AI Is No Easy Fix for NFT Selloff, Says Creator of Historic $69 Million Artwork

20Jul

By adminNo Comments

Technology

AI Is No Easy Fix for NFT Selloff, Says Creator of Historic $69 Million Artwork

The intersection of artificial intelligence and nonfungible tokens provides no simple antidote for the slump in the market for digital collectibles, according to the artist Beeple.Proponents of AI-generated art claim it offers a new type of interactive creativity that can be tied to NFTs to potentially reignite interest in that marketplace, where activity has tumbled since a peak in 2022. But Michael Winkelmann, better known as Beeple and famed for his Everydays NFT artwork that fetched $69.3 million in 2021, said on Bloomberg Television that “AI isn't some sort of quick fix to give value to NFTs.” “This is a tool that everybody now has,” he told Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow. “If it is something that is easy for you to do with AI and make, it probably won't have lasting value because an...

28Apr

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Bored Ape’s New Boss Seeks to Revive NFTs Through Gaming, Events

Yuga Labs Inc. helped popularize nonfungible tokens with its Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, first introduced two years ago. The cartoon illustrations of slack-jawed primates, decorated with various accessories and expressions, sold for millions of dollars at the peak of the NFT frenzy last year. Now the bloom is firmly off the NFT rose, as it is with most things linked to cryptocurrencies these days. But for Daniel Alegre, the former Activision Blizzard Inc. executive who joined Yuga as chief executive officer last month, NFTs still have a bright future by serving as a room key to a world of gaming, events and e-commerce. The company, whose 100 employees all work remotely, began its expansion into video games last year, developing time-limited titles such as Dookey Dash and in the b...

15Feb

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Cryptoverse: Punk apes and a resurrection of NFTs

It's alive! The NFT market is twitching out of its torpor, defying reports of its demise.Total NFT sales on the ethereum blockchain - which hosts most trading - jumped to $780.2 million in January from $546.9 million the month before, according to market tracker CryptoSlam. Digital art collectibles were among the big hits. "Bored Ape Yacht Club #5840" - a cartoon monkey shooting green lasers from its eyes - went for $822,730, for example, while "CryptoPunks #7674" - a pixelated character smoking a pipe - fetched $433,555. The average NFT sale price was a more modest $372.38, according to CryptoSlam.The $780 million of sales seen last month is a fraction of the roughly $5 billion seen last January and $2.7 billion in May, before the market took a non-fungible nosedive along with much o...

13Feb

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Cryptocurrency fraud: Kitten ruse costs woman $770,000 in Hong Kong crypto scam

A Hong Kong woman trying to adopt a kitten online has lost more than $770,000 in a crypto ruse, police said, as figures obtained by AFP Friday showed a sharp rise in scams in the city involving digital currencies. The Chinese finance hub has been encouraging investment in virtual assets to bolster its fintech credentials, but the anonymous nature of cryptocurrency and lack of regulation make it popular with fraudsters. Nearly 1,900 scams involving cryptocurrency were reported to Hong Kong police in the first 10 months of last year, a major increase on the 494 in the whole of 2020, police told AFP. The losses from those scams also skyrocketed to HK$1.28 billion ($163 million) from HK$114 million in 2020. In one recent case, a 58-year-old woman fell victim to an elaborate con th...

14Dec

By adminNo Comments

Technology

How 2022 Became A Very Bad Year for Crypto — And Its Biggest Players (Podcast)

Crypto spent most of 2022 in free fall, with players and prices reeling from the collapse of TerraUSD, Celsius, Voyager Digital and then FTX. It's safe to say that 2022 wasn't the best year for crypto. By late January, Bitcoin had already shed half of its value from its all-time high of nearly $69,000 set in November 2021. Bitcoin's descent accelerated after the first major crisis of this year — the collapse of an algorithmic stablecoin called TerraUSD. The implosion of what was once considered an ambitious experiment for decentralized finance, or DeFi, sent shockwaves through the industry, ultimately triggering the collapse of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital as well as crypto lenders Voyager Digital and Celsius. It started to feel a bit like the Hunger Games — crypto CEOs...

5Nov

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Europe’s ‘First’ NFT Vending Machine Gets Cold London Reception

A neon purple vending machine dispensing nonfungible tokens for £10 ($11.18) a pop has materialized in the middle of London, drawing frosty stares from passers-by in the British capital. A neon purple vending machine dispensing nonfungible tokens for £10 ($11.18) a pop has materialized in the middle of London, drawing frosty stares from passers-by in the British capital. The glowing gadget is the 21st century iteration of the first coin-operated machines seen in the city in the 1880s, doling out postcards. Sited at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster, it will be available between Nov. 3-4 for the NFT. London conference, which brings together the local crypto community for debates and workshops. Fans have not been put off attending the event even though NFT trading volumes a...

24Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Bitcoin Seen At $25000! Crypto Gets More Attractive as SEC Gets Aggressive, Investors Say

Bitcoin will trade between $17600 and $25000 until the end of this year, survey of market participants shows. A crackdown by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and other watchdogs who have been investigating crypto's naughtiest companies is proving to be a boon for the industry, with market participants saying they're more likely to invest in the space following greater enforcement action. Almost 60% of the 564 respondents to the latest MLIV Pulse survey indicated they viewed the recent spate of legal action in crypto as a positive sign for the asset class, whose trademark volatility has all but dissipated in recent months. Major interventions include the US regulatory investigations of bankrupt crypto firms Three Arrows Capital and Celsius Network, as well as an SEC probe ...

19Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Crypto Investors Get Some Answers in US Tax Form Instructions

The IRS has given US cryptocurrency holders a bit more clarity about how to report digital assets on their 1040 income tax forms. The IRS has given US cryptocurrency holders a bit more clarity about how to report digital assets on their 1040 income tax forms, a likely precursor to regulatory guidance.In 2022 tax form draft instructions released late Monday, the Internal Revenue Service expanded how taxpayers should list their crypto transactions, including switching the verbiage from “virtual currency” to “digital assets.” “They're being a little more attuned to the terminology of the industry and being more inclusive of potential crypto transactions,” said Adnan Islam, tax partner with Marcum LLP. The additional clarity is welcome, tax professionals said, but getting guidance is sti...

13Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Five charged in France over ‘Bored Ape’ NFT theft

Five people were charged in France Wednesday on suspicion of fraudulently acquiring $2.5 million of valuable NFTs. Five people were charged in France Wednesday on suspicion of fraudulently acquiring $2.5 million of valuable NFTs, digital certificates of ownership for artworks that can be traded online, Paris prosecutors said.Charges against the five young adult suspects over the theft include fraud committed as part of a criminal gang, concealing fraud and criminal association. Prosecutors believe the group fraudulently acquired control of the NFTs -- an acronym for "non-fungible token" -- between late 2021 and early 2022. They include several of the cartoon monkey portraits dubbed "Bored Apes" that are among the best-known and most sought-after digital art assets.A report earlier th...

24Aug

By adminNo Comments

Technology

SudoRare NFT Marketplace Rug Pulled, Shut Shop Within Six Hours of Launch

In a typical ‘rug pull' scam, the creators of SudoRare NFT marketplace shut their operations after only six hours of launching the platform. Somewhere around $850,000 (roughly Rs. 68 lakh) were reeled-in before the Twitter handle of SudoRare also went defunct. These funds were stolen in the form of 519 Ether tokens. As per security research firm PechShield, the funds have already been distributed in three different crypto wallets with each receiving 173 ETH. The handlers of SudoRare have also allegedly stolen USD Coin and Looksrare tokens.While not much is known about the creators of SudoRare, PeckShield did trace one of the crypto wallet addresses which received part of the stolen ETH tokens registered with Kraken.As of yet, Kraken crypto exchange has not revealed any information on t...