Crypto News Weekly roundup April 2

With VanEck predicting Bitcoin to go up to $4.8 million, the crypto market seems a bit sluggish after a healthy upward movement. We at TheCoinRise are here to summarize this crypto market week for you.

Regulatory involvement in the crypto industry

The Bank of England partnered with the MIT or Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative for a joint 12 month-long research project on CBDC for studying the same.

The 78th Secretary of the Treasury Department of the United States, Janet Yellen talked about the crypto market and growth of the renewable energy sector with Russia’s economic sanctions, Federal Reserve responsibility, and increasing inflation.

Last Friday, the lower house of Parliament, Lok Sabha in India passed the 2022 Finance bill with 39 fresh amendments to crypto law with a 30% tax targeting digital assets including NFT transactions.

The Honorable Bob Loughman, the prime minister of South Pacific Ocean nation Vanuatu has given a green signal to Satoshi Island, a crypto utopia megaproject in the South Pacific, just revealed its vision, progress, and readiness.

According to a recent report, one of the biggest banks in Israel, Leumi Bank has started to accept Bitcoin and Ethereum trading on its platform.

Japan has planned to modify its Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act to control exchanges under the purview of laws that regulate banks as a result of the authority’s plans to prevent countries like Russia from evading sanctions using crypto.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has also warned G7 nations that a common legal framework for digital assets regulations is required on an urgent basis for the same purpose.

Russia’s Deputy Minister of Energy, Evgeny Grabchak has advocated for the development of a regulatory framework to support Bitcoin mining through a process dubbed the PoW system.

Northeast African country, the monetary authority of Sudan, the Central Bank of Sudan has issued a warning against dabbling in crypto due to the “high risks” associated with them amid the country’s economy deteriorating.

The Chief Executive officer of digital currency investing and cryptocurrency asset management giant Grayscale revealed that the firm can legally fight with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) if the latter denies its Bitcoin spot ETF.

As per the recent budget by the United States for the 2023 fiscal year, the country has planned $11 billion in revenue in the next decade from advancing rules around digital assets. It said that it will “modernize rules” by including a rule for certain taxpayers to report their crypto holdings in foreign accounts.

The New Jersey Bureau of Securities has ordered cease and desist against centralized, crypto-based staking, lending, and trading company, Voyager Digital, for allegedly selling so-called unregistered securities.

Karim Khanjeza, a member of parliament (MP) in Kyrgyzstan highlighted the urgent need for crypto legalization in the nation. He proposed the development of a regulatory framework for the industry and suggested several amendments to the draft law for the inclusion of cryptocurrency.

Fabio Panetta, the executive board member at European Central Bank or ECB recently talked about the importance of the use of digital euro in online and physical stores to keep central bank money accessible and usable in an increasingly digitized economy.

Partnerships, launches, fundings, and plans

GnosisDAO offshoot, CowDAO has raised $23 million from its private investors and over 5000 of its community members.

GameStop Corp has partnered with Loopring, an Ethereum-based layer-2 protocol, with the aim to double down on its efforts to become an active player in the digital currency ecosystem with the launch of the Beta version of its NFT marketplace.

Nasdaq-listed crypto mining and data center, Greenidge Generations Holdings Inc. has announced the successful completion of two funding rounds in which it secured around $108 million.

During the Binance Blockchain Week event at the Dubai World Trade Center in the United Arab Emirates, the founder of Cardano, Charles Hoskinson, discussed multiple aspects of DeFi and Web3.

As per a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report, the asset management company, Huobi Tech, has filed an application to list a crypto-based ETF product for retail investors in Hong Kong.

Crypto-friendly internet browsing giant, Opera has announced that it is integrating eight blockchains, including Solana and Polygon, in a continued mission to introduce the potential of Web3 to its more than 380 million users all over the world.

On Wednesday, DeFi Technologies stated that its subsidiary Valour’s assets under management had reached $274.2 million. Several crypto-denominated ETPs are offered and are traded on European markets.

Crypto exchange

Crypto.com has decided to use its advertisement time during Sunday’s 94th Academy Awards to showcase the current condition and loss of Ukraine, which received a heavy amount of crypto donations, due to the current Russia-Ukraine dispute.

Coinbase bought 2TM, a Brazilian company, which is also the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin. The acquisition is expected to close by this month.

Binance has teamed up with the Recording Academy, the music recording company known for its annual music awards Grammy Awards, to offer Web3 tech solutions and experiences to the projects and events for the upcoming 64th Annual Grammy Awards and Grammy week events.

NFT and Metaverse

On one hand, when South Korea is massively adopting NFTs, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine has launched an online NFT museum to preserve the timeline of the ongoing dispute with Russia.

Yuga Labs, the blockchain company behind the BAYC or Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, has warned its community not to get trapped in cybercrime following the Discord server hack.

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, accepted that he is eager to see the day when Bitcoin-backed bonds but he believes that the traditional financial markets are not ready for them. 

Non-custodial crypto company ShapeShift DAO has launched a new NFT auction called “Block 495559—Crypto Kitties and the Great Hairball in the Tubes,” to support female artists in the NFT industries amid the underrepresented female population in the rapidly growing digital economy.

NFT projects like Autometa (ATA), UFO Gaming (UFO), and Luckyblock (LBLOCK) have recently launched new collections where investors can keep their eye on.

Exclusive Reviews and announcements

Moxy.io: It has built a team that consists of several veterans from the video game industry by bringing blockchain technology to mainstream games, aiming to take gaming to a whole new level.

APENFT: It holds unique insights into the NFT market developments with a long-term commitment to collecting and managing artworks and collectibles. Its marketplace Testnet went live on March 31, marking a historic moment in the TRON NFT ecosystem evolution.

TrueUSD and Balancer: Along with their partnership with Polygon, these are best for investors that search for a safe DeFi investment. It has generated considerable interest in the digital asset community.

NFWhisky: It recently launched a unique NFT project called Dreama 2082, which offers exclusive access to Dreama 2082 bottled whisky after it matures in 10, 12, 15, 18, or 60 years to the holders.

Terraform Labs CEO admits a negative impact on UST with BTC crash

Terraform Labs CEO, Do Kwon, has recently admitted that if the value of Bitcoin goes down, it would “negatively” impact the stability of UST stablecoin.

ESET uncovers several Trojan crypto wallet scheme

Recently, research by cybersecurity firm ESET uncovered a “sophisticated scheme” that disperses Trojan apps that mimic popular crypto wallets. The malicious strategy targets mobile devices on Android and iOS operating systems.

DeFi, Web3, CBDC need more exposure

Survey company Morning Consult has recently published a survey conducted on 4,404 U.S.-based adult respondents, that reveals that 33% of ordinary Americans are aware of DeFi compared with 77% of crypto owners.

We will be back with another weekly roundup next Friday.