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Cryptocurrency Craze: PayPal’s Stealthy On-Ramps Revolution

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In a week filled with significant developments in the cryptocurrency industry, fintech titan PayPal has once again demonstrated its steady commitment to the digital asset space. This time, it quietly unveiled new on-ramps and off-ramps for cryptocurrencies within the United States, marking a crucial milestone in a nation grappling with regulatory uncertainties and the SEC’s stringent stance on the cryptocurrency industry.

The introduction of these on-ramps and off-ramps is a significant stride towards facilitating fiat-crypto conversions for PayPal’s US clientele, a move that has been challenged by the SEC’s controversial crackdown on crypto firms. Despite the regulatory headwinds, PayPal continues to strengthen its foothold in the cryptocurrency realm. Previously, it had partnered with Ledger, a hardware wallet firm, to enable US users to buy Bitcoin, Ether, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin directly on Ledger hardware wallets. This innovation highlights PayPal’s commitment to providing convenient crypto access.

Another noteworthy entrant into the crypto landscape is Franklin Templeton, a traditional asset manager. The firm recently filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF with the US SEC. This move follows similar applications by major investment firms like BlackRock, Fidelity, and WisdomTree, reflecting the increasing mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies even amid a bearish market.

Cryptocurrency Collision: Coinbase, and Meta Innovate

Coinbase, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, has also made headlines by confirming its integration of the Bitcoin Lightning Network (LN). This decision comes as users seek faster and more cost-effective Bitcoin transactions. Until recently, major exchanges were hesitant to adopt LN due to concerns about its impact on their revenue. Coinbase’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, called for patience during the integration process, signaling a shift in the industry’s stance towards layer-2 solutions and scalability improvements for Bitcoin.

Meanwhile, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is venturing into the realm of artificial intelligence (AI). Reports indicate that Meta is developing an AI model that aims to rival OpenAI’s most advanced systems. This new model, reportedly several times more powerful than Meta’s earlier Llama 2 model, is poised to open new horizons for AI development. The project’s open-source nature is particularly significant, as it will enable other companies to leverage the technology for various applications, including high-level text generation and analysis.

In a world where the cryptocurrency and AI sectors continue to intersect and evolve, these developments underscore the ongoing transformation of the financial and technological landscapes. As PayPal, Franklin Templeton, Coinbase, and Meta embrace innovation and expand their crypto and AI capabilities, they signal a collective determination to shape the future of these industries, even amid regulatory challenges and market fluctuations.

The journey towards broader crypto adoption and more advanced AI models is undoubtedly filled with both promise and uncertainty, but these companies are forging ahead, setting the stage for what lies ahead in these dynamic fields.

Meta’s AI Ambitions: A Potential Contender for OpenAI?

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As per reports, Meta is presently in the process of developing an upcoming AI model, which is expected to pose a formidable challenge to OpenAI’s GPT-4 language model. This project is on track to be completed by the following year, with the potential commencement of its training as early as the beginning of 2024.

It’s noteworthy that Meta recently entered the AI domain with the introduction of Llama 2, an AI system, approximately two months ago. However, the forthcoming AI model is projected to outperform its current offering by a substantial margin. It is anticipated to launch with the expectation of being “considerably more powerful” than its predecessor. This forthcoming model is poised to assist businesses in developing advanced text analysis and related services.

Furthermore, the company has been actively building data centers, which will play a crucial role in facilitating the development of this advanced system. At the same time, Meta has been ramping up its acquisition of Nvidia’s H100 semiconductor chips, which are currently the most powerful and in-demand chips available in the market.

OpenAI and Meta

Meta has the potential to establish a significant presence in the AI landscape for several compelling reasons. Notably, the Llama AI model underwent training using a dataset containing 70 billion parameters. While OpenAI has not publicly disclosed the parameters for GPT-4, rough estimates suggest they could be approximately 1.5 trillion parameters, significantly surpassing the scale of Llama.

Additionally, Meta, leveraging its social media platform, possesses an extensive user base. Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram rank among the world’s top five largest social networks, each boasting over 2 billion monthly users. In contrast, ChatGPT has registered a total of 180 million users, with a noticeable decline in this number over the past couple of months.

Furthermore, Meta’s latest objectives appear to align logically with the speculated generative AI capabilities that the company has reportedly been developing. In June, there was a leak suggesting the testing of an Instagram chatbot featuring 30 different personalities, which bears resemblance to the unconfirmed AI “personas” that the company is rumored to unveil later this month.

Meta’s P92: The Latest Decentralized Social Networking App In Development

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Meta, an American multinational technology conglomerate, is reportedly working on a new decentralized text-based app, according to a March 9th report.

It will support ActivityPub, the protocol that powers Mastodon and other decentralized social networking apps that compete with Twitter. The app, codenamed P92, is still under development, and Meta has not revealed when it plans to release it.

Meta Ventures Into Decentralization With P92

The app will allow users to log in through their Instagram credentials, according to documents seen by MoneyControl. This move has raised concerns among users who might not want to share their Instagram data with another Meta app.

The report stated that Meta’s recent actions are being interpreted as an effort to develop a Twitter alternative or a Mastodon competitor, given the increasing popularity of decentralized networks since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. 

The Fediverse, which is a network of decentralized servers that supports the ActivityPub protocol, includes various platforms like Tumblr, Flipboard, and Flickr.

Meta’s new application will support ActivityPub, which will make it easier to connect with other instances, such as Mastodon, as per MoneyControl. However, decentralization is not limited to this protocol alone.

Bluesky, which is backed by Jack Dorsey, recently launched its iOS app in beta, and messaging applications like Rocket.chat have already embraced the Matrix protocol.

Blaine Cook, who is a former Twitter engineer, believes that the diversity of protocols is as significant as the diversity of applications that are built on top of them. 

He noted that interoperability between ActivityPub and Bluesky won’t be difficult and that the only thing preventing interoperability between Twitter and Facebook’s timeline has been protectionist policies by those companies.

Meta has made attempts to create new apps and experiences in the past, but not all have taken off. It has killed experiments like the anonymous teen app, tbh, Cameo-like app Super, Nextdoor clone Neighborhoods, couples app Tuned, and TikTok clone Lasso, just to name a few, according to the report.

Therefore, it won’t be surprising if the new decentralized app shuts down a few years after its launch. Meta has confirmed the development of the new app in a statement but has not revealed details about its release, per the report.

However, the company’s move to create a decentralized app is an attempt to provide users with an alternative to Twitter and Mastodon and to create a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.

Related Reading |  Bitcoin Slides Below $20K Amidst Growing Crowd’s Interest

NFT Minting And Trading To Soon Be Available On Instagram

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Non-Fungible-Tokens (NFT) has become extremely popular in the last year or so. Over 1 billion NFTs are already available on the market, and an average of 8 million new ones are produced each month. As more people become aware of how valuable they may be in transferring value, this figure is anticipated to increase even higher.

Instagram, the famous social media network, is getting ready to launch a number of tools connected to NFTs that will let creators produce, display, and trade NFTs.

At its Creator Week, 2022 event on 2 November 2022, Instagram parent firm Meta said that the network would let its creators produce “digital collectibles” and sell them “both on and off Instagram.”

Meta has picked the Polygon blockchain as an initial partner for this functionality, claiming that creators will have an “end-to-end toolkit” for developing, presenting, and finally selling NFTs within the platform.

It states that only a “small group” of American authors will be permitted to test the new capabilities and that expansion to other nations will follow, although it makes no mention of when this will happen.

In addition to the blockchains it now supports, such as Ethereum, Flow (FLOW), and Polygon, Meta recently announced support for the Solana blockchain and the well-known Phantom wallet.

Selected NFT to be pulled from OpenSea

Additionally, metadata for specific non-fungible token collections, including names and descriptions, will be retrieved from the NFT marketplace OpenSea. Support for video digital collectibles will also be introduced.

The blockchain gas fees for buyers will be covered by Meta “at launch,” according to Stephane Kasriel, head of commerce and financial technology at Meta, who did not specify how long the launch timetable would be. Meta will not charge fees to manufacture or sell NFTs until 2024, he added.

According to Kasriel, these deals would still be subject to “app store fees,” which refers to Apple’s 30% royalty on the sales, which has come under fire for being higher than the typical 2.5% charge imposed by marketplaces like OpenSea.

Given that both Apple and Google only permit in-app transactions made using fiat currencies and both restrict buttons, external links, and other actions that provide customers a method to avoid their commissions, buyers apparently won’t be able to buy Instagram NFTs using cryptocurrency through the Instagram app.

It is unknown if Meta will follow the recent moves from marketplaces to migrate to opt-in royalty models because Meta has not disclosed how much of a commission it expects to take from NFT sales or what its creator royalties scheme would look like.

Axie Infinity and Revolutux: Two Metaverse Compatible Projects With Well Developed NFT Marketplaces 

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The metaverse is one of the countless opportunities for crypto enthusiasts to make money while doing what they love. Axie Infinity (AXS) and Revolutux (RVLT) are metaverse compatible cryptocurrencies. 

Although Axie Infinity (AXS) and Revolutux (RVLT) have different features, they provide a platform for users to interact with the metaverse and earn massive rewards.

Axie Infinity (AXS) is a virtual gaming platform on which users can earn tokens and NFTs while playing the game. Revolutux (RVLT) allows its users to create and trade Non-fungible tokens. These are enriching opportunities that crypto enthusiasts can utilize to make money. 

Shiba Inu (SHIB) is another crypto project that holds out high rewards for its users. Unlike Axie Infinity (AXS) and Revolutux (RVLT), it is a memecoin with unique features. This article will highlight the features of the Revolutux (RVLT) cryptocurrency while comparing it with Axie Infinity (AXS) and Shiba Inu (SHIB).

Features of the Revolutux (RVLT) 

Revolutux (RVLT) aims to develop a user-friendly, fast, and cheap platform for blockchain-based transactions. It utilizes the Binance Smart Chain network and its underlying infrastructure to accomplish this feature.

Revolutux (RVLT) is keen on transparency, decentralization, and long-term viability. The Revolutux (RVLT) ecosystem issues its community-managed deflationary cryptocurrency to guarantee this functionality.

The Revolutux (RVLT) native cryptocurrency “RVLT” has a total supply of 50 billion tokens. This volume will be decreased over time to create scarcity and increase its value. Burning within the Revolutux (RVLT) ecosystem takes place periodically. 20% of all transaction fees within the Revolutux (RVLT) ecosystem are burnt. 

Additionally, Revolutux (RVLT) token holders can participate in the governing process that determines the future of the Revolutux (RVLT) ecosystem. This member involvement makes them feel involved in the growth of the ecosystem. 

The Revolutux (RVLT) ecosystem has an active reward redistribution system for all its users. This redistribution occurs as 50% of all transaction fees are returned to the wallets of RVLT holders. 

Features Of The Axie Infinity (AXS) Ecosystem 

Axie Infinity (AXS) is an Ethereum blockchain-based metaverse project. Like the Revolutux (RVLT) ecosystem, it allows users to create, own, and trade Non-fungible tokens. 

Axie Infinity (AXS) is a virtual gaming platform where users can purchase and own NFT-like in-game assets. These in-game assets can be land or Axies. 

Axies are monster-like creatures used to engage in battles within the Axie Infinity metaverse. They can be purchased, raised, or bred within the Axie Infinity (AXS) platform. Like NFTs, Axies are unique assets. Each Axie’s specifications determine its strength and power.

Axies are bred to create new NFT-based in-game assets. The new Axies share similar traits with their parents, determined by their dominant and recessive qualities.

Like the Revolutux (RVLT) ecosystem, Axie Infinity (AXS) has a native NFT marketplace where users can exchange axies for cryptocurrencies. The AXS cryptocurrency powers transactions within the Axie Infinite ecosystem. 

Features of the Shiba Inu (SHIB) Ecosystem

The Shiba Inu cryptocurrency differs from the Revolutux (RVLT) and Axie Infinity cryptocurrencies. The Shiba Inu cryptocurrency was created as a meme coin in the crypto space. Meme coins are cryptocurrencies created based on a popular internet meme.

Since Dogecoin (DOGE), the first meme coin, became a success and gained acceptance within the crypto space, other meme coins like Shiba Inu (SHIB) have entered the coin market. The Shiba Inu cryptocurrency experienced a surge in price not shared by any other meme coin.

Additional Features Of The Revolutux (RVLT) Ecosystem

Revolutux (RVLT) is a new cryptocurrency in the coin market, which means it has a lot to offer its users. It is currently in its presale stage and provides additional reward opportunities for its participants.

Participating in stage one of the presale is rewarded with a 7% bonus. Participants earn a 6% bonus when they purchase USDT ERC-20 tokens in the presale. When referring others, both parties will receive $50 as a reward for participating in the presale when the referred individual purchases $200.

The Revolutux (RVLT) token is one of the best cryptocurrencies you can buy in 2022. It offers numerous reward opportunities due to its host blockchain. Revolutux (RVLT) stakeholders will play an active role in determining the ecosystem’s future. Participate in the ongoing presale to enjoy the next-generation ecosystem’s features. You can find more information here.

Meta’s NFT expansion drives 38% surge in FLOW token

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Following Meta’s (FB) intention to use the blockchain to advance its non-fungible tokens (NFT) effort, the Flow blockchain token (FLOW) saw a gain of over 35%.

The token experienced buying pressure after Meta declared support for NFTs, digital tokens that represent ownership of physical or virtual assets created on the Flow blockchain, and announced the international expansion of its recently tested digital collectibles feature on its photo and video-sharing platform Instagram.

Source: Twitter

Mark Zuckerberg, the creator, and CEO of Meta, announced the rollout in a Facebook post. After a successful testing period in May, Instagram users in several countries can now display their NFTs. According to a tweet from the social media platform, the network will also include support for Flow Blockchain.

The social media behemoth also declared support for Dapper and Coinbase wallets as being compatible for use as part of its expansion strategy.

The Flow blockchain was developed by Dapper Labs, and NBA Top Shot, one of NFT’s biggest hits, made it famous. To support “games, infrastructure, decentralized finance, content, and artists” in the Flow ecosystem, Dapper Labs revealed a $725 million fund in May.

According to statistics recorded by Coinglass, the price increase in FLOW is supported by a triple-digit increase in futures open interest on important exchanges, including Binance. The quantity of contracts exchanged but not offset by an offsetting position is referred to as open interest.

An increase in open interest confirms the price rally by indicating that more capital is being invested in the FLOW market.

FLOW has above its 100-day simple moving average (SMA), leaving behind ether (ETH) and bitcoin (BTC), which are still trading below the important SMA. As shown in the chart below, the larger decline is still present.

Meta supports content creators through new features

Recent enhancements that Meta believes would expand the potential for money generating, permit creative expression, and improve user engagement were announced for online content creators.

According to reports, in an effort to attract more creators to its platform, the proposed creator’s marketplace would compete with TikTok’s comparable marketplace, which is the video app’s internal influencer marketing tool.

Facebook Rolls Out NFT Testing for the User Profiles

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Facebook will provide a “digital collectibles” button on producers’ timelines to showcase their work, supporting nonfungible tokens (NFTs). On Thursday, the manager of the Meta technical program Navdeep Singh tweeted screenshots of a creator’s page and NFTs.

The same day, a representative for Meta, the corporation that owns Facebook, informed TechCrunch that the introduction of NFTs on Fb will be slow and start with a small group of American producers.

The ability to cross-post across Facebook and Instagram, another Meta trait, will eventually be available to NFT producers. NFTs are being tested by Instagram’s Spark AR augmented reality platform.

Following Facebook, Instagram expands the NFT trial to international users

Instagram last week opened up its NFT testing to users outside of the United States. The program enables the display of NFTs created on Polygon and Ethereum, with plans to also support Solana and Flow NFTs.

According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Meta said in May that it had started testing NFTs on Instagram and that Fb will “soon” do the same.

The NFT display capabilities would soon be applied to other Meta-owned applications including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, he continued.

In October 2021, Facebook changed its name to Meta. It has been attempting to grow in Web3, however not entirely successfully. After facing stiff resistance from authorities all around the world in February, Meta abandoned its plan to introduce the Diem stablecoin.

But Meta submitted trademark requests for a Meta Pay payment system in May, and Zuckerberg declared on June 22 that Meta Pay will take the place of Facebook Pay.

According to Zuckerberg, Meta Pay will be accessible on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Fb Messenger.

It looks that Meta will not begin selling NFT on the social media platform, as a company representative told TechCrunch that Meta “indicated that it won’t offer the opportunity to transform digital collection postings into advertisements for now.”

On the company’s Meta Quest app store, which offers software and games for Meta’s metaverse, the sale of NFTs is anticipated to begin.

Meta Announces New Metaverse & Web3-Aligned Online Creator Tools

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Meta unveiled a host of features for online content creators that it claims would increase the scope for revenue generation, allow creative expression, and enhance user engagement.

Announcing the same, CEO Mark Zuckerberg also said it is expanding some of its current monetization tools to attract more creators.

First, creators would not be charged for online events, fan subscriptions, or badges, until 2024. which was previously kept till 2023.

Besides that, Meta is testing a marketplace on Instagram to bring creators and brands together for future collaboration via a partnership messaging folder within Instagram DMs.

As per sources, the proposed creator’s marketplace would compete with TikTok’s similar marketplace, which is the video app’s in-house influencer marketing platform, in a bid to woo more creators to its platform.

In terms of the firm’s existing monetization tools, the chief exec announced enhancing current offerings like the Facebook Reels Play Bonus program to onboard more creators and also let creators cross-post their Instagram Reels to Facebook and monetize them there as well.

The Reels Play Bonus program is a part of Meta’s larger $1 billion creator fund and will go live next week.

Meta’s NFT Display Now On Facebook

After Meta’s pilot testing of NFT display options on Instagram back in May, the firm is now expanding the test pool, bringing the digital collectibles feature to Facebook, ‘starting with a small group of US creators’.

For U.S.-based influencers, one is eligible to apply for the Facebook Reels Play bonus program if they have created more than five Reels and have a total of a minimum of 100k views in the past 30 days.

Not only that, the firm is planning to extend a virtual platform called Facebook Stars to all eligible creators from now on. Here fans can offer support for their favorite creators and buy merchandise.

“Beginning this week, creators who have at least 1,000 followers over the last 60 days will be eligible to onboard. Creators must be in a region where Stars are available and must also meet Meta’s Partner Monetization Policies and Content Monetization Policies”, the report read.

Meta Set To Unveil A Full-Fledged Metaverse Academy In France

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Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, has teamed up with a French digital training firm to launch a “metaverse academy” in France for the new academic year, as per a Sunday announcement.

Metaverse which is widely viewed as the next iteration of the internet technically refers to an immersive digital world consisting of augmented or virtual reality and transforms the web from 2D to 3D.

As per the press release, the initial goal for the school would be to train for free around 100 students in two roles, specialist immersive technology developers and support and assistance technicians, Meta’s vice president for southern Europe Laurent Solly told AFP.

The teaching would be imparted in-person and revolve around projects, with a focus on the 3D world and interactions in the virtual universes, said Frederic Bardeau, co-founder and boss of Simplon, the Partner French firm

Located in the capital Paris and other cities including Lyon, Marseille, and Nice, the new academy will train 20 students per city each year.

Diversity would also be given particular attention. Solly said 30% of the first batch would be reserved for women.

Meta To Soon Launch Crypto Exchange

Back in October 2021, the tech firm said it intended to create 10,000 jobs in Europe in five years’ time to build the virtual world the US technology giant’s new strategic priority.

Till May 2022, it has filed five trademark applications in the U.S. for its newly rebranded payments product, Meta Pay. The applications indicate that the company may have plans to launch a slew of crypto-related products and services, including a crypto exchange and a wallet.

A week earlier, fintech head Stephane Kasriel said that the new payment projet wants to provide a cross-platform “single wallet experience.”

The trademarks, filed on May 13 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, aim to protect Meta’s newly acquired brand name “Meta Pay” as well as its associated logos and symbols related to a variety of crypto-related products and services, including a crypto wallet, a trading service, and an online social networking service for investors.

The trademark applications also suggest that platform is looking to enter into crypto lending, card, and investment services.

Polygon Emerges As A Preferred Destination For Crypto Initiatives

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The Polygon ecosystem is teeming with a lot of activities. Originally marketed as Ethereum’s scaling solution, or the so-called Layer 2 blockchain, has rapidly evolved to become what co-founder Mihailo Bjelic claims, a “one-stop-shop for anything that a developer would need to spin up a node or application.”

Last year its $250 million acquisition with the ZK rollup Hermez network was merged as Polygon Hermez, which has boosted its privacy-enhancing functionality by hiding transacting addresses and amounts from prying eyes.

Polygon also pledged $100 Million to bootstrap growth. Just a couple of months after its February launch, Paper, a crypto-focused payments processing firm has closed a $7.3 million seed round after a $2 million angel investment, for a total of $9.3 million in fresh capital, James Sun, co-founder and CEO of the firm said.

The round was co-led by Electric Capital and Initialized Capital with participation from Polygon, FalconX, and Long Journey Ventures among others.

“Paper enables users to create wallets through their email addresses and purchase NFTs with credit cards [or crypto wallets] across the MATIC blockchain to provide non-crypto consumers a “frictionless” bridge for entry into the marketplace,” the announcement read.

Meta Chooses Polygon Blockchain to fuel its Web 3 Ambitions

Another significant development was when Meta announced that they will use the blockchain to expand their reach into the Web3 space. 

Ryan Wyatt, CEO of Polygon, tweeted, “We’re excited to share that Meta is partnering with 0xPolygon as they push into web3. Facebook is choosing it due to our carbon neutral footprint, the scale we can offer, and the developer ecosystem choosing to build on the blockchain.”

Last month, the layer-2 protocol unveiled a new plan, “The Green Manifesto,” to transform into a more sustainable era and aims to be ultimately carbon negative by the end of 2022.

It has allocated a $20 million fund to help realize its goal. As per the team behind the project, the fund will be directed at community initiatives and projects that use technology to combat climate change.

Wyatt who is also the former Head of Gaming on YouTube declared, “The most reputable companies in the world are choosing Polygon after due diligence.”