Hello,
 
Welcome to your bi-weekly crypto-verse update with Breach.

In this edition:

  • Squid game-inspired crypto takes out investors
  • What is the metaverse?
The Movers
 
Bitcoin (BTC) - $63,067.57 (+2.55%)
 
Ethereum (ETH) - $4,592.89 (+5.55%)
 
Cardano (ADA) - $2.09 (+7.26%) 
 
Solana (SOL) - $229.33 (+12.92%)
 
Binance Coin (BNB) - $522.86 (+2.28%)
 
Ripple (XRP) - $1.20 (+9.34%)
 
*Data as of 9:30 AM WAT on 2nd, Nov 2021. Via Coinmarketcap
SQUID Game crypto edition: life imitates art

After rising by over 310,000% less than two weeks post-launch, SQUID, a Squid Game-inspired cryptocurrency, has crashed 0. Its anonymous creators also seem to have sold all their tokens and dumped the market.

 

The cryptocurrency, SQUID, was worth $0.012 last Tuesday. By October 29th, the coin price had skyrocketed and was widely covered in the media for its huge gains. The token's price peaked on October 31st at $2,861.80 before dropping 100% to lose virtually all of its value.

 

SQUID's appeal is similar to many pop-culture inspired tokens: Like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, and other memecoins, SQUID is theme-based. Its website advertises it as a currency for an upcoming online game based on the Netflix show Squid Game.

 

Several red flags đźš© : Their claims did draw a lot of scepticism in crypto circles. Firstly, although the website claimed an affiliation with Netflix, neither the streaming service nor the creators of Squid Game confirmed it.

The website also claimed partnerships with NFT marketplace OpenSea, crypto tracking sites CoinMarketCap and Microsoft— again, none of the companies confirmed or announced a collaboration. In addition:

  • Investors were unable to sell their coins after buying them
  • The coin's website had multiple spelling and grammatical errors.
  • The Twitter account didn't allow replies to posts.

 

Not all memecoins: A memecoin is a cryptocurrency associated with a meme or parody. The first, Dogecoin— based on a popular Japanese meme dog-- is still gaining momentum. Created in 2013, Dogecoin is popular with crypto enthusiasts like Tesla CEO Elon Musk and has earned millions for its early investors. Another memecoin, Shiba Inu—which has now surpassed Doge in value— is currently among the 10 digital assets.

 

Are memes a joke? Memecoins are fuelled by their cult following, so the value is as good as the following (much like any other financial asset). However, crypto experts say memecoins are risky because they have no use cases or underlying value. They believe it is best to invest in assets with solid underlying value, like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

 

Bottom line: Investments should not be motivated by fanfare alone. If you must invest in new products (crypto or otherwise), it is crucial to verify the claims. For crypto projects you might be interested in, research the team behind them. If you trust the team, you can probably trust their product.

The good thing is that scams like SQUID don't last very long, so the best way to avoid falling victim is to wait it out and see if it gets flagged.
Facebook becomes Metaverse

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg announced that he is changing the company's name to Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta for short). But Facebook isn't the only one. Video game companies Epic Games (makers of Fortnite), Roblox, and even commercial companies like Coca-Cola are getting in on the metaverse.

 

Ok, so what exactly is the metaverse?

It is basically how the tech world expects the next stage of the internet to look.

 

Neal Stephenson coined the term in his 1992 novel  Snow Crash, where it referred to a 3D virtual world inhabited by avatars of real people. Similarly, Zuckerburg describes it as a "virtual environment" you can go inside instead of just looking at it on a screen. You can meet with others using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses or smartphone apps.

 

In plain English, here are some of the things you might expect from the metaverse:

  • A variety of person-to-person social interactions: For work-from-home folks, instead of seeing co-workers on a video call grid, employees could join them in a virtual office.
  • Real-time 3D computer graphics and personalized avatars: Game platform Roblox describes its vision of the metaverse as a place where "people can come together within millions of 3D experiences to learn, work, play, create and socialize."

 

And what's crypto's role?

Facebook says its metaverse will support non-fungible tokens (NFT) to help creators build a real immersive experience and securely sell and resell their creations.

Beyond Facebook, we already see some crossover with "metaverse"-style services. For example, the company Polygonal Mind is building a system called CryptoAvatars that lets people buy 3D avatars as NFTs and then use them across multiple virtual worlds. This structure seems to mimic how the metaverse envisions the "virtual economy".

 

Gamers getting real crypto tokens will become more popular as the metaverse expands. Already, gaming platforms that use an earn-as-you-play strategy are gaining momentum.

 

What people are saying: The metaverse is still under construction, so it is still to be seen what the various versions of the metaverse will morph into and how it will affect life as we know it. But one of the biggest concerns— especially with Facebook's involvement— seems to be the capitalist agenda and the dangers of sharing more data with big corporations. 

 

Breach Reads

Here are a few other articles we think you'll enjoy

  • Global payment facilitator Mastercard is partnering with Bakkt to enable banks and merchants on its network to integrate cryptocurrency solutions into their systems (Finbold)
  • Cryptocurrency investment in India stood at over $10 billion, rising from $923 million in April last year (Ambcrypto)
  • Tesla CEO, Elon Musk tweeted about starting a new university in Texas known as the Texas Institute of Technology & Science and tuition will be accepted in Dogecoin (Coingape)
  • The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania is offering an online blockchain course they describe as an “end-to-end blockchain and digital assets program” that will give students the industry knowledge they need to succeed, and they're accepting Bitcoin as a payment method (Coinmarketcap)
 

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