Crypto Catch Up (18/02/2022)

• ?? Uber's CEO says they're keeping an eye on crypto and will look to add support in the future

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/133952/uber-crypto-payments-comments-2022

TL;DR he raised concerns about the environmental impact and transaction costs of crypto, noting that it's better used right now as a store of value but if these are addressed then you could be paying for your uber with crypto in the future.

• ?? A number of EU countries are now calling for a 'crypto ban'

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/02/09/crypto-advocates-push-back-on-swedens-call-for-eu-mining-ban/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NODE%20FEB%2011%2022&utm_term=The%20Node

TL;DR Politicians in Norway, Germany, Spain, Hungary and Sweden are calling for crypto mining and use to be banned across EU states due to the energy intensive mining process for PoW blockchains.

• ??? BuildFinance has been the victim of a hostile DAO takeover

https://twitter.com/finance_build/status/1493223190071554049?s=21

TL;DR A malicious actor put forward a proposal which they then used their majority token holdings to vote through. They then started minting and selling $METRIC and $BUILD tokens before the price crashed.

My recent prediction is that 2022/23 will be the year of DAO hacks and attacks!

• ??? US congressman proposed legislation to protect self-hosting of crypto

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/134302/congressman-warren-davidson-introduces-bill-to-protect-self-hosting-of-cryptocurrencies

TL;DR Winter 2020 saw some proposed legislation which would place restrictions on the peer-to-peer nature of crypto transactions. This met with extreme backlash from the crypto community and largely slipped off the regulators table. However a recent bill from congressman Warren Davidson seeks to put protections in place which would stop this type of restriction being resurrected.

You can read my thoughts on unhosted wallet regulation here: https://tara-annison.medium.com/why-targeting-regulation-at-unhosted-wallets-is-a-pointless-endeavour-5d815b7dd6e2

• ?? JP Morgan opens their 'lounge' in the metaverse

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/134311/jpmorgan-stakes-a-claim-in-the-metaverse-with-decentraland-lounge

TL;DR The bank who love and hate bitcoin have opened their own space in Decentraland, complete with a portrait of Jamie Dimon which morphs into Christine Moy, a Tiger, and a room where you can watch some blockchain videos from the bank. It's nothing groundbreaking in terms of the other spaces you can visit in Decentraland but an interesting move from the bank and we'll have to wait to see how they use it.

(Here's me taking a nice posed photo outside the lounge and you can see the tiger int he background)

• ??Want to buy the Constitution, free Assange, or send someone into space? Juicebox DAO it!

https://messari.io/article/juiceboxdao-fund-to-earn

TL;DR Juicebox is basically a decentralised kickstarter where you can put up a project to receive donations. However, unlike your traditional JustGiving, Kickstarter or web2.0 options, what's being created under the hood here are DAOs, decentralised autonomous organisations, where each member who's contributed funds gets governance tokens to help decide how the funds are spent.

• ?? There's now insurance for retail holders in case their crypto gets stolen

https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2022/crypto-shield-launched-to-offer-digital-wallet-insurance/

TL;DR If you're holding your assets on an exchange and it gets hacked then a new insurance product aimed at retail investors will cover you up to $1m worth. This complements existing policies for institutions which have been available from the likes of Lloyds of London, Aon and Coincover.?

• ?? Web3 is going great .... or not

https://web3isgoinggreat.com/?id=2022-02-16-2

TL;DR this website, created back in December 2021, tracks some of the crazy crypto stories; everything from rug pulls, exit scams and regulatory fails. It's written in an easy to understand way with a sprinkle of humour so a great resource for anyone looking to stay up to date with cryptoverse fails.?