Autor Cointelegraph By Jesse Coghlan

Legal battle avoided after YGG and Merit Circle DAO agree to a deal

Legal battle avoided after YGG and Merit Circle DAO agree to a deal

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 15, 2022 |

A potential legal battle has been prevented between the Merit Circle decentralized autonomous organization’s (DAO) backing company Merit Circle Ltd and Yield Guild Games (YGG) after the organizations reached a deal after the DAO originally voted to remove YGG.Merit Circle Ltd is a company that created the Merit Circle DAO to help gamers interested in play-to-earn games by lending items from its treasury to be used for gameplay as well as delivering educational content.Originally, the DAO passed a proposal that would cancel YGG’s Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) and refund it only with its initial 175,000 USD Coin (USDC) seed contribution.Despite some acrimony, YGG has still walked away with ten times its initial investment.The improvement proposal, called MIP-13, passed on May 28 alleging YGG provided a “lack of value” to the DAO and the guild was actually a “top competitor” to Merit Circle, not a partner. The proposal would “trim the fat” from the DAO to “ensure only those who want to see Merit Circle succeed remain”.But, the passing of MIP-13 may not have honored a legal agreement between Merit Circle and YGG which would see YGG receive tokens in return for its financial contribution toward Merit Circle.YGG said in response to the proposal that it wasn’t clear what legal authority the DAO has to nullify a contract Merit Circle Ltd signed on its behalf and that no condition existed for Merit Circle to cancel the contract “regardless of how this has been presented by them to the community.”Merit Circle agreed upon a counterproposal with YGG to honor the legal agreement. It was posted and unanimously passed on June 9 and the DAO bought out YGG’s fund allocation. This netted the guild 1,750,000 USDC, a ten times return on its original seed investment.On June 14, both Merit Circle and YGG stated they were amicable on the outcome, saying the solution “still satisfies the will of the Merit Circle community, but was also acceptable to YGG.”They added that as the original proposal clashed with the prior legal agreement Merit Circle made with YGG, it likely would have led to legal action. Both parties stated they recognized the “danger a precedent like this could set for the Merit Circle DAO and the industry as a whole if agreements are not upheld and investors are not respected.”Related: Number of DAOs increases 8x along with spike in votes and proposals“Whilst the legal question is one that could probably be argued at length,” the organizations said, “both parties agreed it was better to settle.”“This would spare both parties from a costly, time-consuming, legal process with uncertain outcomes. None of the parties had to settle, but both parties chose the constructive path to help Merit Circle move forward.”Merit Circle and YGG said whilst the solution terminates the formal relationship between them, each will continue to “give their all to growing the blockchain gaming ecosystem” and that Merit Circle would still have “continued support” from YGG.

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SEC boss worries crypto bill undermines financial protections

SEC boss worries crypto bill undermines financial protections

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 15, 2022 |

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler said he’s worried that a proposed bill to create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies could weaken investor protections in the traditional financial market.Speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s CFO Network Summit on June 14 Gensler was asked his thoughts regarding a recent bill introduced on June 7 by Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).He responded saying “we don’t want to undermine the protections we have in a $100 trillion capital market,” adding:“We don’t want our current stock exchanges, mutual funds, or public companies to, sort of inadvertently by a stroke of a pen, say ‘you know what, I want to be non-compliant as well, I want to be outside of this regime that I think has been quite a benefit to investors and economic growth over the last 90 years.’”The bipartisan Lummis-Gillibrand “Responsible Financial Innovation Act” aims to address many facets of crypto regulation such as tax treatment of digital assets, stablecoins, and agency jurisdiction.One provision of the bill gives “clear authority” to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over digital asset spot markets, Gensler has long been adamant in declaring most cryptocurrencies are securities, subject to the SEC’s authority. The Senators have mostly agreed with Gensler’s point, saying some altcoins would likely be considered securities under the proposed law, with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) considered commodities.At the summit, Gensler said the SEC wasn’t looking to extend its jurisdiction and that some cryptocurrencies are already under the jurisdiction of the agency since they qualify as being a security.“We’re just looking out for the retail public […] these tokens are being offered to the public, and the public is hoping for a better future. That’s the characteristics of an investment contract.”Meanwhile CFTC commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero — who says she hasn’t yet read the Lummis-Gillibrand bill — welcomed regulatory action by Congress when speaking at an event on June 14.Related: SEC reportedly launches investigation into insider trading on exchangesRomero, also a former senior counsel in the SEC’s enforcement division, was asked if the view that the CFTC was a more laissez-faire regulator in comparison to the SEC was accurate.“No, not at all […] they’re actually pretty similar,” she said, adding that the CFTC has brought multiple enforcement actions in the crypto space and each agency cares about having “rigorous oversight of markets.”Explaining the differences she’s witnessed, Romero said the CFTC has allowed more cryptocurrency products to trade on its regulated exchanges with 18 products trading across 11 regulated entities:“What that means is that the CFTC is pretty experienced and how to regulate trading in this market, and that’s really, really helpful as we move forward. It’s still going to take cooperation and coordination with the SEC, I’m 100% committed to that, that’s my former home.”

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Illicit crypto usage as a percent of total usage has fallen: Report

Illicit crypto usage as a percent of total usage has fallen: Report

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 14, 2022 |

Illicit cryptocurrency activity in 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 has declined as a percentage of overall crypto activity, according to blockchain forensics firm CipherTrace.The cryptocurrency industry has long held a reputation in some jurisdictions as a haven for illegal activity. However, CipherTrace estimates that illicit activity was between 0.62% and 0.65% of overall cryptocurrency activity in 2020. The firm reported that it has now fallen to between 0.10% and 0.15% of overall activity in 2021.Source: CipherTraceIn its Cryptocurrency Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Report released June 13, CipherTrace outlined that the top ten decentralized finance (DeFi) hacks in 2021 and Q1 2022 netted attackers $2.4 billion.Over half of that figure came from just two events, the largest being the late March 2022 Ronin Network exploit worth about $650 million and the $610 million August 2021 hack of the Poly Network, most of which was returned by the anonymous hacker.Within a similar time period, anti-money laundering (AML) related fines in the banking sector increased dramatically with 80 institutions fined in 2021, up from just 24 in 2020 according to Kyckr.While the total dollar amount of the fines fell from 2020, last year saw the banks pay $2.7 billion worth of fines for AML or Know Your Customer (KYC) related violations, the largest single fine totaling around $700 million.While significant sums have been exploited in crypto, CipherTrace detailed the rapidly expanding crypto ecosystem, noting the total crypto market activity for 2020 was around $4.3 trillion, which grew to approximately $16 trillion of activity just in the first half of 2021.CipherTrace says that the growth of the crypto market also brings with it increased scrutiny from the world’s regulators, who are “starting to take decisive action to ensure that the space isn’t just a modern-day wild west.”Related: A life after crime: What happens to crypto seized in criminal investigations?Some of the most significant regulatory events cited in the report include the United States President Biden’s crypto executive order in March to study blockchain technology, Dubai establishing a virtual assets regulator, and the European Union’s proposed anti-money laundering laws.CipherTrace added organizations are going to have a “very real incentive to shape up” or face “heavy losses at the hands of the government,” adding it expects the threats existing in crypto will be the focus of future regulatory efforts.

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NFT flipping not so profitable for more than half of buyers: Survey

NFT flipping not so profitable for more than half of buyers: Survey

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 13, 2022 |

With the surging popularity of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) many have taken to “flipping” these assets as a trading strategy. Around 64% of people in a recent survey said their top reason for buying a NFT was “to make money”.Blockchain monitoring software company DEXterlab polled more than 1,300 people on Twitter about their NFT buying habits in late May to early June. Despite a majority looking to gain from NFT trading less than 42% have made a profit so far according to the results. Why do you buy NFTs?— DEXterLab (@Dexterlabdata) May 27, 2022The second most cited reason for buying a NFT saw around 15% respond that it was to be part of a community and “to flex”.“People are highly social creatures, so the desire to be a part of a community and show off isn’t really surprising,” DEXterlab wrote.The team highlighted the success of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) which has celebrities amongst its ranks along with exclusive perks like access to holder only events or new popular NFT drops.Though some NFT collections such as those of the BAYC can often see floor prices in the tens or hundreds of thousands, almost half of respondents said they were only comfortable paying a modest price of between $50 to $500 for an NFT. Surprisingly, the second most popular answer had a quarter of respondents saying they are ready to spend in the upper limits of the poll, more than $2,000 per NFT.Over the past 30 days some of the largest “blue chip” NFT collections such as CryptoPunks, Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), BAYC, and Moonbirds have seen their floor prices or market caps halve. In spite of this these collections have continued to top the charts for the top NFT sales over the same period.How does your NFT journey going?— DEXterLab (@Dexterlabdata) June 2, 2022

Though NFT prices have fallen across the board, there are still examples of NFTs that have defied the prevailing bear market.Recently, a free-to-mint collection with no utility or roadmap called Goblintown topped the charts and has since remained in third place over 30 days seeing nearly $70 million in volume.Currently, the collection has a floor price of 3 Ethereum (ETH) or around $4,000 and the most expensive one sold netted 77.7 ETH on June 1, worth nearly $151,000 at the time.Related: NFT holders can earn millions through IP rights, says Apocalyptic Apes founderOther signs point to a healthy market for those still holding out to profit from their NFT buys. Sales volumes for NFTs came in at $3.7 billion last month despite the market conditions according to a recent DappRadar report.The report also revealed that Solana NFTs posted their best trading month in the network’s history, generating $335 million in volume across all marketplaces, a 13% growth from April.NFTs continue to create a robust market for themselves and widespread mainstream adoption looms. According to a CoinGecko report, the NFT market is projected to transact more than $800 billion over the next two years though hodlers will need to wait a little longer to realize their profits. 

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Barbie-verse: Mattel inks multi-year deal with Cryptoys NFT marketplace

Barbie-verse: Mattel inks multi-year deal with Cryptoys NFT marketplace

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 10, 2022 |

Major toy brand Mattel has signed a multi-year partnership with forthcoming toy-focused non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Cryptoys to exclusively feature its brands on the platform.Cryptoys is expected to launch in late summer 2022 on the Flow (FLOW) blockchain and is the flagship product of OnChain Studios which has received funding from crypto-interested venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Dapper Labs.OnChain Studios also plans to make a Cryptoys metaverse and other play-to-earn games where Mattel’s intellectual property — including Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Masters of the Universe among many others — will be made into playable avatars.Mattel President and Chief Operating Officer Richard Dickson said it was the “first toy company to launch NFTs” and that the brand sees “incredible opportunity in the Metaverse for our cherished brands and iconic IP.”The partnership was teased by Cryptoys on June 8 with its Twitter account posting a cryptic 17-second video featuring some of Mattel’s retro product advertisements.pic.twitter.com/SJcbrHHs01— Cryptoys (@Cryptoys) June 9, 2022Mattel has explored NFTs in the past and partnered with the WAX blockchain in October 2021 to release a collection of Hot Wheels NFTs. January 2022 also saw Mattel auction three one-of-one NFTs in collaboration with French luxury brand Balmain which netted the brands close to $49,000 for all three.With the NFT sector expected to move around $800 billion over the next two years, other toy brands have launched NFTs to capitalize on the growing interest and generate new revenue streams for their business.Mattel’s major competitor Hasbro which owns brands like Action Man, My Little Pony, and G.I. Joe launched its first NFT collection in October 2021 for its Power Rangers brand in a bid to compete in the NFT space.Related: Beyond the hype: NFTs can lead the way in transforming business experiencesPop-culture collectibles giant Funko has created multiple NFT collections, an early one of which featured the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in August 2021, shortly after it acquired NFT display and tracking platform Tokenwave.Cryptoys itself also plans to sell a collection of original avatar like NFTs with these so-called “digital toys” featuring customization through further NFTs which can change clothing, accessories and attributes for use in a wider “Cryptoyverse” the company plans to build.Mattel’s NFTs will join other popular projects on the Flow blockchain including NBA’s Top Shot and UFC’s Strike.

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