Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy (MSTR) purchased an additional 1,045 bitcoin (BTC) for a total of $23.9 million, or an average price of $28,016, between March 23 and April 4, according to an SEC filing.

This latest purchase brings the company's bitcoin holdings up to approximately 140,000, worth roughly $4 billion at the current price of $28,500. The overall average purchase price on those holdings is $29,803.

On March 27, MicroStrategy disclosed the purchase of 6,455 bitcoin for $161 million in the previous five weeks. At that time, the company also said it paid off what was left of its $205 million loan from failed Silvergate Bank.

MSTR is higher by 1.2% premarket alongside bitcoin's 1% overnight gain.

Edited by Stephen Alpher.

#zkSnyc #bitcoin #ETH

This year's Oscar award winner for "best short film" was "Irish Goodbye" by First Flights, a "Film3" company that produces films via crowdfunding models. While the production of "Irish Goodbye" preceded First Flights’ recent implementation of non-fungible tokens (NFT), the company has fully committed to embracing Web3, as demonstrated by its recent successful raise for its next short film.

Whether we like it or not, NFTs have become well-known beyond our industry bubble and are recognized by a much larger audience than we might think. However, it's important to note that Hollywood has only begun to explore the potential of blockchain technology and Web3, indicating that there may be much more to come for the industry

Andrea Berry is the head of business development at Theta Labs.

NFTs create an unmatched 1:1 relationship between the buyer and the issuer, helping build a community without dependence on multiple vendors. Over the last few years, businesses have been learning the power of their community but have struggled to quantify its ROI.

The data never lies

It's often said that "the data never lies," and when it comes to success in the entertainment industry that statement holds true. While many believe that all you need are 1,000 dedicated fans to make it big, few have access to the kind of data that can truly help them understand what that means.

During my time at Vimeo I gained invaluable insights into the importance of communities when it comes to user acquisition, audience development, and distribution of video. At the time, Vimeo’s “Netflix-in-a-box” over-the-top (OTT) product powered approximately 1,000 channels, representing 3.6 million aggregated subscribers.

Through our research, we discovered that channels with broad appeal had a high rate of losing subscribers, with an average churn rate of 28%. These streaming channels also had a lower lifetime value per user, at only about $21.

On the other hand, streaming channels that focused on a specific niche, serving to a specific community, had a much lower churn rate of 12.7% and a higher lifetime value of $50 or more. Niche channels also had a higher engagement rate, with viewers spending an average of 506 minutes of viewership, compared to only 73 minutes per user for broad entertainment channels. What's more, subscription price increases had no effect on churn for niche channels, while it spiked for broad entertainment channels.

These findings confirm the powerful impact of community engagement and highlight the importance of community building for creators, particularly those creating niche content. Niche content represents communities tailored to a particular audience's interests and needs. Similarly, independent filmmakers who naturally make niche content can build their own communities around their work as they connect with audiences who share their creative vision and values.

A turning point for production

The film industry is utilizing Web3 technology to create communities and monetize niche content offerings, granting creators unprecedented leverage over major distributors and streamers. Web3 technology helps filmmakers overcome significant challenges such as funding, intellectual property protection and audience engagement. With such tools, creators can build unprecedented levels of leverage, even amidst the current streaming wars.

Julie Pacino, a photographer and filmmaker, faced resistance when trying to fund her film "I Live Here Now" due to its unconventional nature. She refused to give up and decided to fully fund the film through an NFT drop, which turned out to be a great success. Julie became the first filmmaker to fully fund a movie with NFTs, proving her critics wrong.

See also: NounsDAO Approves Proposal for Feature-Length NFT Movie

At the Sundance Film Festival, nonprofit organization Decentralized Pictures announced Miguel Faus as the first winner of the $100,000 Andrews/Bernard Financing Award, which is powered by blockchain technology. This makes Miguel's film, "Calladita," the first European film to be fully funded by an NFT strategy.

Jordan Bayne, the founder and leader of The Squad, is the driving force behind the Film3 movement, an NFT-driven initiative aimed at transforming the film industry by providing a more equitable platform for underrepresented voices.

Let creators create

We finally have a technology with the potential to transform the way communities interact and participate in the economy by empowering creators, fostering collaboration and innovation, and building a more equitable economy. While NFTs are still a relatively new concept, their impact on communities and the economy is already starting to be felt, as creators monetize their work directly and reduce the power imbalances that have traditionally existed in the creative industries.

See also: 'It’s Always the Community': Web3 and the Future of Movies

As the film industry faces challenges with the looming writers' strike, more and more creators will seek out alternative means of entertainment and income. The rise of Web3 technology and NFTs provides the perfect alternative to the traditional content creation and distribution model, enabling independent filmmakers to reach their audiences more directly and retain more control over their work.

With the film industry at a crossroads, it is crucial that we embrace these new technologies and explore their potential to build more meaningful and sustainable relationships with audiences.

A new era of filmmaking is upon us. Supporting the creators on this path will lead to new experiences tailored to our passions.

#bicasso #zkSnyc #dyor #crypto2023

Ether (ETH) has underperformed bitcoin (BTC) this year by 14%, however it is now breaking out ahead of the Ethereum blockchain’s planned Shanghai upgrade, Bernstein said in a research report on Wednesday.

With Ethereum's Shanghai upgrade scheduled for April 12, ether has gained 6% in the last twenty four hours, and the cryptocurrency is showing early signs of relative strength versus bitcoin, analysts Gautam Chhugani and Manas Agrawal wrote.

The move higher is reminiscent of when ether rallied into the Merge, the most recent upgrade of the Ethereum blockchain which took place last September, Bernstein said.

The Shanghai upgrade will enable the withdrawal of staked ether (stETH). The Merge involved the transition from a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism to proof-of-work (PoW).

The broker notes investor concerns that post the Shanghai upgrade there would be a supply overhang as stakers can now withdraw their ETH deposit and rewards.

However, as the upgrade approaches there will be an “increased realization” that nearly 70% of staked ether is via liquid staking protocols such as Lido and they allowed investors to sell their stETH regardless, “so liquidity for 70% of staked ETH is now new, they could do it anyway,” the note said.

The remaining staked ether has been directly staked into the beacon chain, and therefore is unlikely to be short term holders given that they deposited their ETH in December 2020 when there was significant uncertainty of whether the transition to proof-of-stake would succeed, the note added.

The ability to deposit and withdraw ether easily gives more confidence for holders to stake, and those on the sidelines are more likely to stake now, the report added.

Read more: Ether Jumps to Nine-Month High Ahead of Shapella, Liquid Staking Tokens Jump

Edited by Parikshit Mishra.

#BNB #zkSnyc

Tether, the world's biggest stablecoin issuer, used Signature Bank to transfer U.S. dollar funds from the U.S. to the Bahamas, Bloomberg reported.

Tether used Signature Bank's Signet payments platform to transfer U.S. clients' funds to Capital Union Bank, the issuer's banking partner in the Bahamas up until Signature Bank shut down in March and was taken over by regulators.

Tether Chief Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino, in response to the article, tweeted that Tether "didn't have any direct or indirect exposure to Signature."

Signet, which started in 2019 as a real-time payments platform and was an important technology for many institutional crypto clients, including exchanges Coinbase and Kraken, continues to operate even after regulators shut down the bank.

Edited by Nick Baker.

#zkSnyc #ETH

Market maker and investment firm DWF Labs has invested $16 million in Web3 company RACA, a deal that includes purchasing an unspecified amount of RACA tokens. The funding will help RACA continue its goal of becoming an expansive Web3 gaming ecosystem.

Founded in 2021, RACA (formerly known as Radio Caca) started out as manager of the non-fungible tokens (NFT) from Maye Musk, Elon Musk’s mother.

The company has already launched a R3 game infra, SimCity-esque sandbox game USM.WORLD, social party game Looki Looki Jazzi, cross-game DID wallet JAZ, and a NFT marketplace.

DWF Labs has emerged as one of the most active investors during the crypto bear market. Recent investments have included a $20 million fundraise for derivatives trading platform Synthetix and a $40 million raise for AI-focused crypto protocol Fetch.ai.

The RACA token was about flat over the past 24 hours at $0.0001946 at the time of publication, according to CoinMarketCap.

Read more: Market Maker DWF Labs Emerges as Top Crypto Investor

Edited by Stephen Alpher.

#BTC #zkSnyc #Binance #Binance

DeFi lending leader Aave is rapidly looking to expand its reach to other blockchain ecosystems.

On Monday, a temperature check vote was initiated to deploy Aave V3 on Starknet, with voting concluding on April 11.

The proposal details a two-stage integration process between Aave and Starknet. The first phase, which centered on establishing a cross-chain bridge between Ethereum and Starknet, has already received community approval. The proposal seeks to finalize the second phase by fully implementing the Aave protocol on Starknet.

This progress follows the community's prior endorsement to deploy the Aave V3 minimal viable version on the recently-launched Polygon zkEVM mainnet, which was approved during the temperature-check phase.

The accepted proposal advised restricting asset inflows and implementing conservative risk parameters, allowing development and risk service providers to analyze the zkEVM network comprehensively. To mitigate risk, the proposal recommends including only three collateral types — WETH, WMATIC, and USDC — and one lending asset, USDC.

Polygon zkEVM and Starknet are zero-knowledge rollup networks, conducting off-chain computations on a secondary layer for swifter, more cost-effective transactions while focusing on security.

Aave V3 represents the third major iteration of the Aave protocol, a decentralized and non-custodial liquidity market protocol. Aave enables users to lend, borrow, and accrue interest on various crypto assets, encompassing stablecoins and other tokens. The protocol is governed by its community through the AAVE token, which is used for voting on proposals and updates.

It introduces new features and optimizations, including implementing more sophisticated risk management tools and parameters to better protect users and the protocol.

Aave V3 deployment on BNB Chain proposed

Aave-Chan Initiative founder Marc Zeller proposed today to deploy Aave V3 on BNB Chain. The expansion aims to grow Aave's presence further, tap into the Binance-associated blockchain's user base and add revenue.

"This deployment aims to enhance the growth and collaboration between the Aave and BNB Chain communities, providing new opportunities for both ecosystems," the proposal states.

While the deployment would provide Aave access to BNB Chain's user base and decentralized finance ecosystem, BNB Chain also stands to benefit — as it currently lacks a flagship DeFi lending platform with Aave's reputation and user base. (Venus Protocol is currently the most-significant such protocol on BNB Chain.)

If approved, Aave V3 will deploy on BNB Chain and allow BNB, WBTC, BETH, WETH, USDC and USDT as collateral.

Before Aave V3 can be deployed on BNB Chain, feedback and input will be gathered from the Aave community — particularly regarding the proposed risk parameters and technical deployment details.

Consensus must also be reached and the proposal must be finalized and put to a governance vote.

Aave v3 is currently available on several blockchain networks, including Ethereum and Optimistic Rollup-based Layer 2s, such as Arbitrum and Optimism, the Polygon POS sidechain, and three Layer 1s: Avalanche, Harmony, and Fantom.

© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

#zkSnyc #BTC #Web3

Donald Trump’s non-fungible token (NFT) collection has seen an increase in sales in the hour following the 45th president’s arraignment Tuesday afternoon in New York City.

According to data from secondary marketplace OpenSea, Trump Digital Trading Card holders have collectively sold 30 tokens in the past hour, and 47 in the past six hours. For context, one of the top trending collections, Nakamigos, had 1,286 sales in the same six-hour period.

Trump released his series of digital collectibles in December – for $99, a buyer could purchase a token and enter sweepstakes to earn exclusive experiences with the 45th president. The collection quickly sold out, and the price more than doubled on the secondary market.

The floor price has stayed steady around 0.5 ETH, or about $930.

The NFTs representing sweepstakes prizes associated with the Trump Digital Cards mint have seen zero sales in the last six hours.

Edited by Toby Leah Bochan.

#bicasso #zkSnyc

The Arbitrum Foundation on Wednesday proposed to expand ARB token holders' budget oversight and governance powers with two motions aimed at turning the page on last weekend's crypto governance meltdown.

In a Discord post, the Arbitrum Foundation said it "will not move" the 700 million ARB tokens that remain in its "Administrative Budget Wallet" until the community approved "an acceptable budget" for the sum. It also proposed actions that would make governance "more accessible."

The twin actions represented a major concession to token holders angry over being asked to "ratify" decisions the Arbitrum Foundation had already made – including the fate of nearly $1 billion in tokens. In a nod to the fracas, Arbitrum Foundation also issued a "transparency report" into how the organization came to be.

The new proposals come after a community-wide protest erupted over the Arbitrum Foundation’s move to quietly transfer 750 million ARB tokens to one of its own wallets last weekend. Arbitrum is an Ethereum scaling solution and the fourth largest blockchain with $2.24 billion in total locked value, according to decentralized finance-focused data analytics firm Defi Llama.

In response to the backlash, the Arbitrum Foundation, a centralized organization responsible for developing Arbitrum, submitted on Wednesday two new proposals that would curb its own powers and increase those of community members.

The first proposal, AIP-1.1, suggests placing the foundation’s 700 million remaining ARB in a “smart contract-controlled lockup” that will unlock over four years. According to the proposal, the foundation will not be able to use the tokens until community members approve a budget for the tokens’ allocation. A portion of the tokens will fund the Arbitrum Foundation’s operational budget for its first year.

The second proposal, AIP-1.2, aims to amend several governance documents for the Arbitrum ecosystem. One of the proposed amendments is to lower the threshold of the number of ARB tokens needed to post an Arbitrum Improvement Proposal on chain from five million ARB to 1 million ARB.

The DAO’s members will have three days to provide feedback on the proposals. Afterward, the two proposals will be put up to a week-long snapshot vote, according to Arbitrum Foundation community lead, who goes by eli_defi on Discord.

While the Arbitrum Foundation has conceded to grant its token holders more control over its remaining 700 million ARB tokens, the organization already sold 10 million ARB tokens and loaned a further 40 million to Wintermute.

#zkSnyc #bicasso #antiscam #crypto2023

Decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap has been forked by developers after its Business Source License (BSL) expired on April 1.

The fork, according to DeFiLlama, has already attracted $123 million in total value locked (TVL) with the majority of capital locked on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC)

Uniswap documentation reveals that as of April 1 the code became open source. This was planned since the upgrade to version 3 in 2021 as the license was only valid for two years.

Uniswap remains one of the largest decentralized exchanges in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, commanding more than $4 billion in TVL across all blockchains.

Two weeks ago Uniswap expanded its product by going live on the BNB Chain following a unanimous governance vote.

The Uniswap token (UNI) is currently trading at $6.32 having surged by 6.11% in the past 24-hours, according to CoinDesk data.

Edited by Parikshit Mishra.

#Web3 #zkSnyc

Paxful – a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform for trading bitcoin (BTC) – is suspending its marketplace, and is unsure whether operations will resume, according to a message from CEO Ray Youssef published on its website.

"This will probably come as a big shock to many," said Youssef. "While I cannot share the full story now, I can say that we unfortunately have had some key staff departures." Youssef also took note of regulatory challenges, particularly in the P2P market and in the U.S.

The Paxful Wallet, said Youssef, will remain in operation in order for customers to retrieve their funds.

#bitcoin #zkSnyc #bicasso

Leading non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea said Tuesday it’s rolling out OpenSea Pro, a marketplace with advanced features targeting the growing market of professional NFT traders that has helped rival NFT marketplace Blur surge since its launch.

The new product is a rebrand of Gem v2, which is the newest version of Gem’s NFT aggregation platform. OpenSea acquired Gem in April 2022, with plans to bring its professional trading tools to OpenSea users.

OpenSea Pro will operate with 0% fees and pull listings across 170 marketplaces to provide the best deals for traders. It will support advanced “floor sweeping” for traders, instant sales, inventory management, the ability to optimize gas fees for efficient trades, a watchlist feature and more. It will also be available on mobile devices.

Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea, told CoinDesk that Gem has helped OpenSea build OpenSea Pro to become the most efficient NFT trading tool on the market.

“[Gem v1] is amazing, you know, it’s an incredible aggregator tool, but this is really a dramatic step up from it,” said Finzer. “It's incredibly fast, incredibly real time. It’s really the fastest user experience for purchasing NFTs.”

OpenSea vs. Blur

The competition for market share of NFT trading volume between OpenSea and zero-fee platform Blur’s rise has been rapid since the marketplace’s launch in October – leading OpenSea to drop its required creator fees to 0% in order to court Blur traders.

OpenSea said in its launch of OpenSea Pro it's bringing its creator fees back to the main platform at 2.5%.

“We’ll certainly, with regards to fees, continue investing the revenue back into making the space stronger,” said Finzer.

While OpenSea’s move to release OpenSea Pro comes at a time where the marketplace is in fierce competition for top spot with Blur, Finzer specified that OpenSea will still focus on providing tools and improvements for retail traders and creators, including focusing on new partnerships, primary drops and smart contract standards.

“We're investing in really exciting features that make it easier for people to explore and purchase their first NFT and then really push the use cases forward for NFTs,” said Finzer. “Folks can come to OpenSea and graduate to a professional experience.”

Read more: Artists Weigh In on the Battle for Creator Royalties

#zkSnyc