The Unchained Web Daily Crypto News #20

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Monero Wallet Address:

42EkgN23XZoLJXrgMJjrRM7jYpmirk1WvWUWc2SDF6kZAXVzHMGy5XB8JM8Vce3iHGKh9H8ACWF9J6ErrfKCP48mL2yeWcw

Bitcoin Wallet Address: bc1q4283c60tv2p7exfeu2ql7dk2n7utswgl43n2fk

ETH & ERC-20 Address: 0xD16429e3F253f50CfF306B2bE8966ce935332116

BNB & BRC-20 Address: 0xD16429e3F253f50CfF306B2bE8966ce935332116

Reclaim (some) Privacy Webinar Series: Intro to SearXNG & other privacy engines

In April, I am planning my first webinar in a series focused on privacy. The specific webinar will be focused on why Google may not be the best search engine to use and the SearXNG meta search engine and how it can be used to enhance privacy when using a search engine to research or find something to one's interest.

If you are interested in the topic, feel free to click "attend" on the link to the event below: https://www.dhirubhai.net/events/7167975601373458433/about/

BlackRock CEO Touts Tokenization, Warns US 'Lagging' in Innovation

In his annual letter to investors, BlackRock chief Larry Fink praised the financial headway made by countries such as India, Brazil, and parts of Africa in terms of faster and more efficient payments. He also highlighted the potential of asset tokenization and BlackRock's exploration of the digital assets ecosystem. Fink acknowledged the need for regulation in the market and the risks associated with participating in the digital assets industry. More information here.

ArenaDAO's Governance Token Surges Almost 50% Amid Vote to Authorize Paradigm Purchase

ArenaDAO's governance token, ARENA, rose 11.12% in the past hour and 48.99% in the past 24 hours, following the opening of ArenaDAO's vote to authorize Paradigm to buy 150 million tokens, or 15% of the total supply for $6 million USDC. The token's fully diluted valuation stands at $79.8 million at presstime, but at Paradigm's purchase price of ARENA, the token has a fully diluted valuation of $40 million. The funds will be used as working capital for the DAO to grow Code4rena. The on-chain vote ends on March 23. Paradigm is a crypto native investment firm that organizes its own Web3 focused security competition called Paradigm CTF. More information here.

Arbitrum to Airdrop New Token and Transition to DAO

Arbitrum, the largest player in Ethereum's layer 2 scaling, is launching its own governance token, ARB, on March 23 through an airdrop to eligible users. ARB will make Arbitrum more decentralized as DAO holders will have a say in key decisions that govern Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova. 56% of the token supply will be owned by the community, with 44% reserved for investors and employees of Offchain Labs. Unlike ether, ARB will only be used for protocol governance. The timing of ARB's introduction coincides with the launch of Arbitrum Obit. Arbitrum One currently has $3.69 billion locked in its Ethereum rollup network, holding a 55% market share in the Ethereum Layer 2 market. More information here.

Crypto assets to become a separate category in UK tax forms

The UK Treasury has announced the introduction of a separate category for crypto assets in tax return forms, which will appear from the tax year 2024-2025. The Chartered Institute of Taxation has welcomed the move, but called for additional measures to counter "widespread ignorance of tax payment and reporting requirements for crypto". The Financial Conduct Authority has also reported that it is "midway through a quite ambitious reset" as the Financial Services and Markets bill passes through Parliament, which would give it new regulatory powers over the cryptocurrency industry. More information here.

Signum Digital scores approval to offer security tokens in Hong Kong

Signum Digital, a joint venture of Coinstreet and Somerley, has received an approval-in-principle from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for its security token offering (STO) and subscription platform. Signum Digital claims that, following the receipt of final authorization from Hong Kong’s SFC, it will manage the STO platform using the brand name “CS-Pro.” This platform will be a pioneering development in Hong Kong, according to Signum. Hong Kong has been proposing new initiatives for the city’s cryptocurrency and digital asset sector since last year when it invited firms interested in providing STO services to pitch proposals. More information can be found here.

Intern for Gensler? SEC’s college traineeships start at $15 an hour

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opened applications for its Scholars Program for Fall 2023, with the regulator seeking “student trainees” for its business and legal programs. The business program pays between $15.09 and $28.83 per hour, and the legal program pays between $23.47 and $35.27 per hour. Both programs are open in other US states for the regulator’s regional offices in locations such as California, Colorado, Florida, and Georgia. The SEC is seeking applicants from a range of fields, including blockchain, distributed ledger technology, computer science, and cybersecurity. The program is open to currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students, with the internship lasting for 10 weeks. The closing date for applications is April 3. Find more information here.

Lightning Labs and Tari agree to convert restraining order in trademark suit

Lightning Labs and Tari Labs have agreed to convert a temporary restraining order halting the development of Lightning’s Taro protocol to a preliminary injunction. The conversion will prevent the development of the protocol until a court decision is made. The restraining order was issued after Tari Labs said the name “Taro” infringed on its trademark rights as it was too similar to its own protocol named “Tari”. Lightning was permitted to respond to communications from non-Lightning developers and users but cannot use those communications to further Taro’s development. Find more information here.

LinksDAO wins bid to buy its first golf course, says CEO

LinksDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) focused on golf, has successfully won the bid to purchase the Spey Bay Golf Club in Scotland for a price expected to be higher than the initial listing of over $900,000. The DAO has entered into an exclusivity agreement with the vendor and is undergoing its "due diligence" phase before finalizing the deal in early April. The purchase was approved by 88.6% of the 4,300 LinksDAO members who voted. The DAO plans to remodel the course with advice from architects due to weather and erosion issues in recent decades. Find more information here.

MakerDAO passes proposal for $750M increase in US Treasury investments

MakerDAO has passed a proposal to increase its holdings of US Treasury bonds from $500 million to $1.25 billion, following the loss of its DAI stablecoin's $1 peg during market volatility on March 11. The move aims to diversify MakerDAO's liquid assets and increase its exposure to high-quality bonds and real-world assets. The proposal also expects to deliver a net annualised yield of 4.5% to 4.6% after custody and boost Maker's revenue stream by trading costs. The bonds will be purchased over a six-month period and will be managed by decentralized finance (DeFi) asset adviser Monetalis Clydesdale. More information can be found here.

Janet Yellen Grilled on Bank Failures, Proposes Only Banks With Systemic Risks Get Refunded

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reassured the markets that the government is committed to protecting deposits after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. She noted that uninsured deposits would only be covered in cases of systemic risk and significant financial consequences. The demise of these banks led regulators to rush to make all deposits whole, including those above the FDIC insurance threshold through a special fund. Congress is debating legislative ideas to prevent future collapses. Meanwhile, major US banks like JPMorgan and Citigroup are receiving many account opening requests over smaller lenders. Regulators are examining how social media and digital messaging may have contributed to the bank failures. More information here.

Swiss Bankers Association proposes deposit tokens to develop digital economy

The Swiss Bankers Association has proposed the use of Swiss franc "joint" deposit tokens as a way to support the development of Switzerland's digital economy. The white paper identifies three design options for deposit tokens, with the association preferring the last choice, which would be issued by a licensed and supervised special purpose vehicle consisting of participating banks. The authors believe that the joint deposit token would facilitate money creation due to its flexibility and have low fees, while also being less susceptible to runs than tokens issued by individual banks. The token would ideally be a layer-2 solution usable in decentralized finance applications and capable of self-custody or bank custody. Find more information here.

If you enjoy and find value in the newsletter, please feel free to donate for its upkeep and independent nature as much as you think is fair:

Monero Wallet Address:

42EkgN23XZoLJXrgMJjrRM7jYpmirk1WvWUWc2SDF6kZAXVzHMGy5XB8JM8Vce3iHGKh9H8ACWF9J6ErrfKCP48mL2yeWcw

Bitcoin Wallet Address: bc1q4283c60tv2p7exfeu2ql7dk2n7utswgl43n2fk

ETH & ERC-20 Address: 0xD16429e3F253f50CfF306B2bE8966ce935332116

BNB & BRC-20 Address: 0xD16429e3F253f50CfF306B2bE8966ce935332116

Reclaim (some) Privacy Webinar Series: Intro to SearXNG & other privacy engines

In April, I am planning my first webinar in a series focused on privacy. The specific webinar will be focused on why Google may not be the best search engine to use and the SearXNG meta search engine and how it can be used to enhance privacy when using a search engine to research or find something to one's interest.

If you are interested in the topic, feel free to click "attend" on the link to the event below: https://www.dhirubhai.net/events/7167975601373458433/about/

Brought to you by?Alexandros Ntolgkov.