The EU bears down on cryptocurrencies, hackers steal over $600 million from a popular crypto game and can Bitcoin’s code be greener? These stories and more this week in crypto.
EU Votes Against Anonymous Wallets
The EU Parliament voted to advance new anti-money laundering rules that would require European crypto services to collect and verify information about the owners of self-hosted wallets. The new regulation would make it easier to identify and report suspicious transactions and freeze digital assets but the crypto industry sees the new ruling as a fundamental threat to decentralized finance.
NFT Game Hacked for $625M
An essential piece of infrastructure behind the popular crypto game Axie Infinity was hacked for $625 million in Ethereum and USD stablecoins making it one of the largest cryptocurrency-related thefts of all time. The game operator is working with law enforcement officials, forensic cryptographers, and investors to make sure there is no loss of user funds.
Greenpeace to Change Bitcoin Code
Greenpeace, along with Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, has launched a campaign aimed at changing Bitcoin to a more environmentally friendly consensus model. The “change the code, not the climate” initiative aims to pressure key industry leaders and Bitcoin miners to move to a new, “greener” consensus, based on a proof-of-stake-based model.
Thodex Execs Facing Life in Jail
The executives of Turkish crypto exchange Thodex are facing “thousands of years” in jail sentences as a Turkish prosecutor is seeking sentences of over 40,000 years in total for 21 defendants. The company halted trading and its CEO disappeared this time last year after making away with over $2 billion.
Goldman Sachs to Offer Bitcoin and Ethereum
Leading investment bank, Goldman Sachs will be offering its high-net worth clients access to digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum through a third-party issuance from Galaxy Digital. Goldman Sachs has stated previously that bitcoin could have a 20% share of the “store of value” market as more and more banks want to include digital assets in their wealth management strategies.
Citi Predicts Metaverse Could Worth $13T
Global bank, Citi, has predicted that the total market for the metaverse economy could grow to somewhere between eight and $13 trillion by 2030. In the report, Citi expressed that the metaverse may be the next generation of the internet, expecting the number of metaverse users to grow to as many as 5 billion.
NFTs Coming to TV
Gemini’s NFT platform Nifty Gateway announced its partnership with Samsung to develop the first-ever NFT platform that would allow for the purchasing and trading of digital art and collectibles on smart televisions. Initially, customers will have access to more than 6,000 art pieces by NFT’s emerging and top artists.
One in Five Americans Invested in Crypto
One in five adults has invested in, traded or used cryptocurrency according to a recent NBC News poll. 21% of the 1,000 Americans polled said they have at least once used or invested in crypto and men between the ages of 18 and 49 were the most likely to have invested in crypto.
Thanks to Unstoppable Domains, you can use your NFT domain to send and receive crypto without memorizing complex addresses, as simple as sending an email. Starting today, use your NFT domain together with the millions of users on Blockchain.com, minimizing the risk of human error when sending funds. Grab your domain with the link below.
That’s what’s happened this week in crypto, see you next week.
