Despite the crypto winter, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) continue to draw interest. This has become apparent as many brands and retailers have started to offer digital NFTs attached to physical products. Known as “phygitals,” these offerings allow real-world products to be tied to digital NFTs. For example, RTFKT — a digital fashion and collectible company — recently launched a project called Cryptokicks iRL. According to sources, RTFKT is creating digitally-designed sneakers backed by a physical product. RTFKT’s official Twitter account recently tweeted that Lace Engine NFT holders will be able to reserve a pair of Cryptokicks iRL, which can then be …

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics announced that it has teamed up with Oorbit, a cloud-based technology platform and PIXELYNX, a company building an integrated music, gaming, and Web3 ecosystem, to bring the metaverse directly into the living rooms of viewers. Announced just in time for #CES2023, we’re excited to announce that we have partnered with @LGElectronics to bring interoperable gaming and social experiences directly to your LG Smart TVs. READ: https://t.co/nppJZe650B — Oorbit (@OorbitOnline) January 4, 2023 The collaboration is set to allow viewers to be able to explore interconnected virtual worlds, concerts, and AI multiplayer games through their …

Singapore-based decentralized finance (DeFi) services firm, Cake DeFi, has announced the release of its Proof of Reserves using the cryptographically-audited Merkle tree method. Developed by Ralph Merkle in 1979, the Merkle tree method is a way of proving that a certain piece of data is included in a set of data, without revealing the entire set of data. Under the proof of reserves method, a Merkle tree is used to prove that a cryptocurrency exchange has the reserves it claims to have, without revealing the exact amounts of each cryptocurrency that it holds, in order to protect the privacy of …

Time-weighted average price is an algorithmic trade execution strategy commonly used in traditional finance tools. The goal of the strategy is to produce an average execution price that is relatively close to the time-weighted average price (TWAP) for the period that the user specifies. TWAP is mainly used to reduce a large order’s impact on the market by breaking it down into smaller orders and executing each one at regular intervals over a period of time. How TWAP can reduce the price impact of a large order Bids can influence the price of an asset in the order books or …

Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, shared in a Jan. 3 Twitter thread he's “cautiously optimistic” about the United States gaining "breakthrough" regulatory clarity for the cryptocurrency industry in 2023. To mark the first day of the 118th Congress, Garlinghouse shared his hopes of 2023 being the year the U.S. gained regulatory clarity for crypto and added support for regulation is “bipartisan & bicameral.” Today is the first day of the 118th Congress. While prior efforts at regulatory clarity for crypto in the US have stalled, I am cautiously optimistic that 2023 is the year we will (finally!) see a breakthrough. A …

It’s no secret that the crypto market was gripped by bearish pressure for the entirety of 2022. However, amid all the volatility and chaos, many positive news stories appeared as well — especially regarding the global adoption of digital assets and crypto-related technologies in general. Looking back at 2022, here are some key adoption-related events that helped drive the industry last year. Polygon accrues 200 million addresses despite challenging 2022 Even though an air of financial uncertainty has shrouded the crypto market since the end of 2021, Polygon — a layer-2 scaling solution running alongside the Ethereum blockchain, allowing for …

Hacking in Web3 is easy because it uses the same pattern that’s been used since the inception of the internet — pretending to be someone else. Due to the complexity and the “cool factor” of Web3 projects, one can easily — and mistakenly — assume that it takes Mr. Robot level of advanced hacking techniques to pull off a successful attack. In truth, however, it only takes a sinister ad placed on Google search results, an impostor Telegram group or a deviously-crafted email to break the security barriers of the Web3 ecosystem. Blockchain projects can use top-notch smart contracts, securely …

Circle's chief strategy officer and head of global policy, Dante Disparte, believes that the turmoil in the crypto sector over the last year could mark the handover of crypto technology to more durable companies and "steadier hands" in 2023. In a Jan. 2 post for The World Economic Forum (WEF), Disparte highlighted the growing use of crypto in the financial services sector and opined that the ongoing bear market and exchange collapses may ultimately be a boon for the industry, paving the way for "responsible, always-on internet finance." "Just as it took the dot-com bubble bursting in the early 2000s …

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has shared some bullishness for the year ahead, including reaching a new milestone for rollup scaling as per the Ethereum roadmap. The Ethereum developer also confirmed the rollout of the Ethereum Improvement Protocol (EIP) 4884 sometime in 2023, which had been removed as part of the upcoming Shanghai upgrade package set for March. Responding to a Dec. 31 post from former chief technology officer of Coinbase, Balaji Srinivasan, asking users what they were bullish for in 2023, Buterin said he was looking forward to reaching the “basic rollup scaling” milestone as outlined in the Ethereum roadmap. …

One of the original core developers behind Bitcoin (BTC), Luke Dashjr, claims to have lost “basically” all his BTC as a result of a hack that occurred just before the new year. In a Jan. 1 post on Twitter, the developer said the alleged hackers had somehow gained access to his PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) key, a common security method that uses two keys to gain access to encrypted information. In the thread, he shared a wallet address where some of the stolen BTC had been sent but did not reveal how much of his BTC was stolen in total. …

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the now-defunct FTX exchange, has denied moving funds tied to Alameda wallets, days after he was released on a $250 million bond. On Dec. 30, Fried tweeted to his 1.1 million followers, denying any involvement in the movement of funds from Alameda wallets. In response to the allegations that he may have been responsible for moving funds out of Alameda wallets, he shared: “None of these are me. I'm not and couldn't be moving any of those funds; I don't have access to them anymore.” None of these are me. I'm not and couldn't …

Mr. Park Mo, the vice president of Vidente, the largest shareholder of South Korean Cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb,was reportedly found dead in front of his home at 4 am, on the morning of Dec. 30. Prior to his death, Mr. Mo had been named as a primary suspect in an investigation launched by South Korean prosecutors for his alleged involvement in the embezzling funds at Bithumb-related companies, as well as, manipulating stock prices. In October 2021, the Financial Investigation Division of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into allegations made against Mr. Park Mo, which led to the …