Polygon responds to concerns about "excessive centralization"; JPMorgan opens virtual space in Decentraland | February 16 Daily Report

Organizer: Linqi, Hu Tao

1. Polygon Responds to "Over-Centralization" Concerns: Planning Improvements and Eventually Removing Multi-Signature

In response to previous criticisms from Cyber Capital founder Justin Bons regarding the "over-centralization and insecurity of Polygon's multi-signature mechanism," Polygon co-founder Mihailo Bjelic acknowledged that the multi-signature mechanism does have its limitations but is essentially designed to enhance the security of new projects to protect users from hacking. Exiting this mechanism is not realistic at this time.

Polygon has always aimed to transfer the management keys of smart contracts to Matic token holders, as suggested by Justin Bons, but this would increase response time in case of errors. Therefore, as the community matures, Polygon will gradually phase out the multi-signature mechanism while still responsibly using it for now. Polygon recently released a multi-signature transparency report, disclosing details about the relevant signers and plans for improvement and eventual removal of the multi-signature. Additionally, the other four parties involved in the multi-signature were not chosen by Polygon but joined voluntarily. (Source link)

2. Ali NFT Project Faces Multiple Vulnerabilities, Official Says All Leaked Metadata Will Be Randomized Again

According to community feedback, the well-known IP Ali ALI& HIS FRENS NFT had its debug mode left on during the presale process, allowing users to access the corresponding metadata and image information of blind boxes through backend code logic. However, the official team stated that they could resolve this issue by re-randomizing the previously leaked metadata and rearranging the NFT rarity. There were even spelling errors on the official website, highlighting the project's vulnerabilities.

In response to this issue, the official team later announced in the Discord community that they are actively rectifying the website and will completely randomize the previously leaked metadata and rearrange the NFT rarity. (Source link)

3. Xuzhou Public Security Bureau Has Cracked 49 Digital Currency Pyramid Schemes in the Past Three Years, Involving Over 7 Billion Yuan

According to the Legal Daily, the Public Security Bureau of Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, has been cracking down on online pyramid scheme crimes, having solved 49 cases in the past three years that used blockchain technology as a guise, game projects as a carrier, and digital currency as a medium. They have arrested 419 suspects involved in online pyramid schemes, with a total amount exceeding 7 billion yuan.

The suspects used popular social concepts such as "digital currency, blockchain technology, metaverse, internet financial innovation, franchise agents, investment management, and points rebate" to present a glamorous facade and lured victims with high returns, engaging in extensive online pyramid scheme activities. Statistics show that in 2021, 80% of the online pyramid scheme cases handled by the Xuzhou Public Security Bureau were related to "speculating on coins." (Source link)

4. OpenSea to Collaborate with Community to Identify and Remove Certain NFTs

OpenSea stated, "OpenSea will work with the community to identify and remove a small number of NFTs to ensure the safety of OpenSea and user accessibility."

OpenSea believes that over 80% of the NFTs created using the platform's free minting tools are plagiarized, fake, or abusive works, and the abuse of this feature has been growing exponentially. OpenSea will collaborate with the community to create a secure, collaborative, and creative NFT platform. (Source link)

5. New York Stock Exchange Files Trademark Application with USPTO, Plans to Offer Cryptocurrency and NFT Trading

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) indicated in a regulatory filing submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on February 10 that it hopes to establish an NYSE-branded exchange to offer cryptocurrency and NFT trading, competing with companies like OpenSea and Rarible Inc. However, the NYSE stated that it does not have immediate plans to launch cryptocurrency or NFT trading but will "regularly consider new products and their impact on our trademarks and protect our intellectual property accordingly."

It is reported that the exchange minted its first batch of NFTs last year around its IPO, including those for Spotify, Snowflake, Unity Software, and Roblox. (Bloomberg)

6. JPMorgan Opens Virtual Space Onyx Lounge in Decentraland and Releases Research Report on "Opportunities in the Metaverse"

JPMorgan announced the opening of a virtual space called Onyx Lounge in Decentraland, named after its Onyx division focused on crypto and blockchain. JPMorgan claims to be the first bank to enter the metaverse and has released a research report titled "Opportunities in the Metaverse," exploring how businesses can seek opportunities in the metaverse.

The report states, "We see companies of various forms and sizes entering the metaverse in different ways, including well-known brands like Walmart, Nike, Gap, Verizon, Hulu, PwC, Adidas, and Atari… The dynamics of supply and demand are driving more people into the metaverse economy. This will require the development of new skills and will create new ways to earn money. After all, people will have to develop and create products for consumption in the virtual world—this creates tremendous opportunities for the creator economy." (coindesk)

7. Gnosis Safe Foundation Plans to Raise Funds at a Valuation of $1.25 Billion, Has Secured Over $65 Million in Investment Commitments from Multiple Institutions

According to internal documents cited by The Block, Gnosis Safe's managing entity, Safe Foundation, plans to sell 8% of its governance token SAFE's total supply to strategic investors and has already secured investment commitments worth $65 million from firms including 1kx, Dragonfly Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Blockchain Capital, and Zee Prime, with a valuation of $1.25 billion.

However, this token sale will not conclude until the Gnosis community approves the proposal to separate Gnosis Safe from Gnosis Ltd. If the proposal passes, Safe Foundation will be established as a Swiss non-profit organization alongside SafeDAO. At inception, the foundation will mint 1 billion SAFE tokens. Its role is to promote the Gnosis Safe ecosystem while protecting some key assets of the project, such as IP, domain names, and GitHub repositories. The vote on the separation will be completed in the coming weeks. (Source link)

8. Blockchain Interoperability Network Axelar Completes $35 Million Financing, Valuation Reaches $1 Billion

Blockchain interoperability network Axelar announced the completion of $35 million in financing, reaching a valuation of $1 billion. Investors include Dragonfly Capital, Polychain Capital, North Island Ventures, Rockaway Blockchain Fund, Cygni Capital, Lemniscap, Olive Tree Capital, Blockchange Ventures, Node Capital, and angel investors such as Waikit Lau and Gokul Rajaram. The project has been gradually launching its mainnet since late January.

Axelar is building a decentralized network and tools to connect users, assets, and dApps across multiple blockchain ecosystems. The network enables developers to build on the best platforms that meet their needs while leveraging the Axelar stack to unlock cross-chain composability and liquidity. Axelar Network consists of a suite of protocols, tools, and APIs designed to break down barriers to cross-chain communication. (Source link)

9. Binance Smart Chain Renamed to BNB Chain, Aiming to Build MetaFi World Infrastructure

According to Binance's official blog, Binance Smart Chain (BSC) will be renamed to BNB Chain. This renaming aims to highlight its connection to BNB and the decentralized evolution of the BNB ecosystem, showcasing how BNB can transcend the Binance ecosystem in its application scenarios. BNB Chain aims to become the infrastructure provider for the virtual world economic system by developing the concept of MetaFi.

BNB Chain includes the BNB Beacon Chain (formerly Binance Chain) and the BNB Smart Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain), with BNB representing "Build and Build," serving as the gas and on-chain governance token on the BNB Chain. "BNB Chain will support large-scale applications, including GameFi, SocialFi, and the metaverse. From single-chain to multi-chain, BNB Chain has improved scalability solutions and expanded the number of validators from 21 to 41," said Samy Karim, the BNB Chain ecosystem coordinator.

"What Are the Editors of Chain Catcher Watching?"

1. "Dialogue with OpenSea Co-founder Alex: Our Biggest Competitive Advantage is 'Selectivity'"

In a recent interview, Alex Atallah discussed OpenSea's early journey, recent strategic thinking, the pyramid of security in Web3, and the competitive landscape, stating that OpenSea's biggest competitive advantage is "selectivity" and that they are working to become a broader marketplace covering every major NFT blockchain, every type of metadata, every type of image, and every type of NFT attachment.

2. "The Decline of NFTs is Apparent: Can't Grind Anymore, Can't Compete Anymore"

NFT whitelists have become the most popular thing in the crypto industry recently, with considerable early wealth effects, but now chaos and scams have arisen around them. The gas wars for popular projects' public sales are no longer a battlefield for ordinary players; even script-writing scientists have started competing against each other. Moreover, the threshold for whitelists is getting higher and higher, with chatting, recruiting, and creating secondary works, and grinding for several weeks may not guarantee a spot. Most importantly, after all the hustle, one may not even make a profit.

3. "Exclusive Interview with Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum Will Become the Mainstream and Safest Base Layer"

In an interview with The Defiant, Vitalik expressed that his greater concern for Ethereum is not whether the network will become the settlement layer and decentralized engine for globally used smart contracts, but rather how much value and impact the applications running on it will bring.