There have been several recent developments in the crypto space, including the launch of Flipkart’s first metaverse shopping platform in India, and the halting of trading of crypto funds by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Flipkart has launched India’s first metaverse shopping platform Flipverse, a 3-D virtual space where consumers can get photorealistic experience of products, from clothes, electronic items to accessories before buying them. It aims to bridge the gap between online retail shopping and real world shopping by creating realistic visuals interactive experience for customers.
Consumers can access Flipverse through Flipkart’s mobile app. To enable the service, Flipkart has collaborated with eDAO, a Polygon-incubated organisation that designs and launches global art, media, and entertainment IPs at scale in the Web3 world.
Flipverse’s goal is to bring consumers closer to their favourite brands in a metaverse where communication is bi-directional. Flipverse will be available on Flipkart's newly created FireDrops platform, which can be accessed via its app.
“The future growth of e-commerce will be influenced by the immersive technologies of today. The launch of Flipverse will enhance the customer experience while delivering a gamified, immersive shopping experience. By providing customers with access to their preferred brands, offers, SuperCoins, and digital collectibles, we are aiming to improve their shopping experiences,” said Naren Ravula, vice president (VP) and head, Product Strategy and Deployment, Flipkart Labs.
Lazarus Group Behind Crypto Hacks
Japan's National Police Agency (NPA) and Financial Services Agency (FSA) have issued a public advisory asking the country's crypto enterprises to be wary of "phishing" assaults by the hacking organisation aimed at stealing crypto assets.
According to the statement, Lazarus orchestrated phishing operations by impersonating officials of a targeted company to trick them into opening infected links or attachments.
In addition to the $625 million Ronin Bridge hacking attack, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic linked Lazarus to the $100 million Horizon Bridge hack that happened in June.
Mango Market Hack
According to the decentralised finance (DeFi) protocol governance forum, the Mango Markets community will let the hacker keep $47 million as bug bounty, after the hacker returned $70 million worth of cryptos stolen during a previous hack. Hackers had earlier stolen $117 million worth of cryptos. The arrangement was approved by 98 per cent of voters, or 291 million token holders, and provides that Mango Markets will not seek criminal prosecution against the hacker.
Binance Launches Loan Options For BTC Miners
Binance Pool, a mining pool arm, has launched a $500 million loan programme for the cryptocurrency mining industry. It will provide loans to crypto miners.
Eligible borrowers will need to agree certain conditions, including loan duration of 18 to 24 months, interest rates, ranging from 5-10 per cent and deposit of physical and digital assets as collateral.
Australia Halts Crypto Funds
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has temporarily barred three crypto funds managed by Australian asset management company Holon that invests in Bitcoin (BTC),
Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin. “ASIC made the interim orders to protect retail investors from potentially investing in funds that may not be suitable for their financial objectives, situation or needs.” The ASIC said in a press release.
The watchdog cited the risks associated with the funds, such as high volatility, concentration of funds in a single asset like Bitcoin or Ethereum, for the decision. “Investors are likely to experience significant price volatility and deep negative returns in periods of asset price decline. In its product disclosure statements, Holon has disclosed the risk that assets in the funds could face a total loss of value,” ASIC added.