Los Angeles, California, 8th February, 2023, Chainwire
Right before one of the biggest nights for recording artists, Gala Music, a global leader in Web3 music, ran an Open Mic event to find and celebrate undiscovered talent by holding auditions to win a career-making contract with the company.
Up-and-coming musicians lined the street outside The Wayfarer LA for a chance to launch their careers with Gala Music. Over 50 artists had the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience at the event which also attracted the attention of music industry experts, including Leila Steinberg, artist mentor and first manager for superstar rapper Tupac Shakur.
Given the ethos of Web3 music, the top five performances shortlisted will be streamed and put to a community vote on Gala Musicโs weekly Web3 music show โTop of the Dropsโ This Grammys special episode of the show takes place on Thursday, February 9, 2023, at 12 PM PT on Gala Musicโs official YouTube channel @GalaMusicOfficial.
The winning performance will be rewarded with a music contract allowing the winners to drop music in NFT form on Gala Musicโs platform as tracks while providing fans with direct rewards and unique experiences like concerts, merchandise, backstage access and more. Previous emerging artists have made the monetary equivalent of 2.5 million Spotify streams in just one NFT drop with the platform.
This weekโs โTop of the Dropsโโ episode will also provide live viewers a chance to win two Access Passes to Galaโs 2024 Pre-Grammys Event. The lucky viewer will be flown to LA in 2024 to party with the Gala Music team at a VIP event with flight and hotel accommodations provided.
Gala Musicโs CEO, Sarah Buxton (Bux), describes the Open Mic event: โThis is what Gala Music is all about! The event created a much deserved, and potentially career-changing opportunity for artists in the community. We canโt wait to see who the Gala Music community votes to receive a contract. There are so many talented musicians that Web3 music can help discover and give a platform to.โ
The Top of the Drops Grammys episode streams on Gala Musicโs YouTube channel this Thursday, February 9th at 12 PM / 3 PM ET and other shows can be found there weekly.
About Gala Music
Gala Music is a decentralized music world built for artists, fans and supporters. With music NFT drops, rewards, unparalleled experiences and some of your favorite stars, Gala Music is shaking up the music industry to make it more enriching for everyone.
For more information visit: https://music.gala.com
About Gala
Gala is a world-leading Web3 entertainment company that uses blockchain technology to power digital ownership and rewards, creating a revolutionary new way of building and consuming entertainment.
Launched in 2019 with Gala Games, Gala is the parent company to Gala Games, Gala Music and Gala Film. The vision brings all three brands together in the shared pursuit of offering fans and creators unique and immersive experiences powered by Web3.
Galaโs growing roster of reputable partnerships includes DreamWorks, AMC, NBCU, legendary game developers Peter Molyneux and Will Wright as well as music greats such as Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Kings of Leon and BT under the Gala brand.
For more information, visit: https://gala.com
Contact
Anna Assinder
Gala
[email protected]
Vaduz, Liechtenstein, 8th February, 2023, Chainwire
Coin98 Super App and swappin.gifts have launched their latest plug-in integration and collaboration: the swappin.gifts DApp is now available straight from the Coin98โs DApp Browser under the Utilities section.
Coin98 Super App, a non-custodial, multi-chain wallet and DeFi gateway, is currently one of the most popular digital wallets trusted by over 6 million of users globally.
swappin.gifts is a blockchain-based Web3 platform that offers compatibility with a vast range of digital currencies and tokens, allowing users to buy gift cards for global brands and e-commerce stores. The platform features an extensive selection of gift cards for everyday consumer products, including groceries, medicine, flights, hotels, car rentals, food ordering, and supports all Web3 connected wallets on four major chains – Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Smart Chain, and Avalanche. With a user-friendly interface, customers can easily find ideal gift cards by searching by country and brand. Gift cards purchased with crypto can be redeemed in over 50 countries. The process is simple, all users need to do is connect their wallets, choose the chain, the token, and the gift card, and they are ready to shop. swappin.gifts represent a major milestone in web3-based shopping and offers individuals the freedom to shop for everyday consumer products and gifts using crypto.
A completely new world of IRL goods and services shopping experience for Web3 users globally
The collaboration between swappin.gifts DApp and Coin98 Super App is a giant leap to the future of decentralized retail and a fresh approach to the entire off-ramp mechanism for the Web3 community.
With swappin.gifts DApp simple and robust systems and Coin98 Super App simple and all-in-one wallet, users can shop globally with just a few clicks anywhere in the world without the need to use complicated fiat solutions. 
swappin.gifts in the Coin98 utility DApp browser
swappin.gifts DApp is extremely easy to use inside Coin98 Super App, you just need to search for swappin.gifts in the utility section or via the in-app search and start shopping globally.
Download Coin98 Super App & start purchasing gift cards right away: https://coin98.com/wallet
โThrough this connection, Coin98 makes swappin.gifts more accessible to our 6 million+ users when they have immediate access to the platform. Together with swappin.gifts, we’re looking forward to bringing fantastic goods and services shopping experience to Web3 users in tandem with the purchasing journey in real life. Our collaboration is poised to shake up the digital gifting world. ” – Vinh The Nguyen, Co-Founder & CEO of Coin98 Finance.
โWe are excited about the integration with Coin98 that brings our state-of-the-art solution to Coin98โs 6 million+ users. Our platform combines accessibility and ease of use with a strong focus on safety, security, and trust. We have successfully deployed a smart contract that protects our partners and their users. Marking a significant milestone in our personal journey that took over a year of research and development. I would like to emphasize that our smart contract is non-upgradable, as guaranteed by the blockchain and the availability of its full source code. This non-upgradability ensures the security of the contract’s features and makes them easily verifiable by anyone. At swappin.gifts, we place the utmost importance on safety and transparency. We hope that this integration will set a new standard.” – Ariel R. Abramovsky, Co-Founder & CEO of swappin.gifts
About swappin.gifts
swappin.gifts is a DApp that allows users to purchase from a selection of thousands of different gift cards using thousands of different cryptocurrencies over several blockchains. Built on Web3 and decentralized settlement rails swappin.gifts acts as a new and transformative off-ramp solution with global coverage in more than 50 different countries.
Twitter | Telegram | swappin.gifts DApp
About Coin98 Super App
Coin98 is the #1 crypto super app designed to seamlessly connect a billion users to the crypto world safely and securely.
We offer users across the globe a comprehensive and trusted ecosystem of essential services, including but not limited to a non-custodial, multi-chain NFT & cryptocurrency wallet, built-in DEXs, Cross-chain Bridge & DApp Browser, a powerful Terminal, attractive Earn, Gift & Campaign, and Others.
Download | Twitter | Discord | Telegram | Docs | Blog
Contact
swappin.gifts Office
[email protected]
The United Kingdom has recently entered the top spot for the world’s crypto hub for fintech firms and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). A recent survey analysed factors such as ATMs, taxes, job prospects, and platforms for developing the market, leading to the findings.
The Recap survey comes as Whitehall aims to push central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), evidencing London’s readiness to adopt a working cryptocurrency strategy.
In its list, London rose to first place for 2023, with Dubai, New York City, and Singapore taking second, third, and fourth place, respectively.
The list includes 50 global crypto capitals and analysed each location’s crypto-focused activities, including events and conferences, job prospects, number of crypto ATMs, firms, and others.
Additional factors included quality of life, capital gains tax rates, research and development (R&D), and others. London provided the largest number of crypto-focused employment in the world.
The news comes after His Majesty’s Treasury published a white paper on its proposed framework for crypto regulation. It includes multiple reference points such as stablecoins, initial coin offerings (ICOs), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and others.
The nation has aimed to build itself as a major crypto hub, namely after Brexit, to boost its standing in emerging technologies. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak proposed plans while serving as the former Chancellor to advance the UK’s crypto ambitions.
Los Angeles, United States, 7th February, 2023, Chainwire
DeSo is excited to announce the launch of MegaSwap โ a revolutionary, cross-chain smart service that enables users to securely and easily swap coins between different blockchains with a frictionless zero-login. MegaSwap solves various critical pain points, including onboarding new users and liquidity to any web3 application across any blockchain ecosystem.
In its limited release, the platform has already seen more than $5 million in volume, demonstrating its potential to revolutionize the crypto market with cross-chain swaps.
MegaSwap offers an alternative and safer solution to the traditional centralized exchange model where users donโt ever have to log in or provide sensitive personal information. Instead of storing their coins on a centralized exchange, users can store them in their own self-custody wallets to mitigate the risk of unforeseen meltdowns, such as those seen with FTX, BlockFi, Celsius, or Voyager.
MegaSwap is a simple, innovative solution for developers seeking to build web3 applications on different blockchains. Developers can install its frictionless zero-login API with a single line of code, making their apps chain-agnostic and accessible from any blockchain. For the first time, apps on Ethereum can easily compose with apps on Solana or DeSo. MegaSwap thus makes it easier for liquidity and new users to be onboarded into any blockchain ecosystem.
โOne of the biggest use cases we think will have the greatest impact is onboarding new users that don’t own your coin. That all changes with MegaSwap, where devs can leverage crypto-to-crypto swaps between any two coins no matter what blockchain ecosystem they’re in. This last use case is a great wedge because it solves the biggest pain point for every blockchain dev today: getting new users without making them buy your coin on an exchange.โ โ Founder of DeSo, Nader Al-Naji, explains.
The blockchain ecosystem is currently fragmented, making it hard for users who want to try out different web3 apps. With MegaSwap, users can easily and securely swap between Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin, DeSo, and USDC, with support coming soon for other blockchains like NEAR, ADA, Doge, and more! This makes it easier than ever to move funds between blockchains allowing communities to seamlessly navigate from app to app.
DeSo is committed to creating a Social Layer for Web3 that allows communities to seamlessly transition between different blockchains. The launch of MegaSwap is a testament to this commitment and eliminates a major hurdle preventing the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies.
This is yet another example in a recent string of successes for โโDeSo. Recently, they launched a breakthrough fundraising platform called Openfund that enables entrepreneurs to launch tradeable coin-backed fundraising rounds via the world’s fastest order book exchange.
With the combination of Openfund and MegaSwap, founders and builders can easily fund projects, acquire new users, and expand their reach with a comprehensive suite of powerful tools in the DeSo ecosystem.
They also recently partnered with Princeton University to launch the first-of-its-kind web3 startup competition and have a slew of upcoming releases that will position DeSo as the go-to layer-1 blockchain to build decentralized social media applications.
Additionally, the Social Network Hard Fork just went live, enabling decentralized verifications. They plan to move to a proof of stake later this year, improving performance and energy efficiency.
About Deso
DeSo is a new layer-1 blockchain built from the ground up to decentralize social media and scale storage-heavy applications to billions of users. It raised $200 million and is backed by Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, Social Capital, Polychain Capital, Winklevoss Capital, Pantera, and other blue chip funds.
Check out the full roadmap and claim your username on deso.com.
Contact
Ash Ghaemi
DeSo Foundation
[email protected]
Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has confirmed it will send “confidential letters” to politicians and recipients of donations from disgraced ex-FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried. The letters will request mail recipients to return donated funds by the end of the month.
Debtors of the now-defunct cryptocurrency platform have said they “reserve the right” to enforce repayments of the money with legal action.
FTX Group said in its statement: “To the extent such payments are not returned voluntarily, the FTX Debtors reserve the right to commence actions before the Bankruptcy Court to require the return of such payments, with interest accruing from the date any action is commenced.”
The news comes amid a major scandal involving millions in estimated funds sent to political donation recipients. Following its collapse, FTX’s donor scheme triggered a probe from UK regulators in a bid to return the misappropriated funds.
Britain’s Charity Commission said on 2 February that it had launched investigations over FTX’s donations to the Effective Ventures Foundations. Stating it was a “serious incident,” the Commission added the money could cause additional knock-on effects to other investments.
In the United States, a White House spokesperson refused to respond to reporters on whether US president Joe Biden would return donations from Bankman-Fried. Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller found the President had received $5.2 million in campaign funds.
Bankman-Fried, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, and numerous other executives now face multiple counts of misappropriating funds, fraud, and others. The scandal sparked widespread public outcry and tightened regulations from global governmental watchdogs.
Bitcoin’s price rally of over 38 percent in January owes its successes to high US performance metrics earlier last month, A Matrixport research report said.
According to the document, Bitcoin led to positive returns in five out of the six years where its price rallied in the month of January. Subsequent gains in the respective years saw 245 percent gains.
2014 was the only year that evidenced a decline after a strong January and bull-market peak, it added.
Markus Thielen, Head of Research for Matrixport, authored the study. It added the bull market this year could receive backing from a forecasted bitcoin halving cycle in March of next year.
Bitcoin halving cycles indicate when cryptocurrencies entering the market drop by 50 percent each 10 minutes. This indicates a return to Bitcoin prices around $45,000 by the year’s end, it concluded.
The news comes after Bitcoin rallied to around $23,000 in January multiple times, indicating a return to bull markets. This follows a disappointing bear market in 2022, namely due to the collapse of FTX and subsequent crypto exchanges.
While Twitter is only thinking about introducing crypto payments, users are moving with might and main to ecosystems where it is possible to use cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, with blockchain technology helping to carry out all operations in an automated mode.
More than 1.5 million users from 120 countries around the globe currently prefer to spend their time inside PLC Ultima, a blockchain-based ecosystem born to disrupt the way we interact with each other in virtual space.
PLC Ultima is a home to a handful of services for everyday use making it a solution for everyone and not only those technically savvy. The services most in demand are a crypto wallet with a unique feature to generate new coins via mobile app, a crowdfunding platform and classified marketplace, all rolled up in one decentralized ecosystem. PLC Ultima also offers a crypto-friendly card that serves just like an ordinary banking card.
PLC Ultima aims to revolutionize a vast number of industries, especially e-commerce, by providing all its members with a trustless and seamless platform for interaction online.
What is PLC Ultima?
PLC Ultima comes packed with numerous services and features. As a decentralized ecosystem it operates its own native coins, allowing seamless and transparent transactions without intermediaries or high fees.
Some of the extensive services of the PLC Ultima ecosystem are:
- PlatinDeal
It is a classifieds digital platform where members of the PLC Ultima ecosystem can buy and sell goods and services paying for them with preferrable cryptocurrency. When using native coins of the ecosystem, users receive a significant discount. The site interface is as simple as possible: customers only need to register and then can immediately start buying or selling goods and services, create their own digital stores or go shopping paying for selected items with cryptocurrencies.
- Farm App
As a decentralized system, PLC Ultima operates two coins, PLCU and PLCUX. PLCU is a coin for remittances and payment, while PLCUX is implicit for generating new coins. The process of generating new coins is called minting. Users just need to download two mobile apps, Ultima Farm and Ultima Wallet, register, and freeze a certain number of PLCUX coins in the FARM wallet. Depending on the number of frozen coins and selected license, users can increase the number of coins in their wallets. All minted coins can be spent inside the ecosystem on goods or services or moved to external crypto exchanges.
- PlatinHero
Platin Hero is a crowdfunding platform empowered with smart contracts. By moving all crowdfunding operations to blockchain, PlatinHero eliminates risks of fraudulent projects. It makes a crowdfunding process fruitful to all users. With PlatinHero it’s easy to establish a strong connection with your audience and raise funding for your project, while finding out if the audience shows interest in this idea.
- PLC debit card
PLC Ultima launched a handy multi-coin card, and it can be used in brick-and-mortar and online shops just as if it was an ordinary banking one. PLC Cards can be replenished with cryptocurrencies (LTC, BTC, BCH, ETH, USDT, EOS, BAT, and PLCU) or fiat currencies (US dollar, Euro, Chinese yuan and Japanese yen).
It also differs from other crypto-friendly cards. Unlike its competitors, PLC Card is focused not only on small daily payments, but also on large purchases. PLC Card offers exceptionally high daily limits (up to โฌ150,000).
The PLC Ultima team is constantly working to improve its products and service offerings by adopting and integrating new features into the ecosystem and expanding its utility. With cryptocurrency adoption gaining ground around the world, PLC Ultima hopes to implement more solutions focused on these concepts that will benefit the ecosystem members.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida publicly backed blockchain technologies to boost the country’s economic standing, reports found this week.
At a Budget Committee meeting on 1 February, Kishida explained that the country could tap “various possibilities for using Web3.”
The government could also incorporate non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), and other digital assets. The initiative aims to boost local economies as part of the government’s Cool Japan national innovation strategy.
Kishida said in a statement: โIf you consider DAOs, people who are interested in the same social issues can form a new community. NFTs can also be used to diversify the income of creators and maintain highly loyal fans.โ
Masaaki Taira, the Liberal Democratic Party MP raising questions at the meeting, also heads the government’s Web3 policy watchdog. He has also advised Japanese officials on creating a digital Yen, which it aims to pilot in Spring 2023.
Taira said in a statement: โI think that these types of blockchain technology and technology using Web3 are effective in solving the various problems we have.โ
According to a 2020 white paper from the Bank of Japan, there was a potential “surge in public demand for central bank digital currency (CBDC) going forward.”
This was due to the “rapid development of technological innovation,” it added.
Explaining further, it stated,
“While the Bank of Japan currently has no plan to issue CBDC, from the viewpoint of ensuring the stability and efficiency of the overall payment and settlement systems, the Bank considers it important to prepare thoroughly to respond to changes in circumstances in an appropriate manner. With this in mind, the Bank decided that it would publish its approach to ‘general purpose’ CBDC — that is, CBDC intended for a wide range of end users, including individuals and firms.”
Kishida remains a longstanding advocate of digital assets and Web3 technologies to assist the nation’s adoption of emerging technologies. His efforts come amid tightening regulations worldwide following the collapse of now-defunct crypto platform FTX in mid-November last year.
Spanish police have detained Bitzlato’s chief executive, marketing director, and sales executive, Turkish reports found on Thursday.
Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that Spanish authorities arrested six Russian and Ukrainian citizens linked to the cryptocurrency platform. French, Cypriot, Portuguese, and United States law enforcement agencies coordinated the arrests.
The news comes after US authorities alleged that Bitzlato had facilitated criminal financial exchanges and had ties to the Hydra darkweb.
Police also seized roughly 19.8 million USD in assets, including cash, vehicles, smartphones, and digital assets. It also blocked more than 100 accounts on the exchange platform.
Bitzlato’s co-founder, Anatoly Legkodymov, was arrested in Miami in what it called a “major international cryptocurrency enforcement action” in mid-January.
US and French authorities added that the crypto exchange was a “primary money laundering concern” with alleged ties to money laundering.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ), US Treasury Department, and other French authorities accused Bitzlato of โconducting a money transmitting business that transported and transmitted illicit funds and that failed to meet U.S. regulatory safeguards.โ
The organisations also launched enforcement action against the cryptocurrency platform. The DoJ stated that Bitzlato helped cybercriminals launder more than $700 million USD on the platform.
Bitcoin prices were unaffected by announcements from a Federal Reserve body, remaining roughly around $23,000 following the news, reports revealed.
The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced on Wednesday it had increased federal fund rates 25 basis points to roughly 4.5 percent to 4.75 percent.
In its statement, the FOMC said that the US received “modest growth in spending and production,” along with low unemployment and high job gains.
It also cited the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, which caused “tremendous human and economic hardship” and “elevated global uncertainty.”
From Inflation to Elation
The Committee also aims to return inflation to 2 percent in the long term by raising federal fund rates, with additional increases in the future.
It explained, stating,
“In determining the extent of future increases in the target range, the Committee will take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial developments.
According to analysts, the Federal Reserve could increase basis point rates in 25 point increments once or twice before ceasing measures.
Despite this, Bitcoin remained high amid the news, with Twitter users commenting on the matter. One person stated that crypto had made a “new high” after the meeting.
The user added: “Bitcoin, though, has been stronger than we expected, as it didn’t go down to 22200. After consolidating for a while, it looks ready to go higher.”
The news comes as Bitcoin maintains an upswing in value after recouping from a bearish 2022 market. In January, the cryptocurrency surpassed $23,000 multiple times, indicating a slow return to bullish markets.