Sat - 19 Aug

Headlines for today

  • Odisha's $120 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme Nets Another Arrest

  • Shibarium Launch Is A Bust

  • Visa's "Paymaster" – A New Twist In Ethereum Transactions

  • Crypto Storm – Over $1 Billion Liquidated Amid Market Turmoil

Odisha's $120 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme Nets Another Arrest: In the ongoing crackdown on a staggering $120 million crypto Ponzi scheme, Odisha's Economic Offences Wing has arrested Ratnakar Palai, an alleged key player. Accused of orchestrating the social media and influencer strategy, Palai reportedly led a vast network that managed to recruit 200,000 people across India into the STA Token scam. Flaunting himself as an entrepreneur and investment guru, Palai's actions offer a chilling look into the world of crypto fraud. Recent reports hint at a possible relaunch under a new name, underscoring the relentless nature of such scams. As authorities continue to unravel the intricate web of deception, this case serves as a somber warning to those navigating the crypto frontier.

Shibarium Launch Is A Bust: In the world of Web3, even the mightiest dogs can have their day – or rather, their rough day. Shiba Inu's much-anticipated launch of Shibarium, a layer-2 bridge to their blockchain, hit a snag, causing investors to do more than just raise an eyebrow. Scheduled to launch on August 16, 2023, Shibarium's tech team instead found themselves in the proverbial doghouse, delaying the release due to mysterious technical hiccups. Some daring users who attempted to bridge their tokens found their funds trapped in digital limbo. Talk about a ruff time! The result? A SHIB sell-off with a more than 10% price dip in the past 24 hours. Confidence has wavered, and the once-celebrated milestone now resembles a chewed-up bone. While the Shibarium team promises swift resolutions, the community's wagging tongues question the project's ability to fetch its goals.

Visa's "Paymaster" – A New Twist In Ethereum Transactions: Ever found yourself scrambling for some ETH to pay those pesky gas fees on Ethereum? Well, Visa's playing fairy godmother, bringing a magic called "paymaster". Imagine, if you will, paying your Ethereum gas fees with your everyday credit card. That's right, no more hoarding ETH like it's going out of fashion. Visa's new paymaster service, developed in collaboration with Stackup, calculates the cost of the gas fee, charges your credit card using Visa's Cybersource system, and returns a digital "thumbs-up" to your wallet. Currently being tested on the Ethereum Goerli testnet, It's expected to waltz onto the Ethereum mainnet in the coming months, potentially making everyday Ethereum transactions as smooth as silk. If this works, Visa's paymaster might just make holding ETH for gas fees as passé as last season's fashion.

Crypto Storm – Over $1 Billion Liquidated Amid Market Turmoil: Remember riding roller coasters as a kid? Well, the crypto market decided to take us all for a wild ride on Thursday, with Bitcoin and Ethereum plunging to lows unseen since 2020 and early 2022, respectively. Hold on tight; here's what happened. A perfect storm of rising inflation (8.6% in May, a 40-year high in the U.S.), ongoing war in Ukraine, and – to add a pinch of crypto-specific chaos – the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, sent the crypto market into a tailspin. The result? A chilly $1 billion in liquidations, the largest since January 2022. Bitcoin dipped to $26,298, while Ethereum flirted with $1,620.54. Those numbers might have had some traders reaching for the antacids, especially with over $900 million of the liquidations concentrated in these two cryptocurrencies alone. The largest single liquidation order? A whopping $55.92 million on Ethereum.