While we don’t have a strong view on crypto here at Equity Mates, we are fascinated to watch the story unfold. Read on for some of the most interesting Tweets, articles and memes from the past week below.
Prices of Top Cryptocurrencies
Tweets & Charts of the week
Articles & Videos
Sam Bankman-Fried is betting a billion dollars he can fix the ailing crypto market. The chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange FTX has appointed himself the industry’s savior—and investors are closely watching his moves after recent market carnage. This year, he bailed out a troubled digital-currency lender and tried to stabilize another.
Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital group, is betting on crypto to break up the excessive concentration of Big Tech power that the firm played a prominent role in creating, according to one of its leading partners. Chris Dixon, founder of Andreessen’s crypto arm, said the internet had led to power being held by a handful of companies including Facebook and Twitter, which the venture capital group backed at an early stage.
The “merge” of the Ethereum blockchain, expected in mid-September, will allow holders of its native crypto token to earn yield for helping to validate the network, which has prompted DigitalX to sell bitcoin and buy ether. By reducing the need for computer power, the upgrade will cut Ethereum’s energy use by 99.95 per cent and leave bitcoin as the only major blockchain using energy-intensive “proof of work” to update its blockchain.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange FTX saw revenue surge 1,000% to more than $1 billion throughout last year’s bull run, according to leaked financial documents reported by CNBC. FTX’s overall revenue reportedly jumped from $89 million to $1.02 billion in 2021, with the company adding $321 million in profits.
Iran has confiscated more than 9,400 crypto mining rigs over the past five months, all while the country has grappled with power blackouts over the summer. Most of that figure stems from a large haul in June, when Iranian police discovered an illegal mining farm and seized 7,000 units, marking the country’s largest confiscation of illegal machines to date.
The creator of video game ‘The Sims’ has raised $6 million to develop new simulation games powered by blockchain and NFTs.
Three months after being elected into power, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) has broken its silence on how it’s planning to approach crypto regulation. Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced a “token mapping” exercise, which was one of the 12 recommendations in a senate inquiry report last year on “Australia as a Technology and Financial Center.”
Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are sold on the promise of “ownership,” but a new review suggests many creators and buyers still have no idea what that means. A review from blockchain investment company Galaxy Digital finds that only one of the 25 most valuable NFT projects even tries to give buyers direct intellectual property rights to the underlying art, and many offer confusing or nebulous licenses despite recent efforts to clean up the space.
In Focus: Australian crypto regulation
The newly-elected Labor government will this year undertake what it says is a world-first “token mapping” exercise — an attempt to define the various types of digital assets and bring them under an appropriate regulatory framework. It’s the first time Australia’s new Labor government has voiced intentions to regulate cryptocurrency since the election victory. The department alluded to crypto advertisements, “plastered all over big sporting events,” which inspired its intentions to push ahead with regulation. Crypto.com signed a sponsorship deal with the Australian Football League worth $25 million in January while Swyftx, a domestic exchange, signed a three-year deal for an undisclosed sum in February.
In this episode we explain the Ethereum Triple Halving phenomenon that is the talk of the crypto-town. We put Bitcoin & Gold side by side to see who comes up shinier. We talk a little about Alternative coin Monero and we share a problem that a Crypto Curious listener had so you don’t have the same one.
Some of our favourite content
This is an excerpt from our Crypto Newsletter email. Once a week, for those investing in crypto or interested in learning more about this corner of the market, we’re featuring some of the most interesting content we’ve come across in this weekly email. No spam, we guarantee.