Crypto Currency

The Digital Trading Clarity Act of 2022 aims to provide regulatory clarity around classifying digital assets and related liabilities under existing securities laws. United States Senator Bill Hagerty, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced legislation seeking a safe harbor for cryptocurrency exchanges from “certain” Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions. The Digital Trading Clarity Act of 2022, introduced by Sen. Hagerty, aims to provide regulatory clarity around two primary concerns plaguing crypto exchange establishments — (i) the classification of digital assets and (ii) related liabilities under existing securities laws. A bill to provide digital asset intermediaries with a safe harbor from certain enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and for other purposes. Source: congress.gov Sen. Hagerty outlined an overview of the problems amid regulatory hurdles: “The current lack of regulatory clarity for digital assets ...

NFTs in the metaverse should generally be considered securities, but developers have been slow to recognize that fact. Expect a regulatory reckoning to come swiftly for Axie Infinity, Bored Apes, and other projects that have thrown caution to the wind. The metaverse is a futuristic iteration of the internet, featuring a digital economy and an immersive virtual environment alongside other interactive features. This relatively nascent space has gained so much traction in recent years that conservative estimates suggest that by 2024, its total valuation could top $800 billion . Meta (the parent body behind Facebook and Instagram), Google , Microsoft , Nvidia, Nike and others have made Fortune-100-sized metaverse splashes. But with great valuations comes great scrutiny from increasingly tech-savvy financial regulators. Unlike traditional tech products, which often spend years putting growth over revenue, some metaverse projects push questionable monetization schemes on their users pri...

300 holders of the Spartan NFT will be able to spread their ashes at a 35-foot memorial to Spartan soldiers, to be built in Greece. The company behind the Spartan Race has released a nonfungible token (NFT) collection which will immortalize the names of the initial holders in stone, with plans to build a 35-foot (10.5 meter) statue in Ancient Sparta encircled with 15,000 name-engraved stones. Spartan founder and CEO Joe De Sena plans to bury his ashes under his stone at the site dubbed the “Spartan 300 Memorial” which will pay homage to the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which 300 Spartans were said to h fought and were killed. Of the 15,000 NFTs, 300 will be “Super Rare” with holders of that NFT type given the option of spreading their ashes over the memorial after their death, which could see it become one of the first NFTcollections to grant someone a final resting place. Owners can sell their NFT on markets such as OpenSea, but it's unclear if this burial perk is transf...

Despite the FUD, blockchain games surged in active users in September, while God’s Unchained cracked the top 10 in terms of total NFT sales volume of all projects. User activity on blockchain gaming decentralized applications (DApps) surged in September, with a host of games posting significant increases in the number of active users. According to data from DappRadar, seven out of the top 10 games in terms of the number of “unique wallet addresses interacting with dapp’s smart contracts” increased over the past 30 days, with all of the top five games being in the green during that time frame. At the time of writing, the DApps registering growth in the period include Web3 gaming platform Gameta, and blockchain-based games Alien Worlds, Solitaire Blitz, Benji Bananas, and Splinterlands, Farmers World, and Arc8 by GAMEE.  In a Sept. 27 blog post, DappRadar noted that eight of the current top 10 blockchain games are mobile-first, which could eventually “bring millions of users t...

“We believe digital assets and blockchain technologies are going to become increasingly relevant for our clients,” said BlackRock ETF product strategist Omar Moufti. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has just launched a new exchange-traded fund (ETF)  providing European customers with exposure to the blockchain industry, while reports indicate a Metaverse-focused ETF may be on the way.  The new blockchain ETF launched on Sept. 27 is  called  the iShares Blockchain Technology UCITS ETF (BLKC). BlackRock said 75% of its holdings consist of blockchain companies such as miners and exchanges, while the other 25% are companies that support the blockchain ecosystem. The fund includes 35 global companies out of a total of 50 holdings, which also includes fiat cash and derivatives, but does not directly invest in cryptocurrencies. BLKC marks the latest of a series of moves into the digital assets space for BlackRock, with the most recent being the launc...

A key concern is that the firm hasn’t explicitly outlined what it will do with the stablecoin sale proceeds. State regulators from Texas and Vermont have filed a motion objecting to embattled  crypto lender Celsius’ plans to sell off its stablecoin holdings. Separate motions from both regulators filed on Sept. 29 argue that there’s a risk the firm could use the capital to resume operating in violation of state laws. The filings come after a Sept. 15 notice from Celsius' legal team asking the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for permission to sell its stablecoin holdings , reportedly worth around $23 million. A hearing to accept or decline the motion will occur on Oct. 6. However, the move has not gone down well with the Texas State Securities Board (SBB), the Texas Department of Banking, and the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, who filed objections on Sept. 29. The two Texan regulators in a joint filing outlined that “more than...

Davis claimed he received nothing for free from the projects it's alleged he profited from, and the amounts he sold weren’t enough to “dump the price.” Crypto influencer Lark Davis has refuted new allegations from Twitter “on-chain sleuth” ZachXBT of shilling “low cap projects” to his audience “just to dump them shortly after.” Davis was responding to a Twitter thread posted by Zach on Sept. 29, containing allegations that he profited over $1.2 million through selling tokens from crypto projects which he was allegedly paid to promote without disclosing. In a 17-part thread, Zach pointed to eight examples of what is supposedly Davis’ crypto wallet receiving tokens from new crypto projects, with Davis subsequently tweeting or posting a video on them, and then selling the tokens shortly after. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Zach said he received requests from multiple people who lost money on the tokens shared by Davis asking to “take a closer look” at him. “Lark managed to dump w...

Blockchain Academy International’s Huxley Peckham says there are already 60 different industries using blockchain tech today. Australian blockchain academics and educators have called for more robust Web3 education in schools, preparing students for a world that will be dominated by blockchain technology. Huxley Peckham, head trainer for Blockchain Academy International told Cointelegraph that there are “very few qualified people in the blockchain industry, but there is big demand for qualified people,” noting that worldwide, there are at least 60 different industries using blockchain tech. Both Peckman, and Blockchain Academy International founder Tim Bowman said it was time to rapidly expand blockchain education in schools in order to prepare for a shift in the world economy. Peckham believes blockchain education is important as it will allow “the next generation of strategists and consultants to come out with some real grip in this industry,” noting that knowing how to apply t...

Kalin Metodiev emphasized that Nexo has been navigating through conversations with regulators for the past couple of years to ensure compliance, and was surprised that this news was “thrown out there in public.” Kalin Metodiev, the co-founder and managing partner of crypto lender Nexo stated his firm was “surprised” by the way in which eight state regulators publicly took action against it for securities violations. Earlier this week the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI) filed a desist and refrain order against Nexo’s Earn Interest Product, claiming the company was offering a security product that had not been cleared by the government for sale in the form of an investment contract. The DFPI also stated that it was joining regulators from seven other states in taking action against the company, including Kentucky, New York, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington and Vermont. Speaking with Cointelegraph at Token2049, Metodiev explained t...

The project will connect SWIFT's network to nearly every blockchain to allow traditional finance players access to digital and traditional assets on the one network. Interbank messaging system SWIFT has partnered with price oracle provider Chainlink ( LINK ) to work on a proof-of-concept (POC) project which would allow traditional finance firms the ability to transact across blockchain networks. Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov announced the project at its SmartCon 2022 Conference in New York on Sept. 28 alongside SWIFT strategy director Jonathan Ehrenfeld Solé. SWIFT is using the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) in an initial proof of concept. CCIP will enable SWIFT messages to instruct on-chain token transfers, helping the SWIFT network become interoperable across all blockchain environments. https://t.co/8GOBNhzwCk pic.twitter.com/Pvm0Cex45e — Chainlink (@chainlink) September 28, 2022 At the conference, Solé said there is “undeniable interest from insti...

DeFi crypto lending has operated as intended through the crypto winter because transparency kept it in line and business activities were siloed, according to Maple Finance’s Sid Powell. Maple Finance co-founder and CEO Sid Powell says that transparency has been the saving grace of decentralized finance (DeFi) amid the prolonged crypto market slump. Speaking to Cointelegraph on the sidelines of Converge22 conference in San Francisco, Powell noted that throughout the crypto winter, DeFi has continued to operate as intended while centralized finance (CeFi) has become “pretty inactive.” Powell suggested that during the market crash, CeFi lenders hadn't properly "battle-tested" and weren’t “prepared to liquidate clients," wanting to maintain client relationships. “As the price of Bitcoin was tumbling, they didn’t want to be sending out margin call letters or email hundreds of clients because they wanted to maintain client relationships,” Powell explained. “So you gi...

Illuvium’s co-founder says they want to build a series of blockchain games connected to each other, forming an ecosystem of interconnected titles which share NFTs. Kieran Warwick, co-founder of the blockchain role-playing game Illuvium has lifted the curtain on a gaming concept he says has never been done before — the interoperable blockchain game (IBG).  Speaking to Cointelegraph during Token2049 in Singapore, Warwick said Illuvium has three games currently being built which will be underpinned by the same economy, governed by a single token (ILV),  and connected by the blockchain — making it an interoperable experience. “We're building something that has never been done before not in the mainstream and not in Web3.”  IBG, a term coined by Illuvium, is a series of blockchain games connected to each other, forming an ecosystem of interconnected titles which share NFTs, a common in-game currency, or both. Aside from trying to blaze new territory in the industry, Warw...

Cryptocurrency guidelines released by the Biden administration this month show that officials are considering the benefits of crypto. That’s a step in the right direction. The White House released its first comprehensive framework this month for the Responsible Development of Digital Assets following President Joe Biden’s March 9 executive order. The order called for regulators to assess the industry and develop recommendations to safeguard investors while simultaneously promoting innovation. While more work is needed, the framework is a step in the right direction as it shows the willingness of regulators to provide the industry with the much-needed regulatory clarity it seeks.  The framework’s recommendations addressed six key areas to protect market participants, offer access to financial services, and promote innovation. While Biden’s administration has focused more on just the protection of consumers in the industry in the past, it is encouraging to see the framework focus...

Fresh losses are contained only after $2,000 gets wiped from the BTC spot price, with a recovery yet to make an appearance. Bitcoin ( BTC ) hit new weekly lows into Sep. 28 as risk asset drawdown continued overnight. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Trader: "First new lows" before Q4 recovery Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD falling to $18,461 on Bitstamp, down almost $2,000 versus the previous day’s high. The change of direction came in lock step with stocks, which turned red after initially heading marginally higher at the Wall Street open. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index ultimately finished the day down 0.25% and up 0.25%, respectively. Cypto, however, failed to recoup its losses, and while hopes were for Q4 to bring about a more solid recovery, traders were betting on the pain continuing first. Popular Twitter account Il Capo of Crypto appeared to confirm that he favored October copying...

An NFT collector borrowed 1,044 ETH against two MAYC NFTs, just to purchase another MAYC NFT for 1,000 ETH, and Sega is set to drop its first blockchain game. The main cast from the cult-classic film Napoleon Dynamite are reuniting for an animated series which will be released through blockchain technology. According to a Sept. 27 report from Hollywood news outlet Deadline, the stars from Napoleon Dynamite have all signed on to voice characters in CyKo KO, an animated rendition of Rob Feldman’s comic book bearing the same name, with a 12-minute pilot to launch on Web3 streaming service Rewarded.TV. Napoleon Dynamite is an indie-comedy from 2004 that developed a cult following across the globe despite being shot in just 22 days and having a limited budget of $400,000. The main cast includes Jon Heder, Tina Majorino, Efren Ramirez and Jon Gries. Heder, who played Napoleon Dynamite, will take up the role of the main character who also bears the same name as the show. CyKo KO follows...

Over $12 million in value was issued in the pilot with commercial and central banks in Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE and China taking part. A multi-jurisdictional Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot has been marked “successful” by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) after a month-long test phase that facilitated $22 million worth of real-value cross-border transactions. The central banks of Hong Kong, Thailand, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) took part in the pilot program along with 20 commercial banks from those regions. More than $12 million worth of value was issued onto the test platform, which facilitated 164 foreign exchange transactions and cross-border payments between the participating firms totaling over $22 million worth of value according to a Tuesday LinkedIn post from the BIS. Graphic from the BIS on the CBDC pilot. Source: LinkedIn Daniel Eidan an advisor and solution architect at the BIS said the pilot focused on wholesale CBDC cro...

The paper's authors say Central Bank Digital Currencies are problematic for the future of individual and economic freedom but crypto is a viable alternative. U.S. think tank Bitcoin Policy Institute is calling for the United States to reject Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs ) and look to Bitcoin ( BTC ) and stablecoins as alternatives.  In a whitepaper shared on Sept. 27, authors including Texas Bitcoin Foundation executive director Natalie Smolenski PhD, and former Kraken growth lead Dan Held argue CBDCs would strip the public of financial control, privacy and freedom. #CBDCs don’t solve any problem. They do extend state control to the last remaining free areas of individual economic life. My latest white paper for the #Bitcoin Policy Institute. ⬇️ https://t.co/PS4rOlvcOw — Natalie Smolenski (@NSmolenski) September 27, 2022 Smolenski and Held argued that CBDCs would essentially "provide governments with direct access to every transaction [...] conducted b...