Weekly Headlines 2023.2 W4
“It will be a humbling reminder that crypto is a global asset class and that the West, really the US, always only ever had two options: embrace it or be left behind. It can’t be stopped. That we know.” – Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini
Weekly News Report:
News
1. Binance Shifts to ‘Semi-Automated’ Process to Manage Reserves of Tokens It Issues: Bloomberg
– Reserves for these tokens had previously been mixed with customer funds.
2. Crypto Exchange Zipmex to Restart Customer Withdrawals Once Rescue Deal Closes
– A rescue deal is “signed but not closed,” according to Zipmex CEO Marcus Lim.
3. FTX Japan Customers Can Begin Withdrawing Fiat, Crypto on Feb. 21
– FTX Japan will restart withdrawal services for fiat and crypto assets as of noon local time on Feb. 21, the company said in an announcement made Monday.
4. Binance Considers Severing US Ties in Face of Crypto Crackdown: Bloomberg
– Binance is considering severing its ties with U.S. business partners as various government agencies and regulators continue to investigate the company, according to a report from Bloomberg, citing a personal familiar with the issue.
Institution
1. Online Transactions, Peer-to-Peer Payments Should Be Priorities With Digital Euro, ECB Says
– Transfers in stores and to governments could take longer to develop, but basic personal use should be free, the European Central Bank said.
2. FATF Agrees on Action Plan to Drive Implementation of Global Crypto Norms
– The global financial crime watchdog’s plenary, made up of 206 members, including observer organizations like the UN, also agreed to take stock of what jurisdictions have been doing so far.
3. German DZ Bank adds digital currencies to asset management services
– German asset manager DZ Bank collaborated with Swiss technology firm Metaco to add digital asset management into its services.
4. Hong Kong Backs Web3 With $6.4M in Annual Budget
– Report says officials from China’s Liaison Office have been spotted at crypto events in the city.
5. Canadian Crypto Trading Platforms Face ‘Enhanced’ Rules Under New Regulations
– The Canadian Securities Administrators published new guidance for the local crypto industry Wednesday, warning exchanges and other platforms they would have to abide by “enhanced investor protection commitments.”
6. Hong Kong outlines upcoming crypto licensing regime
– Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) calls for public feedback on its newly proposed licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges set to take effect from June 2023.
7. Bank of Russia to Pilot CBDC in April
– The Bank of Russia’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital ruble, is ready for its pilot phase, said the bank’s deputy governor, Olga Skorobogatova, on Friday.
Market
1. Crypto and blockchain education becomes priority at top universities
– As crypto adoption rises, more universities are offering crypto courses.
2. Bitcoin Futures on CME Outpace Those on Binance to Trade at Widest Premium Since November 2021
– The CME accounts for a majority of activity in the standard futures market tied to bitcoin, one observer said, while explaining a relatively higher premium in futures listed on the Chicago-based exchange.
3. Bitcoin Price Falls Back Toward Week’s Low on Inflation Worry
– The January PCE Price Index – the Fed’s favored inflation indicator – unexpectedly rose to 5.4%.
4. ReFi for the People: How Crypto Can Help Local Communities Help Their Ecosystems
– A hyper-localized breed of regenerative finance hopes to use crypto not only to improve the world’s carbon footprint but improve lives of local communities.
5. XRP Ledger Proposes Cross-Chain Bridge to Increase Network and Token Utility
– The proposal defines how changes to an account’s transaction sequence can be made on the XRP Ledger to ensure the movement of tokens between XRP Ledger and associated sidechains.
6. Optimism Token Up 6.5% as Coinbase Builds Its Layer 2 on the Platform
– The price of optimism token (OP) rose by 6.5% Thursday after Coinbase (COIN) said it is building its layer 2 blockchain using the OP Stack in collaboration with Optimism.
7. How to Harness the Power of Crypto to Aid Communities Rebuilding After Natural Disasters
– The industry’s swift response in times of need highlights the need for compatibility between crypto and the traditional financial system.
8. AI Could Help Build More-Efficient Crypto Markets
– Artificial intelligence, once a technological tundra, is now one of the hottest areas of growth for Web3, SingularityDAO’s Marcello Mari and Rafe Tariq write.
9. Crypto Long & Short: Washington Plays Tennis With Crypto
– If digital asset regulation is drifting into partisan waters, that’s bad for all involved.
10. Bitcoin Ordinals Can Lift the Entire Crypto Ecosystem
– The arrival of the Ordinals Protocol, which allows for the creation of Bitcoin NFTs, has coincided with a big jump in the price of Bitcoin. Add that to the SEC’s exemption of Bitcoin from the label of security, and we see a bullish bitcoin picture emerging.
11. Arbitrum Native Decentralized Exchange Camelot Growing Massively in February
– The price of GRAIL, the native token for Camelot, has soared 520% since Feb. 1, per CoinGecko.
12. Crypto Markets Analysis: Bitcoin, Ether Hold Mid-Week Gains; Crypto Exchange Token OKB Outperforms
– The announcement of a new blockchain following the earlier release of a proof-of-reserves report pushed OKB higher. BTC and ETH benefited from short covering.
13. Filecoin’s FIL Token Jumps More Than 30%, Sparking Interest in Virtual Machine Launch
– The jump fueled social media excitement about the blockchain’s March 1 launch of its Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM) and its token FIL jumped 36.7% at the time of publication.
NFT
1. Litecoin Network Gets Its First NFTs After Developer Forks Bitcoin Ordinals
– A copy of the white paper of Litecoin’s mimblewimble upgrade was put on the Litecoin blockchain.
2. Titanic artifacts to be tokenized as NFTs in new partnership
– Real-world artifacts from the famous Titanic wreckage are set to be tokenized as NFTs through a new partnership using blockchain technology.
3. The new YouTube CEO is open to Web3 and NFT
– New YouTube CEO Neal Mohan mentioned NFT will enable strengthening the romance among information creators and their fan communities.
Metaverse
1. EU Metaverse Policy Should Consider Discrimination, Safety, Data Controls: Commission Official
– The European Commission plans to set out the policy on virtual worlds in May.
2. Snow Crash manuscript that coined the term ‘metaverse’ to be auctioned by Sotheby’s
– The manuscript is part of a larger series of physical and digital items related to the famous book.
3. BlackRock Starts Metaverse-Themed ETF Despite Waning Investor Interest
– Meta, Apple and Nvidia are top holdings for the exchange-traded fund.
DeFi
1. DeFi Protocol Ankr’s Token Surged 73% on Microsoft and Tencent Partnerships
– Daily trade volume has topped $1.5 billion following the partnerships.
2. DeFi Liquidity Protocol Synthetix Deploys Version 3 on Ethereum
– Synthetix holds over $450 million in locked tokens over the Ethereum and Optimism networks.
Web3
1. Google Cloud to Become Validator on Tezos Network
– The tech giant’s corporate customers will be able to deploy Tezos nodes to build Web3 applications on the network.
2. Web3 Music Streaming Platform Audius Integrates TikTok
– Audius users can sign up for the application with their TikTok profiles and use the streaming service’s songs in their videos on the social-media platform.
3. Hong Kong Backs Web3 With $6.4M in Annual Budget
– The city’s financial secretary will lead a task force dedicated to the development of virtual assets.
February 24, 2023