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As part of its aim to bring social media and news sites into ‘Web3’, Binance Holdings Ltd. has committed $500 million to Elon Musk's proposed buyout of Twitter Inc. The crypto exchange is among a dozen outside investors backing Elon Musk's $44 billion takeover of Twitter, according to a filing published on Thursday. Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao stated, “We’re excited to be able to help Elon realise a new vision for Twitter. We hope to be able to play a role in bringing social media and web3 together and broadening the use and adoption of crypto and blockchain technology.” Binance is forming an internal team to look into how blockchain can help Twitter and ot…

The three co-founders of BitMEX crypto derivatives exchange, including former CEO Arthur Hayes, have been ordered to pay a total of $30 million in civil monetary penalties by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The order comes as a result of a suit lodged in October 2020 by the US regulator against the exchange and its executive team for facilitating the trading and processing of swaps without the necessary CFTC licensure in the US. In addition to failing to register with the CFTC, the firm failed to undertake adequate anti-money laundering and know-your-customer checks, according to the order. https://www.theblockcrypto.com/l…

After an initial pump in prices following the announcement of a half-point interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, markets quickly tumbled as investors realised that a 0.5% interest rate hike was still rather high by historical standards. Moreover, there were concerns it may not still not be enough to stave off inflation. The initial pump was a sign of relief from investors who had expected the hike to be much higher. Bitcoin fell 8% in under 24 hours, dipping below $36,000 before stabilising. The crypto market as a whole dropped 7% within the same time period, with Ethereum losing 7% from yesterday's price and the rest of the top 10 losing between 5% and 9%. The…

Argo Blockchain has received more than $70 million in loans to expand its Bitcoin mining business in Dickens County, Texas. Helios, the company's flagship crypto mining operation in Texas, is borrowing an aggregate principal amount of $70.6 million from New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG). This is the second 8-figure loan that Argo has taken out from NYDIG in the last month. The funds from the loan are expected to be utilised in “fitting out Phase 1 of the Helios site”. CEO Peter Wall stated, “With our mining operations at Helios expected to commence in May, along with the development of custom mining machines using Intel’s next-generation Blockscale …

Kazakhstan's government has issued new reporting rules for cryptocurrency mining companies, with a focus on how the industry's energy use affects the local power infrastructure. The order published by the country’s Minister of Digital Development earlier this week requires new miners and hosting centres to register company names as well as physical and IP addresses and contact information for responsible parties 30 or more days before beginning operations. Expected power usage, hardware needs, and investment are also included in these reports. Miners will also be required to produce proof of Kazakhstan residency. Existing miners must also provide quarterly updat…

According to the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) (the French financial market regulator), Binance can now operate its digital asset trading platform in France, which means it can facilitate digital asset custody, let users buy and sell crypto, and help users exchange digital assets for each other. This is the exchange's first major approval from a G-7 member country, indicating that the company's development into other European markets is possible. Last week, CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao praised the country as a "crypto-friendly" government and announced a $100 million investment in the country's blockchain ecosystem. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/202…

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Wednesday to start implementing a crypto framework in the state. The state will create a "transparent and consistent business environment" for blockchain-related enterprises, including crypto-asset asset projects and those of related financial technology, under the order, as well as the California Consumer Financial Protection Law passed in 2020. According to Newsom, "California is a global hub of innovation, and we’re setting up the state for success with this emerging technology – spurring responsible innovation, protecting consumers and leveraging this technology for the public good. Too ofte…

Polkadot has announced the launch of its cross-chain messaging system called ‘Cross-Consensus Messaging format (XCM)’. With this arrival, Polkadot has finally implemented the function of interoperability between its parachains. The newly launched XCM messaging system is intended to promote Polkadot’s multichain ecosystem and enable communication between parachains themselves as well as smart contracts. The system will eliminate the need for bridges and facilitate the movement of data and crypto-assets across Polkadot's parachains. https://cointelegraph.com/news/polkadot-launches-cross-chain-messaging-system-to-solve-blockchain-s-bridge-problem

The popular fashion label Gucci has announced that it will begin accepting crypto payments from customers in select store locations across the United States. The fashion label has been quite active in the crypto, web3 and metaverse space for a while now by acquiring land in The Sandbox and launching its own NFT collections. Gucci plans to accept crypto payments starting with five store locations with one each in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta and Las Vegas by the end of this month. Eventually, the label hopes to implement crypto payments across all its 111 locations in North America. Customers will be able to make cryptocurrency payments simply by scannin…

Michael J. Saylor understood that it is the best strategy with Bitcoin. Regular purchases, taking advantage of price drops to accumulate more. Bitcoin is an accumulation game for years to come. The more you can accumulate, the better.

A recent report by the European Union Commission, published last month, analyses the implications and avenues with which DeFi could be regulated. According to Patrick Hansen, Head of Strategy at Unstoppable Finance and widely followed for his analysis of European crypto regulation, the report shows that the officials have a good grasp on DeFi and how it works, including individual protocols. The report recognising the blunder of applying traditional financial laws to DeFi stated, “Adapting the EU financial services regulatory framework to a decentralised environment will require a rethink; and regulatory cooperation with the main jurisdictions relevant to t…

Decrypt, a crypto media firm previously owned by blockchain incubator ‘ConsenSys Mesh’, has raised $10 million at a $50 million valuation. The new funding and separation from ConsenSys Mesh is a result of Decrypt’s goal to become a "truly independent news organisation”. The round saw participation from 22 organisations which include venture capital firms Canvas Ventures, Hack.vc, Hashkey Capital, IOSG Group Limited, SKH Group and XBTO Humla Ventures, as well as a group of angel investors, strategic partners and DAOs like Global Coin Research DAO and Honey DAO. According to Decrypt CEO and co-founder Josh Quittner, "It's an extremely tribal world of crypto …

Riot Blockchain (RIOT), one of the world's largest publicly traded bitcoin miners, announced that it sold 250 Bitcoin out of the 508 Bitcoin it mined last month, generating nearly $10 million in revenue. The sale comes as a result of the company’s recent announcement of its ambitious expansion plan which includes two new facilities in Texas. The miner had revealed plans to build a 1-gigawatt plant in Navarro County, Texas. The first part of the project is expected to cost $333 million and will be completed over the next two years, according to the company. Riot is also expanding its Whinstone facility in Rockdale, Texas, with a 400-megawatt infrastructure upgrad…

Today, the Hawaii State Senate has unanimously approved the launch of a specialised task force to explore the use and regulation of the crypto ecosystem through bill SB2695. The bill was co-signed by Sens. Donovan Dela Cruz and Rosalyn “Roz” Baker. Hawaii's bill seeks to determine how the state could regulate, oversee, and potentially use blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The task force is to study data from other states and develop "a plan to expand blockchain adoption in both the private and public sectors," among other things. The task force will be comprised of government officials and members of the Web3 space, plus professors from the University of Hawaii t…

Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulator VARA has reportedly bought virtual land in ‘The Sandbox’ metaverse to set up a virtual office called the ‘MetaHQ’. This makes VARA the first national regulator to do so. This news comes in the backdrop of many crypto firms and organisations increasingly making moves to the country due to its friendly crypto regulations. According to the statement issued by VARA, MetaHQ intends to provide digital users with virtual access to regulatory resources, something that will become vital as the metaverse and Web3 ecosystem develop. Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stated, “By expanding VARA’s resources to …

According to a blog post yesterday, Kraken has opened the waitlist for its upcoming custodial NFT marketplace. Kraken’s marketplace seeks to democratise the experience of NFTs to a wider audience by allowing gas-free trades through its custodial model. Users of the platform can also view the rarity score of their NFTs directly on the platform and take out collateralised loans using the NFTs. According to the blog post, “This helps you build your dream collection with near-instant transfer speeds and the peace of mind that spikes in network activity will not impact the cost of your purchases and trades,” https://cointelegraph.com/news/kraken-nft-market…

In a recent announcement, Asset management giant VanEck (with over $82 billion in assets under management) stated that it’s releasing a 1,000 NFT collection on Ethereum meant to showcase the real-world utility inherent in the NFT structure. The NFTs are being designed in a partnership with NUMOMO, a Korean-based NFT agency. According to the press release, the project will trace the journey of a fictional character named Hammy, who is modelled after American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The first release, dubbed “Episode One: Printing Press” can be viewed on VanEck’s signup page https://www.coinbureau.com/news/investment-giant-vaneck-release-new-nft-c…

In a meeting between core developers of Ethereum last Friday, the team decided to refocus efforts on the upcoming merge operations and delay making a decision on when to deal with the ticking ‘Difficulty Bomb’ of Ethereum. Tim Beiko, who leads the Ethereum Foundation's All Core Devs meetings, argued that the difficulty bomb should be re-evaluated at the next meeting on May 13 or possibly May 27, stressing that the existing Ethereum experience was not being degraded and wouldn't be for several weeks. He said that the best course of action was to keep testing and evaluate where things stand later. Some critics state that this will however cause unnecessary stress…

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has been sued by Dfinity Foundation, a Switzerland-based non-profit behind the Internet Computer blockchain. According to the lawsuit, Dfinity’s legal team contended there was trademark infringement when Meta Platforms attempted to register the ‘infinity symbol’ for its logo. According to Dfinity’s legal team, Meta had only filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in March 2022, whereas the same office granted Dfinity registration in October 2018. Dfinity further stated that the infinity symbol has been used on the company's website since March 2017. According to Dfinity’s contentions in the…

Square Enix, the Japanese video game developer behind Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Dragon Quest has announced a deal with Embracer Group to sell nearly $300 million in IP and gaming studios to the latter. The funds from the deal will be used to invest heavily in blockchain gaming and other ventures in Web3. The deal will see properties such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Legacy of Kain, and Thief, as well as game studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, and Square Enix Montréal being sold to the Swedish gaming firm Embracer. https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/144765/tomb-raider-developer-square-enix-sells-off-300-million-in-ip-and-studios-to-invest-in-blockc…

Banco Galicia, Argentina’s largest private bank, and Brubank, an Argentine digital bank, have both integrated and enabled the trading of crypto assets on their website. The announcement comes after a recent survey by Banco Galicia revealed that nearly 60% of their customers wanted access to easy trading of digital assets via the banking platform. Both banks have been able to enable this feature due to a partnership with Argentine crypto wallet Lirium, which allows digital assets to be purchased through the same platform that clients use to buy bonds or stocks. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-02/two-argentine-banks-allow-customers-to-buy-cryptocur…

According to an official press release, FIFA has officially partnered with Algorand. As per the release, Algorand will now be an official sponsor of the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 and a regional supporter in North America and Europe for ‘FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022’. Algorand will also become FIFA's official blockchain platform and will offer the association its ‘official blockchain-enabled wallet solution’. FIFA will supply sponsorship assets like advertising, media exposure, and promotional possibilities, while Algorand will assist FIFA in establishing its digital assets strategy. According to Silvio Micali, founder of Algorand, “…

POLITICO has posted a .PDF of the document: https://politi.co/3w1tWki

It’s no secret that traditional gamers have hated NFTs in gaming for a while now. Recently, a group called Climate Replay (which is made up of a large number of Minecraft developers) released an online guide and ‘pledge’ to increase awareness about the potential dangers of NFTs and cryptocurrencies. However, a week since its release, the pledge has only seen signatures from 72 individuals and 5 companies thus far. The pledge and guide highlighted the environmental concerns of using blockchain technology and of the various security issues faced by such games citing the recent Ronin Bridge hack. The Pledge reads, “By ignoring key risk factors and glaring issu…

Wikimedia Foundation, the parent organisation which manages Wikipedia, has decided to halt the acceptance of crypto donations after a community vote on a poll revealed that 71.17% of respondents wanted to discontinue all cryptocurrency donations. The poll which had a total of 400 respondents, was the result of a three-month-long community discussion on the environmental implications of cryptocurrency mining. The discussion revealed concerns about how accepting crypto could damage the foundation’s reputation and commitment to environmental sustainability in the long run. The Foundation has now shut down the BitPay account through which it was accepting crypto donatio…

According to a recent reddit post on the r/CryptoCurrency subreddit, hackers could potentially use the text prediction feature of smartphones to drain a user’s funds. Reddit user Andre, a 33-year-old IT professional from Germany, made the post after discovering his mobile phone’s ability to predict the entire recovery seed phrase as soon as he typed down the first word out of the BIP 39 list. According to the report, Andre had experimented with different keyboard software in order to find out the degree to which each software was able to predict the seed phrase correctly. His tests revealed that Google's GBoard was the least vulnerable, as the software did not…

Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs raised $320 million in crypto when it sold off land parcels in its virtual world Saturday night—and demand was so wild that it caused disruptions across the Ethereum blockchain. Transaction fees to mint an Otherdeed NFT soared to about 2 ether, or $6,000, after the launch.

Here is a short paragraph from Berkshire’s 1993 letter: “In many industries, of course, Charlie and I can't determine whether we are dealing with a "pet rock" or a "Barbie." We couldn't solve this problem, moreover, even if we were to spend years intensely studying those industries. Sometimes our own intellectual shortcomings would stand in the way of understanding, and in other cases the nature of the industry would be the roadblock. For example, a business that must deal with fast-moving technology is not going to lend itself to reliable evaluations of its long-term economics. Did we foresee thirty years ago what would transpire in the television-manufacturing or c…