 Telegram is now allowing users to send cryptocurrency with its app after more than two years without that functionality. Users can send and receive Toncoin and make purchases in Bitcoin without incurring transaction or gas fees. More: - In 2019, The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed legal action against Telegram for raising capital from investors for Toncoin, claiming that it is an unregistered token.
- Telegram had raised $1.2B for its "Gram" token sale before its battle with the SEC in 2019. A 2020 settlement dictated that Telegram return the $1.2B plus pay an $18.5M fine.
- Telegram ended its collaboration with The Open Network (TON) blockchain at that point.
- Between then and last week's announcement, an online developer community continued to develop the Toncoin and its associated blockchain.
- Users can send the Toncoin through the messaging app through its official "Wallet Bot" and buy other cryptocurrencies using a bank card without having to pay transaction or gas fees.
- To get started, users have to create a Telegram Wallet bot, which will link to the user's bank card with an option to transfer to other wallets.
Blockworks 
| |
 Superplastic, the maker of animated celebs, vinyl toys, and digital collectibles for the metaverse, might be the Disney of the metaverse. The company is building a range of products across entertainment, music, fashion, NFTs, and crypto powered by Web3. More: - The company has generated over $20M in revenue from selling an NFT collection, and now investors across tech, entertainment, and commerce are betting on this company to become the Disney of the metaverse.
- Paul Budnitz, the founder of Superplastic, told Forbes that the company raised $4M in strategic investment from Amazon, Sony Japan, Animoca Brands, and Kering — the parent company of Gucci and Balenciaga.
- Amazon will help the company with its comics and longer-form shows.
- Sony will help bring music and movie distribution to Asia.
- Animoca Brands is helping the company bring its creations onto The Sandbox metaverse and NFTs.
- Gucci is exploring ways to create digital products using the platform.
Forbes
| |
 A message from AUROX A quick way to win $10,000 in Aurox’s hot wallet launch giveaway If you’re looking for a safer and more intuitive crypto wallet and an easy way to win $10.000, this is for you: A leading cryptocurrency platform is launching its multi-chain browser wallet in June, and rewards you for sharing the news with friends. Here’s what Aurox wallet is all about: We all know stories of traders who had their wallets hacked or were victims of fraud. A lot of these scams happen because hackers often take advantage of the weak security protocols of hot wallets. But Aurox Wallet offers next-generation protection against token theft, through: - Smart Contract Whitelist
- Phishing page detection
- Preventing sending tokens to smart contracts
- Safe and simple login & account recovery
…and more. TL:DR? Aurox Wallet is creating a simpler, safer way to hold and trade DEX tokens. So how can you win $10k? Click to sign up for the waitlist, and join our $10k giveaway! Sign Up & Enter
| |
 Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger criticized Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry during Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting. Buffett and Munger used the yearly meeting to reiterate their opposing views on Bitcoin, calling it a "worthless" investment. More: - Despite the finance industry beginning to see the benefit of cryptocurrencies, Buffett still holds opposing views and believes that Bitcoin is "worthless" because it doesn't produce anything, unlike business and real estate investments. "It's got magic to it, but people have attached magic to lots of things," he said.
- “If you said … for a 1% interest in all the farmland in the United States, pay our group $25B, I’ll write you a check this afternoon,” Buffett said, but not for Bitcoin as there is no intrinsic value in the digital asset.
- He then explained his view by the following example: "if you told me you own all of the Bitcoin in the world and you offered it to me for $25, I wouldn’t take it because what would I do with it? I’d have to sell it back to you one way or another. It isn’t going to do anything. The apartments are going to produce rent and the farms are going to produce food."
- Both Buffet and his long-time partner Munger believe that the digital currency will fall to zero.
- Munger called Bitcoin a "stupid" investment because it will be worth zero someday and "evil" because it undermines the integrity and stability of the U.S. financial system, and also said China's ruling party is smart to have banned it.
- Last month, Peter Thiel called Buffett Bitcoin's "enemy number one" and a "sociopathic grandpa from Omaha" during the crypto conference in Miami.
CNBC
| |
Wikimedia, the non-profit foundation that runs Wikipedia, announced that it will no longer accept crypto donations, citing environmental concerns. The community voted against accepting crypto donations after a three-month-long deliberation period, with 71% of its members opposing donations in crypto. More: - Molly White argued that accepting Bitcoin or any cryptocurrency is a violation of Wikipedia's commitment to environmental sustainability and that the company is risking its reputation by accepting crypto donations.
- 71.1% of Wikimedia community respondents voted against accepting bitcoin donations.
- The foundation released a statement this week: "We are making this decision based on recent feedback from those same communities [that requested crypto donations in 2014]. Specifically, we will be closing our Bitpay account, which will remove our ability to directly accept cryptocurrency as a method of donating,".
- Wikimedia had accepted crypto donations since 2014, including Dogecoin, Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and others.
- In the last fiscal year, only $130,000 worth of crypto was collected, amounting to 0.08% of the total revenue.
Mashable
| |
 A message from MAGIC MIND What was the best day you had recently at work? We’re willing to bet it involved a big chunk of time free from meetings and distractions where you were able to get into a deep flow-state and do impactful, creative work. Magic Mind is a 2oz shot with 12 active ingredients all clinically proven to get you into that creative flow-state more often. It exists to help creators do more and stress less. Some people (alright, those people work at Magic Mind) have said "if athletes have Gatorade, creators now have 'Creatorade' with Magic Mind". That’s why entrepreneurs, creatives, executives, and everyone in between rely on Magic Mind to enhance their morning ritual and get more done. Oh, and it tastes delicious. Try Magic Mind today, 100% risk free (we’ll refund your first purchase no questions asked if it doesn’t work for you). Enter exclusive code INSIDE15 for 15% off your purchase, and find your flow-state today! Try Magic Mind
| |
 ApeCoin launched its Otherside metaverse sale over the weekend, but the token decreased by 40% over a three-day period as the hype begins to cool off. More: - The token climbed to $27.57 on April 28, a 2,650% increase since March, but investors started to change their position when the company released the cost associated with its NFT collection called "otherdeed."
- The NFT mint could cost 305 APE or $5,250, which most likely led to the drop in demand.
- ApeCoin dropped to $17 over a three-day period after this announcement; however, the company generated a total of $561M from the sale of its NFTs.
- The large sales volume had technical problems on the Ethereum network, so the company will launch on its own blockchain in the future.
- Investors paid hefty Ethereum gas and transaction fees during the minting and virtual land trading process.
- The high volumes of sales clogged the network, which sent the fees skyrocketing.
- Gov Capital expects the price to climb back to $27.87 during the year, and WalletInvestor expects the price to soar to $30.501.
Fxstreet
| |
Mairead McGuinness, a European Commissioner for financial regulations, is asking for a global collaboration when dealing with cryptocurrency regulations. President Biden has already laid out the framework for U.S. regulation of crypto assets, and many believe that the U.S. can lead the regulatory framework on digital assets globally. More: - McGuinness wants to address the potential risks of making cryptocurrency mainstream and believes that the U.S can lead the world on the regulatory framework for digital assets.
- Things to consider when drafting policies include:
- Volatility or a certain class of digital assets;
- Risk of insider trading;
- Russian use of crypto to evade sanctions;
- Environmental concerns.
- Policymakers would require global coordination and joint international principles to ensure that no product is unregulated, collect data on exchanges at a global level, and protection for retail investors and for the environment should be established accordingly.
Cointelegraph
| |
QUICK HITS *This is sponsored content.
| |
Upcoming Events: - May 03 - Venturing in VC - Episode #17 with Ryan Holmes (LOI Venture) (Register Here)
- May 05 - [Live Webinar] Women in Sales: How to Build Your Personal Brand to Drive More Sales presented by Introhive (Register Here) *
- May 12 - Making Metaverse Dating a Reality (Register Here)
- May 18 - Need To Know NoCoder: Jatin Arora (Utilize) (Register Here)
- May 19 - Understanding Fractionalization (Register Here)
- May 24 - Meet Our Fund 3 (Register Here)
- May 31 - Ethereum Merge with Anthony Donofrio (Ethereum) (Register Here)
- June 01 - Selling Consumer Goods in Web3 (Register Here)
- June 09 - Empowering Content Creators with No Code (Register Here)
- June 22 - The Future of Open-Source Software Security (Register Here)
- July 28 - HR Strategies to Retain Remote Employees (Register Here)
* This is a sponsored event.
| |
 |  | Gia Mattu is based in Calgary, Alberta. She is an entrepreneur with experience in climate technology, drones, AI, machine learning, and blockchain technology. When she's not working, she loves to hike the Canadian Rockies, try new cuisine, and travel. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
| |
| |
