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More than 90% of consumers are curious about the Metaverse: Capgemini
Despite turbulent market conditions over the last year, the metaverse and its potential utility remain steady in the minds of consumers. According to data from a new survey by Capgemini, a business and technology strategy advisor, over three-quarters of consumers expect their interactions with brands and individuals to be impacted by the metaverse. This also goes for organizations, as 7 out of 10 believe that the metaverse and immersive experiences will be a market differentiator in terms of customer experience. The report surveyed 8,000 consumers, along with 1,000 organizations in 12 countries across different sectors to understand metaverse competency, interest and impact. Included in the mix was a group of 380 consumers who self-identified as “metaverse-experienced,” of which thre...
The all-in-one approach at the foundation of next gen crypto investment platforms
The ongoing FTX saga has injected more uncertainty into an already shaken market. If it was not clear already, even the biggest centralized exchanges can fail. The problem is multi-faceted. On the one hand, just like in traditional finance, centralized institutions are only as good as the people who run them. When investors use services like FTX, they are putting their trust in the people that run the service. Unfortunately, history is rife with examples of powerful people taking advantage of that trust. On the other hand, cryptocurrency is still very new. The vast majority of crypto users are not well-versed in all of the technical underpinnings of how things work. For most, digital assets are simply an alternative means of investing and therefore the most convenient solutions are often t...
Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui to issue soulbound tokens to explore Web3
The Japanese financial group Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC) is moving to explore the benefits of Web3 by issuing soulbond tokens (SBTs). Proposed by Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin, SBTs refer to digital identity tokens that represent the characteristics or reputation of a person or entity, or a “soul.” Such tokens are non-transferable and are designed for the decentralized society and Web3. SMBC officially announced on Dec. 8 an initiative focused on the practical use of SBTs in partnership with the digital asset firm HashPort. The companies plan to conduct research on SBTs to find out their practical uses for communities, jobs, knowledge sharing services and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). According to SMBC, the development could specifically be useful for individ...
FTX hires forensics team to find customers’ missing billions: Report
The new management for bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has reportedly hired a team of financial forensic investigators to track down the billions of dollars worth of missing customer crypto. Financial advisory company AlixPartners was chosen for the task and is led by former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chief accountant, Matt Jacques, according to a Dec. 7 report from the Wall Street Journal. It is understood that the forensics firm will be tasked with conducting “asset-tracing” to identify and recover the missing digital assets and will complement the restructing work being undertaken by FTX. On Nov. 11 hackers drained wallets owned by FTX and FTX.US of over $450 million worth of assets. Former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried claimed in an interview recorded on Nov. 16 with crypto blogger ...
Class action against Kim K, Mayweather over EMAX dismissed… for now
A federal judge in California has dismissed a class action lawsuit against reality TV star Kim Kardashian, boxing champ Floyd Mayweather and the founders of EthereumMax, explaining that the submissions failed to meet the “heightened pleading standards” for fraud claims. The judge has, however, left room for the plaintiffs to refile the proposed class action lawsuit if certain provisions are amended. In the original Jan. 7 court filing submitted by Scott+Scott Attorneys At Law, the plaintiffs argued that Kardashian, Mayweather, and also former NBA superstar Paul Pierce didn’t disclose they were being paid to promote EthereumMax (EMAX). The plaintiffs alleged that they promoted it with the objective to “artificially inflate the price of the token” through the use of “false or misleading stat...
Bankruptcy judge orders $44M in crypto to be returned to Celsius customers
A federal judge has ordered crypto lender Celsius to return crypto worth around $44 million to the platform’s custody program customers. According to Bloomberg, the verbal order was delivered by United States Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn in a Dec. 7 hearing, with the judge noting: “I want this case to move forward. I want creditors to recover as much as they possibly can as soon as they possibly can.” The amount — which applies only to crypto held within custody accounts — is a tiny fraction of the billions Celsius owes creditors, and the latest decision comes after an agreement was reached between Celsius advisers and stakeholders that crypto deposited in the custody accounts belonged to its users and not the platform. It is important to note that this order only applies to pure custody ...
Crypto lender Genesis has no solution yet for withdrawal halts
Crypto lending platform Genesis has informed its customers that its withdrawal freeze is likely to last “additional weeks” amid efforts to stave off a potential bankruptcy filing. In a Dec. 7 letter to its customers shared by Genesis to Cointelegraph, interim CEO Derar Islim — who took the temporary helm of the company in August — said it will be weeks for them to formulate a recovery plan that could see withdrawals reopened, stating: “At this point, we anticipate that it will take additional weeks rather than days for us to arrive at a path forward.” The letter also stated that Genesis is “working in consultation with highly experienced advisors” and are “evaluating the most effective path to preserve client assets, strengthen our liquidity, and ultimately move our business forward.” “All...
Congressional Bill to Get Artists & Labels Paid for Radio Airplay Clears Critical House Vote
The American Music Fairness Act (AMFA), which would require AM/FM stations to pay performance royalties to music creators and copyright holders for radio airplay in the U.S., just cleared a key hurdle in Congress — though the bill is unlikely to pass before the new session of Congress convenes in January. In a mark-up session on Wednesday (Dec. 7), the House Judiciary Committee (which deals with copyright matters) voted to advance the bill, clearing its way for a full vote on the House floor. To become law, the bill would need to be approved by the full House of Representatives as well as the Senate and then signed into law by President Biden. However, the proposed legislation is unlikely to pass in the current session of Congress, which is drawing to a close at the end of the month, unles...
Crypto consumer protection, proof of reserves bills introduced into US Congress
United States Congressman Ritchie Torres has introduced bills in the House of Representatives to prohibit misuse of customer funds by cryptocurrency exchanges and to require exchanges disclose proof of reserves to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The short bills are intended to supplement other legislation that is passed on cryptocurrency, Torres said. Torres introduced the bills, which have the titles of “Crypto Consumer Investor Protection Act’’ and “Crypto Exchange Disclosure Act,’’ on Dec. 1. The bills are very short. In copies obtained from Torres’ office, the body of the first bill, introduced as H.R. 9241, reads: “A cryptocurrency exchange may not lend, leverage, or co-mingle the funds of a customer without the consent of such customer.” The second bill, H.R. 9242...
Buy the rumor, sell the news? Chainlink (LINK) price drops after staking launch
Chainlink has a busy start to December when it comes to development launches. The Chainlink (LINK) staking program opened up for early access on Dec. 6 and will expand access on Dec. 8. According to Chainlink, staking will further secure the project’s node ecosystem and alerting mechanism: “Stakers gain access to staking rewards for securing the network through timely and valid alerts, and in the future, for slashing and loss protection.” Historically, mainnet launches and staking incentives stir up a flurry of blockchain activity and data from on-chain analytics firm Arkham shows a sharp uptick in activity. Chainlink Staking went live 19 hours ago. $LINK marines have flooded the contract with their deposits exceeding 11M Chainlink tokens. Meaning, over $77.7M of $LINK has been depos...
Blockchain is the only viable path to privacy and censorship resistance in the 21st century
While censorship resistance and privacy are not the same thing, they are closely intertwined. When the government or another entity, such as an advertiser, can track everything you do, they can also sanction you for bad behavior. Instead of working backward to try and cover up seismic cracks in Web2 with duct tape, it may be time to move full speed ahead on ensuring these same mistakes don’t happen in Web3. By being proactive, the purported internet of the future could actually protect our private information and prevent overzealous or oppressive censorship before these issues become unmanageable. Using crypto to deliver the message In countries fighting for human rights and civil liberties, suppressing free speech and outward communication complicates the struggle against oppressive regim...
Coinbase CEO says trading revenue has fallen to ‘roughly half’ what it was last year
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has revealed that the exchange’s trading revenue has declined by approximately 50% or more when compared with last year, according to a Dec. 7 report from Bloomberg. Armstrong made the statement as part of an interview with the David Rubenstein Show. When asked about the exchange’s revenue, he stated that the company did $7 billion in revenue and $4 billion in earnings in 2021, but “it’s looking, you know, about roughly half that or less” in 2022. Bloomberg said that a spokesperson for Coinbase later clarified that 2022 revenue, not earnings, was projected to be less than half what it was in 2021. Coinbase had previously stated in a letter to investors that it expected to post a roughly $500 million loss in adjusted EBITDA for 2022. Adjusted EBITDA is an earnin...
