Weekly Recap: Cardano Delays Vasil Upgrade while Celsius Struggles
TIME Collaborates with Sandbox to Build TIME Square in the Metaverse
On Tuesday, The Sandbox announced a partnership with TIME's Web3 initiative, TIMEPieces. The collaboration aims to create a virtual version of the well-known Times Square. Times Square is a popular tourist and entertainment destination in New York.
The Times Square location in The Sandbox will be recreated as a virtual hub for art and commerce curated by TIMEPieces. This is not TIME’s first foray into the Metaverse. However, since joining the NFT community last year, this will be the entertainment firm's first location in the metaverse. The goal, according to TIME’s president Keith Grossman, is to create a destination that will be the heart of the metaverse. He also stated that Time Square would serve as a natural link between the company's virtual community and real-world events.
Cardano Postpones Vasil Upgrade Due to Bug Issues
Cardano's parent company Input Output Global (IOG) in a blog post on Monday revealed that the much-talked-about Vasil Upgrade has been postponed. Rather than its original date of June 29, The Vasil Upgrade will now take place in the last week of July, due to several bug-related issues.
The team revealed that they had about seven bugs to iron out before launch. The post also warned that they could require far more time for testing than expected.
The Vasil Upgrade is expected to transition the network from the Goguen to the Basho era. IOG explained that the upgrade involves a complex process of integration and would also require coordination among professionals and stakeholders in the ecosystem. The four-week extension will give the team the needed time to solve the bug issues and will also allow the experts and the participants ample time to prepare before the main launch.
Coinbase Set to Unify Trading Platforms
United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase is set to shut down its official trade platform Coinbase pro to restructure its services. The recent action will unify its previously independent services into one single entity.
The exchange announced on Wednesday that it would henceforth be migrating all CoinPro’s services into a new section of the website now dubbed “Advanced Trade”. Coinbase launched the new section in March 2022 with the sole purpose of providing traders with in-depth analysis and monitoring actual trading directly on their website.
The latest transition will not be immediate but will be done gradually over the next months. Coinbase has suggested that it could also add new upgrades to the Advance Trade feature.
Meanwhile, the exchange assured its users that funds in the previous CoinPro are safe.
Goldman Sachs Set to Acquire Troubled Crypto Lending Platform
Crypto lender Celsius is on the brink of bankruptcy after employing some ill-advised DeFi strategies. The crypto winter affecting the market did not spare Celsius, as the platform indefinitely froze withdrawals on all customer’s assets in a desperate push to finance its marginal loans. The lender’s struggles along with Terra’s collapse have helped shed more than $180 billion of the global market cap.
On Friday, Wall Street Journal reported that the investment bank giant Goldman Sachs is interested in acquiring Celsius assets, in a $2 billion deal. Likewise, news emanating from different sources familiar with the development suggest that the banking giant will be willing to purchase Celsius assets at a reduced price should the platform declare bankruptcy.
Indeed, Goldman Sachs’ move is part of the bank’s effort to draw commitment and pique interest in the web3 industry. There is evidence that the bank is especially interested in seeking funds to target distressed assets of traditional finance companies.
At the moment, Celsius is already in talks with Alvarez & Marshall, in what major players are touting to be a preparatory ground before it finally files for bankruptcy.
Theft: Harmony Loses $100M to Hackers
The Horizon Bridge to the Harmony Protocol has been identified as the victim of a $100 million hack. In a Twitter post on June 24, the Harmony team revealed that it had suffered an attack and that it was working with experts and the FBI to unmask the perpetrators and recover stolen funds.
To reduce the severity of the case, the Harmony team said it notified exchanges of the situation and also halted activity on Horizon bridge.
In its twitter thread, the team confirmed that the attacker stole a wide range of tokens: Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD), Aave (AAVE), and wrapped Ethereum(wETH) among others. After the theft, the hacker reportedly started swapping the token for ETH and then proceeded to transfer coins to another address. However, at the time of writing, the hacker has not employed any privacy protocol like TOR to mask their trail.
Yuga Labs Sues Ryder Ripps for Trademark Violation
Yuga Labs, creator of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, filed a lawsuit against artist Ryder Ripps on Friday. Ryder allegedly misled people into purchasing RR/BAYC NFTs by misusing Yuga Labs' trademark. The artist created the RR/BAYC collection, an Ethereum-based NFT collection that is modeled after the original BAYC non-fungible tokens.
According to the legal suit, Ryder’s NFT collection devalues the authentic Bored Ape NFTs. Moreso, the suit claims Ryder used Yuga Labs' trademark to sell his collection and promote his coming NFT marketplace. The plaintiff further accused the digital artist of deliberately harming them at the expense of the users.
Meanwhile, the defendant appears to have profited handsomely from the sales, totaling over a million dollars. Ripps reacted by comparing the move to attempting to outlaw popular TV series Saturday Night Live. Yuga ultimately seeks to permanently revoke Ripps’ access to its trademark.
