Esports betting platform Unikrn has announced it will be working with Atari to integrate the upcoming Atari Token into its cryptocurrency ecosystem. 

The partnership will give Unikrn access to Atari’s catalogue of gaming classics like Centipede®, PONG®, and Asteroids®, while providing powerful crypto tech, skill-based wagering opportunities via Unikrn’s patent-pending UMode platform, and unique wagering experiences to Atari Casino & Atari Token. 

Commenting on the news Unikrn co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft Ventures, Rahul Sood, said:

“Unikrn and Atari are pioneers in the gaming industry, changing the world around us with creativity and innovation. We know the wagering will be an increasingly driving force in the game industry’s future development, and we can’t wait to get the benefits of this partnership to Unikrn’s community.”

While Atari CEO, Fred Chesnais, added:

“Today we have forged another essential partnership to support Atari’s journey into cryptocurrency and blockchain-based entertainment experiences.

“Unikrn’s thriving ecosystem will provide Atari Token holders with significant additional utility and value, while the addition of Atari’s classic arcade brands to that ecosystem will offer extensive familiar-yet-new gaming content to Unikrn’s community.”

The Atari Token is issued by Atari Chain, Ltd (Gibraltar), a company equally owned by Atari and the ICICB Group. Unikrn, named EGR’s 2019 Esports Bookmaker of the Year, operates one of the leading esports and casino-based crypto betting platforms. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Atari is really going all out with its upcoming token! Just last week the company announced plans to integrate it with Native Gaming’s upcoming MMORPG and online casino, and in May it partnered with global monetisation platform and multichain blockchain API and wallet provider Arkane Network. 

Interested in finding out more about Unikrn and the visionary behind it? Don’t miss our  exclusive interview with Rahul Sood, CEO and co-founder of Unikrn. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

The Seychelles is rapidly emerging as the world’s cryptocurrency exchange hub, moving USD $36 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) across borders during 2019. 

Despite having a population of under 100,000, the tiny archipelagic island nation in the Indian Ocean is now home to a number of crypto exchanges and companies – having lured them with low taxes and light touch regulation. 

According to data from blockchain analysis company Crystal, in 2019 the Seychelles handled more BTC than any other country, by a long way, receiving $15.83BN and sending $20.83BN.

The United States was a distant second, receiving $9.66BN and sending $8.56BN, while another tiny island tax haven, Malta, came in third with $4.88BN received and $5.55BN sent, just pipping the UK which received $4.12BN and sent $3.28BN. 

In terms of trade routes, the most active were Seychelles – EU, Seychelles – US, and Seychelles – South Korea, each moving over $2BN. 

In all, 12 Seychelles-based crypto exchanges received $15.83BN worth of BTC from foreign exchanges, and sent $20.83BN. It should be noted that Crystal did class Binance (BNB) as a Seychelles-based exchange for its report, though many consider it to be based in Malta. 

The Seychelles’ approach to regulation isn’t going down well with everyone. As we’ve previously reported, the country is home to HDR Global Trading, parent company of BitMEX – which has been accused of racketeering, money laundering, wire fraud and unlicensed money transmission. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With many jurisdictions, especially in Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania, drastically tightening crypto regulations, more companies are looking for less stifling homes. While some might not like this, it does provide an incredible economic opportunity for small and/or developing nations. 

Indeed, in January this year, Dutch crypto derivative exchange Deribit relocated to Panama, saying that new European Union AML rules would “put too high barriers for the majority of traders – both regulator and cost-wise.” 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Crypto scammers have used YouTube to steal USD $150K worth of Bitcoin from victims, by impersonating SpaceX and Elon Musk. 

According to a 9 June report on Bleeping Computer, scammers hacked genuine YouTube accounts and added branding to make them look like Elon Musk’s official SpaceX channel. 

Archived footage of Musk was then used to put on fake ‘live events’, in which people could scan a QR code to pay Bitcoin (BTC) and ‘join the live conversation’. 

Capitalising on the interest surrounding SpaceX, following its recent launch of the world’ first private manned spacecraft, it’s not surprising the event proved popular. 

In fact, at least 80,000 people watched the ‘live stream’, presumably fooled by the con, and 15.31 BTC was handed over by victims. One Bitcoin address received 29 transactions consisting of 4.08 BTC, worth nearly $40K, while the other received 84 payments consisting of 11.23 BTC, worth nearly $110K. 

It’s not the first time Musk has been impersonated in crypto scams, and in February he took to Twitter to urge people to report scams as soon as they saw them. However, things aren’t so easy, with scammers becoming ever more sophisticated and seemingly one-step ahead of the platforms. 

Musk isn’t alone in being used by crypto scammers either. It is an increasingly troubling issue for many celebrities and high-profile business people. In February, Qatari billionaire Wissam Al Mana launched legal action against Facebook in response to his image being used on crypto scam adverts appearing on the social media platform. Last year Kate Winslet, Andrew Forest, Bill Gates, and Richard Branson were also hijacked by crypto scammers behind the audacious fake Bitcoin investment scheme known as “Bitcoin Code” or “Bitcoin Profit.” 

AYO.NEWS says:

It really does seem that the major social media platforms are failing to stem the tide of sophisticated crypto scams, so it’s critical that people employ their own due diligence before parting with crypto. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Earlier today a whale moved a massive $1.3 billion in Bitcoin (BTC), sending the crypto world into a frenzy of speculation. 

With BTC still hovering just below the magic $10K mark, according to blockchain.com data, an unknown Bitcoin trader moved over 132,255 BTC, worth approximately USD $1.3BN, in three transactions over the space of a few minutes. 

Many suspect the unknown entity was an exchange or custodial service, with some suggesting Coinbase as a likely candidate. 

Though a record in terms of fiat value, it is not the biggest movement in terms of number of BTC – that record was set way back in 2011, when a mind blowing 500,000 BTC was shifted. Of course, at the time it was ‘only’ worth $1.32 million. However, at today’s prices, it would be worth a jaw dropping $4.9 billion! 

AYO.NEWS says:

With so much instability in the world right now, and the COVID-19 crisis seemingly having triggered mass social unrest and an unprecedented economic catastrophe, many are expecting Bitcoin to embark on a dramatic bull run. 

Just yesterday we reported that the European Central Bank (ECB) is preparing for a tsunami of job losses and bad debt across the continent, while in the United States record unemployment and spreading social unrest is the backdrop for constant money printing, as the authorities attempt to stave off economic and financial collapse. 

Was today’s major BTC movement a signal of further preparations on the part of crypto firms? Interesting times.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

The European Central Bank (ECB) is preparing for a COVID-19 induced bad debt tsunami that could well prompt many to turn to Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptos. 

Europe prepares for economic meltdown

As the ECB doubles its COVID-19 stimulus support measures to a staggering €1.35 trillion, officials are bracing an unprecedented economic crisis.

According to a 10 June Reuters report, insider sources have confirmed the ECB is planning to set up a ‘bad bank’ to handle what could be hundreds of billions of euros of unpaid loans resulting from a COVID-19 induced economic collapse. 

It seems the ECB is expecting mass unemployment across the continent, as thousands of businesses collapse in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdowns, and a resulting mass defaulting on debt obligations, including credit cards, personal and business loans, mortgages, and car financing agreements. 

Needless to say, for a continent that was already carrying an estimated USD $500 billion bad debt before the crisis hit, the results could be utterly catastrophic. And that’s not even taking into account the growing likelihood that more waves of COVID-19 will force further lockdowns.

To try and mitigate the effects of the upcoming financial crisis, the ECB is said to be looking at setting up an asset management company, or so-called ‘bad bank’, to protect other lenders from the worst impacts. 

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the US Federal Reserve is also accelerating its money printing, even though its balance sheet now stands at an eye watering $7.16 trillion. Illustrating the gravity of the situation, $3 trillion has been added in just three months. 

Crypto world watches with sense of inevitability

Despite many in the traditional financial world having their heads buried very deeply in the sand, cryptocurrency advocates have been watching events unfold with a sense of inevitability. 

Last month, as the 629,000 BTC block was mined during the halving, a message was inserted by f2pool reading “NYTimes 09/Apr/2020 With $2.3T Injection, Fed’s Plan Far Exceeds 2008 Rescue”. The message was a nod to the note left in the Genesis block back in 2009, by the enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto, that read “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”

These ominous messages are a reminder that Bitcoin was created out of the ashes of the 2007-2008 Financial crisis, as an alternative to what many saw as a doomed fiat monetary system. Now, as a crisis of a magnitude of order greater in scale approaches, many think we will now see Bitcoin truly come of age. 

Indeed, over the past few months we’ve seen a flood of experts and analysts make startling predictions of an imminent Bitcoin (BTC) bull run. Just yesterday we reported that Cane Island Alternative Advisors’ Timothy Peterson had noted an “almost perfect” correlation with 2013, when Bitcoin embarked on a 700% bull run, and pointed out that if the correlation continues, it could result in $75K BTC within weeks. 

Will the traditional monetary and economic system manage to recover from the COVID-19 crisis by hiding a mountain of bad debt and furiously printing more money? Or will we see the wheels finally come off and a systematic collapse, resulting in a dramatic ascendency of cryptocurrencies and digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC)? 

With 2020 looking more like a dystopian science fiction movie everyday, all bets are off. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Through a variety of partnerships with some of the biggest teams in the sports world, cryptocurrencies have started to become more and more used in promoting sports and in online betting.

While cryptocurrencies have many implementations, especially in the financial sectors, the sports industry has also started embracing their use.

Sports teams and organizations have used digital tokens for different purposes, such as giving fans exclusive access to limited content and items, creating fan tokens, buying tickets, and so forth. Back in 2014, the NBA team Sacramento Kings allowed fans to purchase tickets and merchandise with Bitcoin (BTC). In June 2019, the Portuguese football club, Benfica, collaborated with the cryptocurrency platform, Utrust, to accept crypto payment for merchandise and tickets. Supporters were able to use Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Utrust tokens to make purchases on the platform.

Also, some of the biggest teams in Europe, such as Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, West Ham, and Roma, have used the tokenization power of blockchain provided by their partnerships with the blockchain-based, fan engagement website Socios to enable fans to create their own fan tokens.

Fans could then use their tokens on the platform to vote on matters such as changing the club’s jersey or accessing exclusive content and collectibles.

Socios’s platform is powered by its proprietary cryptocurrency called Chiliz. The company made headlines when it announced that Chiliz will be listed on the top cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.

This partnership represented a huge stride for the development and adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrency use in the world of sports. According to Socios CEO Alex Dreyfus, there are more than 3.5 billion sports fans worldwide, which can mean a huge untapped sector for cryptocurrencies.

For many centuries, sports and betting have gone hand in hand. As the world is transiting online, online sports betting sites have also appreciated in popularity.

The transactional benefits of cryptocurrencies enabled many of these sites to facilitate fast gambling and betting for punters from all over the world, as cryptos do not rely on banks. While most sportsbook sites usually accept only Bitcoin or Ethereum, the 1xBit site, for example, supports over 20 types of cryptos, including QTUM, Stratis, NEO, EOS, Monero, Zcash, and many others.

Crypto betting sportsbooks have become quite successful in the past few years, some of them becoming major sponsors for well-known sports teams. For example, two major English Premier League football teams were sponsored by crypto gambling sites.

Arsenal received sponsorship in 2018 from the gambling platform CashBet. Through the collaboration, the company advertised its native crypto, CashBet Coin, during the Premier League season when Arsenal played its home games at the Emirates Stadium.

Online sports betting has also benefited from the introduction of cryptos as payment options. Cryptocurrencies are a more convenient way for punters to make transfers to and from their betting accounts, as there is no personal name, address, telephone number, etc., linked to the asset. While some crypto gambling sites ask for additional data when registering, 1xBit is a fully anonymous sportsbook. Signing up is just one click away, and you do not have to provide any sensitive information. What’s more, new users can benefit from a generous welcome bonus of up to 7 BTC.

Accounts can easily be funded through a variety of cryptos, with more than 20 options to choose from. Of course, you are not limited to using only one crypto when betting, as all 1xBit users have multi-currency accounts. As the sportsbook only accepts cryptos, all transactions are feeless and facilitate fast payouts.

1xBit features a multitude of sports, including traditional and esports matches and tournaments, where you can find high odds on many events.