Author: The Block
Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced legislation targeting Russian crypto use that could ultimately require more action from exchanges. Some industry players say that although the implications of the bill’s language are worrisome, it’s early to sound the alarm. Warren introduced the “Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act” during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on March 17. It proposes to further empower the Treasury with authority to bar crypto service providers from transacting with all addresses associated with Russia and sanction anyone found to have materially assisted or supported a sanctioned person. The broad language used in these sections could see a…
A man who defrauded investors out of thousands of dollars in a crypto scheme was convicted on Friday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Asa Saint Clair allegedly posed as the president of an organization (World Sports Alliance) with supposed ties to the United Nations and raised money from over 60 investors for the launch of a digital coin offering called IGObit. “As a jury has now found, Asa Saint Clair used lies to defraud everyday people out of their hard-earned money by promising them guaranteed returns if they invested in a IGObit,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. Saint Clair allegedly pocketed…
A bill moving through the New Jersey General Assembly would prevent public officials from accepting non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or other virtual currency as gifts in connection to their role. The legislation would build upon long-standing rules that prevent bribery and corruption. It was approved by the Science, Innovation Technology Committee on Monday and is not yet scheduled for a vote. “It is important that we adapt to our current environment and recognize crypto and blockchain technologies, and this proactive piece of legislation ensures that our ethics laws adapt as well so we can continue to hold public officials to the highest…
Optimism, the Ethereum scaling startup, said Thursday that it had raised a $150 million Series B funding round. The round values the startup, which formed out of a research effort in early 2020, at $1.65 billion, according to a blog post from the team. According to TechCrunch, the round was co-led by Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz. Last February, Optimism announced a $25 million Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Optimism is focused on the development of optimistic rollups, which are scaling layers that aggregate transactions above the base Ethereum layer. The idea is that by aggregating transactions, which are ultimately…
GameStop intends to launch its forthcoming non-fungible token (NFT) platform by the end of Q2 2022. The firm announced its plans in its Q4 2021 earnings call today and included the plans in its 10-K disclosure filing as part of “new growth opportunities.” “As we scale and expand our core offerings we will simultaneously invest in additional growth, including blockchain, digital assets (including non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”)), Web 3.0 technology, and new destination formats for our stores,” said the filing. GameStop partnered with Immutable X in January of this year to build out the NFT marketplace. Digital Worlds plans to grant up to…
A long-rumored crypto token tied to the Bored Ape NFT community was unveiled on Wednesday. The debut of ApeCoin ($APE), detailed in a Twitter thread from the official Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) account on Twitter, follows a report from The Block about some of the initiatives planned by Bored Ape creator Yuga Labs, including a planned token tied to gaming and virtual experiences. Key to the token is a dedicated decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) as well as a supporting foundation. “ApeCoin DAO is supported by Ape Foundation, and will empower the community to build blockchain games and services, host events (in the metaverse…
The Bank of Canada, the country’s central bank, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have agreed to collaborate on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) research. CBDCs are digital forms of a country’s fiat currency that are regulated by a nation’s centralized monetary authority. The agreement, announced via a press release, will see the Bank of Canada work with MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative to build on its ongoing research into CBDCs on a twelve-month basis. After this period, The Bank of Canada says it will provide an update on the findings and outcomes of the research project. Whilst the centralized bank says…
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law “on virtual assets” on Tuesday, bringing the crypto “out of the shadows” and legalizing it. The new law appoints the agencies that will regulate the market and establishes rules around virtual assets ownership rights, among other things, according to a statement. Ukrainian and foreign-based cryptocurrencies exchanges will be allowed to operate and banks will be able to open accounts for crypto companies. “We believe that crypto industry offers new economic opportunities. We will do our best to bring the bright new future closer as soon as possible,” Alex Bornyakov, the deputy minister of digital…
HSBC is the latest corporate giant to enter the metaverse through a partnership with The Sandbox. According to a blog post published by The Sandbox on Wednesday, the British bank has acquired a plot of land in the metaverse startup’s virtual world — space that will be developed to entertain sports, e-sports, gaming and finance professionals. Details about the exact nature of the initiative were scant, but HSBC’s Suresh Balaji, chief marketing officer for the Asia-Pacific region, said in the statement that the metaverse “is how people will experience web3, the next generation of the internet.” “At HSBC, we see great potential…
Crypto exchange giant FTX has partnered with AZA Finance, the payments firm formerly known as BitPesa, to grow the web3 economy on the African continent. The partnership will explore five key areas for web3 development in Africa, including offering support for deposits and withdrawals using African fiat currencies on the global FTX platform, according to a statement on Wednesday. It will also work to improve Africa’s web3 infrastructure while creating useful learning and networking resources for participants in the region. FTX and AZA Finance also plan to launch African digital currency trading pairs. The fifth area of the collaboration involves…