Our experts told how anonymous cryptocurrencies are affected by stricter regulation. And their delisting from CEX exchanges, as well as prospects for such projects.

Main goal of anonymous cryptocurrencies is to ensure confidentiality of financial transactions. However, with such coins, scams and financial manipulation of cryptocurrencies have increased significantly. Cybercriminals often use these tokens to conceal movements of stolen funds.

In this regard, governments of different countries have a negative attitude to anonymous cryptocurrencies. And they take various measures to limit their use. Some cryptoplatforms are also refusing to work with confidential tokens. Thus, one of the recent negative events was the delisting of Monero (XMR) and another six tokens from this category on major cryptocurrency exchange Huobi.

Trend on delisting of anonymous cryptocurrencies increases

Currently, we are seeing a steady trend towards increased regulation of cryptocurrency. And also drive for large CEX exchanges to get as many licenses as possible in different jurisdictions.

And understanding of anonymous coins by financial regulatory authorities of leading economies is very negative. Anonymous coins are seen as a threat, a tool for scammers. And as a consequence, we see a “world war” against anonymous cryptocurrencies, our experts note.

Demand for anonymous cryptocurrencies is growing

After starting sanctions war between Russia and the West, interest in confidential cryptocurrency increased rapidly. This was due to their ability to circumvent restrictive regulations.

Our expert pointed out that in Q2, anonymous coins showed outperformance compared to the market as a whole.
Whether delisting from exchanges will affect prices of these coins, now it is difficult to say. Such actions by regulators could have collapsed prices in 2017. But now the market has become less susceptible to such news for many reasons.

Given the fact that these cryptocurrencies remain in high demand. Including due to sanctions that have reached cryptocurrency market as well. And wait for a fall in prices for XMR and other anonymous coins from these events should not be our experts’ opinion.

Anonymous cryptocurrencies may lose their capitalization, but not their real value.

Cryptocurrency storage platform BitGo failed to provide audited financial statements by a certain deadline. It violated terms of deal with Galaxy Digital. Review by our Crypto-Upvotes experts.

Galaxy Digital withdrew its offer to buy cryptocurrency service BitGo for $1.2 billion. The cryptocurrency storage platform violated the terms of the agreement. It failed to provide audited financial statements for 2021 by July 31.

Galaxy Digital said there was no liquidated damages due to the termination of the agreement. The company first became aware of its plans to buy BitGo in May 2021. The deal was scheduled to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. The deal between Galaxy Digital and BitGo could be the first “billion-dollar” deal in a cryptocurrency world.

At end of the second quarter of 2022, the total loss of Galaxy Digital reached $554.7 million. Company continues to consider a listing on the Nasdaq.

Major internet platforms in China have deleted more than 51,000 posts with illegal information about digital assets

China has blocked more than 12,000 accounts on local social networks. Their owners promoted and advertised cryptocurrency. This was reported by publication “Net Letter China” in its official account WeChat. In addition to closing accounts, Weibo, Baidu and other Chinese web platforms have deleted more than 51,000 posts with illegal advertising. Which advertises easy earnings through investing in cryptocurrencies.

Local units of Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) have been tasked with interviewing more than 500 commercial entities. They have been asked to remove illegal content.

Find accounts, articles, and websites that publish information about cryptocurrencies. This year, users of these social networks themselves actively helped and reported these violations. CAC also plans to continue cooperating with other Chinese agencies. To strengthen the fight against illegal cryptocurrency activity and improve security of funds.

In late June, China’s largest messenger WeChat, updated its usage rules to prohibit posting information about services and services related to cryptocurrency or NFT.

Advertising in China is still possible. And our crypto marketing agency “Crypto-Upvotes” is working on this issue. Already now we can offer advertising of your project. In popular Chinese Media and Weibo influencers. In the near future we will be able to offer billboard advertising in China.

But despite WeChat and other prohibitions in China, cryptocurrencies in China are very popular. Chinese investors take leading role in the world. We do articles in popular Chinese media. To order you need to provide us with text and a picture for your article. Our team will translate the texts into Chinese and prepare them for publication.

Additionally you can order Weibo influencers. We can offer influencers for any marketing budget. To order you need to provide a text and a picture or video. And texts in Chinese we make ourselves. Weibo is very popular and they haven’t introduced restrictions for cryptocurrencies yet. So you have time to order now.

Crypto marketing agency “Crypto-Upvotes” will help to tell about your project to millions of new investors from China.

Cybercriminals send emails on behalf of Metamask cryptocurrency wallet support

New phishing attack targeting MetaMask crypto wallet users was detected by cybersecurity company Halborn. Scammers send a phishing link to your email. And they look like they were written to you by official Metamask support.

This email looks like a real message from MetaMask. It uses a logo of cryptocurrency wallet with a picture of a fox. And in this message there is a link to an open appeal to support. This email contains a demand to verify your wallet by August 30.

When user clicks on proposed link he is redirected to a scam site. Which is similar to MetaMask page. This site prompts the user to enter a Seed phrase (a unique set of words) from their wallet.

Team Halborn notes that their sender’s name and email address contain a spelling mistake. Their name is Metamaks instead of MetaMask. Scammers also use a fake domain (metamaks.auction) and a server unicarpentry.onmicrosoft.com. Which has nothing to do with the real wallet support service. Earlier in mid-July, FBI reported that American investors who used fake crypto-apps and websites. According to FBI data, 244 people were victims of scammers who created copies of web-pages and mobile wallets of famous companies.

Important

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts warn you. Never click on unverified links that you received to your email. Carefully read who sent you email and look for spelling mistakes in names or links you received. Because scammers use similar names of large companies. But they are different if you look closely and compare names. You should also go to official website of any company on behalf of which scammers have written to you. And check whether there are official important notices with any requirements for users. If there are no important announcements, you can delete this email. Remember an important detail, dear MetaMask users. Scammers can steal your funds. If only you tell them your secret Seed phrase. So never give this information to anyone.

How Crypto Exchanges use users’ personal information. And what exactly government interests.

Legal treatment of crypto exchanges varies greatly from country to country. A number of states officially allow cryptocurrency transactions.

In accordance with the international recommendations of the FATF. Operators of virtual asset services. Including crypto-exchanges, should collect data on participants of cryptocurrency transactions.

What Crypto Exchanges must do.

They are required to conduct a rigorous check on their users – both individuals and businesses. Crypto exchanges cannot disclose this data without a valid reason, for example in USA. In USA, 4th amendment to Constitution prohibits illegal searches and seizures of data. In order for a crypto exchange to release personal data, there must be a court order. A mere request from law enforcement will not be enough.

Monitoring activities of users of various crypto-platforms takes place worldwide as well. State authorities most often request information on what kind of cryptocurrency the user owns. And how often he or she makes transactions. In addition, the source of funds may be of interest.

Crypto exchanges monitor suspicious trades.

Legislative requirements for suspicious trades have been in place for a long time. Crypto exchanges are required to report suspicious trades. And provide detailed reports on transactions over $10,000. And also to keep information about money transfers. But this obligation is so far only relevant in those countries. That have allowed cryptocurrency exchange at the legislative level.

If an exchange gathers evidence of illegal activity. It will be required to notify law enforcement. Most often, crypto exchanges simply block suspicious accounts. Or they restrict any transactions other than transfers to a local wallet.

Users cannot find out if their personal data has been provided to a third party. But such information can appear, as in the case of Coinbase. Coinbase sell crypto user geo-location data to U.S. ICE immigrations and customs agency.

Our experts say that cryptocurrency platforms themselves use personal data to ensure legal procedures. And compliance with all requirements.

Who is monitoring you and what do they want to know?

It is almost any worldwide country that has legally binding methods for analyzing centralized user data.

They are interested in what coins you have. And how often you trade them. As well as where your funds used to buy cryptocurrencies come from. And they also track where coins are sent when they leave centralized exchanges. If you’re storing coins in an offline wallet. There’s a good chance that. One or even more governments will find out about that wallet address. Regardless of where you move the coins that have ever been in a centralized exchange, they can track you.

How to avoid being watched?

In answer to the question of how to avoid government control. We can say this: DEX exchanges and confidential coins are really only answer we know. If you use centralized services, you take a risk.

Conclusions:

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts warn you. Always check website to which you are providing your personal information. Don’t give your personal information to everyone who asks for it. Use one or two exchange at most where you will disclose your personal information. In principle, there is no notification mode, so you won’t know that your data has been disclosed. Our experts believe that disclosure of personal data in crypto-industry is possible only in extreme cases.

Hidden mining threat (CryptoJacking) reached a record level in first half of 2022: number of detected attacks raised to 66.7 million, 30% more than in first six months of 2021

Hidden mining or CryptoJacking is a cybercrime. It involves unauthorized use of devices (computers, smartphones, tablets or servers) by hackers to mine cryptocurrency. Hidden mining is often done through security exploits in mobile apps. As well as web browsers and goes unnoticed by victims.

Cyber security company SonicWall recorded 45.1 million attacks in the first quarter. This is their highest number in their history of monitoring. However, in Q2 there were half as many cases – 21.6 million. According to a study, falling prices for cryptocurrencies may be a reason for this. According to experts’ forecast, the “summer recession of CryptoJacking” will continue in Q3 of this year. But attacks will peak again in Q4.

What drives growth of hidden mining and why it is dangerous

Two factors are responsible for general growth in the number of hidden mining incidents. First factor is a critical vulnerability in the Log4j Java library. It was found in 2021. It allows hackers to gain unauthorized access to hundreds of users’ apps remotely around world. In addition, Hidden Mining is an attack with less risk for scammers. Than extortion, because victims of scammers often do not know that their computers or networks are being used. As a result, cybercriminals have less chance of being detected. Normal users see their devices running slower. But it’s hard to connect this to criminal activity.

At least one extortion group has already publicly announced its intentions to switch to hidden mining. And if they do, it won’t be the first time cryptojacking has replaced extortion software.

The number of attacks on government, health care, and education sectors decreased by 78%, 87%, and 96%, respectively. However, cases of hidden mining in financial industry increased by 269%, and in retail by 63%.

Earlier, FBI reported that American investors who used fake crypto-applications and sites lost at least $42.7 million. According to FBI, 244 people were victims of fraudsters who create copies of web pages and mobile wallets of famous companies.

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts warn you to be careful when visiting unknown sites. Or when installing applications on your devices. Hidden mining is a real risk that you could lose your money.

Startups related to metaworlds and WEB3 continue to attract huge funds for their development. What awaits cryptocommunity with arrival of new technologies, and what latest developments of this industry are focused on

Last few weeks bring news about new venture capital funds in cryptocurrency sector. NFT platform Immutable launched a $500 million venture fund, Multicoin Capital is investing $430 million in crypto startups, and Binance has raised more than $500 million to launch its venture fund. While some analysts talk about the onset of crypto winter, WEB3 projects are gaining popularity.

A lot of new projects will use new tokens within their ecosystems. The easiest and most budget-friendly way to provide new tokens with liquidity. This is to create liquidity pools on DeFi platforms paired with existing assets.

This will lead to an increase in DeFi sector funds currently being used in smart contracts on a particular platform or across the market as a whole (total value locked; TVL). The imminent potential increase in TVL due to the arrival of traditional financial products in DeFi has been discussed by many sector analysts in their reviews.

Initial liquidity for new pairs will be provided by funds from developers’ funds. Then, the rest of the users who want the tokens of the new projects will join the liquidity supply. Participation in the new pools will in many cases involve swaps (temporary exchanges) of users’ existing tokens on the platforms in order to obtain tokens of the desired pair. Thus, the emergence of even one new popular pair will inevitably lead to the popularization of other platform pairs as well.

Possible arrival of Killer App

Increased funds for developing new solutions for this sector will lead to an influx of new specialists. Ideas of which may turn out to be breakthrough ones. Despite almost a decade of history. All cryptoprojects have not yet been able to create Killer App, coveted and expected by many. It is an app that would demonstrate the undeniable convenience of new technological solutions for the entire population of world. Which would lead to an acceleration of blockchain expansion.

New venture capitalists rate the emergence of such an app as the most likely to happen in the area of gaming projects. A large number of P2E and x-2-earn developments are among them. X-2-earn involves replacing  “X” in a phrase with any other action in order to obtain rewards. For example, such an action can even be useful to the planet collecting and recycling garbage.

Everyone has been waiting for Killer App since BTC appeared in 2014. A combination of many conditions is necessary for the emergence of Killer App. Thus, the number of attempts to develop different apps is important for the sector. To increase probability of combining all conditions to achieve desired effect.

From histories of companies that develop computer games. We know that despite technical similarities of many products. Only a few of these games became really popular. Their success was due to a combination of many factors necessary for popularity as well as good marketing.

New earning opportunities and popularity of WEB3 projects

The attraction of users to new projects will, to some extent, take place through Giveaways and Airdrop. In this way, users will be able to earn a small amount of money without investing their own money.

Tracking promising projects at an early stage. It helps to notice in time a message about token allocation or NFT. You can get a valuable digital asset for the simplest actions. It is using bridge between networks, swapping on DEX or providing liquidity in a new pair.

The increase in the number of projects under development will also affect the labor market. New projects will be in demand from designers, UI and UX specialists. As well as copywriters, SMM-managers, analysts and developers who will be interested in further development in blockchain technology.

Decentralized transactions allow buyers and sellers to set their own terms for cryptocurrency transactions. Main benefits and disadvantages of P2P

Peer-to-peer (P2P) trading is direct trade of users with each other without an exchange as an agent. When working on a traditional crypto exchange, platform organizes transaction on behalf of client. And market price determines the exact price of asset at moment of transaction. P2P trading implies a transaction directly between users on terms they choose.

However, such transactions carry certain risks due to lack of a third party. Large platforms provide some protection for the parties to transactions by offering escrow accounts, feedback systems and user ratings. When making P2P transactions outside of a crypto platform, risks of coming across scammers increase a lot.

How P2P works

A P2P platform is a meeting place for buyers and sellers. Allowing them to conclude a deal on favorable terms for both parties. A user publishes an ad on a platform, specifying specific terms for buying or selling cryptocurrency. These are terms such as price, payment methods and limits.

Second party browses listings and, after selecting optimal conditions, places an order to conduct a transaction with a specific seller. Platforms offer a variety of filters for searching. You can select merchants by their location, payment methods, rating, and even view only those who are fully verified. Most platforms offer information on specific sellers: how many orders they executed, customer reviews, and trade volumes.

Exchange is a guarantor of transaction transparency and honesty. Also platform resolves disputes between its participants. Many exchanges offer escrow for transaction time. Escrow accounts are used: assets are held on them until a buyer makes a payment.

Verification is not always required to work on P2P platforms. Some services do not require personal information. And somewhere they only ask for a phone number or e-mail address. But there are also platforms that require full KYC verification and Google Authenticator. Sometimes services ask for additional information to increase trading limits. But mostly they allow trading cryptocurrencies without disclosing a lot of personal information.

Also, to attract new users, cryptoplatforms offer referral programs. Client receives a percentage of exchange commission from each transaction of their invited users. Opportunities for market participants to buy cryptocurrency on P2P exchanges are constantly expanding.

Benefits of P2P

• When trading on P2P exchanges, many more payment methods are available compared to traditional platforms. Payment methods include bank transfers, cash, using e-wallets, PayPal, gift cards, SWIFT transfers, Western Union and others.
• P2P platforms in most cases allow traders to connect to a service and conduct transactions with zero fees. Not all P2P exchanges offer such service. That’s why it’s a strong point to review terms and conditions of your chosen marketplace. Some exchanges impose a small commission for placing an ad or % of transaction amount.
• Transaction protection with an escrow service blocks funds until parties comply with transaction terms. If either party fails to do so, cryptocurrency or fiat funds are returned.
• You don’t have to have a bank account to buy cryptocurrency on a P2P exchange. Most platforms require only Internet access and a phone.

Disadvantages of P2P

• Although P2P transactions are fast enough, one party may delay the transaction for a variety of reasons. Also, buyer or seller may change his or her mind and cancel transaction while processing transaction. A normal transaction can take anywhere from 10 min to several days (depending on chosen payment method).
• Liquidity on P2P platforms is lower than on CEX exchanges. Therefore, traders making large transactions usually prefer to work on a standard exchange or over-the-counter trading. When platforms provide options to buy and sell cryptocurrency from an administrator or broker (OTC).

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts warn that as with many other cryptocurrency transactions. When you trade on P2P-platform there is a high risk of entering into a deal with a scammer. To prevent meeting with a scammer, you should choose a solid platform for transactions and carefully read statistics of partners. Or choose large CEX exchanges for P2P trading: Binance, OKX, etc.

Why and how do developers burn their tokens, and what benefit do investors get?

Cryptocurrency burn is an intentional destruction of a certain number of tokens in circulation. Many cryptocurrency projects use this mechanism to regulate issuance. Tokens can be destroyed for several reasons: for example, in order to increase token prices. Burning some coins makes each remaining token more in demand and its price goes up.

Cryptocurrencies are also withdrawn from circulation to prevent inflation and depreciation of assets. With unlimited issuance, the amount of coins is constantly increasing, and each individual token gradually depreciates in price. Then developers conduct incineration to prevent fall of cryptocurrency’s price. Thus, there is always about the same amount of cryptocurrency in circulation. Volumes and frequency of this operation depend on the speed of issuance.

Some projects destroy coins after ICO if not the entire amount of cryptocurrency was sold during campaign. In this case, developers retain price of coins already purchased by investors.

How to burn cryptocurrencies

Commission Burn

Transaction fees are usually sent to miners. But there are cryptocurrency projects in which these funds are burned. To do this, a transaction is conducted in which fees are set at an amount required to be burned. Sent tokens remain in blockchain, and excess funds are “burned” by this system.

Contract algorithm burns tokens

Sometimes developers initially put a Proof-of-Burn algorithm on blockchain. When a transaction takes place, miners send some of coins to a special address that no one else has access to. This transaction is recorded in blockchain, which is proof-of-burn for tokens.

Burning in a dead wallet

A lot of projects use burn through a wallet with no private keys. Amounts that need to be destroyed are sent to it. There is no access to such a wallet. Therefore, any interaction with tokens at such an address is unavailable. Projects openly publish data on such wallets and burn operations.

Consider large Cryptoprojects that burn their tokens

Ethereum

In August 2021, ETH ecosystem updated and changed its fee structure. Transaction fees in a block (for gas) began to be sent partly to network for burning and partly to miners as rewards. Today, major Ethereum “burners” are NFT-marketplace Opensea and crypto-platform Uniswap. Volume of token destruction is about 900,000 ETH per year.

Binance Coin

In 2017, Binance issued 20 million BNB and announced plans to burn tokens quarterly and will do so until half of their tokens are destroyed. From end of 2021, amount of tokens to be burned is calculated automatically and depends on the number of transactions on exchange.

Binance also destroys a portion of the BNB Chain gas fee in real time. Exchange practices burning by transferring money to an address that is not available for use.

Tron

Project developers use the same token destruction method. Total number of TRX tokens burned is approaching 8 billion.

Ripple

Cryptocurrency’s algorithm has had a token burning mechanism from the very beginning. Each transaction destroys 0.00001 XRP. The concept of the project implies a certain number of coins. Which should not increase, which, according to developers’ idea, will allow avoiding inflation. At the same time, this algorithm reduces numbers of spam transactions.

Many different cryptocurrency projects like Shiba Inu, Stellar, BabyDoge, Elastos, Optimism and others are actively practicing coin flaring to attract investors’ attention.

Who benefits from token burning and what investors get from it

By burning coins, developers buy them back with their own money, or somehow sacrifice part of their profits. However, still remaining holders of this cryptocurrency, they are betting that asset will grow in value in future. Coin destruction is done to make cryptoprojects more successful and attract more holders.

Burning tokens can be compared to buying back shares in a normal financial market. Companies buy back their securities in order to reduce their number on market and strengthen their quotes. This strengthens position of shareholders and company.

At the same time, burning coins can strengthen reputation of a crypto project. Destruction of tokens left unsold after the initial offering. Increases the level of trust in developers and contributes to the growth of the token price on the crypto market.

Investors also benefit when a project burns unsold tokens after an ICO. Using this type of tool shows that developers believe in their project and that their cryptocurrency will grow in the long run.

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts believe that burning coins does not guarantee an increase or stabilization of price. If project is not in demand, reducing the number of tokens will not affect its price in any way. Also, one should not rule out effects of general market conditions. In periods of increased uncertainty, destruction of a cryptocurrency may not have desired effect.

Blockchain entertainment is not only fun, but also profitable. What options does play-to-earn open, and what are the prospects for the development of industry GameFi ?

GameFi are blockchain projects that allow profits for gaming experience: users earn profits for participating in game. All player items and rights become their property: characters, land, artifacts, clothing, and more.

Project developers choose the cryptocurrency for payments within the project. However, more often than not, each platform creates its own token. Some projects may require a small investment to start gaming activity, but mostly you just have to play.

There are other options for earning money at GameFi. NFT items can be sold. The price of game items will be higher the more popular a game is. You can also rent your virtual property. Or participate in tournaments or bet on the results of competitions. In some projects, you can put your earned coins in stacking.

Basic earning rules and how GameFi works

The main principle of earning in this industry is Play-to-Earn. Players are paid for what they play, which is either hours spent in the app or specific useful in-game actions. All schemes come down to a developer paying users to use their app. In this case, for the use of a project game. Depending on mechanics of these games, there may be slightly different ways of investing in such projects.

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts gave Axie Infinity as an example. In which to “multiply NFT characters” players need to spend in-game currency SLP. If player numbers continue to increase, it might be enough to buy such a token, in the hope that increased demand will drive up prices.

More critical investors can take part in gameplay. Then their earnings will come from the sale of game currency and newly obtained “characters”. There are many such games, but their principles are similar.

A recent trend on STEPN showed that projects actually create very different ‘something-to-Earn’ mechanics: run, jump, play, breathe and even have sex. But each project is unique in some way, and you have to study its history and perspective individually.

In some projects it is enough to buy control tokens. And somewhere the game will involve the investor in internal processes. For ordinary players everything is simple – they exchange their time for the developers’ money. One only needs to assess the risks if entering the game requires an initial investment to buy a starter set of tokens.

GameFi principles are not new, although the association of projects with blockchain has renewed interest in a whole industry. All principles of generating some profit existed before decentralization of games. In most cases, if a player gets something for free. Then money in this transaction is a player himself – his time, personal data, behavioral information, his attention, etc. All of this can be sold to analysts, advertisers, researchers, etc.

How to choose gaming projects to make a profit

First of all, it is better to pay attention to the major established projects with a large audience. For example: Axie Infinity, Alien Worlds,  CryptoBlades and many others. The tokens of these projects have the greatest liquidity, which will reduce risks from investing in them.

Another strategy could be to buy blockchain service tokens. In which most of the GameFi-projects are located. In addition to Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain, it is possible to buy more specific ones: WAX, EOS, KardiaChain, ThunderCore.

Our experts say that it is very dangerous to follow new projects without personal experience. Many of them are created for purposes of scams or financial pyramid scheme principles. Others may close due to bad business processes and external manipulation.

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts named promising projects where there is a strong gamer community with high involvement. This allows brands to integrate into gaming. Coins from game studios and native tokens from the top five most popular games are also worth considering.