NY Regulator To Speed Up Crypto Licensing, New Crypto ETPs, Web3 Council + 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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Regulation news
- New York State Department of Financial Services superintendent Adrienne A. Harris wants to streamline the application process for crypto licenses at the regulator, per Law360. She added that she hopes to soon release data on managerial diversity at financial institutions in that US state.
- A new proposal by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) aims to expand the definition of “dealer” to include people and businesses that use automated and algorithmic trading technology to execute trades and provide liquidity in the market and would therefore include DeFi participants. A crypto advocate called the move “an all-out shadow attack on decentralized finance.”
Investments news
- Exchange-traded fund (ETF) and exchange-traded product (ETP) sponsor WisdomTree added three new physically-backed crypto ETPs to its cryptoasset product range: WisdomTree Solana (SOLW), WisdomTree Cardano (ADAW), and WisdomTree Polkadot (DOTW). The three products are listed on Börse Xetra, SIX, the Swiss Stock Exchange, and will list on Euronext exchanges in Amsterdam and Paris on March 31.
- Derivatives marketplace CME Group launched options on Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether (ETH) futures, sized at one-tenth of their respective underlying tokens in size. They added that until now, their Micro products — which number more than 20 — have traded more than 1.2bn contracts since their introduction.
- Blur, a project working on an institutional-grade NFT marketplace, raised USD 11m in a seed round led by Paradigm. They added that they’re “building privately for now”, with more information on early access to come.
- Tech company FUEL raised EUR 1.5m (USD 1.67m) in a pre-seed round to become the “Shopify for NFTs”. The company is already working with artists and labels, aiming to launch several NFT drops in the next couple of weeks, they added.
Web3 news
- Canadian Web3 Council, a non-profit trade association, announced its launch with the goal of supporting the growth of Web3 in the country. Their founding members include Canadian companies like Aquanow, ChainSafe Systems, Dapper Labs, ETHGlobal, Figment, Ledn, Wealthsimple, and WonderFi.
NFTs news
- Entertainment giant WWE and sports platform Fanatics announced a partnership in which the Fanatics platform will create new products for WWE fans, including e-commerce and licensed merchandise, as well as physical, digital, and NFT trading cards. Part of the partnership is that later this year, Fanatics’ digital collectibles company Candy Digital will become one of WWE’s primary NFT partners.
- Football club AS Monaco and consultancy Capital Block have partnered to launch NFTs for AS Monaco fans. The two have not announced any upcoming projects yet. Capital Block also became the official NFT agency of AS Monaco.
Mining news
- Bitcoin mining company Genesis Digital Assets announced a new self-hosted Bitcoin mining data center in South Carolina, USA. They did not disclose the size or hash rate of the new facility.
- Bitcoin self-mining company Bitfarms announced it mined BTC 1,045 during Q4 2021 and BTC 3,453 for the full previous year, delivering fourth quarter and full-year 2021 revenue increases of 426% and 388%, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2020. They estimate they drove their market share from ~0.6% share of the BTC network to ~1.2% share from year-end 2020 to year-end 2021.
- Blockware Solutions announced a new 20-megawatt flagship facility in Belfry, Kentucky, USA. This is the first of three planned Kentucky sites as the company is currently scouting additional locations.
Adoption news
- Gaming fintech ZEBEDEE announced the launch of ZBD Streamer, which lets creators collect bitcoin (BTC) tips straight into their wallets. Streamers can set their own minimum and maximum amounts for tips, which can be as low as USD 0.0004.
Tax news
- India’s Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), which oversees tax collection, has seized Rs. 95.86 crore (USD 12.6m) from 11 crypto exchanges on allegations of tax evasion, Neil Borate, Senior Assistant Editor at business news outlet Mint, reported on his Twitter account.
Blockchains news
- Binance launched Binance Bridge 2.0, which allows users to bridge assets from any blockchain to the BNB Chain. When users search for tokens that are not listed on the Binance app but are supported by Binance Bridge 2.0, users can “bridge in” or “bridge out” the tokens between their native blockchains and BNB Smart Chain via normal deposit and withdrawal functions.
Career news
- Crypto platform FTX Europe appointed Marcel Lötscher to the position of Head of Regulatory Strategy. He will be focused on working with European regulators, including the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), they added.
