Media
The crypto market has had an extremely eventful week, involving a lawsuit against celebrities for promoting an alleged “pump and dump” scam, Rio De Janeiro’s mayor endorsing BTC, Jack Dorsey, setting up a legal defense fund to protect Bitcoin developers and much more. Let’s recap some of the most significant developments from the week gone by.
Bitcoin
Rio De Janeiro Announces BTC Investment
Eduardo Paes, Rio De Janeiro mayor, has announced that the city will be investing 1% of its treasury into Bitcoin, becoming the first Brazilian city to do so. Mayor Paes plans to make Rio another crypto hub, alongside cities like Miami. The mayor made the comments while attending the Rio Innovation week alongside Miami mayor Francis Suarez. Mayor Suarez has been very successful in making Miami the crypto hub for North America. Rio plans to enable its citizens to pay their taxes using BTC, using a 10% discount as an incentive.
Jack Dorsey Announces Legal Defense Fund For Bitcoin Developers
Jack Dorsey has recently announced that he is setting up a legal defense fund targeted exclusively at Bitcoin developers. The fund will be created in partnership with the co-founder of Chaincode Labs, Alex Morcos, and Martin White, An academic from the University of Sussex. According to the email sent by Dorsey, the fund will help Bitcoin developers access a legal defense network consisting of volunteers and part-time lawyers.
Klay Thompson And Andre Iguodala To Receive Part Of Their Salary In Bitcoin
Golden State Warriors Stars Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson will be receiving a portion of their salary in Bitcoin after announcing a partnership with Cash App. Cash App is owned by Block Inc., led by Jack Dorsey. The two will also be donating $1 million in BTC to fans. Cash App will enable the conversion of the player salaries to BTC while also acting as an intermediary for the donations. The development is a testament to BTC’s growing popularity, with Thompson and Iguodala joining a growling list of athletes that receive a part of their salary in BTC.
Ethereum
USDC Surpasses USDT On Ethereum
For the first time, the USDC stablecoin’s total supply has crossed that of the USDT stablecoin. Data from Etherscan showed that USDT’s total supply on Ethereum was at 39.82 billion, while USDC’s total supply stood at 40.05 billion. The development is considered significant given that Ethereum is a significant driver in the growth of both stablecoins. However, the USDT supply across all blockchains remains higher than USDC.
SEC Suffers Setback In Case Against Ripple
The SEC suffered what can be called a significant setback against Ripple when the presiding judge ordered it to hand over William Hinman’s speech on Ethereum. The contents of the speech made by the former Director of Corporation Finance supports Ripple’s case. Ripple and the SEC have been engaged in a prolonged back and forth with respect to the documents that needed to be made available during the discovery process.
Joe Rogan Talks BTC Vs. ETH
Speaking on The Joe Rogan Podcast, comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan stated that while he doesn’t really understand cryptocurrencies, he still has a lot of hope for them. Rogan made the comments during his 8th January podcast, where he discussed cryptocurrencies and the metaverse with Adam Curry. In the interview, Curry stated that he is a huge supporter of BTC but has a problem with any cryptocurrency which can be controlled, including Ethereum.
DeFi
Solana’s Sky High Potential
According to a research note released by Bank of America digital asset strategist Alkesh Shah, Solana’s blockchain ecosystem could potentially become the Visa of the crypto space. According to Shah, the reason behind this is the fact that Solana has an immense capacity for high scalability while also offering low fees and ease of use. Currently, Solana is the 5th largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of around $47 billion.
Andre Cronje Snippets Of New Project, ve(3,3)
Legendary DeFi developer Andre Cronje has been sharing several snippets of new features in a series of blog posts. Cronje has teamed up with Daniele Sestagalli, with both working to launch the project on the Fantom blockchain. Cronje and Sestagalli are probably the most influential figures in the DeFi space, with Cronje creating Yearn Finance, with Sestagallin having founded Abracadabra.Money, Wonderland.Money, and Popsicle.Finance.
Altcoins
Polygon Co-Founder Offers Thoughts On Solana Vs. Polygon Debate
Co-founder of Polygon, Sandeep Nailwal, waded into the Polygon vs. Solana debate, stating that he believes marketing has played a significant role in the decentralized crypto space. He stated that he also believes Solaha has gotten more traction due to significant institutional marketing. Nailwal was responding to a Twitter thread posted by crypto analyst Spencer Moon on the Polygon vs. Solana debate.
Business
FTX launches $2 billion Venture Fund
Crypto exchange FTX has announced the launch of FTX Ventures. The fund will launch with $2 billion in assets under management and will look to allocate to teams working on projects in Web3 and the blockchain space. The $ billion fund is second only to Paradigm’s $2.5 billion crypto fund announced in November.
North Korean Hackers Carried Out Seven Major Attacks In 2021
Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis has revealed that North Korea carried out at least seven major attacks on various cryptocurrency exchanges, leading to nearly $400 million worth of crypto assets being stolen. The UN has long accused North Korea of funding its nuclear ambitions with stolen funds.
Tesla Begins Accepting DOGE
Tesla has started accepting DOGE as a mode of payment in its online merchandise store. The news was announced in a tweet by Elon Musk. Customers can now buy official merchandise from the Tesla store and pay using DOGE. However, Tesla also clarified that DOGE cannot be used to buy its electric vehicles and is solely being accepted for select merchandise. The news sent DOGE surging, with the cryptocurrency surging by 14% following the announcement.
Socios Now An Official Partner Of The Serie A
Socios.com has announced that it has been chosen as the official partner for Serie A. The partnership also sees Socios become the primary sponsor for the Supercoppa Frecciarossa and the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa. The partnership adds another feather in the cap of Socios, which already has a host of partnerships across major world sports.
Regulation
Tether Freezes $160 Million USDT
Tether has announced that it has frozen $160 million of USDT on Ethereum, belonging to three different addresses. A spokesperson for Tether stated that Tether has frozen the addresses to enable the recovery of stolen or compromised funds. Tether has carried out similar actions in the past and has blocked 563 addresses on Ethereum.
Lords Economic Affairs Committee Publishes Report On CBDCs
The Lords Economic Affairs Committee Published Its Report on CBDCs, outlining what could be perceived as “significant risks” to the economy. The report stated that the introduction of the CBDC could lead “inevitably to some disintermediation of the banking sector.” The committee also recommended that the Bank of England carry out further studies to properly assess the potential impact of CBDCs on the banking system.
Singapore Issues Advisory To Citizens Whilst Dealing With Cryptocurrencies
With Singapore planning to become a hub for cryptocurrencies over the next few years, government officials have also outlined the need to be cautious when dealing with cryptocurrencies and investing in the digital space. The government urged its citizens to tread cautiously and nudged citizens to adopt a balanced approach and move towards crypto in a more gradual manner, mirroring the same approach that the government is taking towards crypto.
Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather, And Others Sued For Misleading Investors
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather, and a host of other celebrities who promoted EthereumMAX have been sued for misleading investors and making false statements in favor of the EthereumMAX token. The token was part of an alleged “pump and dump” scheme that saw investors make nothing while the promoters got away with making huge profits. The class-action lawsuit lists anyone who invested in EthereumMAX between 14th May 2021 and 27th June 2021 as plaintiffs.