Rentfuse has launched on the Neo N3 TestNet with a demo release of Fusekind Bits NFTs, and is hosting a contest to test the protocol. The contest began at 9:00 p.m. (UTC) on Sunday, Feb. 27, and the goal is for users to complete a lend and borrow cycle using the Rentfuse protocol.

Rentfuse is a protocol that enables NFT owners on Neo N3 to rent out their assets while maintaining ownership control. It allows borrowers to use an NFT for a predetermined period of time in exchange for GAS, without the owner relinquishing custody of the asset.

To participate in the contest, users must connect their NeoLine, O3 Wallet, OneGate, or Neon Wallet to the Neo N3 TestNet, and then obtain TestNet GAS from the Neowish N3 NEO and GAS faucet. Users can then visit www.fusekind.com to mint one of three Bits NFTs: Hopper, Dreamer, or Keeper.

When a participant either rents or lends a Bits NFT, they will receive one of three Bits in return. Users can choose to rent or lend NFTs for as long as they please, with a minimum time frame of one minute.

To rent or lend the Bits NFTs, the participant must then visit www.rentfuse.com and log in with the wallet that was used to mint the initial Bit NFT. Then, select the "Lend" button, input the NFT token ID that can be copied from the Bit NFT after it is minted, and input the rent amount, duration, and collateral amount.

The more cycles that participants complete, the higher their "Bits score," tallied according to the number of Bits NFTs owned. Bits scores at the end of the event will determine the winners, with the total Bits supply limited to one million.

The contest is tentatively planned to run for two weeks, although there is no defined end date at time of press.

A federal grand jury in San Diego has indicted the founder of one of the largest scams in the digital currency space, charging him with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodity price manipulation, and international money laundering. Satish Kumbhani, the founder of digital asset mega scam BitConnect, faces up to 70 years behind bars if convicted of all the charges.

The San Diego court claimed in its indictment that Kumbhani misled investors about BitConnect's Lending Program. Under this program, the 36-year-old and his cronies allegedly told investors that they could generate guaranteed returns by using their investment funds to trade on the volatility of the digital asset markets, authorities said. They touted the 'BitConnect Trading Bot' and its proprietary 'Volatility Software' as being able to generate guaranteed returns.

The project collapsed in early 2018, and it was outed as a massive Ponzi scheme in which Kumbhani and his co-conspirators used later investors' money to pay off the early investors. They were able to raise $2.4 billion from investors before the project sank, according to investigators.

The indictment further alleges that after shutting down the Lending Program, Kumbhani directed his network of promoters to artificially and fraudulently manipulate and prop up the price of the BitConnect Coin (BCC), the project's native token. This gave the impression that the token was in high demand and increased its price.

To cover their tracks, the BitConnect leaders allegedly comingled and exchanged users' funds through their cluster of digital currency wallets, concealing the location and control of the funds.

Throughout the length of their operation, the BitConnect operators were aware but willfully ignored all the relevant regulations, authorities said. These include operating a money transmitting business through its exchange without registering with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which violates the Bank Secrecy Act.

In his comments, Eric Smith, the Special Agent in Charge of FBI's Cleveland Field Office, warned digital asset scammers that the FBI would pursue criminals who turn to digital assets to conceal their schemes.

"Dressing up a tried and true fraud scheme with a new twist and basing it overseas will not deter the resolve and dedication of the FBI to meticulously investigate and bring such fraudsters to justice."

The IRS, the Justice Department's Criminal Division, and the Southern District of California's Attorney's office all shot a warning to digital asset scammers as well, reminding them that the industry isn't beyond the scope of the law.

The indictment charges Kumbhani with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodity price manipulation, conspiracy to commit international money laundering, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Kumbhani, from Hemal in India, could spend up to 70 years behind bars if convicted of all the charges.

As CoinGeek recently reported, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently sided with victims of BitConnect, giving them the green light to pursue a class-action lawsuit against the project's promoters. The Southern District of Florida had tossed the lawsuit after the promoters had argued that the Securities Act of 1933 doesn't encompass solicitation conducted through online mass media means.

In its ruling, the appellate court pointed out that the Act doesn't impose a limitation on the means of solicitation, nor does any precedent ever set in the court.

"Because the Securities Act provides no free pass for online solicitations, we reverse the district court's dismissal of the section 12 claim," Judge Britt Grant ruled.

Follow CoinGeek's Crypto Crime Cartel series, which delves into the stream of groups—a from BitMEX to Binance, Bitcoin.com, Blockstream, ShapeShift, Coinbase, Ripple, Ethereum,
FTX and Tether—who have co-opted the digital asset revolution and turned the industry into a minefield for naïve (and even experienced) players in the market.

SINGAPORE, Jan 28, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - 2021 was a huge year for the cryptocurrency market, with huge strides in growth and adoption of digital assets, NFTs, and blockchain worldwide. It was also an incredible year for Moonstake as we rose to the top rankings of global staking providers, reaching a total staking assets of $1.8 billion thanks to the support of our users and partners worldwide. As we begin the new year 2022, Moonstake as well as our strategic coin partners have many exciting news and programs in store for you as our platforms scale and evolve. To welcome our user community into the exciting new year, we're creating a series of articles in collaboration with our strategic partner on what you need to know about our partner coins in the year 2022, this time with Tezos.

Since August 2020, Moonstake has been supporting XTZ staking via strategic partnership with TZ Ventures, a Tezos-centric blockchain startup combinator from South Korea supported by the Tezos Foundation. Since then, Moonstake has hosted a number of campaigns that promoted awareness of the Tezos ecosystem as well as adoption of XTZ staking to global users.

Mainstream adoption of crypto reached an all-time high in 2021 and Tezos was one of the biggest players. Household names include Ubisoft, Red Bull, McLaren, The Grammy Awards, Groupe Casino, Whitney Houston, Doja Cat, Linkin Park, Cambridge University, The Catholic Church, UN Migration Agency, Deloitte, Save the Children, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and many more have started building on Tezos network. This has resulted in major growth on Tezos in the realms of NFTs, DeFi, and DApps. By the end of 2021, Tezos recorded over 33 million contract calls on mainnet with 24.5 million transactions being NFT related. In this article, we will be interviewing our partner at TZ Ventures about what is in store for the Tezos ecosystem and its user community in 2022.

Q1 Which 2021 achievements are you the most proud of?

We are very proud of and still support (tech consulting) our incubating firms who received funding - 1 Seed, 1 Series A, 1 Series B funding were secured in 2021. We are also cooperating with prominent projects in the game, NFT, K-pop and fin-tech industries and have signed numerous blockchain research MOUs. Additionally, we are currently incubating established companies in the metaverse and NFT space - projects projected to be the next big thing in Asia.

Q2 What measures are you going to take in 2022 to further increase adoption of Tezos?

Firstly, we will focus on assisting projects in applying for and receiving Tezos Foundation Grants - more than US$2.5 million in funding for over 200 projects in at least eight countries has been granted since Q2 2021. Also, We will leverage the focus of the Tezos Foundation as it positioned itself as the blockchain popular for developers and creators of NFTs: Most notably in Tezos, music NFT platforms such as Quincy Jones-backed OneOf and AmplifyX, as well as art NFT marketplace Hic et Nunc among many built on Tezos. Formula One teams Red Bull Honda Racing and McLaren Racing are also partnering with Tezos to build and create NFTs for fan engagement.

Q3 What can users expect from Tezos in 2022?

As stated previously, you can expect a faster turnaround in the Tezos Foundation Grants process. Also, NFTs will flourish on the Tezos network due to the blockchain's energy-efficient design and lower gas fees.

Moonstake is proud to be strategic partners of TZ Ventures. We will continue to maintain strong support for the ever growing and developing Tezos ecosystem and hope to bring even more great value to XTZ and crypto users worldwide in 2022 to help accelerate adoption of the Tezos and Moonstake ecosystems together.

About Moonstake

As a world-leading staking service provider, Moonstake develops and operates decentralized wallet services for enterprises and end users.

Our full-scale staking business started in August 2020. With the support of users all over the world, our total staking assets has risen to 1.8 billion dollars. In June 2021, we ranked third among 15,000 staking providers globally.

So far, we have expanded our business and ecosystem through about 30 strategic partnerships, including major blockchains such as Emurgo which is a constituent organization of Cardano, TRON, and NEO. In May 2021, we became a wholly owned subsidiary of the listed company "OIO Holdings Limited" on the Singapore Stock Exchange and we are working to further expand Moonstake's business and improve our credibility.

Neo community developer Robert Oschler has won second place in the SocialFi category of the Metaverse Alliance hackathon. Oschler's project, Neo3D Live, is a 3D metaverse world that allows users to interact with one another's avatars and participate in events like real-time auctions.

Oschler developed Neo3D Live so that anyone in any part of the world can access the 3D world, regardless of their ability to purchase powerful equipment. Neo3D Live was designed for most of the world's internet users – those without VR headsets or high-end equipment. He said:

Let Metaverse residents form meaningful connections in a virtual world that will run on common hardware, including the millions of smartphones that may be the only link to the Metaverse a citizen in an economically disadvantaged region has. This is a link that has the true power to uplift the millions, if not billions of hard-working, intelligent, decent human beings who have the misfortune of being born in a region that is not economically gifted like other parts of the world.

The platform leverages the ThreeJS graphics library, a graphics engine that is widely accessible. Neo3D Live runs on almost any browser and device, so there is no need for high-powered computer setups.

The platform's beta version allows users to congregate in a digital 3D environment. Real-time video conferencing is embedded into the moveable characters, so participants can see those they're communicating with via live video feed. Oschler said, "By combining true video conferencing where participants can see each other's faces as they talk to one another and move about a fun virtual world, people can once again feel the natural human joy of forming groups based on both social and spatial relationships like they would at a party or a shopping mall."

Oschler also incorporated other elements to make the space feel more natural and interactive. In Neo3D Live, intelligent objects are embedded in the virtual world, responding to an avatar's presence. For example, walking up to a wall with an embedded YouTube video will trigger the video to begin playing. And to create a more real-life experience, a user can hear the sounds of their movements and that of others around them.

NFT Showcase
The first demo of Neo3D Live included the NFT Showcase, a custom room where an individual can purchase an NFT on auction. A demonstration of the live auction can be found below:

The NFT designer can determine who can participate in the Showcase by whitelisting public wallet addresses on Neo N3.

The Neo3D Live smart contract supports derivative commissions, so collectors can earn profits when they sell an artist's NFTs if the artist grants them that right. Further, Oschler intends the NFTs bought and sold through Neo3D Live to be viewable and transferable via third-party marketplaces (i.e., Sky Hut, GhostMarket).

Looking forward, he aims to develop and release a drag-and-drop toolkit (that doesn't require coding ability), so anyone can build a virtual world.

The Indian government has proposed taxing income from cryptocurrencies and other digital assets at 30%. India's finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said: "There's been a phenomenal increase in transaction in virtual digital assets … The magnitude and frequency of these transactions have made it imperative to provide for a specific tax regime."

30% on Crypto Income
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed taxing income from cryptocurrencies and other digital assets at 30% while presenting the federal budget Tuesday. She said:

I propose to provide that any income from transfer of any virtual digital asset shall be taxed at the rate of 30%. No deduction in respect of any expenditure or allowance shall be allowed while computing such income, except the cost of acquisition.

"There's been a phenomenal increase in transaction in virtual digital assets," the finance minister added. "The magnitude and frequency of these transactions have made it imperative to provide for a specific tax regime."

The tax proposal puts cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in India's highest tax band.

Harish Prasad, head of banking, India, FIS, was quoted as saying: "This has been a much awaited announcement in the context of the interest and growth in investments into these assets. The uncertainty and concerns on the legal, regulatory and taxation status of cryptocurrencies are addressed to a reasonable extent by virtue of this announcement."

Avinash Shekhar, the CEO of crypto exchange Zebpay, commented:

Thirty percent tax on income from virtual digital assets, while high, is a positive step as it legitimizes crypto and hints at an optimistic sentiment towards further acceptance of crypto and NFTs.

Nischal Shetty, the CEO of crypto exchange Wazirx, commented: "We also hope this development removes any ambiguity for banks and they can provide financial services to the crypto industry."

However, tax consultants warned that individuals could end up paying more than 30% of their crypto profits in tax and other charges. Amit Maheshwari, partner at tax consulting firm AKM Global, told Reuters: "If you made a profit of 100 rupees then including the 30% tax bracket, plus surcharge and cess the total tax outgo will be around 42 rupee."

Another announcement the Indian finance minister made Tuesday was about the launch of the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital rupee. She said the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will introduce a digital currency starting in the financial year 2022-23, stating:

The introduction of a central bank digital currency will give a big boost to the digital economy. Digital currency will also lead to a more efficient and cheaper currency management system."

Tezos has secured a partnership with French esports giant Team Vitality. The three-year deal aims to bring Team Vitality closer to its fans than ever before by leveraging Tezos' energy-efficient blockchain.

Tezos Enters Esports Space
Tezos has entered into another game-changing partnership.

The Layer 1 blockchain, which prides itself on energy efficiency, announced a three-year partnership with French esports organization Team Vitality Thursday. Although details about what the partnership entails are still vague, Team Vitality stated that the deal would "revolutionize" its fan experience.

As part of the new deal, Team Vitality explained that the collaboration would help educate their fans on the benefits of blockchain as part of the gaming experience and showcase the advancements of these technologies. Additionally, the organization's CEO Nicolas Maurer explained what the partnership would mean for the esports team, stating:

"This is truly a game-changing partnership for Vitality, which feels appropriate given 2022 is set to be the biggest year in our history. The opportunities Tezos can bring to strengthen the relationship between us and our fans is incredibly exciting, and we're immensely proud to have Tezos join us on this journey."

For Tezos, the partnership appears to include brand visibility, possibly in the form of sponsorship logos on Team Vitality players' jerseys. "Tezos will be represented by top-performing Team Vitality rosters and star athletes and through unrivaled brand visibility across the esports ecosystem," Team Vitality said in a press release.

Last year, Tezos signed several major partnerships to boost its visibility. In June, Tezos made deals with Formula One racing teams McLaren and Red Bull Racing to launch collectible NFTs. Both teams stated that Tezos' low carbon footprint factored into partnering with the blockchain.

Last month, video game developer Ubisoft announced it would be launching NFTs on the Tezos-based Quartz platform, only to be hit with severe backlash from the gaming community. Despite this, Ubisoft put out a statement confirming that it will still pursue non-fungible tokens, explaining that the move is "a major change that will take time."

Despite attracting a lot of attention from brands, Tezos has otherwise struggled to gain significant momentum in the crypto space in recent months while other competing Layer 1 blockchains have seen huge growth. Musicians, artists, and art collectors appear to be some of the blockchain's biggest enthusiasts (besides Ethereum, Tezos is arguably the biggest hub for digital art NFTs, and it's also hosted NFT collections from the likes of Mike Shinoda and Doja Cat).  

Through its new partnership with Team Vitality, Tezos will be hoping to attract a new demographic of esports fans. However, after how poorly Ubisoft's foray into NFTs was received, whether Team Vitality's fans will be receptive remains to be seen. 

What is multi-signature?
Multi-signature, also known as Multi-sig, which is a digital signature that allows multiple users to sign one transaction. To address in a simpler way, an account that is owned, managed, signed by more than one party.

In most cases, there is only one private key that manages a single account, which we call it 1/1. Multi-sig is different, it goes m/n, "n" refers to the amount of private keys that are authorized to sign for the account, transactions only take effect when the number of signatures reaches to "m". In this case, "m" must be less than or equal to "n".

How is Multi-sig applied in cases
Multi-signature has many use cases in account authority management.

Assets management
Multi-sig greatly enhances security level by allowing multiple people managing one account using different private keys, which lowers the risks of assets being attacked.

Redundancy
By managing one account with Multi-signatures, even if one of the signatories lost the private key, the rest of them can still get access to the account that is being protected by multi-sig.

Department Authorization
A matter that must be approved and signed by multiple departments before it takes effects. Every signature can be traced and it is transparent to all parties.

Assets that supported by NULS Multi-signature
Our multi-sig comes as a DApp, which is compatible to NULS and NerveNetwork blockchain The Multi-sig DApp can be used to manage NULS and Nerve mainnet asset , also including assets bridged from Ethereum/Polygon/Arbitrum/BSC/Heco/OEC/Cronos and other blockchains to NULS through NerveBridge(currently not compatible with NRC20 assets )

A quick starter on NULS Multi-sig DApp
How to use Multi-sig DApp in NULS network

Connect Wallet
To get access to multi-sig DApp, connect wallet by Nabox or Metamask.
Click & Down extension wallet here.