Love Is Red, Love Is Crypto

Happy Valentine’s Day, Rebel!

Thank you for making a space in your heart and in your inbox for us. ??

Today’s digest is specially wrapped in bouquets and love, to remind you of how special you are.

In today’s issue;

• Tough Regulatory Clamp Downs
• Circle Snitches On BUSD
• Coinbase’s CEO is talking tough
• God’s Plan - Drake Win Bitcoin Bet On Super Bowl Bet
• De’ Medici Donates NFTs To LACMA But Won’t Call Them NFTs
• Together for Turkey

Let’s get the details.

MARKETS

7-Day Market Moves

We’re gearing up for a tough week for cryptocurrencies. In the past 7 days, regulators have clamped down on some of the biggest players in the space and are coming for stablecoins.

This led to a significant loss in overall industry valuation. Yesterday, the global cryptocurrency market plunged below the $1 trillion capitalization to stand at $997.98 billion.

The crypto market has proven itself to be one tough cookie, and we're waiting to see how it will make a comeback.

Coin Watch

Listing

Coinbase has listed $BLUR. After being unlocked, the token pumped up by 700% to $46 but has since dropped back to $23. Read more

Ongoing

Upcoming

HEADLINE

Circle Snitched on BUSD

TL: DR

• The SEC is threatening to sue Paxos after labelling BUSD as unregistered securities
• Paxos will suspend the issuance of new BUSD tokens from February 21, 2023
• The company categorically disagrees with the SEC and will go to court if need be
• CZ has stepped in to assure customers that funds are #SAFU
• Word on the street is that Circle may have been the ones who told on BUSD

In addition to love, there is palpable FUD in the air. Yesterday, New York’s top financial regulator ordered the stablecoin issuer Paxos to stop minting Binance’s? stablecoin BUSD due to concerns about its relationship with the mega exchange.

Paxos agreed to stop minting new BUSD tokens but said in a press release issued Monday that all BUSD tokens it issued were fully backed by U.S. dollar-denominated reserves.

On the contrary, an NYDFS spokesman alleged that Paxos was not issuing BUSD in a “safe and sound” manner, and had thus “violated its obligation to conduct tailored, periodic risk assessments and due diligence.

Paxos is fighting back. It has categorically rejected the labelling of BUSD as unregistered security by the SEC and is willing to go to court to battle it out.

There are reports that BUSD’s stablecoin rival, Circle, may have been the one who snitched on Binance back in the fall of 2022. They complained that Binance did not have enough reserves to back up the stablecoins issued by Paxos.

Binance’s CZ has reacted to the news, tweeting that all funds are #SAFU, and that the exchange will continue to support BUSD despite the order.

In other news,

• The FUD is taking effect. Since the word on this clampdown got out, there has been a surge in withdrawals from Binance. Read more.
• Wirex and Visa have signed a long-term global partnership to cover the UK and Asia Pacific regions. Read more.

REGULATIONS

Brian Is Talking Tough!

TL: DR

• The SEC successfully charged rival exchange Kraken with failing to register and selling staking as a service
• Kraken has been fined $30M and will be shutting down the staking services
• Coinbase, through its CEO, Brian Armstrong is kicking against the charge, and is willing to fight it.

The gloves are coming off!

Coinbase’s frontman, Brian Armstrong took to Twitter to announce that the company will “happily defend” its staking services in court against claims that they need to be classified as securities.

This comes after the SEC slammed the rival exchange Kraken with a hefty $30 Million dollar fine for offering staking a service without registering it. The company has been forced to shut its staking service.

Since the ruling, Brian has fervently maintained that staking services are not securities. He has argued that crypto staking does not meet any of the four prongs of Howey.

In the first place, staking is not an investment because users don't give up their digital assets to get something else. They own exactly the same thing they did before and they always have the option to “unstake” their assets.

Our take

Coinbase may just be fighting for dear life. The company’s shares, which have lost almost 90% of their value compared to all-time highs, fell another 4% on Friday amid the news. Recall that in January, S&P Global downgraded the crypto exchange’s debt one position from “BBB” to “BB-,” moving it from “investment grade” to “speculative grade”.?

In other news

• SEC and CFTC's Lawsuits against SBF put on hold by a U.S. judge. Read more.
• According to FCA, all crypto ATM operators in the United Kingdom are currently illegal because none of them is registered with the regulator. Read more.

CELEBRITIES

Drake Wins Big Bitcoins In a Super Bowl Bet

TL: DR

• God’s plan. The Canadian Rapper, Drake won $1,262,000 worth of bitcoin after the Kansas City Chiefs came out victorious in Super Bowl LVII.?

Champagne Papi just went from 0 to 100 after winning a $1.2M on a Super Bowl Bet. He wagered $700,000 worth of bitcoin on the Kansas City Chiefs to win the match for which he profited $777,000 in BTC.

Drake’s second bet included Patrick Mahomes scoring a touchdown, staking $50,000 worth of BTC. The athlete finished the game with three touchdowns earning the rapper another $700K.

In other news.

• After making a 30 seconds show at the Super Bowl, DigitDaku NFTs are pumping at the secondary markets. Read more.
• Paris Hilton just launched a month-long dating game to help you find love in the metaverse. Read more.

FEATURED

24 Hours To The Start Of The European Blockchain Convention 2023

Europe's most influential blockchain event begins tomorrow February 15, at the 5-star hotel Hyatt Regency Barcelona. The event will welcome more than 3,000 attendees - making it the largest edition since the event launched in 2018.

Since its inception, the European Blockchain Convention has been the annual meeting point for the crypto and Web3 industry in Europe. It brings together hundreds of startups, investors, developers, industry experts, and global media.?

Use our code RBL-LAB25 to get a discount on your tickets.

Buy Tickets

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