Krystal Newsflash (10th June 2022)

Welcome to our recap of the major stories in the crypto world! Here’s what has happened over the past week:

· BAYC gets hacked… again
· USDD over-collaterisation
· More funds for crypto startups
· FTX and OpenSea are on Forbes
· Korean exchanges plan to delist Litecoin

BAYC gets hacked… again

Following a previous hack of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) Instagram, their Discord server was hacked.

The hacker posted phishing links on Discord, and managed to steal 200 ETH worth of NFTs when users connected their wallets to this fake site.

We would like to urge all users to take extreme caution when clicking any links, even from official sources.

The phishing links will look very similar to the actual link, but there may be some slight changes to the URL.

In recent days, some of our users have received DMs from a fake Krystal Twitter account, inviting them to click on a link to claim a ‘prize’.

If the deal is too good to be true, it usually will be a scam!

USDD over-collaterisation

Following the collapse of the UST stablecoin, the TronDAO has announced that they will be over-collateralising its algorithmic stablecoin, USDD.

Over-collaterisation means that there is more money in TronDAO’s reserves than the circulating supply of USDD. This ensures that even if USDD loses its peg, there is more than enough money in the reserves to maintain USDD at $1 USD.

The TronDAO has guaranteed a minimum over-collaterisation ratio of 130%.

However, if you look at TronDAO’s reserves, it comprises 3 main assets:

• USDT
• BTC
• TRX

The stablecoin USDT is only ~ 20% of the entire reserve, and the majority of the assets are in BTC and TRX.

Both BTC and TRX can be considered volatile assets, so their value may fluctuate. When TronDAO sells these assets to defend the peg, the total value in USD may not be enough to bring USDD back to its peg.

Moreover, USDT’s reserves have been in question, and critics are still unsure whether they are able to fully maintain the peg to the US Dollar since cash only consists ~ 5% of their entire reserves.

It remains to be seen if USDD is able to stand the test of time and maintain its peg in the long run.

More funds for crypto startups

Both Cronos and Solana have set up new funds to help accelerate the growth of crypto startups.

Cronos’ program consists of a $100 — $300k seed funding with additional grants and mentorships,

while Solana’s fund focuses on Korean crypto startups, particularly those who are in the gaming, NFT or DeFi space.

Solana could possibly be targeting crypto startups in Korea that relied on the Terra ecosystem before its collapse.

Despite the bear market, these networks seem to be investing heavily into new startups to accelerate their ecosystem’s adoption and growth.

This follows a recent announcement by Binance, where they recently launched a $500 million fund.

You can use the BNB Smart Chain (BSC), Cronos and Solana networks on our platform, and experience the convenience of our Multi-Chain wallet on mobile.

Find out more about our Multi-Chain wallet here.

FTX and OpenSea are on Forbes

The Fintech 50 list by Forbes is out, and nine cryptocurrency and blockchain companies, including FTX and OpenSea, have been included.

The other companies include rather well-known companies within the crypto space, such as Circle, Fireblocks and Paxos.

Some of the criteria that these companies need to meet include:

• Strong growth over the past year, and at a faster pace than competitors
• Have a publicly live, working product
• Have significant U.S. operations

Korean exchanges plan to delist Litecoin

After the recent Mimblewimble update (MEWB) to Litecoin, new privacy features have been added to the network.

With any blockchain, it will come with a blockchain explorer that allows you to view the details of every transaction, including:

• Transaction details
• Wallet address of the sender and recipient

With the MimbleWimble update, users will be able to move their Litecoins via ‘Extension Blocks’, which helps to mask all details, so that they can only be seen by the addresses that are involved in the transaction.

This privacy feature is only opt-in, and most transactions are still publicly available on Litecoin’s ledger.

However, crypto exchanges in Korea have begun to delist LTC after this upgrade.

This could most likely be due to the Specific Financial Information Act, which makes confidential crypto transactions illegal in Korea.

Do you check your links before you click on them? Is USDD better than UST, or will it eventually crash too? Do tweet us or send us a message on Telegram to let us know!