Twitter CEO Says Elon Musk Will Not Join Board (CoinDesk)
Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Calls Crypto ‘Transformative’ in Wide-Ranging Speech (CoinDesk)
“Some proponents speak as if the technology is so radically and beneficially transformative that the government should step back completely and let innovation take its course,” she said. “On the other hand, skeptics see limited, if any, value in this technology and associated products and advocate that the government take a much more restrictive approach.”
Robinhood Rolls Out Cryptocurrency Wallet to 2 Million Users (Bloomberg)
“Robinhood Financial officially rolled out its cryptocurrency wallet on Thursday, giving access to more than 2 million customers that were on a waiting list for the digital product. Chief Product Officer Aparna Chennapragada made the announcement as part of the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami and said in an interview at the event that the product shows the company’s commitment to the crypto space.”
FDIC Asks All Banks to Report Crypto Activities (CoinDesk)
“A top U.S. banking regulator has asked banks to report on their ‘crypto-related activities,’ citing potential ‘safety and soundness risks as well as financial stability concerns’ resulting from exposure to crypto-assets.
On Thursday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a financial institution letter – a letter sent to CEOs of FDIC-insured banks – requesting that banks should notify their regional FDIC director of their crypto activities. This request applies to both current and future crypto-related activities.”
Jack Mallers’ Strike Announces Shopify Integration for Bitcoin Lightning Payments (CoinDesk)
“Strike CEO Jack Mallers unveiled a litany of high-powered partnerships for Bitcoin’s Lightning Network at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami on Thursday – including an integration with ecommerce giant Shopify. You’re gonna be able to walk into millions of American storefronts that plug into the payments stalwarts and pay across the Lightning Network.”
Crypto Startup Wyre Being Acquired by Payments Company Bolt for $1.5 Billion (WSJ)
“Bolt Financial Inc., a payments-focused financial technology company, is acquiring crypto-services startup Wyre Payments Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. The acquisition is valued at around $1.5 billion, according to the people. That would make it the largest merger in the crypto sector that didn’t involve a blank-check company, or so-called SPAC, according to data from research firm Dealogic. In May 2021, Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd agreed to acquire BitGo Inc. for $1.2 billion.”
Top US Lawmaker Proposes Sweeping Stablecoin Regulation Framework (CoinDesk)
Meta Discussing Creating Tokens for Facebook’s Metaverse (Decrypt)
“Although Meta (the parent company of Facebook) recently gave up on its plans to create the Diem stablecoin, it’s reportedly still interested in creating tokens for use within the metaverse. The Financial Times reports that Meta is exploring a centralized in-app token similar to ROBUX for the game Roblox. In other words, this likely wouldn’t be a cryptocurrency. According to FT, some Meta staffers are referring to the tokens as ‘Zuck Bucks.”
Binance.us Raises Over $200 Million at a $4.5 Billion Pre-money Valuation (The Block)
“Binance.US, the American affiliate of global crypto exchange Binance, has closed its inaugural funding round after months of seeking it. The firm has raised over $200 million in a seed round at a pre-money valuation of $4.5 billion. Investors included RRE Ventures, Foundation Capital, Original Capital, VanEck, Circle Ventures, Gaingels and Gold House. There was no lead investor for the round.”
US House Members Introduce Bill to ‘Mitigate the Risks’ from El Salvador’s Adoption of Bitcoin (The Block)
Ledger Buys Land in The Sandbox as Part of Metaverse Push to Educate Crypto Newbies (Decrypt)
Kraken to Release Structured Products for Staking Focused On Institutional Investors (The Block)
“Crypto exchange Kraken is planning to release structured products focused on staking as part of a bid to enhance its existing offerings for institutional clients. Kraken acquired a staking company called Staked late last year to move into the burgeoning market. The company is now seeking to combine its staking prowess with the trading services provided by its main exchange.”
Ethereum Scaler Boba Network Valued at $1.5B in $45M Series A (CoinDesk)
“Boba Network, a novel system for improving Ethereum’s transaction capacity, has raised $45 million from a wide range of investors that included cryptocurrency exchange giants Huobi, Crypto.com and BitMart. In a sign of the times, the funding round for improved crypto plumbing even included backing from Paris Hilton. Boba Network said the Series A valued the firm at $1.5 billion.”
Lightning Labs Unveils New Protocol for Lightning Network Stablecoins as It Raises $70 Million (The Block)
“Lightning Labs today unveiled a new product designed to widen the range of assets supported by the Lightning Network, a Layer 2 protocol that speeds up blockchain-based transactions. Named Taro, the protocol aims to ‘bitcoinize the dollar’ — pairing the speed of the Lightning Network with the security of bitcoin — and enabling the use of stablecoins in Lightning Network apps such as Jack Mallers’ Strike, according to an announcement.”
Ukraine Readies NFT Sales as Crypto Donations Top $60 Million (Bloomberg)
“Ukraine is launching a web page for selling the estimated 300 nonfungible tokens it has received in donations to help in the nation’s war effort. The NFTs include a donated CryptoPunk that is expected to fetch about $200,000, according to Alex Bornyakov, deputy minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. Only between 5% and 10% of the donated NFTs are valuable, he said in an interview. The Web page, which could be started within the week, will also offer 10 NFT collections created by independent companies that have pledged all the proceeds to Ukraine.”
US Sanctions World’s Largest Darknet Market and Linked Russian Crypto Exchange (The Block)
“The US Treasury has announced its latest sanctions targeting Russian cybercrime, this time against the largest darknet market in the world. On Tuesday the Treasury announced sanctions on Hydra market and an associated crypto exchange called Garantex. The news follows German authorities’ announcement of the seizure of Hydra’s servers and shutdown of the market’s homepage earlier on Tuesday.”
Intel Launches New Bitcoin Mining Chips Focused on Sustainability (Decrypt)
Digihost Becomes First Publicly Traded Miner to Offer Bitcoin Dividend Payments (CoinDesk)
Gensler Says SEC Exploring Shared Role With CFTC Over Crypto Platforms (CoinDesk)
“Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler said his agency is considering how to split oversight of crypto trading platforms between the SEC and the regulator of U.S. commodities, as most platforms include tokens that fit definitions of securities as well as commodities. ‘I’ve asked staff to work with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on how we jointly might address such platforms that might trade both crypto-based security tokens and some commodity tokens,’ he said during Monday remarks at an event hosted by the University of Pennsylvania’s law school.”
UK Treasury Outlines Plan to Regulate Stablecoins and Issue an NFT (The Block)
“The UK’s chancellor Rishi Sunak set out plans on Monday to regulate stablecoins and issue an NFT as part of a bid to position the UK as a crypto-friendly tech hub. The moves would see stablecoins recognized as a valid form of payment, the Treasury said in a press release, arguing that with appropriate regulation, they could provide a more efficient means of payment and widen consumer choice.”
Algorithmic Stablecoin Neutrino Loses Peg as Token Slumps (Bloomberg)
“An algorithmic stablecoin known as Neutrino that is associated with the Waves blockchain lost its peg to the dollar after the price of the underlying token tumbled. Waves, the token backing Neutrino USD, or USDN, dropped by more than 26% in the past 24 hours.”
Singapore Passes Law to Tighten Rules for Crypto Providers (Bloomberg)
“Singapore has approved a law that will tighten rules for cryptocurrency providers in the latest sign of its tentative embrace of the industry. The new legislation will require virtual asset service providers in the city-state which only do business overseas to be licensed. Currently, such firms are not regulated for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. The law was passed in parliament on Tuesday.”
IPCC Cites Cryptocurrency as Carbon Emissions Factor in Latest Climate Report (The Block)
“A new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released Monday contained dire warnings about future climate risks. The report from the IPCC, an intergovernmental panel within the United Nations, was the third in a series of reports examining the state of climate change mitigation efforts. The panel said in a statement Mondy that ‘[w]ithout immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach.”
CME Group Is Considering Altcoin Futures on Solana and Cardano (The Block)
“After launching futures contracts tied to bitcoin and ether in recent years, CME Group is looking at whether it can introduce futures based on cryptocurrencies with smaller market caps, including Solana’s SOL and Cardano’s ADA”
SEC Rejects Spot Bitcoin ETF Application From ARK 21Shares (CoinDesk)
“The Commission concludes that BZX [Cboe BZX Exchange] has not met its burden under the Exchange Act and the Commission’s Rules of Practice to demonstrate that its proposal is consistent with the requirements of Exchange Act Section 6(b)(5), and in particular, the requirement that the rules of a national securities exchange be ‘designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices’ and ‘to protect investors and the public interest.”
Crypto Hardware Wallet Trezor Issues Warning About Newsletter Phishing Attack (The Block)
MailChimp have confirmed that their service has been compromised by an insider targeting crypto companies.
We have managed to take the phishing domain offline. We are trying to determine how many email addresses have been affected. 1/
Tezos Deploys Major ‘Tenderbake’ Upgrade (CoinDesk)
“Proof-of-stake blockchain Tezos has activated a major upgrade, changing its consensus algorithm in the protocol’s ninth upgrade.
According to a press release, the upgrade is code-named Ithaca 2 and replaces the current consensus algorithm, known as Emmy, with Tenderbake, which enables lower block times, producing faster transactions and smoother-running applications.”
Last Week’s Most Read Articles
EU Parliament Approves Rules Targeting Transfers to Unhosted Crypto Wallets (The Block)
Axie Infinity’s Ethereum Sidechain Ronin Hit by $600 Million Exploit (The Block)
Axie Infinity Owner ‘Fully Committed’ to Reimbursing Players After Hack (Bloomberg)
UK Set to Disclose Plans for Regulating Crypto in Coming Weeks (CoinDesk)
Ripple Co-Founder Backs Controversial Campaign to Move Bitcoin to Proof of Stake (Decrypt)
