Author: The Guardian
The global art market performed at record levels in 2021, with billions of dollars being paid for works by impressionist, postwar and contemporary artists, and much of it bought by people whose wealth comes from cryptocurrencies or other technologies. More than $2.6bn (£2bn) of art was sold in two weeks by leading auction houses in New York in November. Four works by Vincent van Gogh sold for $161m, including $71.4m paid for Wooden Huts Among Olive Trees and Cypress Trees. In May, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1983 2-metre-tall painting In This Case became 2021’s single most expensive painting to change hands when it…
The thing about history is that it sometimes repeats itself. As far as the tech industry is concerned, we saw that in the year just ended and it looks as though we’re about to see it again in the year that’s just begun. First things first, though: 2021 was the year in which it finally became clear that the free ride that Google and co have enjoyed for two decades was coming to an end – that tech was going to become a regulated industry. Exactly how that was going to pan out was unclear, but the direction of travel was unmistakable.…
Nascar driver Brandon Brown has leaned into his unintentional association with the rightwing “Let’s go Brandon” meme by partnering with a sponsor inspired by the vulgar anti-Biden slogan. LGBcoin.io – a new, decentralized meme cryptocurrency short for “Let’s Go Brandon” that has achieved a market capitalization of more than $300m in less than six months – announced it has signed on as the full-season primary partner for Brown’s Brandonbilt Motorsports for the 2022 Xfinity Series season. As a result of the deal, Brown will drive in a red, white and blue livery with the logo and wordmark of LGBcoin aboard…
on the southern Mediterranean coast, nestled in the shadow of the Rock’s sheer limestone cliffs and its tangle of wild olive trees, the Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX) is quietly preparing for a corporate takeover that could have global consequences for the former naval garrison. Less than half a mile away, next to the blue waters of Gibraltar’s mid-harbour marina, the peninsula’s regulators are reviewing a proposal that would prompt blockchain firm Valereum to buy the exchange in the new year – meaning the British overseas territory could soon host the world’s first integrated bourse, where conventional bonds can be traded alongside major…
There have never been more ways to ask for money on the internet. For rightwing extremists looking to monetise hate, that can be a big opportunity – and the earning potential of these digital assets hasn’t gone unnoticed in Australia. Earlier this year, I traced funding networks associated with a sample of Australian channels that share rightwing extremist content on the chat app Telegram, and found links to at least 22 online funding tools. These included donation requests via wallet addresses for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, monero, ethereum and litecoin. Of course an interest in cryptocurrencies is not on its own indicative…
The real story this year is the explosion of digital transactions that will spawn a new economy of entrepreneurs and create trillions in wealth When you read about all the stories around small businesses in 2021 a few general themes quickly appear. Inflation. Supply chain. Labor shortages. Covid. All true. All relevant. All important. But all these stories are relatively short term. Inflation will, someday, be under control again. Shipping will catch up. Labor will come and go. Covid will always be around but we’ll just live with it. The reality is that there was just one story about small…
The UK’s advertising regulator has banned two promotions for “fan tokens” from Arsenal Football Club, saying they were misleading supporters over the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that the north London club was “taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity, trivialising investment in crypto assets, misleading consumers over the risk of investment and not making it clear the ‘token’ was a crypto asset”. Arsenal said it would seek an independent review of the ruling “to seek greater clarity on the ASA’s current position”. The Arsenal ad ban was one of a number published by the regulator on Wednesday,…
Bradford City have confirmed they have received a bid for the club from an American consortium which plans to fund a takeover using cryptocurrency but deny a sale is imminent. The League Two club received an offer from the investor group WAGMI United on Thursday. It aims to raise capital and funds through the sale of non-fungible tokens, known as NFTs, and intends to rely on data and analytics to make key decisions about running the club. Its goal, it says, is to use the model to take a club to the Premier League. The group, whose backers reportedly include the president…
The UK advertising watchdog has launched an investigation into a London bus and underground ad campaign for Floki Inu, a “meme coin” cryptocurrency named after a dog owned by Elon Musk, as pressure rises to ban the marketing of crypto products on public transport networks. The Advertising Standards Authority launched the investigation after receiving complaints about Floki’s latest campaign. The poster campaign encourages the public to invest in the cryptocurrency craze, appealing for them to look to Floki if they were not quick enough to buy into other popular cryptocurrencies, such as Doge, early enough. “Missed Doge? Get Floki”, runs…