Crypto News Weekly roundup March 26

The crypto market is witnessing an upward motion recently with rising demand among investors all over the world. The regulatory bodies around the world are tightening their grips to regulate the industry. We at TheCoinRise are here to summarize this crypto market week for you.

Regulatory involvement in the crypto industry

Pete Sessions, a Republican Congressman has been in the headlines for his unique claim about the positive impact of Bitcoin mining not only on Texas but also on the entire United States. He says that BTC mining plays a “critical role in rebuilding energy independence in the USA.”

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has released enforcement over 50 companies that have marketed Bitcoin services in the United Kingdom, instructing them to comply with new advertising instructions.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC has delayed its decision, by extending its decision window on spot BTC ETF applications from asset managers One River and WisdomTree.

As per the new parliamentary note, India will tax each crypto investment separately. The official statement also states that the status of these blockchain-based assets is not completely legal currently.

Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, the Communication Minister said at a presentation at the Dewan Rakyat, that he wishes Malaysia will legalize crypto to increase the involvement of the country’s youth population with a deep interest in blockchain technology.

As per the reports, El Salvador might face a delay in Bitcoin bond, the highly-talked $1 billion “volcano bond.” The reason behind the delay is primarily due to the volatility in global conditions such as the Russia-Ukraine dispute. Ukraine is receiving a huge amount of crypto donations with projects like “Stand against war.”

The European Central Bank president talked about the situation and reiterated his concerns that the businesses and individuals in Russia might be using digital assets to evade sanctions.

This Monday, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the Emirate’s free zone, released a consultation paper called “Proposals for enhancements to capital markets and virtual assets in ADGM.” It includes proposed guidelines for NFT trading, among other virtual assets.

Thailand SEC or Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it will ban the use of digital currencies for use as payment for goods and services in the country from the first of April.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development or OECD recently published a public consultation paper suggesting additional requirements on reporting crypto transactions and identifying users to increase transparency for global tax authorities.

Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, has reacted in an emotional way to the news that the Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador Act (ACES) has passed the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The El Banco Central de Honduras (BCH), the Central Bank of the Central American nation, has officially put an end to reports that the country is considering legalizing Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender.

The English city of Portsmouth has decided to allow residents to make payments for their bills in crypto through Paypal, one of its loyal payment partners.

Singapore and Cambodia are reportedly exploring digital currencies with the aim to boost their e-commerce industry and payment ecosystem.

Recently, two of Bloomberg’s top analysts have come up with a suggestion for the United States SEC which will give the latter the ability to approve spot ETF in the coming year.

Russia has recently indicated that it is open to accepting Bitcoin for exports of its natural resources to the “friendly” nations amid the Central Bank’s strict stance.

Following the implementation of the so-called Travel Rule by the South Korean government last year, several cryptocurrency exchanges in the country were forced to close their doors. Even so, the deadline set by the government was reached and the exchanges are now in compliance with the applicable legislation.

Partnerships, launches, fundings, and plans

The crypto data company, TIE, has raised $9 million in a Series A funding round which was led by Avalanche-focused venture capital fund Blizzard. It saw participation from GoldenTree Asset Management, NYDIG, Republic Capital, Hudson River Trading, Nexo, Gemini Frontier Fund.

FTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of the FTX Derivatives Exchange, has invested $100 million in Dave Inc, a Nasdaq-listed banking app services provider. The Nasdaq-listed Dave company also formed a strategic agreement with West Realm Shires Services, Inc., the owner and operator of FTX US.

This week, securities clearing company Eurocler has invested in Fnality International, a consortium of financial institutions aimed at regulated adoption of marketplaces and tokenized assets, for an undisclosed amount.

American investment banking company Goldman Sachs has recently completed its first OTC or over-the-counter crypto options trade by partnering with Galaxy Digital.

Polkadot-based lending system Parallel Finance, released six DeFi-related products, notably, wallet, staking, crowdloans, cross-chain bridges, automated market maker, and yield farming, aiming to become a one-stop destination for all aspects of DeFi.

BAYC creator company Yuga Labs has secured $450 million through a seed funding round led by a16z, putting the company’s valuation to $4 billion.

Crypto investing and asset managing giant Grayscale Investments has launched a new crypto fund aimed at smart contract platforms to offer Ethereum killer alternative blockchain networks.

Crypto lending platform Nexo has launched Nexo Ventures which aims to help it in investing in blockchain startups and innovative Web3 projects.

This Thursday, the International Organization of Securities or IOSCO has published a research paper on DeFi aimed to offer a better perspective to the sector and highlight some of its sides that may concern regulators.

Meta has been seeking to enter the crypto sector for a long time. It has filed 8 trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO.

Secure and reliable open-source oracle solution providing company, Chainlink Labs, has launched a project that aims to support small and medium developers and entrepreneurs by offering Blockchain resources.

The top Australian bank, ANZ has become the first bank to mint an Australian dollar (AUD) pegged stablecoin called “A$DC.” The competitor bank NAB revealed that it is also bringing its own stablecoin.

While Cardano continues upward motion, the co-founder of Cardano Blockchain, Charles Hoskinson admitted that his prediction of the number of DApps building on the blockchain in July 2020 has not yet been reached.

Crypto exchange

Crypto exchange platform Crypto.com has teamed up with FIFA, the governing body behind major international soccer tournaments to become its official partner for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.

Ireland has approved the Gemini crypto exchange for offering electronic money services in the nation. The exchange becomes the first organization to receive such a license since October 2020.

Crypto exchange giant FTX has selected Naomi Osaka, the world’s one of the highest-ranked tennis players, as the latest figure in sports to endorse it. She would be taking an equity stake in the exchange.

The venture capital arm of Binance, Binance Labs has co-led a seed funding for a blockchain startup looking to build a Web3 social gaming metaverse with BNB Chain, Ultiverse, with DeFiance Capital being the other co-leader of the round. 

NFT and Metaverse

The leading internet giants and social media platforms of China have updated their policies to restrict or ban NFT platforms amid the absence of a clear regulatory framework. It seems that these platforms are fearing the strict actions and penalties by the government.

The renowned Football club Liverpool has partnered with Sotheby’s to launch its first club NFT collection as a significant step to enter the NFT world.

Google-backed artificial intelligence firm Glance has acquired Indian mobile game developer Gambit with the hope to extend its mobile game services and expose NFTs to Gen-Z customers with the purchase.

Vitalik Buterin did not know who Tom Brady was

Co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, responded to critic tweets and admitted that he did not know who NFL star and founder of the NFT marketplace Autograph, Tom Brady was. Brady lighted the mood by expressing his gratitude towards the king of the crypto world.

SushiSwap proposes a legal structure for better clarification

The community-led collection of DeFi tools, SushiSwap, has released its plans on implementing a legal structure for reducing risks for SUSHI token holders. The proposal cites the requirement for a foundation to provide better legal clarifications and administrative support for SushiDAO.

Rare Bears faced phishing attack losing $800K

Unique hand-drawn NFTs taking over the BearVerse, Rare Bears, has confirmed a phishing attack on the project’s official Discord channel this week, leading to a loss of $800,000 in NFTs. 

BlockFi confirms client data leak on Hubspot

New Jersey-based crypto financial institution BlockFi has also confirmed client data leaks via its third-party provider Hubspot. The proactive incident notice further clarifies that there has not been any loss and the attack was limited to the Hubspot platform.

Synthetix expansion of liquidity and staking capabilities

DeFi protocol Synthetix has deployed its Debt Synthesis feature this Thursday with the aim to positively expand its staking and liquidity capabilities.

Cardano aims to perform at the same level as Solana

Charles Hoskinson, the co-founder of ADA said that Cardano aims to perform at the same level as Solana with the following statement:

“Right now, I’d say the three key things we’re concentrating on are commercial comparability, sustainability, and self-determination.”

Exclusive Reviews and announcements

DigitalWalletProtector (DWP): Comprised of World Scientists, Sacred Geometry Experts, and Crypto Whales, DigitalWalletProtector uses the power of NFTs and blockchain technology to connect the crypto holders with the universe’s positive energy and impact for the safety, prosperity, and wisdom.

Polker: It is a metaverse that seeks to use the play-to-earn idea and combine it with all these new technologies in a unique way.

StandAgainstWar: It uses NFTs that are sold/minted from their releases to provide charitable donations to 17 different NGOs with 90% of the funds from sales/minting automatically going to non-profit organizations.

Prime Numbers: It is a DAO that sells NFTs for generating funds for scholarships for students.

APENFT Marketplace: It aims to decrease the entry barrier for users through a new NFT market along with building new forces in the TRON community.

TheCoinRise will be back with another weekly roundup next Friday.