Top stories

Coinbase, MetaMask, Polygon and Elon Musk Against Apple Tax

Coinbase said Apple is blocking the latest update to its digital wallet until the crypto exchange either shares 30% of gas fees from NFT sales or disables NFT transaction. Ryan Wyatt, the CEO of Polygon Studios, supports Coinbase, describing Apple’s 30% tax as “Criminal.”

MetaMask co-founder says he wants to dump Apple, calling Apple’s 30% tax “an abuse of monopoly.” Elon Musk joined the war against Apple, says “Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter.”

Everything We Learned From the Sam Bankman-Fried Interview

Sam Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old crypto entrepreneur made his first public appearance since the collapse of his firm FTX. Let’s see everything we learned from the interview:

BlockFi Files for Bankruptcy, Sues SBF for $575M Robinhood Stocks

BlockFi has officially filed for bankruptcy protection. BlockFi has US$256.9 million in cash on hand, which is expected to provide sufficient liquidity to support certain operations during the restructuring process.

On the same day BlockFi sued the Emergent Fidelity Technologies holding company of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried for Robinhood Markets (HOOD) shares held by the company and promised to BlockFi as collateral.

Telegram to Build Crypto Exchange and Non-Custodial Wallets 

Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the app popular among the cryptophiles, announced Wednesday that Telegram will build a set of decentralized tools, including a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange and non-custodial wallets.  

Global regulations

Brazilian Congress Passes Crypto Bill

Brazil Congress has finally passed the long-awaited crypto bill legalizing Bitcoin and Ether payments in the country and enabling banks to start offering services in the sector. The law will require all exchanges and custodians to acquire licenses.

Russia Bank Integrates MetaMask and Ethereum

Russia’s largest bank Sberbank integrates MetaMask and Ethereum smart contract on its crypto platform. Users now can interact with tokens and dApps on the issuance platform.

New York to Charge Crypto Companies for Regulating Them

New York DFS proposes to charge licensed cryptocurrency companies for regulating them. DFS frequently charges its regulated non-crypto financial organizations for the costs and expenses of keeping watch over them

Hong Kong Working on Investor Protection Regulations

Eddie Yue, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, says Hong Kong will soon introduce not just AML (anti-money laundering) aspect but also investor protection

Crypto weekly price action

Bitcoin rose roughly 3% over the week and is hugging the $17,000 level as of Friday afternoon, its highest mark in a month. Ethereum is at its highest level since early November after jumping 7.5% to $1,300 by late Friday.

Fundraising and investment

Thai VC Fund V Ventures Acquires Zipmex for $100 Million

Thai venture capital fund V Ventures has reportedly reached a deal to acquire the troubled exchange Zipmex for about $100 million in digital assets and cash. V Ventures is looking to purchase a 90% stake in Zipmex.

Binance Acquires Japanese Crypto Exchange Sakura

Binance had acquired crypto exchange Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC). As SEBC is already regulated by Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA), the acquisition will allow Binance to reenter the country. The amount of the acquisition was not disclosed

Animoca Plots $2 Billion Metaverse Investment Fund

Web3 gaming and software giant Animoca Brands is set to debut a fund of up to $2 billion to invest in metaverse companies. The fund, named Animoca Capital, is expected to make its first investment next year, co-founder and executive chairman Yat Siu said in an interview with Nikkei.

Ripple Leads $72 Million Round Into Crypto Market Maker Keyrock

Crypto payments company Ripple has led a $72 million Series B funding round into digital asset market maker Keyrock. Ripple has also been a key client for the firm for the last three years.Venture firms Six Fintech Ventures and Middlegame Ventures also participated in the round, which closed mid-September.

A16z Leads $15 Million Funding for Game Studio Roboto Games

Roboto Games, a new game studio aiming to bridge Web2 experience and accessible Web3 in-game elements, has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by a16z. The funding will go toward building out the company’s second game and hiring across a variety of roles, including artists and marketers.

Research and technology

History of Metaverse: A Journey Back to 1985

You’ve probably read about the meaning and even origin of the term Metaverse, but do you know the historical roots? Have you heard about the involvement of LucasArts? Yes, the first attempt of a virtual community was already made back in 1985. Let’s dive deep into the history of Metaverse.

Understanding Key Risks Associated With Stablecoins

Merkle Science investigated major prudential risks associated with stablecoins and risks affecting consumer and investor protection, include loss of value, payment systems risks, risks of scale, market integrity and investor protection. Let’s explore.

CBDCs Explained: What Are They and How They Work

Central banks are racing to speed up developing and launching digital versions of their official national currencies, also known as central bank digital currencies. Let’s learn what CBDCs are, how they work, and their difference from crypto.

Introduction to Cairo Programming Language

Cairo is a relatively new language and is rapidly evolving. StarkNet uses the Cairo programming language for both its infrastructure and its smart contracts.

Viral Quotes

“Any U.S. CBDC must be open, permissionless, and private.”

— Tom Emmer, U.S. Congressman

“We expect the LBRY mission to continue on, but the company itself has been killed by legal and SEC debts.”

— LBRY, Inc.

“I'm ready to dump the Apple ecosystem. The 30% tax is an abuse of monopoly. @tim_cook has donned the Big Brother screen.”

— Dan Finlay, Co-founder of MetaMask

“I don't even know how to code. [...] I literally never even opened the code for any of FTX.”

— Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX

"Sam was delusional about what happened and his culpability in it, he needs to be prosecuted. He will spend time in jail. And it wasn't just Sam. You don't pull this off with one person."

— Michael Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners