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In "The Cryptopians," a new book about Ethereum by author Laura Shin, egos clash, decadence flows and small dreams spiral out of control

Multiple outlets have reported that the winning bid of the former first lady's "The Head of State Collection" auction was placed by the creators of the auction itself

Anyone familiar with the technology cycle will be amazed at the speed with which blockchain and cryptocurrencies evolve.

The post Crypto Crash Ushers New Epoch & Fresh Opportunities appeared first on LUXUO.

A federal judge said both defendants pose a flight risk, but husband Ilya Lichtenstein was the one caught with the "smoking gun" — so he will be held while Heather Morgan will be released

Project was announced days after Heather Morgan and her husband Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein were arrested for allegedly conspiring to launder $4.5 billion in stolen Bitcoin

Where is Clarissa now? The public needs to know

Auction house Sotheby’s is putting up 104 CryptoPunk non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for sale on 23 February at its New York City auction set.

The auction, titled “Punk It!”, will be held following a live exhibition of the iconic NFTs, which is set to begin on 18 February and will conclude on 23 February.

In a statement issued on 8 February, Sotheby’s said that the collection will be sold as a single lot and is expected to fetch between USD 20 to 30 million. According to Sotheby’s “the sale marks the highest valued estimate for an NFT or digital art ever offered at auction”.

Sotheby’s CryptoPunk NFT auction

Bidders can use cryptocurrency

The 104 CryptoPunks were acquired by anonymous collector ‘0x650d’. Like other CryptoPunks, the 104 in the lot have varied attributes — mohawk haircuts, sunglasses, hats, and other accessories.

According to Sotheby’s the particular group up for auction also “showcases the diversity embedded in the original algorithm”.

The auction house said that the entire lot of 104 CryptoPunks come from a single wallet, one that represents over 1 percent of the entire CryptoPunks collection. This makes the lot unique as one of the largest collections held by a single wallet.

Bidders will be able to use cryptocurrency. Sotheby’s is extending the facility for the winning bidder to make payment in Ether, Bitcoin, and USD Coin besides fiat currencies.

“CryptoPunks are the original PFP series that created the template for other NFT projects that have followed, and which helped propel NFTs to the global stage as one of the most recognisable visual styles that have become synonymous with the digital art movement,” Michael Bouhanna, Sotheby’s Co-Head of Digital Art, said in the statement.

Panel discussion

Sotheby’s will be holding a live panel discussion before the auction. It will focus on the history of NFTs and CryptoPunks, keeping in view their immense popularity among celebrities such as Jay-Z and Jason Derulo who adopted them as their profile pictures.

Speakers who would appear on the panel are yet to be announced.

CryptoPunks get the Sotheby’s treatment. Our next #SothebysMetaverse sale ‘Punk It! 104 CryptoPunks. 1 Lot.’ will be a landmark LIVE Evening Auction on February 23. A truly historic sale for an undeniably historic NFT project. pic.twitter.com/LAu6j8Atu3

— Sotheby’s (@Sothebys) February 8, 2022

The exhibition will be held at Sotheby’s New York galleries. A virtual exhibit will also be held at Sotheby’s HQ in Decentraland.

The highest price a CryptoPunk has ever fetched at a Sotheby’s auction is USD 11.75 million, when CryptoPunk #7523 went under the gavel in June 2021.

What are CryptoPunks?

CryptoPunks are pixelated portraits of punk rock cartoonish faces created by Larva Labs in 2017. The entire collection has 10,000 NFTs, each different from the other due to their unique mix of attributes.

Both as a collection and as individual tokens, CryptoPunks are among the most famous NFTs of all time.

(Main and Featured images: Sotheby’s)

The post Sotheby’s to Sell Single Lot of 104 CryptoPunk NFTs for Estimated US$ 20-30mn in February appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Feds seized $3.6 billion in Bitcoin linked to a 2016 Bitfinex hack from Heather Morgan, who also raps under the name "Razzlekhan," and husband Ilya Lichtenstein

Crypto enthusiasts skewer a popular social media page linked to billionaire Mark Cuban that allegedly charged $100,000 to promote questionable NFT projects

Visa customers made USD 2.5 billion in payments with the company’s crypto-linked cards in the first quarter of 2022. The financial services corporation also revealed that its cryptocurrency wallet partners now number over 65, including Coinbase and BlockFi, as the number of merchants accepting crypto grew to almost 100 million.

In a recent earnings call led by Chairman and CEO Al Kelly, the company said that the USD 2.5 billion is “70 percent of the payments volume for all of fiscal 2021”.

Crypto payments on Visa

A year of digital payments

According to Financial Express, the CEO also said that the number of crypto wallet partners have grown to 65 from 50 in July 2021. The added wallet partners are designed to make it easier for customers to convert and spend digital currency at merchants.

Visa had in March 2021 opened its doors to cryptocurrency by accepting a virtual currency payment. In the first half of the same year, Visa recorded over USD 1 billion payments through crypto-linked Visa cards.

The company had also launched Global Crypto Advisory Practice, its crypto consulting services, in December 2021.

Utility in Visa-crypto linked card

CNBC reports that Visa CFO Vasant Prabhu told the media network that the developments indicate that consumers see an advantage in the card having a crypto account link.

“To us, this signals that consumers see utility in having a Visa card linked to an account at a crypto platform. There’s value in being able to access that liquidity, to fund purchases and manage expenses, and to do so instantly and seamlessly,” Prabhu told CNBC.

Prabhu also said that people are using the crypto-linked cards for payments in restaurants, travel, and retail goods and services.

On the call, Kelly said, “We will continue to lean into the crypto space and our strategy is to be a key partner to provide the connectivity, scale, consumer value proposition, reliability and security that is needed for crypto offerings to continue to grow.”

(Main and Featured images: CardMapr/@cardmapr/Unsplash)

The post Visa Partners With Over 65 Crypto-platforms as Crypto-linked Card Usage Hits USD 2.5bn appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

While “The Problem With NFTs” has been viewed more than 4 million times, and met with an approving roar from other crypto detractors, it was largely ignored on Web 3 Twitter

Amid a sharp plunge for Bitcoin and other top tokens like Ethereum and Solana, some cryptocurrency investors say they’re taking a long-term view of the market to weather the storm. Following a rough week, Bitcoin’s price climbed back up to hover in the $38,000-39,000 at last check on Tuesday morning, according to CoinDesk. This latest…