A new survey has revealed bleak insights into the apparent willingness of retail investors to follow digital asset advice from the social media accounts of celebrities and influencers. According to a Morning Consult survey of 2,200 United States adults, 45% of crypto-holding respondents indicated they would be likely to seek exposure to a digital asset if it is endorsed by a celebrity, compared to just 20% of participants overall. There were some more promising results, with three-quarters of crypto investors indicating they were likely to invest based on a family member or friend’s recommendation, while 81% would invest in response …

Gold wholesalers are starting to find new ways to expand their businesses to retail, thanks to blockchain-based tokenization. International bullion trading company AgaBullion and United Kingdom-based fintech Aurus Technologies have signed a partnership to offer gold-backed tokens in the Turkish market. The partnership will see investors own grams of LBMA-accredited gold via AurusGOLD. As a gold-backed ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, AurusGOLD (AWG) is minted and distributed by precious metals dealers using Aurus’ blockchain-based solution. “Gold is the oldest decentralized finance system in the world,” AgaBullion chairman Gökhan Yılmaz said, “It has become a globally recognized and established ecosystem.” …

Hot on the heels of launching its crypto-powered crowdfunding platform in May, a blockchain firm dedicated to supporting R&D for hi-tech projects is entering the DeFi space with its own decentralized exchange. The core of Tecra’s business is the Tecra Space crowdfunding platform, which supports start-ups focused on technology, innovation and sustainability. It supports them by tokenizing the intellectual property (IP) of these fledgling businesses for small investors interested in backing projects that can do well while doing good. Each project supported by Tecra Space offers its own tokens, which can be purchased with Ether, Tether stablecoins and TecraCoin (TCR) …

Decentralized finance on the Cardano blockchain is drawing closer to becoming a reality, with a token migration bridge soon to enter the testing phase. According to Francisco Landino, project manager at Input Output Hong Kong, or IOHK — the research and development arm responsible for Cardano — the platform’s ERC-20 migration tool is nearing testnet deployment. In a blog post published on Monday, Landino said that the ERC-20 converter tool will allow the migration of Ethereum-based tokens to the Cardano chain. The planned ERC-20 converter bridge will follow Cardano’s highly anticipated Alonzo hard fork, which is touted to bring smart …

The crypto markets in South Korea have long stood out from the rest of the world, and a lot of this has to do with the “Kimchi premium,” which often causes Bitcoin (BTC) to trade on local exchanges at much higher prices than what’s seen elsewhere. Now, one cutting-edge platform is aiming to capitalize on the fervent interest for digital assets in the country, with an ambitious expansion of its services that sit at the crossroads between cryptocurrencies and gaming. GamerHash says it has already amassed more than 570,000 users in three years and is now planning to make inroads …

Among the many offshoots produced as a bi-product of the ongoing cryptocurrency experiment, nonfungible tokens have turned out to be one of the most explosive. In a few short months, over half a billion dollars worth of NFTs changed hands, as celebrities (from lists A to Z) clamored to profit from crypto’s latest craze. But amid the rush to jump on the bandwagon, few have stopped to consider the veracity of the terminology applied to NFTs. After all, why would you stop to ponder semantics when there are millions of dollars to be made at the click of a button? …

Decentralized finance transaction combination tool Furucombo will compensate the victims of a recent “evil contract” exploit that cost the protocol $15 million in stolen funds. Following an internal call with affected users last week, Furucombo released a compensation plan Tuesday, announcing that they will issue 5 million iouCOMBO tokens to the victims of the breach. Issued in the form of ERC-20 tokens, iouCOMBO tokens will represent the rights to claim Furucombo’s COMBO tokens in the recovery pool. Out of a total of 100 million COMBO tokens, 5 million coins have been allocated to the recovery pool, and are subject to …

A crypto-driven advertising platform has announced that it is integrating Binance’s Smart Chain, amid concerns about transaction fees on the Ethereum network. SaTT’s solution has been designed to transform the relationship between advertisers and publishers. Smart contracts ensure that brands only release funds once they can verify a campaign’s objectives have been met. Publishers also get a chance to monetize their audience and receive payment far more quickly than they do at present. But with average transaction fees on the Ethereum blockchain surging to record highs in February — breaking $25 at times — SaTT says that its ability to …

Crypto custodian BTSE has launched an ERC-20 token that represents Monero (XMR) on the Ethereum blockchain, giving investors new exposure to the privacy-centric coin. Represented by the ticker symbol WXMR, Wrapped Monero is intended to bring greater liquidity to the DeFi ecosystem. The new asset is fully backed by Monero at a ratio of one-to-one and is secured by BTSE. In a press release that was shared with Cointelegraph, BTSE said WXMR “gives holders of Monero more flexibility to utilize their tokens without having to sell it for Ethereum or stablecoins, in order to access the many exciting opportunities in …

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has issued a rare no-action letter in response to a request from a blockchain-backed platform over the issuance of a digital asset. The SEC letter issued on Nov. 19 says that its Division of Corporation Finance would “not recommend enforcement action” against avatar social platform IMVU issuing its VCOIN digital asset under certain conditions. The commission will allow the firm to offer the token without registering it as a security. Crypto firms issuing their own tokens often have to abide by the SEC’s regulatory framework, which has proved contentious. The classification of …

A decentralized exchange is vowing to take on Uniswap by tackling some of the biggest downsides associated with the DeFi platform. According to Blocknet, Uniswap has been growing exponentially — but they believe the popular decentralized exchange has limitations. Trading is restricted to Ether (ETH) and ERC-20 tokens, and all of this brings disadvantages for cross-chain trading. Other concerns expressed by Blocknet include the security risk associated with pegging assets synthetically. As an example, Blocknet points to tBTC, where deposits had to be abruptly brought to a halt after a security audit missed issues that could have ended up putting …

The crypto-powered Spotify competitor Audius has retroactively distributed 50 million of its native AUDIO tokens to artists and listeners using the platform. The distribution came alongside the launch of the AUDIO governance token on the Audius mainnet, with 5% of the token’s initial one billion supply distributed to its “top 10,000 artists and fans.” Audius seeks to reward content creators and listeners using its governance token, affording them voting rights over how the protocol will evolve in future. The project plans to use blockchain technology to increase transparency and reduce middle-men across the musical supply chain. However, the native token …