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Tencent shuts down NFT platform as gov policy makes it impossible to thrive
China’s internet giant Tencent has reportedly shut down one of the two nonfungible token (NFT) platforms owing to declining sales aided by the regressive monetary policies of the Chinese government. Tencent shut down one of its NFT platforms on July 1 while the other one is struggling to remain afloat. A report from a local daily indicates that the wind-down process for the same began in May. The tech giant transferred key executives responsible for managing the NFT platform in the last week of May and completely removed the digital collectible section from its Tencent News app by July’s first week. The primary reason for the slow down in sales and ultimate closure of Tencent’s digital collectible platform is being blamed on flawed government policy that prohibits buyers from selling...
South African exchanges welcome the new ‘crypto is financial asset’ ruling
South Africa’s Reserve Bank is set to begin regulating cryptocurrencies as financial assets in the next 18 months, with exchanges expecting the move to drive adoption in the country. The move to classify cryptocurrencies as financial assets and not currency, has been talked about for some time by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). Deputy governor Kuben Chetty confirmed that the new regulations would take effect over the next year, speaking in an online dialogue on July 11. The cryptocurrency space has been left to develop organically in South Africa, with no clear-cut regulations issued by the SARB until recently. The country has become a leader in cryptocurrency adoption, with more than 6 million South Africans estimated to own some cryptocurrency. Now that the SARB has finally t...
TikTok to Add Content Ratings on Videos With ‘Overtly Mature Themes’
In an effort to prevent potentially disturbing or “overtly mature” material from reaching users under the age of 18, TikTok will begin adding content scores to videos as part of a new feature meant to emulate ratings used in the film, TV and gaming industries. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news According to a blog post shared on Wednesday, TikTok will begin rolling out an early version of the feature in coming weeks and place a “post unavailable” message to block out videos that are age restricted. To determine which videos fall into that restricted category, TikTok will assign a “maturity score” based on the video’s “thematic maturity” levels. “When we detect that a video contains mature or complex themes, for example, fictional scenes th...
US Senate confirms Michael Barr as Fed vice chair for supervision
The United States Senate has confirmed the nomination of law professor Michael Barr to become the next vice chair for supervision for the Federal Reserve. In a 66-28 vote on the Senate floor on Wednesday, U.S. lawmakers confirmed Barr as vice chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve System for four years, filling the last seat on the seven-member board of governors. Barr, who was on the advisory board of Ripple Labs from 2015 to 2017, also served as the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for financial institutions under former President Barack Obama, and taught courses on financial regulation at the University of Michigan. As vice chair for supervision, Barr will be responsible for developing policy recommendations for the Fed as well as overseeing the supervision and regulation...
China’s central bank to expand deployment of e-CNY
According to China’s state institution Xinhua News Agency, Lan Zou, head of monetary policy at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), announced that the country would be expanding the number of digital yuan (e-CNY) test sites in the country from 11 to 23. They are spread out across 15 out of 31 of China’s provinces and autonomous regions. The PBoC is China’s central bank and is responsible for the development of the e-CNY central bank digital currency, or CBDC. During Wednesday’s press conference, Zou praised the success of the recent e-CNY rollout, stating: “e-CNY trials during the first half of 2022, such as acting as a means of payment during the Beijing Olympics, were spectacularly successful. The e-CNY has demonstrated to be an invaluable tool in ...
BREAKING: Celsius reportedly filing for bankruptcy ‘imminently’
Crypto lending platform Celsius has reportedly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with its lawyers starting to notify individual U.S. state regulators as of Wednesday, July 13. The news was reported by CNBC and referred to an unnamed source, who asked not to be named as the proceedings were private. They said that the company planned to file the Chapter 11 paperwork “imminently.” It comes just days after the embattled lending platform replaced its previously hired law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP with Kirkland & Ellis LLP, the same firm that assisted Voyager Digital with its bankruptcy filing last week. Earlier in the day, Celsius closed off the last of its DeFi debts owed to Compound, Aave, and Maker, reducing its initial debt of $820 million to just $0.013 over the cours...
Celsius vows to return from bankruptcy but expert fears repeat of Mt Gox
Crypto lending platform Celsius confirmed on July 13 that it has initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the Southern District Court of New York. The announcement was shared on the company’s Twitter and shared with account holders via email on July 13, with a vow to “emerge from Chapter 11 positioned for success in the cryptocurrency industry.” According to Investopedia, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a company to stay in business and restructure its obligations. Companies that have successfully reorganized under Chapter 11 include American Airlines, Delta, General Motors, Hertz, and Marvel according to an updated FAQ by Celsius. Danny Talwar, head of tax at crypto accounting software firm Koinly shared his concerns with Cointelegraph that the proceedings could mean investors and cu...
Don’t expect Biden’s Saudi trip to bring down oil prices
Instead, the administration is promising that the focus of Biden’s focus would “be bigger” than just energy. “We’re hoping to advance our interests across a wide range of issues from terrorism to climate to Iran,” a senior administration official said by email. “That’s why the President is going.” Then again, the official acknowledged, oil will inevitably come up, both in Biden’s discussions with the Saudi government and when he meets Saturday with officials from Saudi and five other Persian Gulf oil-producing states, especially given the turmoil in global energy markets since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “We would certainly expect us to spend some time with the [Gulf Cooperation Council] and with the Saudis talking about energy security,” the official said. For decades, oil supply has...
Price analysis 7/13: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, SOL, DOGE, DOT, SHIB, LEO
The United States Consumer Price Index soared to 9.1% in June, exceeding expectations of an 8.8% rise year-on-year. Currently, the Fed funds futures point to an 81 basis points rate hike for July, suggesting that some participants anticipate a 100 basis points hike. Several on-chain indicators have been pointing to a likely bottom in Bitcoin (BTC) but the analysts from market intelligence firm Glassnode are not convinced that the low has been made. In “The Week On-Chain” report on July 11, the analysts said that the market may have to fall further “to fully test investor resolve, and enable the market to establish a resilient bottom.” Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 While the short term remains bearish, strategists are confident about its long-term prospects. ...
UK Treasury Committee opens inquiry into crypto industry
The Treasury Committee of the United Kingdom’s House of Commons has called on the public to submit evidence related to the role of crypto’s risks and opportunities. In a Tuesday notice, the committee said it had opened an inquiry allowing people to write in about the role of crypto assets in the United Kingdom. The Treasury Committee said it would be exploring how the U.K. government, the Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, and the Bank of England could balance regulation “to provide adequate protection for consumers and businesses without stifling innovation” as well how cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technology could impact individuals, businesses and financial institutions. The British public has until Sept. 12 to submit evidence, which the committee may use in its report to P...
Playboy to launch in The Sandbox metaverse: Nifty Newsletter, July 6–12
In this week’s newsletter, read about Playboy’s upcoming virtual mansion in The Sandbox (SAND). Check out how a startup is offering lifetime Netflix and Spotify access through nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and how NFTs can bridge gaming and blockchain. Additionally, learn how game company GameStop launched its own NFT marketplace. And, don’t forget about this week’s Nifty News roundup featuring an “Ape Now, Pay Later” scheme from a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform. Playboy to launch first ‘MetaMansion’ in The Sandbox Metaverse platform The Sandbox announced that it has partnered with lifestyle company Playboy to launch a digital version of the popular Playboy mansion. With the collaboration, a Playboy MetaMansion game will be created in the digital world with NFT collectibles i...
How Bitcoin’s strong correlation to stocks could trigger a drop to $8,000
The Bitcoin (BTC) price chart from the past couple of months reflects nothing more than a bearish outlook and it’s no secret that the cryptocurrency has consistently made lower lows since breaching $48,000 in late March. Bitcoin price in USD. Source: TradingView Curiously, the difference in support levels has been getting wider as the correction continues to drain investor confidence and risk appetite. For example, the latest $19,000 baseline is almost $10,000 away from the previous support. So if the same movement is bound to happen, the next logical price level would be $8,000. Traders are afraid of regulation and contagion On July 11, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a global financial regulator including all G20 countries, announced that a framework of recommendations for the crypt...
