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Twitter Sues Elon Musk to Force Him to Complete $44B Acquisition
Twitter sued Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday, trying to force him to complete his $44 billion takeover of the social media company by accusing him of “outlandish” and “bad faith” actions that have caused the platform irreparable harm and “wreaked havoc” on its stock price. Back in April, Musk pledged to pay $54.20 a share for Twitter, which agreed to those terms after reversing its initial opposition to the deal. But the two sides have been bracing for a legal fight since the billionaire said Friday that he was backing away from his agreement to buy the company. Twitter’s lawsuit opens with a sharply-worded accusation: “Musk refuses to honor his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests.” “Having mounted a public spectacle...
French central bank head announces Phase 2 of wholesale digital euro project
The first phase of experiments with a wholesale digital euro has been completed, and Phase 2 experiments will begin this year, Banque de France governor François Villeroy de Galhau said Tuesday. Four or five new experiments are expected to be launched. Speaking at the Paris Europlace International Finance Forum, the French central banker summed up the European Union’s achievements in crypto-asset regulation under the French presidency, mentioning the Transfer Fund Regulation (Travel Rule) and Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), specifically. The Eurosystem is looking at the scope and design of a digital euro central bank digital currency (CBDC). The main rationale for a retail digital euro is to maintain the role of central bank money in the economy even as it is “threatened by the digi...
Multicoin Capital raises $430M for new crypto startup fund
Prominent crypto investor Multicoin Capital has launched a new venture fund valued at $430 million, further demonstrating venture capital’s growing interest in the blockchain economy amid the bear market. Multicoin’s Venture Fund III will invest between $500,000 and $25 million in early-stage companies across various crypto- and blockchain-focused industries, the company announced Tuesday. It’s also willing to invest values of up to $100 million or greater for later-stage projects with an established brand and market presence. Related: VC Roundup: ‘Web5,’ Metaverse sports and Bitcoin monetization startups generate buzz Venture Fund III will place greater emphasis on crypto projects that have demonstrated “proof of physical work,” or protocols that have created economic incentives for...
SEC extends window to decide on ARK 21Shares spot Bitcoin ETF to August
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has pushed the deadline to approve or disapprove ARK 21Shares’ Bitcoin exchange-traded fund to August 30. According to a Tuesday filing from the SEC, the regulatory body extended the deadline for approving or disapproving the ARK 21Shares spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF from July 16 for an additional 45 days, to August 30. The application, originally filed with the SEC in May and published for comment in the Federal Register on June 1, included a proposed rule change from the Chicago Board Options Exchange BZX Exchange. Ark Invest partnered with Europe-based ETF issuer 21Shares to file for a spot Bitcoin ETF listed on CBOE BZX Exchange in 2021, but the SEC rejected its application in April. Under current rules, the regulatory body is able to dela...
US Treasury calls for public comment on digital asset policy, following Biden’s executive order
The United State Department of the Treasury has requested comments from the public on the potential opportunities and risks of digital assets in compliance with President Joe Biden’s executive order from March. In a Tuesday announcement, the U.S. Treasury said it was asking for input from the public that will “inform its work” in reporting to the president the possible implications of digital assets on the financial markets and payment infrastructures. Biden’s executive order directed the Treasury Department to take the lead among other government agencies in developing policy recommendations aimed at mitigating both systemic and consumer risks around cryptocurrencies. “For consumers, digital assets may present potential benefits, such as faster payments, as well as potential risks, includ...
Irv Gotti’s Murder, Inc. Signs Distribution Deal With 300 Elektra Entertainment
Irv Gotti‘s Murder Inc. and Kevin Liles‘ 300 Elektra Entertainment (3EE) have brokered a multi-year strategic distribution deal, Billboard has learned. Under the deal, which was signed Wednesday (July 6), 3EE will exclusively distribute physical and digital formats for Murder Inc.’s new recorded music. Additionally, Murder Inc. will be able to leverage 3EE’s marketing and promotion teams across more than 50 territories, thanks to the vast reach of 3EE’s parent company Warner Music Group. Gotti tells Billboard he’ll maintain ownership of Murder Inc.’s masters under the deal. “I’m excited to join forces with Kevin Liles again, as we take it back to our roots, where we generated over a billion dollars in revenue at Universal Music Group,” says Gotti, referencing Murder Inc.’s prior home at UM...
Three Men Charged With Trying to Sell Stolen Notes for Eagles’ ‘Hotel California’
Decades after Don Henley’s handwritten notes and lyrics for the Eagles album Hotel California were stolen, Manhattan prosecutors have indicted three men who they say tried to profit from the illicit materials. In a statement on Tuesday (July 12), Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. said he had charged Glenn Horowitz, 66, Craig Inciardi, 58, and Edward Kosinski, 59, with conspiracy over their efforts to resell and hide the origin of the stolen notes, which include material from “Hotel California” and other iconic songs from the band and are worth more than $1 million. Bragg said that Horowitz even stooped so low as to exploit the 2016 death of Eagles member Glenn Frey by claiming that Frey was the source of the artifacts – a claim he allegedly hoped could not be refuted by the l...
Spotify Acquires Music Trivia Game ‘Heardle’
Spotify has acquired Heardle, a music trivia game that challenges players to identify songs based on select snippets. Under the agreement, the free-to-play title will be available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. The game, which remains a standalone website, provides players with six guesses, in a similar fashion to The New York Times‘ Wordle. Once the answer is revealed at the end of the game, players will be able to listen to the full song exclusively on Spotify. Notably, Heardle previously linked music to SoundCloud. “We are always looking for innovative and playful ways to enhance music discovery and help artists reach new fans,” Jeremy Erlich, Spotify’s global head of music, said in a statement. “Heardle has proven to be a real...
MLB All-Star and NY Yankee Pitcher Nestor Cortes Releasing Personal NFT Collection On The ReserveBlock RBX Network
Miami, United States, 12th July, 2022, Chainwire Personal Proceeds To Benefit Hospitals In NYC & Miami MLB All-Star and NY Yankee Pitcher Nestor Cortes, aka “Nasty” Nestor, announced today that he will be releasing his exclusive NFT collection on the ReserveBlock Foundations RBX Network (reserveblock.io) protocol with a portion of his personal proceeds to benefit Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital and Miami Children’s Hospital on Sunday evening July 17th. RBX is the first open-source decentralized NFT Centric Blockchain that enables true peer-to-peer operability for the minting and trading of NFTs with or without the need for a centralized authority. With an ecosystem that provides a full suite of on-chain tools, RBX reduces common frictions and burdens by providing an environment for a...
Swiss Post’s banking arm developing in-house crypto custody platform
Switzerland’s Post Office is set to onboard cryptocurrency trading through its banking arm PostFinance as user appetite for custody grows in the country. Some 2.6 million users that currently bank with PostFinance, the fifth largest bank in the country, are expected to be able to buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through an inhouse trading and custody service in the next two years. As reported by local media outlet Swissinfo, the executive board of the Post Office’s banking arm intends to provide direct access to cryptocurrency markets through a proprietary service operated by PostFinance by 2024 at the latest. It’s the latest step by the institution to afford its clients the ability to gain access to cryptocurrencies. In 2021, PostFinance partnered with online trading platfo...
Ethereum co-founder responds to PoS critics amid upcoming Merge
While some believe that Ethereum’s upcoming shift to proof-of-stake (PoS) may push the platform to eventually surpass Bitcoin (BTC), others take this opportunity to make snarky remarks on Twitter, triggering a rebuttal from Vitalik Buterin, a co-founder of Ethereum. In a tweet, Bitcoiner Nick Payton called out “Proof-of-Stakers” and argued that voting to change the properties on PoS platforms proves that the PoS assets are securities. Dear Proof of Stakers, The fact that you can vote on something to change its properties is proof that it’s a security. Love, Bitcoin — Nick (@NickDPayton) July 11, 2022 Buterin responded to the post, describing Payton’s notions as an “unmitigated bare-faced lie.” According to the Ethereum Buterin...
Bitcoin miner prices will continue to fall, F2Pool exec predicts
The price of cryptocurrency mining hardware is likely to continue falling in the near future amid the ongoing crypto winter, according to an executive at major Bitcoin (BTC) mining pool F2Pool. Supporting 14.3% of the BTC network, F2Pool is one of the world’s biggest Bitcoin mining pools. On Tuesday, F2Pool released its latest mining industry update. Focusing on June 2022 BTC mining results, F2Pool’s report noted that the majority of Bitcoin mining companies like Core Scientific have opted to sell their self-mined Bitcoin recently. Bitfarms, a major Canadian BTC mining firm, sold 3,000 Bitcoin, or almost 50% of its entire BTC stake for $62 million ito reduce its credit facility in June. “I have studied almost 10 publicly traded industrial miners and found that they are...
