Bitcoin Saw Inflows Again, Miner Bets Against Ethereum’s PoS, Meta on Getting Metaverse ‘Right’ + More News
Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Investments news
- Digital asset investment products saw inflows totaling USD 14.4m last week, breaking the prior 5 week run of outflows, per CoinShares data. Bitcoin (BTC) saw inflows totaling USD 14m last week, compared with almost USD 55m outflows a week earlier. Ethereum (ETH) continues to see outflows, with almost USD 16m last week, or around 50% less than a week earlier. “The inflows came later in the week during a period of significant price weakness, suggesting investors, at current price levels, are seeing this as a buying opportunity,” CoinShares added.
- Former Goldman Sachs CEO and Chairman Lloyd Blankfein told CNBC that his view of crypto was evolving after digital assets attracted trillions of dollars in value. “I can’t predict the future, but I think it’s a big thing to be able to predict the present, like, ‘What is happening?’ And I look at the crypto, and it is happening,” he said, explaining that the ecosystem around cryptos has matured in the past year.
- Asset management giant BlackRock Inc. has filed for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that focuses on blockchain technology, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). iShares Blockchain and Tech ETF tracks the investment results of an index composed of companies involved in the “development, innovation and utilization of blockchain and crypto technologies” in the US and elsewhere.
- Non-fungible token (NFT) investment firm NFT Investments has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to acquire crypto venture capital company Pluto Digital Assets PLC for a consideration of GBP 96m (USD 129.4m). “The acquisition of Pluto is NFT Investments’ largest acquisition since its IPO in April 2021. It will create a significant global metaverse company and advance NFT Investments’ presence in the NFT sector, as Pluto Ventures has already invested heavily in NFTs and NFT gaming,” the company said.
Mining news
- At the time when Ethereum aims to transition to the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, Luxor Technology Corporation has decided to launch an Ethereum Mining Pool and the company has started organizing and building an advocacy group for Ethereum to remain on proof-of-work (PoW), stating that it “ensures network operations remain decentralized and that the mining process has profound, positive impacts on global energy markets.” Per the company, it is working with large institutional miners, such as Hut 8 and Hive Blockchain, as well as a number of retail miners in North America, “in its quest to provide the industry a US-based Ethereum mining pool.”
- Bitcoin mining company CleanSpark announced its hashrate has recently exceeded 2 exahashes per second (EH/s), doubling over the past three months. The company said it now produces around BTC 10 a day.
Metaverse news
- Meta said that “to get things right”, in their efforts to develop their own metaverse, they will work “with experts in civil and human rights, government, technology, and academia to think through issues and mitigate risks.” “No one company can (or should) build the metaverse alone. The company added that, over the next two years, they will invest USD 50m to develop mixed reality programs and conduct research focused on 4 main areas: privacy, safety, economic opportunity, and inclusion. (Learn more: Metaverse Trends in 2022: Prepare for More Gaming and New Virtual Experiences with NFTs)
Regulation news
- The US White House is readying an executive order for release as early as next month that will outline a comprehensive government strategy on cryptoassets and ask federal agencies to determine their risks and opportunities, Bloomberg reported.
- The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) is monitoring developments in other countries after British authorities unveiled new regulations aimed at curbing misleading advertising for cryptoassets this week, according to The Journal.
- Myanmar’s military junta has floated a cyber security law that would ban the use of virtual private networks (VPN), under penalty of imprisonment and/or fines, according to The Register. The bill also bans the use of digital currency, under the penalty of imprisonment for six months to a year and under the equal fine used to deter VPN use.
Exchanges news
- FTX is readying a Visa debit card that will be unavailable to US customers. FTX also says its card won’t have fees (aside from the third-party ones) and crypto balances will be automatically exchanged at the point of sale, where users can spend their crypto anywhere that Visa is accepted globally.
Career news
- Social media giant Twitter is recruiting an additional leader for its crypto division, according to a job posting. The new hire will serve in the role of “Senior Product Manager, Crypto” to explore blockchain, crypto, and Web 3.
- Wall Street heavyweight Citigroup is hiring a global head of digital asset risk management, who will be “accountable for all matters relating to the risk management of digital asset activities globally and across all Citi business lines.”
- Blockchain.com is adding Tom Horton, the lead independent director from retail giant Walmart, to its own board in the run-up to a potential public offering by the crypto service, per Bloomberg. Horton told the outlet that what is happening in the crypto space is “relevant to things [he is] involved with elsewhere — other boards, other companies.”
