Mind The Block | December Week 3

Mind The Block: Your Weekly Dose of Web3 News and Insights

Mind The Block Headlines This Week

• Binance Settles for $2.7 Billion
• Circle’s EURC on Solana Blockchain
• Revolut to Suspend UK Crypto Services
• LineNext Secures $140M for Web3
• Immutable to Remove Gas Fees in 2024
• The 2023 Gam3 Awards announced
• WLD Token Surges 65%
• Vesting in crypto, explained

News

• US court has approved a settlement against Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, requiring Binance to pay $2.7 billion.
• AllianceBlock has submitted a draft proposal for a new Ethereum token standard, ERC-7208.
• Coinbase has emphasized the importance of enacting crypto-friendly policies in the upcoming U.S. elections.
• Jupiter, a liquidity aggregator on the Solana blockchain, will begin its 4 billion token airdrop in January 2024.
• Evernode (EVERS) has postponed its mainnet launch to January 15, 2024, due to Xumm’s Xahau support release on December 18.
• XRPL Labs has rebranded Xumm, a popular wallet for accessing the XRP Ledger, to Xaman.
• Tether’s USDT stablecoin depegs from its $1 price due to scrutiny over its wallet-freezing policy.
• Bitcoin network fees surged to over $37, the highest since April 2021, due to the resurgence of Ordinals.
• Metis has allocated 4.6 million METIS tokens to the Metis Ecosystem Development Fund, worth over $100 million.

Extras by Mind the Block

• Bitwise has released a commercial promoting its upcoming ETF, targeting older generations like gen X and baby boomers.
• Manta Pacific is integrating Celestia’s modular data availability solution to lower transaction fees on its Layer 2 network.
• Zilliqa blockchain network experienced a technical disruption, affecting block production.
• Cryptocurrency thefts have surged due to the use of dangerous browser extensions, such as Rilide.
• Arbitrum has reached a new all-time high in daily transactions during the inscriptions frenzy, with 5.4 million transactions.
• NFT Trader, a peer-to-peer trading platform, suffered a security breach on December 16.
• Helium Mobile has adjusted its rules for crypto rewards payouts due to the surging price of MOBILE tokens.
• Justin Sun withdrew 500 billion SHIB tokens, equivalent to $5 million, from Binance.
• Arweave founder Sam Williams accused storage solution company Irys of planning to fork Arweave.
• Bybit has launched the Crypto Ark Trading Academy in Dubai to enhance web3 adoption.
• Kaspa has released version 0.13.0 on Rust, featuring major database optimizations.
• BlockShow and BlockDown are partnering to bring a crypto festival to Hong Kong in May 2024.
• A hacker has stolen at least $484,000 from Ledger’s connector library.

Major Companies Making Moves

• Circle has deployed its euro stablecoin EURC on the Solana blockchain to enhance on-chain foreign exchange transactions.
• Ripple has released a white paper on CBDCs, stating that they help expand financial inclusion and streamline cross-border payments.
• Masa Finance plans to launch a decentralized data network and marketplace in Q1 2024.
• Tether is preparing to grant the FBI access to its platform after onboarding the U.S. Secret Service.

Government, SEC & Regulation

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has emphasized the importance of Bitcoin as a global reserve currency and digital asset.
• Coinbase has added USD transfers for users in Singapore, allowing them to deposit or withdraw USD using their Coinbase accounts.
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed decisions on Hashdex and Grayscale Ethereum-focused ETFs.
• Brazil has signed a law introducing taxes on crypto assets held abroad by its citizens, with thelaw coming into force on January 1, 2024.

• World leaders, including former presidents Nayib Bukele and Javier Milei, have shown support for digital assets during their campaigns.
• Digital bank Revolut plans to suspend UK crypto services from its UK business clients due to new regulations.
• Kazakhstan’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) has been declared successful after a month-long pilot project.
• The Philippines SEC has confirmed that a three-month ban on Binance will take effect after its advisory was issued.
• Taiwan officials are investigating the use of decentralized betting platform Polymarket for placing bets on elections.
• UK has introduced regulations allowing financial watchdogs to operate a Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS).

Raises & Major Investments rounds

• LineNext, a web3 unit of Japanese messaging app Line, has raised $140 million to expand its web3 platform.
• Fairshakes has raised $78 million to fund pro-crypto legislators and blockchain innovation leaders in the US.
• Tap Protocol, a German-based blockchain startup, has raised $4.2 million from investors to advance Bitcoin adoption.
• Intract, a profitable web3 learn and earn platform, raised $3M to build Web3’s largest community.

• Spielworks, a Hedera-powered billion-dollar gaming startup, has secured strategic funding from The Hashgraph Association.

Trends & Narrative

• Immutable is set to eliminate gas fees for users when its proprietary ZK-proof scaling platform goes live in early 2024.
• Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) is expected to play a crucial role in the web3 industry.
• Algorand members have launched a new iteration of open-source code called Voi, led by Chris Swenor.

NFTs, Gaming, Metaverse

• Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) sales have declined significantly for the first time since early November.
• South Korean Web3 gaming platform MARBLEX has formed a strategic partnership with Aki Network.
• Oracle Red Bull Racing has launched its ‘Oracle Red Bull Racing Champions Collection 2023′ NFT series.
• Metaverse startup Improbable has sold its gaming subsidiary, MPG, to Irish video game company Keywords Studios for $96.8 million.
• The 2023 Gam3 Awards announced winners in nineteen categories, with Parallell winning the best strategy game.
• Bored apes were stolen from the NFT Trader marketplace on December 16, leading to the theft of dozens of ERC-721 tokens.
• Ubisoft has launched the “Warlord” NFT drop for their Web3 title, “Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles,” on December 18th.
• The Frozen Fates season in Mystic Moose’s Mojo Melee has been launched, featuring new skins and Mod-able Mojos NFTs.

Onchain Data

• Ethereum price has experienced a 10% drop from $2400 to $2158, indicating a potential breach below the support trendlines.
• The price of Injective (INJ) reached an all-time high of $34.64 on December 15, marking a 2,700% increase since 2023.
• Worldcoin’s WLD token has seen a 65% price surge following OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s announcement of seeking additional funding.
• XRP’s price dropped to $0.60 after a whale transfer of 25 million XRP to a centralized exchange.
• Astar Network (ASTR) has surged to a high of $0.1637, its highest point since April 25th.

Educational Guides and Tips from Mind the Block

• Crypto vesting is a process of locking down cryptocurrency tokens for a predetermined period, used in ICOs and fundraising activities.
• Newly launched AI AlgosOne is a free platform designed to level the playing field for retail investors in crypto trading.
• Alchemy Pay, established in 2017, is a cutting-edge payment gateway that integrates cryptocurrency and traditional fiat currencies.

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