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Welcome to the April 8th edition of the Decentral Weekly Crypto News Wrap-Up, where Neil and Em keep asking the same question every week: “Is this a thing?”

What can you expect from this week’s crypto news-wrap up? There’s a promising new Gemini survey regarding crypto ownership, an update on the Axie Infinity hackers, the Bored Ape Yacht Club Discord hack, OpenSea offering more purchasing options, and more.

Almost 50% of cryptocurrency owners in 2021 are newcomers

Let’s start the crypto news-wrap up with some promising news for the crypto industry: it looks like there are more new investors and traders than ever before. Specifically, a survey has concluded that almost half of crypto owners in 2021 were people who bought digital assets for the first time. The survey comes from cryptocurrency exchange Gemini.

The survey spanned around 30,000 people across 20 countries, and it was conducted between November 2021 and February 2022. Interestingly enough, Gemini found that both Brazil and Indonesia lead the world in crypto adoption.

Does this surprise you, and do you think this kind of adoption momentum will continue this year?

Neil says:

Yeah, I think this is pretty incredible news. You might see a lot of hate for cryptocurrency on social media, but surveys like this help put things in perspective. It’s also interesting to see countries in so many different parts of the world embracing it, as well. I do think this kind of adoption will continue, especially with other “gateways” to crypto now (like DeFi and NFTs).

Em says:

Yep, last year was a crypto year as far as buzz for normies. Hell, I’ll admit I finally pulled the trigger last year even though I was one of the ones who’d been meaning to since 2010. Ha! People thought they were late in 2015, and again in 2018, and again in 2021. I think you’re still not late if you’ve waited until now. Go for it.

Bottom line:

Neil thinks it’s a positive thing, Em thinks it’s a “you’re still early” thing.

Who do you agree with?

Axie Infinity hackers begins unloading crypto

We’ve written about the rise of play-to-earn gaming before, and Axie Infinity remains one of the most popular games in the space. In late March, hackers were able to steal over $600 million in cryptocurrencies from the game. The cybercriminals infiltrated Ronin, the underlying blockchain that fuels the game.

The hackers are now working to unload the crypto loot, using crypto mixers to evade law enforcement. The Sky Mavis COO has stated publicly that the company will reimburse all players affected by the hack.

How bad is this, and do you think that this will have an effect on Axie Infinity’s future? Any other thoughts on what happened here?

Neil says:

Axie Infinity has millions of users, so I’m not going to say this is fatal. However, this definitely does make people question the incentives of play-to-earn gaming, if hacks like this can happen. At the end of the day, it’s one of the biggest DeFi hacks in history. The fact that they’re reimbursing everyone is great, but… what if this happens again?

Em says:

They’ll survive but, ooof. Hacks like these are rough. That’s kind of the nature of the space still where the only way to truly test security is to get hacked. It does sting for users who lost money, but hopefully it will make the protocol stronger in the end. As new tech gets developed and stress tested, this will always happen.

Bottom line:

Neil thinks this is a bad thing, Em thinks it’s a “new tech” thing.

Who do you agree with?

Ledger partners with The Sandbox

We know the metaverse is coming, which raises new questions about how people will interact with virtual worlds. Ledger, a cryptocurrency hardware wallet provider, is teaming up with The Sandbox to offer crypto education in the metaverse. While the partnership was announced at the Non-Fungible Conference in Lisbon, more details will be released shortly.

Ian Rogers, the Chief Experience Officer at Ledger, pointed out there will be an emphasis on security. “Self custody really gives you personal freedom, but it’s also a responsibility,” he offered. The Sandbox metaverse recently hit 2 million registered users.

What do you think about partnership? Do you have any additional thoughts on education in the metaverse?

Neil says:

The first thing that came to mind was that this was a brilliant play: Ledger can teach people about keeping their crypto safe, and those same people may end up purchasing Ledger products. It’s a great example of a win-win situation: a company makes money, but more importantly, people new to crypto learn how to keep their digital assets safe.

Em says:

Honey childddd—people need to understand security better. Most people are walking around with all their information hanging out like someone who came out of the bathroom with toilet paper flapping behind them in the wind. If Ledger is educating people about how to keep their information secure, let them make money on it.

Bottom line:

Neil thinks this is a win-win thing, Em agrees.

What do you think?

The UK is minting an official NFT

It looks like the British government wants to get in on the NFT boom. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has asked the Royal Mint to mint an NFT. The Royal Mint is the government-owned company responsible for minting coins in the UK. This is all part of a regulatory approach where the UK hopes to “lead the way” in crypto and eventually become a crypto hub.

There are currently no details regarding the object or image that will be associated with the NFT. A Treasury spokesman claims more details will “be released soon.” The NFT will reportedly be released sometime in the summer. The news was also confirmed by John Glen, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

What are your thoughts on this? Is this more symbolic than anything else?

Neil says:

Yeah, see this is actually pretty annoying to me. The UK has made a big deal of a looming deadline, which has led a lot of crypto firms to go elsewhere. Then they extended the deadline. Now, all of a sudden, you want to be a global cryptocurrency hub? This just reeks of a symbolic gesture more than anything else.

Em says:

Watching governments getting into crypto is one of the funniest and most entertaining things of this century. It’s like watching a grandpa trying to ride his grandkids’ hoverboard on Christmas morning and sprawling headlong into the tree — you hate to see it, but you’re gonna get some laughs, guaranteed.

Bottom line:

Neil thinks it’s an empty gesture thing, Em thinks it’s a “government and crypto” don’t mix thing.

What do you think???

OpenSea opens up purchasing options

NFT sales might not have the same momentum as several months ago, but that isn’t stopping the world’s largest NFT marketplace from making major moves. OpenSea has partnered with MoonPay to offer NFT purchases that don’t have to involve cryptocurrency.

Thanks to the partnership, users can buy NFTs with bank cards, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. The goal is to expand the reach of NFTs to anyone with a debit card, credit card, or digital wallet. Nifty, another major NFT marketplace, also recently announced a similar partnership with MoonPay.

What do you think about the announcement? Do you think NFTs will have the same kind of success in 2022 as 2021?

Neil says:

I think this is a great thing. There are lots of artists that might want to get into NFTs, or collectors that might want to start an NFT collection. If they feel a certain way about cryptocurrency, why not let them buy and sell NFTs with their bank cards? They may end up getting into cryptocurrency down the line. If not, it’s still money for OpenSea. As for NFTs in 2022, we might not repeat 2021 in terms of volume/sales – but I think it’ll be close.

Em says:

I don’t think this is a great thing because it’s integrating too closely with TradFi. I don’t think people need MORE ways to ape recklessly into the NFT trading market. I’ll always give props to the NFT scene for bringing crypto into the public conversation, but luring people into investments that cost them TradFi sacrifices plus the risk of crypto is crazy town.

Bottom line:

Neil thinks this is a great thing, Em disagrees.

Consensus!

Bad idea of the week: The BAYC Discord hack

With emerging technologies; there’s always the problem of dealing with innovative cybercriminals who find ways to manipulate and exploit those technologies. The Bored Ape Yacht Club’s Discord ticket tool was compromised, leading users to mint fake NFTs. With these fake NFTs, hackers could steal both NFTs and user information.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club is certainly a “blue chip” NFT collection with many analysts claiming it’s the most prestigious collection in the world. There should be an understanding that any hack associated with it is terrible PR for NFTs as a whole, but it looks like Yuga Labs has dropped the ball here.

One NFT from the Mutant Ape Collection was stolen. Several other Discord servers also featured the same phishing messages, suggesting the cybercriminals attacked multiple NFT-centric Discord servers. Bored Ape Yacht Club warned users not to mint any NFTs from their official Twitter account.

Any thoughts on the BAYC Discord hack?

Neil says:

Yuga Labs is valued at somewhere around $4 billion. The Bored Ape Yacht Club is pretty much the most high-profile NFT collection in the world. This is definitely the kind of thing that should never be happening, at least not with BAYC. They caught it quickly, but it’s bad PR – no way around it. Luckily, I’m sure they’ll have announcements that will make people forget about this pretty soon.

Em says:

BAYC has been getting some bad PR lately. It’s, of course, one of the most successful NFT collections ever and expanding into new things every day, so they’ll probably be fine. But better watch out if they don’t want to get themselves a bad rap.

Bottom line:

Both Neil and Em agree this is a bad look for BAYC.

Consensus again!

Meme of the week

As always, Em brings you the meme of the week:

And that’s our crypto news wrap-up!

Did you buy cryptocurrency for the first time in 2021, and what was your experience? Would you buy an NFT with a credit card if you did your proper due diligence? Do you think Axie Infinity will come back stronger than ever or is this hack a big blow to their future?

Let us know all of your thoughts/opinions/perspectives at @decentralpub with the hashtag #weeklycryptonews on Twitter. You may be featured in an upcoming newsletter!

Musicians flaunting their crypto wealth is nothing new, but YG’s flex in his newest music video is definitely a little different. In the video, YG flashes a Ledger cold storage USB close to a smartphone with what appears to be more than $30.6 million worth of BTC in it.

The question is… is it real?

Or could it just be product placement from crypto wallet provider Ledger?

Ledger’s social media team responded fast enough to give that theory merit, saying in a tweet on February 11:

“We see you! @YG knows how to secure those bags of #bitcoin … not your keys, no your coins.”

The video is for the song “Scared Money” (featuring J. Cole and Moneybagg Yo) and shot up to number 73 on the US Billboard Hot 100, with the official video seeing 10M views in the last month since it was published.

YG is a known crypto advocate. He’s talked about owning BTC in songs, like 2018’s “Big Bank,” and has also discussed it in a 2021 Rolling Stone interview in which he praises the simplicity of hodling crypto without having to spend a lot of time learning the ins and outs of it like many other asset classes require.

“I f*ck with Bitcoin […] I got Ethereum recently and I got Dogecoin recently but I’ve had Bitcoin for about three years […] Bitcoin came around and it was like ‘what?’ and I can just do it and it turns into that?”

YG Rolling Stone interview, 2021

Whether his $30M BTC flex is fake or real, one thing is undeniable: Crypto is everywhere, and it’s taking over the music next.

We live in a digital world, and it’s only getting more virtual.

Digital art is worth more than classic masterpieces, which is generating unprecedented profits for investors. But it’s not just the art itself that makes these NFTs so valuable; it’s the fact that anyone can access the opportunity to buy or sell digital art, unlike classic baroque oil paintings (good luck buying or selling one of those). Yet even though NFT artwork has created a tide of new crypto millionaires, the next wave of NFTs will be in a different form completely: music.

Over the last couple decades, online music streaming has evolved in leaps and bounds. We went from LimeWire and Napster to Spotify, Soundcloud, and Apple Music. We can stream music literally anywhere in the world from our phones at the touch of a button. No downloading or buffering necessary. But while that’s convenient for listeners, it’s terrible for artists. Because of accessibility and music rights, 97% of artists on Spotify currently see less than $1,000 a year from their work.

Now thanks to blockchain technology, that’s set to change, making music the new sound of NFTs.

NFTs let artists fully own their content, connect with fans directly, and actually make money from their music. That’s why NFTs were one of the biggest focuses of Austin music festival South by Southwest (SXSW).

Pianity, a music NFT marketplace, took advantage of the festival for maximum exposure. They were hand-picked by SXSW judges as finalists and gave a three-minute presentation of their platform while also being an exhibitor in the Creative Industries Exhibition as part of the delegation of Business France at SXSW.

Their marketplace treats music as limited editions, comparing painters to musicians, both creating one-of-a-kind valuable artwork. This finally gives musicians the same ownership as artists, which means significant revenue opportunities for both. With Pianity, that means musicians can earn 10 to 100 times more than they do with streaming platforms.

“It’s very inspiring to participate in SXSW and contribute to building the future of music. NFTs have been disrupting the music industry for a year now, and as more people are jumping into the Web 3.0 revolution, we’re thrilled to support them,” Kevin Primicerio, the CEO and co-founder of Pianity shares.

Pianity, launched in 2021, is recognized as one of the first NFT platforms for music, selling over 11,000 NFTs to their over 20,000 users.

Just like music streaming services popped up like weeds the last several years, music NFT platforms will do the same.

Make sure you’re listening to that sweet new sound!

ETH staking is speeding up as investors keep an eye on “the Merge.” 9% of the entire supply of ETH is already tied up in staking protocols, causing ETH supply to dwindle on exchanges.

The biggest chunk of that comes through Lido, where over 25% of ETH is staked. Lido announced that the protocol last week saw its largest daily deposit ever, when ETH 197,000 were deposited.

Whereas Ethereum-native staking requires a user to put up ETH 32 for at least 1 year in order to receive annual staking rewards, anyone can stake their ETH with alternatives like Lido.

This surge in staking through Lido has also led to a sharp price increase for the protocol’s governance token LDO, which is up more than 111% over the past 30 days.

Even though there’s no set date for the merge between the new proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain and the current proof-of-work chain (PoW), investors expect it to happen soon. Ethereum developers recently said that Kiln, the final testnet before the Merge, had successfully completed the procedures necessary for the merge to happen.

Staking means they can’t lose, no matter how the market moves. It’s essentially getting paid to HODL.

After The Merge, the amount of staked ETH could double or triple and approach $100 billion in value.

For anyone invested in ETH, you may want to consider a long HODL.

News of Elon’s twitter purchase sent the value of his 9.2% stake in the company soaring by 25% – from $2.89 billion as of Friday’s market close to $3.6 billion as of Monday morning. Since then, share prices and trading volume has gone way up today.

Not much is known about how Musk’s new investment in twitter, which makes him the largest individual shareholder, will impact or influence the company’s vision. The type of shares he’s acquired don’t appear to signal an immediate intent to own or influence the brand. However, Musk hasn’t exactly been a vocal advocate for new Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal.

He’s also been critically hinting for sometime that he wishes to see a more decentralized, open source social media alternative.

With 4.62 billion users around the world and counting, social media seems to control the lives of many. In fact, users spend an average of 147 minutes per day – just over 2 hours – on “free” social sites that make millions profiting from their attention.

The original premise of social media is noble – connecting with your friends, staying in touch with family. Lately, however, data breaches and security issues have left many users worried about just who has access to their data and what are they doing with it? Could decentralized social networks be a viable solution to concerns about data privacy and censorship?

One blockchain technology company has social media platforms worried: DeSo Blockchain – aka “Decentralized Social”.

DeSo Blockchain announced they have surpassed 1.5 million accounts created on its network. DESO coin (already listed on Coinbase) shot up 30% on the news.

Their belief is that social media shouldn’t be controlled by a small group of platforms limiting what we say while making billions showing us ads. 1.5 million users who are already active on the blockchain, signal this could be a sign of things to come.

Is Elon Musk getting on the DeSo bandwagon and starting his own social media company?

Elon Musk frequently turns to his Twitter account to air his concerns about social media and take polls from his very active base of followers.

Elon recently hinted at the future of DeSo, asking his Twitter followers if they think Twitter should be open source. More than 825,000 people replied with an emphatic yes.

That’s some serious support for DeSo’s mission. And with his recent twitter purchase, Elon could be more than a hint. DeSo is a new layer-1 blockchain built to scale decentralized social applications to billions of users, allowing people to build social apps on DeSo much like they do financial apps on Ethereum.

But that’s not all DeSo is doing. The team has also announced a new platform for launching DAOs called DAODAO.

“With these new updates, we move closer to a world in which social media is not controlled by three centralized companies, but instead, is owned by the users and creators of the network,” said Nader Al-Naji, the Founder of DeSo.

DeSo believes the centralization of data under big tech companies must stop. Whether or not DeSo succeeds remains to be seen, but with 1.5 million accounts, they’re off to a good start — and so is DESO Coin.

Biden budget proposal adds new tax rules for crypto

Proposal claims $11 billion will be generated from digital assets over the next 10 years

The Biden budget proposal for 2023 includes several new tax reporting rules aimed at digital assets. The administration believes these new rules will help generate more revenue for the government over the next ten years and help reduce the federal budget deficit.

The four new rules cover:

Expanding mark-to-market rules to crypto
Tax reporting on digital assets held in foreign crypto accounts
Tax guidelines for securities lending with digital assets
Requiring crypto exchanges and platforms to report more information on foreign owners in digital asset transactions.

In addition, the budget proposal gives $52 million to the Department of Justice for combating ransomware and “the misuse of cryptocurrency.”

What are the new crypto rules in the Biden budget proposal?

Mark-to-market rules

First, the proposal aims to include digital assets in mark-to-market rules. Mark-to-market measures an asset’s value according to the current market conditions.

Digital assets would not be added to the existing mark-to-market rules as securities or commodities. Instead, they would be their own separate third category. This category would include both digital assets and their derivatives.

However, it would only apply to some digital assets. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her delegates would decide which assets qualify based on several factors.

According to the Treasury’s official explanation of the new rules, these factors would include, “Whether the asset is regularly bought and sold for U.S. dollars or other fiat currencies, the volume of trading of the asset on exchanges that have reliable valuations, and the availability of reliable price quotations.”

Foreign crypto accounts

The second rule would require a taxpayer to report their digital asset accounts held in other countries if the value of those accounts exceeds $50,000.

Under the current law, anyone who holds $50,000 or more in a foreign asset in a foreign financial account is required to report it to the IRS.

The new rule would expand the law to include digital assets, which would again be listed as their own asset category.

The Treasury explained that this change came as an effort to crack down on tax evasion.

“The global nature of the digital asset market offers opportunities for U.S. taxpayers to conceal assets and taxable income by using offshore digital asset exchanges and wallet providers,” the Treasury wrote in their statement.

Securities lending with crypto

Third, the Biden budget proposal expands the existing rules on securities loans to include digital assets.

Traditional securities loans receive nonrecognition treatment if they meet certain requirements. This means they are seen as transactions without a recognized gain or loss.

The intention with these requirements is so the taxpayer making the loan “remains in an economic and tax position similar to the position it would have been in absent the loan.”

The Treasury stated that the market for crypto lending has rapidly expanded in recent years, and that some of these loans have similar terms as traditional securities.

To address this growth of crypto loans, the budget proposal would extend the current securities loan nonrecognition rules to apply to digital asset loans, as long as those loans have similar terms as the ones currently required for traditional securities.

Information reporting on foreign owners for tax purposes

Lastly, the proposal makes provisions for information reporting on foreign financial accounts. The purpose of this rule is also to combat tax evasion from offshore accounts.

Currently, countries already exchange relevant tax information about foreign accounts in their jurisdictions under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATA).

The Biden administration would expand the existing rules to also cover digital assets. The Treasury stated that the rule would “require brokers, such as U.S. digital asset exchanges, to report information relating to the substantial foreign owners of the passive entities.”

The reporting could also include information on gross proceeds from digital asset sales and “such other information as the Secretary may require with respect to sales of digital assets with respect to customers.”

What happens next?

The Biden budget proposal will be sent to Congress and voted on later in 2022 before the government’s next fiscal year begins.

The Biden administration predicts that by 2032, $11 billion in revenue could be generated from these new crypto rules. They believe as much as $4.8 billion would come from adding crypto to mark-to-market rules.

The proposal says the rules would go into effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022.

Welcome to the April 1st edition of the Decentral Weekly Crypto News Wrap-Up, where Neil and Em wrestle with the same question every week: “Is this a thing?”

What can you expect from this week’s crypto news-wrap up? ExxonMobil is mining Bitcoin, Ukraine launches an NFT museum, and we finally figured out who Satoshi Nakomoto is! Yes, that was a lazy attempt at an April Fool’s joke. Let’s get into these cryptocurrency headlines..

ExxonMobil is... crypto mining?

There’s no question cryptocurrency has changed the world, and it looks like some major international companies are getting in on the action. ExxonMobil, one of the largest oil companies in the world, is currently mining Bitcoin in North Dakota. Exxon is diverting natural gas to fund a Bitcoin mining operation involving several thousand Bitcoin miners.

The initiative began back in January 2021. While this pilot program does not help Exxon reduce emissions, it does help them “create use” out of the waste, which would otherwise burn in North Dakota wells. ExxonMobil is reportedly planning similar pilot programs around the world.

What do you think? It might not be something environmentalists are excited about, but is this innovative? Will more oil companies begin mining Bitcoin?

Neil says:

I’m not going to lie, this seems like a pretty innovative move. ExxonMobil is taking excess natural gas and mining Bitcoin with it, and we can expect other oil companies to follow suit. In fact, it looks like ConocoPhilips is already doing just that. Oil companies aren’t known to exactly be beloved by the public, but I think this is smart.

Em says:

This is kind of a funny conundrum because environmentalists tend to dislike both Big Oil and crypto mining. Meanwhile, Exxon claims this is actually mining Bitcoin to protect the environment. Now watch all the environmentalists short circuit. I’m not knowledgeable enough to know if it’s true from an energy perspective, but it seems like a good play from Exxon’s POV.

Bottom line:

Neil thinks this is an innovative thing, Em is a bit more cautious.

Who do you agree with?

Ukraine launches NFT museum

Ukraine is launching a digital museum that will feature NFT collectibles. Thanks to Ukrainian NFT artists, the museum was created in collaboration with Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation. The first drop took place on Wednesday, March 30th.

Each NFT will cost around .15 ETH (around $460) and will be sold in chronological order. The NFTs will feature news pieces from official sources and illustrations from NFT artists. The goal is to “preserve the memory of the real events at that time” and offer a truthful Ukrainian account of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The funds will reportedly go directly to the Ministry of Digital Transformation and then redistribute for Ukraine military and civilian aid. The museum will feature thousands of NFTs and is expected to raise somewhere between $2 and $3 million.

What do you think about Ukraine launching an NFT museum? Does the context matter to you at all?

Neil says:

Technology is pretty insane. I completely understand how someone is weirded out by selling news stories as NFTs to raise money for a war; but at the same time, it does make sense. I mean, not too long ago, social media was a strange concept to many people. Ukraine canceled the airdrop, and now investors can get an NFT. If you support Ukraine, this is a win-win.

Em says:

This is interesting but also it somehow feels weird and gross to people because it seems like the commodification of war. I understand it because social media and harnessing the narrative seems like the only option Ukraine has because they lack military power. Still feels weird though.

Bottom line:

Neil thinks this is a logical thing, Em thinks it’s still a weird thing.

Who do you agree with?

Crypto queen Katie Haun takes on Web3

We know there’s a major gender problem in the venture capital world, but Katie Haun is having no trouble raising money. Haun, a former general partner at Andreesen Horowitz, has raised $1.5 billion across two separate funds at Haun Ventures.

This wasn’t just a big deal for the cryptocurrency sector – it’s a big deal in general. Haun now has the largest debut fund by a female VC in history. Haun acknowledged the pressure but also stated that it was motivating. Many experts believe that this validates investor interest in Web 3.0.

Thoughts on this accomplishment? Does this essentially validate Web 3.0, or does this give more ammo to its critics who suggest that Web 3 will just be a VC-backed marketing scam?

Neil says:

Jack Dorsey has been saying for a while that Web 3.0 is a VC-backed marketing scam, and this seems to look a certain way. This massive fund is dedicated to building Web 3.0… shout out to Haun for at least acknowledging the criticism. This might be a big accomplishment in terms of numbers, but I’m not convinced it “validates” Web 3.0.

Em says:

It is a little ironic considering the dispute about whether Web3 is really all that decentralized when it’s highly VC-backed. But the only thing I can hope for is that Web3, like many DAO models, will decentralize over time. Maybe this is how it has to be to get it developed in the first place.

Bottom line:

Neil doubts whether this is a thing, Em thinks it could be a great “build a foundation” thing.

What do you think?

Justice Department charges Frosties NFT scammers

There are many interesting NFT projects out there, but there are also bad actors hoping to capitalize on the rise of NFTs. Two of those individuals are Ethan Nguyen and Andre Llacuna, the masterminds behind the “Frosties” rug pull.

The U.S. Justice Department recently charged them over the NFT scam. Once the pair raised around $1.1 million, they abandoned the project and attempted to make off with the investor money.

Of course, this is after their promises to investors involved not only tokens, but additional giveaways, mint passes, and “early access” to a future game they were supposed to develop. Instead, the two transferred money to different crypto wallets to begin “washing” the cryptocurrency (selling them on different exchanges to “hide” where it came from).

Any thoughts on these charges or additional advice for investors to avoid rug pulls?

Neil says:

There are lots of NFT scams out there, and it’s extremely unfortunate. They deserve to be charged. I will say one bit of advice might come in handy: If you truly believe in a long-term NFT project, it might be worth it to wait a little while. In the case of Frosties, these guys shut down their Discord server within an HOUR of the NFT drop. Sure, it’s a bit more conservative; but waiting a day, or a week, to “ape” into an NFT project might be a smart move.

Em says:

No one likes to see scams happen but it’s also a hazard of an unregulated market. Maybe everyone in crypto this early will get scammed at least once, or maybe you’re smart and shrewd enough to dodge the grifters. It seems like that may lead to losing out on some of the most insane returns, and that’s just a tradeoff everyone has to calculate for themselves.

Bottom line:

Neil thinks “wait and see” should be more of a thing, and Em thinks this is a “want crazy gains,
deal with scammers sometimes” thing.

What do you think???

Biden’s budget proposal will generate billions in crypto

Joe Biden, the president of the United States, finally released his 2023 budget proposal. The proposal may generate a staggering $11 billion by 2032 just by “modernizing” cryptocurrency legislation. This is part of a larger plan for the Biden administration to shrink the deficit over the next decade.

We all know cryptocurrency regulation is a slow process, but we also know there will be significant regulatory changes. First, certain taxpayers will have to report foreign taxpayer accounts, and rules for digital asset loans will also change.

What do you think? If you had to guess, will the proposal generate more or less than $11 billion? Do you think Biden will push back harder against cryptocurrency, or fall back for the time being?

Neil says:

Look, there’s no way there wasn’t going to be regulation. If you are such a crypto enthusiast/whale that you plan your entire life around your crypto holdings, maybe it’s time to fly to another country. Besides that, regulation was inevitable, and it’s better to have a clear framework than nothing. I don’t think Biden is “anti-crypto” necessarily, despite what some believe.

Em says:

Listen, as far as I’m concerned, this is theft. The fact that they’re “raising money” through regulations is inherently unjust. Wealth existing in the market doesn’t automatically mean the government has a right to a cut. There wouldn’t be a budget deficit in the first place if the government didn’t think it was entitled to abscond with the people’s wealth.

Bottom line:

Neil thinks this is a “regulation is inevitable” thing, and Em thinks this is a “taxation is theft” thing.

Consensus!

Bad idea of the week: Chinese Communist Party, meet the metaverse

We’ve written previously about the metaverse, and it looks like there is one institution that is hard at work in virtual worlds already: the Chinese Communist Party. There is a cade training school called the Chinese Academy of Governance, and the academy has adopted a metaverse-empowered “party-building” system.

The party’s metaverse system is meant to save time and travel costs, as cadres typically visit historical sites to learn more about the Communist Party. Participants can now use virtual avatars to move around and communicate, and users can also remotely access virtual activities and actively learn in immersive virtual environments.

Why is metaverse fever so high in China, especially when Meta (formerly Facebook) is the reason the entire world is talking about the metaverse?

Is this bad PR for the metaverse, or should we recognize that all sorts of organizations will be entering the metaverse? Is it proof that China might be ahead of the curve in terms of the metaverse, compared to the United States, like they seem to be with artificial intelligence?

Neil says:

So… why did I choose this for a “bad idea”? The answer is simple: one of the biggest tech companies in the world (Facebook) rebranded to Meta to become a metaverse leader, and we haven’t heard from them in terms of major partnerships or advancements. Instead, the metaverse is getting PR from the Chinese Communist Party? Seems like a PR fail for the metaverse in general.

Em says:

Well, we know China has certain strategies, and they wouldn’t be getting into the metaverse just for funsies. Meanwhile, our government is out here trying to figure out what Twitter is and sleeping on the innovation that’s happening all around. Fingers crossed it doesn’t come back to bite us.

Bottom line:

Both Neil and Em agree this is bad PR, and that the U.S. should pick it up in terms of metaverse innovation.

Consensus again!

Meme of the week

As always, Em brings you the meme of the week:

And that’s our crypto news wrap-up!

Will Biden’s budget proposal generate more than $11 billion, or is that number too high? Will the Frosties NFT scammers serve jail time, or are fines/probation more likely? Will Haun Ventures end up shaping the future of Web 3.0? Why is there ALREADY a Will Smith slap token?

Tell us all of your thoughts/opinions/perspectives at @decentralpub with the hashtag #weeklycryptonews on Twitter!

The Ronin Network, the blockchain network behind the popular Axie Infinity game, had $625 million worth of Ether and USDC stolen by hackers.

The heist, which is thought to be one of the largest crypto hacks ever, occurred on March 23rd but wasn’t discovered by Ronin until six days later when a user reported being unable to withdraw their ETH from the network.

Ronin issued an official statement on March 29th detailing how the attack occurred and what steps they are taking to try to get the stolen funds back.

How did the hack happen?

The heist happened when hackers gained control over a majority of Ronin’s validators. They did this by stealing private keys and using them to forge the approval needed to withdraw the stolen funds.

The Ronin Network’s system was designed so five out of nine validators were needed to sign off on all transactions

After hacking the private keys, the hackers were able to take over four validators from the Ronin Network. They gained control over a fifth from a third-party validator run by the Axie decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

According to Ronin’s statement, the hackers discovered a flaw in the validator system that allowed them to commit the attack.

“The validator key scheme is set up to be decentralized so that it limits an attack vector, similar to this one, but the attacker found a backdoor through our gas-free RPC node, which they abused to get the signature for the Axie DAO validator,” the Ronin Network said.

The hack resulted in the loss of 173,600 Ether tokens and $25.5 million worth of USDC. At the time of the attack, the funds stolen were worth $540 million in total, making it the second-largest crypto attack of all time, according to analysis from fintech company Elliptic.

But in the week since, the price of the stolen crypto rose to $625 million, potentially making it first on the list of the biggest crypto hacks.

What is Ronin doing to get the funds back?

The Ronin Network is taking several steps in response to the hack, including changing its validator protocol. It will now be necessary for eight out of nine validators to approve transactions on the network.

In addition, the network is reaching out to major exchanges regarding the stolen funds. The Ronin Network also stated they are working with government agencies, law enforcement officials, and forensic cryptographers to bring the thieves to justice.

The network also decided to temporarily shut down a couple of its platforms to keep users safe until more is known about how the hack happened.

“We have temporarily paused the Ronin Bridge to ensure no further attack vectors remain open. Binance has also disabled their bridge to/from Ronin to err on the side of caution,” Ronin said in their statement.

They have also closed their Katana decentralized exchange (DEX) platform for the time being.

Who is the Ronin Network?

The Ronin Network is a type of blockchain platform known as a sidechain. It was created by Sky Mavis, the company behind both Ronin and Axie Infinity.

Sky Mavis built the Ronin Network specifically as a blockchain gaming platform to make the Axie Infinity game cheaper and faster for players.

The Ronin Network is a sidechain to the Ethereum network, but it operates completely independently. Ronin officially launched in February of 2021. By November of that year, $5 million worth of assets were deposited on the platform.

How will this impact the future of Ronin?

After the attack, the price of the RON token used to power the network fell 22.5%, according to CoinMarketCap.

Ronin is conducting a full investigation into how the hackers managed to steal the funds. In the meantime, they have blocked all users from making deposits or withdrawals on the network.

“We know trust needs to be earned and are using every resource at our disposal to deploy the most sophisticated security measures and processes to prevent future attacks,” the Ronin Network said.

They also added that Sky Mavis is committed to either recovering or reimbursing all the stolen crypto.

Sources are reporting football star Lionel Messi has come to an agreement for more than $20 million – one of the largest in history – to serve as a brand ambassador for the digital fan token company Socios.com.

The company describes itself as a “tokenized fan ecosystem” which allows sports fans to buy, trade, and vote on teams through its app.

“We are excited to welcome Lionel Messi as our newest global ambassador,” said Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO and founder of Socios.com.

“He is an icon in world sport and his passion for football combined with his involvement in blockchain technology and the Socios.com platform will ensure that we can create the best experience for our fans.”

Not much is clear about the specific role the football star will play as the new ambassador for Socios.com. It’s rumored at least part of Messi’s payday will include a crypto-backed payment in exchange for his appearances in promotional campaigns for the brand.

Sports stars flock to endorse crypto companies

Messi is not the first high-profile professional sports player to be involved in a cryptocurrency or blockchain venture. In January, former England captain Michael Owen became an ambassador for British crypto firm Global Crypto Offering Exchange (GCOX).

NBA star LeBron James is the new ambassador for Crypto.com, and NFL quarterback Tom Brady has gone so far as to buy an equity stake in crypto exchange FTX.com.

Will the lack of regulation slow down celebrity endorsements?

Cryptocurrencies have seen a surge in interest in recent years, with Bitcoin and other digital tokens rising in value sharply. However, there have been concerns about their lack of regulation and the potential for price manipulation.

Despite these concerns, it would seem that more and more high-profile sports stars are getting involved in the blockchain and crypto world.

Only time will tell if Messi, Brady, and James lending their names and reputations to these businesses will further legitimize them – or not.

Lionel Messi may be the winner in the Socios.com deal

Socios.com is having a PR problem. Allegations of unpaid wages from employees. Will the $20 brand ambassador deal with football star Messi save them from relegation? #crypto #endorsement

What do you think?

Is this a good move for Socios.com? Do you see other celebrities getting involved in the crypto or blockchain worlds?

Welcome to the March 25th, 2022, edition of the Decentral Weekly Crypto News Wrap-Up, where Neil and Em address the same question every week: “Is this a thing?”

What can you expect from this week’s crypto news-wrap up? Buterin is bothered by where cryptocurrency is headed, Yuga Labs lunges into the metaverse, the metaverse kicks off a Fashion Week, and more.

Vitalik is worried about crypto’s direction

Vitalik Buterin might be 28, but he’s also arguably the most influential figure in the cryptocurrency space. For those who don’t know, Buterin is a co-founder of Ethereum.

He’s making our crypto news wrap-up headlines because of a TIME article pointing out that he’s worried about cryptocurrency and its future direction. He snagged the TIME cover, and TIME also decided to release their magazine as an NFT for the first time ever.

In the article, he admits that crypto has a lot of “dystopian potential.” He recognized that many people were buying “yachts and lambos” and expressed hope Ethereum could offer more sociopolitical solutions like universal basic income, better urban planning, or fairer voting systems.

Any thoughts on his comments? Do you think his concerns are valid? Is there anything you, in particular, are worried about concerning the crypto sector?

Neil says:

Yeah, I’m not going to lie: I like this. Vitalik is one of the biggest crypto figures in the world and I feel like he has valid reasons for these fears and concerns. In a sector where so many people are “shilling” rather than criticizing, I think it’s needed. It’s possible to be pro-crypto while also being honest about the bad things that could potentially happen.

Em says:

Listen, I think Vitalik is probably right to have these concerns. They’re big concerns, and I think society shouldn’t just walk blindly into the new kinds of power that tech development creates. I mean, look at FB and Google. But at the same time, he’s one of the most influential voices in crypto and maybe he’s just creating FUD.

Bottom line:

Neil thinks it’s a necessary thing, Em thinks it could be a FUD thing.

Who do you agree with?

Yuga Labs launches a token, teases a metaverse

Many companies have entered the metaverse even though they aren’t really involved with cryptocurrency at all, but Yuga Labs was a more predictable bet. Yuga Labs is the company that created the Bored Ape Yacht Club, and they are reportedly worth somewhere around $5 billion. According to a trailer released on Twitter, they plan to launch a metaverse in April.

Yuga Labs has had a busy week. In addition to releasing the metaverse trailer, the company also launched ApeCoin, thanks to an airdrop. Many analysts felt like the market was lukewarm toward the launch. In the same tweet featuring the trailer, Yuga Labs hints that the metaverse will be powered by ApeCoin. Other NFT collections also made cameos in the trailer.

BAYC has a high-profile reputation in the NFT space. Should they think twice about the metaverse move if ApeCoin isn’t getting the same love from the markets as their NFT collections have?

Neil says:

Okay, sure – the ApeCoin didn’t skyrocket. I don’t think that’s enough to write off everything Yuga Labs in general, especially when they’re one of the most influential cryptocurrency companies in the world right now. I think it’s possible that their metaverse works out, given the strength of the BAYC community.

Em says:

The trailer is definitely cool for sure. But people were kind of disappointed with ApeCoin; and with the centralization we’ve been seeing recently from Yuga Labs, a lot of crypto enthusiasts are getting frustrated. Hopefully they do some cool stuff, they should just be careful about creating a bad rep for themselves.

Bottom line:

Neil thinks the Yuga Labs Metaverse is a promising thing, Em thinks it’s a “let’s wait and see” thing.

Who do you agree with?

Goldman Sachs trades cryptocurrency over the counter

Several years ago, there was one lingering question in the cryptocurrency world: when was the institutional money coming in? In 2022, we know the institutional money is here, and it looks like Goldman Sachs has just made history. They are now the first major U.S. bank to trade crypto “over the counter.”

How was this accomplished? It all happened because of a partnership with Galaxy Digital. The transaction was completed thanks to a non-deliverable option, or NDO, described as a “Bitcoin-like instrument.” Yueqi Yang, at Bloomberg News, emphasizes that this trade is a “notable step in the development of the crypto market for institutional investors.”

Is this a big deal, or is this one of those milestones that doesn’t matter that much? Does it really ‘validate’ cryptocurrency as an asset class?

Neil says:

This is getting a little tiring for me. A lot of the same financial institutions that were bashing crypto seem to be getting all sorts of PR for being the “first” to do something, or finally “validating” cryptocurrency. No, I don’t think this is some massive milestone – I think it’s good Goldman Sachs PR.

Em says:

This just seems like more ways to bring crypto into TradFi. To me, it kind of has Ok Boomer vibes. Like, let them play with legacy financial instruments. Do we care? No. Crypto is busy doing new things and changing how people relate to money. If they want to come late to the party, let them.

Bottom line:

Neil thinks this is an annoying thing, Em thinks it’s a coin toss thing.

What do you think?

The Decentraland Metaverse Fashion Week is here

We’ve previously reported about fashion trends in the metaverse, but there’s a new event to note: Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week is happening this week. The week showcased around 50 brands (luxury brands and digital brands), including Etro, Elie Saab, Roberto Cavalli, Tommy Hilfiger, and more.

The Fashion Week will take place from March 24-27, 2022. It’s free and open to everyone – and you can expect everything from digital clothes, to virtual catwalks, fashion NFTs, and more. This isn’t the first fashion show in the metaverse, however.

Everyrealm’s fashion show took place in February in the Second Life Metaverse and was sponsored by digital wearables brand Blueberry Entertainment.

Is it essential that the metaverse fashion week be a success, or is it already impressive that so many fashion brands are diving headfirst into the metaverse?

Neil says:

This probably wouldn’t have interested me much until recently, since I’ve started writing about how much the fashion sector is getting involved in NFTs and the metaverse. We’re going to see a WHOLE lot more of this, and it’s the most high-profile fashion metaverse event to date. Let’s see if the fashion week exceeds expectations.

Em says:

I think this is pretty fun — and smart. ‘Cause let’s be real: metaverse fashion is opening the fashion world to a new segment of people. After all, internet nerds aren’t known for their swag and cool factor when it comes to physical, irl fashion choices. We imagine that we’re cool, and now we can be in the metaverse. Hooray!

Bottom line:

Neil thinks this is a cool technological thing, Em thinks it’s a cool inclusive thing.

What do you think???

G2 Esports suing Bondly

There are many play to earn gaming companies embracing NFTs, but not every gaming/NFT partnership works out. In this case, G2 Esports, a European Esports organization, is now reportedly suing Bondly over a botched deal. The two companies originally partnered in June 2021.

The partnership was set to last two years, where Bondly would create NFTs for the organization and act as their “NFT partner.” Bondly also agreed to pay both an annual rights fee and an advance guarantee, but later wanted to postpone the agreement.

G2 Esports is seeking over $5 million in damages. G2 Esports has since moved on to other NFT partnerships, including one with Metaplex.

Any thoughts on this, and what it might mean for future Esports NFT partnerships?

Neil says:

A lot of people are trying to claim this will set a precedent because it’s one of the first big “NFT lawsuits.” Eh, I couldn’t disagree more. There will be all sorts of disputes between companies, whether they are in the cryptocurrency sector or not. I don’t think it will have some massive effect on future partnerships.

Em says:

No one likes to see these kinds of kerfuffles. But at the same time, it’s inevitable and sort of just sifting out bad projects from good ones. It’s bound to happen that sometimes priorities will get misaligned, projects will fail, dust-ups will happen. But I don’t think it’s the end of the world. Most people probably haven’t even heard about this.

Bottom line:

Both Neil and Em agree that this isn’t really a thing.

Consensus!

Bad idea of the week: Tom Brady’s crypto caption

If there’s one thing that the Matt Damon Crypto.com commercial proved; it’s that cryptocurrency companies may want to put more thought into the way that they advertise their products or services. While this isn’t a commercial, it… still seems like a pretty bad move.

When Tom Brady announced his return to football, there was someone who lost out in a very big way: the man who just purchased his pre-retirement football for $518,000. Brady put up an Instagram post featuring an animated Bitcoin in place of a football, with the caption asking FTX to give the fan a Bitcoin. Brady is an equity partner in FTX.

No, Tom Brady isn’t a cold-hearted villain. Tom Brady missed football and returned, but it kind of screws this fan over… completely… out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. On top of that, he makes an Instagram ad (essentially) out of the fact that FTX might “bail him” out of the situation? On top of THAT, the money doesn’t go to the football buyer, but a charity?

I’m not saying he should stop the world to help this guy out, but this does seem like Brady couldn’t care less. The football that was so recently worth over a half a million dollars is now worth somewhere around $20,000.

It’s possible that Tom Brady becomes a billionaire, but he’s worth several hundreds of millions of dollars. The fact that he has a stake in FTX… thoughts? Is 1 Bitcoin better than nothing?

Neil says:

This is so wrong on so many levels. Does Tom Brady have to pay back half a million dollars to the fan because he changed his mind? No. At the same time, does he have to create an Instagram post, tag a company he has equity in, and suggest that a Bitcoin be donated – not to the fan, mind you – but to a charity? It seems like a terrible response to someone who clearly appreciated Brady’s career.

Em says:

People who love Tom Brady love him, and people who hate him hate him. But this was pretty bad. When rich people get roasted for being unselfaware, it’s for things like this. Coming off so blasé and casual about normal people losing big sums of money is not a great look, Brady. Oof. No wonder I don’t like sportz.

Bottom line:

Both Neil and Em agree that Brady deserves to be roasted for this.

Consensus again!

Meme of the week

As always, Em brings you the meme of the week:

And that’s our crypto news wrap-up!

Does it make sense for an influential figure like Vitalik Buterin to voice his concerns publicly about where cryptocurrency is going? Will there be any flops at the Decentraland Fashion Week show? Will the Yuga Labs metaverse be a success compared to the ApeCoin?

Make sure to tweet us your thoughts/opinions/perspectives at @decentralpub with the hashtag #weeklycryptonews on Twitter.

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How did the hack happen?

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