Dogecoin and Litecoin Transactions Rise as Memecoins Take over the Regulate

Marina Meza
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<strong>Dogecoin and Litecoin Transactions Rise as Memecoins Take over the Regulate</strong>

What Happened?

Hoping to ride the memecoin wave and the ensuing speculative frenzy, established layer-one blockchain developers Dogecoin and Litecoin launched their own semi-fungible token standards. The DRC-20 and LRC-20 token standards, derived from Ethereum’s ERC-20 and Bitcoin’s new BRC-20 token standards, spurred the launch of new memecoins and NFT collections such as Dogewow, Cheems, Litecoin Punks, and Degen.

Broader Context

The Ordinals protocol allowed users and developers to create embedded tokens in Bitcoin transactions, taking the form of non-fungible and semi-fungible tokens. This prompted the launch of a wave of new tokens, inciting a speculative frenzy among cryptocurrency traders.

Dogecoin, one of the first memecoins in its own right, and Litecoin, often referred to as “the silver to Bitcoin’s gold,” were created primarily to be ultra-cheap cryptocurrency payment networks. Bitcoin enthusiasts discovered early on that transaction fees could become prohibitively expensive during times of heavy use and might be better suited for higher-value payments. For example, the value of daily transactions flowing on these networks equates to about $1 billion and $400 million for Litecoin and Dogecoin, respectively. Bitcoin is about $3.4 billion.

Since memecoins began launching on Dogecoin and Litecoin in early May, the number of transactions has increased rapidly, reaching new all-time highs for both networks. Dogecoin daily transactions increased 6900 % from 20 000 to 1.4 million, and Litecoin daily transactions increased 485 % from 100 000 to 585 000 in the last 30 days. Right now, Bitcoin processes about 532 000 transactions per day, so they are catching up on that metric.

Litecoin and Dogecoin Transaction Counts are Increasing

Remarkably, while average transaction fees increased significantly for Bitcoin with the introduction of Ordinals, transaction fees remained low for Dogecoin and Litecoin transfers, with both remaining below a penny per transaction. While average fees on Bitcoin and Ethereum increased from $2 and $10 to $30 and $20 respectively, Dogecoin and Litecoin fees have leveled off around half a cent per transaction.

The fact that fees have not increased significantly on both networks implies ample block space for more activity. Litecoin and Dogecoin process transactions much faster than Bitcoin, increasing transaction speeds on both chains, but fees would increase if demand for crimson usage were to increase dramatically.

Litecoin and Dogecoin Transaction Fees Remain Stable

However, the launch of the DRC-20 and LRC-20 memecoins does not seem to have positively affected the price of Dogecoin or Litecoin, as both traded down for the month -by 10% and -2.6% respectively. This is likely due to market-wide weakness in May with Bitcoin and Ethereum falling 7% and 2% respectively. Markets in common have moved away from risk in recent weeks due to the pending debt deadline as well as ongoing regulatory issues in the space.

Viewpoint and Implications

Speculative activity is inseparable from new innovations, as investors and traders pile into new narratives before the technology can mature. In their current form, these memecoins have no utility and traders are piling in only to sell them to the next highest bidder. It is worth noting that the pseudonymous developer behind the BRC-20 unique standard said that tokens should be worthless.

However, it may not always remain that way. Inscriptions could prove to be a powerful mechanism for enshrining timeless images, documents, and archives that require the immutability, security, and perpetuity of resilient blockchains. There is also the potential for more infrastructure to be developed around these new tokens on networks that could make them easier to maintain, transact and provide more utility, but that is still a long way off.

By Marina Meza

Top News of the Week in the World of Cybersecurity

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Top News of the Week in the World of Cybersecurity</strong>

Among the news, it stands out that researchers demonstrate how Android is vulnerable to brute force attacks.

Below are details on the most important news from the world of cybersecurity of the week:

  • Meta has been fined $1.3 billion in the EU for sending user data to the US.
  • Experts have figured out a way to hack Android through fingerprinting.
  • The Inferno Drainer phishing service stole over $5.9 million worth of cryptocurrency.
  • US government contractor attacked by ransomware.

Meta Fined $1.3B in the EU for Sending User Data to the US

The Irish Data Protection Commission has imposed a record $1.3 billion fine on a local subsidiary of Meta Corporation for breach of confidentiality. The Irish regulator, which is the lead privacy regulator in a 27-country bloc, launched an investigation in August 2020.

Now Meta is forced to stop transferring user data to the United States, adapt them to GDPR and within six months, delete all information stored and processed illegally. Representatives of the corporation described the imposed fine as unfair and intend to appeal against the authorities’ decision.

Experts Have Discovered a Way to Hack Android Through Fingerprints

Some Android smartphone models from Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Vivo, OPPO, and Huawei have been found to be vulnerable to fingerprint hacking. This is reported by researchers from Tencent Labs and Zhejiang University.

In an attack called BrutePrint, the attacker generates a large number of fingerprint samples and compares them against the device’s sensor until a suitable one is found. As a result, you can access the target device and all the information stored on it.

An attacker would need physical access to the device, a fingerprint database of academic data sets or biometric leaks, and about $15 worth of hardware. Android devices allow infinite fingerprinting, so given enough time, the attack will succeed.

The reason for the vulnerability is that many smartphone manufacturers use standard fingerprint recognition algorithms. More advanced devices equipped with ultrasonic sensors are better protected.

Inferno Drainer Phishing Service Stole over $5.9 Million in Cryptocurrency

Since March 27, the phishing service Inferno Drainer has stolen more than $5.9 million worth of cryptocurrency through at least 689 fake websites. This was reported by the company Scam Sniffer.

Inferno Drainer is advertised as a multi-chain scam. Its creators provide customers with an administration panel with the ability to set up phishing pages and even offer a trial version. Pages built with Inferno Draine mimic the sites of 229 popular brands, including Pepe, MetaMask, OpenSea, Sui, zkSync, and more.

According to the researchers, the attackers distribute the funds received from the attacks among five wallets.

US Government Contractor Hit by Ransomware

Swiss multinational technology and US government contractor ABB has confirmed a ransomware attack on some of its systems. The incident occurred on May 7. The attackers were able to steal an unidentified amount of data from the hacked devices, but the company revealed no signs of impact on customer systems.

ABB has located the service interruption and is taking additional security measures to protect the network. An investigation has been launched with the participation of law enforcement officers.

ABB develops industrial control, supervisory control, and data acquisition systems for industries and energy providers. His clients include the US Department of Defense and federal civilian agencies, including the Departments of the Interior, Transportation and Energy, as well as the US Coast Guard and Postal Service.

By Audy Castaneda

NFT Royalties: What They Are and How They Work

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>NFT Royalties: What They Are and How They Work</strong>

Royalties have been the subject of many disputes in the NFT community and crypto in general.

NFT royalties refer to a commission or percentage of revenue that a non-fungible token (NFT) creator earns each time their NFT artwork is sold on a secondary market. This allows content creators to earn and maintain a passive income from the initial sale of their original work.

A content creator will always receive 100% of the price of their work during the first sale. During the minting and listing process, the creator sets the amount of royalties they will receive from secondary sales; it is generally between 5 and 10%.

If an NFT sells for $10,000, the current owner will receive $9,000, while the original creator receives $1,000 paid directly to their wallet address.

Royalties apply to almost any existing NFT: artwork, profile pictures (PFPs), tokenized music albums, images, avatars, etc. Royalties are encoded into a Blockchain platform’s smart contract, and for each secondary sale, the smart contract takes care of enforcing the terms and conditions necessary for the royalties to take place. The contract then reserves a percentage which is then given to the original creator, as mentioned above, and the currency is usually whatever the platform supports.

Royalties do not fluctuate with the movement of the market: the sale price of the NFT varies over time due to multiple factors (market demand, scarcity, utility…) and, therefore, causes variations in the amount of profit that creators receive.

NFT Royalties: A Subject of Controversy and Debate

Some people don’t like NFT royalties because it means paying a portion back to the original creator, and this could turn off potential buyers.

On the other hand, other people believe that NFT royalties have become a key feature of the NFT ecosystem as they offer a sustainable source of income to creators, be they artists, musicians, project developers, companies, etc.

In addition, NFT royalties also encourage competition, as the royalty system heavily rewards originality: the more valuable, useful, or unique something is, the greater the chances that buyers will pay royalties to the original creators.

The main parties (content creators, merchants and marketplaces) have long argued and disagree on how to properly define an NFT royalty system. This has led to severe frustration within the community. Some NFT marketplaces like X2Y2 decided to replace the traditional royalty system with optional royalties applied.

NFT Royalties Criticism and Controversies

Like any branch of the cryptosphere, NFT royalties have been the main cause of conflict and debate within the NFT industry. Here are two of the main concerns and criticisms surrounding NFT royalties:

Market manipulation – Some people might try to artificially inflate the price of an NFT, using every tool at their disposal to receive higher royalty payments. discussed optional royalties, and has raised concerns due to uncertainty about long-term sustainability and equity for artists and content creators.

Ethical dilemma: This point is connected to some of the previous points about controversies and drawbacks. The idea here is that removing, reducing or manipulating the NFT royalty system defeats the purpose of Web3 and goes against the standards of fair and decentralized communities.

All in all, NFT royalties provide creators with a continuous stream of income and control over their art, while also benefiting collectors, speculators, and platforms within the NFT ecosystem.

By Audy Castaneda

Nike Launched NFT “OF1” Collection

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Nike Launched NFT “OF1” Collection</strong>

Nike launched its long-awaited collection of digital sneakers in the form of NFT. It comes after considerable delays and some problems.

Nike, the renowned sportswear and accessories company, has launched its long-awaited NFT collection after several delays. This is the first collection of non-fungible tokens, which bears the name of One Force 1. It should be noted that these virtual sneakers were offered on its Web3 platform, .Swoosh.

The release of this first collection in .Swoosh was not without its problems. Notably, the launch was considerably delayed, and it sustained acute technical problems. Despite the latter, the sales can be considered successful, as they reached the approximate figure of $1 million dollars, according to the company.

These collectibles were expected to hit the market on May 15. However, the issues became unresolvable by that date, leading to it taking longer than expected. But this was not the first delay, given that May 8 was the scheduled date before that second postponement.

The Nike NFT Sales Process

This NFT collection launched by the company was considered a resounding success by Nike despite long delays. This speaks to the interest in the brand and also the strong sentiment of customers for Blockchain technology. Non-fungible tokens have become a fundamental part of today’s collectibles.

In the first round of sales of these collectibles, called First Access, the sale was exclusive access. This focused on select users who received airdropped banners that served as access tickets.

According to the company, a total of 106,453 of these posters were distributed among the first members of the Web3 platform community. For its part, the sale of General Access began on May 24, that is, two weeks after the initially proposed date. In the second stage, users will be able to choose the remaining collectibles.

In this way, and despite the problems, Nike successfully launched its first NFT collection in .Swoosh. It is worth mentioning that this collection consists of tokens created in Polygon. They are also a tribute to the legendary Air Force 1 sneakers that turn 41 this year.

Some Characteristics of the Collection

This Nike NFT collection, as already said, is a tribute to the Air Force 1. In that sense, the pieces are divided into two categories: The Classic Remix and OF1 shoe box. Another aspect to consider is the price of the shoes, which was $19.82 per pair.

The price is not casual, but it becomes a tribute to the year in which the sneakers were first launched. The magnitude of the sales of the first stage can be verified in the Polygonscan, where there are some 66,000 pairs of shoes sold until last Thursday afternoon.

With this, the company’s strategy is to take advantage of this technology for the collectible arts’ first stage. Likewise, it is expected that it will crown in the long term, taking into account the low adoption of NFT today. In the same way as collections in the real world, NFTs tend to appreciate over time, thanks to their scarcity and rarity in the market.

Either way, with this NFT collection and its Web3 platform, Nike seems already on the technology bandwagon.

By Audy Castaneda

Bitcoin Suddenly Becomes the Second-Largest NFT Blockchain

Marina Meza
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<strong>Bitcoin Suddenly Becomes the Second-Largest NFT Blockchain</strong>

Just a few months ago, no one would have predicted that Bitcoin would process nearly half as many NFT transactions as Ethereum. Since its inception, Ethereum has processed a staggering 38 million NFT transactions, eclipsing Bitcoin’s 320,000. However, the explosive popularity of Ordinals is reinventing the world’s oldest blockchain as a place to store art, movies, collectibles, tickets, and even video games.

Evidently, NFTs in Bitcoin are nothing new. Satoshi Nakamoto coined the first NFT in 2009 when they inscribed Ordinal No. 1 using transaction code data in the genesis block: “The Moments 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” For more than a decade, Bitcoin users have used uncomplicated text and hashes to inscribe memories on the chain, including the Bitcoin white paper.

Bitcoin NFT Ordinals vs. Inscriptions

Rodamor’s Ordinals protocol assigns serial numbers to individual satoshis, the smallest subdivision of a bitcoin, using wallet software other than Bitcoin Core. The former Bitcoin Main developer wrote and debugged the custom “ordwallet” program as a year-long passion project.

Its ordwallet numbers are similar to the serial numbers on one-dollar bills. While all one-dollar bills are worth at least $1, special serial numbers give additional numismatic value to rare bills.

The Bitcoin protocol itself will always value a satoshi at one satoshi, but the Ordinals application allows NFT collectors and traders to pay more to collect certain satoshis in their wallets.

Enrollments can use almost any type of data. Thanks to Bitcoin’s Taproot update, each inscription can use up to 4 MB of data each using Bitcoin’s SegWit token data discount. Because most inscriptions are digital art equivalent to NFT, many refer to the inscriptions (or ordinals) as NFT.

BRC-20s Use Ordinals

Other registrations are not NFTs at all, but traditional altcoins. Ordinals allow Bitcoin to use an experimental standard called BRC-20, which allows the minting of non-BTC tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain. Its supporters say it is very similar to Ethereum’s preferred ERC-20 standard. There are countless examples of ERC-20 tokens, including USDC, SHIB, BUSD, DAI, APE, and UNI. Today, the most preferred BRC-20 token is the aptly named ORDI.

The BRC-20 standard allows token creators to attach tokens to ordinals by adding a JSON file that outlines the token’s characteristics. Activity on OrdinalsWallet shows attempts to create BRC-20 tokens by adding the JSON file. BRC-20 supporters say the standard enables DeFi, tokenization, and experimentation with new features directly in Bitcoin.

The use of enrolled ordinals requires a wallet capable of supporting them. Many wallets do not support them. Bitcoin Core does not recognize the standard by default, for example.

Big Numbers Lure NFT Traders to Bitcoin

Enrollments have increased the amount of data to be processed in the Bitcoin crimson. Since enrolled ordinals started to become popular, the amount of pending transactions in the Bitcoin mempool has increased dramatically. Transaction fees reached $30 on some days this month.

Attracted by the novelty and profit potential, traders are flocking to Bitcoin Ordinals. Individual enrollments can sell for more than 50 bitcoin ORDI, a BRC-20 token based on Ordinals, nonexistent a month ago, has its own $160 million market cap.

Enrolled Ordinals can increase trading volume. One enrolled collection, Bitcoin Frogs, briefly passed the Ethereum-based Bored Ape Yacht Club in trading volume. Three ordinal collections briefly reached the top 10.

By Marina Meza

AI is an Opportunity for Creative Industries, According to Bertelsmann

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>AI is an Opportunity for Creative Industries, According to Bertelsmann</strong>

Media executive Thomas Rabe, who runs Bertelsmann, the company that owns the Penguin Random House publishing house, praises the potential of AI for creative expression. A Harvard lawyer said AI copyright laws will likely develop from cases.

The CEO of German media company Bertelsmann argues that artificial intelligence (AI) could augment rather than replace creative expression amid copyright wars.

Thomas Rabe, who runs the firm that owns BMG Music, said AI’s benefits outweigh its threats. While acknowledging the reality of the copyright infringement fights Spotify found itself in the middle of, Rabe said AI is a social tipping point.

In his words, “It can be very positive as long as we keep abreast of and understand its potential and threats.”

The media mogul claimed that the company was examining the legality of generating new content through copyrighted material. He argued from a glass-half-full perspective that AI books of variable quality could increase the value of works from respected sources.

Bertelsmann uses AI to dub his TV show X-Factor. At their recent conference, Google demonstrated the technology to dub English lectures with Arizona State University.

UMG Copyright Controversy

Universal Music Group successfully claimed copyright to an AI-generated song featuring Drake and The Weeknd. Major streaming platforms soon removed the piece, with Spotify CEO Daniel Ek saying the company cooperated with the label:

“[T]he rejection of AI by the copyright industry, or by record labels and media companies, is really [concerned with] issues like ‘name and likeness,’ what is a copyright real, who owns the right to something where you upload something and claim it. make it Drake [when] it really isn’t, and so on. Those are legitimate concerns.”

The song created by TikTok user Ghostwriter977 racked up nine million streams on Spotify, TikTok, and other platforms. Other AI songs involving notable artists include Somebody I Used to Know, featuring Kanye West and Playboi Carti, and Travis Scott and Ariana Grande’s Starboy.

United States AI Copyright Act for Authors

Harvard legal expert Louis Tompros highlighted the importance of defining whether training AI on copyrighted material constitutes infringement. He argued that while copyright law does not punish derivative works that imitate a certain style of art, it remains an open question whether an author can claim the rights to derivative works created by AI. The US Copyright Office recently said that AI cannot be an author.

Google said it is developing metadata and watermarking tools to filter out synthetic content. The watermark will embed strong data into files that will survive “modest” editing. The metadata will identify the context of creation of a work.

It is important to highlight that copyright is a set of rules and principles that regulate the moral and patrimonial rights that the law grants to authors for the sole fact of creating a literary, artistic, musical, scientific, or didactic work, whether published or unpublished.

While Tompros downplayed the chances of amendments to the Copyright Act at the federal level. He said it is up to the courts to create jurisprudence that balances the rights of artists with freedom of expression.

AI can provide opportunities to revive the music of all-time favorite artists; however, it also requires careful consideration of issues such as copyright and creative authenticity. Against this backdrop, artists, fans, and the music industry will have to adapt and find the right balance to make sure technology serves music, not the other way around.

By Audy Castaneda

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