Crypto.com Users Can Shop in 175 OTR Stores, BTG Pactual Launched Crypto Trading Platform, CDPQ Wrote Off Stake in Celsius + More News

Sead Fadilpašić
Last updated: | 4 min read
Source: AdobeStock / sdx15

 

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news. 
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Adoption news

  • Crypto.com wallet customers can now purchase everyday items, such as petrol, coffee, and sandwiches across 175 On The Run (OTR) fuel and convenience store sites across Victoria, South Australia. and Western Australia using their crypto by using the Crypto.com App to scan a QR code on their phone. Peregrine Corp, the owner of OTR, plans to roll out the capability to another 250 retail sites across the country, said the announcement.
  • Brazillian investment bank BTG Pactual launched a crypto trading platform. Called Mynt, the platform will offer its users access to bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), solana (SOL), polkadot (DOT), and cardano (ADA), the company said in a press release.

Investment news

  • The CEO of a major Canadian institutional investor recently said he’s written off the company’s stake in Celsius (CEL), Bloomberg reported. Charles Emond, CEO of the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, discussed investing USD 150m into the troubled crypto lender, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, and said even though the due diligence was “quite extensive”, it is not a guarantee of success. He added that he has “empathy” for thousands of investors whose funds Celsius had locked up.
  • Non-custodial lending protocol Yupana.Finance said that it is providing credit protocol benefits to the Tezos (XTZ) community, enabling them to borrow, lend, and earn rewards. The press release stated that the developers of Madfish, a software development company in the Tezos ecosystem, have tested Yupana “extensively” and that it is already launched on the Tezos mainnet.
  • Blockchain cybersecurity firm dWallet Labs has raised USD 5m to build its solutions on top of Odsy Network, a press release said. The pre-seed funding was led by Node Capital and Digital Currency Group, and joined by Amplify Partners, Lightshift Capital, Liquid2 Ventures, Collider Ventures, and more, as well as founders and angel investors from Coinbase, Ethereum, Celo, AngelList, Alt, Spearhead, and others.
  • Singapore-based crypto staking firm RockX has been recognized by Staking Rewards, a central information hub and data aggregator for crypto staking, as a Verified Staking Provider with effect from July 20, 2022. Offering non-custodial staking services for all major Proof-of-Stake public blockchains, RockX is one of 22 providers globally that have applied for and obtained verification, while four out of these are based in Asia, said a press release shared with Cryptonews.com.

Payments news

  • Crypto platform Wirex has introduced new payment methods, to make it easier for users to top up and withdraw funds from their accounts. The methods include SEPA Instant and Faster Payments, allowing customers in the UK and the EEA to transfer GBP and EUR between Wirex and bank accounts more easily, it said.

Security news

  • Blockchain interoperability protocol Celer Network was forced to shut down its cBridge product after coming under a Domain Name System (DNS) hijacking attack. To mitigate the potential threat, the company asked its users to revoke the approval for a number of contracts, including Polygon (MATIC), Avalanche (AVAX), and others. Following this, the team stated that cBridge frontend user interface (UI) is now up again with additional monitoring in place.

Stablecoin news

  • Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, said that it is updating its assurance and attestation processes, and officially began working with BDO Italia, the Italian member firm of BDO global organization, the top five ranked global independent public accounting firm, in July 2022 for its quarterly attestations. Tether will also focus on moving towards releasing its attestations from a quarterly basis to monthly reports.

Legal news

  • A Russian man, accused of laundering cryptocurrencies stolen through ransomware attacks, was extradited from the Netherlands to the US, where he’ll face charges of co-conspiring to money laundering, and other criminal offenses, the US Department of Justice announced. 29-year-old  Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov is looking at a 20-year prison sentence, should he be convicted. The money he was allegedly laundering was coming in through the Ryuk ransomware strain.

Gaming news

  • The Sandbox’s Alpha Season 3 will launch on August 24, the company confirmed in a press release today. It said that this will be the biggest Alpha Season to date, as it includes 98 experiences over 10 weeks, meaning players will get new content every day.
  • Online multiplayer IO game Snook announced its BBT Themed rooms for ecosystem partners – a branded, token-gated experience where projects can engage with their community. It also signifies the potential of collaboration in the Web3 space, said a press release shared with Cryptonews.com. Snook’s partnership with blockchain domain names builder Unstoppable Domains enables Snook users to log in with their Unstoppable Domain and play against other UD holders. The game also partnered with LobsterDAO and launched LobsterDAO BBT-themed rooms, and it will be hosting an exclusive game night for all the LobsterDAO NFT holders.
  • Gaming-oriented blockchain Oasys announced the winners of its Web3 game pitch event that it had recently held in Seoul, South Korea. TROUBLE PUNK: Cyber Galz, a battle royale-style action game won the competition, bringing its developers, Catze Labs, 600,000 of Oasys’ native tokens, OAS, as well as first negotiation rights with Arriba, BNE 021 Fund, and DJT Ventures. Pomerium, Epic League, and Tanuki Squad split second place, winning OAS 200,000 each.

Career news

  • CEO of crypto exchange Genesis Trading, Michael Moro, has stepped down from his position, at a time when his company faces major losses due to the fall of Three Arrows Capital. According to Bloomberg, he will be succeeded by the current Chief Operating Officer, Derar Islim, who joined the company two years ago.