business
Australian Football League scores a mega-deal with Crypto.com
The Football League has become the latest sports entity to partner with the exchange, which is looking to reach a bigger audience via the sports industry Crypto.com has reached an agreement to become the official exchange platform of the Australian Football League (AFL). The women’s league (AFLW) is also featured in this latest partnership deal aimed towards mainstream acceptance. The exchange will secure exclusive naming rights for the ‘Crypto.com AFL Score Review’ for all premier and final series games as part of the agreement. According to the press release shared with FXEMPIRE, Crypto.com will join Toyota and the National Australia Bank (NAB) in sponsoring the two leagues in a deal valued at $25 million through the next five years. This mega-deal is a significant jump...
Crypto.com users report suspicious wallet activity, exchange pauses withdrawals
The exchange has not clarified the nature of the suspicious activity, but users are claiming mysterious loss of money Earlier today, Crypto.com said it was temporarily pausing withdrawals as it confirmed receiving reports from some users claiming suspicious activity in their wallets. The exchange noted that it was looking into the matter and assured users of their holdings’ safety. “We have a small number of users reporting suspicious activity on their accounts. We will be pausing withdrawals shortly, as our team is investigating. All funds are safe,” a tweet from the exchange’s Twitter account read. Some users responding to the tweet claim to have messaged the exchange about the issue hours before the announcement. For instance, Entrepreneur and jeweller Ben B...
Crypto-focused software firm Lukka raises $110M, reaches $1.3B valuation
Cryptocurrency accounting and data company Lukka said it had raised $110 million in a new funding round led by hedge fund giant Marshall Wace. In a Friday announcement, Lukka said it had completed a $110 million Series E funding round led by Marshall Wace, with participation from Soros Fund Management — a fund created by billionaire investor George Soros, Liberty City Ventures, S&P Global, and accounting advisor CPA.com. Lukka said it planned to use the funds for “aggressive growth and global expansion strategy” with its current customer base dealing in derivatives, decentralized finance and other products related to the crypto space. Lukka CEO Robert Materazzi said the crypto ecosystem had entered a “new phase of maturity,” with the firm aiming to address challenges from innovati...
COVID-19, Supply Issues Delay Opening of Enmarket Arena in Savannah
The planned mid-January opening of Savannah’s new 9,500-seat sports and concert arena has been pushed back, with city officials blaming the coronavirus and supply chain problems. The $140 million Enmarket Arena had been scheduled to open in the past week with concerts by Earth, Wind and Fire on Thursday and Riley Green on Friday. But the venue remains unfinished, and both shows have been postponed until early February. Explore See latest videos, charts and news “It is disappointing to have to take a step back and hit the pause button,” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson told reporters at a news conference. He added: “However, that disappointment does not eclipse the necessity of being sure we have a complete, safe facility, with all the necessary inspections in-hand.” Construction crews broke grou...
Astroworld Attendees Asked to Upload Photos and Videos to FBI Website
The Houston Police Department is asking attendees of last year’s Astroworld festival to upload their photos and videos from the Nov. 5 event to a new FBI website. Concertgoers are invited to upload a maximum of four files and share their name and contact information. The Houston P.D. is specifically looking for photos and videos taken between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. in the festival’s “main venue area.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news “Houston Police Detectives have already viewed countless hours of video evidence as part of our ongoing investigation into the Astroworld event,” said the Houston Police Department in a statement Friday (Jan. 14). “To ensure that we have captured all possible evidence for a complete investigation, we have partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigatio...
Taylor Swift’s Accusers Say She Must Face ‘Shake It Off’ Trial, Even If She’s ‘Unhappy’
A pair of songwriters who say Taylor Swift stole the lyrics to “Shake It Off” have fired back at the superstar’s renewed efforts to escape the case, saying she’s not entitled to “rehash” old arguments simply because she’s “unhappy” that a judge sent the case to trial. Explore See latest videos, charts and news After a federal judge ruled in December that Swift would have to stand trial over claims that she lifted lyrics from the 2001 song “Playas Gon’ Play,” her attorneys quickly asked the judge to reconsider his own decision – a rare step that judges take only if they’ve clearly gotten something wrong. Swift’s attorneys say the ruling was “unprecedented” and potentially harmful to other artists, but in a response filed Friday (Jan. 14), attorneys for “Playas” songwriters Sean Hall and Nat...
Tiffany Haddish Charged With DUI in Georgia
Tiffany Haddish was arrested Friday (Jan. 14) and charged with driving under the influence, authorities said. The actor and comedian was detained after Peachtree City Police got a call about 2:30 a.m. regarding a driver asleep at the wheel on a highway, Assistant Police Chief Matt Myers said in a news release. An officer saw a vehicle matching the caller’s description and stopped Haddish as she pulled into the yard of a residence, Myers said. Haddish later posted $1,666 bond and was released from the Fayette County Jail, Myers said. He did not release any information about a possible court date. Explore See latest videos, charts and news A spokesman for Haddish did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Haddish was the breakout star of the smash comedy Girls Trip and ha...
Going meta: Disney, Second Life and K-pop
Following the announcement that Facebook’s parent company would be rebranding in a shift towards the Metaverse, many projects have started similar initiatives entering the virtual space, from buying property to testing the limits of what this universe has to offer. Visit Disneyland… in the Metaverse? The entertainment company behind some of the most popular theme parks in the world recently had a patent approved for a “virtual-world simulator in a real-world venue.” Though the Los Angeles Times reported that Disney had “no current plans” to use the simulator in the near future, the application does suggest Disneyland and Disney World guests may eventually see Metaverse attractions at one or more of the parks in the United States, Hong Kong, China, France and Japan. Disney World in Or...
Bitfinex advises Ontario-based users to close accounts before March 1
In a Friday announcement, Bitfinex said it would be immediately closing the accounts for Ontario-based customers who have no balances on the platform. In addition, it planned to restrict access to those who do not have open positions in the exchange’s peer-to-peer financing market or open margin positions. Users who have balances or open positions on Bitfinex and are one of the roughly 15 million residents of Ontario — which includes Toronto and the nation’s capital city of Ottawa — “will no longer have access to any services” starting on March 1. The exchange advised customers to withdraw funds before the effective date. Though Bitfinex did not mention the Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, the region’s financial watchdog has been responsible for cracking down on crypto exchange...
Executive Turntable: Merlin Conjures New Board; WMUK Label Vet Promoted to SVP, Commercial
Merlin announced its newly-elected board, which includes representatives from 12 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania. The Merlin board includes equal representation from the organization’s three regional blocs: North America, Europe and All Other Countries, according to a press release. Nine of this year’s board members were elected or appointed for their first term, while 11 members are returning for another term. Newly elected to the 2022 board are: Pascal Bittard, owner of IDOL (France); Tom Deakin, head, EMEA at AudioSalad (U.K.); Sandra Ortega, director, global partnerships at Altafonte (Mexico); Louis Posen, president & executive director at Hopeless Records (U.S.); Jason Taylor, director, sales & label relations at Redeye (U.S.); a...
Round Hill Music Acquires David Coverdale Catalog
The Round Hill Music Royalty Fund has acquired a bundle of music rights from David Coverdale, the Whitesnake frontman and former lead singer of Deep Purple. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to the announcement, the acquisition includes his music publishing and master recording royalties and from his three-album stint in the mid-1970s with Deep Purple — Burn, Come Taste The Band, and Stormbringer — and from his entire Whitesnake catalog including the band’s multi-platinum 1987 self-titled album. Also, as part of the deal Round Hill apparently has acquired some Whitesnake master recordings that Coverdale owned. In addition, the deal includes a neighboring rights administration agreement for both his Whitesnake’s catalog and his share of the Deep Purple albums he performed on. ...
Japan-based crypto exchange DeCurret plans to sell to HK’s Amber Group: report
The holding company behind DeCurret, the Japan-based company offering trading and exchanges of digital assets, reportedly plans to sell its crypto business to investment platform Amber Group. According to a Wednesday report from the Nikkei newspaper, DeCurret Holdings intends to sell the crypto branch of its business to the Hong Kong-based company Amber Group in February. Though the details of the acquisition are unclear, the news outlet reported that the sale price would be in the millions of dollars. DeCurret established a new business structure in December 2021, launching a holding company, DeCurret Holdings, and separating its digital currency and crypto business into separate subsidiaries. Under the proposed arrangement, DeCurret Inc. will represent the company’s crypto exchange busin...
