Sotheby’s Cancels CryptoPunks Auction, Canada Ends Use of Emergencies Act + 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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NFTs news
- Auction house Sotheby’s withdrew a collection of 104 CryptoPunks NFTs expected to be sold for up to USD 30m as the seller decided against selling them. The lot, which Sotheby’s titled “Punk It!,” was first acquired by collector “0x650d” back in July 2021 through a single USD 7m transaction.
- NFT platform OneOf announced the launch of its “Sports Pass” collection, a series of one-of-one 3D-rendered NFTs designed by animation studio 8th Frame which grants holders exclusive perks on OneOf’s new sports-themed NFT marketplace. Along with pro sports partnerships, OneOf says it has a series of college team sponsorships in the works.
Regulation news
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government can revoke the Emergencies Act now that the crisis in Ottawa and at Canada’s border crossings has calmed down, per the Financial Post. He added that “law enforcement agencies are prepared to deal with anyone engaging in unlawful or dangerous activities.”
- China announced expanded its crackdown on the crypto industry and announced powers to jail those found guilty of raising funds via token sales. The country’s highest court amended its interpretation of the country’s Criminal Law to make raising money from the public through “virtual currency” illegal, according to a statement. The amendment comes into force on March 1.
Banking news
- Crypto brokerage SFOX is in talks with large banks and market makers including Jane Street to open a market that facilitates the trading of bitcoin (BTC) derivatives, Bloomberg reported, citing the company’s cofounder George Melika. The idea is to use non-deliverable forward contracts (NDFs) to give banks the wherewithal to expose clients to BTC at a greater scale through a contract, at an agreed-upon price, that settles in cash.
Legal news
- A class-action lawsuit has been filed against certain celebrities, YouTubers, and social influencers for their alleged participation in a pump-and-dump scheme relating to SafeMoon tokens. Per the lawsuit, SafeMoon and its subsidiaries mimicked Ponzi schemes by misleading investors to purchase the tokens under the pretext of unrealistic profits.
Exchanges news
- Digital asset platform Nexo (NEXO) is entering into a strategic partnership with digital asset trading and financial technology provider Blockfills, in order to create a syndicated lending opportunity for their users. Through this collaboration, it will facilitate syndicated lending by connecting Blockfills’ client base and trading flow from its electronic trading platform, Phoenix, to Nexo’s financial tools for digital assets.
- BC Group, the owner of crypto exchange OSL, is partnering with digital securities exchange Archax and investment and trading platform InvestaX to launch the International Security Token Offering Alliance (ISTOA), an international consortium. The consortium members have also formed a working group to determine best technical and regulatory practices on the issuance, listing, trading, and settlement of blockchain-based digital securities, they added.
DeFi news
- Lending platform Celsius (CEL) is launching a crypto lending business on the institutional capital marketplace Maple Finance. Leveraging Maple’s DeFi infrastructure, Celsius enters institutional DeFi as a pool delegate, lending from a USD 30m pool of wrapped ethereum (ETH), they said.
- DeFi protocol GoodDollar announced the availability of its GoodDollar for Android app, which claims to provide a crypto universal basic income (UBI) to hundreds of thousands of members around the world. To date, GoodDollar says it has distributed more than USD 50,000 worth of their native G$ tokens.
Investments news
- Major financial, software, data, and media company Bloomberg and global fintech Elwood Technologies today announced a strategic integration enabling investments from clients using Elwood’s crypto trading platform to flow directly into Bloomberg AIM, a buy-side order management system (OMS). The integration combines Elwood’s institutional cryptoasset trading capabilities with Bloomberg’s data, analytics, and workflow tools, and it is expected to be completed and available for mutual clients of Elwood and Bloomberg AIM in Q2 2022.
- NFT platform Ucollex said it has closed a USD 10m Series A funding round led by Animoca Brands and MCP Asset Management. The raise will enable the project to invest extensively in blockchain technology and establish metaverse frontiers, they added.
- Cross-chain bridge Ren Labs announced a USD 7.5m raise to expand functionality with a cross-chain automatic market maker (AMM). The funds will be used to advance the development of Catalog, a new AMM, and the first application to be built on the forthcoming Ren blockchain, they added.
- CoinShares, a European digital asset investment firm, today announced that their physically-backed Polkadot (DOT) exchange-traded product (ETP) has been listed on Switzerland’s SIX Swiss Exchange.
Career news
- Crypto exchange FTX hired fashion and beauty entrepreneur Lauren Remington Platt as its head of global luxury partnerships. The exchange said Platt will build partnerships targeting luxury brands and encouraging them to “integrate with cryptocurrency” with FTX’s head of environmental and social initiatives, Gisele Bündchen.
