The explosive crypto week was dominated by excitements and raised eyebrows. Friend.tech rode high with augmented revenues, fees, and activity, drawing more attention than Arbitrum and Optimism. Still, these celebratory events were marred by a monumental privacy breach, exposing the sensitive profiles of over 101,000 individuals. Simultaneously, Shiba Inu’s Shibarium network indicated promising advancements towards a public re-emergence following an unsuccessful premier this month.
In the exhilarating world of Metaverse, pioneers organized a Wistaverse virtual rally to support Julian Assange, signaling a fresh convergence of tech and activism. In addition, K-pop giant Blackpink prepared to thrill fans on Roblox with an immersive fresh experience. Mirroring the brick-and-mortar world, China proposed to immerse its time-honored social credit system into the Metaverse, drawing fresh dialogues around virtual governance.
Innovations kept coming with Ledn joining forces with Parallel to offer fiat-free property acquisitions in the Cayman Islands, while Momentum Capital garnered a $10 million bequeathment from Canada’s BM Fund. Nonetheless, cryptocurrency exchange Binance experienced major disruptions, with European clientele facing obstacles with fiat withdrawals. Binance responded with novel initiatives like Binance Pay in Brazil, despite being scrutinized for alleged links with blacklisted Russian lenders.
Indicative of the widening institutional embrace of crypto, FTX appointed Galaxy for handling crypto assets while Bitstamp pulled the plug on Ethereum staking in the US due to regulatory complexities. Utilizing opportunities, Coinbase tweaked its debt buyback program amidst tepid demands. Respecting rule of law, Gemini pushed against allegations of unregistered securities, seeking them quashed by the US SEC.
The burgeoning space of CBDC wasn’t left behind, with the Reserve Bank of Australia forecasting its CBDC a few years away. Russian banks MTS and PSB kicked-off digital ruble trials; the Russian Central Bank was seeking to classify the digital ruble as a liquid asset. Meanwhile, Central African Republic planned to tokenize its land and natural assets, stirring conversations around the intersection of blockchain and sustainability.
As a darker undertone, the FBI alerted crypto platforms of North Korean hackers’ potential attempt to liquidate over $40 million in stolen BTC. In parallel news, the Ukrainian police underwent crypto crime investigation educational programs from EU officials. Furthermore, crypto-related fraudsters seemed to be in the spotlight with two more developers from Tornado Cash faced charges, and former OpenSea’s Head of Product received a prison sentence for NFT insider trading.
Despite unexpected headwinds and regulatory hurdles, the buoyant crypto space continued to inspire, amuse, and innovate, ready for more exciting journeys in unchartered territories.
Source: Cryptonews
