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Category: Crypto Trends

Make sense of the news and how it affects the blockchain space as a whole. Crypto trends is a collection of relevant news and insights to help you make an informed decision.

  • Crypto Airdrops Tier List 2023: Discover Rare, Thrilling, and High-Yield Gems to Skyrocket Your Earnings!

    Crypto Airdrops Tier List 2023: Discover Rare, Thrilling, and High-Yield Gems to Skyrocket Your Earnings!

    Welcome to the most comprehensive and up-to-date Crypto Airdrops Tier List for 2023! As the world of cryptocurrencies continues to evolve at a rapid pace, airdrops have become a go-to strategy for both new and established projects to gain traction and reward their communities. In this insightful guide, we’ve meticulously ranked the top airdrops of the year based on their potential rewards, project credibility, and overall excitement. Get ready to uncover hidden gems, maximize your earnings, and be a part of the most lucrative crypto airdrops of 2023!

    Crypto Airdrops Tier List 2023

    Crypto Airdrops Tier List 2023

    We have compiled the top trending airdrops this year into a tier list based on four criteria:

    • Project Credibility — Is the project backed by reputable investors or partnered with well-established, legitimate projects? Is there any public information available about the project team, and do they have prior experience in the blockchain industry?
    • Security — Is it safe to connect my MetaMask or other crypto wallets to the project’s website? Has the project been audited by a third-party security firm?
    • Cost — Does participating in the airdrop require any form of spending or investment, or is it entirely free?
    • Effort — How much time and effort do I need to invest in completing the tasks that qualify me for the airdrop? Are these tasks simple or challenging? Does it require me to be a developer, validator, or just a regular user?

    S Tier Airdrops

    zkSync

    • Project Credibility — zkSync is developed by Matter Labs, a well-known engineering team based in Europe. They have raised $458 million in financing across all rounds, backed by the likes of the Ethereum Foundation.
    • Security — The project has been audited by several top smart contract security firms including OpenZeppelin, Halborn, and Code4rena.
    • Cost — You will need to bridge ETH to the zkSync Era Mainnet via ZigZag Exchange or Orbiter Finance. Swap stablecoin pairs to minimize cost risk. You can also interact with the zkSync Era Testnet using free testnet tokens.
    • Effort — The steps are easy to follow, but it’s recommended to perform them frequently and consistently to be included in the snapshot. Actions involve bridging your funds, swapping and trading tokens, or providing liquidity. The higher the aggregate value, the more $ZKS tokens you can potentially earn.

    Grading Insight: zkSync is the most anticipated airdrop after Arbitrum. Over the past week, crypto users have bridged over $8 million in funds to the network in hopes of qualifying for the airdrop. Moreover, protocols on zkSync will also conduct their own retroactive airdrop, allowing you to earn additional rewards.

    Sui

    • Project Credibility — Sui is developed by Mysten Labs, comprising former Meta (formerly Facebook) executives and engineers. The company has raised $300 million, resulting in a valuation of over $2 billion, with backing from major investors like Coinbase and Binance.
    • Security — Sui’s security architecture is secured by Move, a Rust-based programming language independently developed by Meta. The smart contract code for Sui is publicly available for review and auditing.
    • Cost — Similar to Aptos, you can interact with protocols on Sui with free devnet tokens.
    • Effort — Building protocols on Sui requires coding experience. As a regular user, you can perform simple tasks like staking devnet tokens or minting NFTs until the mainnet launch in Q2.

    Grading Insight: Aptos, also an L1 built by former Meta developers, conducted one of the largest airdrops last year. It is very likely Sui will also follow suit.

    A Tier Airdrops

    StarkNet

    • Project Credibility — StarkNet is developed by StarkWare Industries, an Israeli software company that specializes in cryptography. They have raised $100 million that puts the company’s estimated value at $8 billion. They are partners with some of the biggest names in crypto including ConsenSys and Chainlink.
    • Security — StarkNet is audited by numerous leading security firms like Consensys Diligence and OpenZeppelin.
    • Cost — You will need to bridge ETH to the Starknet Alpha Mainnet via StarkGate. Swap stablecoin pairs to minimize cost risk.
    • Effort — Argent X wallet is required. Bridge and swap assets frequently and consistently to be included in the snapshot. The higher the aggregate value, the more tokens you can potentially earn.

    Grading Insight: StarkNet is one of the highest valued L2 project in the crypto market. More than half of its total token supply will be allocated to community incentives and ecosystem funds.

    Shardeum

    • Project Credibility — Shardeum is co-founded by Nischal Shetty and Omar Syed. Shetty is the founder and CEO of WazirX and Syed is a blockchain architect who previously worked for NASA and Shardus. The project has raised $18.2 million, backed by Jane Street and The Spartan Group.
    • Security — Shardeum ensures security through dynamic state sharding, which makes it challenging to attack due to the random assignment of nodes to shards in the network.
    • Cost — You can interact with the Shardeum betanet with free testnet tokens.
    • Effort — Mint NFTs or swap assets frequently on different Shardeum protocols.

    Grading Insight: Shardeum is developing an innovative sharding technology, and has a very large user base. They confirmed airdropping 25.4 million $SHM tokens to ecosystem users.

    Scroll

    • Project Credibility — Scroll is a globally distributed team filled with experts in zero-knowledge cryptography and distributed systems on blockchain technology. Backed by Polychain Capital, the project has raised a total of $83 million in funding rounds, bringing its valuation to $1.8 billion.
    • Security — Scroll is a hierarchical zero-knowledge proof system, inheriting security from the Ethereum mainnet. The smart contract code for Scroll is publicly available for review and auditing.
    • Cost — Scroll is currently in its Alpha Testnet phase, which means you can use free testnet tokens to interact with the protocol.
    • Effort — Bridge testnet tokens between Goerli Testnet (L1) and Scroll Alpha Testnet (L2) frequently.

    Grading Insight: Scroll is another highly popular Ethereum L2 scaling solution. The team has confirmed creating an incentive mechanism to encourage participation in the network. Start using the testnet now for free!

    MetaMask

    • Project Credibility — MetaMask is the most used Ethereum wallet in the world.
    • Security — All user wallets are secured with client-side encryption. With proper user practice, MetaMask is a reliable and secure option for managing and interacting with Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies and decentralized applications. Their recent audit was conducted in March 2023.
    • Cost — You will need ERC-20 tokens. You can also buy ETH directly on MetaMask using credit cards, Apple Pay or bank transfers.
    • Effort — Bridge and swap ERC-20 tokens regularly with the built-in features in MetaMask.

    Grading Insight: MetaMask is one of the foundations of the Web3 world, which is why its token can be very valuable.

    B Tier Airdrops

    LayerZero

    • Project Credibility — LayerZero Labs is founded by a team of computer scientists from the University of New Hampshire. The project has raised $135 million from the likes of Coinbase and PayPal. LayerZero has a large ecosystem of DeFi protocols including Uniswap and Stargate Finance.
    • Security — LayerZero has commissioned over 35 audits with the most recent audits on Github.
    • Cost — You will need real funds to interact with the protocols on LayerZero. But you can also bridge Goerli testnet USDC between EVM chains using the USDC LayerZero Bridge.
    • Effort — Make small transactions, deposit funds, provide liquidity, swap assets as frequently as you can.

    Grading Insight: LayerZero has a large user base, and is backed by PayPal. It has the potential to be a core infrastructure of Web3 interoperability, which is why its token can be valuable in the future.

    ZetaChain

    • Project Credibility — ZetaChain is built by former Coinbase and Basic Attention Token (BAT) developers. It is backed by Coinbase, Binance, Polygon, and more.
    • Security — ZetaChain employs a novel omnichain approach to mitigate the risks of asset fragmentation and reduce the chances of 51% attacks. The project has been audited by PeckShield, Veridise, and QuantumBrief, and offers a bug bounty of up to $100,000.
    • Cost — The incentivized testnet currently involves testnet tokens.
    • Effort — Request ZETA tokens and swap assets between different chains frequently.

    Grading Insight: ZetaChain is featured on CoinGecko’s list of top airdrops to look out for in 2023. Its points-based system makes it easy for users to track their contribution to the network.

    Mantle Network

    • Project Credibility — Mantle Network is incubated by BitDAO, one of the largest DAOs and partner of Bybit.
    • Security — Its architecture adopts a modular approach to create a seperate, decetralized data availability layer in collaboration with EigenLayer. Smart contract code is regularly audited by the BitDAO community.
    • Cost — The incentivized testnet currently involves testnet tokens.
    • Effort — Bridge Goerli ETH to Mantle Testnet frequently. You can also complete Mantle Quests on Crew3 and Guild for a Discord role.

    Grading Insight: Developed by BitDAO, Mantle is a fully community-driven project. As such, value to the project is rewarded back to loyal supporters and users.

    Polyhedra Network

    • Project Credibility — Polyhedra Network is built by leading engineers, developers, and researchers from UC Berkeley, Tsinghua University, and Stanford University. The project recently raised $10 million in funding, backed by Binance, Animoca Brands, and Polychain Capital.
    • Security — Its infrastructure uses zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) to provide privacy extensions for Web3 with stealth address models.
    • Cost — Only testnet tokens are needed to cover gas fees.
    • Effort — Use Polyhedra CreatorTool to mint your own NFT and bridge them to other testnet blockchains. Repeat the process on different chains to enhance visibility of your on-chain activities.

    Grading Insight: Polyhedra just recently launched its testnet, which means early users are in a good position for a potential airdrop.

    C Tier Airdrops

    Fuel Network

    • Project Credibility — Fuel Network raised $80 million in funding, backed by Blockchain Capital and Stratos Technologies.
    • Security — The system is based on a fraud- or validity-provable computation system that leverages a modular blockchain for data accessibility.
    • Cost — Their Beta-2 Testnet is live. No real funds are used.
    • Effort — Fuel Wallet is required. Swap and trade tokens on SwaySwap frequently. You can also interact with other ecosystem DApps.

    Grading Insight: Fuel has not confirmed a token launch yet. But it is likely it needs a token to support its ecosystem and facilitate the functioning of the platform.

    Celestia

    • Project Credibility — Co-founder of Fuel Network, John Adler, also co-founded Celestia. The project has raised $55 million in funding, backed by Coinbase and Polychain Capital. Its total valuation is over $1 billion.
    • Security — Modular architecture is similar to Fuel Network. Celestia offers shared security to blockchains deployed on it by providing consensus and data availability inherited by all utilizing chains.
    • Cost — Its incentivized testnets require a node with decent internet connection. You will need to set up a development environment to run the Celestia node.
    • Effort — This is more suitable for developers or validators rather than users.

    Grading Insight: Limited access to general users.

    D Tier Airdrops

    Blur

    • Project Credibility — Blur is the fastest growing NFT marketplace on Ethereum, backed by Paradigm. Many Bored Ape holders and NFT whales have moved from OpenSea to Blur.
    • Security — Blur is audited by Code4rena and Dedaub. It uses multi-signature contracts for token transfers. However, Blur has a smart contract risk in its execution module, which only checks if the caller can transfer tokens. Contract owners may add addresses as callers for token transfers, so users must trust Blur before trading NFTs on it.
    • Cost — You will need ETH to bid or list on Blur. The more the better.
    • Effort — The difficulty for the Season 2 airdrop may increase due to heightened competition.

    Grading Insight: Since Blur tends to favor NFT and ETH whales, it might not be the most suitable choice for those looking for cost-free airdrops.

    Key Takeaway

    It is important to note that lower tier rankings does not mean that the airdrop is not good. It is simply because they are not as accessible as the higher tiered ones to everyday users. All of these crypto airdrops are the most trending this year, offering high value to early users.

  • Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade – All you need to know

    Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade – All you need to know

    Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade is scheduled for April 12th and includes key economical changes to Ethereum and fee optimizations that will improve the network. This upgrade is part of Ethereum’s upgrade plan into Ethereum 2.0 – a faster, cheaper and more stable public blockchain. The main purpose of the Shanghai Upgrade is financial – it will allow stakers and validators to withdraw staked ETH from the Beacon Chain, which has been locked since December 2020. Some users have feared that this change will unlock $26 billion USD worth of Ethereum, potentially causing Ethereum’s prices to fall.

    Staked Ethereum is Unlocking

    The key feature of the Shanghai Upgrade is Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4895, which will enable validators to withdraw staked ETH. Validators have staked approximately 16 million ETH to secure the network. Validators can participate in validating blocks by staking 32 ETH in the chain, and each staked ETH increases the likelihood of a validator receiving block rewards.

    Validators have been staking ETH and earning rewards for validating blocks since the launch of Ethereum’s Beacon Chain in December 2020. However, the rewards earned by validators have been locked since the transition to PoS consensus in September 2022. With the Shanghai Upgrade, validators will finally be able to withdraw their rewards.

    The withdrawal of staked ETH has been successfully simulated on the Zhejiang testnet. The Zhejiang testnet is the first of three testnets that will run the simulation. The Sepolia and Goerli testnets will follow, running the simulation in the coming weeks.

    Key Improvements (EIP) in the Shanghai Upgrade:

    EIP-3651: Warm COINBASE – This EIP aims to lower the gas cost of accessing the COINBASE address, which is a software component that allows developers to receive new tokens.

    EIP-3855: PUSH0 instruction – This EIP aims to lower the gas cost of deploying contracts by introducing a new PUSH0 instruction.

    EIP-3860: Limit and meter initcode – This EIP introduces a gas cost limit and meter for contract initialization code, which should help to reduce gas costs for developers.

    EIP-4895: Beacon Chain push withdrawals as operations – This EIP is one of the key features of the Shanghai upgrade, as it allows validators to withdraw staked ETH from the Beacon Chain.

    EIP-6049: Deprecate SELFDESTRUCT – This EIP aims to reduce the risk of contract failure by deprecating the SELFDESTRUCT instruction, which can lead to the loss of funds if used improperly.

    These EIPs will reduce gas costs related to Maximal Extractable Value payments when accessing the COINBASE address, lower gas costs for developers, cap developer gas costs in certain cases, and address a similar concern.

    The Shanghai Upgrade does not include EIP-4844, which facilitates the “sharding” of the Ethereum blockchain into multiple chains to enhance scalability. Sharding is a scalability solution that divides the whole network of a blockchain into multiple smaller networks called shards.

    Validators will have two options for withdrawing their staked ETH. The first option is to create a “withdrawal credential” to unstake their staking rewards accumulated over the past years. The second option is to exit the Beacon Chain completely by unstaking all of their 32 ETH, which is the maximum allowed per validator.

    The Shanghai Upgrade is expected to have a significant impact on the market. Approximately 16 million staked ETH will be available for withdrawal, and traders are paying attention to how the market may move. Some traders believe that the upgrade will trigger a selling wave, with many taking profit once staked ETH is unlocked. Others believe that the upgrade will encourage more staking.

    Conclusion

    The Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade is a minor upgrade for the Ethereum network (albeit a large upgrade in terms of unlocked Ethereum). The Ethereum core developers use this upgrade to stabilize the network rather than to deploy aggressive changes. This is why most of the improvements are smaller quality of life improvements rather than fundamental architecture changes.

    The biggest impact of Shanghai has to do with staking and locked tokens. It will enable validators to withdraw staked ETH from the Beacon Chain, which has been locked since December 2020. The upgrade includes several other EIPs that aim to reduce gas costs for Ethereum developers. While it is unclear how the upgrade will impact the market in the short term, it is certain that traders will be watching how much of the available ETH will be cashed out, which could push the price of ETH down.

  • What is Blur NFT Marketplace?

    What is Blur NFT Marketplace?

    Blur.io is the leading Ethereum-based NFT Marketplace, offering professional traders batch shelf and floor-sweeping transactions, order book NFT transactions, and the ability to browse and purchase NFTs from other marketplaces with instant liquidity.

    What is Blur.io and its Marketplace Fees?

    Blur.io is a professional NFT trading platform that offers a convenient and cost-effective solution for traders. It does not charge any transaction fees and recommends a default royalty rate of 0.5% for buyers, which can be customized or even set to 0. Blur.io is a trader-friendly platform that allows users to easily buy, sell, and trade NFTs with no hassle. It also provides a secure and reliable environment for users to store their digital assets. With its user-friendly interface and low fees, Blur.io is the perfect platform for professional NFT traders.

    Blur’s Team

    Blur is a revolutionary product founded by MIT-graduate @PacmanBlur and supported by venture capitalists Paradigm. It is designed to help users protect their personal information online and keep their digital identity safe. Blur offers a range of features such as password management, secure form filling, and anonymous browsing. It also provides a secure payment system and a virtual credit card to help users protect their financial information. With Blur, users can enjoy a secure online experience and protect their personal data from hackers and other malicious actors.

    $BLUR Token Airdrop

    Blur, the NFT platform, recently completed its $BLUR token airdrop after Season 1 of its incentivization program. Traders earned up to $3 million in $BLUR tokens and the project launched at a $400 million valuation. Blur is now gearing up for Season 2 of its airdrop program, and the best way to earn $BLUR tokens is to use the platform by buying, selling and listing your NFTs. With the potential to earn up to $3 million in tokens, Blur is an exciting opportunity for NFT traders to get involved in the crypto space.

    Blur is currently doing its season 2 of airdrops. Learn how to maximise your potential airdrops with our guide. Blur Airdrop Guide: How to Get Season 2 Rewards?

    BLUR Tokenomics

    Blur has minted 3 billion BLUR tokens, with 51% allocated to the community, 29% to past and future core contributors, 19% to investors, and 1% to advisors. A community treasury of 360 million BLUR tokens, equivalent to 12% of the total token supply, can be claimed by NFT traders, historical users of Blur, and creators. 39% of the BLUR supply will be distributed through contributor grants, community initiatives, and incentive programs, with 10% allocated to the next incentive release. (https://www.smallhandsbigart.com/) The vesting of BLUR tokens will occur continuously according to a set schedule for each group of token recipients.

    Marketplace Growth

    Blur is the world’s largest NFT Marketplace, having flipped OpenSea within 6 months of its release. It has achieved this success due to its user-friendly UI, low fees and deeper liquidity for NFTs. With over 400,000 active users and $1.4 billion in traded volume, Blur is the go-to platform for NFT traders. Its incentives program has helped it become the leading NFT Marketplace, offering users a secure and reliable platform to buy, sell and trade digital assets. With its innovative features and competitive fees, Blur is the perfect platform for anyone looking to get involved in the NFT space.

    Conclusion

    Blur is revolutionizing the NFT market in 2023 with its $BLUR token airdrop providing an eye-watering return on investment and reducing the cost of trading. The project has taken the digital art and NFT market by storm and recently flipped OpenSea in volume. It offers users an intuitive platform to trade, purchase and list their NFTs with no transaction fees or royalties charged, and is backed by some of the biggest crypto funds in the industry. With its innovative approach to the NFT market, Blur is set to become the go-to platform for digital art and NFT trading in the coming years.

  • What is zkSync? The L2 Blockchain.

    What is zkSync? The L2 Blockchain.

    zkSync is a Layer 2 solution for Ethereum that provides unlimited scaling and privacy. It is built on zero knowledge (ZK) rollup architecture and is designed to address the inherent drawbacks of Ethereum such as slow transactions and high gas fees due to limited throughput. Layer 2 blockchain protocols separate ownership from computation, allowing for smart contracts to hold all assets on the main chain while the off-chain component is responsible for computation and storage. As a result, zkSync provides a high transaction rate and L1 level of security, allowing users to transfer Ether and ERC20 tokens quickly and securely.

    Layer 2 on Ethereum

    zkSync Era is the first zero-knowledge EVM for Ethereum, launched by Matter Labs in February 2023. It is an open-source project with an MIT/Apache 2.0 license and offers developers the ability to deploy and test their dApps on the mainnet. The mainnet is currently closed to end users until Full Launch Alpha, the final milestone of zkSync Era. In the meantime, Matter Labs is actively pursuing security audits and bug bounty programs to ensure the safety and reliability of the platform. With zkSync Era, developers can take advantage of the scalability and privacy of zero-knowledge proofs to build powerful and secure dApps on Ethereum.

    Matter Labs Team

    Matter Labs is a Berlin-based startup that has created zkSync, the first EVM-compatible zero knowledge rollup supporting general-purpose applications in Solidity without costly gas fees and performance barriers. The startup has raised over $400 million from two dozen VC funds, crypto incubators, and investors, including the Ethereum Foundation, Dekrypt Capital, Placeholder, Dragonfly Capital, 1kx, USV, BitDAO, OKX Blockdream Ventures, and Huobi Venture. With its innovative technology, zkSync is set to revolutionize the blockchain industry and make it easier for developers to create applications on the Ethereum blockchain.

    ZK rollups VS Optimistic rollups

    Rollups are a type of layer 2 solution designed to increase scalability on the Ethereum blockchain. They allow for low-cost verification by rolling up many transactions into one batch and sending them all to Ethereum in one action. This reduces the amount of data that needs to be processed on the main Ethereum chain, allowing for faster and cheaper transactions. Rollups also use smart contracts to lock assets on the Layer 1 blockchain, providing an extra layer of security. With rollups, users can enjoy faster and cheaper transactions without sacrificing security.

    ZK Rollups and Optimistic Rollups are two different types of Ethereum scaling solutions. ZK Rollups use zero-knowledge proofs to verify the batch of transactions and settle it as final on the Ethereum main chain, while Optimistic Rollups assume that every off-chain computation is valid unless proven otherwise. ZK Rollups have higher transaction rates and cheaper fees than Optimistic Rollups, making them a more cost-effective scaling solution. Both solutions are designed to help Ethereum scale and provide users with faster and cheaper transactions.

    zkSync Features

    zkSync is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum and ERC20 tokens that enables fast and cheap transfers. With a transfer fee of $0.02, a withdrawal fee of $1.59, and a one-time activation fee of $0.44, zkSync is a cost-effective way to scale transactions. It also supports gasless meta-transactions, smart contract interoperability, atomic swaps, limit orders, and native layer 2 NFTs. All of these features are open source and available to developers, making zkSync an ideal solution for crypto exchanges and other applications that require fast and cheap transactions.

    It allows users to send and receive transactions faster and cheaper than on the Ethereum mainnet. It uses zero-knowledge proofs to ensure that all transactions are secure and valid. However, some users have reported slow speeds when withdrawing funds back to the L1 protocol, and dApps are less common due to the high computational power needed to prove every batch. Additionally, there is an issue of EVM compatibility, which further hinders dApps. Despite these drawbacks, ZkSync is a promising scaling solution that could help Ethereum scale and become more efficient.

    Users are able to make cheap and fast transfers. It supports the majority of web3 wallets, including Metamask, Ledger, Trezor, Coinbase Wallet, Fortmatic, Portis, Keystone, KeepKey, and Torus. zkSync has brought cheaper crypto payments for millions of transfers, with over 14 million total transactions and 135 thousand verified blocks. Developers can find extensive documentation and resources to start building on the official website. The zkSync ecosystem consists of around 100 interesting projects, making it a great choice for users looking to explore the world of Ethereum scaling.

    Conclusion

    zkSync is a layer 2 blockchain protocol that enables fast, secure and low-cost transactions. It is a great choice for developers and gamers who want to build on the Ethereum blockchain. The zkSync ecosystem is dominated by DeFi, wallet, bridges, NFTs, and infrastructure projects. Argent, OKX Wallet, 1Inch Network, Balancer, Onto Wallet, Yearn.finance, Curve, ZigZag, Taker, Mute.io, and Reddio are some of the biggest projects onboard. Currently, zkSync doesn’t have a native token, but once it becomes fully decentralized, it will have a native token as a reward mechanism for ZK rollup operators and for staking. The zkSync AirDrop will also come with a native token.

    ZkSync is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum that provides high throughput of up to 100,000 transactions per second. It is powered by Zinc, a native programming language, and offers smart contract interoperability with Solidity. Hacken auditors can analyze and review zkSync smart contracts for vulnerabilities, and the blockchain is secured with a security-first mindset and professional expertise of the leading smart contract auditor. zkSync also runs a self-hosted bug bounty program and may request the assistance of professional bug bounty platforms in the future.

  • The Upside to Prioritizing High Fees: Navigating Busy Networks on the Solana Blockchain

    The Upside to Prioritizing High Fees: Navigating Busy Networks on the Solana Blockchain

    The Solana blockchain is one of the layer 1 cryptocurrency ecosystems that is setting the industry standard for scalability and low latency. With its newfound ability to handle heavy transactional load during peak times, Solana could be opening up opportunities for savvy users to exploit fleeting arbitrage opportunities, or purchase desirable NFT’s before they’re gone.

    Enter ‘Priority Fees’, a technology aimed at stabilizing the network against crippling congestion and data overload, particularly during peak usage times like the 2021 blockchain overload from trading bots. By offering Priority Fees, users can pay an additional fee to boost the speed of their transactions, effectively easing the transactional pressure at any given time.

    Over the past few months, leading wallets, exchanges, and trading pools have adopted the feature, and various projects, developers and institutions have diligently monitored the average fee rate users are paying in to the network. The average transaction fee Solana users paid in a recent epoch was 0.000014641 SOL, though the maximum cost for priority fees was around $24,000.

    A key advantage of the Fee Market system implemented by Solana developers is that it eliminates the need for one-size-fits-all spikes in fees, as is the case on Ethereum, where congestion in one part of the network has an adverse effect on the entire ecosystem. Having distinct fees for distinct transactions helps keep the trading fees affordable for users who are trading non-fungible tokens or participating in an arbitrage opportunity.

    Projects such as the ‘Solana Compass’ offer an opportunity to gain insight into the current metrics of the Solana network and the incentives it offers to users, allowing them to make more informed investment decisions. Jonny Platt, CEO of Solana Compass notes that priority fees are driving more value into Solana tokens as they become increasingly scarce, and users of the blockchain are excited to see the results of the improvements made.

    Priority Fees aren’t the only means of tackling network congestion. Core developers are still attempting to address the ‘spam’ issue with capable anti-spam plumbing, however they warn that until more features that make spamming uneconomical have been built, Solana’s transaction fees won’t be enough to curb the issue.

    Despite its historical ties with the now-defunct FTX exchange, Solana has appeared to successfully bounce back from this minor setback. When compared to activity on the Ethereum network, Coinbase suggests that the SOL token is undervalued and should command a much higher market capitalization given that it is processing nearly 17 times the amount of daily transactions than Ethereum.

    Navigating Solana’s massively busy network can be daunting, but with the implementation of Priority Fees, users no longer have to worry about time-sensitive transactions being delayed or stuck in queues. The upside to this potentially expensive fee system is that it offers users a significant degree of control during high-demand times, allowing them to quickly and conveniently jump to the front of the transactional queue, allowing them to exploit the arbitrage opportunities presented by the blockchain.

  • Alchemy Pay ($ACH) 2023 Guide: Strongest Performing China Coin Narrative

    Alchemy Pay ($ACH) 2023 Guide: Strongest Performing China Coin Narrative

    Alchemy Pay ($ACH) is leading the Chinese coin rally. And data suggests Alchemy Pay prices can go much higher throughout 2023. They are collaborating with the likes of Binance, Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal to provide crypto and fiat payment services. In this article, we will explain what Alchemy Pay is, and why $ACH should be on your 2023 watch list.

    What is Alchemy Pay?

    Alchemy Pay provides real-world crypto payment solutions and fiat on/off ramps for global businesses, developers, and consumers. One key problem in the current blockchain payment landscape is the lack of integration between traditional financial systems and cryptocurrencies. The project aims to address this by incorporating a hybrid solution. The solution is to (1) simplify the use of crypto to access traditional financial services; and (2) have fiat currency access blockchain services and value.

    This will be huge for driving crypto adoption, as it is essentially a network system that allows cross-platform payments. For example, users can use their credit cards to make payments in fiat currencies. Their payment gateway converts this into crypto. This allows users to make credit card purchases while benefiting from the advantages of cryptocurrency. Such as faster and more secure transactions.

    Payment Channels and Strategic Partners

    Alchemy Pay already has a global reach of 173 countries and over 300 fiat payment channels. These include Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, regional mobile wallets, and domestic bank transfers. They also have a massive network of strategic partnerships with many major blockchain networks and services. For example Polygon, Chainlink, Arbitrum, Coinbase, and Bybit.

    Who is the Team behind Alchemy Pay?

    In 2018, Molly Zheng and Shawn Shi established Alchemy Pay in Singapore. Both founders have extensive backgrounds in the financial sector. Zheng previously held the position of senior consultant at PayPal China, and also worked for HSBC China and Mastercard China. In 2021, Zheng was appointed Chairwoman of Alchemy Pay’s Board and was succeeded as CEO by John Tan, the then-COO. Tan was responsible for driving the growth of the project’s payment business. He did this by securing the company’s initial base of merchant networks across Asia. Their team now boasts over 80 members who have deep experience across the blockchain and payments industries.

    The “China Coin” Narrative in 2023

    A growing number of Twitter crypto experts predict a surge in the value of “Chinese coins” in the near future. The easing of regulations in Hong Kong and the potential for quantitative easing in China largely attribute to this. We also see a correlation between massive liquidity injections by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and an increase in the overall market cap of crypto.

    https://twitter.com/NoodleofBinance/status/1626839763155324929

    Furthermore, the announcement of a new licensing regime for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) in Hong Kong has generated public interest in Chinese cryptocurrencies. Even though this licensing regime will not have a direct impact on retail buyers. However, both these catalysts may not have as significant of an impact as anticipated. The uncertainty of the actual size of the monetary easing and the lack of a well-defined concept of a “Chinese coin” remain.

    People are still interested in taking advantage of any potential mini-rally despite these uncertainties. And are actively searching for investment opportunities. Whilst $ACH still has a small market cap, but with strong connections and established infrastructure, it could become a leading contender in China this year.

    Alchemy Pay news

    On 23rd February 2023, Alchemy Pay announced its partnership with Conflux Network. Conflux Network is a permissionless Layer 1 blockchain which connects decentralized economies across borders and protocols. Through this partnership, Alchemy Pay would be able to have an easy fiat on-ramp onto its ecosystem. This on-ramp payment solution will allow people to buy crypto using their local currency, which will give Conflux’s system a higher level of convenience for both beginners and experienced users. By working together, Alchemy Pay will help Conflux expand its reach around the world. Now with 2 of China’s hottest projects joining forces, we will hopefully see a massive boost for both Alchemy Pay and Conflux’s tokens.

    Alchemy Pay $ACH Token and Price Prediction for 2023

    $ACH is the utility token of Alchemy Pay, issued on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token. There is a total circulating supply of 4 billion $ACH. Its primary use is for its partners to pledge their $ACH as an intermediate settlement currency between token payment networks. Also, as a medium for transaction fees. Alchemy Pay coin is required for every transaction. But, businesses and merchants within the network receive $ACH incentives for accepting crypto as payment at their point of sale.

    As of 20th February 2023, we can see from the price chart that $ACH price is gaining a momentum. There has been a 142.1% increase over the past seven days. Technical indicators do show that $ACH is overbought. But its long-term 50 & 200 daily moving average crossover indicates a bullish trend. This suggests that $ACH is likely to continue its uptrend. The pump to $0.041 at the time of writing is partly attributed to news of them partnering with Google Pay. Provided they expand their infrastructure and build more connections, $ACH could deliver strong returns in 2023.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    What is Alchemy Pay?

    Alchemy Pay is a blockchain and cryptocurrency project which aims to provide real-world crypto payment solutions and a fiat on/off ramp for global businesses, developers, and consumers.

    Is Alchemy Pay a good coin?

    Alchemy Pay is a good coin with potential. $ACH is currently at US$0.050599 and its all-time high price was $0.198666. It is currently ranked number 177 amongst all cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization.

    Is Alchemy Pay a good investment?

    Alchemy Pay’s $ACH token is also very popular among Chinese cryptocurrency investors. As with any investment, it is important to do your own research and consider the potential risks before investing in Alchemy.

    Does Alchemy Pay have potential?

    Alchemy Pay does have potential since the Chinese cryptocurrency community views the project so favourably. Also, the Chinese crypto narrative is seen as a huge trend this year, which will certainly give Alchemy Pay a boost.

    Who invested in Alchemy Pay?

    Alchemy Pay completed its Series A funding round in 2022. They raised US$15 million from several investors including Charles Schwab and Jay Z.

  • Conflux Network ($CFX) 2023: China’s Blockchain Project Set to Soar

    Conflux Network ($CFX) 2023: China’s Blockchain Project Set to Soar

    News of potential quantitative easing in China has led crypto experts to believe that there will be a surge in the value of Chinese blockchain projects. As such, Conflux Network ($CFX), one of China’s public blockchain, has seen a whopping 1600% price increase in 2023. In this article, we will explain what Conflux is, and why $CFX should be on your watch list this year.

    If you are interested in another Chinese crypto project, Alchemy Pay ($ACH) is also a top Chinese project this year.

    What is Conflux?

    Conflux Network is a public blockchain platform designed to support high-performance decentralized applications (dApps). It aims to address some of the limitations of existing blockchain networks such as slow transaction processing times, limited scalability, and high fees. It uses a novel consensus algorithm called Shanghai Tree-Graph that enables high throughput while maintaining decentralization and security. The algorithm allows multiple blocks to be generated in parallel and then merged into a single chain.

    Conflux Network also supports a range of smart contract languages, including Solidity, the most widely used language for Ethereum smart contracts. This means that developers can easily port their existing dApps from Ethereum to Conflux Network and take advantage of its faster transaction processing times and lower fees.

    Who is the Team behind Conflux?

    Conflux Network was founded by a team of researchers and developers from Tsinghua University in China and the University of Toronto in Canada. The co-founders of Conflux Network are Fan Long (CEO) and Xiaolong Wang (Chief Scientist). The team also includes a number of other experienced researchers, developers, and advisors from various fields, such as computer science, blockchain, and finance.

    Why is $CFX Pumping?

    The current price surge of $CFX seems to have strong support from retail investors, as indicated by social media metrics and fundamentals. This came as a result of two significant developments made by Conflux:

    On 15th February 2023, Conflux announced that they are developing blockchain-based SIM cards in partnership with China Telecom, one of the largest wireless carrier in China (390+ million movile subscribers). The trial program will first launch in Hong Kong later this year, followed by key mainland China locations such as Shanghai.

    Earlier in late January, Conflux partnered with Little Red Book, the Chinese equivalent of Instagram, to provide NFT services for the social media platform’s 200 million users. The news prompted a 90% increase in CFX’s price.

    $CFX Price Prediction 2023

    Looking at the technical aspects, CFX has experienced a significant increase in price which has caused it to become very overbought. This can be seen in both the daily and weekly charts where CFX’s relative strength index has risen above 70, indicating that the uptrend is close to its limit.

    Additionally, the Conflux Network token is currently testing the $0.28-$0.41 range as a resistance level, which was previously a support level between May and November 2021. If CFX falls back from this resistance area, its price could drop to the range of $0.097-$0.141, which is its main downside target.

    This range also coincides with the token’s 50-week exponential moving average (50-week EMA) at around $0.108, which is approximately 65% lower than the current price levels. On the other hand, if CFX manages to break above the $0.28-$0.41 range decisively, its price could rise to $0.84, which was the resistance level during the May-September 2021 period.

    Will $CFX Continue Its Momentum Throughout 2023?

    From a fundamental standpoint, $CFX is part of the “Chinese coins” narrative that is trending in 2023. With the potential of quantitative easing in China and crypto expansion in Hong Kong, people on the Crypto Twitter space are actively searching for investment opportunities in the Chinese market, taking advantage of any potential rally. $CFX still has a relatively small market cap, but has the potential to deliver strong returns for its investors if its momentum continues. And its momentum will likely continue if continuous development is seen in the Asian market.

  • Aptos vs Sui Blockchain: Similarities and Differences

    Aptos vs Sui Blockchain: Similarities and Differences

    Which Layer 1 Blockchain is “Better”?

    In the past year, layer 1 (L1) blockchains have exploded, facilitating ecosystem pumps throughout the market. L1s have become a viable alternative blockchain to Ethereum, the OG. They offer better scalability, lower fees, native DApps, risky meme tokens, massive APYs and more.

    As smart investors, we know that when an ecosystem is performing well, its underlying token is a great opportunity to make substantial profits. And with the Solana and Nomad hack happening recently, other L1s have become increasingly popular as investors are looking for a more secure and innovative blockchain.

    Aptos and Sui are among the most discussed L1s recently, with many venture capitals (VC) expressing investment interest in them.

    Both show a lot of promise to blockchain veterans as these web3 startups are formed by ex-Meta (formerly Facebook) blockchain developers as well as their infrastructure being based on Meta’s abandoned blockchain intiative, Diem.

    However, both teams have vastly different approaches to tackling the issue of blockchain scalability. In this article, we will compare and contrast Aptos and Sui, and consider which L1 blockchain you should be more bullish on.

    What is Aptos?

    Aptos is co-founded by Mo Shaikh (CEO) and Avery Ching (CTO), both former Meta employees who have years of experience as a senior developer and engineer in the blockchain industry.

    The team behind Aptos, also known as Aptos Labs, consists of an impressive group of PhDs, researchers, engineers, designers and strategists. Moreover, the team at Aptos has been aggresively expanding. They recently acquired several former Solana staff, most notably Austin Virts, former Head of Marketing at Solana.

    Aptos utilizes key elements of the former Diem blockchain as well as Move, a Rust-based programming language independently developed by Meta. Aptos claims the network will be able to process over 130k transactions per second using its parallel execution engine (Block-STM), which will mean lower transaction costs for users.

    See also: Aptos Blockchain Guide: the Next Big Innovation in Blockchain Scaling (Layer 1)?

    What is Sui?

    Sui is co-founded by Evan Cheng (CEO), Sam Blackshear (CTO), Adeniyi Abiodun (CPO), and George Danezis (Chief Scientist). They were former senior leaders of Meta’s advanced blockchain research and development organization.

    They were responsible for creating some of the most advanced open source components such as the programming language, execution engine and cryptography of the Diem blockchain.

    Sui is a decentralized, permissionless L1 blockchain designed to allow creators and developers to build experiences for web3 users. Similar to Aptos, its proof-of-stake network will scale horizontally and organise data such that transactions are executed in parallel. This greatly reduces computational power and transaction costs.

    Although both Aptos and Sui use Move as their programming language, their versions differ from each other, as such that their infrastructure operates distinctively on a fundamental level.

    See also: Sui Blockchain Guide: Revolutionary Scalability Solution?

    Aptos vs Sui Comparison

    Programming Language

    Both Aptos and Sui use Move, a Rust-based programming language, for parallel execution, but Sui uses has a different version of it.

    In short, Move is an executable bytecode language used to create smart contracts as well as custom transactions on the blockchain. According to Diem’s whitepaper on Move, it focuses on two major digital assets: scarcity and access control. Scarcity imposes limitations on asset creations, preventing any double-spending, while access control manages ownership and privileges.

    It differs from other programming language like Solidity because of its use of resources, which is drawn from the mathematical concept of linear logic. In linear logic, formulas are treated as fundamental resources that can only be used once. In the case of Move, “a resource can never be copied or implicitly discarded, only moved between program storage locations“, hence their name “Move”. This mechanism was designed to maximize security without adding complications to transactions, reducing gas fees.

    Aptos generally follows the textbook design of Diem’s whitepaper. On the other hand, Sui has a slightly different object model from Aptos. Its storage system is object-centric, which means that you can see most things on the blockchain, including addresses and transactions. These are represented as “objects.”

    Sui’s version of Move makes it clear when an object is owned, shared, mutable or immutable, whereas Aptos does not. Moreover, Sui’s ownership API is cleaner than that of Aptos, as it shows the blockchain design more clearly.

    Architecture

    Though both Aptos and Sui use proof-of-stake as their consensus mechanism, the consensus algorithm behind it is different.

    Aptos employs parallelization by dynamically detecting dependencies and scheduling execution tasks using BlockSTM, which is a derivative of the HotStuff consensus protocol.

    Sui implements Narwhal and Tusk as their consensus algorithm, which is a DAG-based (directed acyclic graph) mempool used for parallelization at the execution layer. The protocol is asynchronous which means it can withstand DoS (denial of service) attacks.

    In terms of security, Sui has a slight edge over Aptos.

    Scalability

    Instead of home validator case or large-scale decentralization, both Aptos and Sui aim to optimize scalability by maximizing network capacity, similar to Solana. However, the bottleneck would most likely be state growth in the ecosystem.

    To address the state growth bottleneck, Aptos prioritizes heterogeneous validators (constrained CPU and storage), whereas Sui plans to shard data storage efficiently, and scale its resources horizontally.

    Tokenomics

    There are five major components of the Sui economic model:

    Sui blockchain’s economic model (Source: Medium)

    SUI token: SUI is the native coin of Sui.
    Gas fees: all network operations on the platform require gas fees. Gas fees are rewarded to participants in the proof-of-stake mechanism. It can also be used to prevent spam and denial-of-service attacks.
    Storage fund: In order to compensate future validators for the storage expenses of previously stored on-chain data, Sui’s storage fund is used to distribute stake rewards over time.
    Proof-of-stake mechanism: Used to select, incentivize and reward platform operators i.e. the validators and SUI delegators.
    On-chain voting: for voting and deciding on governance and protocol upgrades.

    On the other hand, Aptos has no coin yet and its whitepaper has yet to be published. However, Aptos has launched their testnet in March and its developer community has been very active. For more information on their testnet development, you can read our previous article here.

    Funding

    Aptos Labs has raised $350 million in total from FTX Ventures, Jump Crypto, a16z, Tiger Global, Multicoin Capital, among many other capital ventures. Currently, Aptos Labs has 28 investors.

    Sui is fast catching up after its latest Series B funding round in September 2022. Mysten Labs, the company behind Sui closed a US$300 million fundraise in this round. This brings Sui to a combined raise of US$36 million so far, after adding up the $36 million from Series A. Sui also states that they are currently valued at over US$2 billion.

    Development Status

    Aptos launched its Mainnet in October 2022 and developers can now build on Aptos. They are also currently working on improving the gas schedule in 3 parts. In the short term, to have dynamic NFT gas reduction. Then, in the medium term, to have gas-efficient data structures. Finally, the long-term plan is to adopt demand-driven gas costs.

    Sui has recently finished their Sui Testnet Wave 2. Their Sui wallet is also up and running, albeit in the Devenet stage. Nevertheless, you can install the Sui wallet and request Devnet SUI tokens to try out the wallet. The Sui wallet currently has features such as sending, staking, and minting their Capy NFTs. Users can also register their domain name on Sui Name Service. (https://casadelninobilingual.com/)

    Conclusion

    It is still too early to say which one you should be more bullish on. Both projects have been developing rapidly and have done an excellent job of optimizing its current design. But whatever the case is, Move technology is most likely here to stay as it shows a lot of promise in blockchain scalability and security.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Is Aptos blockchain the same or related to Sui blockchain?

    No, Aptos and Sui and completely different and unrelated projects. The only connection between the two projects is that both teams have previously worked in blockchain development at Meta (formerly Facebook).

    Is Aptos blockchain better than Sui blockchain?

    It is still too early to say which one you should be more bullish on. Both projects have been developing rapidly and have done an excellent job of optimizing its current design. But whatever the case is, Move technology is most likely here to stay as it shows a lot of promise in blockchain scalability and security.

    Is Sui blockchain better than Aptos blockchain?

    It is still too early to say which one you should be more bullish on. Both projects have been developing rapidly and have done an excellent job of optimizing its current design. But whatever the case is, Move technology is most likely here to stay as it shows a lot of promise in blockchain scalability and security.

    What are the similarities between Aptos and Sui blockchain?

    Both Aptos and Sui use Move, a Rust-based programming language, for parallel execution on the blockchain, but Sui has a slightly version of it than Aptos.

    What are the differences between Aptos and Sui blockchain?

    Sui’s version of Move programming language makes it clear when an object is owned, shared, mutable or immutable, whereas Aptos does not. And although both blockchains use proof-of-stake as their consensus mechanism, the consensus algorithm behind it is different. Aptos uses BlockSTM for parallel executions, which is a derivative of HotStuff protocol, whereas Sui uses Narwhal and Tusk, a DAG-based mempool used for parallelization at the execution layer.

  • Visa Auto-Payment on Ethereum: The Complete guide

    Visa Auto-Payment on Ethereum: The Complete guide

    Visa on Ethereum Blockchain

    Visa payment is proposing to use Ethereum and Smart Contracts as an Auto-payments platform in order to increase efficiency and speed. The company published a technical paper detailing its plan to develop an automatic payment system for self-custodial wallets on the Ethereum network. This would enable Ethereum users to schedule auto-payments from their own self-custodial wallets, making online bill payments possible via blockchains. This comes at a very critical time as Ethereum is currently in a series of network upgrades, dubbed “Ethereum 2.0“, that will drastically increase its network efficiency and capacity.

    Visa is also innovating using Ethereum’s account abstraction — combining Ethereum’s user accounts and smart contracts into one account type which allows smart contract functions including pre-scheduled executions for recurring payments. This not only progresses blockchain technology but also brings real-world applications for the general public.

    Limited Payment Options on Blockchain Networks

    Existing blockchain infrastructures do not have the core functionality for auto-payments. In order to send funds to another address, all crypto users must generate a cryptographic signature via their private key. This is an example of push payments, where a payment transaction is manually triggered by the payer. It requires time and attention from the payer.

    On the other hand, there is pull payments, where a payment transaction is triggered by the payee. Automatic online bill payments are an example of this. Most of our recurring payments today are done directly on mobile banking applications or charged on our credit/debit cards. It is very convenient as users do not have to manually settle bills every month.

    Large blockchain networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum support push payments but do not natively support pull payments. Additionally, users might be unwilling to hand over their private keys to a third-party custodian for monthly bill payments. Therefore, Visa has found a solution to enable pull payments on Ethereum, giving users full control over their scheduled payments.

    Smart Contract Auto-Payments

    Visa leverages the concept of Ethereum’s account abstraction to provide self-custodial wallets with automatic recurring payment capability. Instead of hard-coding validity conditions into the Ethereum protocol that applies to all transactions, validity conditions can be programmed in a customizable way into a smart contract on a per-account basis. This means that users would be able to create a whitelist of pre-approved auto-payments on a “delegable account.” This would not require the owner’s signature every time a payment is made.

    Furthermore, Visa also believes account abstraction has other real-world applications beyond just recurring payment such as account recovery services, multi-owner accounts or even public accounts where anyone could make a transaction. But the technology is still nascent and a lot of research needs to be done around fundamental aspects important for digital payments such as security and scalability, which are crucial for crypto adoption.

    Other payment competitors

    As one of the world’s largest payment networks, Visa is actively getting involved in the crypto ecosystem, looking for ways to expand their capabilities within blockchain payments. This could be a huge step towards mass adoption as traditional financial leaders are seeing the potential of crypto in the long-term future of digital payments.

    In fact, more and more global financial services are getting involved in the crypto ecosystem. Last week, PayPal is partnering with MetaMask to allow users to purchase ETH directly in their wallet via PayPal. On another note, Cash App, the number one finance app in the App Store, has also added support for transactions via the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

    FAQ

    What is Visa proposing?

    Visa is proposing a technical paper detailing their plan to develop an automatic payment system for self-custodial wallets on the Ethereum network. This would enable Ethereum users to schedule auto-payments from their own self-custodial wallets, making online bill payments possible via blockchains.

    How does Visa’s solution work?

    Visa leverages the concept of Ethereum’s account abstraction to provide self-custodial wallets with automatic recurring payment capability. Instead of hard-coding validity conditions into the Ethereum protocol that applies to all transactions, validity conditions can be programmed in a customizable way into a smart contract on a per-account basis. This means that users would be able to create a whitelist of pre-approved auto-payments on a “delegable account.”

    What are the benefits of Visa’s solution?

    Visa’s solution would enable pull payments on Ethereum, giving users full control over their scheduled payments. It also has other real-world applications beyond just recurring payment such as account recovery services, multi-owner accounts or even public accounts where anyone could make a transaction.

    What other companies are getting involved in the crypto ecosystem?

    PayPal is partnering with MetaMask to allow users to purchase ETH directly in their wallet via PayPal. Cash App, the number one finance app in the App Store, has also added support for transactions via the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

    What is the potential impact of Visa’s solution?

    Visa’s solution could be a huge step towards mass adoption as traditional financial leaders are seeing the potential of crypto in the long-term future of digital payments. It could also open up more real-world applications for the general public.

  • What Happens to Crypto After They Are Seized? Crypto Forfeiture Laws Explained

    What Happens to Crypto After They Are Seized? Crypto Forfeiture Laws Explained

    As we have learned from the collapse of FTX, the crypto space is not shy of company bankruptcies and criminal activities. But what exactly happens to crypto seized by the government? As smart investors, it is helpful to know how crypto forfeiture laws work, as crypto regulations are on the rise.

    What are Forefeited Crypto Assets?

    The term “frozen, seized or forfeited” in the legal field refers to the state of an asset, including cryptocurrencies. When law enforcement seizes these assets, they are frozen at a specific address. If the government claims ownership of the seized cryptocurrencies, they are considered forfeited.

    The process of “crypto asset realization and legal forfeiture” enables the government to confiscate digital assets for law enforcement purposes by identifying, separating and seizing virtual currencies. With numerous reports of seized assets as well as warnings from leading regulators about digital assets, it is becoming increasingly evident that regulation of cryptocurrency is necessary, but currently in a state of uncertainty.

    How Crypto Exchanges Approach Suspicious Transactions

    Most crypto exchanges have compliance tools to monitor transactions and meet regulatory requirements. Suspicious activity may be detected based on the structure of the transactions, movement of value, or if the source or destination of funds is illegal.

    When a user engages in suspicious activity, the exchange will first request an explanation from the user, and temporarily limit their ability to transfer funds. Since crypto exchanges are centralized entities, they have the power to freeze the user’s funds or ban the user from the platform if they do not meet legal requirements.

    The actions taken will depend on the level of risk posed by the transaction, the user’s response, the user’s previous behavior, and the exchange’s regulatory obligations. Using KYC/AML procedures in place, the exchange will then file a report to law enforcement agencies or financial authorities — in the case of U.S., that would be the Financial Crimes Enforecement Network (FinCEN).

    What Happens to Crypto Seized in Criminal Investigations?

    Once a strong case has been built against a suspect, financial authorities and law enforcement agencies may work with the crypto exchange holding the suspect’s digital assets to either transfer them to a government-controlled wallet or freeze them indefinitely. Sometimes, the assets stay in the suspect’s personal wallet and they may surrender the funds in exchange for a reduced sentence.

    The seized cryptocurrencies are usually kept in this manner until a court decision is made. If the defendant is found not guilty, the assets are returned, but if they are convicted, the forfeiture of the assets is part of their sentence. If a conviction occurs, another process is initiated to determine any third-party ownership of the assets that the government aims to seize.

    Once all ownership interests have been addressed, the remaining funds are sold for fiat currency and distributed among the agencies involved in the case. The funds are usually used for compensating identified victims or going to government treasuries. This process altogether may lead to a dump on the market, depending on the size of the assets being sold.