Yearn Ecosystem Token Index, $YETI, has been created by Powerpool ($CVP).

    The Index comprises of 8 tokens: $YFI, $SUSHI, $CREAM, $AKRO, $COVER, $K3PR, $CVP, $PICKLE with a proposed weighted distribution of 35% for $YFI, 17% for $SUSHI and 8% each for the rest. So investors now have the chance to invest in the entire Yearn ecosystem in one token, receiving “cash flows from Vault strategies applied to composite tokens, and vote on proposals in the Yearn ecosystem governance using PowerPool’s meta-governance approach.” It will also allow holders to save on gas fees which would be normally required to stake multiple tokens.

    Speaking of $YFI, this week we have also witnessed the first gasless (for users) transaction vault deposit on Yearn.Finance.

    Red flags of the week

    DeTrade Fund, first case of deep-fake in crypto?

    DeTrade Fund, a supposed upcoming arbitraging and front-running Defi project has vanished with 1450ETH a few hours before listing.

    The team appeared to be non-anonymous, with public Linkedin profiles, a publicly registered company, a Twitch profile and a video where the “CEO” Mark Jensen, spoke to the community. The video has quickly become famous on crypto Twitter with the community suspecting it was a deep-fake used by crypto hackers. Another theory circulating around the community is that the hackers hired an actor to impersonate the CEO.

    Video from DeTrade “CEO” Mark Jensen

    Through two rounds of presale investments, the DeTrade fund team managed to raise a remarkable amount of 1,450 $ETH in a few hours. Their contracts were audited by Solidity Finance which immediately raised a few concerns in their audit report, assessing that the team was in charge of too much power over users’ funds. It is likely that the team took advantage of this and stole the presale funds sometime between the second presale and the official listing which should have taken place a few hours after. (Tramadol)

    Several hours later and probably because someone was able to trace the misappropriated funds, 70% of the stolen $ETH was sent back to investors via internal transactions.

    This “partial return is becoming more and more common in DeFi attacks. For example, Eminence’s hacker sent back 50% while Harvest Finance users only received 10% of their amount back.

    $12 million have been stolen by Compounder Finance

    On 1st December 2020, Compounder.Finance ($CP3R), a clone of Harvest and Yearn Finance, has “pulled the rug”. It looks like the anonymous team behind the project is the one to blame.

    Compounder had been audited by Solidity Finance. In chat logs between the two companies we can see that Solidity Finance pointed out that the project’s Treasury contract and updating of strategy pools is controlled by their team. Solidity Finance also pointed out that they felt this fact should be disclosed in their audit report. The exploit was exactly as pointed out by Solidity Finance. After the audit, the withdraw function was swapped with a malicious one which was later used to drain all the money in the contract to their deployer address. Nobody recognized the fraud in time so users were not able to withdraw their funds.

    The attack is composed by 4 steps and is explained in details in this post-mortem by developer Vasa and Solidity Finance.

    It is not the first time that an audited project suffered a hack and we all know quite well by now that Audits cannot guarantee 100% safety. This should always be reminded.

    A known developer of the Defi space and owner of Defiyield.info was also a victim of the attack. He is also investigating the matter and working towards filing a case with the relevant enforcement authorities.

    Fake Deriswap tokens

    Malicious actors have recently created various fake Deriswap tokens to take advantage of the hype surrounding this latest experiment from Andre Cronje. The malicious actors would create tokens with similar names to Deriswap and approve it for trading on Uniswap to entice people to buy.

    Let’s remember that Deriswap doesn’t have any official token at the moment!

    Boxmining happenings

    • Libra is now Diem! Everything you need to know on Facebook’s cryptocurrency!

    Diem ($DIEM) – Facebook’s Libra 2.0

    • In case you missed it check out our podcast interview with Geralt of CyberFi where we discussed automated trading, Ethereum interactions such as unstaking and more.
    • Velo Protocol is building out the biggest payment network in South East Asia with its partnership with Lightnet and Visa. The end goal is to create payment solutions for the under-served micro, small and medium enterprise lending market in Asia.
    The next XRP killer? Velo Protocol is making HUGE moves

    Click here for back issues of our newsletters!

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • XFai ($XFIT): Can it resolve the liquidity and gas fee issues in DeFi?

    XFai ($XFIT): Can it resolve the liquidity and gas fee issues in DeFi?

    XFai is a decentralized oracle service provider that aims to address liquidity and gas issues in decentralised exchanges (DEXs) through a so-called DEX Liquidity Oracle which will revolutionise cryptocurrency trading whilst reducing gas fees.

    If you are a regular DEX trader, you might notice that there are times when you can’t complete trades. This happens often with small-cap tokens that do not have enough liquidity. In this case, traders have two options, either to wait it out until there’s enough liquidity or to increase price slippage tolerance. But either way, it can result in huge losses on the part of a small-cap token holder.

    XFai wants to address this problem by empowering DEXs with liquidity that can be supplied to small-cap tokens. This equalizes the playing field for every single trader, allowing them to execute their strategy without having to shoulder massive costs just because a DEX might not have enough liquidity on any particular trading pair.

    Check out our interview with XFai’s Chief Scientist, Taulant Ramabaja.

    Background

    The problem with many DEXs today is liquidity. While liquidity pools and profit-generating DeFi systems like yield farming have offered revolutionary solutions in the last year or so, DEXes still face this concern. This leaves many traders vulnerable to huge price slippages and losses. And if the issue persists, cryptocurrency traders might be discouraged and go back to trading mostly on centralized exchanges despite having less options.

    This is what XFai worked is trying to solve.

    XFai, which was co-founded by Geoffrey Khan, was developed in order to deal with the problems hounding DeFi markets today. It has gained a substantial amount of support, garnering investments from companies like AU21 Capital, LD Capital, and Roger Ver, one of the earliest adopters of blockchain technology and the CEO of Bitcoin.com. It is also worth mentioning that they were able to generate over $3.8 million within the first 12 hours of their private sale.

    What is XFai?

    XFai is a decentralized oracle service provider with the aim of addressing liquidity and gas issues in DEXs through a DEX Liquidity Oracle (DLO). This means that the protocol’s role is not only limited to supplying data to price feeds and engaging with smart contracts, but is also capable of actively providing and managing token liquidity in partner DEXs such as Uniswap.

    The primary goal of the project is to support small cap tokens and token holders by establishing a system that helps them earn better rewards. In other words, the project seeks to help them gain as much in incentives as they can, just like how a holder of a large cap token does.

    DEX Liquidity Oracle

    XFai’s DLO is powered by the XFai smart contract, which allows users to stake small cap tokens that can later be supplied to Uniswap pools according to corresponding price ranges and existing orders. The biggest trades facilitated on Uniswap exchanges will be provided with the liquidity collected from the DLO.

    This does not just benefit large volume trades for small cap tokens, but also those who supply liquidity on the same tokens. They receive rewards when they do so as well. The good thing about DLO is that it does not require liquidity providers to supply all the assets supported in a liquidity pool. They can choose to simply supply a single token in a pool, which also mitigates the risks of impermanent loss on their end.

    What supports this function further is its real-time price feed from centralized exchanges. Furthermore, the liquidity from the DLO is easily accessible to DEXs, addressing the issue on price slippage. This is exactly the goal of the XFai team, to support the current DEXs in the market and not to present itself as a competitor.

    How Does XFai Work?

    First, the user has to add tokens on the DLO liquidity vault/pool. The DLO is governed by a smart contract that also sends the tokens to partner DEXes when liquidity is needed. Note that users do not need to supply multiple assets at a time anymore, thereby reducing their exposure.

    Second, the DLO looks into the data from existing order books from other exchanges to determine existing prices and trading volume. Then, it comes up with a synthetic curve which they will use in order to pair DLO liquidity with partner DEXs.

    Then, there is a smart contract that governs how and when liquidity is supplied to a DEX using the synthetic curve. The goal of the contract is to ensure that enough liquidity is met by AMMs in order to avoid price slippage while allowing small cap token holders to supply liquidity without incurring impermanent loss.

    XFIT Token

    XFIT token is XFai’s native, utility token, which can be used as a medium of exchange, store of value, and means of payment for transaction fees. But more than that, it also has governance and reward functions. Liquidity farming is accessible in XFIT and all other DLO pairs.

    To start liquidity mining, holders can stake their tokens in select pools to earn proportional rewards. Each time the DLO profits from the trades conducted by its platform users, token holders earn additional XFIT. They can either redeem XFIT tokens to be later sold to the market, or they can decide to return their rewards back to liquidity pools in order to increase their stake position.

    In addition, XFIT token holders are also entitled to discounts on transaction fees if they use XFIT. They can also make direct swaps from XFIT to any other token in the protocol as long as they are supported by the DLO.

    XFai Liquidity Generation Event: How to stake XFIT

    The XFai liquidity generation event is a way to allow users to become involved with XFai’s XFIT token early, and stake them in the liquidity pool in order to earn increased, sustained yield throughout the launch period.

    To participate, users can go on the XFai website and click on “Farm”, then choose your preferred pool. Note that the APY is synced for all pools so they earn the same amount of APY as each other. Then click “Connect Wallet” to connect using MetaMask, once connected the dashboard will automatically calculate how much XFIT you can purchase with the amount in your wallet. Select the amount you want to stake and hit “Farm”.

    Whilst farming, you have the option to either Add to Farm, which allows you to increase your stake or Harvest, which allows you to claim your XIFT rewards.

    To claim your rewards, click “Harvest” and you would be presented with the option to Harvest XFIT or Harvest XFIT and unstake. Harvest XFIT allows you to claim the XFIT tokens gained into your wallet whilst keeping the staked amount in the liquidity pool to keep farming more XIFT rewards. On the other hand, Harvest XFIT and unstake means you can claim your XFIT rewards and unstake the staked amount (or any part of it) from the pool.

    The XFai LGE will be from 16th April to 7 May 2021.

    For a full guide on how to farm XFIT, click here.

    Conclusion

    Perhaps one of the largest factors that stop people from completely shifting their cryptocurrency trading activities to DEXs is the liquidity problem, apart from the fees. It is difficult to execute trades with low liquidity and even if they often do, sometimes, it takes multiple slippage tolerance adjustments before a trade gets to be completed.

    While this can look trivial for some people, this is something that can’t be neglected. If XFai takes off, the DeFi space might experience a better market situation. If traders do not have to be burdened by price slippages and if liquidity further improves through the same solutions the XFai team did, DEXs can be even more alluring to everyone, which would help speed up adoption.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Top Chart Patterns Every Crypto Trader Should Know

    Top Chart Patterns Every Crypto Trader Should Know

    Chart patterns are an integral aspect of Technical Analysis, but they require some getting used to before they can be used effectively. A chart pattern is a shape within a price chart that helps to suggest what prices might do next, based on what they have done in the past. Chart patterns tend to repeat themselves and can give you a real competitive advantage in the markets if you are able to learn to recognize them.

    The market is constantly changing. In many cases, it does not matter how you feel about it, it only matters how the market is going to feel about it.

    Market sentiment is a critical indicator to predict price movements and make investment decisions. An easy way to gauge market sentiment is by looking at chart patterns. They tend to repeat themselves, and once you are able to recognize them, it becomes easier to strategize your entries and exits.

    However, it is important to note that they are NOT a guarantee that the market will move in that predicted direction. It should only serve as a frame of reference for you to feel how the market moves.

    The most important thing to remember when using chart patterns as part of your technical analysis is that they are not a guarantee that a market will move in that predicted direction, they are merely an indication of what might happen to an asset’s price. Below are some of the most common chart patterns studied by technical analysts as they appear on the Bitcoin/USD chart:

    1. Head and Shoulders

    This is a bullish and bearish reversal pattern that has a large peak in the middle and smaller peaks on either side. The Head and shoulders pattern is considered to be one of the most reliable reversal chart patterns. This pattern is formed when the prices of the stock rise to a peak and fall down to the same level from where they had started rising. Again, the prices rise and form a peak higher than the last peak and again it declines to the original base. Prices again rise to form a third peak, which is lower than the second peak and from here it starts declining to the base level. When the prices break the baseline with volume then a bearish reversal takes place.

    Head and shoulders is a chart pattern in which a large peak has a slightly smaller peak on either side of it. Traders look at head and shoulders patterns to predict a bullish-to-bearish reversal. Typically, the first and third peak will be smaller than the second, but they will all fall back to the same level of support, otherwise known as the ‘neckline’. Once the third peak has fallen back to the level of support, it is likely that it will break out into a bearish downtrend.

    Head and Shoulders
    Head and Shoulders

    2. Double Top

    A double top is a bearish reversal pattern that traders use to highlight trend reversals. The price forms a peak and retrace back to a level of support. It will then climb up once again before reversing back more permanently against the prevailing trend. A double top is a bearish pattern as it signifies the end of an uptrend and a shift towards a downtrend.

    Double Top
    Double Top

    3. Double Bottom

    A double bottom is a bullish reversal pattern that is opposite to the double top. Price forms a peak and then retrace back to a level of resistance. It then forms a peak once more before reversing back from the prevailing trend. A double bottom is a bullish reversal pattern, because it signifies the end of a downtrend and a shift towards an uptrend.

    Double Bottom
    Double Bottom

    4. Wedges

    Wedges are bullish and bearish reversal as well as continuation patterns which are formed by joining two trend lines which converge. There are two types of the wedge, rising and falling. Both rising and falling wedges are reversal patterns, with rising wedges representing a bearish market and falling wedges being more typical of a bullish market.

    • A rising wedge is represented by a trend line caught between two upwardly slanted lines of support and resistance. This pattern generally signals that an asset’s price will eventually decline more permanently, which is demonstrated when it breaks through the support level.
    • A falling wedge occurs between two downwardly sloping levels. This pattern is usually indicative that an asset’s price will rise and break through the level of resistance.
    Wedges
    Wedges

    5. Cup and Handle

    The cup and handle pattern is a bullish continuation pattern that is used to show a period of bearish market sentiment before the overall trend finally continues in a bullish motion. The cup appears similar to a rounding bottom chart pattern. Following the cup, the price of an asset will likely enter a temporary retracement, which is known as the handle because this retracement is confined to two parallel lines on the price graph. The asset will eventually reverse out of the handle and continue with the overall bullish trend.

    Cup and Handle
    Cup and Handle

    6. Pennants

    A pennant pattern or a flag pattern is created when there is a sharp movement in the price either upward or downward. This is followed by a period of consolidation that creates the pennant shape because of the converging lines. Then a breakout movement occurs in the same direction as the big stock move. At the initial stock movement there is a significant volume which is followed by weaker volume in the pennant section and then rise in the volume at the breakout. Pennants can be either bullish or bearish, and they can represent a continuation or a reversal.

    Pennants
    Pennants

    7. Triangles

    Ascending Triangles

    The ascending triangle is a bullish continuation pattern which signifies the continuation of an uptrend. It can be drawn onto charts by placing a horizontal line along the swing highs, which acts as the resistance, and then drawing an ascending trend line along the swing lows, the support. Eventually, the trend breaks through the resistance and the uptrend continues.

    Ascending Triangles
    Ascending Triangles

    Descending Triangles

    Just like the ascending triangle, the descending triangle is also a continuation chart pattern. The only difference is that it is a bearish continuation pattern and it is created during the downtrend. They generally shift lower and break through the support because they are indicative of a market dominated by sellers. Descending triangles can be identified from a horizontal line of support and a downward-sloping line of resistance. Eventually, the trend breaks through the support and the downturn continues.

    Descending Triangles
    Descending Triangles

    Symmetrical Triangles

    Symmetrical Triangles are continuation chart patterns that are developed by two trend lines which converge. The symmetrical triangle pattern can be either bullish or bearish, depending on the market. In either case, it is normally a continuation pattern, which means the market will usually continue in the same direction as the overall trend once the pattern has formed. However, if there is no clear trend before the triangle pattern forms, the market could break out in either direction. This makes symmetrical triangles a bilateral pattern, meaning they are best used in volatile markets where there is no clear indication of which way an asset’s price might move.

    Symmetrical Triangles
    Symmetrical Triangles

    8. Chart Patterns to Identify Market Manipulation

    The “Bart Simpson” Pattern

    When we look at the Bitcoin chart in small time frames, one can identify sudden movements or ‘bump’ in one direction, followed by consolidation and a sudden ‘bump’ in the other direction that ends close to the base price. This phenomenon has given the name “Barts” because the asset’s price pattern looks like the head shape of the iconic Simpsons character, Bart Simpson.

    It is a familiar occurrence for Bitcoin, one noticed by investors time and again during volatile trading stretches. It appears as a result of hundreds-of-Bitcoin orders in a matter of minutes. The reason for these sudden pumps and dumps is likely to liquidate crypto margin traders, whether short or long, by manipulating the market. While some believe that this is done by the exchanges themselves, which is entirely possible due to the lack of regulations, this might be related to large crypto traders, commonly known as ‘whales.’

    Bart Simpson pattern
    Bart Simpson pattern

    Wyckoff Pattern

    The Wyckoff Pattern was first brought to light by Youtuber “Uncomplication” to unearth potential market manipulation by whales. The pattern was developed by Richard Demille Wyckoff, an early 20th-century pioneer in the technical approach to studying the stock market. The pioneering work of Richard D. Wyckoff was centered around the realization that stock price trends were driven primarily by institutional and other large operators who manipulate stock prices in their favor.

    Wyckoff proposed a heuristic device to help understand price movements in individual stocks and the market, which he dubbed the “Composite Man.” Wyckoff advised retail traders to try to play the market game as the Composite Man played it. The Composite Man attracts the public to buy a stock in which he has already accumulated a sizeable amount. Wyckoff and his associates believed that if one could understand the market behavior of the Composite Man, one could identify many trading and investment opportunities early enough to profit from them. Using Wyckoff’s method, one can invest in stocks by capitalizing on the intentions of the large “smart money” interests, rather than being caught on the wrong side of the market. 

    The Bottom Line

    Technical analysis can give cryptocurrency traders an insight into the past of crypto, facilitating future predictions. But sole reliance on technical analysis ignores sentiment or news. This is particularly problematic with cryptocurrency trading since factors like mining hash rates and governmental regulations can have significant impacts on the market.

    What is technical analysis?

    Technical analysis is a method of analyzing the price movements of a security or asset over time. It uses charts and other tools to identify patterns and trends in order to make predictions about future price movements.

    How does technical analysis work?

    Technical analysis works by looking at past price movements and using these to predict future price movements. This is done by looking at patterns in the data such as support and resistance levels, trend lines, and chart patterns.

    What are the advantages of using technical analysis?

    Technical analysis can be used to identify potential trading opportunities and to help traders make informed decisions. It can also help traders manage risk by identifying areas where they should exit their positions.

    What is support and resistance?

    Support and resistance are levels on a chart where the price of an asset has difficulty either breaking through or falling below. These levels can be used to identify potential entry and exit points for trades.

    What is a chart pattern?

    A chart pattern is a specific pattern that appears on a chart. Common chart patterns include head and shoulders, double tops and bottoms, and triangles. These patterns can help traders identify potential trading opportunities.

    How can technical analysis be used in cryptocurrency trading?

    Technical analysis can be used to identify potential trading opportunities in the cryptocurrency markets. By looking at past price movements, traders can identify patterns and trends that can be used to make predictions about future price movements.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • FTX Japan first to return customers’ funds? FTX Japan’s Plan to Reclaim Deposits and Restart Withdrawals

    FTX Japan first to return customers’ funds? FTX Japan’s Plan to Reclaim Deposits and Restart Withdrawals

    FTX Japan is trying to make customers whole

    FTX Japan is hoping to restart withdrawals for its customers in Japan, who were affected when the exchange had to suspend services on November 8th. This plan was approved by FTX Trading Ltd., the global enterprise of Sam Bankman-Fried, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy three days later. FTX Japan has started development work to allow customers to withdraw their funds, incorporating controls and security audits for a robust and secure process. The company plans to publish information about customer assets held in segregated wallets and in trust accounts each Monday and hopes to announce the resumption of withdrawals soon.

    Quick Summary:

    • FTX Japan is looking to restart withdrawals after a plan to return deposits was approved by its bankrupt parent FTX
    • Withdrawals from FTX Japan were halted on Nov. 8 after local financial regulators ordered the exchange to suspend services
    • FTX Japan had been working on the plan to restart withdrawals for the last two weeks and says it was approved by the FTX Trading management team
    • FTX Japan is set to publish information about customer assets held in segregated wallets and in a trust account each Monday
    • FTX Japan aims to publish additional information regarding the resumption of withdrawals for FTX Japan users in short order

    FTX Japan is looking to restart withdrawals after the approval of a plan to return deposits from its bankrupt parent FTX. The exchange was forced to suspend services on November 8th after local financial regulators ordered it to do so. FTX Trading Ltd., the global enterprise of Sam Bankman-Fried, then filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. three days later.

    FTX Japan has been working on the plan to restart withdrawals for the last two weeks and it has now been approved by the FTX Trading management team. The subsidiary is set to publish information about customer assets held in segregated wallets and in a trust account each Monday. Additionally, they will be incorporating controls, security audit, reconciliations, and reviews to put in place a robust and secure process.

    FTX Japan has stated that they aim to publish additional information regarding the resumption of withdrawals for FTX Japan users in short order. This is great news for customers of the exchange who may soon be able to get their money back. It is also a positive sign for the crypto industry as a whole, as it shows that exchanges are taking steps to ensure the security of customer funds and that the industry is becoming more regulated.

    FAQ

    1. When will FTX Japan restart withdrawals?
    2. How will customer assets be held in segregated wallets?
    3. Who approved the plan to restart withdrawals?
    4. When will information about customer assets held in segregated wallets be published?
    5. Will customers be some of the first to get their money back?