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Following Fall of FTX & Silvergate, The Crypto Market Needs Sensible Regulation

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2 years ago

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The FTX collapse guarantees that crypto regulation will be on the US legislative agenda for 2023 — at long last. In total, six bills were introduced in 2022, focusing on a mix of aspects connected to the crypto industry for investor protection or compliance. 

As the SEC and the CFTC are jockeying for positions, the number of voices in the room is going to increase. Some don’t want any sort of regulation to exist, but others people in the industry and anti-crypto lawmakers think regulating crypto will legitimize its existence. 

The time is right for crypto custody and all other types of platforms to be supervised with certain regulations. The US has the strongest financial market in the world, and that is due in large part to regulation. Regulation will make crypto markets stronger.

No regulatory regime administering traditional finance is created in one fell swoop. Along with the system, the regime also evolves to become better, inclusive, and stronger according to the needs. Disasters like FTX become a teaching lesson for the rulemakers to improve the regulatory system. 

The digital asset industry is still in its infancy, but problems like FTX are familiar. There have been previous such events at QuadrigaCX and at Mt. Gox. To prevent these types of massive losses that also deteriorate the market trust, regulatory oversight must begin. Here are five modest, sensible steps that could be taken now that don’t even require much crypto knowledge.

  • Stablecoin Reserves

As stablecoins are intended to be less volatile, they play an important role in the digital asset ecosystem. Moreover, they are more practical for everyday transactions. However, these stablecoins have not always been so stable.

These stablecoins are intended to be exchangeable for the underlying asset at a 1:1 ratio. However, stablecoin issuers are not required by law to maintain reserves that are equivalent to the available supply. There is a chance that holders will rush to redeem their coins when a stablecoin loses its peg, creating a situation that resembles a bank run.

That’s exactly what happened with TerraUSD in May of 2022. Recently, the US SEC has found another strong point of concern against the platform, making the former stronger. It relied on trading based on a mint and burn algorithm linked to the supply of LUNA, a cryptocurrency issued by Terra. Ironically, Sam Bankman-Fried is now under investigation for manipulating the market for TerraUSD, whose collapse touched off the industry crisis that ultimately exposed his other misdeeds at FTX.

Yet, none of that is necessary to know in order to determine whether a stablecoin is backed by a dollar. The quantity of circulating stablecoins is equal to the number of dollars in reserve. Stablecoin issuers should be required to keep 1:1 reserves at FDIC-insured banks.

The birth of FDIC insurance came after the bank failures during the early 1800s. Quarterly audits of reserves and real-time reporting on mint and burn activity should be mandatory. We also need to implement safety and soundness controls with a diversity of banks proportional to reserve size.

  • Separate Trading And Custody

Customers’ requirement to maintain their money with the exchange under the current market structure is fundamentally wrong. It is not necessary to be an expert in cryptography to understand why that is a bad idea. Imagine that the Nasdaq asked the SEC to serve as its own custodian, is it possible?

The issue with counterparty risk persists even after being entirely honest. Many of these crypto custody platforms and exchanges also engage in different kinds of lending. They engage in market-making and arbitrage. As they continue to trade and hedge on other exchanges, identifying the counterparty risk on the exchange is impossible. The reason being it’s the sum of the exchange’s risk plus the risk of whatever other markets they’re participating in that plays an important role in risk assessment. 

If there’s anything one should learn from the FTX collapse, it’s that assets should be stored until required for trading by external, qualified, regulated, and insured custodians. This creates a check-and-balance for verifying reserve assets under any exchange’s control.

The public may have learned sooner that FTX was in a crisis in a fractional reserve position if trading and custody had been kept separate. After the bankruptcy, it would have been simpler to stop asset theft and hacking.

  • Require Digital Asset Exchanges To Be 100% Digital

Discontinuing direct trading of digital assets with fiat or off-chain assets will make all exchanges on-chain auditable. As a result, it will enable Proof-of-Reserves that actually work. At present, Proof of Reserves does bring some level of transparency, but they are not a foolproof solution for separating who’s solvent and who’s not, for two reasons.

  1. No one can practice it for reserves on fiat because they cannot be represented in a digital way. 
  2. It’s not possible to give proof of non-liabilities, which is really the thing that matters most. FTX combined fiat, and digital reserve components and their liabilities far outstripped their reserves. 

With pure digital exchanges representing fiat digitally as a regulated stablecoin, Proof of Reserves for everything can become a reality. The last thing to be solved is the liabilities component. 

A reasonably solid and effective system with compliance can be built by fixing settlement and clearing to be entirely digital. Exchanges are currently attempting to establish a business in a hybrid world because they have no other option. So, as a transition, it is preferable to package fiat and securities in digital form. The ability to work in a digital environment will be significantly improved after the archaic wrappers have been removed.

  • Regulate Digital Asset Exchanges’ Use Of Omnibus Wallets

In an omnibus wallet, the funds of multiple clients are stored under a single address. The benefit is that it makes key management easier for the custodian and also makes it easier to enable efficient off-chain transactions.

However, one of the main limitations is that individual customers no longer have visibility into the transactions. Neither do they have any information on the counterparty risk. It’s also unclear what happens to each customer’s funds in the event of bankruptcy.

Omnibus wallets are only acceptable when the qualified crypto custody platform is aware of each of the exchange’s clients in the omnibus pool and assets are segregated in such a way as to provide bankruptcy protection to each client. The custodian must also participate in AML/KYC compliance of exchange clients.

  • Define Securities For The Digital Era

The SEC is still using an ancient definition of securities which was developed in the 1940s. The result is it leads to underpinning their enforcement efforts. Builders in crypto have honest questions about how the rule applies to them, and they deserve answers.

Can the SEC not update their definition and upgrade the meaning of securities while taking into account the crypto era? How hard would it be for the SEC to provide an updated definition, detailed guidance, and sensible grandfathering policies? Having that clarity would go a long way toward providing protection to innovators and investors alike.

They should listen more to Commissioner @HesterPeirce, who has an open opinion that the agency should not be leading with enforcement. Enforcement is clearly in their purview, but there’s an opportunity to make the enforcement load a lot lighter by providing appropriate guidance, to begin with.

What occurred at FTX was a common form of financial fraud that has been practiced for ages. The sole connection between cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is that a lack of regulation created a level playing field for dishonest players.

Conclusion

At present, the crypto community understands SEC’s Custody Rule. These rules are meant to safeguard the crypto industry. As per this rule, the crypto custody and other types of platforms are required to separate custody from trading. This move is hailed as a positive aspect of the crypto industry. 

The crypto industry is in dire need of regulatory administration aimed at preventing catastrophic investor losses. Designers and builders are more than capable of architecting a better system to meet the requirements of regulators. Once people can’t be rug pulled or defrauded, the next discussion will be about more nuanced issues and building something more comprehensive.

It will take a collective effort to get through this phase. FTX isn’t the first exchange to run into trouble; it’s just the biggest. It is easy to compartmentalize it as one guy who was a charlatan and go back to business as usual. However, doing so will be like setting the industry up for the next failure. To come out stronger and better, it is essential to use this opportunity to take a few simple steps in the direction to lead the industry into a new direction in order to thrive.

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Press Release

Shemaroo, One of India’s Leading Media Corporates, Partners with PWR Chain to Pioneer the Next-Level Metaverse Experience for Their 200M-Strong Audience

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1 hour ago

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November 22, 2024

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  • ShemarooVerse, exclusively launching on PWR Chain, merges Shemaroo Entertainment’s extensive content library with advanced blockchain technology. 

Shemaroo Entertainment, a leader in India’s media and entertainment industry for over six decades, has announced a strategic partnership with PWR Chain, an advanced Layer 0 blockchain infrastructure. Through this alliance, PWR Chain becomes the official blockchain partner for ShemarooVerse, Shemaroo Entertainment’s immersive platform set to deliver next-generation immersive content. This partnership is a landmark step in India’s entertainment and technology landscape, combining Shemaroo Entertainment’s vast content offerings with PWR Chain’s scalable and environmentally efficient blockchain capabilities.

With an expansive digital footprint across more than 50 content channels on YouTube, Shemaroo Entertainment commands over 200 million subscribers and garners 100 million views daily across diverse categories, including Bollywood, regional, television, devotional, and children’s entertainment. ShemarooVerse will leverage PWR Chain’s high-speed, decentralized infrastructure to create an immersive, interactive digital experience for audiences in India and beyond.

PWR Chain’s blockchain technology is among the most sustainable, operating with a minimal carbon footprint. Unlike conventional blockchains that require high energy resources, PWR Chain achieves high throughput with minimal power, processing over 300,000 transactions per second while using only a single CPU core per validator node. This efficiency allows ShemarooVerse to scale seamlessly without environmental impact, setting a new standard in green blockchain technology for the entertainment industry.

As Shemaroo Entertainment transitions its expansive IP portfolio onto the blockchain, PWR Chain’s infrastructure offers creators unique opportunities to monetize their content through tokenization and digital collectibles, a pivotal innovation in India’s content landscape. 

The advanced interoperability and scalability of PWR Chain enables ShemarooVerse  to leverage PWR Chain’s developer-friendly design, the first blockchain that allows deploying full software applications in traditional coding languages. By leveraging PWR Chain’s instant finality and quantum-resistant security, ShemarooVerse offers users a secure, dynamic, and immersive digital space for authentic engagement with Shemaroo Entertainment’s iconic content.

Arghya Chakravarty, COO of Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., said, “Partnering with PWR Chain marks a transformative leap in digital engagement for Shemaroo Entertainment. ShemarooVerse will benefit from the speed, scalability, and sustainability of PWR Chain’s blockchain infrastructure, offering audiences a more immersive, secure entertainment experience. We are thrilled to bring ShemarooVerse to life in a way that resonates with the evolving preferences of digital consumers.”

Melanie Mohr, CEO at PWR Labs, added, “Shemaroo Entertainment’s leadership in Indian entertainment provides an ideal platform to demonstrate PWR Chain’s high-performance, eco-friendly blockchain technology. This partnership not only underscores the potential of blockchain for enhancing digital experiences but also positions PWR Chain to drive growth and create engaging opportunities within India’s entertainment industry.”

This partnership highlights Shemaroo’s commitment to digital innovation and sets a precedent for India’s entertainment industry by bridging traditional media with Web3. By exclusively hosting ShemarooVerse on PWR Chain, Shemaroo Entertainment and PWR Chain are set to reshape India’s digital landscape, offering creators and fans new, dynamic ways to engage with content. 

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The Key to Mass Adoption: QuantumFusion’s Developer-Friendly SDK

Published

4 hours ago

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November 22, 2024

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  • Why dApps Haven’t Reached the Mainstream

Blockchain technology has long promised to revolutionize our digital interactions, yet widespread adoption remains slow. Other than the battle for regulatory clarity necessary for institutional capital to flow into DeFi and other utility sectors, there are three key fundamentals we believe are currently inadequate for mass adoption:

  1. Speed
  2. Cost
  3. Reliability

Ethereum has the largest DeFi market cap by a significant margin; according to DeFiLlama, over 60% of the total value locked in DeFi is on Ethereum, even higher if you bundle in its Layer-2 solutions, like Arbitrum and Optimism. 

But nobody can reliably use Ethereum at a reasonable cost. Data from Etherscan gives an average of $23.36 per swap as of 11/18/2024, completely unfeasible for the average user. Additionally, Ethereum’s time to settle a transaction (finality) of 12-15 minutes and the very low transaction per second the network can handle (15-30 TPS) is not up to the task of mass adoption. 

We’ll give Ethereum its due; it is extremely reliable, and this is a contributing factor in its dominant position within the DeFi space. Everyone wants to build on Ethereum, but relatively few can afford to use what is being built. 

You might have heard people say, “Solana has none of the issues facing Ethereum; it’s cheaper and faster!”

And they’d be correct, but only on the speed and cost front. 

One of the critical issues facing Solana is reliability. Blockchain outages cause the near-complete shutdown of all on-chain activities. During these outages, many are left helpless, watching themselves get liquidated and unable to do anything about it. To put it simply, fast and cheap is only useful if you aren’t left with your pants down when the network crashes. 

All of this is to say the user experience for most dApps is not where it needs to be: useable but nowhere near the standard of Web2. As seen in the case of Ethereum, utility developers want to build on a chain that won’t break, has excellent performance characteristics, and, most importantly, is developer-friendly.

We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. No advancement in computing is required; we’re not talking about a theoretical, futuristic concept that will take decades to realize. 

Henry Ford didn’t invent the car, he just figured out how to make them faster and more efficiently than everyone else.

QuantumFusion is to the blockchain industry what Ford was to the auto industry.

But how?
High Transaction Throughput for a Seamless User Experience

QuantumFusion’s infrastructure revolutionizes transaction speed and cost, addressing the limitations of slower blockchains like Ethereum. Powered by the SPIN (Short-term Parallel Incremental Network agreement) consensus protocol, it achieves 0.1-second block finality, enabling real-time transactions without bottlenecks or delays–essential for applications like gaming or high-frequency trading.

Faster, cheaper transactions significantly enhance user experience, reducing frustrating wait times and making blockchain applications practical for everyday use. Scalability is central to QuantumFusion’s design, supporting high-demand, real-time applications without congestion. 

With 100-millisecond finality and targeting 10,000+ TPS, QuantumFusion enables a plethora of blockchain applications:

  • Real-time social networks with real-time posts and interactions.
  • Blockchain gaming with secure, verified assets and actions.
  • Financial applications with fast, reliable settlements comparable to centralized exchanges.
  • Collaborative tools for seamless decentralized teamwork; on-chain Google Docs.

Unlike networks that struggle under heavy loads, QuantumFusion embraces them by balancing speed, cost, and reliability, enabling a robust ecosystem for developers and users alike. 

QuantumFusion sets the stage for blockchain’s mainstream adoption.

QuantumFusion’s Native-First SDK: Simplifying Development for Mass Adoption

For blockchain to achieve mass adoption, developers need tools that are powerful, intuitive, and designed with real-world usability in mind. QuantumFusion’s native-first SDK aims to redefine how dApps are built, focusing on seamless integration and superior performance in both desktop and mobile environments—where users increasingly interact with technology.

Most crypto participants are using their mobiles; as of January 2024, 63% of visitors to Kraken’s website accessed the platform via mobile devices, while just 37% used desktop computers.

To meet market demand, it is essential to cater to mobile users. To do that, the infrastructure must build a development environment with that in mind. QuantumFusion has built its SDK utilizing light clients like Smoldot to provide mobile users with real-time, low-latency experiences.

Unlike many existing platforms that prioritize web-first development, QuantumFusion’s SDK delivers a native-first approach, enabling dApps to feel as intuitive and responsive as traditional Web2 applications. 

Additionally, through Smoldot, QuantumFusion’s SDK supports WebAssembly, enabling developers to work in their preferred programming languages–this acts as a talent multiplier; the pool of potential developers is huge. Empowering the creation of complex, scalable applications from DeFi platforms to real-time gaming is half the battle; attracting the creators is key.

The goal of the SDK is to create a future-proof environment where developers can create dApps for the end-user without being forced to optimize for desktop in a world where everyone is using mobile. Bridging the gap between user-friendly tools and blockchain innovation ensures developers can focus on building dApps that not only perform but also captivate.

QuantumFusion’s SDK is more than a toolkit—it’s the key to unlocking the QuantumFusion blockchain’s potential, paving the way for mainstream adoption with simplicity, efficiency, and accessibility at its core.

Join the QuantumFusion Revolution

Web3 has immense potential, but the issues of speed, cost, and reliability are barriers to a smooth user experience. No one will use infrastructure that only works sometimes, and even when it does, it costs a small fortune and an unreasonable length of time to do anything worthwhile.

If the Web3 experience isn’t at least on the same level as Web2, then how are we going to attract mainstream attention?

QuantumFusion is breaking through these limits with an ecosystem designed from the ground up to deliver what users and developers have long been waiting for: seamless, scalable, and accessible blockchain solutions.

That’s it; that’s the goal. 

Through their SDK, QuantumFusion equips developers to create dApps that feel as intuitive as the best Web2 applications. Whether for mobile or desktop, this toolkit empowers innovation with real-world usability and future-ready performance. Paired with 0.1-second block finality, QuantumFusion makes real-time, cost-effective transactions a reality.

This is more than just incremental improvement; it’s a reimagining of what blockchain can achieve with a roadmap of how we can get there. QuantumFusion’s infrastructure unlocks opportunities that have only been half-realized so far. It isn’t just solving old problems—it’s setting a new standard for what blockchain technology should deliver.

Explore QuantumFusion, follow their progress, and help us build a decentralized future for everyone. 

Website: https://qfnetwork.xyz

X: @QuantumFusion_

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Press Release

MemeSparks.com Launches Innovative Service Integrating Web3 with AI Text-to-Video Technology

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4 hours ago

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November 22, 2024

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MemeSparks.com, a revolutionary Web3 platform, announced the launch of the first-ever platform integrating Web3 with AI-driven text-to-video technology. This innovative platform has the potential to drastically reduce the time, cost, and resources of video production. Its goal is to help memecoin developers and teams produce high-quality products faster and at substantially lower costs. The newly-launched service is available in exchange for the $MEMEKS utility token and Solana (SOL).

MemeSparks.com harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to transform written scripts into prime video content. The platform relies on the transparency and security of smart contracts to facilitate safe transactions between creators and consumers. This technology ensures creators receive fair compensation for their work and clients engage in digital transactions within a secure environment.

The platform will be available globally, allowing creators from various backgrounds and geographical locations to receive appropriate financial reward for their content. More importantly, anyone in the world can become a video producer even if they lack the necessary skills but have an idea for video content.

MemeSparks.com is steadily building a powerful, decentralized ecosystem with a digital marketplace at its center. Here, creators can rent out or sell their content produced via the platform’s AI text-to-video technology. The marketplace will support two tokens, $MEMEKS or SOL coins. The generated profit goes to the Community Wallet, which is controlled by the developers. The latter have already pledged to give monthly reports on its use and will only get a 10% share from the wallet for their services. Another 10% will go toward the platform’s marketing and the $MEMEKS coin development. The platform’s website maintenance will receive 20% while the remaining 60% will be used according to the votes of $MEMEKS holders.

The platform will also have a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), allowing members to vote and decide marketing strategies, partnerships, airdrops, etc. Purchasing $MEMEKS tokens will automatically make users part of the DAO. The organization will function via two entities, the Council of Creators and the General Assembly. Every proposal advanced for voting will require a minimum quorum of 20% of total $MEMEKS. Lastly, the voting process will be 100% transparent to all members, and it will feature pre-voting discussions and clear rules to ensure complete fairness.

The advent of AI technology will reshape numerous industries, including video production. MemeSparks.com aims to spearhead the technological revolution in this field by delivering a user-friendly service for developers and creators. This platform fuses Web3 with AI text-to-video technology  to democratize video content production, and boost interactivity and engagement for audiences. It also uses a transparent and effective decentralized governance model to give consumers unmatched control over the digital art they create and the platform’s development.

Jay Chambers, CEO, Core Developer and founder of MemeSparks.com, commented on the platform’s mission:

“Our vision was to create a platform where creativity meets technology in its purest form. By integrating Web3 with AI text-to-video, we’re not just launching a product. We’re setting the stage for the next generation of digital content creators and consumers. This is about empowering people with tools that were once exclusive to large studios or tech giants.'”

The platform’s development does not end here. MemeSparks.com plans to introduce more features, including AI-driven editing tools, enhanced creator monetization options, and more interactive viewer experiences. Ultimately, the platform should become the meeting place for creators, investors, and technology enthusiasts, where they can innovate via a unique integration of Web3 and AI.

About MemeSparks

MemeSparks.com is a groundbreaking project aiming to empower creators and consumers into producing high-quality and cost-effective content faster than ever before. The platform seamless integration of Web3 and AI text-to-video produces cutting-edge technology. Above all, it fosters a more sustainable future for creative freedom and digital ownership for users worldwide.You can learn more about MemeSparks.com and stay up-to-date with its developments here: Website | X (Twitter) | Telegram

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