DeFi & Ethereum News

2023-03-16 05:58:02 Microsoft-backed Space and Time partners with South Korean gaming firm Wemade

Web3 data warehousing platform Space and Time is partnering with publicly listed South Korean gaming firm Wemade. Founded in 2000, Wemade is a games developer known for the title "The Legend of Mir 2," which was a popular roleplaying game in China. The company has since pivoted towards metaverse and blockchain technologies.

The strategic partnership will enable Wemade to use Space and Time’s suite of developer tools to power its gaming services. The data warehouse aims to combine on-chain and off-chain data in a single trustless environment that will enable companies to do enterprise-scale analytics and make fast transactions. Space and Time will help Wemade facilitate more complex earning payouts for its games, run tamperproof analytics against game activity and reduce on-chain storage costs through its data warehouse, the company said in the release.

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2023-03-15 06:02:02 EU Parliament passes smart contract regulation under Data Act

Smart contracts are one step closer to falling under European Union-wide regulation within a broader strategy on data markets, an issue that continues to raise concerns within the crypto industry. The European Parliament adopted legislation under the Data Act on Tuesday, with 500 votes in favor and 23 against.

The legislation, and its provisions on smart contracts, is not explicitly aimed at the crypto industry, but focuses on data from connected devices, or the Internet of Things. Yet some in the industry worry the Data Act may have far-reaching effects on crypto if the scope isn’t clearly defined, especially as smart contracts — automated executions written into software — underpin the infrastructure of DeFi. The greatest potential of the legislation, according to Pilar del Castillo Vera, a centrist-right MEP and rapporteur on the Data Act.

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2023-03-14 06:21:02 Framework and Bitkraft lead $6 million seed funding into gaming studio Jungle

Bitkraft and Framework Ventures co-led a $6 million seed funding round into Jungle, a Brazil-based web3 gaming studio. Delphi Digital, Karatage, Fourth Revolution Capital, Monoceros, 32bit Ventures, Stateless Ventures, Snackclub and Norte Ventures also took part in the round, which closed at the tail end of last year.

The funding will be primarily used to build out its team, marketing, and distribution for the games it produces. Co-founded by Beraldo, Giulio Ferraro and Lucas Kertzman, Jungle differs from other web3 gaming studios in that it seeks to acquire "underutilized" intellectual property rather than developing it in-house. By leapfrogging over the often-lengthy development process, Beraldo claimed that this speeds up the release by around two to three years. Jungle says that its first game, a web3 shooter, will be released this year on mobile devices.

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2023-03-13 06:13:02 US SEC Alleges BKCoin and its Co-Founder for Running a $100 Million Crypto Scam

The watchdog froze assets connected to BKCoin after filing an emergency action against it. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an emergency action against the Miami-based financial advisor firm – BKCoin Management LLC – and its Co-Founder Kevin Kang, claiming they have defrauded investors with $100 million via a fraudulent crypto scheme.

In a recent press release, the US securities regulator asserted that BKCoin raised around $100 million from at least 55 investors between October 2018 and September 2022. The company and one of its founders – Kevin Kang – assured customers their funds will be used to trade cryptocurrencies, promising significant returns on the investment.Instead, the SEC suggested that the defendants disregarded the outlined plan using $3.6 million of the total sum to make Ponzi-like payments, Kang supposedly stole over $370,000 to pay for holidays, sporting events tickets, and even a property in New York City.

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2023-03-12 05:58:02 Coinbase halts conversion feature between U.S. dollars and USDC

Coinbase said Friday evening that it halted support for conversions between U.S. dollars and stablecoin USDC. "We are temporarily pausing USDC:USD conversions over the weekend while banks are closed," the firm said in a tweet. "During periods of heightened activity, conversions rely on USD transfers from the banks that clear during normal banking hours."

The firm typically offers traders a feature that allows them to seamlessly exchange USD for USDC. Coinbase plans to restart the feature on Monday. The news came moments after Circle confirmed its USDC had exposure to Silicon Valley Bank, which earlier Friday became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis. California's financial regulator seized control of the bank Friday and put it in FDIC receivership. Silicon Valley Bank's collapse came shortly after crypto-friendly Silvergate said it was liquidating. Circle later said in a tweet that its exposure stood at $3.3 billion.

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2023-03-11 06:18:02 FTX Incentivizes Staff With $4M Bonus Program Boost

FTX is seeking to introduce a $4 million bonus program to retain employees with critical skills, according to court documents filed on Tuesday. The company’s CEO, John J. Ray III, has proposed offering bonuses of up to 94% of salary to prevent employees with knowledge of programming or company accounting practices from leaving the company.

FTX argued that its remaining employees and contractors possess institutional knowledge and unique, specialized skillsets that would be difficult to replace and are critical to the company’s objectives in its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. FTX is facing a “massive shortfall” as it attempts to return funds to creditors, and the proposed bonus program is aimed at ensuring that the company can wind up its affairs effectively. The overall package is capped at $4,027,204, and no bonuses will be paid to directors or officers of the company, founder Sam Bankman-Fried and his family, or any staff believed to be involved in wrongdoing.

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2023-03-10 06:33:02 Gemini Exchange Denies Rumors Of Losing Banking Partner, JPMorgan

According to the previous information updated in the Coindesk report that the US bank JPMorgan terminated its relationship with the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange. However, the cryptocurrency exchange soon denied the news and announced that the partnership remained intact. It is known that JPMorgan has only two customers, a cryptocurrency company, including Coinbase and Gemini.

It is known that JPMorgan has only two customers, a cryptocurrency company, including Coinbase and Gemini, supporting USD transactions for these two platforms from 2020. Coinbase representatives confirmed to CoinDesk that the relationship with JPMorgan continued as usual. The rumors arose as multiple US financial authorities simultaneously warned banks about the risks of providing services to companies exposed to the cryptocurrency sector following a rapid collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX empire. At the same time, electronic-friendly banking information Silvergate Bank had to declare shutdown.

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2023-03-09 06:36:02 3AC Founders’ Open Exchange Completes Its $25 Million Fundraise

3AC’s founders provide more details on how their exchange for crypto bankruptcy claims will work. The highly controversial “Open Exchange” (OPNX) headed by once-failed Crypto CEOs has reached its fundraising goal of $25 million – though the founders are yet to reveal their benefactors. Meanwhile, collapsed crypto exchange CoinFLEX has revealed that its restructuring deal.

According to a Twitter thread from DefiIgnas (that was later retweeted by co-founder Zhu Su), Kyle Davies contacted the DeFi researcher late on Monday with news that the fundraiser was now complete. Leaked in January, the raise will help build an exchange for trading the bankruptcy claims of other fallen crypto exchanges and firms that let creditors out to dry during the 2022 bear market. “Users will be onboarded via a Special Purpose Vehicle, which is sometimes called a bankruptcy-remote entity,” explained Ignas. The exchange will abide by know your customer (KYC) rules, and will not be available to American citizens.

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2023-03-08 06:39:02 Thailand waives crypto tax for investment tokens: Reuters

Thailand’s cabinet has approved tax waivers for crypto companies that offer investment tokens in the country, according to a statement by Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith on Tuesday. This tax waiver will be applicable for both primary and secondary offerings on these investment tokens.

Thailand’s new crypto tax policy also extends to investors. Those who invest in these token sales will also be exempted from paying value-added tax. This is the crypto-related value-added tax exemption. Last year, Thailand’s government waived VAT for crypto transfers until 2024. Arkhom stated that that tax waiver could see the government forgo revenue of up to 35 billion baht ($1 billion) in the next two years. This is based on an estimated 128 billion baht revenue ($3.7 billion) from investment token offerings during the period.

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2023-03-07 06:08:02 Kraken is on track to launch bank 'very soon' despite regulatory 'weird place'

Kraken is moving ahead with plans to launch its own bank despite a challenging regulatory environment and the recent shuttering of its on-chain staking services for U.S. clients to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it violated securities laws. Kraken’s banking relationships are secure, Santori added.

A new bank born from the crypto sector would come at a tumultuous time for an industry still dealing with the widespread fallout from the collapse of FTX. There have been multiple enforcement actions over the past several weeks and rising uncertainty on the regulatory front. SEC Chair Gary Gensler said last month that the Kraken settlement, which included $30 million in fines, should "put everyone on notice in this marketplace."Santori declined to discuss the SEC settlement in detail, but said that staking had been a small percentage of Kraken's revenue.

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