• Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) was selected to take primary responsibility for crypto regulations.
• The FSC will supervise crypto exchange platforms, separating their assets and customers‘ funds, as well as evaluate the possibility of a self-regulatory system.
• Taiwan is currently at the early stages of creating crypto regulations, offering a welcoming environment for digital currency projects.

Taiwan Orders Financial Watchdog to Regulate Crypto

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has been chosen to take on the primary responsibility for crypto regulations, as reported by Forkast News. The commission will start by supervising cryptocurrency exchanges and their product listings and customer protection measures. Additionally, the FSC will evaluate if establishing a self-regulatory system for local crypto platforms would be feasible.

Measures Taken by the Taiwanese Government

In July 2021, anti-money laundering rules for crypto service providers were announced in Taiwan. Moreover, in the summer of 2022, the Central Bank of Taiwan stated that it was working on its own central bank digital currency (CBDC). However, it didn’t disclose an approximate launch date yet.

Crypto Environment in Taiwan

The regulatory environment in Taiwan is quite friendly towards cryptocurrencies and digital asset projects. For example, Jason Fang from Sora Ventures moved his company there because he found that it offered more flexibility when it came to regulation than other countries did. This allowed them to explore and experiment with new ideas freely.

Non-Fungible Tokens Excluded From Regulations

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are excluded from scope of these regulations issued by the FSC so far and therefore not subject to any supervision or restrictions yet. It remains uncertain how they will be incorporated into future regulations or if they ever will be regulated at all in this country.

Conclusion

Overall, although still at its early stages of development when it comes to regulation concerning cryptocurrencies and digital assets, Taiwan offers an encouraging environment for such projects due to its flexible approach towards them which allows companies like Sora Ventures to innovate without fear of repercussions from authorities regarding their activities or initiatives on this space.

• Gold prices have risen 5%, reflecting financial uncertainty, while oil prices have dropped 15% in the past month, suggesting an economic downturn.
• Bitcoin has also seen a 25% increase from its lows after the fallout of SVB and further contagion spreading into Europe.
• Credit Suisse’s major headlines suggest that rate hikes may be on the horizon, further illustrating global financial distress.

Global Financial Distress

Gold is pricing in global financial distress due to the fallout of SVB, which spread contagion into Europe. As a result, Bitcoin touched a low of $19,500 before recovering by 25%, while Gold rose 5%. This indicates that markets are aware of the potential for further economic distress.

Oil Prices Predict Recession

In contrast to Gold prices, crude oil has dropped by 15% in the past month and is considered an indicator of inflation and recession. This suggests that an economic downturn may be imminent as Credit Suisse’s headlines suggest rate hikes could be coming soon.

Bitcoin Price Increase

Despite initial losses from SVB’s fallout, Bitcoin saw a 25% recovery from its lows and suggests markets are becoming increasingly aware of global financial distress. This reflects Bitcoin’s role as an asset that can both price in risk and provide safe haven during times of market volatility.

Rate Hikes on Horizon?

Credit Suisse’s major headlines have increased speculation that rate hikes could be on the horizon, which would create additional pressure on already fragile economies around the world. As such, it is important to closely monitor these developments to get a better understanding of how they might impact markets going forward.

Conclusion

All this suggests global financial distress is increasing and investors should keep a close eye on upcoming developments in order to understand how they might affect markets going forward. While Gold is pricing this in with its 5% rise, oil’s 15% drop predicts an impending recession – making it even more important to stay informed about current events within finance and economics

• Judges from the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals questioned the SEC’s logic in not approving Grayscale Investments’ spot Bitcoin ETF.
• Grayscale’s lead counsel argued that the SEC has approved futures-based ETPs and there is no difference between them and a spot Bitcoin ETF.
• The SEC lawyer argued that Grayscale needs to provide evidence to show that the spot market prices do not lead the futures market prices.

Judges Question SEC Logic

Federal appellate court judges have questioned the logic behind the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) not approving Grayscale Investments’ spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). During a hearing on March 7, Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, along with Judges Neomi Rao and Harry Edwards of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments from both sides.

Grayscale Argues for Spot ETF Approval

Grayscale’s lead counsel Don Verrilli told judges that the SEC’s rejection of their application for a spot Bitcoin ETF was „arbitrary“ as it had already approved futures-based ETPs and argued that there was no difference between them. He also asked for a path forward towards regulation.

SEC Argues Evidence Is Mixed

The SEC lawyer Emily Parise said that Grayscal’es argument was an „unsupported empirical leap“ as there wasn’t enough data to prove causation between spot and futures markets. She added that Grayscale needed to provide evidence showing how these two markets function together in order to alleviate any concerns held by the regulator.

Judge Points Out Flaws In SEC Logic

Judge Neomi Rao pointed out during the hearing that while Grayscale has provided ample information regarding its arguments, it seems like “the [SEC] has to explain why they [Grayscale] are wrong in the evidence they have proffered” regarding approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF. Parise then responded saying that while there is mixed evidence, she believes Grayscale can still satisfy their concerns if they provide more studies proving causation between these two markets.

Conclusion

It remains unclear how this case will play out but what is certain is that both sides will continue making their respective arguments until a verdict is reached by either party or through further appeals down the line.

• The article is about the most alpha tweets from the NFT Paris event
• It includes quotes from artists and representatives of projects, as well as a video from the ground
• Highlights include Tom Sachs bringing Brigitte Macron into the NFT world, a 500m queue for entry, and artwork on display

Overview of NFT Paris

This article is about the most alpha tweets from an NFT event in Paris. It highlights some of the conversations between collectors, artists, and representatives of projects at the event. This includes Tom Sachs turning Brigitte Macron into an NFT holder and a 500m queue to get into the venue.

DeGodsNFT Party

One highlight from this event was @DeGodsNFT’s viral NFT party. There were discussions on panels regarding AI and generative art which further added to the buzz of this weekend’s events.

Tom Sachs‘ Tweet

Artist Tom Sachs created quite a stir when he posted an image featuring Brigitte Macron joining in on the festivities by holding an NFT. This tweet showcased his artistry while also bringing attention to what looked like one wild weekend at NFT Paris.

The Queue Outside

Those who attended were met with a 500m queue outside before they could enter into their destination. @RugRadio caught some good footage of it while those online expressed their FOMO with hilarious tweets shared across social media platforms.

Art On Display

Aside from all the conversations taking place during this historic weekend there were also many galleries and artists exhibiting their work for all to see. @TheCurated_App recap’d some of these exhibitions in order to give us all a better glimpse into what went down during this monumental event in French crypto history!

Summary

• Circle has submitted a response to the Central Bank of Ireland highlighting the benefits of blockchain-based financial services for consumers.
• Public blockchains can increase competition and disaggregate financial services, benefiting consumer privacy and improving capabilities in the fight against illicit finance.
• Firms offering novel financial products should engage with supervisory authorities before a formal application.

Circle Recommends Central Bank of Ireland Adopt Public Blockchains

USDC issuer Circle has engaged with the Central Bank of Ireland to promote the benefits of blockchain for improved consumer protection. In its response to the discussion paper issued by the Central Bank, Circle offers recommendations on how financial supervisors can support innovation while ensuring that consumers‘ best interests are protected.

Benefits of Blockchain Technology for Consumer Protection

Public blockchains have numerous advantages in relation to consumer protection. These include increased competition, disaggregation of financial services, stronger privacy protections, more transparency through improved literacy, and regulators being able to track real-time blockchain transaction data. As an example, Circle cites how blockchain-based payment systems can help protect users‘ privacy by not accumulating proprietary stores of data like traditional banking systems do.

How Financial Supervisors Can Support Innovation While Protecting Consumers‘ Best Interests

Circle’s response outlines several ways that supervisors can ensure that innovation is supported while still protecting consumers. It recommends engaging with supervisory authorities before submitting a formal application for novel products; informing customers about market abuse or anomalies by monitoring and analyzing real-time blockchain data; and supporting digital literacy initiatives so that users understand how their data is used.

Conclusion

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The use of public blockchains in consumer protection could bring numerous advantages to both consumers and regulatory bodies alike. By providing better access to information, increasing competition among providers, and enhancing consumer privacy protections, public blockchains could lead to greater trust in digital financial services overall.

• Ordinal Punks, a Bitcoin NFT collection, have been called out as potentially “the biggest NFT scam of all time” due to an inadequate infrastructure and strong FOMO.
• The novelty of the Bitcoin chain and its provenance seem to drive demand, but there are questions about legitimacy.
• Bitcoin Punks, a clone of Ethereum’s CryptoPunks, is also suffering from lack of smart contracts and the same „square peg, round hole“ approach.

Ordinal Punks Called Out

An anonymous Twitter account has expressed concerns about Ordinal Punk’s NFTs being „the biggest NFT scam of all time.“ This is particularly due to a lack of on-chain infrastructure that could verify information such as sales or even facilitate click-and-buy processes. Additionally, details about Ordinal Punks are restricted to people’s accounts rather than open data derived from on-chain information.

FOMO Rising

The rising popularity of Ordinal Punks is evident with the sale of three NFTs including #94 which reportedly sold for 9.5 Bitcoins ($215,800). Despite the lack of necessary infrastructure for such activities on the Bitcoin chain, people are going crazy in Discord trying to snap up one these Bitcoin Punk clones.

Price Floor for Blue Chip NFTs?

According to the Director of Research at PROOF Collective who got his information from a „Google doc,“ it appears that Ordinal Punks have set a price floor at 55.4 ETH ($85,500). Although this may be considered ball park figures for blue chip collections, TheNorweigan questioned whether these belong in this group due to low transparency and extreme asymmetry when it comes to information available about these collections.

Inadequate Infrastructure

Given that Bitcoin was not originally designed with NFT functionality in mind, there is no appropriate infrastructure present yet which can accommodate sales in an easy click-and-buy process or even verify sales or other related information accurately. Consequently it makes it difficult for buyers to make informed decisions regarding their purchase without having access to full information on what they’re buying into first.

Advice Against FOMO

Despite the current wave of enthusiasm surrounding these collections due to their novelty value on the Bitcoin chain and provenance effect, @seanbonner has advised against falling prey to FOMO because: A) There’s no market so you have rely OTC; B) There are a lot scams; C) Low/none transparency; D) Need to run node; E) Extreme info asymmetry .

• Ric Burton, CEO of Balance, has opened legal action against Uniswap founder Hayden Adams over alleged debts incurred by assisting Uniswap to market.
• Burton claims he invested time, friendship and money in the project, only to be betrayed by Adams who refused to repay him.
• Burton was part of the Ethereum Foundation’s investment round for Uniswap and expected compensation for his help but never received it.

Ric Burton Alleges Betrayal from Uniswap Founder

Meeting Hayden Adams

In Spring 2018, Ric Burton was looking for dApp developers in New York. He recalled that out of all the hopefuls he had encountered, Hayden Adams stood out with his unwavering enthusiasm for Uniswap. The pair quickly became close and supported each other in their respective struggles to make it.

Uniswap Investment Round

The Ethereum Foundation soon came knocking on Uniswap’s door after recognizing its potential and investing in the project. With crypto investment firm Paradigm also on board, things looked promising for the protocol’s future. Adams told Burton he intended to include him in the round as repayment for his help – a promise that would never be kept.

Burton Left In Limbo

Things were not going well at Balance while things were very good at Uniswap -Adams raised just over $1m without including Burton as promised. When asked why he wasn’t included in the round despite believing this was what they had agreed upon, Adams disappeared without a trace and left Burton feeling betrayed and heartbroken.

Legal Action Taken Against Adams

In light of these events, Ric Burton has now opened legal action against Hayden Adams due to unpaid debts incurred while assisting him with marketing Uniswap.

Bulletpoints
• NFTs accounted for 28% of ETH gas usage in January
• Defi, ERC20 and stablecoins categories occupy 8%, 8%, and 6% respectively
• Categories include Vanilla, ERC20, Stablecoins, DeFi, Bridges, NFTs, MEV Bots, and others

In January of this year, CryptoSlate analysts examined the gas usage shares of different transaction categories on the Ethereum (ETH) network and found that the NFTs category accounted for 28% of the total ETH gas usage. The second, third, and fourth categories that occupied the most significant gas usage by share appeared as Defi, ERC20, and stablecoins, with 8% for Defi and ERC20 and 6% for stablecoins.

The analysis divides all transactions on the ETH network into eight categories: Vanilla, ERC20, Stablecoins, DeFi, Bridges, NFTs, MEV Bots, and others. The vanilla category includes pure ETH transfers between Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) issued without calling any contracts. The ERC20 class counts all transactions that call ERC20 contracts, excluding stablecoin transactions. The stablecoins category represents all fungible tokens that have their value pegged to an off-chain asset either by the issuer or by an algorithm. This category includes over 150 stablecoins, with Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD), and DAI (DAI) being the most prominent ones.

The Defi category covers all on-chain financial instruments and protocols implemented as smart contracts. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) also fall under this category. More than 90 Defi protocols are represented in the category, with the most prominent ones being Uniswap, Maker, Compound, and Aave. The bridges category encompasses all transactions related to the interoperability of Ethereum with other networks such as Bitcoin, Polkadot, Tron, and more.

The NFTs category includes all transactions coming from non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs are digital assets that represent ownership over a unique item on a blockchain. These digital assets are used to represent items like art, tickets, and collectibles. The MEV Bots category includes transactions related to miner extractable value (MEV). MEV bots are automated algorithms that look for arbitrage opportunities and exploit them to generate profits. Finally, the other category includes all other transactions on the network.

In summary, the analysis revealed that NFTs accounted for 28% of the ETH gas usage in January. The Defi, ERC20, and stablecoins categories occupy the second, third, and fourth largest share with 8%, 8%, and 6%, respectively. Other categories like Vanilla, Bridges, MEV Bots, and others accounted for a smaller percentage of the total gas usage.

• Yuga Labs, an NFT company, recently informed the community that their Mailchimp account had been compromised in a data breach.
• The compromised account had information from email campaigns that involved a limited number of people.
• Mailchimp identified the security breach on Jan. 11, and informed all affected accounts on Jan. 12.

Yuga Labs, an NFT company, recently issued a statement to its community that their account with email service provider Mailchimp had been breached. An „unauthorized actor“ had gained access to data in the Yuga Labs account, though there were no signs that any of the account’s data had been exported. The compromised account had information from email campaigns that involved a limited number of people.

The NFT company wanted to make sure that their community was aware of the breach as a precautionary measure, and stated that affected users would be contacted via a different email address. They also warned their community to always verify any announcements through official sources, and to be aware that there would be no surprise mints and that they would never DM users requesting sensitive information.

On Jan. 11, Mailchimp identified the security breach that affected 133 users‘ accounts. As a response, they informed all affected accounts on Jan. 12. In order to ensure the safety of user data moving forward, Mailchimp has taken additional measures to secure their servers and databases.

Yuga Labs has been working to ensure that their users‘ data is secure and that their NFT mints are safe from any potential malicious activity. They have warned their community to remain vigilant and to always verify any announcements through official sources. They have also encouraged users to report any suspicious activity or emails that appear to be from Yuga Labs. In addition, they have recommended users use strong passwords and two-factor authentication to protect their accounts.

• Binance-Voyager deal gets initial court approval despite SEC objections.
• Judge Michael Wiles approves the disclosure statements and asks attorneys to revise proposed order before giving final approval.
• Voyager counsel Joshua Sussberg said CFIUS would scrutinize foreign investments to determine national security risks.

The Binance-Voyager deal received initial court approval from the U.S. bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York despite objections from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Judge Michael Wiles approved the disclosure statements that explained the various aspects of the deal, however, he asked the attorneys working on the deal to revise the proposed order before he gives final approval.

As part of the proposed deal, Voyager will receive $20 million in cash from Binance and will transfer user accounts to the Binance.US crypto exchange. This would enable Voyager customers to withdraw 51% of their deposits at the time of the bankruptcy declaration. In addition, Voyager counsel Joshua Sussberg said that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) will scrutinize foreign investments in U.S. firms to determine national security risks. If CFIUS blocks the deal, the lender will have to repay customers with its crypto assets at hand, which would result in lower payouts for Voyager users.

While Judge Wiles gave the initial go-ahead to the deal, he still asked Voyager to seek the votes of all its creditors on the sale of its $1 billion assets to Binance. Once the creditors vote and the proposed order is revised, the deal will be finalized at a future court hearing. Until then, the SEC, CFIUS and New Jersey regulators will be allowed to raise objections to the final approval of the deal.

This proposed deal is an important step for both Binance and Voyager as it could help the crypto exchange gain a larger share of the crypto market in the United States. Binance will be able to offer Voyager customers access to its platform, while Voyager will be able to access a larger customer base. Ultimately, both companies will benefit from the deal, as it will help them grow their customer base and expand their presence in the crypto market.