Top Blockchain News of the Week

For the week ending Oct 11, 2024

1. OKX has launched in the UAE, offering an AED-denominated order book and integration with Zand Bank to attract retail clients and institutions, providing access to regulated derivatives and local banking channels. Coindesk

2. Ripple launched Ripple Custody, offering bank-grade custody tech for digital assets like crypto, fiat, and RWAs. Features include Elliptic transaction screening and AWS Cloud HSM security, aimed at banks and fintechs. Coinjournal

3. South Korea’s Ministry of Strategy and Finance is reviewing stricter stablecoin regulations due to concerns over their growing use in cross-border transactions. The FSC plans to prioritize stablecoins in the next phase of the VAUPA. Cryptopotato

4. Eswatini’s Central Bank released a design paper for its potential digital currency, the digital lilangeni. It features tokenized retail CBDC with online wallets managed by institutions and smart card-based hard wallets for offline use. Cointelegraph

5. Crypto.com filed a lawsuit against the SEC after receiving a Wells notice, aiming to protect the future of the US crypto industry. Other firms, such as Uniswap, Consensys, and Robinhood, have faced similar actions. Blockworks

For the week ending Oct 04, 2024

1. Binance founder CZ is set to be released after serving a 4-month sentence for failing to implement anti-money laundering controls. With his $60B fortune intact, CZ now returns to society with legal issues resolved. Fortune

2. Grayscale launched the Aave Trust, offering investors exposure to AAVE, the token powering the decentralized lending protocol. Unlike an ETF, it’s a closed-end fund, providing a new way to invest in Aave’s potential. Decrypt

3. The IMF has urged El Salvador to narrow its Bitcoin law and strengthen oversight of the crypto ecosystem, while also limiting public sector exposure. This follows previous warnings about fiscal and financial risks. Coindesk

4. Japan’s new Digital Transformation Minister, Masaaki Taira, signaled plans for crypto tax reform, calling for changes to support the nation’s blockchain sector during a press conference after his appointment. Cryptonews

5. Banks are preparing to trial crypto transactions on Swift’s network, aiming to settle digital assets and currencies. Swift, formed in 1973, connects over 11,000 institutions and processes 5 billion financial messages annually. Blockworks

For the week ending Sep 27, 2024

1. Curve Finance may drop TrueUSD (TUSD) as crvUSD collateral after U.S. regulators charged TUSD’s issuer. A proposal suggests eliminating TUSD backing and reducing PYUSD minting limits due to regulatory risks. Cointelegraph

2. Germany sold nearly $3B worth of seized Bitcoin from Movie2k.to, surprising traders and pressuring BTC prices. The quietly conducted sale coincided with concerns over potential sell-offs by Mt. Gox creditors and miners. Coindesk

3. Zettai Pte Ltd, the parent company of WazirX, secured a four-month moratorium from the Singapore High Court to restructure after a $230 million exploit in July. The moratorium allows time to address users’ crypto balances. Theblock

4. The U.S. DOJ seized domains of three crypto exchanges linked to over $800M in illicit transactions in a crackdown on Russian money laundering. Russian national Sergey Ivanov, aka “Taleon,” was indicted for running these services. Decrypt

5. A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm will stand trial on money laundering charges, denying his motion to dismiss. Storm is accused of facilitating the laundering of over $1 billion through the crypto mixer. Theblock

For the week ending Sep 20, 2024

1. BingX was hacked, losing nearly $43 million in various assets. Despite the breach, the exchange assures users that operations remain unaffected, with deposits and withdrawals temporarily delayed but expected to resume within 24 hours. CryptoExchange

2. The SEC charged two fake crypto platforms, NanoBit and CoinW6, with defrauding investors in a “relationship investment scam.” The agency filed complaints, warning of rising risks from such scams targeting retail investors. TheBlock

3. The SEC announced a settlement with Rari Capital and its co-founders for misleading investors about their Earn pools’ automatic rebalancing and hidden fees. The SEC also accused them of unregistered broker activity. Blockworks

4. Hut 8 has partnered with BITMAIN to launch the U3S21EXPH, a next-gen ASIC miner featuring direct liquid-to-chip cooling. Set for deployment in Q2 2025, this innovation bridges Bitcoin mining with AI data center infrastructure. Bitmagazine

5. BNB Chain announced a gasless transaction update for stablecoins, enabling fee-free transfers for USDT, USDC, and FDUSD. This initiative aims to make stablecoin payments more accessible, faster, and cheaper, supporting broader crypto adoption. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Sep 13, 2024

1. The UK introduced the Property (Digital Assets, etc) Bill to officially recognize Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and carbon credits as personal property, providing legal protection for digital holdings. (BitcoinMagazine)

2. eToro settled SEC charges for operating as an unregistered broker. It will limit U.S. trading to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash, giving users 180 days to sell other assets. eToro will pay a $1.5M penalty. (Decrypt)

3. Coinbase launched cbBTC, a tokenized version of Bitcoin on its Base layer 2 network and Ethereum. Backed 1:1 by BTC in Coinbase custody, it allows seamless conversion. Coinbase holds over 4% of Bitcoin’s total supply. (UnchainedCrypto)

4. A new crypto scam called “point running” is emerging in China, where victims are tricked into moving cryptocurrencies between accounts, thinking they’re earning rewards, but they may be unknowingly laundering illicit funds. (Cointelegraph)

5. Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams denied bribery claims, stating neither Uniswap Labs nor the Foundation charges for protocol deployment. He clarified that governance votes decide deployments, dismissing the allegations as false. (Beingcrypto)

For the week ending Sep 06, 2024

1. The CFTC recovered $18M from Sam Ikkurty, who defrauded investors in a fake crypto hedge fund. He promised profits but hid losses of 98.99% and lacked real crypto expertise, losing his own Bitcoins in a hack. TheBlock

2. Pump.fun, a memecoin launchpad, hit $100M in revenue in 217 days, making it the fastest-growing protocol by revenue in crypto. Despite slowing activity, its success stems from appealing to retail speculators and high fees. Decrypt

3. Mastercard partnered with Mercuryo to launch a euro-denominated debit card, allowing European users to spend Bitcoin directly from non-custodial wallets at over 100 million merchants globally, enhancing Bitcoin’s accessibility. BitcoinMagazine

4. This summer, crypto restaking protocols hit a peak TVL of $21B, but that figure has dropped by one-third to $14B. Investors are reducing risk as they reassess portfolios entering the third quarter. Protos

5. U.S. prosecutors accused former FTX executive Ryan Salame of using Thai prostitutes’ names to unfreeze accounts tied to FTX. They opposed his motion to vacate a guilty plea, calling it “shameless” and “meritless.” Cointelegraph

For the week ending Aug 27, 2024

1. The SEC has charged two brothers for allegedly running a $60M crypto Ponzi scheme involving a fake trading bot, claiming 13.5% monthly returns. From Jan 2023 to June 2024, they reportedly lured 80+ investors by promising profits from non-existent arbitrage trading. Cointelegraph

2. Nasdaq seeks US regulatory approval to launch Bitcoin index options, offering institutions and traders a new way to hedge Bitcoin exposure. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan highlights the importance of these options for fully normalizing BTC and enhancing market liquidity. Cointelegraph

3. Wyoming plans to launch a US dollar-backed stablecoin, the Wyoming Stable Token, in Q1 2025. Designed for faster, cheaper transactions, it could serve as a model for a US digital dollar. Governor Mark Gordon emphasized its transparency and full backing by short-term Treasurys. DLNews

4. Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, was arrested after landing at Le Bourget airport near Paris. Following his arrest, the price of Toncoin, developed by Durov, dropped 14% to $5.75. The Russian-born billionaire had flown from Azerbaijan with his bodyguard and a woman. DLNews

5. Three crypto investors are suing Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, alleging that Binance’s lax compliance allowed their stolen crypto, taken from other platforms, to be laundered on the exchange. The plaintiffs claim losses ranging from tens of thousands to $1.5 million. Unchainedcrypto

For the week ending Aug 18, 2024

1. The FBI responded to a FOIA request about Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto with a “Glomar response,” neither confirming nor denying they have records on him. The response intriguingly refers to Satoshi as an individual, sparking further speculation about his identity. Cointelegraph

2. $600M in bitcoin from the Silk Road case was sent to a Coinbase wallet, per Arkham. The U.S. DOJ had earlier seized these funds, which are part of a broader $2B confiscation. TheBlock

3. Recent 13F filings reveal increasing hedge fund investments in BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF, with major players like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley showcasing significant positions as of June 30. BlockWorks

4. Binance has resumed operations in India after successfully registering with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) following a seven-month block. CEO Richard Teng highlighted this as a key milestone, aligning Binance with Indian regulations. DLNews

5. Dubai’s court endorses crypto for salary payments, reflecting a progressive approach to Web3 and digital currency integration in UAE’s employment contracts. This legal shift shows growing acceptance of crypto’s financial role. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Aug 04, 2024

1. Despite a 13% drop in BTC this month, indicators like the 180-day call-put skew remain positive, suggesting a bullish outlook. This skew measures the demand for call options, which are bets on price increases. CoinDesk

2. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $168.4 million in net outflows amid market fluctuations. Grayscale’s GBTC led the outflows with $69.12 million, while its newest bitcoin trust saw $21.81 million in inflows, reflecting diverse investor responses. TheBlock

3. NFT artists are suing the SEC over vague regulations, arguing that just as traditional artists like Warhol or musicians like Dylan didn’t face such scrutiny, digital art shouldn’t be treated as securities. They claim this ambiguity hinders creativity. BlockWorks

4. Centralized crypto exchanges are losing traction as DeFi platforms gain a larger share of the market. DEX volume rose by 34%, from $133.5 billion in January to $179.5 billion recently, showing significant growth in preference for decentralized trading solutions. Decrypt

5. Elon Musk’s Neuralink successfully conducted a second human trial. The implant, with 400 electrodes, aims to enhance human capabilities, according to Musk’s podcast revelation. Cointelegraph

For the week ending July 28, 2024

1. The U.S. government moved $2B in seized Bitcoin, causing market concerns. A government-linked wallet transferred 29,800 BTC, with subsequent distributions to different addresses, heightening fears of a sell-off impacting Bitcoin’s price. CoinDesk

2. Elliot Gunton, a UK hacker, was sentenced to 3.5 years for hacking over 500 Coinbase accounts in 2018-2019. He pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering, stealing over $900,000 from accounts when he was 17 and 18 years old. Cointelegraph

3. Snowden warns that advanced AI could compromise blockchain privacy, noting that Bitcoin transactions are traceable through exchanges, exposing sensitive personal details. He fears AI will use this data for deep profiling within a decade. BeInCrypto

4. Donald Trump, speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, pledged to make the US the “crypto capital of the world” if re-elected, lauding Bitcoin’s potential to surpass gold in value and influence, likening it to the early days of the steel industry. Cointelegraph

5. Four men were arrested in Kyiv, Ukraine, accused of kidnapping and murdering a man after forcing him to transfer Bitcoin worth $170,000—over 500 times the local average salary. Decrypt

For the week ending July 21, 2024

1. Coinbase narrows its demand for SEC Chair Gensler’s internal messages in its court battle with the SEC, focusing only on communications during his tenure. Initially, Coinbase sought documents from before Gensler’s SEC role. CoinDesk

2. 9 US spot Ether ETFs launched on Cboe, NYSE Arca, and Nasdaq – a milestone for crypto investing. The ETFs, from BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, VanEck, Bitwise, 21Shares, Franklin Templeton, Invesco, and Galaxy Digital, began trading on Tuesday. BlockWorks

3. An on-chain platform on the Base network now allows US politicians to receive crypto donations. Sign-ups include blockchain advocates Rep. Tom Emmer and Sen. Cynthia Lummis. The platform’s “signup as a campaign” feature supports more campaigns and is nonpartisan. TheBlock

4. Mark Cuban believes Kamala Harris could be more open to crypto than Biden. Harris’ campaign seeks input on crypto policy. Cuban sees her as a tech ally, supporting innovation and business-friendly policies, signaling openness to the crypto industry. Cointelegraph

5. Robinhood is expanding into crypto by acquiring exchange Bitstamp for ~$200M, with the deal expected to close in H1 2025. Known for stock trading, Robinhood has been increasing its crypto offerings despite recent regulatory hurdles. TechCrunch

For the week ending July 16, 2024

1. Celestia’s TIA token jumped 25% to $7.30 this week, outperforming the top 100 digital assets. Despite the surge, traders remain skeptical, evidenced by negative funding rates in perpetual futures. This indicates a strong bias for bearish bets amid the rally. CoinDesk

2. Hong Kong’s Financial Services and Treasury Bureau will soon release consultation results for its stablecoin issuer proposal. A stablecoin sandbox was launched in March. TheBlock

3. Coinbase, Anchorage, Kraken, and Fireblocks, among others, formed the Blockchain Security Standards Council to set security standards across the industry. The council, comprising 10 firms, aims to enhance blockchain security protocols. BlockWorks

4. U.S. Congressmen French Hill and Rich McCormick urged the government to consider Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, detained in Nigeria, as a hostage. They called for his release in a resolution submitted to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Decrypt

5. Despite recent sell-offs, experts like Matt Hougan of Bitwise and Anthony Scaramucci of SkyBridge Capital predict Bitcoin will reach $100,000 by year-end. Their optimism stems from key market developments, despite challenges like the Mt. Gox Bitcoin distribution. BeInCrypto

For the week ending July 07, 2024

1. Former executives Joshua Porter and Gulsen Kama of Tether-backed Northern Data allege wrongful termination after raising concerns about accounting fraud and tax evasion at the company. They have filed a lawsuit against Northern Data. CoinDesk

2. The crypto market saw $665M in daily liquidations as Bitcoin dropped 7.4% to $54,422. The price plunge was partly due to Mt. Gox moving 47,229 BTC to another wallet address. TheBlock

3. Justin Sun announced gas-free stablecoin transfers on Tron by year-end, promising to make transactions more efficient. Details on the technical implementation are yet to be disclosed. DLNews

4. CoinShares reported $441M in digital asset inflows, driven by Bitcoin’s price weakness, activity from Mt. Gox, and a German government sell-off. This indicates a significant buying opportunity in the market. Cointelegraph

5. The infamous phishing group Pink Drainers lost $30,000 in Ethereum to an address poisoning scam. This incident underscores the growing risks and complexity of cybercrime. BeInCrypto

For the week ending Jun 29, 2024

1. A Bitcoin wallet from 2010, inactive for 14 years, transferred 50 BTC to Binance. The wallet belonged to a miner who earned 50 BTC as mining rewards when BTC was $0.05. This rare movement of Satoshi-era BTC has caught significant attention. Cointelegraph

2. Coinbase filed lawsuits against the SEC and FDIC, claiming unfair targeting and overregulation. The exchange seeks clarity under the Freedom of Information Act, challenging the regulatory pressure it faces amidst a broader crypto crackdown. BeInCrypto

3. Bitcoin dropped towards $60,000 after the U.S. moved $240M worth of seized Silk Road-related BTC to Coinbase Prime. This transfer, from narcotics trafficker Banmeet Singh’s case, raised concerns about market impacts from selling these assets. CoinDesk

4. The IRS released final “broker rule” guidance, delaying decisions on non-custodial platforms like DEXs. Crypto lobbyists feared ambiguous language could impact wallet providers and DEXs. The IRS clarified custodial brokers are defined as brokers, with further reviews pending. TheBlock

5. The SEC sued Consensys for offering unregistered securities and not registering as a broker. Consensys, expecting this, claims MetaMask doesn’t need to register as a securities broker and vows to defend its stance in court. Blockworks

For the week ending Jun 22, 2024

1. Political memecoins like Super Trump, Maga, Jeo Boden, and Doland Tremp are expected to experience volatile price movements during and after the Trump-Biden debate on June 27. TheBlock

2. The SEC has dropped its investigation into Consensys, confirming no charges will be brought against ETH for being a security. This decision brings relief to Ethereum developers and participants, marking a major regulatory win for the blockchain ecosystem. Blockworks

3. Bitcoin’s price dropped by 3.5%, continuing a downward trend over the past two weeks. The decline is attributed to the German government’s sale of $325M worth of Bitcoin, confiscated from a movie piracy website, causing market volatility. Decrypt

4. Bitwise’s updated filing for its spot Ether ETF reveals that Pantera Capital is considering a $100M investment. This significant potential buy-in reflects growing institutional interest in Ether-based ETFs. Cointelegraph

5. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network flagged increased use of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, Monero, and Tether, by Mexican cartels to buy fentanyl ingredients. CoinDesk

For the week ending Jun 09, 2024

1. JPMorgan reports the U.S. stablecoin bill has a strong chance of passing before the presidential election, posing a threat to Tether’s dominance. Meanwhile, a CBDC is unlikely as the House recently passed a bill preventing the Federal Reserve from issuing one. CoinDesk

2. Animoca cofounder Yat Siu suggests Hong Kong may approve staking for spot Ethereum ETFs this year. Asset managers are exploring staking rewards, with HashKey drafting a proposal. This move could happen in Asia before the U.S. due to ongoing discussions. The Block

3. The U.S. added 272K jobs in May, beating expectations, but unemployment rose to 4%. Markets dipped initially but partially recovered. Bitcoin and ether showed mixed reactions. Despite a strong headline figure, the labor market remains tight, affecting potential Fed rate cuts. Blockworks

4. The SEC will close its Salt Lake Regional Office after a judge ordered it to pay $1.8M for “bad faith conduct” in the DEBT Box case. The closure follows significant attrition, with operations shifting to Denver. The SEC faced sanctions for improper asset freezing actions. Cointelegraph

5. Former President Donald Trump now holds over $32M in crypto, a significant shift from his 2021 criticism. This change is largely due to Vivek Ramaswamy’s influence, highlighting Trump’s substantial crypto portfolio and newfound support for digital assets. BeInCrypto

For the week ending May 31, 2024

1. BlackRock amends its SEC filing for a proposed spot Ethereum ETF, indicating potential market availability as soon as June, following last week’s pivotal approval of the new financial vehicle. Decrypt

2. Mastercard launches the Mastercard Crypto Credential, a P2P network for cross-border cryptocurrency transactions, initially supporting users in Europe and Latin America with transactions on select exchanges. TheBlock

3. Gemini announces the complete in-kind recovery of all digital assets for Gemini Earn users, marking a 232% recovery of assets following Genesis’s operational halt that affected withdrawals. CoinDesk

4. Ryan Salame, former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, is sentenced to 7.5 years in prison by a U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to charges of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and campaign finance fraud. Cointelegraph

5. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce proposes a collaborative US-UK digital securities sandbox that would extend the Bank of England and FCA’s joint initiative to US firms, enabling self-regulation in digital securities for two years. Cryptoslate

For the week ending May 19, 2024

1. Gemini will start returning 97% of customer assets from its Gemini Earn program by month-end following U.S. court approval of Genesis’s bankruptcy plan, likely resulting in significant losses for parent company DCG. TheBlock

2. The US Senate passed a resolution to overturn the SEC’s SAB 121, which mandates digital asset custodians to report liabilities for custodied cryptocurrencies. The resolution now faces a likely veto from President Biden. Blockworks

3. GameStop’s stock plummeted 26% after announcing plans to sell 45Mshares following weak preliminary Q1 results, highlighting ongoing financial struggles despite reducing net losses compared to last year. Decrypt

4. Pink Drainer, a service used by phishing scammers to steal over $7M, announced its closure in a private Telegram chat, emphasizing data deletion but showing no remorse for the victims. Protos

5. The SEC seeks to dismiss its lawsuit against Digital Licensing (Debt Box) without prejudice, allowing for potential refiling despite previous court sanctions for misuse of power and calls from Debt Box for a permanent dismissal. Cointelegraph

For the week ending May 11, 2024

1. Binance has been fined $4.3M by Canada’s FINTRAC for failing to register as a foreign money services business and for not reporting thousands of significant transactions. CoinDesk

2. Major financial entities including Visa, Mastercard, JPMorgan, and Citigroup are testing a Regulated Settlement Network using blockchain to handle various tokenized assets, signaling a significant move towards mainstream adoption of shared ledger technology. Blockworks

3. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust experienced net outflows, contrasting with the broader trend of inflows across other U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, highlighting varied investor behaviors in the crypto ETF market. TheBlock

4. SEC Chair Gary Gensler attributed the intense regulatory focus on crypto to disproportionate media and industry attention relative to its market cap, amidst ongoing enforcement actions. Decrypt

5. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to overturn the SEC’s guidance that restricts banks from holding crypto assets, although the bill faces a potential veto from President Biden. CoinTelegraph

For the week ending May 04, 2024

1. Alliance DAO has unveiled its latest batch of startups amid a recovering crypto market and increased venture capital activity, signaling a possible downturn in US founder participation due to regulatory pressures. TechCrunch

2. Tether’s $4.5B profit in Q1 underscores its dominance in the stablecoin market, benefiting from its offshore focus as US competitors navigate impending stablecoin legislation. UnchainedCrypto

3. PayPal has partnered with MoonPay to enable US users to buy and trade cryptocurrencies via wallet transfers, bank transfers, and debit card transactions,aiming to bridge traditional finance and crypto markets. FinanceMagnates

4. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust records its first inflow of new money since January, as it competes with other bitcoin ETFs, highlighting investor interest despite previous losses. CoinDesk

5. The SEC has delayed its decision on the 7RCC Spot Bitcoin and Carbon Credit Futures ETF until June 24, 2024, taking more time to consider the innovative fund combining bitcoin investments with carbon credit futures. TheBlock

For the week ending April 27, 2024

1. Consensys has filed a lawsuit against the SEC in Texas, challenging the commission’s attempt to regulate Ethereum as a security, which they argue is beyond SEC’s statutory jurisdiction. Blockworks

2. Nvidia-backed Synthesia introduces “Expressive Avatars” that can display human emotions, enhancing AI applications in corporate presentations and training. CoinTelegraph

3. After a 6 year hiatus, Stripe will resume accepting cryptocurrency payments, starting with USDC stablecoin on platforms like Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon. TechCrunch

4. Runes protocol has quickly impacted the Bitcoin network by enabling the minting of tokens, generating over $135 million in transaction fees in its first week. TheBlock

5. The upcoming EU regulations under the MiCA framework may pose challenges for crypto-native projects while providing a smoother entry for traditional financial institutions into the DeFi space. CoinTelegraph

For the week ending April 20, 2024

1. Aptos Labs partners with Microsoft, Brevan Howard, and SK Telecom to launch Aptos Ascend, providing institutions a DeFi gateway with tools for regulatory compliance, privacy, and KYC checks. CoinDesk

2. Avraham ‘Avi’ Eisenberg convicted on fraud charges for exploiting Mango Markets, manipulating MANGO token prices, and causing over $110M in damages. He returned $67M but kept $47M after a community vote. TheBlock

3. In anticipation of Bitcoin’s halving, traders have invested billions in speculative, pre-launch layer 2s, one surpassing the TVL of Ethereum’s top platforms like Optimism and Arbitrum, despite not being listed on major trackers like DeFiLlama. Protos

4. Amid Middle East tensions and market volatility, Bitcoin’s price fluctuated dramatically, dropping to a seven-week low of $59,630 before rebounding to $65,190 on rumors of easing geopolitical tensions. CoinTelegraph

5. Tether and Telegram announce the launch of USDT on the TON network and Telegram wallet at Token 2049 in Dubai, aiming to enhance global value transfer and expand TON’s appeal to Telegram users. Decrypt

For the week ending April 13, 2024

1. Security engineer Shakeeb Ahmed sentenced to 3 years for hacking two crypto exchanges and stealing $12M, causing significant damage including the shutdown of Nirvana Finance. TechCrunch

2. Winklevoss twins invest $4.5M in Bitcoin to become co-owners of Real Bedford FC, aiding its ambition to join the English Premier League and establishing a Bitcoin treasury to protect against fiat debasement. Cointelegraph

3. Coinbase files an interlocutory appeal challenging the SEC’s authority over digital asset transactions, arguing significant legal disagreements on the application of the Howey Test to cryptocurrencies. TheBlock

4. Bitwise reports that spot Bitcoin ETFs have greatly outperformed initial AUM predictions, reaching $59.1B in just three months, surpassing forecasts by JP Morgan, NYDIG, and others. CryptoSlate

5. Bitcoin Cash’s post-halving 15% price drop serves as a cautionary signal for Bitcoin traders ahead of Bitcoin’s own reward halving, suggesting potential volatility. CoinDesk

For the week ending April 06, 2024

1. SEC seeks public input on Bitwise, Fidelity, and Grayscale’s spot Ether ETF filings. Final decision expected in May. Comments due within 21 days of Federal Register publication. Cointelegraph

2. Irina Dilkinska, ex-OneCoin compliance chief, sentenced to 4 years for laundering and fraud in a $4B Ponzi scheme. She’s the latest executive convicted in the case. Coindesk

3. Google sues two developers over scam crypto apps on Play Store, claiming they duped 100K+ users since 2019 using high return promises and posing as romantic partners. DeCrypt

5. Nigeria collaborates with Interpol to extradite Binance exec Nadeem Anjarwalla, accused of tax offenses and fleeing Nigeria in March, ensuring his return for legal proceedings. Protos

6. Ethena’s USDe, a “synthetic dollar,” surpasses $2B supply within two months, ranking as the fifth-largest stablecoin and claiming 1.25% of the $160B stablecoin market. TheBlock

For the week ending March 30, 2024

1. Following Sam Bankman-Fried’s 25-year sentence, ‘Som Bonkmon Fraud’ meme coin experienced a 300x surge, then crashed highlighting the market’s volatile pump-and-dump patterns. DeCrypt

2. Gamers cheating in Call of Duty face malware infecting 4.9M accounts, stealing bitcoin from Electrum wallets and publishing credentials online, as crypto-draining attacks target cheat software users. Protos

3. Dogwifhat (WIF), a Solana-based meme coin, surges to become the third-largest meme coin, leading market volatility. Bitcoin stable at $70K, while DOGE futures soar to $2B amid warnings of potential pullbacks. Coindesk

4. Cryptocurrency platform Abra settles with Oregon, promising to return assets to users and stop offering unregistered securities, as part of its phased withdrawal from the U.S. market. Cointelegraph

5. The UK and US investigate $20B in USDT transactions by sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex, exploring potential sanctions breaches and Russia’s foreign currency sources. Bitcoin.com

For the week ending March 23, 2024

1. Bitcoin surges 5% after the Fed holds interest rates, with Powell hinting at future cuts. BlackRock’s crypto market plan could hit $5T by 2030, boosting Ethereum, XRP, and others. Forbes

2. Crypto exchange Okx is leaving India, urging users to withdraw funds by April 30 due to regulatory challenges. The exit follows removal of crypto apps by Apple and Google after India’s FIU actions against illegal operations. Bitcoin.com

3. The upcoming Bitcoin halving around April 20, during Token 2049 Dubai, will halve miner rewards to 3.125 BTC per block. This quadrennial event, happening every 210K blocks, significantly impacts mining economics. Blockworks

4. Super Sushi Samurai game on Ethereum’s Blast network hit by a $4.6M hack due to a token transfer bug, causing token prices to plummet. The team collaborates with a white hat hacker to recover funds. Decrypt

5. Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon’s extradition to South Korea halted by Montenegro’s top prosecutor, challenging High Court’s decision over procedural issues. CoinDesk

For the week ending March 17, 2024

1. US prosecutors seek 40-50 years in prison for ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, citing vast victim impact and severe crimes across continents. Unchained

2. Hong Kong’s SFC alerts that MEXC crypto exchange has been operating without a license, with a stance to enforce against unlicensed activities. This warning follows previous concerns raised by regulators in Japan and Germany. CoinDesk

3. After reaching a new high above $73,000, Bitcoin falls 10% to $66,076, amid inflation worries and an overbought market. The cryptocurrency still shows a significant gain, starting 2024 below $45,000. Forbes

4. Starbucks announces the closure of its Odyssey Beta NFT rewards program by March 31, ceasing the earning and trading of digital stamps for customers, as it shifts focus to new initiatives. Cointelegraph

5. Fox and Polygon Labs introduce Verify to authenticate content and tackle deepfakes, gaining traction across industries for ensuring content trustworthiness. TechCrunch

For the week ending March 09, 2024

1. Binance exits Nigeria, ending all Nigerian naira transactions by March 8 due to regulatory issues, converting balances to USDT. NGN services cease, including deposits and trading pairs. Cointelegraph

2. Arkham Intelligence reveals Tesla and SpaceX wallets have been identified and hold $1.3B in BTC, with Tesla at $771M and SpaceX at $555M, after tracking their Bitcoin transactions since 2021. Decrypt

3. Las Vegas CEO, Martin Mizrahi, faces 127 years for laundering $4M for cartels and a hacked charity via bitcoin. He has been convicted on multiple charges, including fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. Protos

4. Leaders meet in D.C. for the Bitcoin Policy Summit to discuss Bitcoin’s impact on U.S. policy, focusing on energy, security, and countering digital authoritarianism. Bitcoin Magazine

5. Memecoins market cap hits $55B, leading crypto’s latest bull run as the sector surges 77% in a week. Taylor Swift’s Cat token spikes 25x, overtaking advancements in blockchain scalability and AI. The Defiant

For the week ending March 02, 2024

1. Winklevoss’ Gemini commits to returning $1.1B to Earn product customers and will pay a $37M fine for safety failures, says NY Dept. of Financial Services. Unchained Crypto

2. SEC’s Hester Peirce criticizes the regulator’s hesitant approach to crypto and Bitcoin ETFs, highlighting the need for proactive regulatory guidelines instead of post-issue enforcement actions. Decrypt

3. Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo now offer Bitcoin ETFs to select clients, reflecting growing Bitcoin investment interest. This move follows a record week for Bitcoin ETF inflows, catering to clients’ evolving investment preferences. Bitcoin Magazine

4. Hacker finds YX International’s database leaking 2FA codes for Meta, Google, and possibly crypto users. The exposure allows unauthorized access to security codes needed for account verification. BeInCrypto

5. Five US senators oppose Biden’s digital dollar plans, citing surveillance concerns, demanding CBDC ban and Congressional approval for future issuance. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Feb 24, 2024

1. CDC warns Senate against Warren’s AML bill, claiming it threatens the crypto industry and U.S. security by setting unrealistic compliance demands. Cointelegraph

2. Genesis creditors’ proposed victims’ fund could redefine crypto bankruptcy recoveries, offering fair compensation if court-approved. A decisive hearing is set for Feb. 26. Unchained Crypto

3. The EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) will be based in Frankfurt, starting mid-2025, to oversee high-risk financial entities, including crypto firms, across EU states. Cointelegraph

4. Hackers pilfer $6.2M from LastPass users, targeting 41 crypto wallets. Investigators track stolen assets, advising victims to report and secure their accounts. Cryptoslate

5. Turkey’s new crypto rules aim to protect users and boost innovation, balancing consumer safety with support for industry growth, says AK Party’s Ömer İleri. Coindesk

For the week ending Feb 17, 2024

1. EU committees approve the AI Act, the world’s first AI legislation, setting guidelines for AI in various industries and addressing rights and safety concerns. Parliamentary vote scheduled for April. Cointelegraph

2. The US Treasury clarifies that terrorist groups like Hamas and PIJ use crypto minimally, preferring traditional financing methods. Reports of large-scale crypto fundraising are overstated, with actual usage being significantly lower than reported. Unchained Crypto

3. CZ’s sentencing for money laundering delayed to April 30. Initially facing 18 months, the prosecution suggests a harsher penalty. Out on $175M bail, Zhao’s travel restricted, offering $4.5B in Binance.US equity as security. Cointelegraph

4. Tron’s Justin Sun announces a Bitcoin layer-2 solution as BTC’s DeFi TVL exceeds $1.2B. The plan aims to enhance interoperability and access to Tron’s stablecoin pool, with a roadmap including support for Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens. Cryptoslate

5. Prabowo Subianto and crypto-supportive Gibran Rakabuming Raka lead Indonesia’s presidential race. Quick Counts show nearly 60% support, signaling continued crypto-friendly policies following the crypto initiatives of the current administration. Coindesk

For the week ending Feb 10, 2024

1. SEC delays decision on Invesco Galaxy’s spot Ether ETF, extending the review period with a 35-day public comment phase. The final decision due by July 2024. Cointelegraph

2. Hacken hints at insider involvement in the $112M hack of Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen, tracing key roles to two wallets linked to an XRP authorized wallet. Unchained Crypto

3. Over 200 entities, including major tech firms like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Amazon, form the U.S. AI Safety Institute to prioritize AI safety and trustworthiness, following Biden’s executive order. Decrypt

4. 78% of crypto industry insiders predict a new Bitcoin all-time high within 12 months, expecting a rise to $77,423 by end of 2024 and $366,935 by 2030, driven by institutional interest, ETF approvals, and economic factors. Cryptoslate

5. Terraform Labs co-founder, Do Kwon, wins second appeal in Montenegro against extradition to the U.S. and South Korea, marking a key step in his legal battle. Coindesk

For the week ending Feb 03, 2024

1. Singapore police warn against crypto drainers, recommending hardware wallets to combat malware-enabled theft. Authorities note a rise in phishing attacks using these tools, urging public vigilance. Cointelegraph

2. Three charged in a SIM-swap attack stealing $400M from FTX, using identity theft and bypassing security. The scheme debunks insider hack theories, highlighting significant cybersecurity breaches. Unchained Crypto

3. German and U.S. authorities seized 50,000 BTC worth $2.1B from operators of piracy websites, marking Germany’s largest Bitcoin seizure for piracy and money laundering. Decrypt

4. Jupiter’s $700M JUP token airdrop to nearly a million wallets boosts Solana DEXs, surpassing Ethereum in daily trading with $1.14B. The event marks Solana’s growing DeFi presence and network stability, despite past issues. Cryptoslate

5. Thailand’s SEC updates crypto rules, removing retail investment limits on asset-backed tokens and revising custodian regulations, enhancing its monitoring role in the digital asset sector. Coindesk

For the week ending Jan 27, 2024

1. Estonia to extradite HashFlare co-founders to the US on 18 charges for a $575M Ponzi scheme, after reassessment of US detention conditions. Cointelegraph

2. OKX to compensate users after OKB token drops over 50% due to market volatility and liquidations. The exchange vows to investigate and prevent future issues. Unchained Crypto

3. Edward Snowden endorses a legal defense fund for Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm, facing money laundering charges. Snowden advocates for privacy, urging support for Storm’s DAO fundraising for legal fees. Decrypt

4. BlackRock cautions that the SEC’s push for cash-creation in Bitcoin ETFs, over preferred in-kind orders, might harm investors, highlighting regulatory challenges and deviations from traditional commodity ETF practices. Cryptoslate

5. SEC delays decisions on spot Ether ETF applications from Grayscale and BlackRock, continuing its cautious stance on spot crypto ETFs despite recent approvals for Bitcoin ETFs. Coindesk

For the week ending Jan 20, 2024

1. The EU expands its AML laws to include crypto, requiring providers to verify customer details and report suspicious transactions over €1,000 to combat money laundering and terrorism. Cointelegraph

2. Brazil’s B3 stock exchange extends trading hours to include night sessions for Bitcoin ETFs and Ibovespa futures, responding to demand for flexible trading and signaling a strong embrace of cryptocurrency. Decrypt

3. Bitcoin’s 60-day correlation with Ether drops below 70% for the first time since early 2021, indicating a significant divergence in their price movements, potentially influenced by the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs. TheBlock

4. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF reached $1B in assets in 4 days – one of the fastest ETFs to hit this milestone. Fidelity’s FBTC also crossed $1B, highlighting the swift growth of Bitcoin ETFs in the financial market. Cryptoslate

5. Crypto crime in 2023 involved over $24B in illicit transactions, 40% less than 2022, but this is a provisional figure, according to Chainalysis. Sanctioned entities accounted for a significant part of this volume. Coindesk

For the week ending Jan 13, 2024

1. Bitwise’s spot bitcoin ETF sees $238 million in inflows on its first trading day, leading among peers like Fidelity and BlackRock. Total ETF inflows reach $721 million, excluding Valkyrie and Grayscale. TheBlock

2. Sens. Wyden and Lummis request an investigation into the SEC’s compromised Twitter account over false Bitcoin ETF approval post, highlighting the agency’s failure to implement cybersecurity best practices like 2FA. TheBlock

3. Genesis Trading settles with NYDFS, forfeiting its BitLicense, ending NY operations, and paying an $8M fine, after failing to maintain robust anti-money laundering and cybersecurity protocols. Decrypt

4. FTX creditors request ‘in-kind’ crypto repayments, opposing the valuation of assets at 2022’s low prices. They argue this approach undervalues the recent surge in cryptocurrency values. Cointelegraph

5. Grayscale transfers $200M in Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime, hinting at ETF redemption activity following the launch of Bitcoin ETFs. This move aligns with the creation and redemption processes of ETF shares. Cryptoslate

For the week ending Jan 06, 2024

1. The SEC’s acceptance of 19b-4 amendment filings from major asset managers for spot Bitcoin ETFs signals a significant step towards potential approval, hinting at increased crypto adoption in the U.S. and globally. Cointelegraph

2. Celsius, amidst restructuring, plans to unstake $470M worth of Ethereum, stirring market concerns. This move aims to distribute assets to creditors and offset restructuring costs, impacting a significant portion of ETH awaiting withdrawal. Cryptoslate

3. The founder of Taiwan’s ACE Exchange was arrested for alleged fraud involving false crypto ads, with police seizing assets over $6.4 million. ACE clarifies the founder ceased daily operations in 2022 and is aiding the police as a witness. TheBlock

4. Mango Markets, hit by a $100M heist in 2022, faces U.S. regulatory inquiries. Its governing body considers appointing a legal representative amid Avi Eisenberg’s upcoming fraud trial. Coindesk

5. Visa introduces a web3 loyalty platform, allowing brands to create immersive customer experiences with features like AR treasure hunts, gamified rewards, and customizable crypto wallets for tailored engagement and rewards. Cryptoslate

For the week ending Dec 30, 2023

1. Japan’s Cabinet proposes to scrap corporate tax on unrealized crypto gains, aiming to boost the country’s Web3 industry. This move, pending parliamentary debate, seeks to eliminate a tax discrepancy and stimulate economic reform. CoinDesk

2. Catalyx, a Canadian crypto exchange, halts all trading and withdrawals after a security breach resulting in the loss of customer funds, with suspicions of employee involvement. An investigation is underway. CoinDesk

3. The Reserve Bank of India reinforces its stance against legalizing cryptocurrencies, citing no economic benefit and potential risks to macroeconomic stability. Instead, it advocates for Central Bank Digital Currencies as a safer alternative. Cryptoslate

4. BlackRock updates its SEC filing for a spot bitcoin ETF, notably naming Jane Street and JPMorgan as authorized participants. This move signals a potential final push for regulatory approval, with a decision expected early January. TheBlock

5. US prosecutors believe there’s insufficient new evidence for a second trial against Sam Bankman-Fried, former FTX CEO, following his fraud conviction. The focus now shifts to the March 28, 2024 sentencing. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Dec 23, 2023

1. Bitcoin mining difficulty has surged over 6%, hitting an all-time high, signaling increased network strength and challenges ahead of the next halving event with the next adjustment pinned for on Jan. 5, 2024 Cryptoslate

2. Hong Kong’s financial regulator is set to accept applications for spot crypto ETFs. This move aligns with Hong Kong’s efforts to strengthen its position as a global financial hub due to its more welcoming approach to virtual assets compared to mainland China. TheBlock

3. The SEC postpones its decision on multiple Ethereum ETFs until May 2024, seeking additional public input on whether to approve the listings from firms like Hashdex, Grayscale, and VanEck. This delay extends to both spot and mixed-type ETH products. Cointelegraph

4. FTX debtors reach a tentative settlement with its Bahamian arm’s liquidators, aiming to pool assets for reimbursing users of the collapsed exchange. The agreement proposes payments in U.S. dollars with voting on the plan set for Q2 2024. Cointelegraph

5. The SEC settles with BarnBridge DAO for $1.7M over unregistered crypto securities. This marks a significant action against a DAO, highlighting regulatory challenges for such entities in the U.S. crypto market. CoinDesk

For the week ending Dec 16, 2023

1. Brazil’s President Lula, on Dec. 12, enacted a tax law on foreign-held crypto assets, extending to other overseas investments. Set to generate 20B reals (USD$4B) in 2024, the law goes live Jan. 1, 2024, as per the Official Diary. Cointelegraph

2. Coinbase legally challenges SEC’s refusal to create crypto-specific rules, following the agency’s dismissal of their request as “unwarranted.” The dispute escalates to the Third Circuit Court for review, highlighting ongoing tensions between Coinbase and the SEC. TheBlock

3. BlackRock advances in AI and Bitcoin ETF, launching an AI ‘copilot’ for its eFront users and meeting with the SEC over a proposed spot Bitcoin ETF. The AI tool, leveraging Microsoft Azure’s OpenAI services, aims for broader client access in 2024. Cryptoslate

4. Arbitrum One blockchain experienced a “partial outage” due to a surge in inscriptions, halting transactions. Offchain Labs resolved the issue, but high gas prices persist. This marks the first significant stoppage since June for the Ethereum scaling network. Decrypt

5. China’s Blockchain-based Service Network announces RealDID, a national-level blockchain system to verify the real identities of its 1.4B citizens. This move, led by the Ministry of Public Security, raises data privacy concerns. CoinDesk

For the week ending Dec 08, 2023

1. A federal judge in Seattle ruled that Chanpeng Zhao, former CEO of Binance, can’t return home to the United Arab Emirates before he’s sentenced in the U.S. in February. TheBlock

2. Bipartisan anti-crypto terror financing bill heads to U.S. Senate. Legislation will crack down on terrorist organizations like Hamas by applying sanctions to foreign parties that facilitate financial transactions with terrorists. Coindesk

3. LayerZero says it’s targeting token launch for first half of 2024. TheBlock

4. El Salvador launches exclusive Bitcoin-driven Freedom Visa with Tether. El Salvador’s citizen visa program invites Bitcoin investors to contribute to the nation’s growth with the lure of residency and potential citizenship. Cryptoslate

5. Reebok, owned by Adidas, has partnered with crypto tech startup Futureverse to develop AI- and blockchain-backed games and digital experiences. Decrypt

For the week ending Dec 01, 2023

1. The U.K. government on Wednesday called on crypto users to voluntarily disclose any unpaid capital gains or income taxes to avoid penalties, and published guidance on how to pay them. Coindesk

2. Binance will end support for BUSD stablecoin in December. Many users’ Binance USD balances will automatically be converted into First Digital USD starting on Dec. 31. Cointelegraph

3. JPMorgan says “it is too early to be getting excited” about the recent recovery in DeFi and NFT areas. “Ethereum does not appear to have benefitted much” from the recent DeFi/NFT revival, JPMorgan added. TheBlock

4. BlackRock adjusts proposed spot Bitcoin ETF structure to allay SEC concerns. BlackRock has revamped its ETF redemption model to mitigate against market manipulation and other regulatory sticking points. Cryptoslate

5. Cristiano Ronaldo sued for $1 Billion over Binance NFT promotion. The soccer star is accused of “encouraging his millions of followers, fans, and supporters to invest with the Binance platform.” Decrypt

For the week ending Nov 24, 2023

1. Singapore’s Monetary Authority issues final crypto regulations, banning financing and margin trades for retail crypto trading, along with locally issued credit card payments. Coindesk

2. HTX, previously Huobi Global, to resume services within 24 hours following a $30 million exploit, assuring full compensation and user fund safety. Cointelegraph

3. JPMorgan predicts a minimum of $2.7 billion outflows from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust after its ETF conversion, attributing it to speculative trading at a NAV discount. TheBlock

4. FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried, jailed with Ex-Honduras President, trades mackerel for services; resolves prison hardships, including meal and medication access. Cryptoslate

5. Changpeng “CZ” Zhao resigns as Binance CEO in a $4 billion settlement with U.S. agencies, concluding investigations into anti-money laundering and sanctions violations. Forbes

For the week ending Nov 17, 2023

1. The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) — an international regulatory body overseeing global securities markets — has released its report containing policy suggestions for crypto and digital asset (CDA) markets. Cointelegraph

2. Binance to start crypto exchange in Thailand through joint venture with Gulf Energy. Gulf Binance, the joint venture, will first serve users by invitation with plans to open to the public early next year, the company said in an exchange filing. TheBlock

3. New York Department of Financial Services issues ‘heightened’ crypto listing and delisting guidance. Heightened compliance policies set by NYDFS demand written notifications and strict records for cryptocurrency listings and delistings. Cryptoslate

4. Singapore central bank to trial live wholesale CBDC for settlements. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has unveiled its plan to launch a live wholesale CBDC used for settlements by local banks. Cointelegraph

5. The U.S. SEC is delaying a decision on an application by Hashdex to convert its existing bitcoin futures ETF into a spot vehicle. The agency has also delayed action on Grayscale’s attempt to launch a new futures-based ether ETF. Coindesk

For the week ending Nov 10, 2023

1. Blackrock’s plans for a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) have now been confirmed, per a 19b-4 form filing submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 9. Cointelegraph

2. Justin Sun’s crypto exchange Poloniex seemingly hit by hack for over $100M. The centralized crypto exchange appears to have suffered a security hack on one of its wallets, tagged as Poloniex 4 on Etherscan. TheBlock

3. European Parliament approves controversial Data Act, which may require kill switches on smart contracts. The measure passed by a huge margin, with 481 votes in favor, 31 votes against, and 71 votes abstaining. Cryptoslate

4. JPMorgan has added a programmable payments feature to its blockchain-powered payment system, JPM Coin. The new feature enabling the automated transfer of funds has already been employed by German firm Siemens AG. Decrypt

5. U.S. SEC said to open talks with Grayscale on spot Bitcoin ETF push. Representatives of the company are answering questions from two divisions of the U.S. SEC in the wake of Grayscale’s court win over the agency.  Coindesk

For the week ending Nov 03, 2023

1. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of all seven charges by a jury in his criminal trial in New York after about four hours of deliberations. Cointelegraph

2. Payments giant PayPal today revealed in its quarterly report that the SEC had issued the firm with a subpoena over its stablecoin. PayPal also said that it is cooperating with authorities in its request for documents “relating” to its stablecoin. Decrypt

3. XRP gains approval from Dubai Financial Services Authority. Ripple also announced that it was working with the National Bank of Georgia on a digital currency as it grows its international presence. Cryptoslate

4. Top Swiss bank launches Bitcoin and Ether trading with SEBA. Switzerland’s St.Galler Kantonalbank has launched Bitcoin and Ether trading for select customers and plans to add more coins in the future. Cointelegraph

5. The US SEC is asking a federal judge for a summary judgment – saving everyone the spectacle of a full trial – because it says there is “no genuine dispute as to any material fact” in its case against Do Kwon and Terraform Labs. Coindesk

For the week ending Oct 27, 2023

1. Neo is developing a sidechain designed to support Ethereum-based decentralized applications (dapps) and ensure full interoperability with its N3 mainnet, founder Da Hongfei announced at a Hong Kong event. TheBlock

2. Taiwan crypto regulation gets going with first reading of Digital Asset Bill. The bill sets the groundwork for defining a virtual asset and how exchanges should operate in the country. Coindesk

3. CBDCs are struggling to gain traction without private-sector cooperation. Most countries are struggling to get their populace to use CBDCs as they do not offer the same level of convenience and benefits as private payment platforms. Cryptoslate

4. FTX and Alameda linked wallets transfer $10M of crypto to exchanges in just 5 hours. According to Spot On Chain data, the firms sent $10 million worth of crypto to a single wallet address, which then deposited the funds to Binance and Coinbase. Cointelegraph

5. UK Bill for seizing illicit crypto finally becomes law. The bill lets law enforcement freeze crypto without a conviction, promising faster and more substantial seizures. Coindesk

For the week ending Oct 20, 2023

1. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) agreed to drop charges against two top Ripple executives, according to an Oct. 19 press release. Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen no longer face charges. However, Ripple and the SEC must settle on remedies for institutional XRP sale violations. Cryptoslate

2. SEC is likely to approve spot Bitcoin ETF in the next few months according to JPMorgan. Approval is likely before Jan. 10, which is the final deadline for the Ark 21Shares applications, the report said. Coindesk

3. The United Kingdom has emerged as a major cryptocurrency economy worldwide and the biggest crypto country in terms of raw transaction volume in Central, Northern and Western Europe (CNWE), according to a new study. Cointelegraph

4. MultiversX partners with Google Cloud to boost AI and big data in Web3. MultiversX’s strategic alignment with Google Cloud could set a new pace for AI and big data in Web3. Cryptoslate

5. Blockchain company LBRY — the creators of the LBRY blockchain — has issued its final message to the crypto community, citing “several million dollars” of debts that have now made it impossible for the firm to continue. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Oct 13, 2023

1. Mastercard announces successful wrapped CBDC trial results. The experiment demonstrated that CBDCs could be wrapped to purchase NFTs on blockchains such as Ethereum. Cointelegraph

2. Uniswap launches mobile Ethereum wallet on Android. Launched in beta, Uniswap’s wallet offers automatic switching between mainnet and layer-2 networks, along with other features. Decrypt

3. MetaMask expands crypto on-ramp options with Stripe integration. The addition brings Metamask’s supported payment platforms to ten. Cryptoslate

4. DeFi is losing the race to become the future of finance. Money market funds are offering more than 5% annual returns, Ethereum stakers meanwhile get just 3.3%. Coindesk

5. Blockchain gaming projects have seen $2.3Bn in investments in 2023, with the third quarter getting $600M despite crypto market prices seemingly being in a bearish mood all year. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Oct 06, 2023

1. Crypto VC funding falls to 3-year lows as market rout continues. Venture capitalists are doing fewer deals, and the average deal size is getting much smaller, according to researchers. 

2. Alameda sent $4.1B of FTT tokens to FTX before crash according to a Nansen report. Nansen analysts observed “unusual transactions between FTX and Alameda” in the days leading up to FTX’s bankruptcy. 

3. South Korean gaming titan Wemade taps Chainlink for interoperable Web3 gaming ecosystem. Chainlink also became the first member of Wemade’s COURT consortium.  

4. A federal judge has rejected the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s bid to appeal its ground-shaking loss against Ripple, the crypto company associated with the XRP token. 

5. JPMorgan says Ethereum has become ‘more centralized’ with staking surge. They highlighted Lido controlling the majority of Ethereum staking activity.

For the week ending Sep 29, 2023

1. SEC delays decision on four spot Bitcoin ETF filings ahead of government shutdown. The SEC’s latest move is the second round of delays on the various spot Bitcoin ETF applications filed this year. Decrypt

2. PayPal applies for NFT marketplace patent for on- or off-chain asset trading. PayPal’s proposed NFT purchase and transfer system would handle fractionalization, DAOs and royalties through a third-party provider. Cointelegraph

3. Coinbase was approved to offer perpetual futures trading to non-U.S. residents by Bermuda Monetary Authority. Derivatives trading accounts for roughly 75% of the total crypto trading volume. Cryptoslate

4. Circle Intervenes in Binance’s SEC Case, Argues Stablecoins Aren’t Securities. Stablecoin buyers don’t expect a profit so it’s not an investment contract, argues the USDC issuer, supported by former commodities regulator Heath Tarbert. Coindesk

5. The City of Buenos Aires government is launching a blockchain-based digital identity service, built on Matter Labs’ zkSync Era rollup. TheBlock

For the week ending Sep 22, 2023

1. FTX files $157M lawsuit against ex-employees of Hong Kong affiliate. The lawsuit alleges that four ex-staffers used their connections to pull their money out first when FTX’s stability was in question. Decrypt

2. UK FCA gives unregistered crypto firms ‘final warning’ on ads regime compliance. The financial regulator expressed its frustration at the lack of engagement from crypto firms in a strongly worded letter. Cointelegraph

3. X CEO confirms forthcoming in-app payment features. Linda Yaccarino tweeted a video of forthcoming X features that included a mock demonstration of in-app payments between users, apparently confirming speculations that such features were likely in development.  Cryptoslate

4. India to develop dark net monitoring tool to combat crypto fraud. The tool will monitor crypto wallets and alert the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs about irregular transactions, according to a report. Coindesk

5. Google Cloud has added support for 11 additional blockchains into its BigQuery analytics service. These include Avalanche, Arbitrum, Cronos, Fantom, Near, Optimism, Polkadot, Polygon, Tron, Polygon Mumbai and Goerli. TheBlock

For the week ending Sep 15, 2023

1. Genesis to halt all trading services by Sept. 21. A spokesperson said the company was winding down trading ‘voluntarily and for business reasons.’ Cryptoslate

2. Binance.US not playing ball with probe, SEC says, as focus turns to custody arm Ceffu. Securities regulators have complained the exchange is unregistered, and worry about assets being shifted overseas. Coindesk

3. Judge allows bankrupt FTX to sell its crypto holdings, including BTC and SOL. Lawyers of FTX had submitted a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, asking for permission to sell, stake, and hedge its crypto holdings in order to pay back creditors. Coindesk

4. South Korea’s crypto ecosystem shakes off Terra debacle, with gaming dominating Web3 activity. Korean banks are gradually dipping their toes in the market, and gaming firms are trying to capitalize in the crypto-frenzied market. Coindesk

5. Polygon releases proposals on 2.0 upgrade and POL token migration. Among the proposals include creating a POL token, set to replace the MATIC token in various capacities. TheBlock

For the week ending Sep 08, 2023

1. Linus Financial settles SEC charges for failing to register crypto lending product. The Securities and Exchange Commission said it determined not to impose civil penalties against Linus Financial because of its cooperation and prompt remedial actions. TheBlock

2. Blockchain-based file-sharing and payment network LBRY appears to be reversing course on an earlier decision to wind down, deciding instead to fight a federal judge ruling in July that sided with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cointelegraph

3. Blanket Crypto bans won’t work, IMF and FSB warn in joint paper. The global standard-setters also warned stablecoins adopted by multiple jurisdictions “may transmit volatility more abruptly” than other crypto. Coindesk

4. Coinbase creates a new Crypto lending service geared toward large investors. Coinbase (COIN) raised $57 million for the platform as of Sept. 1, according to an SEC filing. Coindesk

5. Chinese fintech giant Ant Group launches overseas blockchain brand ZAN. Ant Group said ZAN will focus on serving institutional and individual clients in overseas markets including Hong Kong and Singapore. TheBlock

For the week ending Sep 01, 2023

1. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday that it would delay decisions on spot bitcoin ETFs proposed by BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, VanEck, WisdomTree, Invesco, and Valkyrie at least until mid-October. TheBlock

2. Bulgarian decentralized lending platform Nexo has unveiled a crypto-powered debit and credit Mastercard for citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA). Cointelegraph

3. Swift successfully transfers tokens across blockchains in landmark experiment with Chainlink. Swift said it has successfully demonstrated that it can provide a single point of access to multiple networks using existing infrastructure. Cryptoslate

4. X, the Elon Musk-owned social media platform formerly called Twitter, has obtained payments licenses from several U.S. states in recent months – including a currency transmitter license in Rhode Island earlier this week. Coindesk

5. Grayscale wins SEC lawsuit for Bitcoin ETF review. The appeals court said the SEC’s decision to reject the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF application was “arbitrary and capricious” in its ruling. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Aug 25, 2023

1. Payment giants Mastercard and Visa have both moved to end their crypto card partnerships with crypto exchange Binance. Decrypt

2. FTX files motion for Galaxy Digital to manage recovered crypto holdings. Galaxy Digital is set to manage the sale of bankrupt FTX’s crypto holdings and facilitate the staking of certain tokens to generate passive yield. Cointelegraph

3. Fiat-backed stablecoins have eclipsed Mastercard and PayPal in moving more value across their networks in 2022, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence note on Aug. 25. Cryptoslate

4. Customer data of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and lender BlockFi have been compromised due to a hack of Kroll, a third party agent that manages creditor claims on behalf of bankrupt companies. Coindesk

5. Binance.US taps MoonPay as banking alternative to regain USD ramps. After having its banking ties slashed, crypto exchange Binance.US has revived its United States dollar on-ramp through a new partnership with MoonPay. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Aug 18, 2023

1. Global payments giant Mastercard is forming a central bank digital currency program with initial partners, including Ripple and blockchain development firm Consensys. TheBlock

2. Nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea is sunsetting its on-chain royalty enforcement tool — Operator Filter — that allows creators to blacklist NFT marketplaces that don’t enforce royalties. Cointelegraph

3. Shibarium launch falters, $2.5M locked in bridged funds wiping $500M from SHIB market cap. Onchain sleuth ZachXBT described Shibarium’s launch as sloppy. Cryptoslate

4. Coinbase finally wins approval to list Crypto Futures in U.S. The approval makes Coinbase the first crypto-first platform to offer regulated and leveraged crypto futures alongside traditional spot trading. Coindesk

5. Europe will welcome a first-ever spot Bitcoin ETF after the long-awaited launch of Jacobi Asset Management’s Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Aug 11, 2023

1. PayPal’s Stablecoin is unlikely to see significant adoption in the near term, Bank of America (BAC) said in a research report on Thursday. Cointelegraph

2. Coinbase’s newly launched BASE network transaction volume higher than Cardano and others. The total value of assets locked on Base has surpassed $150M. Cryptoslate

3. Global payments giant Visa introduced an experimental solution on Ethereum that removes some of the barriers associated with paying gas fees on the network.  TheBlock

4. Huobi said it would be the first cryptocurrency exchange “to support the launch of PYUSD stablecoin and will provide PYUSD/USDT trading pairs with 0 trading fee permanently.” Cryptoslate

5. Gemini opens XRP deposits and trading following Ripple Labs’ partial victory. Users will soon be able to trade the cryptocurrency on the platform. Decrypt

For the week ending Aug 04, 2023

1. Coinbase Sets Public Launch of ‘Base’ Layer 2 Blockchain for Next Week. Users will be able to bridge their ETH starting Thursday, with the official launch of the main network on Aug. 9. Coindesk

2. U.S. SEC Sues Richard Heart, Hex, PulseChain on Unregistered Securities, Fraud Allegations. Heart raised over $1 billion across three different unregistered securities offerings, the SEC alleged. Coindesk

3. Blockchain has the potential to save financial institutions approximately $10 billion in cross-border payment costs by the year 2030, according to a recent report published by digital payments network Ripple. Cointelegraph

4. Nearly half of crypto copy traders are Gen Z, says Bitget report. Younger investors are more likely to take part in copy trading or social trading and take advice from social media influencers, according to the crypto exchange. Cointelegraph

5. Coinbase to file motion to dismiss SEC lawsuit in its ‘entirety.’ Against SEC headwinds, Coinbase dares to dismiss lawsuit amidst industry uncertainty. Cryptoslate

For the week ending July 28, 2023

1. Sam Altman says Worldcoin is onboarding eight users per second, but claims are largely unsubstantiated. The Worldcoin founder is touting high adoption rates but support from on-chain data is lacking. CryptoSlate

2. Elon Musk says X will offer an ‘entire financial world’ in the coming months. In light of Twitter’s rebranding, Elon Musk says users can expect to conduct their “entire financial world” via the X platform in the coming months. Cointelegraph

3. Singapore High Court rules crypto personal property. The judge didn’t see any difference between crypto, fiat money or shells as long as all those objects, physical or not, share value created by mutual faith in them. Cointelegraph

4. Suku may beat Musk to Crypto Twitter Payment Adoption. Last week, Web3 wallet Suku teamed up with Polygon to release a free open-edition NFT collection – during which users minted over 50,000 NFTs directly on Twitter. Coindesk

5. Amazon expands Web3 reach with Cloud Tools that help Blockchain Developers. The tech giant moves deeper into Web3 infrastructure with AMB Access and Query services for developers. Coindesk

For the week 16-22 July, 2023

1. VC Funding in Web3 Plummets 76% according to Crunchbase Data. In the second quarter of 2023, Web3 startups raised just over $1.8 billion, compared to $7.5 billion during the same period last year. Coindesk

2. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accepted applications to create spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds from six firms including BlackRock (BLK.N) for review. Reuters

3. Nasdaq (NDAQ) is dropping its plans for a crypto custody service, which was slated to go live in the second quarter of this year, CEO Adena Friedman said in an earnings call on Wednesday. Coindesk

4. Indonesia to launch crypto exchange in July. Once launched, Indonesia’s national crypto exchange will be the only platform allowing crypto transactions, the local regulator said. Cointelegraph

5. Alex Mashinsky, founder of Celsius Network, arrested by US authorities for fraud and market manipulation after allegedly misleading investors to deposit billions. FinancialTimes

For the week ending July 14, 2023

1. The European Commission has laid out its plans for becoming a “world leader” in Web 4.0 and the Metaverse. Cointelegraph

2. Bank of China trials offline payments for digital yuan via SIM cards. The bank plans to enable users to make phone payments by integrating its digital yuan app with specialized “super SIM cards” with NFC capabilities. Cointelegraph

3. Wallet Pay enables Bitcoin, Tether and Toncoin payments on Telegram. Payments can be made via merchants’ bots or web applications on Telegram using Wallet Pay. TheBlock

4. Google Play allows users to earn crypto assets in apps and games. Developers can offer games and apps on Google Play for Android users that allow for the buying and earning of digital assets. TheBlock

5. South Korea will require companies that own or issue crypto to disclose their holdings in financial statements from 2024 onwards, according to draft rules released by the country’s financial regulator on Tuesday. Cointelegraph

For the week ending July 07, 2023

1. Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of crypto exchange Gemini, issued a “final offer” to Barry Silbert, founder of Digital Currency Group (DCG), to repay a total debt of $1.46 billion or risk a lawsuit. TheBlock

2. Singapore to require crypto firms to put user assets into trusts by year-end. MAS is also working to restrict crypto service providers from facilitating lending or staking for retail customers, but not for institutional ones. Cointelegraph

3. Southeast Asia’s largest bank is launching a new payment solution for China’s digital yuan (e-CNY), expanding the number of businesses who can receive payments in Beijing’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). Decrypt

4. London–based HSBC, the eighth-largest bank in the world, will conduct a series of trials and experiments utitlizing quantum encryption technology in collaboration with Amazon Web Services, BT and Toshiba. Cointelegraph

5. There were 63% more crypto attacks last quarter compared to a year ago. Q2 2023 saw a 65.3% increase in the total number of crypto attacks year-on-year, but a 60.4% decrease in total losses compared to Q2 2022. TheBlock

For the week ending Jun 30, 2023

1. Australian banks claim 40% of scams ‘touch’ crypto as it defends restrictions. During a panel at the Australian Blockchain Week, executives from Australia’s major banks explained why they added restrictions on payments to local crypto exchanges. Cointelegraph

2. Sam Altman’s Worldcoin has launched sign-ups for its World ID in Germany and has brought its “Sign in with Worldcoin” tool to Okta’s Auth0, one of the world’s largest authentication and authorization platforms. TheBlock

3. The storied art auction house Sotheby’s is unveiling a new blockchain-based program for generative artists. The Gen Art Program will feature two to three generative artists a year, selling their work through blockchain-based methods. TheBlock

4. Sony Network invests in Japanese Web3 startup to spur mass adoption. The deal includes an investment of $3.5 million, a Sony executive moving to Startale Labs and collaboration on new Web3 tools for mass adoption. Cointelegraph

5. Mastercard Is Piloting Tokenized Bank Deposits in New UK Testbed. The company is launching what it calls a Multi-Token Network (MTN), which will begin by testing tokenized bank deposits and move on to experiments using stablecoins and CBDCs. Coindesk

For the week ending Jun 23, 2023

1. Blackrock’s spot Bitcoin ETF renews optimism, sparks wave of new filings. Investment managers WisdomTree and Invesco have filed for spot Bitcoin ETFs, hot on the heels of BlackRock. Cointelegraph

2. Shiba Inu ecosystem developers are working on a service that can be used to link real-world assets to NFTs to help prove ownership as part of their Shibarium ecosystem rollout. Coindesk

3. Singapore approves Ripple’s Major Payment Institution license application. Ripple said Singapore is poised to “reap the myriad benefits” that come with supporting digital asset technology. CryptoSlate

4. Crédit Agricole’s CACEIS Gains Crypto Custody Registration in France. The traditional finance giant has been rumored to be seeking the status for years. Coindesk

5. Web3 game Gods Unchained joins Fortnite and League of Legends on Epic Games Store TheBlock

For the week ending Jun 16, 2023

1. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which serves as the region’s central bank and regulator, has reportedly put pressure on major banks including HSBC and Standard Chartered to accept crypto exchanges as clients. Cointelegraph

2. Crypto exchange Binance announced the launch of new subscription-based cloud mining products dedicated to Bitcoin mining. Cointelegraph

3. Polygon Labs, the developer of leading Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution Polygon, has announced the rollout of Polygon 2.0, a significant upgrade designed to establish the network as the “value layer of the internet.” CryptoSlate

4. Fintech trading app Robinhood has decided to delist three cryptocurrencies amid the Securities and Exchange Commission’s crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges. The firm will not support SOL, MATIC or ADA. TheBlock

5. Apple rejects bitcoin wallet Zeus a day after threatening to delist Damus. The tech giant allegedly cited transmission of a virtual currency without necessary licenses and permissions as the primary reason for the app’s rejection. Coindesk

For the week ending Jun 09, 2023

1. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against New York-based crypto exchange Coinbase for offering unregistered securities.  Cointelegraph

2. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued crypto exchange Binance, the operating company for Binance.US and Binance founder and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao on allegations of violating federal securities laws on Monday. Coindesk

3. U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said from October 1, crypto will be classed as “restricted mass market investments.” Crypto firms face advertising risk warnings, referral bans, and a 24-hour cooling-off period under new FCA rules. CryptoSlate

4. Swift, the interbank messaging system and Chainlink, a provider of real-world data to blockchains, will be collaborating with dozens of financial institutions to test how they can connect with multiple blockchain networks. Coindesk

5. EU to use blockchain for educational and professional credential verification. EU’s EBSI Vector project and blockchain service provider, Protokol, are creating a blockchain-based cross-border credential verification program for EU citizens. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Jun 02, 2023

1. The Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, Crypto.com, announced on June 1 that it had been granted a major payment institution (MPI) license for digital payment token (DPT) services by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Cointelegraph

2. OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman has raised $115 million in a Series C funding round led by Blockchain Capital for a cryptocurrency project he co-founded. Reuters

3. Crypto exchange Binance announced it would stop Bitcoin (BTC) spot trading activities with the Australian Dollar (AUD) on June 1, according to a statement on May 26. CryptoSlate

4. Russian lawmakers have decided to end plans for creating a state-owned cryptocurrency exchange, planning instead to set rules and regulations for already existing enterprises. Decrypt

5. Multichain Loses Server Access After CEO Goes Missing. The cross-chain bridge protocol has suspended service for some affected chains after being locked out of the necessary servers. Unchainedcrypto

For the week ending May 26, 2023

1. Bitfinex announced a new investment in a Chile-based crypto exchange in an effort to boost crypto adoption in Latin America. Cointelegraph

2. Binance has revealed it “assisted US law enforcement” in seizing $4.4 million worth of crypto assets connected to North Korean cybercrime syndicates. Cointelegraph

3. Unciphered, a company of cybersecurity professionals who recover lost cryptocurrency, says it found a way to physically hack into the Trezor T hardware wallet. Coindesk

4. Crypto exchange Gemini said Digital Currency Group (DCG) missed a $630 million payment that was due last week. Decrypt

5. International securities watchdog IOSCO unveiled on Tuesday the first global approach to regulating cryptoasset and digital markets. Reuters

For the week ending May 19, 2023

1. UK lawmakers suggested that Bitcoin, Ether and other cryptocurrencies should be regulated as gambling given the significant risks they pose to consumers. Reuters

2. Crypto community raises concerns after Ledger launches ‘Recover’ product with issues on security of private keys and seed phrases. CoinDesk

3. KriptonMarket Launches Payment Collaboration for Small Businesses in Argentina with Tether. CryptoSlate

4. After garnering the required votes, a major proposal has just passed in the KuCoin network. The proposal aimed at raising Terra Classic LUNC burns tax to 0.5%. NEWSBTC

5. NFTs belonging to bankrupt crypto firm 3AC were sold for nearly $2.5M at auction. Cointelegraph

For the week ending May 12, 2023

1. Ethereum Mainnet was unable to fully finalize transactions for 25 minutes. Developers resolved the finalization issues and are investigating what caused the outage. CoinDesk

2. Decentralized exchange Uniswap trading volume outpaces Coinbase for 4th consecutive month. CoinDesk

3. MetaMask rolls out ETH purchases via PayPal to US users. Users in the United States can also transfer ETH from PayPal to MetaMask. Cointelegraph

4. Do Kwon is set to be released from jail after Montenegro court accepts $436K bail. TheBlock

5. EY Launches Ethereum-Based Carbon Emission Tracking Platform to track companies carbon emissions and carbon credit traceability. CoinDesk

For the week ending May 05, 2023

1. Sui, the layer 1 blockchain boasting a $2 billion valuation, launched its mainnet on May 3rd as it jockeyed to edge out rival Aptos and other decentralized finance (DeFi) heavyweights. CoinDesk

2. DeFi powerhouse Curve Finance deployed their highly anticipated decentralized stablecoin on Ethereum. CrvUSD is an over-collateralized stablecoin backed by assets like USDC, Ethereum, liquid staking derivatives like Frax’s sfrxETH, and liquidity provision tokens of stablecoin pools. Decrypt

3. Coinbase responded to the SEC’s Wells notice, stating that an enforcement action would pose risks to the SEC and that the allegations are based on incorrect analogies. The SEC warned Coinbase that it would allege the exchange was offering and selling unregistered securities, potentially forcing Coinbase to shut down certain units. CNBC

4. Coinbase launched the Coinbase International Exchange after receiving regulatory approval from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, which will offer Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures to institutional clients. This expansion will provide more access to digital assets. Decrypt

5. Chipmaking heavyweight Intel (INTC) is ending production of its bitcoin mining chip series while they will continue to provide support for their blockchain customers. CoinDesk

For the week ending Apr 28, 2023

1. Hong Kong’s High Court has deemed crypto to be property, marking the first time such a decision regarding digital assets has been made in the city-state. Blockworks

2. First Republic Bank’s deposits plunged by more than $100 B in the first quarter and it was exploring options such as restructuring its balance sheet. EconomicTimes

3. Google adds Web3 features to cloud offerings. Web3 startups can now get specialized services when they build using Google Cloud. Decrypt

4. Coinbase has filed a petition to compel the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to respond to a months-old petition that asks whether the securities regulator would allow the industry to be regulated using existing SEC frameworks. TechCrunch

5. Merlin DEX has been exploited for over $1.82 M, with auditor CertiK blaming ‘rogue developers’ who abused private key privileges. Decrypt

For the week ending Apr 21, 2023

1. Multichain lending protocol Hundred Finance experienced a significant security breach on the Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Optimism. The protocol tweeted that the losses sit at $7.4M. Cointelegraph

2. SushiSwap has been able to recover an additional $600K in crypto stolen from users earlier this month. HYDN was tasked with quickly performing a whitehat attack to sequester funds and deploy a “cross-chain watcher” contract to protect against further attacks, for which SushiSwap paid a $200K  bounty. Blockworks

3. Tornado Cash developer Alex Pertsev is set to be released from jail after spending nearly nine months in prison. Pertsev was arrested in August last year by Dutch authorities on suspicion of being involved in money laundering through the crypto mixing service Tornado Cash. Cointelegraph

4. Societe Generale-Forge (SG-Forge), a regulated subsidiary of the French banking firm Societe Generale, has launched EUR CoinVertible, the euro-pegged stablecoin for qualified institutional clients. Cointelegraph

5. Crypto arm of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has revealed its blockchain infrastructure plans: Magi, a rollup client for Optimism. CoinDesk

For the week ending Apr 14, 2023

1. Twitter has recently partnered with eToro to allow users to view market charts of financial investments by searching for the relevant “cashtag.” Trading crypto was also said to be available, but the function has not yet been launched. Decrypt

2. Aave V1 and an older version of Yearn Finance protocol were hacked for $11.6M due to a vulnerability in Yearn’s USDT token, ySDT. The damage was limited since only the older versions of the protocols were attacked, and the Aave team froze new deposits into V1 in December 2022. Decrypt

3. Decentralized exchange Uniswap has launched a mobile wallet that features built-in support for the exchange. The exchange had previously stated that Apple was not allowing the app to be listed on the App Store. CoinDesk

4. Decentralized lending platform Euler Finance opened up redemptions for recovered funds to its users, allowing users to claim the capital they have in the protocol almost a month after the protocol suffered a flash loan exploit. CoinDesk

5. Amazon launches new Bedrock AI service to take on Google and OpenAI. Bedrock will allow users to build out generative models from AI21 Labs, Anthropic, Stability AI and Amazon. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Apr 07, 2023

1. Three Arrows Capital founders have launched OPNX, a crypto exchange.OPNX is the brainchild of the hedge fund investors behind the collapsed Three Arrows Capital, and is supported by Coinflex CEO Mark Lamb. TheBlock

2. Euler Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, announced that the hackers responsible for the $200 million attack on the protocol had returned all of the recoverable funds. Decrypt

3. Australia financial regulator (ASIC) cancels Binance derivatives business license. Binance requested the cancellation a day before Australia’s securities regulator announced that it would end the license. Decrypt

4. One of the major Ethereum MEV bots has been targeted in an attack by one of the blockchain’s validators, resulting in the loss of almost $20 million. CoinDesk

5. Retail trading platform Robinhood is set to pay up to $10.2 million in penalties for operational and technical failures that harmed investors. CoinDesk

For the week ending Mar 31, 2023

1. The U.S. CFTC has charged Binance and its CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao with offering unregistered crypto derivatives products and other violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. CoinDesk

2. Circle announces USDC launch for Cosmos via Noble network. The stablecoin will be launched on the Noble network, making it available to all 50-plus Cosmos IBC blockchains. Cointelegraph

3. After Euler Finance was hit by a nine-figure exploit, the attacker has returned 51K ETH ($90M) to the lending protocol’s deployer wallet. Crypto analytics firm Arkham Intelligence reports that the hacker still has $73M in ETH and $43M in DAI. TheDefiant

4. A federal judge has granted the U.S. government’s request to temporarily suspend Voyager Digital’s bankruptcy plan, thus halting the proposed sale of the crypto lender to Binance.US. Decrypt

5. Microsoft partnered with web3 infrastructure provider Ankr to offer a node service for enterprises in need of blockchain data access. TheBlock

For the week ending Mar 24, 2023

1. Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon has been charged with fraud by United States prosecutors in New York, just hours after he was reportedly arrested in Montenegro. Cointelegraph

2. Stablecoin issuer MakerDAO votes to retain USDC as a primary reserve even after depeg. The decision follows a turbulent period during which USDC temporarily lost its dollar peg after key banking partner SVB collapsed. CoinDesk

3. Telegram users can now send USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin, within chats in the messaging app. This expands the app’s facility for buying and selling crypto, potentially aiding mainstream adoption. CoinDesk

4. SushiSwap, an Ethereum-based decentralized exchange, has been served with a subpoena from the SEC. A proposal has been submitted to the Sushi DAO to establish a legal defense fund to cover potential legal costs. Decrypt

5. The U.S. SEC issued a Wells notice to crypto exchange Coinbase, a step that may lead to the SEC suing Coinbase or taking other enforcement actions against it. CoinDesk

For the week ending Mar 17, 2023

1. The DeFi market suffered a major blow with the $197M exploit on Euler Finance, leading to losses for several protocols. The impact of the attack has spread, with 11 protocols reporting frozen or lost funds due to contagion. Cointelegraph

2. Facebook parent company Meta is shedding another 10,000 jobs after cutting NFT support. The company is backing away just 10 months after launching NFT support on Instagram. Decrypt

3. Credit Suisse said that it plans to borrow as much as $54B from the Swiss central bank to improve its liquidity after the lender’s shares plunged to a new low. nytimes

4. Silicon Valley Bank became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis. Regulators also abruptly shut down Signature Bank. Now the crypto-friendly financial institution is up for sale but with a significant caveat of no involvement in crypto. CoinDesk

5. The USDC stablecoin regained its peg to the U.S. dollar after falling below the $1 value it was supposed to hold. Federal banking and finance regulators said that all depositors in Silicon Valley Bank will be made whole and have access to their funds. CoinDesk

For the week ending Mar 10, 2023

1. The cryptocurrency-focused US lender Silvergate is to wind down its operations after it was hit by customer withdrawals following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Silvergate reported $1B in loss for the Q4 of 2022 after investors raced to withdraw more than $8bn in deposits. The Guardian

2. The U.S. Treasury Department has proposed a 30% excise tax on the cost of powering crypto mining facilities. CoinDesk

3. SEC files emergency action against BKCoin co-founder Kevin Kang, for running a $100M ponzi-scheme. Kevin is accused of misappropriating client funds to bankroll vacations, purchase tickets to sporting events and pay rent on his New York City apartment. CoinDesk

4. New York State Attorney General Letitia James is suing KuCoin, saying the crypto exchange is an unregistered commodities and securities broker or dealer and the suit lists ether as an unregistered security. TheBlock

5. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) announced a significant sale of assets and stocks aimed at raising additional capital. SVB’s shares plunged 60% after news that it is shoring up its balance sheet spooked investors, wiping some $80 billion in value from the bank’s shares. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Mar 03, 2023

1. Circle, Paxos, Bitstamp and Galaxy join Coinbase in scaling back partnerships with Silvergate Bank. Coinbase’s decision comes just a day after Silvergate Capital Corporation, the parent company of Silvergate Bank, delayed its annual 10-K report. Cointelegraph

2. Unity, one of the most popular game developer engines for creating 3D game environments, has added verified Web3 Toolbox for MetaMask, Solana, Dapper Labs for developer use. Decrypt

3. Algorand wallet MyAlgo urges users to withdraw any funds from mnemonic wallets that were stored in MyAlgo, following reports of an attack worth just under $9.2M. Decrypt

4. The bankrupt crypto broker Voyager Digital announced that 97% of its customers with account holder claims have voted in favor of the proposed restructuring plan that will see Binance.US acquire the firm’s assets for $1.02B. Decrypt

5. Moscow Credit Bank has issued a blockchain-based bank guarantee denominated in Chinese currency. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Feb 24, 2023

1. Dapper Labs lays off another 20% of staff. The CEO says the company is restructuring and has a strong cash position. In November, Dapper laid off 22% of employees in November. TheBlock

2. Streaming music giant Spotify has rolled out a new token-gated playlist pilot as its latest Web3 experiment. Decrypt

3. One of the world’s largest crypto-focused quantitative funds, Galois Capital, has called it quits after losing a sizable portion of its capital in the collapse of FTX. CoinDesk

4. Polygon Labs cut 20% of staff, about 100 people, to consolidate multiple business units under Polygon Labs. The founders state its treasury remains healthy, with a balance of over $250M and more than 1.9B MATIC. The Block

5. Coinbase has today unveiled Base, its own Ethereum layer-2 network. The company says Base will be the new home for Coinbase’s on-chain products and other decentralized applications. Decrypt

For the week ending Feb 17, 2023

1. Bankrupt cryptocurrency firm Celsius Network LLC reached a deal to sell its lending platform to NovaWulf Digital Management LP as part of a plan to distribute its coins and other assets to customers. WSJ

2. Paxos, the issuer of the $16B Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin, has burned more than $700M of BUSD. Paxos announced it would stop issuing the cryptocurrency amid mounting regulatory pressure. CoinDesk

3. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon, for allegedly “orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud. Cointelegraph

4. Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s tech ecosystem, has started a $2B initiative to back Web3 and blockchain technology startups in the region. CoinDesk

5. Banco do Brasil (BB), Brazil’s largest public bank, has enabled the payment of taxes with cryptocurrencies. CoinDesk

For the week ending Feb 10, 2023

1. In a partnership ceremony at the Leap 2023 conference in Saudi Arabia, The Sandbox entered into an MOU with the government of Saudi Arabia for future metaverse development. Cointelegraph

2. Ethereum staking service Rocket Pool reached $1B in total value locked (TVL). The move comes less than two years after the DeFi protocol launched its mainnet. Cointelegraph

3. Finland-based peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency platform LocalBitcoins is shutting down operations after serving its customers for more than 10 years. Cointelegraph

4. Crypto exchange Kraken will end its crypto staking-as-a-service platform for U.S. customers and pay $30 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges it offered unregistered securities. CoinDesk

5. The Tron blockchain has committed over $100 million to teams utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) within their blockchain applications as the technology gains steam among investors. CoinDesk

For the week ending Feb 03, 2023

1. The UK govt says DeFi protocols retaining a large proportion of their governance tokens should be treated similarly to CeFi. DLNews

2. Crypto exchange Bittrex lays off 83 employees across most departments.The Seattle-based crypto exchange Bittrex joins the growing list of firms slicing their headcounts over the past month. Decrypt

3. Solana-based DeFi borrowing and lending platform Everlend announced that it’s shuttering the project and its future development. Decrypt

4. BonqDAO has suffered a sizeable smart contract exploit, leading to an estimated $120 million being stolen from its protocol. Cointelegraph

5. Wormhole has won a temperature check vote on the Uniswap DAO as the preferred crypto bridge provider for the proposed deployment of Uniswap v3 on the BNB Chain. TheBlock

For the week ending Jan 27, 2023

1. The lending unit of crypto firm Genesis filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Thursday, owing creditors at least $3.4B after being toppled by a market rout along with exchange FTX and lender BlockFi. Reuters

2. FBI infiltrated Hive Network, blocking over $130M in crypto ransomware. Law enforcement infiltrated the group and provided over 1,300 decryption keys to would-be victims, ultimately dismantling the network. Decrypt

3. Dutch Central Bank fines Coinbase $3.6M for non-Compliance. Though Coinbase registered on September 22, 2022, the Dutch Central Bank said it had a competitive advantage by not paying supervisory fees. Decrypt

4. The FBI announced Monday it has concluded that North Korean hacker organization Lazarus Group was behind the $100M hack of Harmony Protocol last June. Decrypt

5. Crypto lender Nexo Capital has agreed to pay $45 million in penalties to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) for failing to register the offer and sale of its Earn Interest Product (EIP). Cointelegraph

For the week ending Jan 20, 2023

1. ConsenSys CEO, Lubin Touts confirms job cuts in a recent blogpost, citing challenging and uncertain market conditions. A total of 97 employees, or 11% of the workforce, will be affected. CoinDesk

2. China’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the digital yuan, eCNY, has received upgrades giving it smart contract functionality alongside a series of newly unveiled use cases. Cointelegraph

3. US Charges crypto exchange Bitzlato with laundering $700M. Authorities have accused the little-known platform of laundering funds tied to illicit Russian finance and have arrested its founder. CoinDesk

4. Coinbase announces ‘Difficult Decision’ to shutter operations in Japan. Coinbase confirmed that it would be shuttering operations in Japan, asking users to withdraw any funds by February 16th. Decrypt

5. The National Australia Bank announced that it will soon launch a new stablecoin backed by the Australian dollar on Ethereum and Algorand. Decrypt

For the week ending Jan 13, 2023

1. Crypto.com said it is cutting its workforce by around 20% as the crypto industry continues to reel from the effects of the ongoing crypto winter. The firm cited the economic headwinds from the downturn in the crypto market and the FTX implosion as the reason behind the layoffs. CoinDesk

2. Coinbase announced Tuesday that it was laying off 950 people, about 20% of its staff. The job cuts come only a few months after another major round of layoffs. The crypto brokerage firm let 1,100 people go in June, about 18% of its headcount at the time. CNN

3. Amazon Web Services users can now launch Avalanche blockchain nodes. Ava Labs is joining Amazon’s AWS Marketplace to accelerate institutional adoption of Avalanche. Decrypt

4. Nexo was hit by a flood of withdrawals following the office raid over money laundering Investigation. Blockchain analysts say large withdrawals of over $100K have rushed out of the crypto lender. Decrypt

5. Gemini and Genesis charged by SEC with selling unregistered securities. The charges relate to Gemini’s crypto asset lending program, Gemini Earn, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Jan 06, 2023

1. Crypto lending firm Genesis is laying off 30% of its staff in an effort to reduce costs and stabilize its troubled financial situation due to the FTX fallout. In November 2022, the company had over $175M frozen in FTX. Decrypt

2. Shopify merchants can now sell Avalanche NFTs through their online stores directly which can be purchased in fiat without the need of handling a wallet. Decrypt

3. Italian parliament approves 26% crypto-gains tax in 2023 budget. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s new bill also includes an incentive for those declaring crypto for tax purposes. CoinDesk

4. Ethereum Name Service recorded over $2.8M domain registrations in 2022. The figure represents over 80% of all registrations since the service started in 2017. CoinDesk

5. Crypto bank Silvergate cuts 40% of its workforce or 200 jobs as the company’s shares plunge 46%. The company also said it is writing off its investment in former Facebook stablecoin project Diem. CoinDesk

For the week ending Dec 30, 2022

1. The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) on Friday approved the ability for investment funds to include crypto assets among their holdings. Crypto assets may be part of a fund as long as they are traded in entities authorized by either the Central Bank of Brazil. CoinDesk

2. Bitcoin mining company Argo Blockchain announced it has entered into definitive agreements with Galaxy Digital Holdings that will see the miner sell its Helios facility in Texas for $65M. Decrypt

3. The Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) has conducted the first tests of its Turkish digital lira where it successfully carried out its first payments transaction on its CBDC network. CoinDesk

4. Solana’s top NFT projects, DeGods and Y00ts to migrate chains. DeGods will go to Ethereum, while its sister project, Y00ts, will move to Polygon with a grant from the layer 2’s partnership fund. CoinDesk

5. Wallets linked to Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research are swapping and transferring crypto funds, using coin mixers to obscure transactions according to Arkham Intelligence. Decrypt

For the week ending Dec 23, 2022

1. Sam Bankman-Fried released on $250M Bail secured by parents. Bankman-Fried’s release was secured by equity in his parents’ Palo Alto, California, home, and a long list of requirements was included for him to remain free while he faces charges. CoinDesk

2. Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang pleaded guilty to charges tied to FTX’s collapse, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams announced Wednesday night. CoinDesk

3. California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has ordered crypto lending platform MyConstant to cease offering a number of its crypto-related products over alleged state securities law violations. Cointelegraph

4. Decentralized exchange Uniswap has partnered with fintech company Moonpay to allow users to buy cryptocurrency on its web app using debit cards, credit cards, and bank transfers. Cointelegraph

5. Karl Sebastian Greenwood, the co-founder of the $4B dollar fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme OneCoin has pleaded guilty to multiple charges brought forward by the United States Department of Justice, facing a maximum of 60 years in prison. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Dec 16, 2022

1. Sam Bankman-Fried has not been granted bail by a Bahamas court. He was arrested in the Bahamas on 12th November at the direction of the US and is now held in custody in accordance with an extradition act. Blockworks

2. The New York State Department of Financial Services issued new guidance requiring state-regulated banks to apply for approval at least 90 days in advance before engaging in digital-asset related activities. Blockworks

3. Digital payments platform PayPal has teamed up with MetaMask’s parent company ConsenSys to allow MetaMask users to purchase and transfer Ether via PayPal’s platform. Cointelegraph

4. Cryptocurrency trading firm Amber Group, which had roughly 10% of its trading capital stuck on FTX at the time of the exchange’s collapse, has acquired Singaporean cryptocurrency platform Sparrow Holdings. Cointelegraph

5. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), an agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, is launching a blockchain solution to distribute cash to Ukrainians affected by the ongoing Russian invasion. Decrypt

For the week ending Dec 09, 2022

1. Stripe is launching its own fiat-to-crypto on-ramp, allowing customers to exchange dollars for cryptocurrencies and will handle tasks related to KYC requirements, payments, fraud and compliance. Cointelegraph

2. Chief bankruptcy judge orders Celsius to return $50M in user assets out of the $4.7B in total that it owes to its customers. According to previous declaration filings, Celsius had $5.5B in liabilities and $4.3B in assets, leaving it with at least $1.3 billion in shortfall. Blockworks

3. Nigeria bans ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week to push its “cashless Nigeria” policy and to encourage the use of Nigeria’s CBDC called the eNaira. Cointelegraph

4. The EU Union aims to level the playing field for crypto operators by having them report crypto transactions of any size for tax purposes. This policy was put forward along with a wider package of anti-tax evasion measures. Decrypt

5. Galaxy Digital wins Celsius bankruptcy auction to acquire GK8, a self-custody crypto firm for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition comes months after Galaxy Digital pulled out of a $1.2B deal to acquire another crypto custodian, BitGo. Decrypt

For the week ending Dec 02, 2022

1. San-Francisco based crypto exchange Kraken announced that it is laying off 1,100 employees, cutting nearly 30% of its workforce citing economic concerns and a crypto bear market. Decrypt

2. Binance, in another attempt to enter the Japanese market, has acquired an FSA regulated crypto exchange, Sakura, for an undisclosed amount. Decrypt

3. Telegram announces plans to build a decentralized crypto exchange to rebuild faith in the crypto industry and combat power abuse following the FTX failure. Decrypt

4. U.S. politicians have been very publicly returning or giving away campaign donations from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. The $46.5M total ranks Bankman-Fried second only to political mega donor George Soros. Decrypt

5. Russia’s largest bank Sber bank integrates Metamask into its platform as a way to connect with the Ethereum blockchain. This will allow users to make operations with tokens and smart contracts placed on Sber’s blockchain platform. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Nov 25, 2022

1. Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has confirmed that Binance US will bid again for Voyager assets following FTX collapse. Coindesk

2. The Singapore government starts a fraud investigation into crypto exchange Hodlnaut, one of the crypto firms that was hit by the crypto downturn earlier this year. Coindesk

3. Singapore’s largest bank by market cap DBS has become the first Asian bank to use JPMorgan’s (JPM) blockchain-based fixed income trading network Onyx, enabling investors to lend assets for a period of hours without them leaving their balance sheets. Coindesk

4. Genesis Global Capital has confirmed hiring Investment Bank Moelis to explore options regarding its crypto-lending business’ liquidity and address clients’ needs after halting withdrawals. Coindesk

5. Bahamas FTX liquidators have agreed to transfer the FTX bankruptcy case to Delaware, where the company had already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Coindesk

For the week ending Nov 18, 2022

1. FTX accounts drainer from last week’s $600M FTX hack swaps millions in stolen crypto, becoming 35th-largest ether holder. Coindesk

2. BlockFi and Genesis have suspended customer withdrawals with BlockFi preparing to file bankruptcy within days and Genesis reportedly seeking $1B in emergency loan by Monday. CNBC

3. FTX has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with Sam Bankman-Fried stepping down as the CEO. In the 23-page bankruptcy filing obtained by CNBC, FTX indicates it has more than 100K creditors. CNBC

4. According to bankruptcy filings, Alameda Research, the trading firm founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, had a “secret exemption” from the crypto exchange’s liquidation procedures. Coindesk

5. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas announced that it ordered the contents of FTX’s crypto wallets to be transferred to government-controlled wallets in a bid to protect creditors. Coindesk

For the week ending Nov 11, 2022

1. Concerns about FTX’s financial instability reportedly triggered $6B withdrawals in just three days causing a liquidity crisis. BBC

2. FTX’s has rattled the infrastructure of Solana staking as nearly $800M SOL tokens set to be unstaked, plummeting its TVL by over 32%. Coindesk

3. Cryptocurrency exchange platform Crypto.com has halted USDT and USDC withdrawals and deposits in the Solana ecosystem, as the collapse of FTX continues to shock the crypto market. Coindesk

4. Binance has backed out on a deal to acquire FTX stating that deal fell through during the corporate due diligence process following a report that federal investigators were looking into FTX.com’s handling of customer funds. CNBC

5. Stablecoin issuer Tether has frozen $46M of USDT held on the Tron blockchain following the collapse of exchange FTX at the request of law enforcement. Coindesk

For the week ending Nov 04, 2022

1. Meta announced that it will allow select users in the USA to mint their own NFTs and sell them directly on Instagram, giving creators a new way to engage & monetize with  their fans. The NFTs will be minted on Matic and will be stored on Arweave. Cointelegraph

2. JPMorgan executed its first ever live cross-border DeFi transaction using the Polygon blockchain, as part of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Project Guardian pilot. The firm used W3C Verifiable Credentials to provide compliant access to Aave’s permissioned pools. Crypto Potato

3. The Central Bank of India (RBI) commenced its first pilot project to implement its CBDC in the wholesale segment (e₹-W) for secondary trade in government securities. The RBI has designated 9 banks across the country to participate in this pilot test. Cointelegraph

4. Digital asset platform Bakkt entered into an agreement to acquire crypto trading platform Apex Crypto for $200M. The company said the acquisition is expected to diversify & bolster Bakkt’s revenue & scale its offerings to its clients. Cointelegraph

5. Fidelity Investments opened the waiting list for Fidelity Crypto, its crypto product aimed at retail customers.  The new product will offer commission-free bitcoin and ether trading, although a spread of up to 1% will be charged. Coindesk

For the week ending Oct 28, 2022

1. Google has launched its in-house blockchain node engine for web3 developers to simplify node infrastructure & onboarding for blockchain developers. Ethereum will be the first blockchain supported by Google’s node engine. Cointelegraph

2. Binance CEO CZ announced that The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) will integrate its CBDC, the digital tenge on the BNB chain. The NBK clarified that the CBDC won’t replace cash & thus the digital tokens will not be recorded in banks’ balance sheets. bitcoinist

3. Crypto launchpad Team Finance suffered a $14.5M exploit, in relation to a smart contract bug in its migration feature. Although previously audited, the hacker managed to exploit a bug in the v2 to v3 migration function to drain the funds. Coindesk

4. Elon Musk has completed his $44B deal to acquire Twitter. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) de-listed Twitter once the deal was closed. Elon also fired CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Need Segal after acquiring the company. livemint

5. After MagicEden, LooksRare, the 3rd largest NFT marketplace on ethereum is the latest platform to make creator royalty fees optional. The platform will remove mandatory creator royalty fees and instead pay creators 25% of the protocol fees from each transaction. forkast

For the week ending Oct 21, 2022

1. The Aptos mainnet, which was under development since 4 years finally went live on October 17th. The release however, was met with mixed reactions by the community with regards to its tokenomics, functionality and near-instantaneous CEX listings. blockworks

2. Guinness World Records added Bitcoin & a list of other notable crypto achievements like El Salvador’s crypto adoption, Manchester City’s fan token & CryptoPunk’s record NFT sale in the latest edition of its record book under the category of “Cryptomania.” Cointelegraph

3. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said he intends to sell 2% of his stake in Coinbase over the next year to help fund scientific research in companies like New limit & Research Hub. Presently, Brian owns 16% of the company & controls 59.5% of its voting shares. blockworks

4. Tether has announced a partnership with SmartPay to make USDT available at 24K ATMs in Brazil from November 3rd. As a result, Brazilians will be able to send their USDT anywhere in the world & instantaneously convert Brazilian Reals into USDT & vice versa. decrypt

5. After 18 months and 6 court orders, the Hinman documents have officially been turned over to Ripple Labs by the SEC. The documents consist of internal SEC drafts & emails which relate to a speech given by William Hinman, the former agency director in 2018. blockworks

For the week ending Oct 14, 2022

1. Google & Coinbase revealed plans for a strategic partnership which would let select customers pay for cloud services using crypto from 2023. With this partnership, Google will also use Coinbase Prime for its various institutional crypto service offerings. theblock

2. The SEC is probing the creator of the BAYC NFT collection, Yuga Labs over unregistered security offerings. They are reportedly looking into how $APE were distributed to the holders of Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club & Bored Ape Kennel Club members. Coindesk

3. Mango Markets, a decentralized exchange on Solana was drained for $100M in an exploit. The hacker was able to empty funds via an oracle price manipulation by temporarily driving up the value of their collateral & then taking out loans from the treasury. Decrypt

4. Uniswap Labs, the developers of the Uniswap DEX have secured $165M in a Series B funding led by Polychain Capital, valuing the company at $1.6B. The funding would mainly go towards expanding its existing product offerings & improve user experience. Decrypt

5. Tron has inked an agreement with the government of Dominica to make Tron-native tokens like TRX, BTT, JST, NFT, USDD &TUSD authorized digital currency which can be legally used as a medium of exchange in the Caribbean Island. Cryptoslate

For the week ending Oct 07, 2022

1. The BSC Chain was temporarily halted on Oct 6^th after a hacker exploited the cross-chain bridge, exploiting an estimated $600M worth of BNB in the process. Binance temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals and confirmed that all user funds were safe. Coindesk

2. MakerDAO, the world’s largest DeFi lending protocol, announced a plan to invest $500M of its collateral reserves in short-term US treasury bonds and investment-grade corporate bonds in an effort to provide the protocol low-risk additional yield. Cointelegraph

3. Kim Kardashian settled charges with the SEC by paying $1.26M as fine for failing to disclose the payments that she received for promoting the Ethereum Max token on her Instagram account. Cointelegraph

4. Solana suffered a 6 hour outage on Oct 1st. A misconfigured node caused an unrecoverable partition in the network leading the network to fork, which in turn caused an obscure code path that left validators unable to switch back to the main fork. theblock

5. Elon Musk proposed to proceed with the $44B acquisition of Twitter at the originally agreed upon terms after spending months trying to get out of the deal. The judge overseeing the acquisition dispute has ordered the legal proceeding to be paused till Oct 28th. CNN

For the week ending Sep 30, 2022

1. Strike closed an $80M Series B funding round led by Ten31, with participation from other investors. The company intends to use the funds to grow its products as it looks to revolutionize the payments industry. Coindesk

2. Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky submitted his letter of resignation to the Board of Directors of Celsius Network Limited, claiming that this would help him focus more on working towards viable plans to return funds to the creditors as efficiently as possible. Coindesk

3. Meta has made NFT functionality available to all U.S. based Facebook and Instagram users and is now allowing them to connect their wallets to share their NFTs with others. Users also have the ability to cross-post their NFTs across both these platforms. Coindesk

4. SWIFT has partnered with Chainlink to develop a new proof-of-concept project that will enable traditional finance firms to transact on blockchain networks. Coindesk

5. MetaMask launched its portfolio dApp in beta mode which aggregates multiple performance tracking tools in one place. The dApp combines accounts and assets across several chains and is accessible to extension and mobile users. Coindesk

For the week ending Sep 23, 2022

1. MicroStrategy purchased 301 BTC for around $6M in cash at an average price of $19,851 per bitcoin. The entity now holds 130,000 BTC at an average price of roughly $30,639 per bitcoin. Cointelegraph

2. Robinhood has listed Circle’s USDC – the second largest stablecoin by market capitalization on its platform, making it available for trading and holding for all its users. Coindesk

3. Wintermute, a leading crypto market maker that provides liquidity on various exchanges, lost around $160M to a hack targeted on its DeFi operations. As per reports, the CeFi & OTC verticals of the company weren’t affected. Cointelegraph

4. Cardano’s much anticipated Vasil upgrade, which is intended to boost network capacity, increase throughput and lower transaction costs on its blockchain has been deployed. theblock

5. A New York judge has ordered Tether & Bitfinex to produce documents to prove the backing of USDT. The order came as part of a 2019 lawsuit against iFinex, where investors alleged that the firm used USDT to manipulate the markets & misrepresented its backing. Cointelegraph

For the week ending Sep 16, 2022

1. U.S. investment firm KKR & Co. is set to tokenize its Health Care Strategic Growth Fund II (HCSG II) on the Avalanche blockchain with digital-asset management platform Securitize Capital. Cointelegraph

2. The Ethereum Merge has finally been completed, solidifying its upgrade to proof-of-stake mechanism. Coindesk

3. A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant against Do Kwon, the Co-Founder of Terra for violating the Capital Markets Act. Coindesk

4. A federal judge has approved a motion for the U.S. Trustee’s office to appoint an independent examiner to investigate crypto lender Celsius Network’s bankruptcy case. Coindesk

5. MicroStrategy (MSTR), a software developer firm plans to sell up to $500M worth of its class A shares to fund more purchases of Bitcoin. Coindesk

For the week ending Sep 09, 2022

1. Troubled crypto lender Voyager Digital will liquidate the remainder of its assets as it moves through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. Coindesk

2. Crypto analytics firm Chainlysis has announced that it helped the U.S. government recover about $30M worth of crypto stolen from the Axie Infinity hack earlier this year. Coindesk

3. Coinbase is funding a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Treasury Department for blacklisting Tornado Cash by six plaintiffs claiming that the department’s sanctions watchdog, OFAC, overstepped its authority. Blockworks

4. The White House has released a report urging federal agencies and states to make proof-of-work crypto mining more environmentally-friendly. Blockworks

5. Video game firm GameStop (GME) has partnered with Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX.US amid decline in sales and narrow-than-expected quarterly loss. Coindesk

For the week ending Sep 02, 2022

1. Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius files to return $50M worth of crypto to its custody account holders. Bloomberg

2. California is set to sign a recently passed bill dubbed as California’s “BitLicense” that would require digital asset exchanges and other crypto companies to obtain a license to operate in the state. Coindesk

3. Meta has announced that users can now link their crypto wallets and post non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Facebook. Coindesk

4. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said that it has no plans to acquire rival crypto exchange, Huobi. Coindesk

5. Former MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor has been accused of evading $25M in taxes by the District of Columbia. Coindesk

For the week ending Aug 26, 2022

1. Singapore High Court has legally recognized the liquidation order of Three Arrows Capital that was originally filed in the British Virgin Islands, allowing them to probe the assets of the troubled crypto hedge fund. Coindesk

2. Sepolia, an Ethereum test network, becomes the first of its kind on any Ethereum proof-of-stake testnet to get a post-merge update. Coindesk

3. FTX US acquisition floor price agreement on BlockFi has been placed at $15M with the price tag increasing based on the company’s performance. Coindesk

4. Troubled crypto lender Celsius has sued Prime Trust claiming that the fintech company failed to return $17M worth of crypto assets. Coindesk

5. Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital gets approval from a US judge to pay more than 30 employees a collective $1.6 million as a retention award. Coindesk

For the week ending Aug 19, 2022

1. Crypto lender Hodlnaut has disclosed pending Singaporean police proceedings and massive employee layoffs after freezing withdrawals on its platform. Coindesk

2. Crypto exchange Gemini to offer staking support for clients throughout the U.S., Singapore and Hong Kong in a bid to capitalize on rising user interest ahead of Ethereum’s upcoming merge to a proof-of-stake model. Coindesk

3. Cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network said it has received several cash-injection offers and won approval from a U.S. judge to sell mined bitcoin after announcing that the company might run out of cash by October. Coindesk

4. South Korea’s anti-money laundering authority has flagged 16 foreign crypto exchanges operating in the country without proper regulatory approval. KuCoin and Poloniex are among the firms accused of conducting illegal business activities without proper registration. Coindesk

5. Singapore’s High Court granted troubled crypto exchange Zipmex more than three months of creditor protection so it can devise a funding plan after the company filed a moratorium on bankruptcy. Coindesk

For the week ending Aug 12, 2022

1. Ethereum’s third and final testnet merge has been successfully deployed on Goerli. Its mainnet merge with the proof-of-stake Beacon Chain is expected to happen next month. Coindesk

2. Leon Li, CEO of Huobi, is in talks with investors to sell his majority stake in the company at a $3B valuation or more. This would make it one of the highest-valued acquisitions in the crypto industry. Coindesk

3. The U.S. Department of Treasury has blacklisted decentralized crypto-mixing service Tornado Cash due to it being allegedly used on high-profile crypto heists this year by North Korean hackers. Coindesk

4. Coinbase posted a $1.1B loss in both revenue and profit in Q2, making it the largest quarterly net loss for the crypto company since its listing on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in April 2021. Cointelegraph

5. Crypto exchange Hotbit has suspended all transactions on the platform after law enforcement froze some of its funds due to a criminal case involving the exchange’s former employee. Coindesk

For the week ending Aug 05, 2022

1. Solana ecosystem targeted in crypto’s latest exploit, with over 8000 wallets compromised from major internet-connected “hot” wallets including Phantom, Slope and TrustWallet. Coindesk

2. Crypto lender Voyager Digital has received several purchase offers higher than FTX’s. The company rejected FTX’s proposal to buy the company and offer early liquidity to its customers. Coindesk

3. Social media giant Meta (META) has started to roll out non-fungible tokens (NFT) across 100 countries after integrating with Coinbase (COIN) Wallet and Dapper, allowing users to share their NFTs on Instagram. Coindesk

4. Coinbase has partnered with financial giant Blackrock to provide the firm’s Aladdin clients access to crypto trading and custody via Coinbase Prime. Bitcoin.com

5. Former Coinbase Global product manager Ishan Wahi who has been accused of divulging confidential information about future listings at Coinbase pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan federal court. Coindesk

For the week ending July 29, 2022

1. The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have issued a cease-and-desist statement to troubled crypto lender Voyager for incorrect claims that its customers would be insured by the government. Coindesk

2. Troubled cryptocurrency lender Celsius has confirmed that an employee leaked customers’ emails to a third party. Blockworks

3. FTX.US has opened stock trading to users in all 50 American states, allowing users to trade hundreds of stocks and exchange-traded funds online or through the mobile app. Coindesk

4. Facebook’s parent company, Meta, reported a loss of $2.8 billion on its metaverse project; CEO Zuckerberg says that losses would persist for a number of years for the metaverse section. Coindesk

5. Ethereum’s tenth shadow fork was deployed earlier than expected in preparation for the imminent transition from using the energy-intensive proof-of-work protocol to proof-of-stake. Coindesk

For the week ending July 22, 2022

1. Electric car manufacturer Tesla, announced in its earnings report that it had sold $936M worth of Bitcoin or 75% of its holdings in the second quarter. Coindesk

2. Crypto exchange Blockchain.com, announced that it will lay off 25% of its workforce in Argentina and cease expansion plans in several countries. Coindesk

3. Singapore-based crypto exchange Zipmex has confirmed that it provided a loan worth $53M to the troubled cryptocurrency lending firms Babel Finance and Celsius Network. Coindesk

4. Binance.US, the American subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange giant Binance, has announced the launch of its affiliate marketing program following the closure of Coinbase’s affiliate program. Coindesk

5. Ex-Coinbase manager has been charged with wire fraud in the first insider trading case involving cryptocurrency. Coindesk

For the week ending July 15, 2022

1. Ethereum’s ninth shadow fork went live, as the network prepares for its imminent transition from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus model. Coindesk

2. The liquidity-strapped crypto lender Celsius Network acknowledges a $1.2B hole in its balance sheet after seeking a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Coindesk

3. NFT marketplace, OpenSea lays off 20% of its staff due to crypto winter. Coindesk

4. Disney has selected MATIC, a scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain, as one of six companies that will participate in its accelerator program to develop AR, NFT, and AI experiences. Coindesk

5. Animoca Brands has raised $75M in additional funding to advance its open metaverse initiative, boosting the company’s valuation to approximately $5.9 billion. Coindesk

For the week ending July 08, 2022

1. Crypto brokerage Voyager Digital files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, making it the second crypto lender to do so amid the credit crisis. Coindesk

2. Binance secures Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration in Spain, allowing the exchange to offer custody and crypto asset exchange in the country. Cointelegraph

3. Celsius moves $529M worth of wBTC to FTX exchange after paying off its remaining $41.2M debt to MakerDAO. Coindesk

4. Ethereum has just completed its second-to-last major merge trial on one of its public test nets, Sepolia with a final trial scheduled before its mainnet upgrade to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. Cointelegraph

5. Solana Labs has been hit with a class-action lawsuit that was filed in the state of California by a SOL investor claiming that SOL token is an unregistered security.  Cointelegraph

For the week ending July 01, 2022

1. Cryptocurrency lending platform BlockFi announced a deal that would give FTX US the option to acquire them at a variable price of up to $240M based on performance triggers. Cointelegraph

2. Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital files for bankruptcy in New York following the liquidation order from a court in the British Virgin Islands. Coindesk

3. The European Union has agreed on landmark legislation known as Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA for regulating the cryptocurrency industry to protect investors and set up strict standards for stablecoin issuers. Coindesk

4. Crypto lender Voyager Digital announced that it will temporarily suspend all trading, deposits and withdrawal to explore strategic alternatives to preserve the value of the platform. Cointelegraph

5. Lead blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has linked North Korean Lazarus hackers to the $100M Harmony bridge theft. Decrypt

For the week ending June 24, 2022

1. Harmony’s Horizon Bridge which acts as the main bridge between Ethereum, Binance Chain and Bitcoin has been hacked for $100M, making it the third major bridge hack this year. Cointelegraph

2. Instagram’s parent company, Meta, announced that it will begin testing NFTs on Instagram Stories using its augmented reality platform Spark AR to help creators build for the metaverse. Coindesk

3. Solend, a Solana-based DeFi lending protocol, launched another governance vote to invalidate the recently-approved proposal to grant emergency access to a whale’s wallet in a bid to avoid liquidation . Cointelegraph

4. Magic Internet Money (MIM) stablecoin depegs following rumors of it being allegedly ‘nearly insolvent’ due to $12M debt originating from the Terra collapse. Cointelegraph

5. Solana Mobile, a subsidiary of Solana Labs debuts a flagship Android mobile phone called ‘Saga’ which integrates crypto functions such as the Solana Mobile Stack (SMS), making it easy for users to transact in Web3 and manage digital assets. Cointelegraph

For the week ending June 17, 2022

1. Coinbase is reducing its workforce by 18% in a move to reduce the cost of a potential recession. Coindesk

2. Alchemy, a blockchain developer company, has launched a $25M developer grant program to fund web3 developers and startups. Coindesk

3. Animoca Brands acquires Israeli educational tech company TinyTap for $38.9M to generate educational blockchain-related content. Coindesk

4. Leading NFT marketplace Opensea has announced that it is migrating to Seaport to lower gas fees by 35%. Coindesk

5. Swiss luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer has unveiled its new NFT-enabled smartwatch which allows users to display NFT artworks and link to crypto wallets Cointelegraph

For the week ending June 10, 2022

1. Payment giant Mastercard is now allowing its cardholders to purchase NFTs on several marketplaces without needing to buy crypto first.  Coindesk

2. ‘Father of Metaverse’ Neal Stephenson to launch LAMINA1, a layer-1 blockchain project that aims to be the base-layer for the open metaverse. Cointelegraph

3. Solana Ventures, has announced a $100M fund to provide support for DeFi and GameFi projects in South Korea following the collapse of Terra ecosystem last month.  Cointelegraph

4. Fintech giant Paypal announced that it is enabling users to transfer cryptocurrencies to external wallets, two years after it opened up its platform to digital assets. Cointelegraph

5. Indonesian crypto trading app Pintu announced that it has raised $113M in Series B funding round led by Pantera Capital, Intudo Ventures, Lightspeed and Northstar Group to further develop its platform. Cointelegraph

For the week ending June 03, 2022

1. Solana’s price plummets after the fifth network outage of the year due to a bug-related consensus failure. Cointelegraph

2. Crusoe Energy, a US-based company is set to deploy a crypto mining facility in the Middle East to cut the gas flaring with its first pilot project launching at the end of this year or early 2023. Cointelegraph

3. The newly launched Terra Luna token dubbed as ‘Terra 2.0’ skyrockets 40% over the past 24 hours after listing on Binance. Coindesk

4. CFTC filed suit against Gemini for false claims during in-person meetings and in documents on bitcoin future case from 2017. Cointelegraph

5. Binance Labs, the venture capital and accelerator arm of Binance has raised $500 million in funding to drive the adoption of Web 3 and blockchain technologies. Coindesk

For the week ending May 27, 2022

1. South Korea’s financial authorities are set to establish measures to scrutinize crypto exchanges in the country following the Terra crash. Coindesk

2. a16z, one of the well-known venture capitals in web3, has raised the largest-ever crypto fund worth $4.5B, bringing its total crypto and web3 holdings to $7.6B. Blockworks

3. Binance has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kazakhstan to spearhead the development of the digital asset market in the country. Cointelegraph

4. Portugal has rejected two bills proposing crypto taxes and says Bitcoin will not be taxed at the moment while working on the new policy on capital gains tax. Coindesk

5. Tether launched MXNT, a stablecoin pegged to the Mexican peso to reduce volatility for those who want to convert their assets from fiat to cryptocurrencies. Cointelegraph

For the week ending May 20, 2022

1. FTX US is launching stock trading against stablecoins to allow retail investors to fund their accounts using USD Coin and other fiat-backed stablecoins. Cointelegraph

2. Coinbase is set to launch its internal crypto think tank to work with academic institutions, crypto leaders, and policymakers to release research reports about the market. The Block

3. The ETH Merge is ready and currently undergoing testing. Ethereum developers say that the new release can go out in August if plans turn out well. Cointelegraph

4. Brazilian Stock Exchange B3 is set to build the infrastructure to offer Bitcoin Futures, enabling more users to access the crypto market. Coindesk

5. Tether partners with the local government in Switzerland to launch its blockchain educational program to give traders, investors, and future business owners access to effective learning resources. Cointelegraph

For the week ending May 13, 2022

1. Yuga Lab’s MAYC, BAYC, and Otherdeed dive in weekly sales volume while the whole NFT marketplace is down by 30%, indicating a cool down in the NFT space. Cointelegraph

2. UST stablecoin has lost its peg against USD while LUNA has wiped out all of its gains following the challenges faced by Terra. Blockchain.News

3. Meta is set to test digital collectibles on Instagram and will soon bring the same functionality to Facebook. Cointelegraph

4. Bitcoin reached a 16-month low of $26k following the Terra crash. Blockchain.News

5. Terra blockchain is temporarily suspended as they establish a plan to reconstitute it. Coindesk

For the week ending May 06, 2022

1. UAE’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), the new crypto regulator in Dubai, has launched its virtual headquarters in the metaverse through Sandbox. Blockchain.News

2. US SEC is adding more people to its crypto unit to ramp up anti-crypto scam operations. New hires will be placed in fields like NFTs, coin offerings, lending, and DeFi, among others. Coindesk

3. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to systematize a blockchain regulatory framework between the US states and federal governments. Cointelegraph

4. Canaan, a Chinese crypto mining rig maker, has been listed as one of the scrutinized Chinese companies with a risk of being delisted from the US markets for potentially being under the control of a foreign government. Coindesk

5. Crypto mining companies in Kazakhstan are now required to submit comprehensive information on their operations as the country eyes on controlling energy consumption. Cointelegraph

For the week ending April 29, 2022

1. California-based crypto exchange Kraken is now licensed to do business in Abu Dhabi, making it the second exchange to secure regulatory approval next to Binance. Cointelegraph

2. A Bitcoin ATM was recently put up at Mexico’s senate building—a historical moment for the country to get lawmakers more familiar with blockchain technology. Blockchain.News

3. The Philippines is set to launch a wholesale central bank digital currency pilot project that will aid the country’s central bank in terms of long-term planning and strengthening its payment system. Cointelegraph

4. Central African Republic (CAR) has officially made Bitcoins legal tender. It’s now the second country to adopt crypto, next to El Salvador. Blockchain.News

5. The Panamanian Legislative Assembly approved a bill to regulate the use of crypto in Central America. Coindesk

For the week ending April 22, 2022

1. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman demands a framework covering cryptocurrencies in order to monitor illegal activities related to these digital assets. Cointelegraph

2. Any use of subsidized energy for crypto mining is now prohibited in Iran. The government will soon pass new rules and regulations increasing the fines for violators. Blockchain.News

3. In Ireland, political parties will be banned from accepting cryptocurrencies as donations for their campaigns. Coindesk

4. Coinbase announces that the beta version of its NFT marketplace is coming in weeks, after more than six months since they opened the waitlist for investors and creators. Cointelegraph

5. Binance recovers $5.8M from the DPRK hacking group–the hackers behind the Axie Infinity stolen funds. Coindesk

For the week ending April 15, 2022

1. Binance receives a green signal to do business in Abu Dhabi. It’s already the third time the largest crypto exchange has received regulatory approval in the Middle East. Cointelegraph

2. Mastercard, one of the most famous payment companies, files trademarks for its NFT-backed multimedia, metaverse payment transactions, and marketplaces for digital products. Blockchain.News

3. Brazil Senate announces the approval of its Bitcoin Law, which will take place in the first half of 2022. This follows the approved bill to regulate cryptocurrencies in February. Cointelegraph

4. Meta allows users to sell their digital assets on the Horizon Worlds platform. The company will charge 47.5% against each sale. The Block

5. Portugal’s Bison Bank is now licensed to operate as a virtual asset service provider. The bank will create Bison Digital Assets to serve as its virtual asset exchange. CoinDesk

For the week ending April 08, 2022

1. Georgia is set to regulate its crypto market. National Bank of Georgia Governor Koba Gvenetadze said that the central bank had drafted the regulation already, following the requirements set out by international agencies. CoinTelegraph

2. The US House of Representatives seeks to analyze El Salvator’s adoption of Bitcoin policy and its risks to the economy, cybersecurity, and democratic governance. The results will be used to mitigate potential risks in the US financial system. CoinDesk

3. Singapore passes a new bill to regulate Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) who are based in Singapore but operate abroad. VASPs are now required to secure their licenses from authorities. Blockworks

4. Sweden looks for potential e-krona suppliers, following a report about the successful completion of second phase e-krona testing. CoinDesk

5. Meta is set to release its virtual currency to reward creators and facilitate lending and other services on the platform. Blockchain.News

For the week ending April 01, 2022

1. EU parliament passes privacy-busting crypto rules despite industry criticism.The proposals are intended to extend AML requirements that apply to conventional payments over €1K to the crypto sector. CoinDesk

2. The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is set to establish a digital trading platform with smart contracts and blockchain technology as a part of its comprehensive strategy. Blockchain.News

3. Binance announced that it has partnered with the Recording Academy, the organization behind the Grammy Awards, to become its first official crypto exchange partner. The Block

4. Rio de Janeiro is gearing up to be the first city on Brazilian soil to accept tax payment in cryptocurrencies from 2023. Blockchain.News

5. Bank of Japan officials call for G7 nations to adopt a common regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies as current rules do not take into account the potential for digital assets to be used to skirt sanctions. CoinTelegraph

For the week ending March 25, 2022

1. The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a ban on the use of cryptocurrencies for payments and also proposed a new rule that demands disclosure of service quality and IT usage information from crypto businesses including brokers, exchanges and dealers. CoinTelegraph

2. David Beckham joins metaverse and becomes the global brand ambassador for DigitalBits Blockchain, which is a first-layer protocol for NFTs to tokenize assets and to support various brands created on their blockchains. Blockchain.News

3. The Russian Federation’s energy chief Pavel Zavalny has floated the possibility of accepting bitcoin as payment for its oil and gas. CoinTelegraph

4. Japanese social media and messaging platform LINE has launched its NFT marketplace, which will feature a total of 100 collectables at launch encompassing 7 genres from 17 content creators. Blockchain.News

5. The U.S. Department of Justice has taken action against an alleged NFT rug pull, after it slapped the founders of the Frosties project with charges relating to fraud and money laundering. CoinTelegraph

For the week ending March 18, 2022

1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy legalized crypto in the country and signed the virtual assets bill into law, amid a frenzy of digital asset donations to support the country’s defense against a Russian invasion. CoinDesk

2. Meta will add the NFTs function to its video and photo social app Instagram in the coming months so that users can display their NFTs on the platform. Blockchain.News

3. The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee voted against the ban on Proof-of-Work mechanisms underlying major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Blockchain.News

4. 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. The Block

5. Binance announced that it had been officially granted the virtual asset provider (VASP) license to operate in Dubai this week. The company’s presence in the Middle East has been building up lately, with a crypto service provider license in another Gulf market, Bahrain. CoinTelegraph

For the week ending March 11, 2022

1. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the prime minister and ruler of the United Arab Emirates, has announced a new law on virtual assets as well as the establishment of a crypto regulator. CoinTelegraph

2. U.S. President Joe Biden signed a first-of-its-kind executive order on cryptocurrencies, which directs federal agencies to coordinate their approach to the sector. CoinDesk

3. Global payments giant Stripe has partnered with FTX.US and now supports crypto businesses including exchanges, wallet providers, and NFT marketplaces to process crypto-to-fiat currency payments. The Block

4. Coinbase has blocked 25,000 wallet addresses linked to what the cryptocurrency exchange believes are Russian individuals and entities engaged in illegal activity and has shared the blocked addresses with the US government. Blockworks

5. Nine Republican U.S. Senators have introduced a bill called “Say No to the Silk Road Act” and aimed at setting regulations and guidelines concerning China’s digital yuan. CoinDesk

For the week ending March 04, 2022

1. Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent has filed for a virtual concerts patent with the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). CNIPA has already received at least 16,000 trademark applications containing the word “metaverse”. CoinTelegraph

2. The Ukrainian government accepts Polkadot’s DOTs after the Russian army invasion, expanding crypto donations over $30M. Previous cryptocurrency donations include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the stablecoin Tether. Blockchain.News

3. The European parliament has scrapped wording from proposed legislation that would have banned cryptocurrencies that rely on the proof-of-work consensus mechanism, namely Bitcoin. Yahoo.Finance

4. Tokens.com and Decentraland announce that Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana, Elie Saab, Etro, Jacob & Co., and Tommy Hilfiger, amongst others, will join the first-ever Metaverse Fashion Week. Yahoo.News

5. Brazil’s central bank revealed this week that it has picked nine projects to move forward in its quest to develop a central bank digital currency. The Block

For the week ending Feb 25, 2022

1. Crypto exchange FTX US is launching a new gaming business, and the new unit aims to help gaming studios integrate blockchain technology and NFTs into their games. The Block

2. Warner Music Group announced that it had entered into a partnership with fantasy-themed collectible card game developer Splinterlands. CoinTelegraph

3. China’s highest court amended its interpretation of the country’s Criminal Law jail sentences if people raise funds via crypto from the public. The Block

4. The bitcoin price has plunged under $35K, down almost 10% over the last 24 hours after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, while other top ten cryptocurrencies ethereum, BNB, solana, cardano and XRP have suffered similar falls. Forbes

5. The Crypto Council for Innovation, or CCI, has announced that Gemini will be added to its list of crypto-friendly companies aimed at assisting legislators with relevant regulations. CoinTelegraph

For the week ending Feb 18, 2022

1. The NYSE has filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to provide an online marketplace for various digital goods including NFT, cryptocurrencies, digital media and artwork. CoinDesk

2. J.P. Morgan, the largest bank in the U.S., has become the first lender to arrive in the metaverse, having opened a lounge in Decentraland, a virtual world based on blockchain technology. CoinDesk

3. YouTube has kicked off the hiring process for a director of Web3 product management and starts creating metaverse experiences on its video platform. The Block

4. The Ontario Provincial Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police ordered all regulated financial firms to cease facilitating any transactions from 34 crypto wallets tied to funding trucker-led protests in the country. CoinDesk

5. Universal Music Group (UMG) is working with Curio, an NFT platform for entertainment brands, to launch NFT projects from UMG’s record labels. The two companies are working together to launch its first issue in March with Capitol Music Group artist Calum Scott. The Block

For the week ending Feb 11, 2022

1. McDonald’s filed trademark applications for virtual goods, services and even virtual restaurants and cafes, leaning into a growing trend of major corporations preparing for a potential wave of virtual reality marketplaces. Forbes

2. NFT’s in the US real estate sector are heating up as Florida becomes the first state to launch the first NFT backed real-estate auction. CryptoSlate

3. Aave launched the Web3 social media platform, Lens Protocol, on the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain that will empower content creators to “own their digital roots” and call for a more sustainable smart contracts-based social experience. CoinTelegraph

4. Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, is making a $200M strategic investment in Forbes, the 104-year-old magazine and digital publisher. CNBC

5. Samsung’s new phone will have the digital wallet features to support digital payments, asset management, as well as  store ID documentation and keys. Yahoo.Finance

For the week ending Feb 04, 2022

1. The International Olympic Committee is collaborating with game developer nWay to launch Olympic Games Jam: Beijing 2022, a play-to-earn multiplayer game. The Block

2. China announced 15 pilot zones for testing the application of blockchain technology for several service sectors such as manufacturing, energy, government and tax services, law, education, health, and cross border finance. Blockchain.News

3. A new report by Fortune Business Insights indicates that Blockchain market size is expected to reach $104.19M by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 55.8% across the forecast period. CoinTelegraph

4. Thai power producer Gulf Energy Development Pcl expects to finalise a joint venture with the cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, in the second quarter this year. Yahoo.Finance

5. The Sandbox partners with Warner Music Group to create a musical-themed Metaverse. Under the agreement, the companies will be hosting live concerts in the Sandbox Metaverse featuring famous Warner Music artists. CryptoSlate

For the week ending Jan 28, 2022

1. Flushing Financial Corporation, the parent company behind New York-based Flushing Bank has partnered with crypto firm New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) to offer Bitcoin services to its customers. The Block

2. Apple stock jumps after Time Cook reveals its investing in the Metaverse during the company’s Q1 2022 earnings call. CoinTelegraph

3. New York City’s new mayor Eric Adams said that his first paycheck will be converted into Bitcoin and Ethereum via Coinbase Global. Blockchain.News

4. Brussels MP Christophe De Beukelaer will receive his monthly pay of EUR 5,500 in Bitcoin after being automatically converted by Belgian crypto exchange bit4you. Blockchain.News

5. Famous actor Johnny Depp is set to release a collection of non-fungible tokens that feature his friends and heroes in the artwork he personally created. CryptoSlate

For the week ending Jan 21, 2022

1. Binance has teamed up with Gulf Innova company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thailand billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi’s Gulf Energy Development Public Company, to set up a crypto exchange in the country. The Block

2. Authorities in Singapore have stepped up their regulatory oversight of the crypto industry, with new guidelines prohibiting crypto service providers from promoting their services and products to the public. CryptoSlate

3. Twitter announced that it will roll out iOS support for NFT, hexagonal avatars. As of now, only paid subscribers of Twitter Blue using iOS can access the feature. CoinTelegraph

4. Adidas Originals and Prada announce an NFT collaboration that will feature user-generated content and creator-owned art. The Block

5. Meta is reportedly diving into NFTs by integrating a feature that will let users show off their NFTs on their Facebook and Instagram profiles. CoinTelegraph

For the week ending Jan 14, 2022

1. Republic of Palau and Cryptic Labs are offering a digital residency and blockchain-based verified ID, which can be used for KYC and ID verification. CoinTelegraph

2. PayPal Holdings has reportedly confirmed its intent to launch its own stablecoin named PayPal Coin. The development of an in-house stablecoin was first discovered in the source code of Paypal’s iPhone app. CoinTelegraph

3. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that blockchain-based trading platform TZERO violated federal disclosure rules, fining the company $800K and issuing a cease-and-desist as part of a settlement with the firm. CoinDesk

4. Visa has teamed up with blockchain tech provider ConsenSys in order to develop new infrastructure that will support the rollout of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The Block

5. The Chinese state-backed blockchain deployment infrastructure platform Blockchain Services Network (BSN) will offer Chinese companies and individuals the infrastructure to implement NFTs into personal user interfaces in exchange for Chinese yuan. The Block

For the week ending Jan 07, 2022

1. Samsung has partnered with Decentraland to open a virtual version of its flagship 837 physical store in the metaverse. The Block

2. Tencent announced this week that it will begin accepting the Chinese government’s digital yuan payments via its proprietary mobile wallet WeChat Pay. CoinTelegraph

3. Taxpayers in Thailand who profit from cryptocurrencies will be subject to a 15% capital gains tax in 2022. CoinDesk

4. Binance NFT has announced the introduction of the Subscription Mechanism, a new feature that will help Non-fungible Tokens buy into new NFT projects easily and in a fair manner. Blockchain.News

5. Cryptocurrency miners in Kosovo are facing a temporary ban on crypto mining from the government to curb electricity consumption as the country faces a severe energy crisis. Blockchain.News

For the week ending Dec 31, 2021

1. Binance has been granted an in-principle license by the Central Bank of Bahrain to operate as a crypto asset service provider in the Kingdom of Bahrain. CoinTelegraph

2. The UK’s advertising watchdog has banned seven cryptocurrency advertisements of leading crypto companies due to their inability to “illustrate the risk of the investment”. CryptoSlate

3. The trading volume of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) surpassed $13B in the year 2021, while OpenSea facilitated nearly 88% of the total trading volumes. The Block

4. Iran for the second time this year ordered a shutdown of authorized cryptocurrency mining centers as part of efforts to ease the strain on the country’s power plants and avoid blackouts. Yahoo.Finance

5. FTX exchange offers $1M to the first bank in each region who accepts stablecoins to establish cooperative relationships around the world and to facilitate the use of stablecoin for transactions, deposits and withdrawal of funds. Blockchain.News

For the week ending Dec 24, 2021

1. Eight world-famous universities, including UC Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, and Oxford, have founded a new decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that will focus on addressing the “funding crisis and skills gap” in blockchain research and education. CryptoSlate

2. Decentralized payments network Terra, which is behind Ethereum and crossed Binance Smart Chain (BSC) this week, is now the second-largest blockchain for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols in terms of total value locked. Yahoo.Finance

3. Binance officially announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) after the latter had officially announced the launch of a comprehensive zone for crypto in Dubai. CoinTelegraph

4. China’s state-run news agency Xinhua will issue its first series of NFT collectibles, which feature 11 photos taken by journalists during the course of the year. The Block

5. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is sued for allegedly stealing Blockchain startup’s work for a similar platform he was working on. CoinDesk

For the week ending Dec 17, 2021

1. Sportswear manufacturer Nike announced the acquisition of virtual sneakers and collectibles brand RTFKT ​​to join the metaverse bandwagon. CoinTelegraph

2. Adidas is launching its NFT collection named ‘Into the Metaverse’ as the global apparel brand looks to extend its foothold in the NFT space. Blockchain.News

3. Switzerland-based digital banking service provider, SEBA Bank AG has launched tokenized gold services for its customers. Holders of the Ethereum network-based digital token will be able to redeem it for physical gold with any of SEBA’s partner refineries. Blockchain.News

4. Former First Lady Melania Trump launched her own NFT platform on Solana and it is named “Melania’s Vision”. CoinDesk

5. Tokyo-based financial services giant SBI Holdings announced a joint investment in Coinhako, Singapore’s first licensed crypto exchange approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). CoinTelegraph

For the week ending Dec 10, 2021

1. Novi, the crypto wallet owned by social media giant Meta, has launched the ability to send and receive money via WhatsApp. The Block

2. Visa launched the crypto advisory service as part of the consulting and analytics department for its banking clients and merchants . Reuters

3. Gaming giant Ubisoft has launched the beta version of a new platform, which allows users to acquire and use NFTs in-game. The Block

4. Kickstarter is creating a new company to build a crowdfunding platform on the Celo blockchain, which counts Andreessen Horowitz and the CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey among its backers. Blockchain.News

5. Wallet maker Ledger launched the crypto-linked debit card, which will enable customers to pay cryptocurrency to more than 50M retailers and online stores. CoinDesk

For the week ending Dec 03, 2021

1. Hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg’s first NFT collaboration with digital multimedia artist Coldie was minted on SuperRare. Blockchain.News

2. Chinese cybersecurity giant Qihoo 360 said that it has built a system to monitor crypto mining operations that will assist the government’s crackdown on the industry. CoinDesk

3. FTX.US now allows users to buy, sell and display Ethereum NFTs on its previously Solana-only non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. The Block

4. South Korean legislators delayed plans to tax virtual assets until 2023. Yahoo.Finance

5. Crypto finance company Blockchain.com announced that it is going to be launching its own NFT platform, which will be powered by OpenSea. The Block

For the week ending Nov 26, 2021

1. India will ban the use of cryptocurrencies for making payments, but will allow and regulate trading of crypto as assets. CoinDesk

2. A consortium of roughly 70 Japanese companies join forces to launch a new yen-based digital currency in fiscal 2022. CoinTelegraph

3. The European Central Bank (ECB) has released a new framework geared towards overseeing all forms of electronic payments in the region, including those bordering on stablecoins. Blockchain.News

4. Adidas Originals, a brand of the German sportswear clothing firm Adidas, has announced a partnership with the crypto exchange Coinbase. The Block

5. Argentina has revealed a new crypto tax regime that would see all transactions charged a flat 0.6%. CryptoSlate

For the week ending Nov 19, 2021

1. NBA team Houston Rockets announced that it will collaborate with the New York Digital Investment Group to use Bitcoin as a form of payment for the team’s expenses and sponsorships. Blockchain.News

2. Binance Smart Chain sets a record after $14.7M daily transactions in one day, which is more than the blockchains of Bitcoin and Ethereum combined. Cryptoslate

3. Crypto exchange Gemini announced today that it has brought in external capital for the first time, raising $400M at a valuation of $7.1B. The Block

4. Digital currency service providers in Israel are now expected to adhere to the provisions of new Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules enacted by the Israeli Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority (IMPA).  Blockchain.News

5. Digital currency trading platform Huobi Global is shutting its doors to its Singapore-based users in a bid to comply with local regulations in the country. Blockchain.News

For the week ending Nov 12, 2021

1. Miami’s mayor says residents will receive a bitcoin dividend in a MiamiCoin wallet. The Block

2. Australia’s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), announced that it would develop a platform for retail customers to trade cryptocurrencies. Blockchain.News

3. FTX US’ average daily trading volume skyrocketed 512% with an average daily volume of $360M in its third quarter. CoinDesk

4. Huobi Global moves its operational headquarters to Gibraltar, a small British enclave in the Southern part of Spain. Blockchain.News

5. Mastercard has partnered with three digital asset platforms in Asia to issue payment cards that will allow consumers in the region to convert bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies into fiat currencies. Forbes

For the week ending Nov 05, 2021

1. Mayor of Miami Francis Suarez accepts paychecks 100% in Bitcoin, the same is true for the new major in New York. Blockchain.News

2. Spain’s central bank is asking the country’s leading financial institutions to provide information on their crypto-related plans for the next three years. CoinDesk

3. The planned tax on cryptocurrency gains in South Korea could be delayed by the ruling Democratic Party (DP). Yahoo.Finance

4. Kazakhstan president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev demands urgent regulation of crypto mining amid power shortages. Bitcoin.com

5. Enjin floats $100M Efinity Metaverse Fund to boost NFT marketplace. The Block

For the week ending Oct 29, 2021

1. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania will accept payment in various cryptocurrencies via Coinbase, including bitcoin, ether and USDC from program participants. The Block

2. Facebook has changed its company name to Meta to align with its vision for creating a “metaverse” that connects online social experiences and the physical world. CoinTelegraph

3. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is considering creating its own utility token to capitalize on the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies. CoinTelegraph

4. India is interested in encouraging crypto-related regulations and is already in process of formulating a law that will help regulate digital assets. Cryptoslate

5. Mastercard announced its cooperation with the U.S. Institutional Exchange Bakkt to expand integrated cryptocurrency solutions and payment services. Blockchain.news

For the week ending Oct 22, 2021

1. Global cryptocurrency market cap hits $2.6 trillion, returning to all-time high. The Block

2. Facebook is planning to rebrand itself with a new name that focuses on the metaverse. Bloomberg

3. French central bank pilots blockchain-based central bank digital currency for its debt market. CoinTelegraph

4. Senators have called for the immediate closure of Facebook’s new crypto wallet just hours after it was launched in a partnership with Coinbase. CoinTelegraph

5. FTX crypto exchange raises $420M from 69 investors and brings its total valuation to $25 billion. CoinTelegraph

For the week ending Oct 15, 2021

1. Binance to launch a $1B fund to develop the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem. CoinTelegraph

2. Russia doesn’t plan to follow in China’s footsteps by banning crypto outright, says deputy finance minister. CoinTelegraph

3. Visa is launching a non-fungible token (NFT) support program to help artists join the digital art space. CoinDesk

4. Stripe is getting back into Crypto after missing the Bitcoin bounce. Decrypt

5. The US overtakes China as the biggest Bitcoin mining hub after the Beijing ban. Financial Times

For the week ending Oct 08, 2021

1. South Korean financial regulators move forward on crypto taxation and exchange oversight. The Block

2. US won’t Follow China’s Ban on Crypto and ‘Up to Congress’: SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. Blockchain.news

3. MoneyGram launches USDC settlement using the Stellar blockchain. CoinTelegraph

4. Binance.US has promoted its president Brian Shroder to CEO after the sudden exit of Brian Brooks two months ago. The Block

5. White House weighs wide-ranging push for Crypto oversight. Bloomberg

For the week ending Oct 01, 2021

1. The SEC has extended the deadline of four Bitcoin ETFs for 45 days, citing the requirement for additional time to decide whether to accept the 19b-4 applications. CoinTelegraph

2. Fed Chair Powell Says he has ‘no intention’ of banning crypto, but said stablecoins need greater regulatory oversight. CoinDesk

3. Amber Group, (the “Company”), a leading global crypto trading and technology firm, today announced that it has joined the Pyth network. The Block

4. Société Générale applies for a $20M MakerDAO loan using bond token collateral. CoinDesk

5. Facebook sets up a $50M investment fund for the development of Metaverse. Blockchain.News

For the week ending Sep 24, 2021

1. Biden to nominate anti-crypto and anti-big bank law professors to run the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). CoinTelegraph

2. Splinterlands is now the #1 Dapp ahead of pancakeSwap according to leading rankings website DappRadar. Dappradar

3. Crypto exchange Huobi Global announced that it would stop serving existing China-based users by the end of this year, sending its token (HT) to eight-month lows. CoinDesk

4. The Chinese Central Bank-People’s Bank of China (PBOC) stated that all cryptocurrency-related transactions are illegal. Blockchain.News

5. Crypto Exchange FTX relocates its HQ to the Bahamas from Hong Kong. Blockchain.News

For the week ending Sep 17, 2021

1. El Salvador ranks third in global Bitcoin ATM installations, data finds. The Salvadoran government installed over 200 ATMs in September after adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender. CoinTelegraph

2. Cardano launches smart contracts after a successful hard fork, which resulted in a price drop of ADA by 10% following the rollout. CoinTelegraph

3. Crypto lender Celsius hit with 2 securities actions in 1 day. Shortly after Texas securities regulators issued crypto lender Celsius with an order to appear in court on Friday, New Jersey is piling on by filing a cease-and-desist order. Coindesk

4. The rogue developer that drained 864.8 ETH from a MISO auction returned the funds to the original token contract after being exposed by Sushi’s founders. Cryptoslate

5. The Korean Finance Minister vows crypto taxes starting 2022. The country’s ruling party is fighting a battle with the Ministry of Finance over the implementation of a new crypto tax law. Cryptoslate

For the week ending Sep 10, 2021

1. The Switzerland financial authority has today given the green-light for the launch of a digital asset marketplace utilising DLT on the exchange SIX. CoinTelegraph

2. A market-wide correction led to a sharp decline in NFT sales as decreased demand for digital collectibles led to a drop in the floor price of most major projects and the rise of gas prices. CoinTelegraph

3. South Korea’s Registration Deadline for Crypto Exchanges Could Erase $2.6B in Assets. The shutdown of two-thirds of the country’s smaller exchanges could also eliminate 42 so-called kimchi coins. CoinDesk

4. Cardano Gains Smart Contract Capability Following ‘Alonzo’ Hard Fork. CoinDesk

5. The Ukrainian Parliament has passed a bill draft in the second reading Wednesday concerning legalising and regulating cryptocurrency and other virtual assets, such as tokens. Blockchain.News

For the week ending Sep 03, 2021

1. Nigeria’s central bank partners with fintech firm Bitt Inc. for CBDC rollout. CoinTelegraph

2. CryptoPunks creators sign with leading Hollywood agents as sales top $305M in a week. CoinTelegraph

3. Twitter to allow users to add BTC and ETH addresses to profiles, per leaked screenshots. cryptos.dev

4. SEC Investigating Uniswap Labs: Report: The regulator is seeking information about how investors use the decentralized exchange and how it is marketed. Coindesk

5. Ethereum Layer-2 Offchain Labs Raises $120M Led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Blockchain.News

For the week ending Aug 27, 2021

1. Visa spent $150K on a tokenized JPEG of a pixel art punk, better known as a CryptoPunk NFT. The firm announced that they may be looking at a prolonged stay in the sector. CoinTelegraph

2. Global payments provider PayPal announced the rollout of its crypto services for customers in the United Kingdom. CoinTelegraph

3. Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, tweeted on Friday that TBD, payment giant Square’s new division focused on creating an open developer platform, is planning to build a decentralized bitcoin exchange. CoinDesk

4. Morgan Stanley Buys Up To $40 Million Worth of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Shares. BlockchainNews

5. According to a press statement released by South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC), over 20 crypto exchanges operating within the Asian country could cease operation as the September 24 deadline for crypto regulation draws near. Cryptoslate

For the week ending Aug 20, 2021

1. Thailand’s central bank outlines three key considerations for making sure a retail central bank digital currency does not adversely impact financial stability. CoinTelegraph

2. The Shenzhen branch of the People’s Bank of China has launched a special “rectification” program against illegal crypto-related activities, beginning with a crackdown on 11 emerging companies. CoinTelegraph

3. South Korean regulators implement stricter administrative measures to regulate the crypto industry by requiring retail investors to have real name identification on all registered bank accounts. BlockchainNews

4. Two members of the United States House of Representatives have petitioned the heads of the US SEC and CFTC to work with participants in the crypto space for transparency and regulatory clarity. CoinTelegraph

5. Binance (BNB) makes KYC mandatory for every service on its platform as the company seeks to become more regulatory compliant. Cryptoslate

For the week ending Aug 13, 2021

1. Argentina President Alberto Fernandez has indicated support for digital assets, asserting there is no reason to push back against the emerging asset class despite the central bank’s opposition to the idea for concerns of economic stability. CoinTelegraph

2. Singapore-based DBS Bank has officially received approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide cryptocurrency payment services. BlockchainNews

3. Regional authorities in Venezuela have suspended power supply to Bitcoin miners, shutting down all registered operations in the industrial state despite previously legalizing crypto mining. Cryptoslate

4. Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has shut down several crypto exchanges reportedly involved in illegal financial transactions since the start of 2021. The measure comes as Ukraine’s parliament considers a new bill to legalize crypto payments in the country. CoinTelegraph

5. US lawmakers behind crypto amendments to infrastructure bill introduce a compromise to change the definition of brokers, as defined in the bill, to exempt crypto miners, node validators and software developers. CoinTelegraph

For the week ending Aug 06, 2021

1. SEC Chair Gary Gensler wants to put regulatory “speed limits and traffic lights” in place to protect crypto users & help the industry grow. Cryptoslate

2. Crypto exchange Binance will no longer offer crypto derivatives trading to users in Hong Kong a week after it shut down derivatives trading offerings in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. TheBlockCrypto

3. The ruling People’s Party (PP) in Spain seeks to promote the use of crypto and other transformative technologies to modernize banking infrastructure and encourage companies to adopt transformative technologies in their day-to-day operations. Cryptoslate

4. Independent Reserve, an Australian crypto exchange founded in 2013, has become the first cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore to receive an “in-principle approval” to operate as a fully regulated virtual asset service provider. CoinTelegraph

5. A draft bill submitted by a lawmaker in Uruguay seeks to allow businesses to accept digital assets as a means of payment. South American nations continue to lead in digital asset acceptance. Cryptoslate

For the week ending July 30, 2021

1. The Central Bank of Nigeria will start the pilot of its central bank digital currency, which runs on the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain, on Oct. 1 citing superiority and lowered risk when compared to decentralized cryptocurrencies. Coindesk

2. South Korean legislators propose to revise tax codes so that tax authorities would be able to confiscate tax evaders’ crypto assets directly from their digital wallets as the country examines ways to expand its tax base. CoinTelegraph

3. Splinterlands, a NFT-based trading card game built on the blockchain, raised $3.6m and their token is trading over a $1b fully diluted market cap. The game is now ranked as #3 on DappRadar top NFT games and surpassed Axie infinity and Upland. CoinTelegraph

4. The European Investment Fund invests $30M in a new blockchain and digital assets fund, highlighting the sector’s “strategic importance” for the European Union. CoinTelegraph

5. The Securities Commission of Malaysia has ordered Binance to disable its website and mobile apps in the country within 14 business days from July 26 joining a list of global regulators who have taken action against the company. TheBlockCrypto

For the week ending July 23, 2021

1. The DOJ launches a tether probe and USDT maintains dollar peg. Coindesk

2. EU officials unveil draft legislation for applying FATF’s ‘travel rule’ to crypto transactions as part of a broader overhaul of KYC/AML rules. TheBlockCrypto

3. Blockchain Australia recommends implementing immediate safe harbor provisions for crypto providers, greater regulatory guidance, and proper engagement in the short-term for greater regulatory clarity. Coindesk

4. EU policymakers have proposed changes to EU rules to compel firms that transfer Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to collect details of the sender and the recipient. BlockchainNews

5. Paraguay’s “Bitcoin Law” is formally proposed before the National Congress of Paraguay to establish a regulatory framework on cryptocurrencies. Cryptoslate

For the week ending July 16, 2021

1. Visa is moving forward with its commitment to digital currency adoption by approving the issuance of a new Bitcoin (BTC) debit card in Australia allowing users to spend via Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), XRP and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). CoinTelegraph

2. Crypto exchange Binance announced Friday that it is ceasing trading of its stock tokens that allow fractional ownership of publicly traded companies amid rising scrutiny from Hong Kong and Germany. TheBlockCrypto

3. Former NYSE President joins EOS-backed crypto exchange Bullish as its CEO following SPAC deal worth $9B to go public. Bullish aims to win over clients with a blended market structure that borrows from the DeFi world and centralized exchange space. TheBlockCrypto

4. Chinese central bank publishes its first e-CNY whitepaper, confirming digital currency will come with smart programmability for improved transaction security and compliance. TheBlockCrypto

5. France and Singapore actively explore cross-border applications of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) with support and expertise from JPMorgan’s digital currency-focused Onyx division. CoinTelegraph

For the week ending July 09, 2021

1. Digital currency company Circle announced that it plans to go public via SPAC at a projected $4.5B valuation by the end of this year. CNBC 

2. China extends its crackdown over virtual currencies instilling ban on The China Blockchain Application Research Center. CoinTelegraph

3. India appears poised to emerge as a global contender for blockchain innovation after the government overturns digital asset ban and local DeFi enterprise adoption gains pace. Cryptoslate

4. Crypto receives rare acknowledgement as a benchmark to broader market conditions by the Federal Reserve with the claim that the recent surge depicts investors’ increased risk appetite. Coindesk

5. Crypto/Blockchain venture funding sees 90% increase quarter-over-quarter with a bulk of deals comprising early stage and seed investment rounds. TheBlockCrypto

For the week ending July 02, 2021

1. China has extended the testing of its CBDC to its railway system. Users who have downloaded the digital yuan mobile app via the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) are now able to pay across all subways lines in Beijing. TheBlockCrypto

2. In a deal between enterprise payment giant NCR and Bitcoin financial services firm NYDIG, 650 U.S. banks will be able to offer their 24M clients cryptocurrency trading and bitcoin purchases. Forbes

3. For the first time ever, the overall activity of wallets on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain has exceeded that of Bitcoin (BTC) address activity. Cryptoslate

4. The Central Bank of Russia has named over 10 banks that will be involved in testing the digital ruble, including Sberbank, VTB, Alfa Bank, Gazprombank, and Tinkoff. Russia is eyeing December for a CBDC prototype and 2022 to commence pilots. Coindesk

5. According to an SEC filing, Morgan Stanley has acquired 28,289 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust through its Europe Opportunity Fund. Coindesk

For the week ending June 25, 2021

1. Goldman Sachs has begun trading on the blockchain network created by JP Morgan for repurchase agreements that utilize smart contracts and a digitized version of the U.S. dollar. Bloomberg

2. The Blockchain Innovation Act and parts of the Digital Taxonomy Act were passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and are moving on to the Senate. The acts call for the FTC and Secretary of Commerce to study and report on the use of blockchain and digital tokens. Coindesk

3. Iron Finance’s Titanium token collapsed to essentially $0 overnight. The project was attempting to boot a partially collateralized stablecoin known as IRON. The total value has since dropped from over $2B to around $356.5M. Coindesk

4. Andreessen Horowitz announced the creation of the largest crypto venture fund called “Crypto Fund III.” The $2.2B fund will be co-led by Chris Dixon and Katie Haun. TheBlockCrypto

5. Visa has acquired Tink for €1.8B. Tink is a European open banking platform that allows financial firms and organizations to build financial management tools, services and products based on their API. Businesswire

For the week ending June 18, 2021

1. Goldman Sachs to expand crypto trading services with plans to offer futures and options on Ethereum. TheBlockCrypto

2. Spain’s BBVA opens bitcoin trading and custody services for private banking clients in Switzerland interested in digital asset investment starting June 21. Reuters

3. 6 large insurers including MassMutual acquired shares of cryptocurrency investment products offered by Grayscale Investments to gain exposure to cryptocurrency. S&P Global

4. China has begun testing a pilot of the digital yuan to be used for builders’ wages in Xiong’an. The People’s Bank of China has been leading trials with the digital currency in conjunction with commercial banks and payment providers. Coindesk

5. South Korean regulators have tightened restrictions on the cryptocurrency industry by halting or issuing warnings to 11 of 20 crypto exchanges on the market. Additionally, all crypto exchanges must register with the country’s regulators by September 24th. Coindesk

For the week ending June 11, 2021

1. U.S. investigators have seized over $2.3M in bitcoins from the hacking group DarkSide, who was responsible for the Colonial Pipeline shutdown. The investigators successfully tracked the payments to a Russian-based wallet used by the hackers. CNN

2. Square has partnered with Blockstream, the technology firm responsible for the Liquid Network by launching a U.S. based mining farm site. The duo will create a public-facing dashboard to serve as an open case-study on renewable energy and bitcoin mining.  Decrypt

3. Solana Labs’ recent funding round, led by Polychain Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, saw $314M raised for the tech company in a token sale that initiates plans to build an expansive DeFi ecosystem on top of the Solana blockchain.  Decrypt

4. The Qinghai province of China has announced a ban on crypto mining operations, following the heels of previous crackdowns in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. Coindesk

5. The El Salvadorian legislature voted to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, making the central american nation the first in the world to officially use cryptocurrency. Companies must now accept Bitcoin as a form of payment and people may be allowed to pay their taxes with Bitcoin. Coindesk

For the week ending June 04, 2021

1. Google’s new policy no longer bans cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets from using its ad services if they are registered with FinCEN as a Money Services Business or if they are a ‘chartered’ bank entity. The policy won’t apply to the majority of crypto institutions. Cointelegraph

2. eToro is expected to go public on the Nasdaq in Q3 through a SPAC. The trading platform added 3.1M users, up 200% from the same period last year, according to their Q1 report. Coindesk

3. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the U.K. has extended the deadline for crypto exchanges to continue trading until March 31st, 2022, after struggling to deal with hundreds of applications. To date only five crypto firms have been registered in the U.K., yet there are 167 registration cases pending.  TheBlockCrypto

4. FTX has added a new marketplace for NFTs that runs on both the Ethereum and Solana networks. Users can buy and sell NFTs and will soon be able to withdraw their NFTs to their personal wallets. Decrypt

5. More than 300 companies including Alibaba and Alphabet have applied to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for crypto licenses. The companies must apply under the Payment Services Act, a regulatory framework for companies handling activities relating to digital assets. Coindesk 

For the week ending May 27, 2021

1. The worldwide total supply of dollar-pegged stablecoins has reached $100B. The majority of that growth has been driven by the two largest stablecoins: Tether’s USDT and the Centre consortium’s USD Coin (USDC). TheBlockCrypto

2. Iran has temporarily banned crypto-mining until September 22nd. The government has blamed significant power black outs on illegal crypto mining due to surging electricity demand. TheBlockCrypto

3. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has urged citizens to accurately report crypto profits and is anticipating filings from a pool of 600K Aussies. The ATO is already aware of who is invested in cryptocurrency due to cooperation from exchanges and banking institutions. Cointelegraph

4. Paypal has finally made the decision to allow its customers the ability to withdraw their cryptocurrencies to third party assets. Paypal’s blockchain lead announced that a withdrawal function is in the works. Coindesk

5. Weekly search volume on Google for the term of “cryptocurrency” has reached record highs in both the U.S. and worldwide. Possible explanations include Ethereum’s bull run and Elon Musk’s SNL episode. TheBlockCrypto

For the week ending May 21, 2021

1. The U.S. Treasury has released a report that outlines tax compliance procedures with the goal of closing the tax gap, including a requirement that crypto exchanges must report gross receipts and purchases, as well as the creation of a new reporting regime that will cover cryptocurrency exchanges and custodians. TheBlockCrypto

2. Crypto exchanges FTX and BitMEX have committed to becoming carbon neutral through donations. Based on FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s calculations on carbon emitted due to proof-of-work mining, both exchanges will donate 0.26% of blockchain fees paid by its clients. TheBlockCrypto

3. The U.S. Federal Reserve plans to publish a discussion paper this summer that will have a “focus on the possibility of issuing a U.S. central bank digital currency” and will explore its benefits and risks. U.S. Federal Reserve

4. After months of speculation, Hong Kong regulators have proceeded to ban crypto retail trading. They have called for a comprehensive licensing regime for crypto exchanges while restricting trading only to qualified investors with portfolios worth 8 million Hong Kong dollars. Cointelegraph

5. FOX will launch an NFT marketplace for selling digital items, such as characters, backgrounds, and GIFs for a new comedy series ‘Krapopolis.’ CEO Charlie Collier suggested that NFTs would benefit FOX and brands they work with to connect directly with fans and enthusiasts. Crypto Briefing

For the week ending May 17, 2021

1. Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin. Elon Musk Says Tesla Has Suspended Accepting Bitcoin for Vehicle Purchases. Tesla chief says bitcoin will be used for transactions ‘as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy. WSJ

2. A mid-year report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis published last year shows that thus far in 2021, addresses tied to ransomware attacks have hauled in as much as $81M. $406M in crypto payments were made to ransomware addresses in 2020, the highest figure on record.TheBlockCrypto

3. Crypto research and venture firm Delphi Digital has launched an “on-chain” fund to invest in non-fungible token (NFT) projects. The fund, dubbed Delphi InfiNFT, is based on the decentralized investing protocol Syndicate. TheBlockCrypto

4. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has burned nearly half of the supply of the popular Dogecoin (DOGE) clone Shiba Inu (SHIB). The Ethereum co-founder said he had decided to burn the remaining 90% of Shiba tokens in his wallet and allocate the remaining 10% to charitable causes. Cointelegraph

5. Software giant Microsoft said this week that it will close down its long-running blockchain-as-a-service offering in September.Yet Azure customers will have new options on the blockchain front in the form of ConsenSy’s Quorum offering. ConsenSys announced the same day that it was working with Microsoft to bring Quorum, which it acquired from JPMorgan last year, to the Azure customer base. TheBlockCrypto

For the week ending May 07, 2021

1. Coinbase has announced the acquisition of cryptocurrency market analytics firm skew, with hopes of adding features for institutional traders. Skew will be integrated with Coinbase Prime, allowing the crypto exchange to provide real-time data analytics to its institutional clients. BitcoinMagazine 

2. Nuvei Corporation, a Canada-listed payment processing company with a market capitalization of nearly $10 billion, has agreed to acquire crypto firm Simplex for $250 million. Announcing the news on Thursday, Nuvei said the deal is all in cash and is expected to close in the second half of this year. Simplex is an Israel-based crypto payment processor, providing on-ramp and off-ramp services to crypto exchanges and firms, including Binance and Huobi. TheBlockCrypto

3. Crypto exchanges with a presence in Turkey must now inform the Financial Crimes Investigation Board, or MASAK, about any crypto transactions over 10,000 Turkish liras ($1,200). Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance Lütfi Elvan announced the new policy on a CNN Turk two weeks after a $150-million fraud involving a major crypto exchange in Turkey. Cointelegraph

4. A new report suggests that Goldman Sachs is offering investors access to crypto through non-deliverable forwards. According to Bloomberg Law, last month Goldman Sachs began offering trading with non-deliverable forwards, a derivative tied to the price of Bitcoin (BTC) for which investors can be paid in fiat. Cointelegraph

5. James Rogozinski, founder of Reddit group WallStreetBets responsible for the Gamestop Incident earlier this year, is planning to release an app that will help tackle “market manipulation” in traditional finance. The app will feature exchange-traded portfolios decided by community consensus to “fight back against corrupt institutions and to end dependence on them altogether.” Coindesk 

For the week ending April 30, 2021

1. The European investment bank issued a 100 Million euro digital bond earlier this week as a trial of a European central bank-issued digital currency, or CBDC. An April 28 announcement from France’s central bank, Banque de France, revealed the digital bond was settled using a CBDC on a blockchain. Cointelegraph

2. South Korea’s finance minister said that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin will be taxed as “intangible assets.” Finance minister Hong Nam-ki confirmed that the government will begin taxing capital gains from crypto trading starting next year. Cointelegraph

3. NYSE owner, Intercontinental Exchange sold Coinbase stake for $1.2 Billion, with a profit of $900 Million. The trade resulted in a net profit of about $900 Million for Intercontinental Exchange, the company’s CFO Scott Hill said in an earnings call. TheBlockCrypto

4. Banking giants JPMorgan and DBS, along with Singapore state investor Temasek, have formed a new blockchain company to improve cross-border payments. Dubbed Partior, the company aims to resolve pain points or frictions of payments, trade, and foreign exchange settlement through blockchain technology. TheBlockCrypto

5. Tesla sold $272 Million worth of Bitcoin in Q1 2021, 10% of its Bitcoin holdings. The sale contributed to a record quarterly net income for the company of $438 million. Blockchain.news

For the week ending April 23, 2021

1. Three Ether ETFs begin trading on Toronto Stock Exchange. The ETFs are by Canada-based asset managers: Purpose Investments, CI Global Asset Management, and Evolve Funds Group.The Block Crypto

2. Baillie Gifford backs crypto with $100 million in Blockchain.com. Baillie Gifford & Co., known for early bets on technology stocks like Tesla Inc., has invested $100 million in one of the U.K.’s biggest cryptocurrency start-ups. Bloomberg

3. WeWork to accept crypto payments and hold them on its balance sheet. WeWork’s crypto balance sheet will come from the company adopting cryptocurrencies as a payment method. Cointelegraph

4. Paxos becomes third federally regulated crypto ‘bank’ as it earned a provisional trust charter through the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. It joins Anchorage and Protego in becoming one of the only national trusts that were born in the crypto ecosystem. Coindesk

5. Morgan Stanley bitcoin fund draws $29.4M in 2 weeks, filings show making it one of the largest funds of its kind by investor count. In just 14 days, Morgan Stanley’s FS/NYDIG fund has become one of the most popular private bitcoin vehicles. Coindesk

For the week ending April 16, 2021

1. Binance destroyed $595 million worth of BNB tokens in its largest-ever burn. This 15th quarterly BNB burn is the highest one ever carried out by the exchange in dollar terms. This is because the price of BNB jumped more than 16 times during the quarter, from around $35 to around $600. TheBlockCrypto

2. Coinbase fetched an $85 Billion valuation in its market debut. Shares of Coinbase, the first major bitcoin-focused company to test the U.S. public market, opened at $381 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The Wall Street Journal

3. Grab plans to go public in the US following a $40 billion SPAC deal. According to Crunchbase, the company has raised more than $10 billion, including from SoftBank’s Vision Fund. Techcrunch

4. HSBC has confirmed banning customers from buying MicroStrategy shares due to bitcoin concerns. “HSBC has no appetite for direct exposure to virtual currencies [VCs] and limited appetite to facilitate products or securities that derive their value from VCs,” an HSBC spokesperson told The Block. TheBlockCrypto

5. Turkey to ban cryptocurrency payments. According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, the ban will come into effect on April 30, rendering any crypto payments solutions and partnerships illegal. Cointelegraph

For the week ending April 09, 2021

1. HSBC has reportedly blacklisted MicroStrategy’s stock for investing in Bitcoin. The investment banking giant now reportedly classifies MicroStrategy as a “virtual currency product.” Cointelegraph

2. A state-owned Moroccan fertilizer company has executed a $400-million transaction using blockchain technology, in what it says is a first for intra-African commerce. In a deal facilitated by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, OCP Group sold phosphate fertilizer exports to Ethiopia, using blockchain technology. Cointelegraph

3. Ripple has won access to SEC internal documents on Bitcoin, Ether, and other cryptocurrencies. This means that the SEC will have to share internal and external documents related to the agency’s stance on cryptocurrencies. Blockchain.news

4. Russian central bank officials indicated that a digital ruble will launch in 2023. Deputy governor Alexei Zabotkin and first deputy governor Olga Skorobogatova disclosed how, based on the current timeline, a full launch could take place in 2023. TheBlockCrypto

5. UNICEF received bitcoin donation worth nearly $400K from Huobi Charity. Huobi Charity told The Block that it donated 7 BTC to UNICEF “in the second half of Q1 2021” when 1 BTC was priced at around $50,000. At current prices, the 7 BTC is worth about $405,000. TheBlockCrypto

For the week ending April 02, 2021

1. Visa Inc will allow the use of the cryptocurrency USD Coin to settle transactions on its payment network. Visa has launched the pilot program with payment and crypto platform Crypto.com and plans to offer the option to more partners later this year. Reuters

2. The first B2B transaction using China’s digital currency took place between two companies in Dalian, a city in northeast Liaoning province. Two local companies completed a transaction for fuel using a settlement platform for B2B transactions using the e-CNY. Technode

3. DBS Bank worked with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and China Central Depository and Clearing to issue RMB 2 billion ($304 million) of tier-two capital bonds using a consortium blockchain. China Banking News

4. Morgan Stanley adds Bitcoin exposure to 12 investment funds as they updated the prospectus of several institutional funds to reflect potential exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) through Grayscale and cash-settled futures, highlighting once again the rapid uptake of digital assets by major investment firms. Cointelegraph

5. Coinbase Global sets direct listing for April 14 to go public. In 2020, it brought in $1.3 billion in revenue and turned a profit of $322 million. Wall Street Journal

For the week ending March 26, 2021

1. Australian government offers $6M in grants to innovative blockchain teams opening applications for grants up to $3 million each in funding to blockchain projects targeting supply chain tracking in the minerals industry and tax tracking in the food and beverage sector. Cointelegraph

2. India’s government orders companies to disclose crypto holdings. While the legal status of cryptocurrencies remains undecided in India, companies in the country involved in virtual assets must now report their activities as part of their financial statements. Cointelegraph

3. Ripple Appeals to Court to Obtain Bitcoin and Ethereum Documents, Arguing Their Relevance to XRP. Although the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has refused to hand over documents pertaining to Bitcoin and Ethereum, Ripple has been undeterred in its quest to gain access to them. Blockchain.news

4. Crypto wallet and exchange company Blockchain.com raises $300 million at $5.2 billion valuation. This time partners of DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners and VY Capital are leading the round. Existing investors also participated. Techcrunch

5. China Proposes Global Rules for Monitoring CBDCs. Speaking at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) seminar on Thursday, Mu Changchun laid out the proposals, explaining that CBDC fund flows should be “synchronized” to help regulators “monitor the transactions for compliance,” according to a Reuters report. Coindesk

For the week ending March 19, 2021

1. Putin issued orders to combat ‘illegal cross-border transfers’ of digital assets. Speaking at a board meeting of the General Prosecutor’s office Wednesday, Putin stated that “criminal elements have been increasingly deploying digital financial assets,” which needs special attention from the government. Cointelegraph

2. Andreessen Horowitz led $23M round for NFT marketplace OpenSea. The firm is leading a $23 million Series A round for OpenSea alongside a16z’s Cultural Leadership Fund, as well as angel investors Ron Conway, Mark Cuban, Tim Ferriss, Belinda Johnson, Naval Ravikant, Ben Silberman, and others. Cointelegraph

3. Signal Messaging App Now Accepts Bitcoin and Ether Donations. Signal is run by the Signal Technology Foundation, which is a non-profit organization behind the secure messaging app. Blockchain.news

4. Federal Reserve’s Powell Said CBDCs ‘Need to Coexist With Cash’. Speaking at a virtual payments conference hosted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Powell cited a report on CBDCs from the Bank for International Settlements and a group of seven central banks, including the Fed. Coindesk

5. Over 100 New Bitcoin ATMs Going Live Across 24 US States. Atlanta-based Bitcoin Depot is launching more than 100 new bitcoin ATMs in the U.S. Users can buy bitcoin, litecoin and ethereum via the firm’s kiosks. Yahoo News

For the week ending March 12, 2021

1. Fighting fake Covid-19 vaccines with blockchain- A blockchain-based system developed by Singapore-based Zuellig Pharma can help governments and healthcare providers weed out fake vaccines and manage vaccine distribution and administration. Computerweekly

2. New Zealand firm launches stablecoin backed by NZD. “Techemynt felt it was an ideal time to fill the gap in the market and lead the creation of a NZD-based stablecoin,” said Fran Strajnar. Cointelegraph

3. JPMorgan launching ‘crypto exposure basket’ featuring MicroStrategy and Square The financial services giant has filed paperwork with the SEC to launch a debt instrument linked to 11 crypto-focused firms. Cointelegraph

4. Jamaica to Launch Central Bank Digital Currency in 2022. Jamaica’s Minister of Finance Nigel Clarke has announced that the country intends to launch its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2022. Blockchain.news

5. Weibo Suspends Huobi, Binance, OKEx Accounts After Bitcoin Surge. Weibo said these accounts had violated laws and community rules. Coindesk

For the week ending March 05, 2021

1. Bitfury’s US Bitcoin mining subsidiary to go public via $2B SPAC merger. Cipher Mining Technologies Inc. a subsidiary of Bitfury has inked a $2 billion merger deal with Nasdaq-listed Good Works Acquisition Corp. Cointelegraph

2. U.S.-based crypto advocacy group, the Blockchain Association, is lobbying key figures in the Biden administration to advocate for more favorable regulations. The Association’s executive director, Kristin Smith, told Fox Business the group has already met with or is in the process of scheduling meetings with high-ranking Whitehouse officials including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Cointelegraph

3. Dogecoin Accepted as Payment by NBA’s Dallas Mavericks as Owner Mark Cuban Invests in NFT Platform. The NBA team and BitPay – one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency payment services – will partner up to enable Dogecoin payments by fans. Blockchain.news

4. Latest Ethereum DeFi exploit sees $14 million stolen from ‘Furucombo’. DeFi exploits and attacks have become increasingly commonplace as the space evolves and attracts both money and participants. Cryptoslate

5. Crypto ATMs ‘increasingly’ used to launder money, according to DEA report. Drug traffickers increasingly relied on cryptocurrency-based transactions and technology in 2020 — due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Strategic Intelligence Section. TheBlockCrypto

For the week ending February 26, 2021

1. Multinational retail giant Carrefour plans to use IBM’s food tracking blockchain tech to track two major food categories from farm to store as part of a growing reorganization of global supply lines. Cointelegraph

2. Reports have surfaced with claims that the Central Bank of Kenya has announced a switch to Bitcoin. Kenya’s Central Bank Governor, Patrick Njoroge appears to have noted that the systemic fiscal and monetary challenges had made it hard for Kenya to develop. Techpoint Africa

3. Crypto firms Bitfinex and Tether have settled with the New York Attorney General’s (NYAG’s) office, ending a legal dispute that began in mid-2019. As part of the settlement, Bitfinex and Tether have agreed to pay $18.5 million in penalties to the state of New York, according to a statement from New York Attorney General Letitia James. The Block Crypto

4. MicroStrategy has announced that it has just invested another $1 billion in Bitcoin, purchasing the digital asset as it was trading around $52,765. With its recent addition of approximately 19,452 Bitcoins, MicroStrategy’s total Bitcoin reserve now stands at 90,531. Blockchain.news

5. Two Nigerian regulatory bodies, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), have agreed to conduct research to regulate and govern the sector’s booming Bitcoin and crypto market. Nigeria is one of the world’s biggest Bitcoin markets. Cryptoslate

For the week ending February 19, 2021

1. Austrian regulators are calling for stricter crypto laws amid a spate of elaborate investment scams involving cryptocurrency and digital assets as Austria’s Financial Market Authority has revealed that more than 60% of all reported financial fraud in the country involve crypto trading products. Cointelegraph

2. Bitcoin (BTC) hit yet another all-time high on Feb. 19 as the largest cryptocurrency set its sights on becoming a trillion-dollar asset. Data from Cointelegraph Markets and Tradingview showed BTC/USD reaching $52,932 on Bitstamp at the time of writing after rising % in an hour. Cointelegraph

3. Robinhood to Roll Out New Features for Dogecoin and Other Cryptocurrencies as GameStop Hearing Looms. Currently, although certain cryptocurrencies could be traded on the platform, customers are unable to access the funds or transfer them to other digital wallets. Blockchain.news

4. Kia Motors America has reportedly fallen victim to a ransomware attack demanding more than $20 million worth of bitcoin. This amount demanded would rise to 600 bitcoins (over $30 million) if not paid within 10 days according to Bleeping Computer. Coindesk

5. Libra Co-Creator’s VC Firm Co-Leads $12M Round in ‘Decentralized GitHub’. “Web 3 developers should be building on open protocols,” NFX General Partner Morgan Beller said of Radicle, a platform for crypto-native code collaboration. Coindesk

For the week ending February 12, 2021

1. India’s crypto ban is coming, HODLers to be given transition period according to Bloomberg. An anonymous Indian official has claimed the country’s parliament will soon introduce a blanket bank on crypto assets, and give HODLers three-to-six months to liquidate. Cointelegraph

2. Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z to set up 500 BTC blind Bitcoin trust in India, Africa. Just hours after an anonymous source claimed India would issue a blanket ban on all cryptocurrencies, Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z announced a 500 Bitcoin development trust. Cointelegraph

3. Tesla invests $1.5 billion into Bitcoin and plans to add support for BTC as a form of payment in the near future, according to its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published today. Cryptoslate 

4. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sees the “promise” of cryptocurrency but also is wary of the reality that crypto is increasingly being leveraged to finance terrorism and launder funds. Blockchain.news

5. Iowa Introduces Bill to Level Playing Field for Blockchain and Smart Contracts. The bill was introduced to bring blockchain tech on par with traditional contracts and recordkeeping. Coindesk

For the week ending January 29, 2021

1. Popular social media network Reddit, which counts over 1.7 billion monthly visits, is deepening its ties with the Ethereum Foundation in what it has formalized as its first-ever blockchain partnership. Cointelegraph

2. The majority of cryptocurrency users reportedly prefer to hold their crypto as part of a long-term investment strategy, according to a new survey by Binance Research. Cointelegraph

3. Elon Musk-Prompted Bitcoin Price Surge Causes Liquidation of $387M in Shorts. The shorts were liquidated after Elon Musk added “Bitcoin” to his Twitter bio and prices rose by over 15%. CoinDesk

4. US Congress Plans Hearings on GameStop Market Pumps. While Congress is planning multiple hearings, it’s less clear what financial regulators might do. CoinDesk

5. US Department of Justice Works with International Agencies to Crack Down NetWalker- a major ransomware operator that targets hospitals across the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Blockchain.news

6. World Economic Forum to host cryptocurrency discussions at Davos this week. This week will see two cryptocurrency events take place between officials of the World Economic Forum, the international commerce think tank, as part of the high-profile Davos meeting. Cryptoslate

For the week ending January 22, 2021

1. Russian court order removes Binance website from regulator’s blacklist. The Binance website has been formally blacklisted in Russia since at least September 2020, but the restriction has not impacted Binance Russia trading. Cointelegraph

2. Crypto activity in Asia is equivalent to that in the U.S. and Europe combined as Asia accounts for almost half of global crypto trading according to a Messari report. Cointelegraph

3. President Biden Freezes Mnuchin’s Controversial Proposed Regulation on Unhosted Crypto Wallets. The Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN)’s controversial regulation proposal on “unhosted” crypto wallets has been effectively frozen by President Joe Biden. Blockchain.news

4. New York’s investigation into the Tether cryptocurrency and its parent company has suffered a fresh delay, leaving investors uncertain over the outlook for one of the industry’s most closely watched cases. Financial Times

5. BitMEX Research has identified a suspected double-spend transaction valued at 0.00062063 BTC or roughly $21 — and it doesn’t appear to be an instance of that popular replace-by-fee wallet hack. Cointelegraph

For the week ending January 15, 2021

1. A new bitcoin ETF application filed in Canada. The ETF is to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker “BIT.U.” CoinDesk

2. US Navy awards $1.5M jet fighter contract to blockchain project. The project will be responsible for developing a blockchain-based solution to enable demand sensing for critical military weaponry parts. Cointelegraph

3. Kenyan crypto firms on notice as digital tax law takes effect. Based on the provisions of the new tax regime, e-market transactions including cryptocurrency payments now attract a 1.5% levy. Cointelegraph

4. As Ripple faces serious legal charges over its associated token XRP, GateHub, a United Kingdom-based cryptocurrency gateway service, has decided to continue listing XRP.  Cointelegraph

5. Paypal’s new crypto exchange traded north of $242 million in a single day on Monday, data from itBit, the firm’s exchange partner, showed. Cryptoslate

For the week ending December 25, 2020

1. Exmo hackers withdraw part of stolen funds via Poloniex, exchange confirms. About $4 million of crypto stolen in Exmo hack was allegedly withdrawn through Poloniex, the exchange said it froze several accounts. Cointelegraph

2. Hong Kong crypto group warns new law will restrict people’s access to Bitcoin. Crypto proponents in Hong Kong say incoming cryptocurrency regulations could preclude citizens from using Bitcoin ATMs. Cointelegraph

3. BitGo assets hit $16 billion as institutional adoption grows. BitGo, whose investors include Galaxy Digital Ventures, Goldman Sachs and Valor Equity Partners, reported Wednesday that digital assets under custody have surpassed $16 billion for the first time, offering further validation that institutional demand has arrived. Cointelegraph

4. SEC Sues Ripple for Sale of “$1.3 Billion Unregistered Securities” as Crypto Leaders Debate over XRP. The SEC has filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs Inc. for offering unregistered “digital asset securities” through which $1.3 billion was raised. Blockchain.News

5. Bitcoin adoption in Nigeria soars as central bank blocks remittances in Naira. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s “Naira defense” policy is pushing more Nigerians toward Bitcoin and crypto adoption. Cointelegraph

For the week ending December 11, 2020

1. Singaporean banking and financial services firm DBS Bank Ltd. has confirmed it will be launching its digital asset exchange for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Bitcoin Cash set to go live as early as next week. Blockchain.News.

2. Bitcoin’s price broke the symmetrical triangle and plunged yesterday, indicating the end of the period of consolidation and confirmed the downtrend. This is the first time of correction since the Bitcoin price reached a new high on Nov. 30.  Blockchain.News.

3. Sweden is studying a potential transition to the e-krona CBDC. The Swedish government is progressing with its central bank digital currency, or CBDC, by launching a formal review of a potential transition to the digital currency. Cointelegraph.

4. Ethereum fund to debut on Toronto Stock Exchange. Canadian digital asset investment manager 3iQ will be launching an IPO of an Ethereum exchange-traded trust, The Ether Fund, on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker QETH.U. Cointelegraph.

5. Vladimir Putin signed an order obliging public officials to report any cryptocurrency holdings which both current civil servants and people about to assume a government position must disclose, as well as in what quantity and where they were purchased from. CoinDesk.

For the week ending November 13, 2020

1. PayPal’s crypto trading and payments platform has officially launched for all eligible customers in the US. Due to the initial demand noticed, the weekly cryptocurrency purchase limit increased from $10,000 to $20,000. Cointelegraph

2. The testing phase of China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative has so far conducted 4 million transactions worth 2 Billion Yuan. The currency is still at an early stage and needs a more comprehensive legal framework. The Block

3. Chainalysis launches program to manage cryptocurrency seized by law enforcement during criminal investigations. The “asset realization program” will handle, hold, and track seized assets, which could include cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and alternative tokens. ZDNet

4. The World Economic Forum’s latest report calls blockchain the key to sustainable digital finance. The report believes that blockchain represents a core element of sustainable digital finance, a new paradigm that combines emerging technology with environmentally conscious business models. Cointelegraph

5. World’s second-biggest bank to issue $3 billion in bonds tradable for bitcoin. The China Construction Bank (CCB) aims to reduce the costs traditionally associated with financial intermediaries, while offering debt instruments at lower amounts to make them accessible to retail investors. CoinDesk

For the week ending November 06, 2020

1. WTO blockchain report says customs remains ‘weak link’ of trade digitalization. While several governments are testing or considering using distributed ledger technology for their customs operations and single windows, most projects remain at a conceptual stage. Cointelegraph

2. Cambodia officially launches its state-backed digital currency “Bakong”. The central bank said it would operate via smartphone apps and believes that the newly launched CBDC would reach the unbanked population that constitutes more than 75% of the adult population. Blockchain.News

3. Verizon has launched ‘Full Transparency’, an open-source newsroom platform on blockchain to combat fake news. This enables readers to go back to the original source and see what was said, giving them a level of trust in the information being shared.Ledger Insights

4. HSBC Bangladesh has completed the country’s first blockchain-powered cross-border trade settled using a letter of credit to import 20,000 tons of fuel oil from Singapore. Cointelegraph

5. South Korea has banned privacy-centric digital assets or dark coins from crypto exchanges due to the high money laundering risk they present. Virtual asset providers in South Korea will no longer be authorized to handle privacy coin transactions. Blockchain.News

For the week ending October 30, 2020

1. DBS, the Singapore-based bank and financial services corporation, is building a digital assets trading platform. The DBS Digital Exchange will offer access to an integrated ecosystem of solutions to tap the vast potential of private markets and digital currencies. CoinDesk

2. Banking giant JPMorgan has created a new blockchain unit called Onyx as its “JPM Coin” is ready for commercial use. JPMorgan believes blockchain solutions can become a real business for the bank. The Block

3. Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX has launched trading in “fractional stocks offerings” — tokenized products representing the shares of global firms. Fractionalized ownership lets the derivatives be broken down into smaller sizes, allowing retail traders to speculate on expensive stocks like Tesla but with less capital. Cointelegraph

4. Coinbase is launching a Visa debit card in the U.S that will allow users to spend their cryptocurrency funds directly from their Coinbase accounts. Coinbase is introducing a reward system that will let its users earn back bitcoin. The Block

5. KPMG Partners with Coin Metrics to Boost Institutional Crypto Adoption. This strategic alliance allows organizations to monitor and manage network attacks, transaction reorganizations, fee volatility, and unusual network event risks. Blockchain.News

For the week ending October 23, 2020

1. The US Election results will be published on the blockchain. The Associated Press is utilizing the EOS blockchain-based encyclopedia – Everipedia, to count votes and publish election results on the blockchain, with the use of Chainlink oracles to increase transparency in the voting system. Voting data will be cryptographically signed and published onto the blockchain. Blockchain.News

2. PayPal has joined the cryptocurrency market, allowing customers to buy, sell, and hold bitcoin and other virtual coins using the U.S. digital payments company’s online wallets. Cryptocurrency payments on PayPal will be settled using fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, thus merchants will not receive payments in virtual coins. Reuters

3. R3’s Corda Network gets its first token ‘XDC’ for DeFi and CBDC projects.  XDC meets the G20-sanctioned Financial Action Task Force standards on digital assets to mitigate anti-money laundering risks, a challenge that Ethereum-based DeFi projects continue to be unable to address. The Block

4. The Bahamas launches the world’s first CBDC, the ‘Sand Dollar’. Residents of The Bahamas can use the digital currency at any merchant with a Central Bank approved e-Wallet on their mobile device” and transaction fees are negligible. Cointelegraph

5. The European Central Bank will meet the growing demand for digital payments with a CBDC Digital Euro. A Digital Euro will support the Eurosystem’s objectives by providing citizens with access to a safe form of money in the fast-changing digital world while acting as an alternative to foreign payment providers for fast and efficient payments in Europe and beyond. Blockchain.News

For the week ending October 16, 2020

1. Ripple has launched its loan product, ‘Line of Credit’, to provide loans in XRP. Ripple did not disclose the fee, but said it is “a lot less than most other available credit options. (The Block)

2. The World Economic Forum has released the GSMI global blockchain standards. The reports offer action-oriented guidance like the interactive world map of blockchain legislation and guidance to private and public sector stakeholders. (Blockchain.News)

3. IBM Watson Health has launched a blockchain-powered privacy-based application that will enable individuals to safely travel or return to physical locations upon showing COVID-19 test results and temperature scans. The use of Blockchain will help establish self-sovereign identity, along with verifiable credentials (Cointelegraph)

4. Asic Jungle, the first-ever mining hardware marketplace for cryptocurrency mining hardware is now live. It is the only online marketplace where buyers can interact directly with sellers through the platform and not have to use any brokerage services or Telegram channels (COINTRUST)

5. China will test its digital currency by offering the digital Yuan worth $1.5 Million to Shenzhen Residents. The giveaway would adopt a lottery system with around 50,000 beneficiaries, who will have the liberty to spend the digital currency across more than 3,300 shops located in Shenzhen’s Luohu district. (Blockchain.News)

For the week ending October 9, 2020

1. The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today officially banned the sale of cryptocurrency derivatives and exchange-traded notes to retail users. They said these products are “ill-suited” for retail consumers due to various reasons, including “extreme volatility” of cryptocurrencies. The Block

2. The Bank of Thailand has issued $1.6B in government bonds on the IBM blockchain, the world’s first blockchain-based government savings bond issuance platform. This has reduced the bond issuance time from 15 days to just 2 days while reducing operational cost and redundant validation of documents involved in bond issuance. Cointelegraph

3. General Motors and Honda have launched a global blockchain-based electric vehicle charging network. This hopes to power applications that will help lower carbon emissions, improve road safety, reduce traffic congestion, and lead to beneficial environmental outcomes. Yahoo Finance

4. US attorney general releases its cryptocurrency enforcement framework. These guidelines highlight the emerging threats and enforcement challenges associated with the increasing prevalence and use of cryptocurrency while ensuring that the use of this technology is safe, and does not imperil public safety or national security. Cointelegraph

5. Standard Chartered and DBS are setting up a blockchain-based Trade Finance Registry. This could serve as a secure central database for the banking industry to access records of trade transactions financed across banks in Singapore. Finextra

For the week ending October 2, 2020

1. Crypto exchange Binance has unveiled a new “decentralized” stablecoin system called Venus. This is an algorithmic-based money market system designed to bring decentralized finance-based lending and credit system onto Binance Smart Chain and directly competes with Facebook’s Libra initiative. The Block

2. Swipe is now offering a new crypto Visa card that allows users to borrow funds using blockchain technology. The “LendFi Visa Card,” deploys major decentralized finance protocols to provide near-instant access to lending balances. Cointelegraph

3. Singapore Employs Blockchain-Enabled Digital Health Passport for Enhanced Medical Records Management. This development will enable healthcare data to be kept in a digital wallet, with medical records like COVD-19 discharge memos and swab results to also be digitized. Blockchain.News

4. The European Commission has today officially proposed a regulatory framework for crypto-assets and stablecoins. The proposal is likely to reduce the amounts of fraud and theft of crypto-assets, while giving consumers more choice and opportunities in financial services and modern payments. The Block

5. Consensys is now developing a cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) payment network between Thailand and Hong Kong. This will reduce the intermediaries and settlement layers in the current cross-border transfer process while allowing for seamless currency conversion between the Thai baht and Hong Kong dollar. Cointelegraph