BITCOIN
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin (BTC) is the first cryptocurrency created by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. With the underlying technology blockchain, bitcoin has redefining money in terms of money form, money issuance standard and money movement. Bitcoin has a limit of 21 million coins and uses proof-of-work (POW) consensus. In some sense, bitcoin removes our reliance on central banks and traditional financial institutions that we have to trust on. Bitcoin brings monetary freedom.
Bitcoin (BTC) is the first cryptocurrency created by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. With the underlying technology blockchain, bitcoin has redefining money in terms of money form, money issuance standard and money movement. Bitcoin has a limit of 21 million coins and uses proof-of-work (POW) consensus. In some sense, bitcoin removes our reliance on central banks and traditional financial institutions that we have to trust on. Bitcoin brings monetary freedom.
Terra co-founder sought for arrest
South Korean authorities are making a renewed push to detain Terra co-founder Shin Hyun-Seong, also known as Daniel Shin, after the arrest of co-founder Do Kwon. Shin is suspected of involvement in promoting unstable investment opportunities with Terra tokens, with allegations of fraud and illegal fundraising.
European Crypto Startups See Record VC Investment in 2022
Despite a challenging year for the crypto industry in 2022, VC investment in European crypto startups reached an all-time high of $5.7 billion, with decentralized finance startups seeing a 120% increase in investments. Europe is also home to the highest number of crypto startups, but lags behind the US in unicorns and startups with over $1 million in funding. Investment in financial service-based startups declined by 19% compared to 2021, while infrastructure grew by 24%. The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulations are set for a final vote in April 2023.
KuCoin Ventures Invests in Yuan-Pegged Stablecoin
KuCoin Ventures leads a $10 million investment in CNHC, a Chinese yuan-pegged stablecoin issuer and blockchain payment service provider.
South Korea Invests in Metaverse Fund for Economic Growth
The South Korean government has invested 24 billion Korean won ($18.1 million) in a fund dedicated to driving metaverse initiatives in the country, with a total fund of more than 40 billion Korean won ($30.2 million). The Metaverse Fund will support the mergers and acquisitions of various firms in the metaverse ecosystem and help domestic metaverse-related companies compete with global players, as the government sees the metaverse as a new economic growth engine.
SEC Rejects VanEck Spot Bitcoin Trust Proposal
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has denied the proposal for a spot Bitcoin trust by investment manager VanEck. This decision follows a trend of the SEC denying every application for a spot Bitcoin trust over the last six years. Two SEC commissioners have released a statement criticizing the decision and alleging a double standard in the Commission’s approach to commodity-based exchange-traded products (ETPs).
BaFin Declines to Classify NFTs as Securities, Recommends Case-by-Case Approach
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany (BaFin) has stated that it is not yet prepared to classify non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as securities. While NFTs may be considered investments in certain cases, BaFin suggests that classification should be approached on a case-by-case basis. The lack of immediate exchangeability and standardization makes it unlikely that NFTs will be classified as crypto assets. However, if an NFT contains documentation of exploitation rights or ownership, it could be considered an investment. BaFin does not expect NFTs to comply with the licensing requirements of the Payment Services Supervision Act or fall under its Anti-Money Laundering supervision, except for NFTs that are considered "crypto assets."
Transform Ventures Co-Invests in Alpha Transform Holdings to Accelerate Blockchain Investment
Transform Ventures has co-invested in Alpha Transform Holdings, a new holding company aiming to support the blockchain ecosystem through investments via two new funds. The merger of select assets from Transform Ventures and Alpha Sigma Capital’s parent company will amount to $100 million in assets under management, with a focus on delivering suites of products under asset management, Alpha Transform products, and Alpha Transform strategies.
Thailand Waives Taxes on Investment Tokens
Thailand's cabinet has agreed to waive corporate income tax and VAT for companies issuing investment tokens, encouraging alternative capital raising in addition to conventional methods. The government hopes to generate 128 billion Thai baht from investment token offerings over the next two years.
DeFi Funding Skyrockets 190% in 2022
Digital asset investment firms invested $2.7 billion in decentralized finance (DeFi) projects in 2022, marking a 190% increase from the previous year, while investments into centralized finance (CeFi) projects dropped by 73% to $4.3 billion. Despite the overall crypto funding figures falling from $31.92 billion to $18.25 billion, DeFi saw a near three-fold increase, potentially signaling it as the new high-growth area for the crypto industry, according to a CoinGecko report.
FTX Japan users withdraw funds amid litigation
Due to the large number of FTX-SBF victims, payment is projected to take time.