The Aptos team launched the project’s mainnet — the native token APT was listed on leading platforms; Kraken followed the EU’s eighth package of sanctions, Ripple received documents from the SEC concerning criteria for evaluating crypto assets as securities, and other events of the week.
Bitcoin price tested the $19,000 level
The flagship cryptocurrency opened the week on a positive note — on Monday the price rose above the $19,600 mark. However, on Friday, October 21, the price fell below $19,000.
As of writing, Bitcoin was trading near $19,180.
Top-10 crypto assets by market cap closed the week with mixed results. The best performers were Ethereum (+3%) and Dogecoin (+1.3%). The laggards were XRP (-5.4%) and Solana (-5.1%).
The total market capitalization stood at $959.63 billion. Bitcoin’s dominance index remained unchanged at 38.4%.
Sanctions on Russia tighten
The Kraken cryptocurrency exchange banned users in Russia from registering accounts and restricted accounts based in Russia. The company said it complies with legal and regulatory requirements in all jurisdictions where it operates. The measures come amid the European Union’s eighth sanctions package.
The NFT-focused project Dapper Labs stated that it will allow Russians to withdraw collectible tokens, but under a set of conditions.
The company explained that on 7 October it imposed restrictions on Russian citizens in response to a directive from Circle, the issuer of USDC. Circle is a partner of Dapper for processing payments and custody of assets.
Aptos developers announce the launch of the project’s mainnet
On 17 October the Aptos Labs team announced the launch of the mainnet. The protocol uses the Move programming language, developed by Meta for the closed Diem project. The network is pitched as another competitor to Ethereum.
Leading platforms immediately listed the native token APT. However, the community raised concerns about low throughput and the project’s tokenomics, specifically centralisation of assets among investors through private token sales.
On the following day the project team unveiled details of the tokenomics. At the same time, among early testers of the network conducted an APT airdrop. The Aptos ecosystem gained new partnerships — LayerZero Labs announced the launch of the cross-chain bridge Aptos Bridge, and the DEX Pancakeswap put to a community vote the proposal to deploy the protocol on the new blockchain.
European Commission warns of possible mining suspensions in the EU
The European Commission stated that EU member states should prepare to suspend cryptocurrency mining, “if there is a need to relieve load on electricity systems.” The EC also proposed creating a rating system for cryptocurrencies in the context of the environmental impact of their mining.
Mastercard will provide banks with tools to access cryptocurrencies
The payments giant Mastercard, in partnership with Paxos, will act as an intermediary for traditional financial institutions in launching cryptocurrency trading. Mastercard will provide the necessary level of security and regulatory compliance (AML/KYC). Product testing is planned for the first quarter of 2023.
Ripple received SEC court documents. XRP developers will launch an EVM-compatible sidechain
Ripple received internal documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding remarks by former director of the regulator’s corporate finance division, William H. Hinman. They are expected to shed light on asset-class criteria and bring the company closer to victory in the lawsuit.
Also this week, XRP Ledger developers began testing an EVM-compatible sidechain designed to extend the network’s smart-contract capabilities and enable DeFi applications.
For now, interactions with the sidechain are possible only on the Devnet test network. A mainnet launch is planned for the second quarter of 2023.
What to discuss with friends?
- House in the United States was sold as an NFT for $175,000.
- Do Kwon rejected the allegations and refused to disclose his country of residence, while Terra investors joined forces into a team to search for him.
- Joseph Lubin called today’s metaverses the Internet of 1994.
- Interpol created a division to combat cryptocurrency crime and unveiled its own metaverse.
FTX US suspected of violating securities laws
The financial regulator and the Texas attorney general intend to block the purchase of Voyager Digital assets by FTX US. The company and its chief, Sam Bankman-Fried, are suspected of violating securities laws.
Regulators are interested in the exchange’s interest-bearing products that appear to have the characteristics of investment contracts. Voyager offered similar services.
This week it also emerged that FTX US proposed returning 72% of frozen customer funds.
MetaMask team presents an SDK for integrating a wallet with dapps
The MetaMask team presented a beta version of an SDK designed to simplify the integration of decentralized applications with a non-custodial wallet. At this initial stage the toolkit supports JavaScript, including the React library and the cross‑platform React Native framework.
Sam Bankman-Fried on his vision for crypto regulation
The head of FTX believes that regulation of the crypto industry is inevitable. One of the core points, he said, is ensuring compliance with sanction regimes and creating a “reliable list of addresses” under a centralized regulator like OFAC.
He also added that FTX US intends to apply the Howey test to assets under consideration for listing to assess whether they are securities. Ideally, in Bankman-Fried’s view, the crypto industry should be a place where the designation of a security is not viewed as a bad thing.
German crypto bank Nuri to wind down in November. Nubank and N26 announce new initiatives
The Germany-based fintech Nuri (formerly Bitwala), focused on cryptocurrencies, will wind down at the end of November after a failed funding round. About 500,000 customers have been advised to withdraw their funds by 18 December.
In the first half of 2023, Brazil’s largest neobank Nubank, in partnership with Polygon, will launch its own digital currency Nucoin. The initiative is a new way to expand the loyalty programme. The token will be distributed free among 70 million customers, and will offer discounts on the company’s products and other privileges.
Germany’s neobank N26 will in the coming months add the ability to trade around 200 digital assets in its app. The company will use the Bitpanda solution from the Austrian crypto exchange under its own brand.
NFT marketplace Magic Eden ends mandatory royalties
The largest Solana-based NFT platform — Magic Eden — announced a move to an optional royalty model, following the x2y2 trend. Users will now determine the level of payments to creators when reselling non-fungible tokens.
In addition, Magic Eden announced a hackathon to develop alternative monetisation tools for the project with a prize pool of up to $1 million.
Also on ForkLog:
- Warner Bros. released an NFT for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
- Former FBI agent will head Binance.US’s investigations department.
- Bitcoin miners ceased liquidating crypto reserves.
- Terra investors joined forces into a team to search for Do Kwon.
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