Solana’s Serum Raises USD 100M, Coinsuper vs. Crypto Traders, Euro Inflation Surprise + 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
- The Incentive Ecosystem Foundation, a community-led foundation that supports development on the Serum (SRM) network, announced that it has raised USD 100m to support the growth, development and innovation of the Serum ecosystem. Solana (SOL)-powered Serum ecosystem fund is dedicated to supporting the multitude of projects leveraging Serum’s liquidity infrastructure and decentralized exchange capabilities.
Exchanges news
- Customers of Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Coinsuper say they can’t withdraw money or tokens from the bourse, and at least seven have reported the matter to the police, per Bloomberg. While “dozens of clients” were unable to withdraw their funds since late November, five of them told Bloomberg News that they’d filed police reports after withdrawals were apparently frozen, leaving them unable to retrieve about a combined USD 55,000 of tokens and cash.
Economics news
- Eurozone inflation unexpectedly hit 5% last month, a record high for the 19-country currency bloc and uncomfortable reading at the European Central Bank, which has consistently underestimated price pressures, Reuters reported. Additionally, the European Commission’s Economic Sentiment Indicator, a key gauge of the bloc’s economic health, fell more sharply than forecast in December to a level last seen in May.
NFTs news
- Gaming retailer GameStop Corporation (GME) hired more than 20 people to operate its freshly minted non-fungible token (NFT) unit, The Wall Street Journal reported. The division will enable the buying, selling, and trading of gaming NFTs, along with establishing key crypto partnerships, while the marketplace is set to launch later this year.
- Dapper Labs became the first NFT company to federally register to lobby with the US government, according to a public disclosure. The company has recruited Crossroads Strategies as their lobbying firm and added that it will lobby for “policy related to NFTs, blockchain and financial services.”
- American rapper and songwriter Nas is selling partial rights through NFTs to two of his songs via Royal, an investment platform that allows anyone to own a piece of their favorite music to earn royalties alongside the artist. The first sale starts on January 11, where users can invest in Nas’ music by buying LDAs, or “limited digital assets”, backed by streaming royalty rights.
Mining news
- Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficultly, or the measure of how hard it is to compete for mining rewards, is expected to make another step towards breaking its previous record. Per BTC.com, the difficulty is currently estimated to rise 0.78% in less than a day – and though the rise itself is not particularly high on its own, it comes as a third one in a row, and would bring the difficulty up to 24.46 T. Meanwhile, the all-time high stands at 25.05 T, recorded last May.
- Argo Blockchain announced it mined BTC 214 during December 2021, compared to BTC 185 in November 2021, bringing the total amount of bitcoin mined in 2021 to BTC 2,045. Based on daily foreign exchange rates and cryptocurrency prices during the month, mining revenue in December amounted to GBP 7.82m (around USD 10.55m).
Career news
- The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) hired Peter Marton as deputy superintendent of virtual currency, according to a post from Marton on LinkedIn. The position is in its research and innovation division and has a special focus on virtual and digital currencies, blockchain, distributed ledger technology, and other related innovative and derivative products and technologies.
- Crypto financial services provider Bitcoin Suisse hired Dirk Klee, the chief executive officer of Barclays Plc’s UK Wealth Management & Investments business, as its new CEO. He’ll succeed Arthur Vayloyan, who will remain a member of Bitcoin Suisse’s board of directors, on April 1.
Adoption news
- Global nonprofit The Mozilla Foundation put cryptocurrency donations on hold following a community backlash sparked by trenchant criticism from co-founder Jamie Zawinski. Mozilla said it would continue to explore decentralized web technology but will only resume crypto donations if it fits with its climate goals.
Legal news
- The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Craig Sproule of Australia, along with two crypto companies he founded – Crowd Machine Inc. and Metavine Inc. – with defrauding investors, having used upwards of USD 5.8m to invest in gold mining entities in South Africa, which wasn’t disclosed to investors.
