Aurelia Butler

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Solana Meme Project Donk.Meme Raises 1000 SOL In 10 Days

    Donk.Meme ($DONKM) presale is officially live and this new donkey themed Solana meme coin is replicating the same method pioneered by Book Of Meme founders and adopted by the likes of $SLERF.Over 1,000 SOL has been raised in the first few days of the presale with over 7 days left to go which is a testament to Donk.meme’s novel presale mechanism.The trend of raising funds through direct transfers was pioneered by Darkfarms, the creators behind the impressive Book of Memes ($BOME) meme coin project which raised $100M in its presale and became a $1B crypto token after its launch.What is Donk.Meme?Donk.Meme, inspired by the beloved Donkey in the Shrek movie, with its roots deeply inspired by the beloved character from Shrek. Donk.Meme is more than just another coin; it’s beginning to attract attention from users in the crypto ecosystem and fans of meme coins alike.More people are getting interested in memecoins, the Solana blockchain has fast processing and low fees, making it a good place to start meme coins. In this landscape, $SOL, Solana’s own token, shines as a clear example of why more meme coin creators and crypto enthusiasts are turning to this blockchain.A New Way to Get Involved into Meme Coin PresalesThe Donk.Meme presale operates differently from typical presale procedures. In this case, participants are required to transfer $SOL tokens to a specific presale wallet address to qualify for a $DONKM airdrop when the token launches.The necessary wallet address for this transaction is provided on the Donk.meme presale webpage. It’s important for users to verify the accuracy of the wallet address and the website URL against provided references before initiating any SOL transfers.Once the $SOL tokens are sent, the $DONKM token will be automatically airdropped to the sending wallet. Therefore, it’s crucial for potential investors to use a private wallet for this transfer, as transactions from centralized exchanges (e.g., Binance, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), Crypto.com, OKX) will not be eligible for the airdrop.Users can refer to the guide for guidance on how to participate in the presale.Users are invited to stay connected with the Donk.Meme Telegram and Discord channels to keep abreast of all updates and partnership announcements.About Donk.MemeDonk.Meme is a pioneering meme coin project launched on the Solana blockchain, inspired by the beloved character Donkey from the iconic Shrek series. It represents a unique blend of humor and investment potential.Users can stay Up to date By Following Donk.meme On Social MediaWebsite | Twitter | Telegram | DiscordDonk.Meme is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.ContactMarketing OfficerDon [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

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    in Economy

    Southern Europe’s growth spurt needs to be built upon

    Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A recent growth spurt in southern Europe is reviving hopes of a faster convergence between the eurozone’s traditionally lacklustre Mediterranean economies and its industrial powerhouses in the north. Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain have collectively outgrown Germany — the bloc’s largest economy — by about 5 per cent since 2017. Together they have added over €200bn to their gross domestic product, in price-adjusted terms.This is a welcome development for the eurozone. Following the 2008 financial crash, the southern economies suffered sovereign debt and banking crises, and some needed large bailouts. A subsequent fiscal squeeze restrained their economies further. Recent growth helps make up for lost ground. It also supports the economic performance of the common currency area as a whole, as it faces competition from the US and China.Growth in peripheral Europe comes on the back of positive economic reforms too. After more than a decade, last year credit rating agencies returned Greece’s bonds to “investment-grade”, following improvements in its fiscal management. Spain enacted labour market reforms which have helped reduce precarious work contracts. Southern nations’ export performance and unit labour costs have also improved.But there are questions over just how sustainable the periphery’s recent economic growth is. First, it has been propped up by large capital investment from the EU’s €800bn recovery fund. Grants and loans under its Recovery and Resilience Facility have been focused on the southern economies, with some being allocated support worth over 10 per cent of their gross domestic product until 2026.Second, part of the Mediterranean nations’ recent strength comes from temporary factors, including a rebound in tourism following the lifting of pandemic restrictions. Italy’s growth has also been supported by a loose fiscal stance, particularly a costly tax incentive which has boosted construction. Last year, its budget deficit was 7.2 per cent of GDP.Their strong performance has come alongside a weakening in northern economies. Germany’s more export-orientated economy has been hit harder by the pandemic, surging natural gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and rising global trade tensions. This year, the GDP growth rates of Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, are all expected to be below that of each of the four southern economies, according to European Commission forecasts. France is expected to grow slightly faster than Italy.The big picture remains one of wide disparities in GDP per capita between the north and the south. What the eurozone needs is sustainably higher growth in Mediterranean nations, alongside recovery in the north. Indeed, if the German economy remains weak, it will sap trade and investment across the eurozone. Berlin must continue efforts to modernise the country’s economic model. Meanwhile, southern nations must step up structural reforms, including to improve public sector efficiency, private sector competition, and innovation — as well as ensuring remaining EU recovery funds are deployed effectively. Just on Thursday, Italian authorities said they had made arrests and seized assets worth around €600mn as part of a suspected fraud involving the fund.But national reforms can only go so far. Important initiatives to support eurozone-wide growth will need to come from a more effectively co-ordinated common economic policy. For instance, a true banking and capital markets union would help investment and savings flow between the north and the south. Further efforts to integrate energy networks, improve supply chain resilience, and boost digital and green investment will also support competitiveness. Southern Europe’s recent economic performance must now be built upon, both to consolidate its own emergence from a long period of poor growth and to lift the eurozone’s long-term prospects as a whole. That will require the north and south to work together. More

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    in Economy

    Snickers wars reveal the enduring perversity of human behaviour

    Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.What can be done to cut inflation? That is a question haunting central bankers right now, given the “disappointing” trajectory of consumer price data in America, among other places. It is also worrying politicians such as US President Joe Biden, against a backdrop of a high level of voter discontent about the economy. Investors are uneasy too. This week the gold price hit record highs, amid a search for inflation hedges. This is, in turn, prompting some classic policy responses: on the one hand, the Federal Reserve is pledging to keep rates high to curb demand; on the other, Biden is lashing out against big business for alleged “price gouging” and/or deceptive practices such as “shrinkflation”, or selling fewer goods for the same price. Cue a recent bizarre spat about the size of a Snickers bar. Biden suggested in his State of the Union speech that these have shrunk; Mars, the maker of Snickers, denies that.This war of words makes for colourful debate. But as the Fed’s headache deepens, there is a far better way to frame the issue — by invoking what economists call “shrouding”. The term refers to the way prices are presented to, and concealed from, consumers, and has been widely studied by behavioural economists. Back in the 1980s, for example, the late Daniel Kahneman worked with Amos Tversky to explore “price partitioning”, or how companies sometimes price products in multiple steps, making it hard for consumers to evaluate costs in a “rational” manner. Hotel rooms are one example from the service sector: a low initial charge might carry subsequent high additional fees. Printers are another: a cheap printing device might require expensive ink cartridges, the cost of which are not readily visible upfront. Shipping costs are yet another example.A cynic might shrug at this, and argue that it is just sensible behaviour on the part of profit-seeking companies. Maybe so. Consultants such as Deloitte have offered advice to their clients in recent years about how far companies can use shrouding to raise margins, without sparking a consumer backlash. But the mere fact that shrouding still exists in 2024, four decades after Kahneman and others began studying it, underscores three important points. First, business competition does not always deliver true efficiency; markets can fail. Second, this market failure arises because consumers are not the all-knowing rational agents that they appear in economic models. They have cognitive biases that lead them to make poor choices and leave them ill-equipped to make judgments about inflation.And third, digitisation alone does not magically fix these competition problems. Yes, it can create more price transparency in some arenas, such as airline tickets. But the internet sometimes creates so much information overload that it can also lead to shrouding, particularly when consumers are busy or poorly educated. Indeed, the image — or illusion — of online transparency can actually make obfuscation worse.  Measuring the cost of this is hard, of course. But last month the London-based Behavioural Insights Team had a stab at it, and concluded that British gross domestic product would be 0.2 to 1 per cent (or £5-£23bn) bigger if shrouding did not exist. It arrived at that estimate by assuming that true price transparency would enable consumers to buy products and services from more efficient companies, thus raising productivity. However, it also explored another crucial issue: that one of the biggest victims of shrouding is the government, since officials running public procurement programmes also struggle to judge the true cost of the services they acquire. It follows that efficiency and efficacy would rise for the public and private sectors alike if there were anti-shrouding policies. These could include measures to impose standardised labelling for products and support price comparison websites, consumer advisory services and so on.Some free-market economists will undoubtedly wince at this and see it as unwarranted meddling, although BIT says such measures would simply “improv[e] how markets work, unleash innovation and creativity, and help people to make better choices for themselves”.Either way, American policymakers and pundits should heed this kind of research. After all, Biden is not the only politician wailing about inflation and alleged price gouging. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has expressed similar sentiments in the past. That is unsurprising, given that bashing big business is often a vote-winner. However, it would be preferable for policymakers to find practical ways to support better price transparency, rather than terrorising the C-suite. The latter hurts confidence, while the former might actually improve competition and market functioning in ways that reduce prices. To put it another way: if Washington wants to make sense of price trends, it needs to take a leaf out of Kahneman’s book and recognise that the perversity of human behaviour endures even in a digital world. That might not be enough to end those Snickers wars. But it would at least lead to a vision of economics more in tune with how companies, consumers and voters actually [email protected] More

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    in Economy

    Zimbabwe to launch ‘gold-backed’ currency to replace collapsing dollar

    Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Zimbabwe will on Friday launch a new currency that it has said would be backed by the country’s gold reserves, the latest move by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to tackle decades of monetary chaos.Mnangagwa said after a tour of the central bank vaults that the southern African nation had sufficient gold to support the new “structured currency”, although analysts questioned the adequacy of these assets.The change is being introduced after the collapse of the current Zimbabwe dollar accelerated this year. Its value has fallen by three-quarters against the US dollar benchmark in 2024, five years after Mnangagwa’s ruling Zanu-PF party brought back a local currency for the first time since hyperinflation in 2008 destroyed the original.The Zimbabwe dollar traded at about Z$36,000 to the US dollar on the black market this week, according to tracker Zim Price Check, compared with an official rate of Z$26,000.David Mnangagwa, the president’s son who was appointed Zimbabwe’s deputy finance minister last year, said the plunge had been worsened by “anxiety and anticipation” ahead of the new currency regime.But analysts and economists said it reflected deeper problems, such as Mnangagwa’s government printing money to pay for spending. There is a widespread lack of trust in the currency from ordinary Zimbabweans who have seen purchasing power and savings wiped out by years of turmoil.So many Zimbabweans prefer to keep their money at home that the practice has gained an affectionate nickname: “mattress banking”.“We’ve had five currencies over the past 10 years,” said Masimba Manyanya, a former chief economist in the finance ministry. “It reflects confusion within government itself.”Benson Gandiwa, who runs a grocery shop in the capital Harare, said he had not used the local currency in years and had no plans to change that. “My business is alive because I stick to the US dollar,” he said.There are also doubts about whether the country has enough reserves to back a currency linked to the value of the country’s gold. In 2022, the government briefly experimented with minting 1-troy-ounce gold coins.John Mushayavanhu, who was appointed Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor last month, said the bank has just over one tonne of gold in its own vaults and 1.5 tonnes held offshore. Zimbabwe’s government has a further $300mn kept in banks, the finance ministry said. South Africa, its larger neighbour, has about 125 tonnes of gold in reserve.Zimbabwe’s foreign exchange reserves remain far below those of many African economies, equating to barely one month of import cover. In Kenya, which recently averted a looming currency crisis, the central bank’s reserves have recovered to more than $7bn, or 3.7 months of import cover.“Zimbabwe has less than a month of reserves, not enough to defend the structured currency,” said economist Tinashe Murapata. “A new currency every five years now seems the norm.”Zimbabwe cannot rebuild reserves without access to international markets and multilateral support, which has been cut off by decades of arrears to official lenders on much of its external debt. Mnangagwa made new overtures to end the financial isolation and clear the debt after taking power from Robert Mugabe in a 2017 coup. But repeated bouts of repression by his security forces over the years have made the US and other governments less willing to engage.This year the US suspended its involvement in a dialogue on the debt over the running of elections in 2023, which were widely seen as rigged in order to re-elect Mnangagwa to a second term.Mnangagwa this week declared a state of disaster over a severe regional drought that has destroyed much of this year’s harvest, and said that more than $2bn would be needed to finance the emergency response. More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    LeverFi Launches OmniZK: A Secure Validation Protocol for Bitcoin DeFi and Omnichain Interactions

    LeverFi, a leading web3 innovation team, has launched OmniZK, a secure validation protocol for Bitcoin that enables developers to create complex, interoperable DeFi applications by shifting complex logic onto EVM networks and relay verified outcomes with zkOracles. The protocol’s modular design allows non-custodial, decentralized contracts to be settled natively on the Bitcoin network in a secure.LeverFi is proud to announce the launch of OmniZK, a groundbreaking secure validation protocol for Bitcoin that expands the possibilities for DeFi and omnichain interactions. By allowing developers to shift complex computations onto EVM layers and relay verified event outcomes back to the Bitcoin network, OmniZK enables the creation of programmable, interoperable native applications on Bitcoin that are scalable and capable of handling complex scenarios.Enabling Bitcoin DeFi and complex logic for BitcoinBitcoin Script’s Turing-incomplete nature has long been a barrier to the development of complex applications on the Bitcoin network, making the development of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on Bitcoin especially challenging.OmniZK solves this issue by providing a modular framework for constructing conditional, non-custodial Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs) secured by event proofs generated by zkOracles. OmniRelayers, running in a Trusted Execution Environment, are restricted to only transmitting and signing for verified event outcomes, thereby producing robust security for contract settlement within the Bitcoin network.With the OmniZK SDK, developers can easily build and deploy DLC applications that utilize verified event data from any EVM network for contract settlement finality on Bitcoin. This empowers various interchain Bitcoin use cases, including non-custodial BTC liquid staking, cross-chain Bitcoin DeFi markets, decentralized asset bridges, and omnichain liquidity management.”OmniZK is a significant step forward for Bitcoin DeFi and interoperability,” said Charissa K, Head of Developer Relations at LeverFi. “By enabling secure, non-custodial contracts that settle natively on the Bitcoin network and providing an alternative to centralized bridges, we’re unlocking a new era of possibilities for Bitcoin developers and users alike.”Applications built using OmniZK are independent of yet complementary to Bitcoin L2s, as they interact with and communicate with L2s, but with final settlements done natively on Bitcoin, outside of the L2s. An example can be an application that issues a chain-agnostic wrapped BTC asset that can be freely minted, burned or transferred, without having the underlying BTC being custodied on a L2 multi-sig bridge.This places OmniZK at an interesting nexus of the rapidly growing Bitcoin ecosystem and offer alternatives to developers and users who wish to build and settle within the native Bitcoin layer.LEVER Staking Program and BenefitsThe LeverFi ecosystem, which includes the OmniZK protocol, are powered by LEVER, its ecosystem token which is easily accessible on leading global exchanges including Binance, Bybit, Bithumb, Gate and more.OmniRelayers who wish to participate in the security, functioning and governance of the OmniZK network are required to stake LEVER to join as operators to earn staking rewards and contract gas fees. There will also be a delegation program for users to stake with validators and enjoy the benefits of LEVER staking.In addition to the above, LEVER confers a wide range of benefits including gated access to its LeverPro launchpad for high potential Bitcoin DeFi projects and reduced fees on its EVM-based non-custodial swap platform.LeverFi invites developers and validators to explore the potential of OmniZK and start building the next generation of Bitcoin DeFi applications.About LeverFiBacked by world-class investors, LeverFi is a leading web3 innovation firm that continually reimagines the boundaries of decentralized finance. With its latest roadmap, LeverFi is set to break new ground and create new possibilities for Bitcoin and global web3 ecosystems.For more information, users can learn more about LeverFi here: https://leverfi.ioDevelopers and validators looking to explore OmniZK may register interest by contacting our Head of Developer Relations at this email: [email protected]@[email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Raiinmaker Closes $7.5M Funding to Advance Decentralized AI

    Raiinmaker, a Web3 and AI Technology Company, is announcing the closing of a $7.5M seed round ahead of its Mainnet launch and native token $Coiin TGE.Notable investors in this funding round: Jump Crypto and Cypher Capital along with GDA Capital, Gate.io Labs, London Real Ventures, MEXC Global, Krypital Group, Alphabit, Launchpool, New Tribe Capital, Coach K, Axia 8 Ventures, Sheesha Finance, Andromeda Capital, Arcanum Capital, Bella Capital and Alpha Sigma Capital.The Raiinmaker Network boasts innovative features including a scalable and modular blockchain architecture, decentralized AI tools, and AI powered smart contracts. The company’s core focus lies in the scalable implementation of Decentralized AI and Web3 infrastructure to power Mass Adoption solutions in Sports, Gaming and Entertainment. Raiinmaker Super App users train AI right from their iOS or Android phones and earn fractional rewards based on the value of their contributions to decentralized AI models and infrastructure. Now everyone has the ability to train AI models and run a DePIN enabled validator node using just their smartphone from anywhere in the world. On the application, users are training the same stable diffusion models the community is using to generate AI art through fine tuning and data labeling.With 70,000+ app downloads, over 150,000 nodes, 18 million transactions processed and an engaged community of over 200,000 worldwide, Raiinmaker empowers people all over the planet to contribute to decentralized AI infrastructure while earning crypto, no special technical knowledge required. About RaiinmakerRaiinmaker is an innovative Web3 and AI technology company that has successfully developed the Raiinmaker Mobile Application and Raiinmaker Network. The Raiinmaker App is a cutting-edge Web3 and decentralized AI platform that revolutionizes the monetization of users’ contribution to AI infrastructure. The Raiinmaker Network combines scalable Web3 and AI infrastructure that redefines value creation tied to digital identity, behavior, and reputation.The Raiinmaker AI Super App is powered by the Raiinmaker Network, providing seamless integration with native Protocol Web3 features. These features include Identity, NFT Minting, Token Creation, and AI Powered Smart Contracts.Website | x | Telegram | DiscordContactHead of MarketingKris [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Zeus Network Secures $8 Million In Funding to Enhance the Solana Blockchain

    Zeus Network has secured over $8 million in investments from a number of leading venture capital firms and angel investors, demonstrating strong support for its mission to enhance the Solana blockchain platform. Among the investors are notable firms such as Mechanism Capital, OKX Ventures, UTXO Management, Anagram, Animoca Venture, Portal Venture, Big Brain Venture, Comma3, Axia8, Lemniscap, Spartan, IVC, AppWorks, Rubik, CVVC, Blockbuilders.Top angel investors included Solana Co-Founder, Anatoly Yakovenko, Co-Creator of Stacks, Muneeb Ali and Founder of Mechanism Capital Andrew Kang.Zeus Network aims to connect different Web3 ecosystems using the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) and a proprietary layer of nodes called the Zeus Layer. This infrastructure is designed to facilitate secure and efficient data exchange between Solana and other major blockchains such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB.The network has cultivated a large community, with 83,000 members on Discord and 120,000 on Twitter, and was selected by the Jupiter community as the number 1 project to launch its token on the Jupiter LFG Launchpad. This launch is part of a strategy to engage the community and offer rewards to active participants.The first dApp released on Zeus Network, APOLLO, aims to bridge the liquidity between Bitcoin and Solanגa, demonstrating the network’s capacity for innovation and its contribution to the DeFi ecosystem.On April 4th, the $ZEUS token is set to launch on the first-ever Jupiter LFG Launchpad. The Zeus team wants to express its gratitude to the ZEUS community and Jupiter holders who exercised their decentralized governance rights and will be able to claim $ZEUS. The allocation for the $ZEUS airdrop is set at 3% of the total supply for Jupiter voters, zuPoint holders, and Dappie Gang holders.About Zeus NetworkZeus Network transforms blockchain interaction by providing an interoperable solution for the Solana ecosystem. Powered by Solana Virtual Machine (SVM), Zeus Network empowers Zeus Layer nodes to ensure robust security and seamless data exchange. This initiative clears the path for Solana to become the premier hub for all ecosystems, captivating millions of users across diverse blockchains.Facilitating interoperable communication among cross-chain dApps, Zeus Network empowers liquidity and complex applications to seamlessly engage with Solana in a decentralized and permissionless environment, making it accessible to everyone.Website | Zeus on X | APOLLO | Discord | DocsContactmarketing lead at Zeus NetworkMonica [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

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    Candy Digital Announces Landmark Partnership with Gaming Publisher Kakao Games and Developer METABORA

    Today, leading digital collectibles platform Candy Digital, game developer METABORA, and major game publisher Kakao Games announced a strategic partnership focused on global blockchain-based gaming experiences. This new partnership between Candy Digital, METABORA, and Kakao Games signifies a new era in blockchain innovation, game development, and experiential entertainment. Leveraging Candy Digital’s expertise in building immersive fan platforms, METABORA’s pioneering GameFi services, and Kakao Games’ proven track record in global game publishing, this new venture is aimed at driving growth for web3 gaming. For future updates and more information on this partnership, users can visit candy.com and follow on X at @CandyDigital.About Candy DigitalCandy Digital is a next-generation fan experience platform that connects people to their passions in sports, entertainment and culture. Candy Digital’s team of world-class digital artists, designers, and technologists work with forward-thinking brands to create digital experiences that reimagine the future of fandom. Candy Digital is backed by a diversified group of leading technology investors, including Galaxy Digital, ConsenSys Mesh, HENI and 10T Holdings. In 2023, Candy Digital was nominated for the Sports Business Tech Awards for best in web3.About METABORAMETABORA is a global casual and sports game development company, and developer of the blockchain platform BORA, which is utilized by partners in diverse sectors to develop token economics, content, blockchain technology, and create synergy between gaming, sports, and entertainment content. Now, it is operating the BORA Portal to improve user accessibility to diverse content by listing the BORA token on major cryptocurrency exchanges around the world.About Kakao GamesKakao Games is a leading publisher of online and mobile games. Founded in 2016, it is responsible for publishing a variety of games, including Krafton’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (available in Korea), Kong Studios’ Guardian Tales (available in Korea, North America, Europe, Latin America, and Oceania), XL Games’ Archeage War (available in Korea) and its newest addition, Lion Heart Studio’s ‘Odin: Valhalla Rising’ (available in Korea, Taiwan and Japan).Kakao Games is expanding its business to the blockchain market and Web3 gaming ecosystem.ContactSenior PR ManagerLeslie TermuhlenCandy [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More