Autor Cointelegraph By Jesse Coghlan

FTX fall was ‘incredibly damaging,’ crypto must foster real utility: Ripple policy lead

Ripple’s APAC Policy Director has described the fall of FTX as “incredibly damaging” for the crypto space, but says the industry should stand the test of time if its focus shifts towards building “real utility.”In a statement sent to Cointelegraph, Ripple’s APAC policy lead Rahul Advani said he expects the FTX saga to lead to greater scrutiny on crypto regulations, while governments will re-evaluate “their stance towards crypto and blockchain technology,” adding: “The collapse of FTX is incredibly damaging for the crypto space and once again underscores the need for greater regulatory clarity.”Advani argued that the industry will need forward-looking and “flexible” regulations to boost confidence in the crypto sector while protecting consumers. “[These regulations] must include robust measures for consumer protection but also recognize the different risks posed by business-facing crypto companies.”“What we don’t want to see is a knee-jerk response that could stifle innovation within the sector,” he added.Following the collapse of FTX, a number of regulators around the world pledged to focus on developing greater crypto regulation.The Australian government is doubling down on its commitment to a crypto regulatory framework and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) called for more regulation in Africa’s crypto markets, one of the fastest-growing in the world.Meanwhile, United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner Summer Mersinger said on Nov. 18 that the time to act on crypto regulation may have arrived, prompting experts to warn that crypto is in the crosshairs of U.S. lawmakers.Advani however noted that a “one size fits all” approach to regulation “will not work” due to differing risk profiles presented by crypto companies. He instead advocated for a “risk-based approach” to regulating the industry.He added that risks posed by crypto businesses include requirements on conduct, like segregating business accounts, disclosing conflicts of interest, and providing “retail investor safeguards.”Related: After FTX: Defi can go mainstream if it overcomes its flaws“We still firmly believe that crypto is here to stay and that real use cases will withstand the test of time,” Advani said. “I think that the crypto industry will have to take a more focused approach, shifting from hype cycles toward building real utility.”

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CoinList addresses 'FUD' on withdrawals, cites technical issues for delays

Cryptocurrency exchange and Initial Coin Offering (ICO) platform CoinList took to Twitter to address “FUD” after a blogger tweeted that users reported being unable to withdraw funds for over a week, sparking fears the company was having liquidity issues or w insolvent.“There is a lot of FUD going around that we would like to address head-on,” CoinList said in a Nov. 24 Twitter thread that stated the exchange is “not insolvent, illiquid, or near bankruptcy.” It said however that its deposits and withdrawals are affected by “technical issues.”2/ We are upgrading our internal ledger systems and are migrating wallet addresses involving multiple custodians.This is one of many efforts we are undertaking to offer our customers around the world better products and services while maintaining compliance.— CoinList (@CoinList) November 24, 2022Crypto-focused blogger Colin Wu had earlier tweeted to his 245,000 followers that “some community members” using CoinList have been unable to withdraw for over a week due to maintenance.CoinList has a $35 million creditor claim with bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital which Wu said in his tweet was a “loss,” that likely triggered concerns the company was insolvent or illiquid.Looking to dampen fears that have seen bank runs on other platforms, CoinList explained that an upgrade to its internal systems and a migration of wallet addresses that involves “multiple custodians” is being undertaken.The company cited unexplained “custodian issues” as the reason a selection of cryptocurrencies “are taking longer than anticipated to migrate” with one of its unnamed custodian partners suffering from an “outage […] unrelated to the migration” on Nov. 23 which impacted tokens on the platform.Its status page shows “degraded performance” for withdrawals, with four cryptocurrencies unavailable for withdrawal since Nov. 15, and one experiencing delayed deposits since Nov. 16.“Once again, this is purely a technical issue, not a liquidity crunch,” CoinList said. It claimed to hold “all user assets dollar for dollar” and noted it plans to publish its proof of reserves.Cointelegraph has contacted CoinList for more information but did not immediately receive a response.Related: FTX illustrated why banks need to take over cryptocurrencyCoinList claimed on Nov. 14 that it had no exposure to the now-bankrupt FTX exchange, but users are increasingly nervous about centralized platforms and have rushed to ensure safe custody of their assets as evidenced by the surge in sales reported in mid-November by hardware wallet providers Trezor and Ledger.Around the same time, outflows of Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoins from exchanges hit historic highs and a corresponding uptick in activity was seen on decentralized exchanges.

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ApeCoin geo-blocks US stakers, two Apes sell for $1M each, marketplace launched

United States-based ApeCoin (APE) holders could miss out on staking rewards after the U.S. was added to a list of regions geo-blocked from using an upcoming APE staking service.Blockchain infrastructure company Horizen Labs, which is building the site on behalf of the ApeCoin decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), revealed the news in a Nov. 24 update regarding ApeStake.io on Twitter, saying “unfortunately, in today’s regulatory environment, we had no good alternative.”Ape Staking Update: Big thanks to the talented community devs for their helpful improvements. Bug Bounty AIP delayed us a bit, so we shortened the pre-deposit period by a week to keep our original 12/12 go-live. Alternate front-end sites going live. See card. pic.twitter.com/mgmP7X3SwQ— Horizen Labs (@HorizenLabs) November 24, 2022Canada, North Korea, Syria, Iran, Cuba, Russia, and the Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk are also on the block list.There are likely ways to get around the geo-block. The update noted the website is only an interface to interact with the Ethereum-based open-source smart contract, and “several other” interfaces are being crafted by parties such as exchanges and DeFi platforms.Prominent Twitter user “Zeneca” told their 312,00 followers that those from regions geo-blocked by ApeStake.io will still be able to stake by interacting with the smart contract directly or using another interface without geo-blocks. Those in blocked regions could also use a virtual private network (VPN) to spoof their location.The decision to block U.S. users likely resulted from the probe in October by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into APE creator Yuga Labs. The regulator is investigating if the company’s nonfungible tokens (NFTs) act more like securities and are subsequently violating federal laws.Two Bored Ape NFTs sell for nearly $1M eachMeanwhile some Bored Apes are still fetching high prices even during the depths of Crypto Winter. An NFT from Yuga Labs’ flagship Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection sold for 800 Ether (ETH), or almost $950,000 at the time of sale on Nov. 23.BAYC #232 was sold to pseudonymous NFT collector “Keungz” — who seemingly has multiple Yuga Labs NFTs according to their OpenSea profile — by Deepak Thapliydal.Thanks @dt_chain for the good deal⚓️#NewNFTProfilePic NFT by @BoredApeYC pic.twitter.com/CgIy73fBx5— Keungz ❤️ Memeland ‍☠️ YGPZ ‍♀️ (@keung) November 23, 2022

Thapliydal is the CEO of Web3 infrastructure company Chain and gained notoriety for making the Guinness World Records for buying the “most expensive NFT collectible” after purchasing CryptoPunk #5822 for 8,000 ETH, or $23.7 million, on Feb. 12.The sale of BAYC #232 was closely followed by another on Nov. 24 for BAYC #1268 between two unidentified wallets for 780 ETH, or almost $940,000 at the time of sale.The sales are significant as the NFTs sold far above the current floor price for the collection which has seen a decline over the past months.According to data from NFT Price Floor, the minimum price for a Bored Ape at the time of writing is just under 63 ETH, or about $75,600, and is 80% down in U.S. dollar terms from its May 1 all-time high of 144.9 ETH, or over $391,000 at the time.ApeCoin DAO launches marketplace The community-led DAO made up of ApeCoin holders has launched its own marketplace to buy and sell NFTs from the Yuga Labs ecosystem.The aptly named ApeCoin Marketplace built by NFT infrastructure firm Snag Solutions was launched on Nov. 24 and supports transactions of the BAYC, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Bored Ape Kennel Club, and Otherdeed NFT collections.In a Nov. 24 Twitter thread Snag Solutions CEO, Zach Heerwagen, said the marketplace “includes unique features” specifically for NFT communities including the ability to stake APE.1/ The custom marketplace includes unique features built specifically for the BAYC and Otherside communities, including ApeCoin staking and NFT metadata integrations. pic.twitter.com/mem2ZsXNkt— Zach | Zheerwagen.eth (@ZHeerwagen) November 23, 2022

The marketplace “respects royalties while heavily reducing fees” according to Heerwagen. A 0.25% slice of each sale is held in a multi-signature wallet and used to fund DAO initiatives.Related: Industry expresses confidence in the NFT space amid the FTX collapseThe marketplace’s support for royalties comes as some other NFT marketplaces such as the Solana (SOL)-based Magic Eden and Ethereum-based LooksRare stopped enforcing creator royalties by default.Others such as OpenSea have continued to enforce royalties and even created a tool to help NFT creators with on-chain enforcement of royalties, allowing them to blacklist the sale of their NFTs on royalty-free marketplaces.

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FTX miniseries gets go ahead, covering the ‘most brazen frauds ever committed’

An eight-episode limited series exploring the unraveling and scandals behind sunken crypto exchange FTX and its leadership is slated to soon begin production. The series has been purchased by technology conglomerate Amazon, and will likely air on Amazon’s video streaming service Prime.It’s understood to be based on “insider reporting” from journalists covering FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried according to a Nov. 23 report from the entertainment magazine Variety.Brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, famed for directing Avengers: Endgame and multiple other Marvel-owned movies are reported to have sold the idea to Amazon and are slated to direct the mini-series.Details are sparse with what direction the series will take, the source material it will draw from, and what time period and people it will focus on, with all of it still kept under wraps for the time being.In their reason for pursuing a series on the FTX story, the Russos brothers told Variety what happened with the exchange “is one of the most brazen frauds ever committed,” and opined on Bankman-Fried:“At the center of it all sits an extremely mysterious figure with complex and potentially dangerous motivations. We want to understand why.”Amazon is slated to start producing the show as early as March 2023, and while the characters and the actors who will play them are unknown, it’s reported the Russos are in discussions with prior Marvel actors they’ve worked with to fill the main roles. The idea for FTX-inspired movies akin to The Big Short and the Wolf of Wall Street has already been joked around on Twitter over a week ago, with some members of the community already taking the initiative to cast who would play Sam Bankman-Fried, Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and other related players, such as Terra’s Do Kwon. One Twitter user pitched the idea of “FTX THE MOVIE” on Nov. 12, selecting Wolf of Wall Street’s Jonah Hill to play Bankman-Fried, while comedian Jimmy O. Yang could play Changpeng Zhao. #FTX THE MOVIE @SBF_FTX @cz_binance pic.twitter.com/DWorL6G7An— EvilEyes (@SolanaEyes) November 11, 2022Another user created a promotional poster with their take on the film’s title: “The Wolf of Effective Altruism” spoofing The Wolf of Wall Street and poking fun at Bankman-Fried’s philosophical stance of wanting to help others. pic.twitter.com/o76cejBB4y— Hanal Capital (@chillhanachill) November 13, 2022

It appears Hollywood is eager to snap up the rights to stories centered on the collapse of the world’s top crypto exchanges.Related: Sam Bankman-Fried still speaking at events and the community is furiousAuthor and financial journalist Michael Lewis, known for his book “The Big Short” on the 2008 financial crisis, is reportedly looking to sell book rights on an FTX story after spending six months with Bankman-Fried in the months leading up to FTX’s implosion.Big Tech player Apple is reportedly the front-runner for the rights beating out competitors Amazon and Netflix, with intentions to create a film for its video-streaming service Apple TV Plus.

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Block Earner CEO calls for licensing clarity after being sued for crypto products

The CEO of fintech firm Block Earner has lashed out over the “lack of clarity” in Australia’s financial licensing regime after his company was sued by the country’s financial services regulator for providing unlicensed crypto-based investment products.The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced on Nov. 23 local time that it started civil legal proceedings against the company because it offered three crypto-linked fixed-yield earning products without an Australian Financial Services (AFS) license.ASIC stated that the products should have been licensed as they were “managed investment schemes” where investors contribute money that is pooled together for an interest in the scheme.The products, named “Crypto Earner”, “USD Earner” and “Gold Earner,” offered yields through users depositing Australian dollars that would be converted to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), USD Coin (USDC) or PAX Gold (PAXG) depending on the product according to Block Earner’s website.The crypto-assets are then lent to borrowers on Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols Aave (AAVE) and Compound Finance (COMP) to generate yield for the product.ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court aired her concern that Block Earner offered the products without “appropriate registration” or an AFS license that she claimed left “consumers without important protections,” adding:“Simply because a product hinges on a crypto-asset, does not mean it falls outside financial services law.”In an emailed statement to Cointelegraph Block Earner CEO and co-founder, Charlie Karaboga, said although the firm “[understands] the backdrop” it was a “disappointing outcome.”He said it welcomes regulations, claiming the firm “spent considerable resources building regulatory infrastructure” to be able to offer services “under existing guidelines provided by ASIC.”Related: FTX Australia’s license suspended as 30K Aussies left in the lurchKaraboga took aim at the unclear regulatory environment for crypto in the country and said the “lack of clarity […] creates friction between regulators and innovators,” adding:“In an ideal world, we would build these products in a regulatory sandbox with more clarity around licensing regimes. In the future, we look forward to working with ASIC and other regulators in this space.”According to Karaboga, Block Earner had filed for a credit license and advised ASIC it would apply for an AFS license for its upcoming products as “the licensing requirements are clear.”ASIC has previously given a warning to crypto-asset providers in the country after it took action against the creators of the Qoin token.It said its “key priority” is targeting “unlicensed conduct and misleading promotion of crypto-asset financial products” after it alleged the Qoin token creators were “misleading” its users.

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