Coin Bureau Insider

2022-05-21 18:07:45

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2022-05-21 18:07:36 Hey Guys,

If you've been keeping up with the crypto headlines, you've probably seen a few about Europe's upcoming crypto bill called MiCA.

That's because it could potentially require, say, all NFT issuers and marketplaces to register with regulators, and result in the banning of centralised stablecoins on the continent.

Obviously, this possibility is a pretty big deal, and the crazy thing is that the MiCA bill was flying mostly under the radar until a few months ago when all these regulatory proposals started to leak. One of the main men behind this leakage is Patrick Hansen, a European crypto policy expert and hedge fund advisor which we reached out to for the full scoop.

It appears that the MiCA bill will be passed sometime this summer. At that point, European countries will have between 6 to 24 months to implement the crypto regulations it imposes.

What's frustrating is that most of the final discussions about MiCA are taking place behind closed doors, hence why we reached out to Patrick for some insider info.

Make no mistake, this is a video you can't miss! Open / Comment

2022-05-21 11:46:27 Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes Sentenced to 2 Years Probation

On Friday, a federal courthouse in New York sentenced former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes to two years of probation, six months of home confinement, and location monitoring.

Hayes made the following statements to the Judge during his hearing,

“I deeply regret that I had a part in this criminal activity. My best years are ahead of me. … I am ready to turn the page and start again. I ask that you allow me to return home, deeply remorseful and able to start the next chapter of my life.”

Hayes has managed to avoid a prison sentence in the Bank Secrecy case, whose charges usually carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. He has been provided 30 days to decide where in the U.S. he will serve his home detention.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-20/bitmex-co-founder-arthur-hayes-sentenced-to-two-years-probation Open / Comment

2022-05-21 11:46:27 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (21/05/22)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:

Panama's President Not Ready To Endorse Crypto Bill

President Laurentino Cortizo of Panama indicated that he would not sign the recent crypto bill passed by the country's National Assembly “at this moment”. He added that he needed more information before signing off on the bill.

According to the President, the bill would need to sufficiently take action against money laundering for it to get the presidential seal of approval. The president praised the bill as an "innovative law" and a "good law," saying he agreed with certain sections but warned that there could be illegal uses of cryptocurrency that needed to be addressed.

The Panama crypto bill was aimed at regulating “the trading and use of crypto assets, the issuance of digital value, the tokenisation of precious metals and other assets, payment systems and other provisions.” If passed, the Panama Crypto Law would likely allow people and companies to use and accept cryptocurrencies. Many firms would not require a special licence to accept cryptocurrency, according to an early version of the bill.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/panama-s-president-says-he-won-t-sign-crypto-bill-into-law-at-this-moment

Opensea Launches 'Seaport' Marketplace Enabling NFT Bartering

OpenSea has launched a new marketplace protocol called ‘Seaport’ that enables users to trade NFTs via a barter mechanism. According to the platform, a user “can agree to supply a number of ETH / ERC20 / ERC721 / ERC1155 items” in exchange for an NFT.

When making bids, SeaPort users can define the criteria they want, such as certain traits on NFT artwork or items that are part of a collection. Tipping will be allowed on the site as long as the amount does not exceed the original offer.

OpenSea further stated that it does not control or operate the protocol, positioning it as a shared and open resource for developers.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/148094/opensea-launches-new-marketplace-protocol-dubbed-seaport/

U.S. House Introduces Bill to Protect Bitcoin in 401(k)s

On Friday, May 20, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) introduced a bill that would allow Americans to include Bitcoin and most other financial assets in their 401(k) retirement plans. The bill is the House companion of the Senate’s Financial Freedom Act of 2022 introduced by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on May 5.

Both bills were introduced in reaction to the US Department of Labor's regulatory recommendations issued in March, which urged investment firms against allowing crypto in 401(k)s.

The bill, if passed, would ban the US Labour Department from limiting the types of investments that 401(k) account holders can choose from, including Bitcoin, which Fidelity hopes to make available later this year.

https://decrypt.co/101029/house-bill-protect-bitcoin-retirement-accounts

Bit Digital Miners Go Offline After Explosion And Fire At NY Facility

Bit Digital, a crypto mining company based in New York, said two of its hosting partners had shut down more than 4,800 rigs due to power outages at various locations.

Bit Digital said that "an explosion and ensuing fire" damaged a substation in Niagara Falls, forcing its partner Blockfusion USA to take 2,515 Bitcoin (BTC) miners and 710 Ether (ETH) miners offline at the location.

According to a statement released on Thursday by Bit Digital,

“Blockfusion is working with its insurer and the utility to restore power as quickly as possible. Operations are hoped to resume within a few weeks, but at this time there can be no assurances as to timing.”

The mining firm further stated that its Digihost partner in North Tonawanda, New York, experienced a similar power outage, resulting in 1,580 crypto miners falling offline.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/3k-bit-digital-hosting-partner-s-crypto-miners-go-offline-after-explosion-and-fire Open / Comment

2022-05-20 20:19:46 Hey Guys,

I know it's been a bumpy ride in the markets this week. We are all quite worn down from the stream of news and roller coaster that is crypto.

So, I thought I would and off on a light note with some behind the scenes action...

Although a video may take 20-30 minutes to watch, it takes days to plan, research and formulate. Then, even when it comes to shooting, there are numerous takes.

Have a laugh at my expense with some of these bloopers!



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2022-05-20 12:07:05 The statements come as a result of the recent Terra crash. Countries and their regulators have begun to fear the effects of a potential black swan event in the crypto industry. They believe that a stricter regulatory framework will decrease the risk of such an event happening.

The Financial Stability Board is a Switzerland-based advisory body associated with the Bank of International Settlements. Its members come from 24 countries and a variety of international organisations. It does not have any enforcement authority.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/g7-countries-urge-swift-regulation-crypto-assets-draft-2022-05-19/

FTX US Launches New Stock Trading Offerings

According to an announcement made on Thursday, FTX US is launching a new equities trading platform for US exchange-listed securities.

The new platform will offer ordinary stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as well as fractional shares for select instruments, and will be integrated into the existing FTX US crypto trading software. For the sake of transparency, the platform, dubbed FTX Stocks, will initially route all orders through Nasdaq and will not be compensated for order volume.

According to the statement, FTX Stocks will be the first trading platform to allow users to fund their accounts and bet on stocks with stablecoins, which it will do through a partnership with the FTX US crypto exchange.

https://www.coinbureau.com/news/ftx-us-launches-new-stock-trading-offerings/ Open / Comment

2022-05-20 12:07:05 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (20/05/22)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:

Revolut’s “Revcoin” Will Reward Customer Loyalty: CEO Nik Storonsky

UK neo-bank Revolut announced that its proposed native crypto token will reward customers for their loyalty. CEO Nik Storonsky stated that the “Revcoin” will function in a way similar to airline miles, except the Revcoin can be publicly traded unlike airline miles.

Users will earn Revcoin based on the frequency of app usage. Storonsky also stated that the company is planning to expand its crypto wallet services by providing users access to non-custodial wallets. The non-custodial wallet service by the app is planned to launch on Ethereum before expanding to other chains.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/147768/revoluts-planned-native-token-will-reward-customer-loyalty-storonosky-says/

Tether Reduces Commercial Paper Reserve by 17% in Q1 2022

Tether announced today that its commercial paper has been lowered by 17% to $20.1 billion from $24.2 billion the previous quarter. It also increased its US Treasury bond holdings from $34.5 billion to $39.2 billion.

According to the report, the majority of the $20.1 billion (about $18 billion) is made up of investment-grade A-1 and A-2 paper. Since April 1, a further 20% reduction in the commercial paper has been implemented, which will be reflected in the second-quarter report. Tether has also slightly reduced its cash deposits from $4.2 billion to $4.1 billion

MHA Cayman, an accounting firm, has approved Tether's attestation report. Tether is mandated to submit quarterly attestations of its assets and liabilities as part of a deal with the New York attorney general in February 2021, in order to be more transparent about what exactly backs its tether (USDT) stablecoin.

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/05/19/tether-cut-commercial-paper-reserve-by-17-in-q1/

Swiss Asset Manager Julius Baer Plans to Offer Crypto Services

Julius Baer Group Ltd., a Swiss asset management firm, plans to offer its high-net-worth clients exposure to cryptocurrencies and decentralised finance (DeFi). Pilot programmes are now in place with the goal of providing rich customers with cryptocurrency advising, trading, and investing.

CEO Philipp Rickenbacher stated,

“It could well be that at this very instant we are witnessing a bubble-burst moment of the crypto industry, and we all know what happened after the dot-com bubble burst 30 years ago. It paved the way for the emergence of a new sector that indeed transformed our lives; I believe digital assets and decentralised finance hold that same potential”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-19/julius-baer-deepens-crypto-commitment-amid-bubble-burst-moment?srnd=crypto-nft

Azra Games Raises $15 Million In Seed Funding Led By a16z

Azra Games, a blockchain gaming startup, raised $15 million in seed funding to develop its flagship play-and-earn RPG title, “Project Arcanas.” The round was led by a16z and saw participation from NFX, Coinbase Ventures, Play Ventures, and Franklin Templeton.

Project Arcanas will be a sci-fi fantasy epic with mass combat and role-playing game (RPG) elements with game assets being represented as NFTs. The Genesis Collection from Arcanas will be the game's first NFTs. These will be characters that can be staked in order to earn interest and will play a significant role in the game's lore. The project is yet to decide the chain it will deploy on.

https://decrypt.co/100898/azra-games-raises-15-million-play-earn-rpg-nfts

G7 Financial Officials Urge Financial Stability Board To Speed Up Crypto Regulation: Report

According to a report from Reuters, top financial officials from the G7 urged the Financial Stability Board to speed up crypto-asset regulation before the body's next gathering in June. Open / Comment

2022-05-19 20:56:22

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2022-05-19 20:56:15 Hey Guys,

I told you all that I'd be doing a detailed video on what happened to Terra, and I'm here to deliver.

As you can imagine, there's a lot more to this story than meets the eye - certainly more to the story than any single crypto article could hope to explain. Consider this our attempt at giving you the most cohesive explanation I possibly can.

In addition to digging through just about every resource we could find, the Coin Bureau team also managed to get a hold of a high-profile member in the Terra community who was able to give us some exclusive insights as to what exactly was (and still is) going on behind the scenes and confirm the order of events that led to Terra's downfall.

I'll note that the size of the crater left by Terra is still being measured...

Everyone was exposed to Terra's ecosystem in some way, and some of the most prominent crypto VCs had poured billions into the project until it's last breath.

I would normally say enjoy, but in this case I just hope this video helps some of you find some closure. Please share if you find it helpful or insightful. With some luck we will eventually figure out exactly what happened to Terra.

For now, the content in this video is, to the best my knowledge, the best information we have at the moment. Open / Comment

2022-05-19 11:49:15 https://cointelegraph.com/news/axie-infinity-s-discord-bot-compromised-hackers-issue-fake-minting-message

A16z Raises $600M in Metaverse Gaming Fund

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has raised $600 million to build the future of the gaming industry. With the new a16z fund, named "Games Fund One", the team plans on investing in game studios, consumer apps and game infrastructure providers.

According to a16z,

“Over the past decade, games have undergone a radical transformation, from simply being packaged entertainment to becoming online services that more closely resemble social networks and scale like consumer technology companies.”

The team further stated,

"With GAMES FUND ONE, we will continue to add more functions and develop deeper networks that are tailored to the games ecosystem so we can help our portfolio companies with everything from building digital communities, to managing their virtual economies, to IP licensing best practices, to helping build their development teams."

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/147591/a16z-launches-600-million-fund-to-invest-in-gaming-industry

Central Bank of Norway Uses Ethereum Layer 2 Solution for CBDC Pilot

Norges Bank (the central bank of Norway), is working on a pilot program for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) which utilises an Ethereum layer-2 protocol called Nahmii.

Nahmii is an Ethereum scaling solution that utilises “state pools.” State Pools combine the instant finality of state channels with the pooled security of side chains and rollups.

In a recent blogpost, Nahmii stated,

“Following a competitive tender process, Nahmii AS will now build a sandbox environment for Norges Bank as part of their CBDC experimental testing strategy. Norges Bank will use this platform as part of a wider investigation into CBDCs.”

Nahmii says the sandbox trial is expected to include all major Norwegian banks, which will also benefit from Nahmii AS’s technical expertise.

https://www.coinbureau.com/news/central-bank-of-norway-uses-ethereum-layer-2-solution-for-cbdc-pilot/ Open / Comment