Welcome to the February 4, 2022 edition of the Decentral Weekly Crypto News Wrap-Up, where Neil and Em take on the latest cryptocurrency news headlines and answer the always-important question: “Is this a thing?”
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, which should warm your heart, but the financial markets are still ice cold. Hopefully you’re spending more time researching if you’re spending less time trading (we certainly don’t blame you!) This week’s crypto news headlines include: Biden pushing for more crypto regulation, a DAO wanting to start a fast food franchise, India planning on taxing crypto at 30%, and more.
Biden wants crypto regulation
The Biden administration is more interested than ever in cryptocurrency regulation, especially given recent volatility in the crypto markets. The word is that Biden wants to sign an executive order in February to regulate Bitcoin, framed as a matter of “national security.”
The administration reportedly wants to frame the regulation in a number of ways: claiming that crypto makes it harder to tax wealthy people, arguing that crypto hurts the dollar, and also pointing out that there is a legal “grey area” when it comes to DAOs.
Is this going to be a good or bad thing for the markets?
Neil says:
I can obviously understand why the government is trying to regulate crypto (to control it), and the bear market doesn’t make things any easier. I think a lot of people associate crypto with wealth, and the American public doesn’t like wealthy people right now. The White House claims it would have a central role when it comes to regulation – but how much can they really control? Even countries that banned crypto are home to millions of crypto traders. The real question is: will there be concrete regulation, instead of everyone always wondering about regulation?
Em says:
Of course the government is going to try to regulate crypto. It tries to regulate everything. It’s a hammer and everything is a nail. But, to me, It doesn’t matter whether this is good or bad. Politicians don’t understand the cryptosphere well enough to regulate well, even if they want to.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks this is more of a “wait and see” thing, Em thinks it’s more of a “politicians are too dumb” thing.
Who do you agree with?
Legendary heirs enter the NFT space
With the NFT boom of 2021 behind us, many experts and analysts expected that more corporations would enter the NFT sector now that there are billions of dollars at play. Of course, it also means that more high-profile artists want to get in on the NFT action – even if they are technically no longer physically with us today.
Some of the most legendary artists of all time have left behind memorabilia – and some heirs are looking to turn that memorabilia into NFTs. Julian Lennon, the son of John Lennon, will be auctioning off some of his father’s private collection as NFTs. The items include “Beatles iconography” and “personal items.” It includes the Afghan coat that John Lennon wore for the Magical Mystery Tour, a Beatles TV special.
Lennon isn’t alone! The heirs of Pablo Picasso will also be auctioning off 1,010 digital art pieces of one of his ceramic works that has never been seen publicly. Marino Picasso, the granddaughter of Pablo Picasso, is spearheading the project. Florian Picasso, Pablo’s great-grandson, claims that this would “build a bridge between the NFT world and the fine art world.”
Does this add more credibility to the NFT space, or does it just look like heirs cashing in because they realize the money they can make?
Neil says:
I do think this is a major deal, and pretty big crypto news. There have been some incredible NFT artists that have emerged, but Picasso art and Lennon memorabilia offer a different level of credibility. Obviously, they’re going to make a lot of money – but I do think that those kinds of names are held at a certain status, and they matter.
Em says:
Wait…John Lennon has a son? I legit didn’t know that. But I guess, get your profits, guy. Why not? Everyone else is taking advantage of the NFT cash cow these days. I can’t say that I would ever buy physical Beatles memorabilia, but I’m sure there’s a market for NFTs.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks this is a thing, Em doesn’t care that much.
Who do you agree with?
FTX valued at $32 billion
Even with a lot of negative cryptocurrency news headlines out there, it looks like Sam Bankman-Fried simply cannot lose. The billionaire’s crypto exchange has recently been valued at a staggering $32 billion, proving that investors are behind FTX despite the recent bear market. This happened thanks to a recent $400 million in Series C funding.
The valuation is $7 billion more than FTX’s valuation in October 2021. Incredibly, this means that FTX is now worth more than the Nasdaq exchange and Twitter. Bankman-Fried has said repeatedly that he believes 2022 will be a year where FTX forges new partnerships and enters new
FTX continues to succeed. Is this proof that investors are still behind crypto despite the bear market, or is this more of a “FTX is an exception” thing?
Neil says:
Honestly – this is really just a testament to Sam Bankman-Fried. There will always be success during bear cycles, but what he’s doing with FTX seems to be unprecedented. I think FTX is the exception here.
Em says:
I think this is a good omen for crypto. Even during a down market, the major players are still thriving, getting eyeballs, and getting new adopters. I definitely saw crypto.com ads during the division championship football games and probably we will during the superbowl. Keep hyping.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks this is an FTX thing, Em thinks it’s a crypto thing.
What do you think?
Will we see a fast-food DAO?
We’ve seen more DAOs rise up than ever before, and some of them haven’t exactly been PR home runs. There was the DAO that tried to purchase a copy of the Constitution and failed, and the Dune DAO that didn’t seem to understand the concept of intellectual property.
FriesDAO wants to raise $9.69 million dollars to start a real-world fast food franchise. Those who invest can potentially influence how operating revenue is spent, given the fact that the tokens will act as governance tokens. Token holders will not get ownership rights, however. Brett Beller, co-founder of the alcohol delivery startup Drizly, points out that this is because of the way “the SEC has actually laid things out.”
It is unclear what fast-food restaurant that the DAO will purchase, but around $1.3 million in USDC has been raised within 2 days of the whitelist sale.
Does this idea make sense, and do you think it has a good chance of succeeding?
Neil says:
See, this is the kind of thing that I can get behind. Golf clubs, exclusive NFT restaurants…those are cool, but why not try to do something that everyone can participate in? Plenty of crypto enthusiasts can easily support the business without breaking the bank, too. I’m a fan of this idea: it’s more realistic than most.
Em says:
I think we’re kind of throwing mud at the wall with DAOs for now. Not to say any of these are bad ideas or definitely won’t work. We just don’t know exactly how best to utilize DOAs yet or what their future looks like. This is a time of experimentation and I’m fine with it.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks this is a down to earth DAO thing, Em thinks it’s an “everyone’s experimenting” thing.
Who do you agree with?
India wants to regulate crypto finally?
There has been a lot of discussion about the fact that two of the biggest and most powerful countries in the world, China and India, haven’t been too keen on crypto whatsoever. There have been rumors swirling that India would ban cryptocurrency for years.
There is some new crypto news that most enthusiasts can get behind: instead of banning crypto, India is looking to tax crypto at 30%. Also, India’s central bank will be launching a digital rupee by 2023, although details are scarce.
The announcements were made by India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. Interestingly enough, her speech did not include the words “crypto” or “cryptocurrency.” Instead, the phrase “virtual digital asset” was used. Regardless, there’s no question that the cryptocurrency sector is booming in India, whether the government likes it or not.
Is the tax too high? Should we take India at its word, given the fact that they’ve seemed to reverse so much on this issue?
Neil says:
I think this is pretty good news. Yes, India might always “reverse their stance” technically, but this is a LOT better than a ban. More people in India are interested in crypto than ever before, and a 30% tax isn’t THAT far off a standard capital gains tax. I’d say this is a thing – a good one.
Em says:
Crypto was invented to sidestep government fiat currencies and escape monopolistic monetary systems. Of course governments want to tax it, but honestly I think it’s ridiculous. It’s not for anyone’s protection except the central banks and potential CBDCs in the future.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks this is a good thing, Em thinks it’s a ridiculous thing.
Who’s side are you on?
Bad idea of the week: Facebook’s Diem dreams are over
Zuckerberg’s crypto dreams are officially done for.
The Meta-backed Diem, many thought, would be a gamechanger. Meta owns Instagram and Whatsapp, and plenty of analysts$ thought that developing a cryptocurrency was the logical next step. Now, Diem has been sold to Silvergate Capital, a crypto bank, for $182 million dollars. The Diem was meant to be a stablecoin alternative, and was first rolled out in 2019.
How did this happen? You’re a social media platform with BILLIONS of users, and those users usually interact with their friends and family. It’s easy to see why Facebook was interested in developing a crypto, but was it doomed from the start because regulators would never allow it?
If you’re Jack Dorsey, the answer is simple. Zuckerberg was too busy trying to create his own cryptocurrency rather than embrace Bitcoin. The project was plagued not only by regulatory troubles, but there was also lots of internal conflict at Diem.
Should we pour out a little liquor for Diem?
Neil says:
I know that a lot of people think that this was doomed from the start, but it’s actually surprising to see someone with the money and power that Zuckerberg has, not be able to pull off their cryptocurrency dreams. It’s obviously a good sign for crypto enthusiasts who prioritize decentralization.
Em says:
We knew it was coming. This project has been struggling for years. There was no way regulators in the US were going to roll over and let Libra grab the market share of digital currency adoption before the government could roll out a CBDC. Unacceptable!!
Bottom line:
Both Neil and Em agree that Zuck was out of his league on this one.
What do you think?
Meme of the week
As always, Em brings you this beloved meme of the week:
And those are our cryptocurrency news headlines!
What fast food restaurant do you hope that FriesDAO purchases? Will you bid on the Picasso or Lennon NFTs? How much do you think that Biden will try to tax crypto profits, or do you not have any profits to tax (we get it, it’s been a rough couple of months)?
Make sure to tweet us your thoughts/opinions/perspectives at @decentralpub with the hashtag #weeklycryptonews on Twitter.
Oh and if you’re still looking for gift ideas for your crypto valentine, check out our crypto gift giving guide: from personal mining rigs to crypto swag, there’s something for everyone!
