Autor Cointelegraph By Jesse Coghlan

Metaverse losses top $3.6B for Meta with spending set to increase

Metaverse losses top $3.6B for Meta with spending set to increase

Uverejnil používateľ | okt 27, 2022 |

Big Five technology player Meta is still burning cash through its Metaverse research and development arm Reality Labs with a $3.67 billion loss posted for the third quarter of 2022, stating those losses will further deepen next year.The company’s Q3 2022 earnings released on Oct. 26 show the biggest-ever quarterly losses for Reality Labs from earnings dating back to the fourth quarter of 2020, the business also made $285 million in revenue for the third quarter, its lowest on record within that time.With its Reality Labs business marking its third straight quarterly loss totaling $9.44 billion so far in 2022, Meta is shaping up to beat its 2021 losses on its metaverse play which saw just over $10 billion in losses last year.Those year-on-year losses are set to deepen as Meta CFO Dave Whener stated in the earnings:“We do anticipate that Reality Labs operating losses in 2023 will grow significantly year-over-year. Beyond 2023, we expect to pace Reality Labs investments such that we can achieve our goal of growing overall company operating income in the long run.”On Meta’s earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg continued to be unfazed by the company’s big investment in what he called the “next computing platform.” He said it was the firm’s top priority and told investors that building a Metaverse and its related hardware is “a massive undertaking.”“It’s often going to take a few versions of each product before they become mainstream,” he added. “I think that our work here is going to be of historical importance and create the foundation for an entirely new way that we will interact with each other and blend technology into our lives as well as the foundation for the long term of our business.”Overall the company slightly exceeded its revenue expectations from Wall Street analysts, bringing in $27.71 billion in revenue for the quarter but bought in $1.64 earnings per share, missing its estimate of $1.88 per share.Meta’s stock price has fallen over 19.5% in after-hours trading at the time of writing according to Yahoo Finance with the company’s shares down over 61.5% since the start of 2022.Related: Meta’s Web3 hopes face challenge of decentralization and market headwindsMeta’s big bet on its virtual world has some investors urging the firm to scale back its investment, with Brad Gerstner, founder of technology investment firm Altimeter Capital and Meta shareholder penning an open letter to Zuckerberg and the board of directors.Gerstner said its “investment in an unknown future is super-sized and terrifying” and that it could take a decade for its Metaverse to start making a profit, he said the firm should focus on an artificial intelligence offering as it has the potential to better the company’s results.Some are not optimistic about the future of the Metaverse in the hands of Zuckerberg, Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen in April said its virtual world will repeat “all the harms of Facebook” if the company doesn’t commit to transparency.

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Bithumb ex-chairman could face 8 years prison over alleged $70M fraud

Bithumb ex-chairman could face 8 years prison over alleged $70M fraud

Uverejnil používateľ | okt 26, 2022 |

The former chairman of the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, Lee Jung-hoon, could face a possible maximum sentence of eight years in prison if found guilty on charges related to an alleged fraud worth $70 million.Local prosecutors asked the Seoul District Court for the sentence on Oct. 25, with the sentencing hearing will be held on Dec. 20 according to a report from Yonhap News Agency.It’s alleged that Jung-hoon defrauded $100 billion won or $70 million from Kim Byung Gun, chairman of the cosmetic surgery company BK Group in October 2018 during negotiations for Gun to purchase the Bithumb exchange.Gun alleges he paid $70 million to Jung-hoon as a “down payment” towards buying the exchange on the condition that it lists a token called BXA created by the Blockchain Exchange Allicance which Gun helped to form.The proceeds from the token listing would’ve allegedly gone towards helping pay for the acquisition, but Bithumb never listed it and the deal fell apart.”The structure of this case is a typical stock sale contract,” Jung-hoon’s lawyer reportedly said as a defense, adding that it was carried out faithfully according to typical procedures for such a contract.Related: ​S. Korean watchdog goes after crypto whales to ensure AML complianceJung-hoon said in his final statement to the court that he was “very sorry for making it difficult for employees and causing social pressure.”Earlier this month Jung-hoon failed to attend a parliamentary hearing on Oct. 6 regarding the $40 billion wipeout of the Terra ecosystem citing a panic disorder as the reason for his absence.

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Friday after-work drinks with Twitter's new owner Elon Musk, who's in?

Friday after-work drinks with Twitter's new owner Elon Musk, who's in?

Uverejnil používateľ | okt 26, 2022 |

Crypto-friendly billionaire Elon Musk is set to finalize the acquisition of social media platform Twitter by Friday, Oct. 28 which brings to a close the protracted Musk-Twitter saga.On Oct. 24 Musk vowed to the banks assisting with the roughly $13 billion of financing for the deal that it would be closed by the end of the week and the banks have completed the final credit agreement, one of the last steps before sending the money to Musk according to Bloomberg sources.Musk has also reportedly notified his co-investors who are helping him fund the acquisition by sending over paperwork for the financing commitment according to Reuters sources which include venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, crypto exchange Binance, and Qatar’s Investment Authority.During a conference in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 25, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao reaffirmed his commitment to backing Musk’s takeover, as per Bloomberg.The latest developments in the deal point to Musk seemingly adhering to a court-issued deadline set by a Delaware judge in early October where Musk filed his intention to proceed with closing the deal at the original $44 billion price after previously wanting to back out in July.Musk intends to close the transaction at a price of $54.20 per share. Twitter stock prices jumped on the news, closing at $52.78 a share and up 2.45% for the day as per Yahoo Finance.In the past, Musk has highlighted many areas of the platform he wishes to change with his stated “top priority” being to cut down on crypto scam tweets and at one time planned to charge users 0.1 Dogecoin (DOGE) — much less than half a cent — to post on Twitter but later admitted it wouldn’t be feasible.Crypto wallets on Twitter?The news comes a few days after rumors emerged that Twitter may be working on a cryptocurrency wallet according to Security researcher Jane Manchun Wong who made Forbes 30 under 30 for her high-profile tech leak scoops.On Oct. 25 she tweeted the platform was working on a “wallet prototype” that supports “crypto deposit and withdrawal” but did not provide evidence or a source for her claim. Cointelegraph has reached out to Twitter for comment.Related: How Crypto Twitter could change under Musk’s leadershipMeanwhile, news of Musk’s deal nearing its end comes as internal documents from Twitter seen by Reuters on Oct. 26 reveal the platform is struggling to retain its most active users, those who log in to the platform up to seven days a week and tweet a minimum of three times a week.While these heavy users are less than 10% of the total monthly overall users they account for a massive 90% of all tweets on the platform and around half of Twitter’s global revenue.The leaked research also found over the last two years the topics of interest among English-speaking heavy users have shifted with one of the highest-growing topics being cryptocurrency and interest in news, sports, and entertainment has seen a decline.

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Investors are loving SEC's crypto industry crackdown, according to survey

Investors are loving SEC's crypto industry crackdown, according to survey

Uverejnil používateľ | okt 25, 2022 |

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) more-than-enthusiastic crackdown on the crypto industry is being seen as a positive signal for the majority of crypto investors, according to a new survey. Around 60% of 564 survey respondents in the latest MLIV Pulse survey from Bloomberg said they viewed the recent flurry of crypto crackdowns as a positive sign for investing in the asset class. Around 65% of retail investors signaled they were “more likely” to invest with “greater enforcement against crypto” compared to 56% of professional investors. Conversely, only 35% of retail and 44% of professional investors said they would be “less likely” to invest as a result of more enforcement action. The U.S. SEC has stepped up its actions over the past months, with high-profile investigations of bankrupt crypto companies Celsius Network, and Three Arrows Capital along with a reported probe into Yuga Labs and the wider nonfungible token (NFT) space.It also famously fined reality television star Kim Kardashian to the tune of $1.26 million for promoting the EthereumMAX cryptocurrency without proper disclosures. The investor sentiment appears to run in contrast to many U.S. lawmakers and crypto industry participants, who have repeatedly criticized the SEC for taking what they call a “regulation by enforcement” approach to cryptocurrencies.Gurbir Grewal, the SEC’s enforcement director said in September it will investigate crypto firms regardless of the narrative that it’s “stifling innovation.”Related: The SEC should be aiming at Do Kwon, but it’s getting distracted by Kim KardashianThe SEC has also boosted its ability to handle specialized issuer filings by adding an Office of Crypto Assets in September purely focused on dealing with crypto asset applications and services.Despite the interest gained from investors by the crypto crackdowns, the market conditions have seen many major cryptocurrencies sit within a tight price band for months and around 43% of survey respondents said they would increase their crypto exposure over the next 12 months.

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New Apple rules double down on 30% NFT 'tax' and geo-limits exchanges

New Apple rules double down on 30% NFT 'tax' and geo-limits exchanges

Uverejnil používateľ | okt 25, 2022 |

Technology heavyweight Apple has clarified its App Store rules around nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrency exchanges marking the first time its codified specific rules for NFTs.The new rules confirm how NFT purchases will be taxed and what they can and can’t be used for, while also clarifying rules around when a crypto exchange app can be listed. The Oct. 24 update to its App Store guidelines saw language added that allows fo in-app purchases of NFTs, but bars any NFTs acquired elsewhere to be used for anything other than viewing. It also allows applications to use in-app purchases to “sell and sell services” related to NFTs such as “minting, listing, and transferring.” However, the tech company is seemingly double-downing on its NFT “Apple tax” — which lumps in-app NFT purchases into its standard 30% commission rate on all purchases — by making sure all NFT purchases are conducted in-app. Apps won’t be allowed to include “buttons, external links, or other calls to action” which could give users a way to circumvent app-store commissions when purchasing NFTs. It also prevents apps from using mechanisms “such as […] QR codes, cryptocurrencies, and cryptocurrency wallets” which could be used to unlock content or functionality within an app.The rules come despite the company facing criticism for applying its 30% commission on NFT sales conducted through NFT marketplace apps such as  OpenSea or Magic Eden, a move that’s been marked as “grotesquely overpriced” when compared to the average 2.5% commissions on NFT purchases. Magic Eden said it removed its service from the App Store after learning of the policy and other NFT marketplaces have scaled back their application functionality with users only able to browse and view their owned NFTs.Apple’s guidelines have also ruled out using crypto for in-app purchases, allowing only fiat currency purchases with a “valid payment method” such as debit or credit cards.Related: Nodes are going to dethrone tech giants — from Apple to GoogleThe new guidelines make no changes to Apple’s existing policy on cryptocurrency trading apps put forward by exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase where trades are not subject to the 30% “Apple tax”.However, new language was added to clarify that crypto exchange apps can only be offered in their app in “countries or regions where the app has appropriate licensing and permissions to provide a cryptocurrency exchange.”

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