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South Korea’s second largest city, Busan, partners with FTX for a local exchange

The city of Busan, the second largest city in South Korea, commonly known as the ‘Blockchain’ city of South Korea, has partnered with major cryptocurrency exchange FTX to build a local exchange. Furthermore, the association also aims to promote the development of blockchain in the city.

Pursuant to the agreement according to a statement issued by the Busan Metropolitan City on Aug. 30, FTX will assist in the creation of a local cryptocurrency exchange duped by the Busan Digital Asset Exchange. The Bahamian cryptocurrency exchange led by Sam Bankman-Fried will also support the city of Busan in promoting the growth of the local blockchain industry.

Busan City Cryptocurrency Exchange

The city of Busan will leverage FTX’s technology and infrastructure to build its own cryptocurrency exchange and promote blockchain-specific education at local universities and projects within the city’s ‘Special Blockchain Free Zone’ established in 2019.

FTX, through its Investment Division CEO Amy Woo, said that it will establish a Korean branch of FTX in the city of Busan within the next 12 months to help make Busan a digital financial hub in Asia.

In addition to signing an agreement with FTX, Busan also partnered with Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by turnover, on August 1. Binance has signed a memorandum of understanding to provide the city with infrastructure and technology support for its blockchain development effort.

Both FTX and Binance are expected to establish a presence in South Korea in the next 12 months.

Since Busan was designated as the Blockchain City of South Korea in 2019, several projects have already been launched. These projects include a proprietary blockchain-based identification system, a blockchain-powered driver’s license platform, and cryptocurrency support for various services.

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Ukraine Blocks Cryptocurrency Wallet Used to Raise Funds for Russian Forces

Ukraine’s law enforcement and counterintelligence agency managed to seize funds in a cryptocurrency wallet used to finance the Russian military campaign in the country. Kyiv officials say the money raised through the wallet was spent on military equipment for pro-Russian separatist forces in the east.

Ukraine Seizes Cryptocurrency Donations Funding Russian Invasion

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has for the first time implemented a mechanism to curb fundraising through cryptocurrencies for troops fighting on the Russian side in the ongoing hostilities in the country. The conflict turned into a full-scale war when the Russian army crossed the border into Ukraine in late February in what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in support of the pro-Russian breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

In a press release on Tuesday, the SBU announced that a cryptocurrency wallet operated by a citizen of the Russian Federation and used to sponsor Russia’s military effort in Ukraine was blocked. The man, who volunteered, has been raising money for the needs of the Russian forces since the invasion began.

The wallet had accumulated digital coins worth 800,000 hryvnia (nearly $22,000 at current exchange rates) by the time it was blocked, the SBU said, adding that the funds had already been seized. Experts are now working to trace related transactions and transfer custody to Ukraine. The agency did not specify how it seized the wallet, but did reveal that it enlisted the help of foreign cryptocurrency companies.

Ukrainian investigators were able to establish that the owner of the wallet dedicated a significant part of the donated cryptocurrency to the purchase of military supplies for separatist fighters of the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics. Representatives of the National Police of Ukraine and the Public Ministry also participated in the operation.

Russian “volunteer” active on social media

The Russian activist has been actively seeking financial assistance on social media platforms since the beginning of the latest phase of the conflict. To promote his efforts, he regularly creates and publishes photo and video content, distributes publications published by partners and reports on the use of the funds raised, the SBU detailed without revealing the identity of the Russian.

A report by blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis last month revealed that 54 pro-Russian groups have collectively received more than $2.2 million in cryptocurrency. These organizations, which operate in Donetsk and Luhansk, received most of the donated amounts in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), but also in other cryptocurrencies.

Ukraine itself has relied on cryptocurrency donations, with the Kyiv government and volunteer groups raising digital money to fund defense efforts. Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov recently announced on Twitter that $54 million in cryptocurrency funds raised through the Aid for Ukraine initiative were spent to purchase armor, medicine, night visions, and even vehicles for the Ukrainian military.

The Ukrainian people have also received purely humanitarian aid from the crypto community and industry. European cryptocurrency exchange Whitebit, which has Ukrainian roots, has offered to support Ukrainian refugees through its representative offices abroad, and the world’s largest forex trading platform Binance has issued a card. of cryptocurrencies special for Ukrainians forced to leave their homes.

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NFT Lender BendDAO Liquidity Tested as ETH Reserves Fall

If you’re borrowing against the bored monkeys, you might want to keep your eyes peeled. Liquidity on the leading lending platform NFT BendDAO has been under a major stress test over the past 24 hours as ETH levels appear to be under pressure. To date, BendDAO’s ETH reserves have been replenished and are north of 800 WETH, however, many have noted that the lender has posted liquidity minimums of just 5 ETH, a dangerously low level for a lending platform of its nature.

BendDAO quickly appeared on the scene and spiced up the NFT conversation a bit, allowing users to leverage their first-rate NFTs as collateral; Let’s take a look at what we know about WETH lender reserves, what we’ve heard so far from the BendDAO team on the matter, and where we go from here.

Liquidity on high alert: how it happened

The often insightful research leader PROOF Collective @NFTStatistics.eth first published a report that gained traction on Crypto Twitter and the NFT community surrounding the issue, highlighting the issue when BendDAO’s liquidity dropped to just over 12 ETH:

He is well. Long discussion on the BendDAO situation:

1) They ran out of ETH. There is only 12.5 WETH in the contract. 2) What does it mean? People who have lent money to others through BendDAO to buy NFTs with leverage cannot withdraw their money. About 15,000 ETH was lent.

(1/9)

— NFTStatistics.eth (@punk9059) August 21, 2022

This conversation led to broader discussions about how the market reacts; Direct economics tells us that the threat of an imminent 100% APR would be powerful enough for many users to return collateral and replenish the DAO’s liquidity reserves. However, a downward spiral may begin if general market sentiment is bearish on NFT, as users will be less inclined to return their collateral if they believe the market will continue to move downwards.

BendDAO was quick to respond to settlement concerns, stating that they “underestimated how illiquid NFTs could be in a bear market when setting initial parameters” and proposing an emergency proposal to the DAO to improve liquidity parameters. This included adjusting the auction period, interest rate bases, settlement limits and the intention to continue the dialogue on the treatment of bad debts. That vote will likely pass.

It’s been an interesting ride over the past few days for holders of the BendDAO $BEND token. | Source: BEND-USDT at TradingView.com

how did we get here

BendDAO has been featured in many talking points among NFT circles lately, seemingly bridging the gap between DeFi and NFTs; The big bet here is whether BendDAO’s decision-making through future proposals will refine the mechanics of the lending process. In this case, the protocol is becoming an important piece of a growing ecosystem that has yet to prove its ability to weather major storms, but could still see substantial community involvement and interest.

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The most profitable buy signal in Bitcoin has just been activated

The latest trend in Bitcoin’s “hash tape” indicator has just formed a pattern that has historically been a buy signal for the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin hash tape buy signal deactivates when miner capitulation comes to an end

As one analyst explained on Twitter, the capitulation phase of BTC miners appears to have ended today after 71 days.

Before trying to understand what the “hash tape” indicator does, it’s best to first take a look at the “hash rate” metric.

Hashrate is a measure of the total amount of computing power connected to the Bitcoin blockchain by miners. During bear markets, the income of some miners drops so much that running their trades becomes unprofitable for them. At such times, your only option is to take your machines offline, which records a downward trend in hashrate.

In previous bear markets, troughs often occurred during these periods of miner capitulations, where large numbers of miners quickly go offline due to low income.

One indicator to identify these periods of miner capitulation is hash tapes. Conceived by the aforementioned analyst Charles Edwards, this metric uses two different moving averages of the hashrate, the 30-day MA and the 60-day MA, to observe changes in miner behavior.

Here is a chart that shows the trend of Bitcoin hash tapes in recent years:

The 30-day SMA hashrate appears to have surpassed the 60-day SMA version | Source: Charles Edwards on Twitter

As you can see in the chart above, the capitulation periods of Bitcoin miners are marked with the hash ribbon indicator.

Whenever the 30-day MA version of the hashrate drops below the 60-day MA line, miners are assumed to be starting a capitulation phase.

A break above the 60-day MA by the 30-day MA, on the other hand, implies an end to the capitulation of these chain validators.

When this type of capitulation occurs that ends in the crossing of hash tapes, a buy signal is triggered for the cryptocurrency.

But even among these buy signals, there are some that are especially profitable. These signals are formed after miner capitulations that occur more than 2 years after any halving event.

Today, hash tapes once again painted the historic pattern of the buy signal as the miner’s latest capitulation series came to an end after 71 days. It has also been over 2 years since the last halving, which following the previous trend would suggest that this is one of those rare “most profitable” buy signals for Bitcoin.

BTC price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin price hovers around $21,300, down 13% from last week.

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Bank of England Analysts See Cryptocurrencies Playing Major Roles in the Metaverse

Bank of England analysts say crypto assets could play important roles within the metaverse. “Widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies in the metaverse… would require adherence to strong regulatory frameworks for consumer protection and financial stability,” they added.

Bank of England Analysts on Metaverse, Cryptography and Regulation

Bank of England economist Owen Lock and policy analyst Teresa Cascino published a blog post titled “Crypto Assets, the Metaverse and Systemic Risk” on Tuesday.

“Crypto assets can play important roles within the metaverse,” they began, warning:

If an open, decentralized metaverse grows, existing cryptocurrency risks could increase to have systemic consequences for financial stability.

“Widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies in the metaverse, or any other environment, would require adherence to strong regulatory frameworks for consumer protection and financial stability,” they emphasized.

Lock and Cascino explained that “the open metaverse will require a means to own and transact digital objects that are interoperable between virtual worlds”, explaining, “We believe that cryptographic assets are well positioned to play a significant role here.”

They detailed:

If a sizable open metaverse materializes, households can hold more of their wealth in crypto assets to make metaverse-based payments or for investment purposes.

In addition, companies can increasingly accept cryptocurrency payments for goods and services and sell digital assets such as clothing, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the metaverse, they added.

The authors also noted that non-bank financial institutions could increase their holdings in cryptocurrencies if a growing open metaverse improves investment prospects for crypto assets and their supporting infrastructure.

Lock and Cascino noted that “this metaverse evolution is uncertain”, adding that their point of view is a possibility rather than a certainty.

“That said, if these exposures materialize, the risk crystallization of a crypto asset could result in: balance sheet losses for households and businesses, impact on unemployment, forced sales of traditional assets by non-banks to meet margin calls on crypto. active positions and negative impacts on the profitability of exposed banks”, they warned.