STEPN has integrated Apple Pay for in-game purchases; Hotbit exchange stops trading; Bitcoin’s layer-2 protocols are starting to get popular
Web3 move-to-earn app STEPN integrates Apple Pay for in-game purchases. To become more mainstream, STEPN is integrating its payment service Apple Pay as a fiat onramp for in-app purchases.
The integration will allow users to link their credit cards to Apple Pay and purchase the NFT sneakers required for the game. With Apple Pay as a fiat payment method, users will no longer have to connect a crypto wallet to purchase in-game assets.
The inclusion of a fiat onramp like Apple Pay, a technology unique to iOS users, will help the next 100 million users join Web3, Shiti Manghani, STEPN’s business manager, said in a statement. Manghani also said that STEPN is the first blockchain gaming app to secure Apple Pay integration.
According to data platform Dune Analytics, STEPN quickly reached over 700,000 monthly active users in May 2022, but has since slumped to about 23,000.
Hotbit exchange stops trading!
Cryptocurrency exchange Hotbit is stopping its operations from May 22.
Hotbit is shutting down its operations and is urging its users to withdraw their funds by June 21.
Hotbit reported that operating conditions have deteriorated since a team member was exposed to an investigation in August 2022. He said the investigation prevented Hotbit from trading for weeks.
Hotbit also cited the bank crashes that led to the FTX crash and the USDC’s peg-rate divergence as the reasons for the drop in cash flow. Hotbit stated that these events resulted in a continuous outflow of funds from centralized exchanges.
Hotbit: We can’t adapt to difficult stock market conditions
The Hotbit team stated that they anticipate that centralized exchanges are becoming increasingly difficult and will not be able to keep up with long-term trends. He described the exchange’s options as becoming more centralized or adopting regulations.
Hotbit cited frequent cyber attacks and the use of project errors by malicious users as reasons for its downfall.
When the announcement was posted, some community members reported that they were having trouble withdrawing from Hotbit.
Community members also warned of fake links appearing on Google as Hotbit’s official site.
Bitcoin’s layer-2 protocols are starting to get popular
It’s been 13 years since the world’s first Bitcoin (BTC) pizza purchase. Now, the Bitcoin network is entering a new era with the arrival of Ordinals. This new protocol makes it possible to add digital content such as artwork to the Bitcoin blockchain.
The addition of Ordinal NFTs to the Bitcoin network in January 2023 caused a huge increase in network traffic. This, in turn, has increased transaction costs and introduced some issues with Bitcoin.
More than 286,000 transactions are currently pending on the Bitcoin network. Although this number is lower than the peak of 400,000 at the beginning of the month, it is a historic level.
Last week, Trust Machines CEO Muneeb Ali highlighted the importance of Ordinals NFT so that Bitcoin can attract more developers and investments.
Layer 2 solutions are used to enhance the features of layer 1 blockchains such as the Bitcoin network. Ali’s company, Trust Machines, is building an ecosystem for Bitcoin applications and is based on different layers in the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin continues to prove its worth!
We can say that there is a market potential of 500 billion dollars in the Bitcoin network. The amount of Bitcoin sent on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network (LN), products and users increased rapidly in 2023. However, the struggle with developers continues in the Bitcoin space.
The fact that Bitcoin is too smooth hinders the development of a strong developer ecosystem. No marketing department, foundation or incentive. As such, Bitcoin is fully grassroots and moving forward in the most decentralized way.
