Maricoin the first LGBT+ cryptocurrency launches & Bitcoin stays below $50K

Seven crypto ads banned, part two

The Advertising Standards Authority is looking to produce new guidance on cryptocurrency.

Monitoring crypto assets is a “red-alert priority” for the regulatory agency, BBC News reported.

The news outlet said companies with ads found to have broken the rules were:

• Coinburp: A Twitter page for the cryptocurrency trading platform
• eToro (UK): A paid ad for the stocks and cryptocurrency trading platform
• Payward: A digital poster for Kraken, an online cryptocurrency exchange
• Exmo Exchange: A YouTube video promoting the cryptocurrency exchange
• Luno Money: An in-app ad for the cryptocurrency exchange service Luno
• Coinbase Europe: A paid Facebook ad for the cryptocurrency exchange platform
• Papa John’s GB: A promotion on the Papa John’s pizza restaurant chain’s website and in a Twitter post

UK regulator bans seven crypto ads

The United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned seven cryptocurrency advertisements following concerns.

BBC News reported one banned ad included a promotion by a pizza chain while a second involved Facebook ads for a big cryptocurrency exchange.

All seven ads were “banned for irresponsibly taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience and for failing to illustrate the risk of the investment”, the news organization reported.

NFT sold under intended price

The owner of a Bored Ape non-fungible token (NFT) accidentally sold the virtual art for $3,000 instead of $300,000.

The digital art was initially purchased by an automated account that instantly put it back up for sale for nearly $250,000.

The seller told CNet that he meant to list the price at 75 Ethereum (ETH), the preferred cryptocurrency for making NFT transactions.

After making many online trades that day, he said he suffered from a “lapse of concentration” which caused him to type in “0.75 ETH.”

“I instantly saw the error as my finger clicked the mouse but… it was instantly sniped before I could click ‘Cancel’ – and just like that, $250,000 was gone,” he said.

DogeZilla: The next meme coin

A newly-launched cryptocurrency, DogeZilla, exploded out of the gate.

Within its first eight days of existence, DogeZilla was said to have grown into a super microcap of $500million from just $50,000. 

Billionaire Elon Musk also got involved with DogeZilla by posting a tweet.

Replying to a tweet about an underwater mud volcano, he wrote: “Cover story for Godzilla obv.”

What is Dogezilla?

Founded by someone with the alias of 9ZEROES, DogeZilla models itself as a community-based project. 

DogeZilla claims it aims to make the crypto space safer for users.

According to DogeZilla’s whitepaper, it has a vault that verifies crypto launches.

It says: “Obviously, it is not a 100% fool-proof method because that simply doesn’t exist in this space, but reducing risk to the highest degree is the purpose of Vault.”

Moreover, users can gather DogeZilla tokens by holding.

Specifically, “5% Holder Rewards are dispersed to all token holders relative to their holding percentages,” DogeZilla claims. 

For upcoming projects, DogeZilla is planning to launch an NFTs Invasion Series in early 2022. 

Its logo features an amused dog in what appears to be a dinosaur costume. 

Crypto losses and tax benefits

Investors can claim deductions on cryptocurrency losses that can lessen tax liabilities or result in a refund, according to Coindesk.

Any losses can be used to offset capital gains, and if you have no gains, you can claim a deduction.

The Coindesk article explains the IRS code and other ways to put cryptocurrency losses to work.

Real estate brokers paid in crypto

A finance firm is offering brokers commission payments in the form of cryptocurrency.

RLTY Capital is the first to roll out crypto payments for real estate brokers, according to Yahoo Finance.

The CEO of the firm told the news outlet that crypto can help agents cut out intermediaries and avoid payment processing fees.

Play-to-earn gaming, part two

The new play-to-earn gaming model that rewards gamers with cryptocurrency for playing isn’t technically free.

Gamers could have to spend $1,000 or more in order to start earning in the Axie Infinity universe, according to Forbes.

The popular platform for play-to-earn gaming requires beginners to have three “Axies,” which are available for purchase on the game’s Marketplace Dashboard.

Participants can then earn cryptocurrency for selling potions, breeding rare Axies, and playing various games.

What is play-to-earn gaming?

A unique model called play-to-earn gaming is driving non-fungible token (NFT) and cryptocurrency growth, Forbes reported.

Axie Infinity is the most popular platform for play-to-earn gaming at the moment.

It allows users to build a collection of “Axies” that players can use across its universe of games.

The company then uses Blockchain to reward players for gaming, according to Forbes.

Any digital assets earned by participants can be sold on the platform or traded outside Axie Infinity’s universe.

Sending cryptocurrency on WhatsApp

WhatsApp, a popular messaging app, is testing a cryptocurrency payment feature for some users in the US.

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, owns WhatsApp and is letting some users send and receive Pax Dollars.

Pax currency is deemed a “stablecoin” because it’s connected to the US dollar.

The feature is powered by Novi, Meta’s digital wallet.

According to Novi, making payments will be easy, like sending other kinds of attachments in WhatsApp.

There’s no word on when the cryptocurrency payment feature might roll out to more users and countries.

What is fiat?

If you’ve ever seen the word fiat used in the cryptocurrency world, know that it was not in relation to the car brand.

Fiat is a term used to refer to government-issued currency.

Cryptocurrency, or virtual money like Bitcoin, is not backed by governments or standards typically associated with fiat, which is why investors warn of crypto’s volatility.

Donating with cryptocurrency

Churches are starting to see more donations made using cryptocurrency, according to Christianity Today.

James Lawrence told the news organization that donations made on his platform Engiven using the virtual currency were slow in 2019 and 2020.

By fall of 2021, the platform had processed cryptocurrency donations for more than 700 nonprofits.

The list of recipients includes well-known organizations like The Salvation Army and Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Up to 400 recipients were churches, Lawrence said, as more congregations move to accept the digital currency.

Gifting NFTs and digital assets, part two

Some young investors looked forward to gifting friends their first digital assets this year.

A San Francisco-based 26-year-old told CNBC that she plans to gift close friends and family digital assets like Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domains and NFTs.

A domain for the Ethereum blockchain represents an investor’s cryptocurrency address, appearing like “YourName.eth”.

It’s personalized rather than the random string of letters and numbers that typically signifies a user’s wallet.

Gifting NFTs and other digital assets

Young investors told CNBC that they planned to gift cryptocurrency, NFTs and other digital assets this holiday season.

A 23-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, said she would get her sister and parents an NFT of a digital land lot to share in the metaverse.

She also planned to buy collectible NFTs from projects that aim to empower women, like World of Women and Crypto Coven.

The digital gifts could cost thousands of dollars depending on factors like metaverse game, demand, and size, CNBC reported.

What is NuCypher, continued

This allows users to share private data with a number of others in a secure way.

Holders of its token NU can stake their tokens through the network to run a node, which is responsible for creating and sending information.  

Interestingly, NuCypher token is an ERC-20, which means it is built on Ethereum.

What is NuCypher?

NuCypher was founded by Michael Egorov MacLane Wilkison in 2015, but it wasn’t until 2019 when the public testnet for NuCypher’s network was launched.

NuCypher specifically operates as a decentralized key management system that uses blockchain technology.

What is Cardano?

Cardano (ADA) is a cryptocurrency that uses blockchain, making it difficult to be hacked.

It was launched in 2017 and set up by Charles Hoskinson, who was one of the eight co-founders of Bitcoin rival, Ethereum.

Every time someone buys or sells the cryptocurrency, it’s permanently recorded on the platform’s blockchain.

Unlike some other cryptocurrencies, the blockchain is more…