Your Weekly Crypto Updates #14 ??

?? OpenSea NFT Marketplace Goes Zero Fees

OpenSea, a major NFT marketplace, has announced a temporary fee waiver and adjusted its policy on creator royalties. It will charge 0% in marketplace fees for a limited time and default all collections without on-chain royalty enforcement to optional creator royalties starting at 0.5%. The platform has also adjusted its blocklist of other marketplaces that don't honour full royalty payments to creators.

OpenSea aims to find the right balance of incentives and motivations for all ecosystem participants, including creators, collectors, and power buyers and sellers. The tension between OpenSea and Blur, another NFT marketplace, has intensified recently following the release of Blur's native token .

OpenSea has taken a hardline stance on creator royalties and launched a royalty enforcement tool in November. However, Blur reportedly found a loophole in the tool in January, allowing collections to uphold their percentages on Blur.

?? BUSD Minting Halted due to Regulators

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has told Paxos Trust Company, the firm behind Binance 's stablecoin, that it should have registered the product as a security and is considering taking action against the platform.

This represents one of the SEC's first actions on stablecoins and comes after the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) ordered Paxos to stop minting Binance USD, citing "unresolved issues" in Paxos' oversight of its relationship with Binance.

Binance USD is the third-biggest stablecoin behind market leader Tether and USD Coin, with about $16 billion in circulation, and is the seventh-biggest cryptocurrency.

?? Rapper Drake Wins $1.2M in Bitcoin Bets

Rapper Drake has placed a $700,000 bet on the Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl LVII, despite the Philadelphia Eagles being the bookmakers' favourites.

He placed his bets on the cryptocurrency betting platform Stake, also betting on the Chiefs to win the game in both the first and second half, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to score touchdowns, and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to be named the game's most valuable player.

Drake has a history of mixed success when it comes to betting on major sporting events, having lost $1 million betting on the World Cup final in 2022 but made a profit of around $300,000 in bitcoin after correctly betting on the Los Angeles Rams to beat Cincinnati Bengals in last year's Super Bowl.

?? SEC Proposes New Rules for Crypto Assets

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US has proposed regulations to include assets such as cryptocurrency in custody rules, so companies that hold client assets, including crypto, must gain registration.

The SEC wants to expand regulations and ensure client assets are properly segregated and held in accounts in the event of a custodian bankruptcy or other insolvency. While SEC Chairman Gary Gensler did not mention cryptocurrencies by name, he said that most crypto assets are likely to be funds or crypto asset securities covered by the current rules.

The proposed changes would also require a written agreement between custodians and advisers, expand the “surprise examination” requirements, and enhance recordkeeping rules.

?? Do Kwon and Terra Charged by US Regulators

US financial regulators have charged Do Kwon, the failed South Korean cryptocurrency boss, and his company Terraform Labs with "orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud".

The Singapore-based firm created Terra Luna and TerraUSD tokens, which collapsed last year, costing investors over $40bn. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleges that Mr Kwon and his company failed to provide full, fair, and truthful disclosure to the public, committed fraud by repeating false and misleading statements to build trust, and caused devastating losses for investors.

Mr Kwon faces charges of fraud and breaches of capital markets law in South Korea.

?? Hong Kong to Allow Retail Investors to Trade Larger Cryptocurrencies

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission has released a consultation paper outlining a plan to allow retail investors to trade cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum on licensed exchanges.

The regulator has said that these platforms will need to provide investor protection, including exposure limits and risk profiles, and that the coins will need to be included in at least two acceptable, investible indexes.

The consultation period will end on March 31, with the goal of allowing retail trading on the new licensing regime for crypto exchanges by June 1. Hong Kong's pro-crypto stance is part of its wider effort to restore the city's credentials as a financial centre.

?? Keanu Reeves: Criticism of Crypto Is Only Going to Make it Better

Actor Keanu Reeves expressed his support for cryptocurrencies in a recent interview with Wired, calling them "amazing tools for exchanges and distribution of resources."

Reeves, who starred in the influential cyberpunk film "The Matrix," is particularly interested in the implications of digital art technologies like AI and NFTs but also expressed concern about the "corporatocracy" behind it that could seek to control these tools.

Reeves argued that society would be confronted by the value of "real" versus "nonvalue" and questioned what will be pushed on people.

Sam Bankman-Fried - The Disastrous Collapse of FTX ??

?? Financiers Sued for Promoting FTX

Three venture capital and private equity firms, Sequoia Capital, Thoma Bravo, and Paradigm, are being sued in a proposed class action by former customers of FTX, accusing them of fraudulently promoting the cryptocurrency exchange before it went bankrupt.

The customers claim that the defendants lent FTX an "air of legitimacy" by vouching that they had examined its operations and found them safe and secure for cryptocurrency investors.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for alleged violations of California consumer protection laws, as well as a fraudulent inducement, intentional misrepresentation, and civil conspiracy. Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, is not a defendant in the case.

?? FTX Japan Resumes Fiat and Crypto Withdrawals

FTX's Japanese subsidiary has announced that it will resume crypto and fiat withdrawals while the rest of the community is still awaiting the return of their lost funds after the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse in November 2022.

The exchange has instructed clients to register for an account on Liquid Japan, which will handle the withdrawal process.

However, FTX has warned that a large number of customers filing withdrawal requests might overwhelm the process, and the exchange may take some time to process them. Meanwhile, customers who transacted with FTX.US remain in limbo as the exchange undergoes its bankruptcy process.

?? Temasek and 17 Others Accused of Defrauding FTX Customers in US Lawsuit

Singapore's Temasek and 17 other banks, venture capitalists and accounting firms have been named in a class action lawsuit filed in Miami, Florida, for allegedly conspiring with cryptocurrency exchange FTX to defraud investors.

The lawsuit was filed by an FTX customer whose funds have been frozen in his FTX account since the exchange's collapse in November 2022.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the defendants' "knowing and substantial assistance in furtherance" of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud. The defendants have not commented on the lawsuit.

That's all for this week's?Your Weekly Crypto Updates???

As always, please Do Your Own Research (DYOR), and follow me for more crypto news and updates. I will see you again next week!

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Crypto 101 with Tian Beng ??

?? What Are the Three Mains Functions of Currencies?

1. Medium of Exchange: Currencies serve as a means of payment for goods and services, facilitating transactions and trade between individuals and businesses.
2. Unit of Account: Currencies provide a standard unit of measurement for economic transactions, allowing for the comparison of prices and the calculation of profits and losses.
3. Store of Value: Currencies can be used to store wealth over time, as they maintain their purchasing power and can be easily exchanged for goods and services in the future.

?? How Bitcoin Maps Against the Main Functions of Currencies?

1. Medium of Exchange: Bitcoin allows for peer-to-peer transactions without the need for intermediaries such as banks or payment processors. This allows for faster, cheaper, and more secure transactions.
2. Unit of Account: While not widely accepted as a unit of account in traditional commerce, Bitcoin is increasingly being used as a reference point for cryptocurrency prices and trading volumes.
3. Store of Value: Bitcoin's limited supply and decentralized nature make it an attractive store of value for some people, as it cannot be inflated or manipulated by governments or financial institutions.

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