The Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP ACG) scrutinized some of the models used by cryptocurrency games, warning Filipino citizens against the various schemes used to extort money from the gaming community.
While warning against the risks of cryptocurrency gaming schemes, the Phillippine police highlighted the play-to-earn model used by Axie Infinity, a Pokemon-inspired play-to-earn metaverse game created on the Ethereum blockchain.
A player needs to purchase at least three Axie characters to start playing the game, which the PNP ACG believes forces users to shell out $300 before they can start earning. On the other hand, the police department sided with the traditional gaming industry, which averages up to $100 per user.
Playing crypto games can be riskier than investing in cryptocurrencies, according to the PNP ACG, considering the ease with which gamers can lose their digital tokens and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
From sending tokens to an unsupported wallet address to market volatility and online scammers, the crypto gaming community is under constant threat of losing their investments. The warning read:
“Just because a game’s underlying blockchain is secure does not mean its engine or marketplace is secure.”
The recommendation from the PNP ACG resonates with the best practices tied to crypto investments. Users are advised to conduct thorough research on ecosystems and founders before investing in cryptocurrencies, and users should be cautious when interacting with unknown individuals and phishing links.
The Philippine Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) recently entered into a partnership with the Blockchain Council of the Philippines (BCP) to expedite Web3 adoption in the region.
“We have seen the rise of innovative blockchain in startups, the success of blockchain-based business solutions and the birth of the initiative that makes blockchain for public good,” said DICT Director Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin during the announcement.
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.
The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.
She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.
In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.
“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.
Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
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Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.
She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.
“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.
“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”
Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.
Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.
Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.