Crypto Pirates

"We truly wanted to be modelled by NBA Top Shot." "A community that was creating collective value by putting participants under an individual umbrella," stated Max Fergus, CEO and Founder of LÜM.

LÜM, a music platform based in the United States, is slated to unveil 25 partnerships with well-known musicians as part of a relaunch incorporating NBA Top Shot's Dapper Labs later this quarter.

LÜM was launched in 2018 and grew to over 200,000 members with a platform that offered services including social media, music streaming, and micro-tipping to its partnered musicians and followers.

According to Crunchbase data, the company has raised approximately $4.4 million in funding since 2018, and has teamed with prominent R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo in 2020.

However, LÜM is abandoning that business model and will relaunch in March on Dapper Labs' Flow blockchain, with an emphasis on musician-related NFTs.

LÜM will first launch an NFT marketplace and fan engagement platform, as well as NFTs branded "Access Passes."

Users of the site will be able to purchase and trade NFTs associated with their favourite musicians, while long-term hodlers will be rewarded with benefits like as priority access to artists' future NFT drops, unique content, and live entertainment experiences.

Musicians will be able to create their own groups and offer their own Access Passes to crowdfund initiatives such as new record releases. According to LÜM, artists are not required to sign away any rights or intellectual property to middlemen.

By 2022, the goal is to have 100 artists on board.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, LÜM CEO and founder Max Fergus remained tight-lipped about who the 25 artists will be for the launch, but stated that the overall goal is to onboard 100 top musicians in 2022 to "catalyse the mass adoption of blockchain-enabled technology by artists, and fans," with the long term goal of partnering with more than 10,000 musicians.

According to Fergus, LÜM opted to collaborate with Dapper Labs and launch on Flow due to the successful and user-friendly paradigm of previous blockchain-based NFTs initiatives such as NBA Top Shot:

"We definitely wanted to model ourselves after NBA Top Shot." A community that was creating collective value by bringing participants together under a single canopy."

NBA Top Shot is the most popular NFT project on Flow, with more over $848.3 million in secondary sales since its introduction in late 2020, according to CryptoSlam data.

According to Fergus, LÜM's move to blockchain was part of a campaign to support "revolutionary" Web3 technology, and he believes the sector's impact on the music industry will be as dramatic as the transition from vinyl records to internet streaming.

"I'd put it on a comparable level to that." It's a completely new method of not only enjoying artists and music, but also of expanding the overall addressable market."

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Chris Laurent was having dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the Hunter Valley, NSW, a few years ago, when he saw an advertisement for a horse available for stud.

He mistook it for a horse for sale, but the ad was actually offering the owner of a female horse the opportunity to breed their mare with it for tens of thousands of dollars.

It sparked an idea in him.

He'd been trying to come up with a new innovation using the then-emerging blockchain – the 'distributed ledger' technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin – with a background in marketing, gaming, and the gambling industry.

He had come across Cryptokitties, a 2017 internet craze widely regarded as the origin of what are now known as NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, during his research. He combined the two ideas to create what is now one of the most talked-about trends in the crypto world.

Zed Run is a digital horse racing platform where users can buy, race, breed, and sell horses that have been minted on the blockchain and thus have immutable qualities. Most importantly, the user has the opportunity to strike it rich if their horse turns out to be a world-beater (the most lucrative sale of a Zed Run horse fetched US$420,000).

The company is backed by some of Silicon Valley's most prominent venture capitalists and has emerged as a rising star in the world of crypto-powered gaming.

The horses' characteristics are determined by code that runs on the blockchain and is known as smart contracts.

"The traits are baked into the smart contract - like genetics," says Geoff Wellman, co-founder of Virtually Human, the Sydney-based studio behind Zed Run.

"It's not completely revealed until the horse starts racing," he told Yahoo Finance.

To some extent, the horse's success is determined by how the owner uses it.

"It's not based solely on the horse; it's based on the user understanding the horse's capabilities as quickly as possible," Wellman explained.

A horse, for example, may prefer sprinting over a certain distance.

"The sooner you figure out what its preferences are, the sooner you can pick which races are better suited to it and give it the best chance of winning."

Users earn money by winning races, which vary in cost, or by breeding or selling horses in their stable with other players.

When it comes to races, the platform employs an algorithm that generates 10,000 random outcomes and chooses one as the race conditions.

The emergence of 'breathing NFTs'

Unlike NFT artworks, which have recently received attention for some eye-watering sales, Zed Run combines gamification with its "animated" or "breathing NFTs." The formula is proving to be extremely popular.

Zed Run had fewer than 500 active users a year ago. According to the company, on its best days near the end of 2021, it could hit 30,000 in a single day.

That growth was undoubtedly fueled by a New York Times article headlined "Digital horses are the talk of the crypto world" in May of last year.

Jonathan, a 34-year-old sustainability consultant from Sydney, began investing in Zed Run with two friends in August of last year.

They have invested A$27,000 in their stable and made approximately $9,000 in race profits between the three of them – one in Canberra, one in Sydney, and one in New York.

"A friend of mine recently purchased a horse and sent me a video... "It just seemed really interesting," Jonathan explained to Yahoo Finance.

"I had some Ethereum (the cryptocurrency used in Zed Run) and figured, 'Why not?'"

SkyWhalePapa, named after Canberra's famous hot air balloon, is the trio's stable, which has about eight horses that are still tied to the market price of Ethereum.

"The continued exposure to the Ethereum price and the potential for horses to increase in value appeared to be a win-win... which they sometimes aren't," Jonathan admits.

The trio initially had success breeding their horses by focusing on a limited breed on the platform, earning about $1,300 each time a foal was born (there are limits to how much a horse can breed).

However, it is a strategy that has since lost the necessary demand in the Zed Run market.

"There may be new strategies, or attitudes towards breeds may change," Jonathan speculated.

The metaverse's version of horse racing

Wellman, whose Twitter bio describes himself as a "Metaverse contributor," sees the studio as part of a growing wave of companies pursuing the digital future envisioned by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg.

The metaverse is described as the next evolution of the internet and is loosely imagined as a network of distributed 3D online worlds where people can connect as if they were talking in real life.

It probably has as many detractors as supporters, but there's no denying its growing allure in the tech world. 

According to The New York Times, established tech companies like Google and Apple are increasingly concerned about losing talent to Web3 crypto start-ups.

Brian Roberts, Lyft's chief financial officer, has left the ride-hailing company to join OpenSea, a cryptocurrency marketplace where Zed Run horses and other NFTs can be bought and sold.

"I've seen enough cycles and paradigm shifts to be aware when something this significant is just emerging," he told The New York Times last month.

"In terms of NFTs and their impact, we are on Day 1."

Meanwhile, Apple employees are tweeting about leaving the tech behemoth to focus solely on their crypto projects.

Much of this blockchain-backed craze is still in its early stages, including Zed Run, which is still in beta.

"When we look at Zed Run and the state of the ecosystem, we know there is so much more to do," the company said on New Year's Eve in a blog post.

While Zed Run initially took a cut of the race fees, it is transitioning to a sponsorship and advertising model – similar to real-world racing – as it expands the platform. And, thanks to some serious financial backing, it has a long runway to realise that dream.

It announced in July that it had raised $27 million from venture capitalists, including funding from Silicon Valley heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz.

This week, Virtually Human Studio announced the acquisition of Spectre Studios, one of Australia's leading virtual production companies, on Tuesday.

"Our vision is unrivalled and unwavering," said founder Chris Laurent on social media at the end of 2021.

The race has only just begun for Zed Run – and, arguably, the world of NFTs.

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The pixels are large and chunky. A large number of pixels are present. When you visit most of the early crypto metaverses, such as Decentraland and The Sandbox, you will see something similar. Avatars are straightforward. The graphics are a little rough. The ambitions are lofty, and the future may be bright, but the actual aesthetics are still in their "early days," to put it mildly.

Neon District is another option.

The Neon District is a hybrid of the crypto metaverse and the role-playing video game. It merely appears to be different. The visuals are stunning, but also hauntingly bleak – a cyberpunk dystopia filled with thieves, hackers, guilds, and assassins. It's pitch black outside. It's actually quite lovely. "What if we made a cyberpunk Final Fantasy 7?" Marguerite deCourcelle, aka "Coin Artist," the CEO and co-founder of Blockade Games, the company building Neon District that recently raised $5 million, had the original idea. (Among the investors are Roham Gharegozlou of Dapper Labs and Animoca Brands.)

"The current version of the game is very rudimentary," says Blockade's chief technology officer and co-founder, Ben Heidorn. According to Heidorn, even with the raw prototype, an average of 33,000 gamers play it every day. Perhaps they're playing because it looks and feels like a game, a game with a real story and emotion. A game that simply... appears to be undeniably cool.

DeCourcelle deserves credit for this. DeCourcelle, a former gallery director, was among the first – if not the very first – artists to create cryptographic art puzzles, beginning with "Dark Wallet" in 2014, a digital painting that concealed a key to 3.4 bitcoin. She read "Snow Crash" and "Ready Player One" around that time.

"It dawned on me that bitcoin had real-world value, but could be used anywhere on the internet," says deCourcelle, who began to imagine a crypto-infused metaverse.

DeCourcelle experimented further. Her crypto puzzles were published in Andreas Antonopoulos' "Mastering Bitcoin," one of the first influential books on blockchain. In 2015, she unveiled "The Legend of Satoshi Nakamoto," a collection of art puzzles that included one painting containing the key to 4.87 bitcoin, which was worth $1,200 at the time. (She frequently gave her bitcoin away.)

Crypto experts rushed to solve the puzzle. For a week, however, no one was able to solve the puzzle. After that, it will be a month. After that, it'll be a year. "The Legend of Satoshi Nakamoto" became a legend in its own right, going unsolved for nearly three years. Meanwhile, bitcoin's value has skyrocketed. The jackpot was increased to $100,000. DeCourcelle began to consider the puzzle to be a "sword in the stone." Is there anyone who deserves it?

Finally, in January 2018, an unidentified programmer cracked the code and claimed the prise. DeCourcelle was thrust into the spotlight when mainstream media outlets such as Vice and the BBC covered the story. That burst of publicity would be life-altering. The publicity quickly drew the attention of "Pine," an anonymous benefactor who established the "Pineapple Fund," which donated $50 million to charitable causes.

By the time Pine contacted deCourcelle, the majority of the $50 million had already been distributed. "However, for his final giveaway, he wanted to give it to the community," deCourcelle says. Pine specifically requested that deCourcelle devise a series of challenges and puzzles that would award additional bitcoin. As a result, he funded the "Pineapple Arcade," which resulted in eight crypto-arcade games, including a crypto Pac-Man ("CoiinMan") and a crypto Space Invaders ("DAO Invaders"). "We did everything in a month and a half, and it was insane," says deCourcelle.

The idea for Blockade Games arose. Heidorn and Diego Rodriguez (now the lead artist), a longtime crypto-artist who worked at Bitcoin Magazine in 2012, were among the early members of the team. "I was doing Bitcoin art without realising it was Bitcoin art," says Rodriguez, who met Vitalik Buterin, a computer programmer and one of the Ethereum network's founders, briefly while writing for Bitcoin Magazine.

So, in early 2018, the core team of deCourcelle, Heidorn, and Rodriguez started brainstorming ideas for Neon District. The setting: "300 to 400 years in the future." The planet has been devastated by climate change. Some cities, such as "Unity," a haven for the well-heeled and privileged, have shielded themselves from the damage. You're not a member of Unity. The majority of Neon District's gameplay takes place outside of the protected area, where you explore the Mad Max-inspired wastelands.

Anyone who enjoys role-playing games will recognise the game's mechanics. To begin, choose a character class, such as Demons (combat specialists), Ghosts (assassins), or Jacks (hackers). After that, you form a team. You can earn or buy new skills, weapons, and "cards" to use in battle over time. You have the option of spending money to build your squad and upgrade your characters, but you are not required to do so.

DeCourcelle valued this. "Neon District is the only free-to-play blockchain game," she explains, adding that while some games provide a free starter kit, in order to compete, you must spend money. "The Neon District truly is free." You don't need anything to get started. You can complete the game and win without spending any money."

What is your aim? In the "Neon Pizza" mode, you can play one of two roles: either go on missions to deliver pizza or ambush the people delivering pizza. Heidorn admits that this mode of entry is "extremely simple." That will change in the near future. Heidorn proposes the following scenario: Assume you've been assigned the task of stealing money from a bank. After completing the steps to gain access to the vault, which include deactivating a robot guard, you learn that the money you're stealing will be donated to charity. "You must make a moral decision," says Heidorn. These decisions would then affect how the game would be played in the future.

In theory, your chain of moral decisions – which may alter your characters' non-fungible tokens – will have long-term consequences. If you betray a hacker, it may complicate a future mission. These are the kinds of engrossing choices, stories, and narrative arcs that kept me playing RPGs like Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Knights of the Old Republic for inexcusably long periods of time.

Then you incorporate NFTs. Then you include a neighbourhood. deCourcelle envisions a "creator economy" of gamers who customise their characters and build assets, form alliances, and eventually change the world and the story of Neon District itself. They're even considering 3D rendering for the game.

The game hasn't arrived... yet. However, it demonstrates intriguing potential, implying that there are numerous paths to the metaverse's future. The future could be an open blank canvas like Decentraland, a centralised monster like Meta, or a game with a highly specific tone and personality like Neon District. (Or maybe it's a combination of the three.)

What are deCourcelle's objectives? Her resolutions for the New Year are straightforward. 1) Get up at 6:30 a.m., 2) refrain from drinking "except if offered at dinner," 3) arrive home by midnight every night, and 4) "found a billion-dollar company."

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The global value of the cryptocurrency market has reached $2.37 trillion, surpassing Apple's market capitalisation of $2.33 trillion. With numerous exploratory talks and efforts underway, major banks and governments are beginning to dip their toes in the crypto water. Many people still see crypto currencies as a tool used by criminals as the primary currency of the dark web for ransomware payments and the buying and selling of illicit goods and services. While some of this is correct, crypto currency is not solely used for criminal purposes. In fact, 2021 will be the first year that Bitcoin will be recognised as a national currency. If history has taught us anything, it is that criminal activity and fraud always follow the money. The purpose of this press is not to argue for or against the use of crypto currency; however, given the current state of the crypto industry, both organisations and consumers should be aware of the risks.

How frequently have you forgotten your password? When it comes to crypto currencies, forgetting one's password takes on a whole new meaning. This risk isn't just about forgetting one's password, even if you think it won't happen to you because you use a password vault. While there are no known security flaws in your password vault, malware is increasingly targeting exchanges and stealing credentials – your password can be stolen simply by being infected. Of course, this type of attack is not limited to crypto currencies, but many crypto exchanges do not provide the same level of anti-fraud protection that traditional banks do.

A crypto currency can be created by anyone with a little programming knowledge. As a result, many scammers are taking advantage of the overall increase in popularity and people's genuine "fear of missing out" (especially those that were not early investors in Bitcoin). The Squid Game Token in 2021 was a prime example of this. Unfortunately, these types of scams are all too easy to set up and exploit as people rush to get in on the next big thing in crypto.

Another popular scam this year was the use of initial coin offerings (ICOs) to raise funds outside of the traditional funding systems available. While some may see this as simply fools parting with their money, it simply shows that the crypto market is still the wild, wild west, and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

As the popularity of cryptocurrency grows, so will the attention of bad actors, whether they are nation states, malicious hackers, or fraudulent entities. One of the inherent challenges of cryptocurrency is the lack of standardisation and, dare I say, regulation. Not all crypto currencies are created equal, and neither are exchanges. This year's example was the two billion dollars stolen from the fraudulent Thordex exchange. Unfortunately, one must be concerned about more than just fraudulent exchanges. Because crypto currency is entirely software-driven, the entire crypto currency ecosystem is vulnerable to the same vulnerabilities that have plagued the software industry as a whole. Bitmart recently experienced a significant breach in which an estimated $150 million was stolen. Poly Networks was the victim of an attack in which an estimated US $600 million was stolen; while much of this was eventually returned, this should not have been expected.

Crypto currency has even resulted in the creation of a new type of malware: crypto miners. These rogue applications steal CPU cycles and use the resources of the targeted machine to mine for various crypto currencies as a source of passive income. One only needs to consider the major Log4j vulnerability to understand the massive exposure that this creates.

So, what can we expect in 2022 and beyond? Unfortunately, I believe that criminal activity in the crypto currency industry will continue to rise. As crypto currency adoption grows and becomes more integrated into commercial activities, so will the criminal activity targeting this complex supply chain. While some of the risks are shared by many of our traditional monetary systems, crypto currency in its current form introduces additional risks that everyone should be aware of before jumping in with both feet.

Those who choose to participate in the crypto currency market should always read the fine print, fully understand the risks involved, and never invest more than they are willing to lose. As this remains a popular attack vector for malware authors, it is critical for organisations to maintain visibility into how their computing resources are being used and who/what they are communicating with in order to prevent rogue crypto mining activities.

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In a new class-action lawsuit filed against EthereumMax, Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce is also named as a defendant.

According to a new class-action lawsuit filed in California Federal Court, New York resident Ryan Huegerich is suing the company behind the EthereumMax (EMAX) cryptocurrency, as well as the celebrities who backed it, for pushing a "pump-and-dump scam." He claims to be acting on behalf of everyone who purchased EMAX coins, also known as ERC-20 tokens, between May 14 and June 27, 2021.

Huegerich has not disclosed how much money he spent on EMAX, but he claims to have "suffered investment losses as a result of Defendants' conduct." Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather, and former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce are among those accused of "unjust enrichment" from "aiding and abetting" EMAX. According to the complaint, Huegerich claims their actions violate California's Unfair Competition Law, which prohibits "any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practise," as well as California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Representatives for Huegerich, EMAX, Mayweather, and Pierce did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Rolling Stone. Kardashian's representative declined to comment.

The problems appear to have begun less than two weeks after EMAX went live on May 14. Pierce, who had recently been fired from his job as an ESPN analyst after posting a stripper-filled video on Instagram, publicly positioned EMAX as his saviour during a difficult time. "I don't require you. "I got @ethereum max," he tweeted on May 26, adding that becoming his own boss had "set me free." "I've made more money with this cryptocurrency in the last month than I have with you in a year."

On the same day, EMAX announced that it was the "exclusive cryptocurrency" for purchasing tickets to the then-upcoming boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul, which was scheduled for June 6. The company provided a link to a fight website that listed a variety of perks for purchasing tickets with EMAX in a press release. According to the legal complaint, people who paid more than $5,000 in a single order were promised "authentic, signed Floyd Mayweather boxing gloves," as well as a 10% discount at checkout, exclusive access to two front-row, ringside tickets — and the chance to win a lottery to attend the "official Mayweather after-party."

When compared to the previous day, the volume of EMAX tokens nearly quintupled to around $44 million on May 26. Within the next 24 hours, it was almost at $108 million. The complaint claims that a few days before the fight, on June 4th, Mayweather and members of his entourage wore EMAX t-shirts while attending a Bitcoin conference in Miami. During a panel, Mayweather stated that "there's going to be another cryptocurrency just as large as Bitcoin someday," though he did not specifically mention EMAX. According to the complaint, he also wore a large EMAX patch on his shorts during the fight.

Kim Kardashian allegedly posted an EMAX ad as a story on her Instagram, where she has over 250 million followers, less than two weeks after the fight. "Are you guys into cryptocurrency?" "This is not financial advice; I'm just sharing what my friends told me about the Ethereum Max token," it says, according to a screenshot included in the complaint. "A few minutes ago, Ethereum Mac burned 400 trillion tokens — roughly half of their admin wallet, giving back to the entire E-max community." Above a swipe-up link, the hashtags "#DisruptHistory," "#WTFEmax," and "#Ad" can be seen. However, as Slate noted in an article titled "Celebrity Crypto Shilling Is a Moral Disaster," the token "was only a month old, few had heard of it, and it wasn't even clear how it was supposed to work."

According to the complaint, in the fall, the chair of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"), Charles Randall, called Kardashian's post "the financial promotion with the single largest audience reach in history," as well as "fraudulent," and expressed a need for a "permanent and consistent solution to the problem of online fraud from paid-for advertising."

While it's unclear how much EMAX paid Pierce, Mayweather, and Kardashian for their involvement, Mayweather stated in a press conference that he earned $30 million from the branded patches on his shorts, as well as deals with Fashion Nova and CBD company Smiz.

The EMAX token reached an all-time high of $0.000000863 — a 1,370 percent increase from its initial price of $0.00000005875. It plummeted to an all-time low of $0.000000017 shortly after Kardashian's post. According to the class-action complaint, the transaction volume then "plummeted" to "less than a hundredth of its initial capital."

While the exact number of buyers is not specified in the lawsuit, it is claimed to be in the "hundreds." The class is requesting a jury trial as well as "all actual, general, special, incidental, statutory, punitive, and consequential damages and restitution."

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An impersonator, a QR code, and a crypto ATM are used in the scam, and victims are asked to cash in and purchase cryptocurrency.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned the public about a new scam involving cryptocurrency ATM transactions.

According to the warning, perpetrators pose as representatives from government agencies or law enforcement, or as prise promoters. They prey on the public through phone calls, text messages, emails, and social media messages, requesting money for a lottery or prise, or even claiming a romantic interest, for example.

The imposter then convinces victims to withdraw funds from their bank or investment accounts. They remain on-call throughout to direct the victim to a nearby crypto ATM to deposit fiat money, primarily to purchase Bitcoin. Once completed, the fraudsters send a QR code containing their crypto address.

"Once you purchase the cryptocurrency, you must scan the code in order for the money to be transferred to them." But then your money is gone," the FTC cautioned.

The warning comes at a time when scammers are increasingly directing victims to use crypto ATMs and QR codes for transactions, according to a recent FBI alert.

In May 2021, the FTC reported that consumers sent over $2 million to impersonators posing as Tesla CEO Elon Musk. From October 2020 to May 21st, nearly 7,000 people reported losses of more than $80 million on that and other fake crypto scams, with a $1,900 median loss.

"Many people have told the FTC that they loaded cash into Bitcoin ATM machines to pay imposters posing as Social Security Administration employees." According to the report, "others reported losing money to scammers posing as Coinbase, a well-known cryptocurrency exchange."

Repeated Caution

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pioneered the practise of issuing public warnings about fraudulent schemes involving cryptocurrency ATMs. "Remain vigilant and do not make payments to someone you have only spoken with online," the FBI warned in November.

HODL Bitcoin ATMs, a Bitcoin ATM operator in Maryland, DC, and Virginia, has also warned its users about various potential scams, including ATM fraud.

"Crypto transactions are irreversible," according to the Bitcoin ATM chain. "Bitcoin transactions, including those from our machines, happen instantly and cannot be cancelled or reversed," it said. "It's always better to err on the side of caution."

According to Coin ATM Radar, many Bitcoin ATMs around the world accept cryptocurrency such as Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, and Litecoin. For example, a crypto ATM at Nairobi's Kenrail Towers supports the purchase of BTC, ETH, LTC, and DOGE.

This makes it simple for imposters to plan their criminal activities and diversify their cryptocurrency options.

Portals for Reporting Crypto Scams

Both the FTC and the FBI have created a victim assistance portal for those who have fallen victim to fraudsters. Victims are asked to report crypto fraudulent activities on the websites in order to aid in the fight against scams.

The FTC's "Report Fraud" portal requests that victims report any frauds or scams, including cryptocurrency payment frauds. The FTC expressly states that "there's almost no way to get that money back" if it is paid in cryptocurrency.

The FBI has launched a victim assistance programme to help victims navigate the aftermath of crime and the criminal justice system.

Aside from government assistance for victims, the Cryptocurrency Compliance Cooperative, a collaborative association led by top Bitcoin ATM operators, aids in the fight against crypto ATM fraud.

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A cryptocurrency CEO has become one of the world's wealthiest people.

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has joined the ranks of the world's top billionaires, with an estimated nett worth of at least $133 billion, according to new Bloomberg Billionaires Index calculations published overnight.

Mr Zhao's estimated fortune now rivals that of Oracle founder Larry Ellison and surpasses that of Mukesh Ambani, the Indian tycoon whose fortune has also risen in the last two years.

The rise of the Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur exemplifies the rapid accumulation of wealth in the fast-paced world of digital currencies.

Other crypto founders profited greatly last year as the value of virtual coins increased, with ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin and Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong both becoming billionaires.

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, another cryptocurrency exchange backed by Binance, stated today that there has been a "unprecedented amount of wealth creation in the industry over the last few years."

"I think a lot of people are trying to figure out what to do with that," Mr Friedman, a young billionaire himself, said during a virtual onstage discussion at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong.

Mr Zhao appeared to acknowledge the distinction in a tweet on Monday.

"Don't be concerned about rankings. Concentrate on how many people you can assist "He penned.

Mr Zhao responded in another tweet on Tuesday, saying, "Unpopular opinion: instead of wealth rankings, charity and philanthropy efforts should be ranked."

According to a Binance spokesperson, "CZ intends to give away most of his wealth, even 99 percent of his wealth, just like other entrepreneurs and founders."

Other prominent business leaders, including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have signed the Giving Pledge, an initiative launched by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to encourage the world's wealthiest to donate the majority of their fortunes to charity.

Mr Zhao founded Binance in 2017, and it has since grown to become one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

According to a company blog post, the executive grew up in Canada in an immigrant family and previously worked at McDonald's to support his family.

He worked on trading software for the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Bloomberg after studying computer science at McGill University.

According to Binance, "he then learned about bitcoin in 2013 during a game of poker, after which he decided to go all-in on crypto by dedicating his life to it."

"He even sold his apartment in order to purchase Bitcoin."

Binance, like other exchanges, has faced significant regulatory hurdles in recent months, including a ban in the United Kingdom and other restrictions in countries such as Canada.

Mr Zhao addressed the setbacks publicly, writing in an open letter last year that "clear regulations are critical for continued growth."

"In fact, more regulations are positive signs that an industry is maturing," he added.

"Because this lays the groundwork for a larger population to feel safe participating in crypto."

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The Metaverse hype is real, and one of the most popular activities for users of virtual reality platforms is gaming. Most Metaverse crypto coins currently offer simple play-to-earn games with few mechanics. This press examines the top three crypto Metaverse racing games to watch in 2022 for those looking to up the ante with race-to-earn games.

DeathRoad, which will be released in September 2021, claims to be the first Metaverse racing game built on the Binance Smart Chain. DeathRoad aspires to be a comprehensive next-generation ecosystem where racers can hone their skills and earn tradeable and valuable digital assets.

The DRACE token, which serves as the platform's native currency, is featured in the project. Users can earn DRACE by participating in Death Road's battle mode and buying or selling NFT cars on the marketplace. Users can also open secret NFT boxes to receive new vehicles or weapons.

Users can begin playing DeathRoad right now by depositing an NFT car. Players can buy an NFT car on the market, with the lowest-priced car at the time of press costing 500 DRACE (roughly $12).

DRACE is currently trading at $0.02, up more than 4% in the last 24 hours. It has a fully diluted market capitalisation of $24 million and a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens.

DRACE is available on PancakeSwap and Bitget.

REVV Racing is an Ethereum-based racing game developed by Animoca Brands that will be released in September 2020. REVV is the newest addition to the REVV Motorsport Metaverse and features a race-to-earn game model.

REVV Racing cars are NFTs that can be purchased on OpenSea by users. Each car has unique characteristics and statistics that influence how well it performs in races. Although the races are recorded on the blockchain, the races themselves are standard 3D matches.

Players can connect to the game using MetaMask, but they must first buy a car in order to play. Currently, players can purchase a car for 0.002ETH, which is approximately $7 at the time of press. The good news is that because the listing is on Polygon, users will not have to pay exorbitant gas prices.

REVV Racing's low entry price is an excellent incentive for newer users to get their feet wet with NFTs and the Metaverse. REVV Racing is a blockchain-based play-to-earn racing game that I highly recommend if you're looking for blockchain-based play-to-earn racing games.

REVV is currently trading at $0.12, a gain of more than 8% in the last 24 hours. It has a market capitalisation of $34 million and a 24-hour volume of $4 million.

REVV can be purchased on Uniswap, KuCoin, Bittrex, Poloniex, PancakeSwap, and other exchanges.

Virtual horse racing games are a popular trend in Metaverse racing games because they combine aspects of gambling with an immersive experience that is ideal for horse race fans.

DeRace, a play-to-earn NFT horse racing game where users can participate in horse races and breed NFT horses with unique characteristics, is one Metaverse horse racing leader.

DeRace, which will be launched in August 2021, will use the DERC token. Users can use DERC to buy NFT horses and receive rewards in the form of this token. DERC is the fuel that powers the DeRace ecosystem, accounting for all in-game transactions.

DERC is currently trading at $2.86, with a 24-hour volume of $3.7 million. It has a market capitalisation of $111 million and a circulating supply of 38.8 million tokens.

DERC can be purchased on Uniswap, PancakeSwap, Crypto.com, QuickSwap, and other exchanges.

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Whether you're new to cryptocurrency or have been around the block a few times, you've probably heard of hardware wallets. But what exactly are they? Why do I require a wallet to store my invisible currency? That's a good question, and the best way to answer it is to look back at a historic year in cryptocurrency.

It's no secret that the cryptocurrency industry is plagued by fraud, cyber attacks, and theft. BadgerDAO was robbed of approximately $166 million in funds in December 2021. Days later, robbers stole approximately $208 million from BitMart. To top it all off, the largest cryptocurrency heist in history (to date) occurred only in August 2021, when Poly Network was hacked and lost a staggering $831 million in investor funds.

Is your heart already pounding?

What is the definition of a cryptocurrency hardware wallet?

Hackers are a major reason why you should take precautionary measures to protect your cryptocurrency. This is why many cryptocurrency investors invest in hardware wallets.

A hardware wallet is a physical wallet (typically the size of a USB thumbdrive) that allows you to store your cryptocurrency offline. By removing your digital currency from the internet, you increase your chances of avoiding cyber attacks in which someone steals all of your hard-earned invisible money.

Every hardware wallet includes a public and private key. To understand what a public and private key are, think of them as a bank account.

A public key is analogous to a bank account number. Anyone who has your public key can transfer crypto to you in the same way that you can transfer funds to your bank account. A private key is analogous to the PIN on your debit card. It's a form of security that prevents unauthorised access to your account, so don't share your PIN with anyone or leave it lying around.

Why do you require one?

Unfortunately, this thriving industry is not as well regulated as it should be.

To begin, you should understand that crypto wallets are typically classified into two types. The first type is a "hot wallet." The term "hot" simply indicates that your wallet is connected to the internet. On the one hand, this implies that any cryptocurrency that is left online is vulnerable to cyber-theft. On the other hand, it's the most convenient way to access your cryptocurrency, and you're less likely to misplace it (more on that later). Hot wallets that you may have heard of include MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet.

A "cold wallet" is another type of cryptocurrency wallet. As you might expect, it essentially means the inverse of a hot wallet. When a wallet is offline, it is "cold," which means it cannot be compromised by hackers. A cold wallet, which is usually in the form of a physical wallet, can, however, be misplaced or lost. Fortunately, your PIN should prevent others from accessing it, and there are a number of backup programmes that will allow you to recover your cryptocurrency if you get into a jam.

Furthermore, if you want to make transactions on the fly, a cold wallet may not be for you. Despite being more secure, you'll frequently need to rely on a USB-compatible computer to get started. Having said that, an increasing number of cold wallets are utilising Bluetooth technology to combat this issue of inconvenience.

Hardware wallets (also known as cold wallets) are the most secure option for storing all of your cryptocurrency. All you need to do is transfer your cryptocurrencies from the exchange to the hardware wallet. Then you can unplug it and store it in your desk or attach it to your keychain to carry it with you wherever you go.

We've handpicked a few hardware wallet options to help keep your cryptocurrency safe.

Picks from our experts

Ledger Nano S

The ideal entry-level hardware wallet for those on a tight budget. This cold wallet is made by Ledger, one of the market's first and most popular hardware wallet manufacturers. Unless you look closely, the Nano S looks like any other SanDisk USB drive. It can support over 1,800 different types of coins and tokens, making it both versatile and knowledgeable. However, it can only hold three coins at once. If you own more than three types of cryptocurrency, you should consider the next product on our list.

Ledger Nano X

The Nano X is a significant step up from the Nano S and is designed for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. This wallet allows you to manage up to 100 coin apps at once, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others. Furthermore, the Ledger Nano X includes Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to access Ledger Live, the "all-in-one crypto ecosystem," on your smartphone or computer without the use of cumbersome cables.

SecuX W10

SecuX is one of the most competitive brands on the market due to its affordability as well as its status as one of the world's most secure hardware wallets.

If you're looking for the best bang for your buck, the SecuX W10 is one of the few options under $100. While most hardware wallets are accessed via your computer, the W10 allows you to do so via its 2.8-inch touchscreen. The SecuX W10 can store up to 500 accounts and all major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and over 1,000 ERC-20 tokens.

This is an excellent choice for those of you who own multiple coins, trade frequently, and want premium security on a tight budget.

SecuX V20

If you want the Bluetooth capability of the Ledger Nano X as well as the touchscreen display of the SecuX W10, the SecuX V20 offers the best of both worlds at an affordable price.

When comparing the SecuX W10 to the V20, the W10 falls short due to its inability to connect to your smartphone. So, if you prefer to monitor your cryptocurrency on a larger screen, this model is for you.

BitBox02

BitBox isn't as well-known as some cryptocurrency wallet brands, such as Ledger, but it performs just as well and is an excellent first hardware wallet for new investors. All you have to do is instal the BitBox app on your device, configure it, and you're ready to go. It even includes a Micro SD card that can be used as a password-free backup. This means you won't have to write down a seed phrase, as most crypto wallets require. Of course, you can still set one up if you want to.

The BitBox02, on the other hand, is limited to only three blockchains — Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum — but that's fine if you're just interested in dipping your toe into the crypto market to diversify your portfolio.

Wallet accessories for your hardware

If you decide to go with a Ledger, you should get one of these protective pods. They resemble a mini drink bottle and are simple to attach to your keyring, making it less likely that you will misplace or break your wallet.

If you prefer something a little bulkier, this protective case for the Ledger Nano S is a good option. This one is more of a hardshell case that will keep your Ledger secure and comfortable.

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The GAO report recommended that the IRS and FinCEN collaborate to tighten registration requirements for crypto kiosks, the increased use of which has been linked to increases in human and drug trafficking.

The use of cryptocurrency payments to facilitate illegal human and drug trafficking is on the rise, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is blaming cryptocurrency kiosks.

The GAO – a government agency that provides auditing and investigative services to Congress – highlighted in a new study released Monday that kiosks, also known as crypto ATMs, were partly responsible for this surge because the machines are less regulated than crypto exchanges and transactions are more difficult to trace.

"As the crypto market expands, FBI officials said they expect to see an increase in the use of virtual currency kiosks for illicit purposes, including human and drug trafficking," according to the report.

The IRS and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) should collaborate and take a firmer stance in regulating the kiosks, according to the agency.

The report looked at the use of cryptocurrencies in global trafficking operations, as well as how US agencies such as the US Postal Service (USPS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are combating the rise in crypto-facilitated crime.

The GAO also examined the challenges agencies face in combating crypto crime, concluding that a widespread lack of information, particularly about crypto kiosks (also known as crypto ATMs), was impeding law enforcement's ability to identify and stop criminals.

The GAO's findings that crypto-enabled crime is on the rise contradict a new report from crypto research firm Chainalysis, which found that while crypto crime is on the rise in terms of volume, it reached an all-time low as a percentage of all blockchain transactions in 2021. In other words, as cryptocurrencies become more popular, crypto crime will increase, but growth in legitimate crypto transactions is outpacing illicit activity.

Human smuggling

According to the GAO report, crypto can be used as a payment method for human trafficking – an umbrella term for both labour and sex trafficking – but is more commonly used in payments to sex traffickers.

The GAO's report stated that of 40 major online "commercial sex markets" that "may be used to facilitate sex trafficking," more than half (23 out of 40) accepted cryptocurrencies as a form of payment, citing research from Polaris, a U.S.-based non-profit that seeks to end human trafficking.

According to the GAO, the increasing adoption of cryptocurrency payments for online sex marketplaces can be attributed to the difficulties of accepting credit and debit card payments, as seen last year when sex-focused content subscription service OnlyFans decided to ban porn after facing pressure from banks. OnlyFans eventually reversed their decision after receiving public backlash from fans.

Drug smuggling

According to the GAO report, since the demise of the online dark web marketplace Silk Road in 2013, the overall dark web marketplace for illegal drugs has become more stable and difficult for law enforcement to detect, owing to the proliferation of smaller marketplaces.

"When law enforcement shuts down one marketplace, criminals can easily shift operations to other established marketplaces," according to the GAO report.

This is not to say that the government cannot seize cryptocurrency used in drug trafficking. The IRS seized $3.5 billion in cryptocurrency in 2021 alone, $1 billion of which was linked to Silk Road.

During its investigation, the GAO discovered that 36% of all ICE investigations involving cryptocurrency were related to drug trafficking. A quarter of the IRS's crypto investigations were drug-related. In the case of the USPS, drug trafficking accounted for a whopping 85 percent of the agency's crypto seizures.

Laundering of funds

Drug cartels and transnational criminal organisations (TCOs), according to the GAO report, are "increasingly using virtual currency because of its perceived anonymity and as a more efficient method of moving money across international borders."

Though the report emphasises that the most common methods of money laundering – bulk cash smuggling and trade-based money laundering – haven't changed, cryptocurrency is becoming a more popular way to move money across borders without drawing the attention of law enforcement.

The GAO attributed the growing popularity of cryptocurrency-enabled money laundering to less-regulated kiosks that provide more anonymity-enhancing features.

According to the report, "money couriers deposit large amounts of cash from illegal drug proceeds into a kiosk to convert the value to virtual currency." "Once the illicit proceeds are in this form, the funds can be easily transferred to the wallet of another virtual currency user, reducing the risk associated with transporting bulk currency."

Kiosks are being targeted

The GAO's specific issue with crypto kiosks is that, while kiosk operators must register with FinCEN, they are not required to update any law enforcement agency on the location of their kiosks on a regular basis. This "reduces the ability of federal agencies to identify kiosks in areas designated as high risk for financial crimes."

The GAO believes that by tightening regulation of these crypto kiosks, law enforcement will be able to obtain better information and identify "potentially illicit transactions."

The GAO made two recommendations to the IRS and FinCEN on how to improve crypto kiosk regulation.

According to the report, the director of FinCEN and the commissioner of the IRS should review the money services business (MSB) registration requirements for crypto kiosks and other exchanges at the same time, as well as consider new requirements for kiosk operators to regularly update law enforcement on the physical addresses of their kiosks.

The IRS and FinCEN, according to the GAO, agreed with the recommendations.

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