Welcome to the January 28, 2022 edition of the Decentral Weekly Crypto News Wrap-Up, where Neil and Em take on the hottest cryptocurrency headlines and answer the question of the week: “Is this a thing?”
It’s starting to look like “crypto winter” might extend into February.
Our weekly crypto news wrap-up is stacked: we talk about how cryptocurrency markets have wiped out over a trillion dollars in value, Twitter launching NFT profiles, the unfortunate Crypto.com hack, and more.
The crypto.com hack
In a previous weekly crypto news wrap-up, our “bad idea” was the fact that Matt Damon’s Crypto.com ad didn’t make the impact that the company had hoped.
Now it looks like the company may have much bigger issues worth millions of dollars.
Crypto.com admitted that a hack took place on January 17th, where unauthorized crypto withdrawals totaled over $30 million. 483 users were affected, but the company has stated that all customers were reimbursed for their losses.
How bad is this for Crypto.com, or is this just something that crypto critics are exaggerating?
Neil says:
Yeah, this isn’t good. Crypto.com probably has the most aggressive marketing campaign in the cryptocurrency sector right now, with the Staples Center naming rights deal and the Matt Damon ad. This is a pretty bad look, but the good news is everyone was reimbursed.
Em says:
The only thing I can really say about this is that it seems like everyone (including myself) can never hear this lesson too many times: self-custody your crypto! Please everyone, take security seriously. :’(
Bottom line:
Both Neil and Em agree this is a thing.
We have a consensus! Do you agree?
Twitter rolls our NFT profile pictures
The NFT boom of 2021 is continuing into 2022, with NFT sales remaining strong even amidst the overall cryptocurrency market slump. Now, there are more NFT artists and NFT companies than ever before.
What about those who want to “flex” on social media with the verified NFTs that they own?
You can now set an NFT as your profile picture, thanks to a partnership between Twitter and OpenSea. It’s good timing when you consider that the NFT boom seems to be ever-growing, and your profile picture will be changed to a hexagonal representation of your chosen NFT. The feature is being marketed as a perk of Twitter Blue, the company’s new premium service.
It’s not that surprising that Twitter is embracing NFTs, especially given that Jack Dorsey is pretty vocal about being a pro-crypto billionaire. Elon Musk has criticized the feature, calling it “annoying.” Others have pointed out that the NFT profile pic feature seems to work even for NFTs that aren’t verified.
Twitter is one place where there seems to be more NFT criticism than anywhere else. Is this feature good, or will it just end up being a fad, or mocked mercilessly?
Neil says:
This isn’t going to be a “thing.” People who are not fans of NFTs are already creating hexagonal profile pics to try and fool people, and this seems more like a status thing than a mass adoption thing. I think this will be made fun of more than utilized.
Em says:
This is the kind of stuff we can expect to happen as adoption grows and the big players realize what they’re dealing with. Web3 isn’t perfect yet, and there are certainly conflicting narratives about how realistic it is, but this is part of the path to legitimacy… if we’re going to reach it.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks this isn’t a thing, and (no surprise) Em disagrees.
Who do you agree with?
Robinhood rolls out crypto wallets
There are several companies that are critical for cryptocurrency mass adoption, and many believe that Robinhood is one of those companies. The company has marketed itself as a millennial/Gen Z-friendly trading and investing app, and boasts around 18 million monthly active users.
Robinhood started rolling out crypto wallets, and there are reportedly over 1.6 million users on the waitlist.
As of right now, only 1,000 customers have access to the beta version of the crypto wallet. This could be much-needed good news for the company, which recently traded at all-time lows. And the company’s reputation has been tarnished a few times over the past two years.
How does this help in terms of mass adoption?
Neil says:
They’ve been talking about this for a long, long time. Robinhood’s reputation has suffered recently, sure, but at the end of the day, this is a big hit with younger investors (just look at the waitlist) which is difficult for finance/investing apps to accomplish. I think this helps.
Em says:
After the whole GameStop fiasco, I don’t know how many decentrally-minded crypto enthusiasts are bullish on Robinhood. I, for one, don’t really trust them. Their crypto options until now have been unattractive to boot. Can they redeem themselves? Idk, time will tell.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks this is a thing, Em disagrees and won’t be switching to Robinhood anytime soon.
What do you think? Is this another Robinhood disaster in the making?
Crypto crash erases over $1 trillion in value
Look, let’s be honest: cryptocurrency markets aren’t doing well right now. Let’s not forget though: the financial markets cycle and the traditional stock market is a great mirror to what is happening in crypto right now.
Both Bitcoin and Ethereum have fallen to 6-month lows, and many average crypto investors are wondering whether “buying the dip” is really the best strategy right now. Believe it or not, over $1 trillion in value has been erased from the crypto markets.
Is this a typical “crypto winter” and will things pick up in the next couple of months as the financial cycle continues cycling back to business as usual?
There is now word that President Biden will be issuing an executive order focused on cryptocurrencies and evaluating their associated risks, and it could be released as early as February 2022. A lot of crypto predictions might be aging pretty badly right now, but is it something to be REALLY worried about long-term?
There’s no way to get around it: this is obviously bad news for the cryptocurrency markets.
Neil says:
We’ve seen this before! Cryptocurrency is volatile. If we want historic bull runs, then we’re going to have to deal with corrections from time to time. I don’t think this is something to be concerned about long-term. Yeah, it’s bad, but the question is whether anyone remembers this “correction” 5 years from now.
Em says:
Oooooof. Yeah, this is a painful correction. I don’t think anyone would deny it. That being said, however……..BUY THE F*CKING DIP.
Bottom line:
Both Neil and Em think this a “thing,” but that it’s also just part of the crypto/stock market cycles.
We (sort-of) have a consensus? What do you think?
Meta and Instagram (and now YouTube) may launch NFT marketplaces
As mentioned earlier, we already know that Twitter wants to embrace NFTs. However, it looks like other social media platforms have the same idea. Both Meta and Instagram (owned by Meta) are reportedly interested in launching an NFT marketplace.
The sources aren’t named, but Meta is reportedly looking to challenge OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace in the world. Meta’s digital wallet, Novi, will likely play a role if the marketplace is launched.
That’s not all—it looks like YouTube is now interested, as well.
But with their recent decision to cut off their native creators, it’s not clear if YouTube has the time (or PR budget! ha) to take on another roll-out. Plus, given the fact that Facebook and Instagram are home to many cryptocurrency scams, some NFT artists don’t trust these platforms at all.
Is this good news, or will this just lead to Meta (formerly Facebook) being more powerful?
Neil says:
This is a tough one — so many crypto enthusiasts argue for decentralization, and argue that tech companies have too much power. I do think that there are plenty of NFT marketplaces out here that have a BIG head start, and honestly, I’m wary about this.
Em says:
Like the Twitter NFT play, this is probably good for adoption in the long run, even if it’s kind of *eyeroll* in the short run. Companies and brands know if they don’t make a play, they’ll lose out. It’s just a question of whether any of them will do it right.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks this is a “we should be wary” thing, Em thinks it’s a “I hope they do it the right way” thing.
No consensus! Which side are you on?
Bad idea of the week: Paris DR. TRIES to sell a X-ray NFT
Oh dear. In Decentral’s weekly crypto news wrap-up, we’ve examined a lot of bad ideas. We painfully read all about these bad ideas, discuss them, and then work hard to explain why we think they are bad ideas, or how it might be a bad look for the cryptocurrency industry in general.
I have to say: this might take the cake (so far).
A senior surgeon at a Paris hospital decided to sell a patient’s X-ray as an NFT.
Yes, you read that right.
A senior surgeon – which is a licensed medical professional sworn to an oath to act in the best interests of the patient – thought it was a good idea to sell a patient’s X-ray… online… without their permission… as an NFT.
Obviously, Mr. Masmejean is now facing legal action and possible misconduct charges. The patient in question is a young woman who was shot in the arm during the 2015 Bataclan attack, where 130 people were killed. The young woman’s boyfriend was killed, as well.
Have we reached a point where we need to have a refresher on the code of ethics – and some basic laws – about patient privacy and protection?
Neil says:
This man is a “senior surgeon” and didn’t realize how illegal it was? There’s this disturbing trend where a lot of crypto enthusiasts think that, since the industry emphasizes decentralization, anyone can do anything with respect to IP. We saw after we wrote about the Dune story, which was the “bad idea” last week. This is shameful and disturbing.
Em says:
Omggggggg. Haha. Tokenization is supposed to PROTECT data and reclaim privacy for people. In case this person didn’t also realize… ummm… I don’t know what they call it in France, but I’m sure they have something equivalent to HIPAA. Gurl, bai.
Bottom line:
Neil and Em clearly agree this is a bad idea. (Ethics, yo)
What do you think?
Meme of the week
As always, Em brings you this beloved meme of the week:
And that’s our weekly crypto news wrap-up! We hope that you are weathering the crypto winter (at least as much as you can), and make sure to tweet us your thoughts/ opinions/ perspectives by tagging @decentralpub on Twitter.
