London, United Kingdom, February 26th, 2024, Chainwire
Launching on OpenSea.io 1st March at 9AM PT
ElmonX is proud to announced of the upcoming release of ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch.
ElmonX, the digital collectibles platform, has unveiled a collaboration to launch one unique drop licensed by Bridgeman Images.
The Scream, 1895 (litho), Munch, Edvard (1863–1944) / The Art Institute of Chicago, IL, USA / Bridgeman Images.
Key Information on Medium:
Public Sale: Friday, 1st March 9AM PT Price: 0.075 Eth (Purchase limit 3 per wallet) Editions: 780 (36 Reserved) License: Bridgeman Images Available: Globally at OpenSea.io
Previous NFTs released through ElmonX feature iconic artworks such as: Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (1503), Van Gogh’s Starry Night (1889), Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker (1904), and Claude Monet’s Nymphéas 1907, among others.
Edvard Munch is universally renowned for his series of creations entitled “The Scream”. This 1895 lithograph rendition is produced using a unique printmaking technique, captures a haunting scene of existential despair against swirling skies. Interpreted as a powerful symbol of anxiety and human turmoil, it showcases Munch’s expressionist style. Licensed by Bridgeman Images and housed in The Art Institute of Chicago, this artwork’s inscriptions add depth to its historical significance.
This is the first opportunity to own ‘The Scream 1895 (litho) digital collectible as a premium digital artwork in 3D by ElmonX. Holders can view and interact with the NFT in Augmented Reality.
There will be a limited-edition release, with only 780 collectibles available. Collectors can acquire these limited digital collectibles using either credit card or ETH via OpenSea.io.
The sale will commence on Friday, 1st March at 9AM PT on OpenSea.io, operating on a first-come, first-served basis.
About ElmonX
ElmonX specializes in the creation of licensed NFT (non-fungible token) art. Their team of skilled artists and designers create pieces that are not only visually stunning, but also technologically advanced. By utilizing blockchain technology, ElmonX is able to offer next-generation collectibles and artifacts that are aesthetically pleasing and verified through a unique and transparent way for art collectors to invest in and showcase their collections.
The company’s focus on art, next-gen collectibles and artifacts reflects their dedication to staying at the forefront of the art world and their commitment to pushing boundaries and breaking new ground. ElmonX’s NFT art represents a new era in art collecting. As blockchain technology continues to gain traction, the demand for digital assets and collectibles is on the rise.
By creating licensed NFT art, ElmonX offers collectors a new way to appreciate and showcase their love of art. Whether you’re a seasoned art collector or a newcomer to the world of NFTs, ElmonX’s pieces are sure to captivate and inspire.
About Bridgeman Images
ElmonX have partnered with Bridgeman Images to bring the “The Scream, 1895 (litho)” into the digital collectible world. Bridgeman are the world’s leading specialists in the distribution of art, cultural and historical images, and footage for reproduction. With 50 years’ experience providing images from the most prestigious museums, collections, and artists. Their collection of assets spans centuries, specialisms, geographies, and mediums including contemporary and fine art, photography, textiles, sculpture, maps, documentary footage and more.
To stay up to date,users can follow ElmonX on social media: https://linktr.ee/elmonx
For complete information, users can visit: https://elmonx.com/
Contact
CEO
Jacob Elmon
ElmonX
[email protected]
Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms has reported a 19% increase in its Bitcoin production for 2023, mining a total of 6,626 BTC.
The surge in production contributed to a rise in annual revenue, primarily attributed to the higher average price of Bitcoin throughout 2023 compared to the bear market witnessed in 2022.
According to a report published by Riot Platforms on February 22, the average cost for the firm to mine a single Bitcoin in 2023 decreased by approximately $3,686 compared to the previous year.
“Riot’s cost to mine Bitcoin for 2023, net of power credits allocated to self-mining, averaged $7,539 per Bitcoin versus $11,225 in 2022, a decrease of 33% year-over-year,” the report highlights.
Moreover, the average value of Bitcoin in 2023 exceeded that of 2022, leading to a revenue increase for the year, totalling $280.7 million, compared to $259.2 million in the previous year.
“The increase in Bitcoin Mining revenue was driven by slightly higher values of Bitcoin mined in 2023, which averaged $28,859 per Bitcoin as compared to an average price of $28,245 per Bitcoin in 2022.”
The crypto market faced a severe downturn in 2022, marked by the collapse of several crypto firms, including major exchange FTX.
Riot’s share price witnessed a significant surge of 47.47% over the past month.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Struggles Amidst Institutional Investment Slowdown
However, it experienced a decline of approximately 10.65% over the five-day trading period last week, with its current share price standing at $14.85.
In December 2023, Cointelegraph reported Riot’s acquisition of 66,560 mining rigs from manufacturer MicroBT, marking one of the largest expansions of hash rate in the firm’s history ahead of the Bitcoin halving scheduled for April.
Other Bitcoin mining firms also reported varying production results in 2023. Core Scientific produced 19,274 Bitcoin, while CleanSpark experienced a 60% surge compared to 2022, mining over 7,300 Bitcoin during the year.
Marathon Digital mined 12,852 Bitcoin in 2023, with a notable increase of 1,853 Bitcoin in December alone, representing a 56% surge from November and a remarkable 290% increase over December 2022.
In more recent developments, Riot, alongside the Texas Blockchain Council, filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, and the Office of Management and Budget for demanding invasive data from crypto miners.
Potential inertia in the price of Bitcoin following the Bitcoin halving could destabilise the share prices of high-cost public miners in the United States, potentially compelling some to relocate overseas.
“We might see a mining stock bloodbath as investors realise these companies are barely making money,” says Jaran Mellerud, founder and chief mining strategist of Hashlabs Mining, alluding to the potential outcome if the Bitcoin price fails to experience a significant rise after the halving.
Mellerud is currently observing the three to four-month period post-halving to gauge the impact on miner profitability due to the reduction in block rewards.
The upcoming Bitcoin halving is anticipated to take place on April 24, according to CoinMarketCap.
It will decrease Bitcoin miner rewards from 6.25 BTC (£234,750) to 3.125 BTC (£117,375), although historical trends suggest a subsequent surge in the Bitcoin price.
During the last halving event on May 11, 2020, Bitcoin was valued at $8,750 and experienced a staggering 430% increase five months later in October, soaring from $11,500 to $61,300 by mid-March 2021.
However, if Bitcoin fails to rally significantly within that three to four-month timeframe, “a significant portion of the network might need to power down their machines, particularly those paying hosting rates of $0.07 per kWh or more,” Mellerud noted, highlighting a notable concentration of these inefficient miners in the United States.
Consequently, Mellerud anticipates a shift in some of Bitcoin’s hash rate from the U.S. to countries with lower electricity rates, particularly in Africa and Latin America.
“My company, Hashlabs, is currently witnessing substantial demand from US-based miners who wish to relocate their machines to Ethiopia, where hosting rates are 30-40% lower than in the United States.”
Concerns regarding profitability surfaced in late January when Cantor Fitzgerald reported that 11 publicly listed Bitcoin miners would not be profitable post-halving if Bitcoin’s price remained around $40,000 (the price of Bitcoin at the time).
Cantor Fitzgerald’s “all in per coin” metric encompasses the total costs a Bitcoin miner would incur in producing a single Bitcoin, encompassing electricity costs, hosting fees, and other expenses.
READ MORE: Solana NFT Sales Skyrocket to Over £5 Billion, Setting New Record High
Nonetheless, with Bitcoin’s price currently standing at $51,000, only four of the 13 mining firms fall below the profitability threshold.
However, head analyst at Bitcoin mining firm Blockware Solutions, Mitchell Askew, informed Cointelegraph that most U.S. public miners would maintain profitability, especially those that invested in more efficient machines during the bear market.
Askew refuted Mellerud’s claim that most inefficient miners are based in the U.S., asserting that they constitute only a small fraction of Bitcoin’s total hash rate, making any hash rate loss negligible.
Nevertheless, even in the event of unprofitability, Askew outlined several reasons preventing U.S. miners from relocating overseas.
“[Many of them] are bound by fixed hosting contracts and must continue mining regardless of profitability,” while others mine primarily to accumulate non-Know Your Customer Bitcoin and are less concerned with profitability, according to Askew.
Mellerud identified Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Kenya as the most promising African countries to attract a larger share of the hash rate in the event of a mining migration.
Mellerud particularly highlighted Ethiopia’s “massive hydropower surplus” and the influx of Chinese miners as factors contributing to its appeal, projecting the African nation to capture 5–10% of Bitcoin’s total hash rate over the next few years.
Meanwhile, Mellerud identified Argentina and Paraguay as the most promising mining destinations in South America.
The decentralised application (DApp) platform Avalanche encountered a significant technical disruption affecting the block production of its proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain.
At 12:02:27 pm UTC on February 23rd, Avalanche’s primary network experienced block production issues, seemingly bringing the network to a halt.
Avalanche’s blockchain explorer indicated that the last block on Avalanche’s P-Chain, X-Chain, and C-chain subnets was produced over an hour earlier.
An official alert concerning the block finalisation stall was also issued by Avalanche. In a status update, Avalanche stated:
“Developers across the community are presently investigating a stall in block finalisation that is preventing blocks from being accepted on the Primary Network.”
Block production is a crucial process for the stability and continuity of blockchain networks, involving the creation of new blocks that validate and record transactions.
Disruptions in this process lead to transaction processing delays, impacting the network’s overall functionality.
In a post on X, Kevin Sekniqi, co-founder of Ava Labs, mentioned that the team is already looking into the issue.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Prepares for Pre-Halving Pullback Amidst Uncertain Timing
According to Sekniqi, the block production halt might be linked to a “new inscription wave” launched an hour before the issues arose.
The Ava Labs executive suggested that the problem could be an “esoteric bug from some edge case” and noted that it likely involves a mempool handling issue with inscriptions.
Sekniqi assured the community that this would be “dealt with swiftly.”
Nearly an hour later, Sekniqi clarified that the issue was a code-related bug unrelated to performance handling.
He explained that while inscriptions may have encountered an edge case, they did not affect performance.
Similar reports of Avalanche’s block production halting emerged on March 23rd, 2023.
At that time, the Avalanche blockchain explorer revealed that the C-chain had ceased producing blocks.
However, Sekniqi clarified that the network had been unstable due to a bug with its v1.9.12 and the team had deployed a fix to stabilise the network.
Solana-based nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have soared to a remarkable all-time sales volume surpassing £5 billion following a surge in NFT trading activity on the blockchain over the past four months.
As of February 23, data compiled by CryptoSlam revealed that the cumulative sales volume for NFTs operating on the Solana network has reached an impressive £5,013,847,972.
The data also highlights the substantial user base within the blockchain, boasting over 2.2 million buyers and 1.6 million sellers, resulting in nearly 43 million NFT transactions overall.
The performance of Solana NFTs experienced a noticeable turnaround after a relatively lacklustre period preceding November 2023.
From July 2023 onwards, monthly sales struggled to surpass £40 million. However, a significant shift occurred from October 2023 onwards.
READ: Bitcoin Prepares for Pre-Halving Pullback Amidst Uncertain Timing
The sales volume for Solana-based NFTs began to exhibit signs of resurgence, surging to approximately £82 million in November 2023—an impressive 192% increase compared to the preceding month’s £28 million in sales.
This momentum carried forward in subsequent months, with December 2023 witnessing Solana NFTs generating around £365 million in monthly sales, marking its second-highest monthly sales volume after the £373 million record set in October 2021.
Despite a slight slowdown in January, Solana NFTs still achieved sales exceeding £239 million for the month.
As of the latest data, February’s monthly sales volume stands at £161 million, underscoring the consistent growth trajectory in Solana NFT sales, amassing over £1 billion in sales volume over the last nine months.
The surge in Solana NFT sales observed in December 2023 coincided with a bullish price trend for Solana’s native token.
On December 26, 2023, SOL reached a peak of £121.45, with a trading volume reaching £5.7 billion, as reported by the cryptocurrency data tracker CoinGecko.
The European Union’s freshly minted Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) is set to make its home in Frankfurt, the financial hub of Germany, with operations commencing by mid-2025.
The AMLA will wield the power to oversee “high-risk and cross-border financial entities” – including crypto firms – should they traverse borders or carry a high-risk tag.
It will collaborate on its supervisory endeavours with financial intelligence units and regulators across other EU nations.
According to a press release dated Feb. 22 from the Council of the EU and the European Council, Frankfurt emerged triumphant as the chosen city for the agency’s headquarters.
Notably, the city is also home to the European Central Bank. Brussels, Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Riga, Vilnius, and Vienna had also vied for the spot.
The AMLA’s general board will feature representatives from regulators and financial intelligence units hailing from all EU member states. Meanwhile, the executive board, its governing body, will consist of the chair and five independent full-time members.
The inaugural comprehensive EU crypto framework, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), took effect in June 2023.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Prepares for Pre-Halving Pullback Amidst Uncertain Timing
However, the enforcement of regulations governing “asset-referenced tokens” and “e-money tokens,” primarily encapsulated under stablecoins, is slated to kick in by June 2024.
Regulations pertaining to “crypto-asset service providers,” encompassing trading platforms, wallet providers, and cryptocurrency exchanges and services, are earmarked for implementation by December 2024.
Simultaneously, the EU has been diligently formulating regulations concerning artificial intelligence (AI).
On Feb. 13, the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Civil Liberties Committees gave their nod to the preliminary agreement on the European AI Act, marking the world’s first legislation squarely focused on AI.
The EU AI Act aims to instate safeguards, inclusive of copyright protection for creators, in response to generative AI models.
Furthermore, it prohibits AI applications that jeopardise citizens’ rights, such as biometric categorisation and social scoring. The maiden parliamentary vote on the AI Act is scheduled for April 2024.
George Town, Grand Cayman, February 24th, 2024, Chainwire
Staking program amassed over $129M TVL in less than 24 hours
Zircuit, a security-focused zero-knowledge rollup backed by pioneering L2 research, launched Zircuit Staking, an innovative program that allows users to stake ETH, liquid staking tokens (LSTs), and liquid restaking tokens (LRTs) to earn Zircuit Points. Shortly after launch, Zircuit Staking has already accumulated over $129M on the Ethereum mainnet and continues to rise.
Zircuit’s community has gained an impressive following of over 112K Twitter followers and 125K Discord members within a short four-month time span. The exponential growth of this community has also led to the early success of Zircuit’s staking program. In comparison, Starkware started in 2018 and only has 229K Twitter followers and $134M in TVL according to DefiLlama. Zircuit is on track to surpass these numbers in terms of both community engagement and TVL.
With the rapid ascent of EigenLayer, Zircuit is leveraging a growing surge in interest around restaking protocols. Less than 24 hours since launch, the program has already accumulated over $129 million TVL, signaling significant interest and confidence in the project.
Through the staking program, users can Zircuit points on top of any staking yield or other existing points. Users that opt-in to migrate their assets to the Zircuit Mainnet when it goes live are rewarded the most. Users can withdraw at any time and keep the points and yield earned, so ETH isn’t hard-locked like in Blast or Mantle. Currently, Lido Finance, Renzo Protocol, Swell Network, Kelp DAO, and Liquid Collective are supported with more integrations to come over the coming weeks.
To participate in the Zircuit Staking program, users can visit https://stake.zircuit.com/
For more information on Zircuit, Users can visit: https://www.zircuit.com/
About Zircuit
Zircuit is a fully EVM-compatible, zero-knowledge rollup powered by the latest research in L2 technology. Built by a team with multiple research grants from the Ethereum Foundation and backed by Pantera Capital and Dragonfly Capital, Zircuit is leading the future of secure chains with sequencer-level security. Users can learn more by visiting zircuit.com or follow us on Twitter/X @ZircuitL2
Contact
Jessica Graber
Zircuit
[email protected]
French football powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is poised to expand its involvement in Web3 and SportFi by assuming the role of a validator for fan token blockchain Chiliz.
Cointelegraph recently journeyed to Paris for an exclusive discussion with Chiliz founder Alexandre Dreyfus and PSG’s head of Web3, Pär Helgosson, regarding the evolving collaboration between the football club and the blockchain platform.
PSG stands as the initial major football club to undertake the role of a blockchain protocol validator and plans to reinvest earnings derived from this position to repurchase PSG tokens.
This strategic manoeuvre is hailed as a means to establish a self-sustaining digital economy for the club and its fanbase.
The Chiliz Chain serves as the underlying framework for Socios, the platform responsible for issuing and managing fan tokens for over 150 professional football clubs and sports teams.
PSG embraced this technology early on and introduced its fan token on Chiliz back in September 2018.
The club aims to explore opportunities within the wider cryptocurrency, Web3, and SportFi realms, with Helgosson leading the initiative.
In November 2023, venture capital firm Animoca Brands joined Chiliz Chain as a validator for its proof-of-stake protocol, subsequent to Chiliz’s overhaul of its tokenomics model.
This revamp included the introduction of a new inflation-staking rewards mechanism for CHZ holders and the integration of the transaction fee protocol burning scheme EIP-1559.
READ MORE: Ethena Labs’ High Yield Stablecoin Sparks Investor Concerns in Crypto Community
Helgosson informed Cointelegraph that PSG intends to employ its accumulated revenue as a node validator to conduct PSG fan token buybacks from public marketplaces.
These buybacks will be automated and executed through smart contracts via its validator and decentralized exchanges on the Chiliz Chain.
The initiative aims to augment revenue from the club’s validator through gas fees and supply inflation, which are then reinvested into PSG tokens.
The club seeks to replenish its token reserves to foster a self-sustaining economy:
“We’re aiming to build a sustainable tokenomics model together where the club, because of our role as a node validator, can use the profits to buy back fan tokens and use them to reinvest back into the fan ecosystem.”
Helgosson anticipates that this move will yield rewards, introduce new utilities, functions, products, and services beneficial to PSG tokenholders, sponsors, and players.
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) – Japan’s primary financial regulator – has elucidated its stance on peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto transactions following its latest directives to local banks.
In its missive on 14th February, the FSA urged banks to “further bolster their user protection” by “halting transfers to crypto-asset exchange service providers if the sender’s name differs from the account name.”
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, this could impede P2P transfers in the nation as they typically involve distinct users at the sending and receiving ends.
Responding to a query from Cointelegraph, the FSA clarified that its directive does not encompass “transactions from one individual to another”:
“We issued the request with the aim of asking banks and other financial institutions to strengthen measures against unlawful money transfers in cases where an individual deposits cash from the individual’s bank account to an account of a crypto asset exchange service provider.”
READ MORE: Ethena Labs’ High Yield Stablecoin Sparks Investor Concerns in Crypto Community
According to the FSA, these measures have already been adopted by several financial institutions, although the agency has not received any reports of specific cases that would raise “concerns over crypto asset markets.”
The FSA’s recommendations “are not uniformly obligatory” for all financial institutions. Banks are expected to deliberate and determine specific measures based on their circumstances.
Japan’s neighbour, South Korea, is also taking proactive measures to combat crypto fraud.
Its Financial Intelligence Unit will introduce a pre-emptive trading suspension system for suspicious transactions on platforms already operating in the country.
This will halt transactions even during the pre-investigation phase.
On the 15th of February, Coinbase released its earnings report for the final quarter of 2023, indicating a promising outlook for the company in the upcoming year, primarily driven by Bitcoin trading.
Their technology expenses in 2023 decreased by $1 billion compared to 2022, while the company’s net income and earnings (EBITDA) are showing positive trends.
Up until 2021, various crypto assets competed for investor attention on the platform.
However, over the past two years, both retail and institutional trading volumes have dwindled, with Bitcoin and Ethereum emerging as the dominant favourites in the cryptocurrency realm.
Despite this, other cryptocurrencies still generate significant investor interest, contributing to nearly half of the company’s transaction revenues.
Stablecoins have also shown promising growth on the Coinbase platform, accounting for 22% of revenues in a year where subscriptions and services made up almost half of the company’s earnings.
Retail investor transactions, which previously constituted the majority of revenue, now make up less than half of net revenue, with subscriptions and services displaying strong growth trends to offset declines in transactions.
READ MORE: Ethena Labs’ High Yield Stablecoin Sparks Investor Concerns in Crypto Community
Custodial fees, earned through cash balances invested into cryptos, have seen a year-on-year decline, possibly indicating a waning interest in cryptocurrencies among investors due to conversion challenges to fiat currencies.
However, the significant trading volumes witnessed in recently launched Bitcoin ETFs suggest a positive outlook for cryptocurrencies as investments.
Despite not being accounted for in this earnings release, Coinbase’s custodianship of eight out of the 11 Bitcoin ETFs launched positions it for substantial growth as investor interest in these ETFs increases.
One challenge for Coinbase in the Bitcoin ETF market is the potential entry of other exchanges with their custodial platforms.
The company’s response to this challenge remains undisclosed, but significant announcements may be expected in the future.
Speculation around cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin and Ethereum creates additional opportunities for Coinbase.
The launch of “International Markets” and the introduction of regulated derivatives through Coinbase Financial Markets (CFM) further expand the company’s offerings.
The Base platform, launched in August, operates as a layer-2 blockchain on Ethereum, facilitating efficient conversion between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies for real-world use.
Coinbase’s vision, as outlined by CEO Brian Armstrong in 2016, includes enabling various financial services through apps, including investing, loans, and global remittances.
With Base ranking as the fourth-largest L2 player by total value locked on Ethereum, there’s significant potential for its utility, particularly in facilitating cheaper remittances through interconnected networks.
With its international market exposure and diverse offerings, Coinbase appears well-positioned to capitalise on various opportunities in the near future.