Welcome to the March 11th, 2022, edition of the Decentral Weekly Crypto News Wrap-Up, where Neil and Em tackle the same question: “Is this a thing?”
Ukraine is STILL dominating the crypto news wrap-up, but of course there are other headlines to discuss. They include Biden’s upcoming executive order, Drake partnering with a crypto betting company, Tai Lopez getting into NFTs, and more.
Ukraine crypto headlines everywhere
It’s no surprise that many cryptocurrency news items are about Ukraine, thanks to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The country has raised over $50 million in crypto, but there are also some new questions. There’s good news for those who want to donate: the government now accepts over 70 digital assets.
Ukraine had promised an airdrop, but then decided to cancel it. Obviously, this wasn’t good news to those who had donated hoping for some kind of return on their donation. Either way, Ukraine is now buying military gear thanks to cryptocurrency.
Any new observations since last week regarding how crypto is playing a role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict?
Neil says:
I think there are new questions regarding how crypto companies might “support” sanctions. I think it’s a hard line to walk because crypto exchanges have to comply with the law to some extent, but it’s still difficult to truly “ban” it in any meaningful way. I still think this conflict is proving how crypto will be used/weaponized in future conflicts.
Em says:
This crisis impacts everything — economics, politics, technology, and social and humanitarian issues. Of course crypto would be a player in such a serious world event. The problem is that it’s such a complex situation that it’s hard to even know what is happening, let alone which things will turn out as positive or negative events.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks this is still a crypto thing, Em thinks it’s a world event thing.
Who do you agree with?
Billionaire backs off anti-crypto stance
If you’ve followed crypto for a while, you know that many financial experts and businessmen tried to downplay cryptocurrency when it first went mainstream. It seems like more and more, many of these same people are beginning to understand cryptocurrency is here to stay.
Ken Griffin is the billionaire CEO of investment firm Citadel, and he is finally saying he made the wrong call regarding crypto. He stated that Citadel would begin engaging with crypto “in the months to come.” In 2017, Griffin had compared interest in Bitcoin to tulip bulb mania.
Should we applaud this, or is this just a hedge fund owner doing the bare minimum?
Neil says:
There were a lot of bankers and financial “experts” that criticized crypto, and many of them are still criticizing it. It’s great that he walked it back, but let’s also remember that Ken Griffin is the guy that bought a copy of the Constitution, at least partially so the ConstitutionDAO couldn’t get it. He knows he was wrong, and admits it – but he’s still clearly “against” crypto, and this is about optics more than anything else.
Em says:
Money talks. And if there’s one thing a billionaire knows about, it’s money. I don’t think we can blame people for not seeing the trajectory of crypto before it came to fruition. Many people didn’t, even if they knew about it. Even if he’s getting on the bandwagon late by crypto enthusiast estimations, he’s getting on the bandwagon.
Bottom line:
Neil doesn’t think this is an “applaudable” thing, Em thinks it is.
Who do you agree with?
Drake partners with Stake
Drake is easily one of the biggest music artists in the world, and he’s been teasing a possible cryptocurrency partnership for some time. The internationally-known rapper will be partnering with Stake, a crypto betting site. Stake is considered one of the biggest crypto casinos in the world, although it is not available to United States users.
It looks like an announcement has finally been made on Drake’s Instagram, and the rapper will participate in a live event called “Drake on Stake.” The rapper has apparently been an active player on the platform, reportedly making a $1.3 million Superbowl Bitcoin bet several weeks ago.
Any thoughts on this particular deal? Should Drake be wary of this partnership, given the fact that the SEC has targeted other entertainers regarding crypto deals and sponsorships?
Neil says:
Whether you listen to him or not, Drake is one of the biggest artists in the world. Do I think that this announcement will shake up the crypto world? No. Still, it’s one of the world’s biggest artists partnering with a crypto casino. As for breaking the law, I assume (and hope) Drake’s team did their due diligence to avoid any potential fines or legal consequences. This is a net positive.
Em says:
To be honest, I don’t think I could name one Drake song, so him getting into the cryptosphere is as meaningful to me as if your cousin’s dog groomer made a partnership with Stake. But hey… do you, Drake. Have fun, get in the game — just try not to get public backlash or lawsuits for being scammy like so many other celebrities have.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks this is a thing, Em doesn’t care about it.
What do you think?
Biden’s executive order is coming
Last month, we reported the Biden administration was moving closer towards providing cryptocurrency regulation. It looks like the Russia/Ukraine conflict may have made it so that Biden plans on signing an executive order this week, even though the administration had planned for an order before the war began.
The executive order will reportedly do several things, including asking the Financial Stability Oversight Control (FSOC) to study illicit financial concerns. The FSOC is a government agency created to monitor the stability of the U.S. financial system. The order also may explore the possibility of a new U.S. central bank digital currency.
What do you think the executive order will say? Do you anticipate any surprises? Any thoughts on how this will affect the markets?
Neil says:
There’s just no way that this is going to be too anti-crypto. I think the Biden administration understands cryptocurrency is here to stay, and I think the language will be pretty careful. Biden is worried about how crypto can help countries avoid sanctions, so there might be something about that – but frankly, I’m not sure what exactly can be “regulated” here.
Em says:
It seems to me that Joe Biden is the Mr. Magoo of our world political leadership. It would be funny if it wasn’t so excruciating. And when it comes to an executive order about crypto, I don’t know what it will say, but I can’t imagine it will be anything super meaningful. Politics doesn’t understand crypto, and an executive order won’t stop the advancement of technology.
Bottom line:
Both Neil and Em don’t really think this executive order will be much of a thing.
We have a consensus. Do you agree?
Andre Cronje and Anton Nell calls it quits
There are some developers that are critical to the growth of a sector, and Andre Cronje is considered a “godfather” in the DeFi space. Anton Nell, one of his frequent collaborators, took to Twitter to announce that both Cronje and himself would be quitting their DeFi projects.
Nell pointed out that this was not a “knee-jerk reaction” and that it was time that they “closed this chapter.” Cronje had already deleted his Twitter account and updated his Linkedin account to reflect he is no longer associated with the Fantom Foundation.
Dozens of DeFi tokens tumbled as a result of the announcement. Cronje first came to prominence as the founder of Yearn Finance.
What are your thoughts on this announcement? What does the fact that dozens of tokens have fallen say about “decentralization,” if they have this much impact?
Neil says:
Yeah, this is a pretty bad look. If Defi is going to truly be decentralized, then a couple of key developers can’t be responsible for affecting dozens of tokens like this. Cronje has definitely voiced concerns in the past, and I’m sure the tokens will recover – but it’s still a bad look.
Em says:
Well, it’s too bad. Whatever caused them to peace-out of the community, hopefully they’re happier. But it’s not really that big of a shocker. Cronje has left projects before and made complaints about the community. I don’t know how difficult it is out there for developers ‘cause I’m not one, but hopefully Fantom has a strong team and can bounce back.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks it’s a bad look thing, Em thinks it’s a “too bad” thing.
Who’s side are you on?
Bad idea of the week: The Tai Lopez NFT disaster
There are many NFT influencers out there, but one influencer hasn’t had the most welcome entrance into the NFT space. That would be Tai Lopez, a social media influencer most known for his advertisements that feature him showing off luxury cars. He’s been a controversial figure for some time now.
Tai Lopez has launched his own NFT collection, and it isn’t going well. Around 2,000 NFTs have been minted (out of 18,300), and only about $1.3 million was raised. These are even worse numbers when you consider that Lopez has pledged to purchase a hotel, nightclub, AND a restaurant that would be exclusive for those who bought his NFTs.
The collection is called the OG (Original Garage) Social Club. You can find further details here. On social media, countless NFT influencers and enthusiasts have pointed out flaws with his project, and it’s getting ridiculed relentlessly.
Neil says:
Yeah, I’m not going to lie… I can’t stand this guy. Even guys like Gary Vee seem to have a lot more sincerity and better intentions than Tai. I mean, in case it wasn’t obvious, the NFT immediately siphons out funds into the team’s wallet. It’s such an obvious cash grab that it’s insane: it costs $50,000 for an NFT to win $10,000 in a basketball game with him. All in all, the NFT community avoided this collection, and Tai embarrassed himself.
Em says:
Haha! If Joe Biden is the Mr. Magoo of politics, Tai Lopez is the Billy Mays of the internet — amusingly entertaining, but who really takes him seriously? I mean seriously, if you heard that Tai Lopez got into crypto, how could you NOT guess that he’d be embroiled in scam accusations?
Bottom line:
Both Neil and Em agree this was a bad idea.
What do you think?
Meme of the week
As always, Em brings you the meme of the week:
And that’s our crypto news wrap-up!
Would you buy a Tai Lopez NFT? Does a Drake endorsement make you think twice about opening an account with a cryptocurrency casino? Do you think DeFi tokens will make a strong recovery? Any thoughts about Ukraine/Russia and how they are both using crypto to their advantage?
Make sure to tweet us your thoughts/opinions/perspectives at @decentralpub with the hashtag #weeklycryptonews on Twitter.
