Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Investments news
- Digital asset investment products saw outflows totaling USD 110m last week following a 7-week run of inflows, per CoinShares data. A week earlier, inflows hit almost USD 127m. USD 80m of the outflows derived from North America, outflows of USD 30m were also seen in Europe. Regulatory concerns and geopolitics remain at the forefront of investors’ concerns for digital assets, the firm added. Bitcoin (BTC) saw outflows totaling USD 70m last week off the back of low volumes. A week earlier, inflows reached almost USD 95m. Meanwhile, ethereum (ETH), on a relative basis saw the largest outflows last week, totaling USD 51m, compared with inflows of USD 25m a week earlier.
- Also, CoinShares announced that following approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, it has acquired an additional 20.8% stake in Swiss-based FlowBank priced at CHF 24.74m (USD 26.5m). In addition to their previous investment in the bank, this brings CoinShares’ overall holding to 29.3%, with voting rights equal to 32.06%.
- Crypto exchange Binance announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the acquisition of Sim;paul Investimentos, a Brazilian securities brokerage firm, authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil and the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM). Completion of the transaction will require the approval of regulatory authorities, including the central bank.
- NFT marketplace Magic Eden announced it has raised USD 27m in a funding round led by investment firm Paradigm, and that it is launching Eden Games, a content destination for gamers. The new gaming platform will feature dedicated gaming listing pages, a content hub, as well as competitions and tournaments, they added.
- Protocol for liquid staking on Ethereum Swell Network raised USD 3.75m in a seed round led by Framework Ventures, an investment adviser with experience in the DeFi space, along with IOSG Ventures and Apollo Capital, and with support from Maven 11 and a number of angel investors including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Per the press release shared with Cryptonews.com, the funds will be utilized to conduct multiple audits of the Swell platform ahead of the mainnet launch in April and to scale the internal engineering, business development, and marketing teams.
- Blockchain game development studio Metaverse Game Studios announced today that it has raised a total of USD 10m in the investment co-led by Pantera Capital, Animoca Brands, Solana Ventures, and Everyrealm, among others. With the primary focus of creating a better gaming experience, the developers of Angelic (the company’s flagship game) also decided to incorporate the latest blockchain technology features of the Solana (SOL) blockchain into their game, said the team.
Wallets news
- CoinJoin, a BTC mixing service that’s part of the privacy-focused Wasabi Wallet, has started blacklisting bitcoin tied to illegal activity, confirmed Adam Ficsor, Co-founder of the wallet. “[In my opinion,] it is a major setback to Bitcoin’s fungibility,” he said. (Learn more: As New Crypto Sanction Screening Tool Launched, Tornado Cash Keeps Mixing and FBI Chimes In)
- Digital payments company Block, led by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, announced that its upcoming hardware wallet will have a fingerprint sensor, as well as additional access methods that users could opt into. They argue that this is more secure than PINs, seed phrases, and passwords.
Taxes news
- Singapore’s income tax rules will apply to transactions of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), The Business Times reported, citing Finance Minister Lawrence Wong. The income tax treatment will be determined based on the nature and use of the NFT, the report added.
NFTs news
- NFT creators Yuga Labs, known for their Bored Ape Yacht Club project, have acquired the intellectual property (IP) of the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections from Larva Labs. As part of the acquisition, Yuga Labs will transfer IP, commercial, and exclusive licensing rights to individual NFT holders for free.
- Music platform LimeWire announced it has selected the Algorand (ALGO) blockchain to power the relaunch of its previously hinted-at digital collectibles marketplace. LimeWire also plans to launch a token later this year, which should provide exclusive community access, voting mechanisms, and a reward system for token holders.
- The ecosystem of blockchain software products Enjin (ENJ) has launched its flagship parachain Efinity on Polkadot (DOT). Per the announcement, as the first-ever NFT parachain to launch on the Polkadot network, Efinity will support the play-to-earn NFT role-playing game CryptoBlades and its 1.1m users, with additional commitment from over 100 games and apps.
Mining news
- Argo Blockchain announced it has signed a fleet swap agreement with mining company Core Scientific that exchanges Argo’s Bitmain Antminer S19 series Bitcoin mining fleet hosted at Core for S19J Pro Bitcoin miners. This fleet swap represents approximately 60% of Argo’s total mining capacity and will reduce operational expenses for Argo, they added.
- Bitfarms said it has acquired land and a building in Sherbrooke, Québec. The new location is expected to have a power capacity of 18 megawatts (MW) and will replace the existing de la Pointe facility. The total purchase price of the Garlock location consists of cash in the amount of CAD 2.25m (USD 1.76m) and 25,000 common share purchase warrants, they added.
Career news
- Crypto exchange Crypto.com confirmed the appointment of six senior hires in London for operational, compliance, engineering, and communications positions. These include a UK General Manager, Head of Finance, Head of Communications and Government Relations, Global Head of Sustainability and ESG, SVP of Compliance, and SVP of Engineering.