Cryptocurrency made a splash on the Tremendous Bowl this 12 months, with a number of cryptocurrency exchanges airing advertisements. The crypto advertisements captured America’s consideration, however not everybody cherished them. Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown blasted them throughout a senate committee listening to final week, saying the advertisements lacked transparency and “left just a few issues out.” The listening to was one other authorities assembly on stablecoins, the place U.S. lawmakers echoed comparable previous sentiments about how extra regulation is required.

The New York Inventory Change, the world’s largest inventory change by market capitalization, desires to be {the marketplace} for NFTs similar to with shares. The change filed an software with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Workplace to supply an internet market for digital items together with NFTs, cryptocurrencies, digital media, and paintings. If the change’s plan involves fruition, it will compete with different common NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis introduced that the state will start accepting crypto funds for taxes and different state-related transactions by the top of summer time. Polis stated throughout an interview with CoinDesk that Colorado will associate with crypto corporations to successfully settle for and convert Bitcoin into U.S. {dollars}. “We don’t wish to take the speculative threat of holding crypto, so we can have a transactional layer there and it is going to be entered in our system as {dollars},” he says. “For shopper comfort, we wish to settle for fee in all kinds of cryptocurrencies, simply as we do with bank cards.”

New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer unveiled an early draft of laws that will place clear definitions round U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins. The proposed laws would designate sure stablecoins as “certified,” making them redeemable on a one-to-one foundation for U.S. {dollars}, and institute conventional deposit insurance coverage on stablecoin holdings. The invoice additionally states that certified stablecoins would solely be issued by banks or non-bank establishments that fulfill sure laws.

JP Morgan has formally entered the metaverse, opening a lounge in Decentraland, a digital world primarily based on blockchain know-how. The “Onyx lounge” was unveiled together with a report from the financial institution outlining “limitless” alternatives for companies within the metaverse and why there may be “explosive curiosity.” JP Morgan is the most important financial institution within the U.S. and the primary to take part within the metaverse.

Coinbase introduced it’s launching a service that enables cryptocurrency recipients in Mexico to money out their funds in pesos. The service will likely be supplied at over 37,000 areas throughout the nation, freed from cost via March 31, after which clients will likely be charged a “nominal payment that’s nonetheless 25-50% cheaper” than conventional worldwide fee choices, in accordance with a Coinbase weblog put up. Cryptocurrency has drawn curiosity for cross-border funds and cash transfers, due to its potential as a quicker and cheaper technique to transact in comparison with extra conventional choices.

Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to launch stablecoin venture Diem has hit a lifeless finish. Meta, previously branded as Fb, introduced this week it offered its property and mental property to crypto financial institution Silvergate Capital. The financial institution paid $182 million for the venture, in accordance with a press launch. Although Meta is not concerned within the venture, Diem CEO Stuart Levey stated in a press launch he has “confidence in Silvergate’s potential to take Diem’s know-how ahead.” Within the press launch, Silvergate CEO Alan Lane stated they plan to launch a stablecoin by 2022.

India introduced plans this week to launch a digital model of the rupee and place a 30% tax on revenue from digital property as quickly as this 12 months. It’s the most recent main economic system to announce an official digital foreign money, as China trials the digital yuan and different nations, together with the U.S., proceed to discover the concept. In accordance with a Chainanalysis report, India is likely one of the fastest-growing markets for cryptocurrency, although it has had a hot-and-cold relationship with it. In 2018, it successfully banned crypto transactions, however the Supreme Courtroom struck down the restriction in March 2020.

Bloomberg reported the White Home is planning to launch an preliminary government-wide technique for crypto and different digital property as quickly as subsequent month, and can ask federal businesses to evaluate their dangers and alternatives. Bloomberg cited individuals acquainted with the matter, saying senior administration officers are holding a number of conferences and drafting an govt order that will likely be introduced to President Joe Biden within the coming weeks. The report suggests the Biden workforce is going through stress to take the lead on the difficulty since federal businesses have to date taken a scattered method.

Giant tech corporations proceed to discover and combine NFT know-how into their companies. Final week, Twitter grew to become the primary main social media platform to introduce NFT-based profile photos. This new function comes with limitations, nevertheless. To have a NFT profile image, you’ll have to have purchased or minted an NFT on an Etherum-based market first.  You additionally want a Twitter Blue subscription, and an iOS gadget to set an NFT as your profile image, which seems in a hexagonal form. Lots of people, together with Elon Musk, have taken to Twitter to categorical their frustrations with the brand new function. In a tweet Musk stated, “Twitter is spending engineering sources on this bs whereas crypto scammers are throwing a spambot block celebration in each thread!?”

The Fed launched a long-awaited report exploring the professionals and cons of government-issued crypto, however in the end took no place on the matter. As a substitute, they’re asking the general public to weigh in. By Could 20, 2022, the Fed is asking Individuals to present public remark on the attainable rollout of a digital greenback. A central financial institution digital foreign money (CBDC) would basically be a digital type of money, issued and backed by America’s central financial institution. The U.S. isn’t the one nation exploring or launching its personal CBDC. Central banks everywhere in the world, from China to Sweden, are experimenting with the adoption of digital currencies.

Walmart could also be quietly getting into the metaverse with the intent to make and promote digital items. It has plans to create its personal cryptocurrency and assortment of NFTs, in accordance with a number of purposes filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Workplace final month. The retail big is the most recent company participant to indicate curiosity in crypto and the metaverse, which may doubtlessly lead new income streams for retailers.

Crypto change Crypto.com suspended withdrawals on its platform final week after there have been stories from a “small” variety of customers of “suspicious exercise.” The Singapore-based agency made the announcement by way of Twitter, including that every one funds had been protected. After a number of hours, the change issued an replace saying customers had been required to signal again into their accounts and reset their two-factor authentication. Technical points and widespread outages on crypto buying and selling platforms are nothing new. Over the past 12 months, comparable conditions have occurred with crypto exchanges Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken.

Rob Nichols, president of American Bankers Affiliation, a significant U.S. banking commerce group, stated in a latest weblog put up that crypto isn’t “going away” and banks are exploring methods to “safely and responsibly” introduce crypto service for purchasers. It’s additional proof that crypto is turning into extra mainstream amongst traders. However to ensure that there to be extra mainstream adoption of crypto, banks want “regulatory readability,” stated Nichols.

Almost $400 million value of digital property had been stolen by North Korean hackers, in accordance with a Chainalysis report printed just lately. Ether accounted for a lot of the stolen funds, adopted by altcoins, ERC-20 tokens, and Bitcoin, in accordance with the report. In accordance with Chainanalysis, safety researchers imagine lots of final 12 months’s assaults had been carried out by a gaggle labeled as superior persistent risk 38 (APT38), also referred to as Lazarus Group.

A number of U.S. banks are becoming a member of collectively to supply their very own stablecoin, which they’ll name USDF, in accordance with a press launch. Founding members of this new stablecoin embody New York Neighborhood Financial institution, FirstBank and Sterling Nationwide Financial institution — all FDIC-insured establishments. USDF is a substitute for non-bank-issued stablecoins, reminiscent of Tether, and will likely be minted completely by U.S. banks. In accordance with the discharge, USDF “addresses the patron safety and regulatory issues of non-bank issued stablecoins and gives a safer choice for transacting on blockchain.”

The Federal Commerce Fee is warning shoppers about a “new spin” on crypto scams. The U.S. shopper safety company says scammers are calling individuals pretending to be from the federal government, regulation enforcement, or a neighborhood utility firm and luring individuals to ship them cash via cryptocurrency ATMs. The FTC’s warning comes within the midst of rising cryptocurrency crimes. In 2021 alone, scammers took $14 billion value of crypto, in accordance with a latest report from blockchain knowledge agency Chainalysis.

PayPal could launch its personal stablecoin because it grows its footprint within the crypto sector, CoinDesk reported. A PayPal spokesman instructed CoinDesk in an emailed assertion that the corporate is “exploring a stablecoin,” and can work intently with regulators in the event that they transfer ahead with the concept. PayPal has been actively rising its crypto enterprise just lately, growing the quantity of crypto its clients can buy, in addition to investing in educating its customers on crypto and dealing to permit them to withdraw their crypto safely to third-party wallets.

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO of crypto change Binance, has an estimated internet value of practically $100 billion, in accordance with new calculations from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index printed. By way of wealth, that places him within the firm of Fb founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google founders Larry Web page and Sergey Brin. The Binance coin makes up the “majority” of his internet value, in accordance with an interview with the Related Press final November.

Scammers took a document $14 billion value of cryptocurrency in 2021, up from $7.8 billion in 2020, in accordance with blockchain knowledge agency Chainalysis’ 2021 “Crypto Crime Report.” Whereas that’s an enormous leap in legal crypto exercise, the widespread adoption of crypto by official people and establishments really pushed the full share of illicit cryptocurrency transaction quantity as little as it’s ever been, the report says.