Autor Cointelegraph By Turner Wright

Edward Snowden says gamers could be vulnerable to exploitation using NFTs

Edward Snowden says gamers could be vulnerable to exploitation using NFTs

Uverejnil používateľ | dec 3, 2021 |

National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden said he was concerned with how some privileged individuals or firms in the digital space might be able to use nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, in the gaming industry.Speaking with Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood at the BlockDown DeData online conference on Friday, Snowden said though he had seen some use cases for nonfungible tokens to raise funds for causes, he is concerned with the technology “creeping into gaming.” The whistleblower described certain aspects of the metaverse as “horrible, and heinous, and tragic” for aiming at capitalizing on users’ virtual escapes. “We have people that are trying to [inject] an artificial sense of scarcity into a post-scarcity domain,” said Snowden. “I think the community should very much be trying to bend the arc of development away from injecting artificial, unnecessary scarcity entirely for the benefit of some investor class.”Edward Snowden speaking at BlockDown DeDataWood seemed to disagree with Snowden’s claims regarding NFTs in gaming, equating virtual artifacts within games to artists selling NFTs of their own music. However, Snowden countered that gamers were “not paying for a guaranteed product” but rather purchasing the “chance at something, without the promise of something,” leaving the space open to exploitation. “I don’t have any issue with game developers restricting access to their product in the same way that they already have for decades before,” said Wood. “I see NFTs as a more agile way of restricting access to their product.” Snowden’s and Wood’s comments come as gaming firms seem to be casting a wider net for adoption of digital assets and NFTs. Andrew Wilson, CEO of major video game company Electronic Arts, said in November that NFTs and play-to-earn games are the future of the industry. There seems to be interest from users as well — on Wednesday, the NFT game Guild of Guardians announced it had sold more than $5 million of its native tokens in advance of its Q1 2022 launch.Related: Bitcoin got stronger despite government crackdowns, says Edward SnowdenSpeaking from Russia where he has been in exile since 2013, Snowden has continued to give interviews and express his opinions on Bitcoin (BTC) and the crypto space. The NSA whistleblower used BTC to pay for the servers he used to leak thousands of documents to journalists before leaving the United States.

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Okcoin hires former Facebook spokesperson Randi Zuckerberg to grow female user base

Okcoin hires former Facebook spokesperson Randi Zuckerberg to grow female user base

Uverejnil používateľ | dec 2, 2021 |

Cryptocurrency exchange Okcoin has announced Randi Zuckerberg — the sister of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — will be joining the platform’s brand advisory council in its aim to bring more women into crypto.In a Thursday announcement, Okcoin said that in addition to hiring Zuckerberg, the exchange would be committing $1 million in an attempt to reach a 50% female user base by 2025. Zuckerberg was the former director of market development and a spokesperson for Facebook until she resigned in 2011, moving on to start her own social media firm in addition to founding the Zuckerberg Institute — a program aimed at educating business leaders, entrepreneurs and students. “Crypto and this new era of wealth creation should be open to everyone,” said Zuckerberg in a video promoting her move to the crypto exchange. “I’ve joined Okcoin’s advisory council to support that mission and bring more women into the world of crypto.”Had so much fun filming this video (complete with a cameo from my toddler) and over the moon to be working with @Okcoin to get more women into the crypto space https://t.co/FtURPcFcSt— Randi Zuckerberg (@randizuckerberg) December 2, 2021With the hiring of Zuckerberg, Okcoin will have many women in key leadership positions at the exchange, including CEO Hong Fang as well as head of content and brand Mandy Campbell. Fang told Cointelegraph last year the crypto exchange had seen a significant influx of women in 2020, with 50% of female users to the platform in the first quarter being new. “Historically, women and other marginalized groups have been locked out of the traditional financial system,” said Fang on the $1 million commitment. “Cryptocurrency is turning this norm on its head through the wealth-creating opportunities created by decentralized finance, but we’re still seeing lower adoption among women.”Related: Women-led events may encourage long-term female participation in blockchainFounded in 2013, Okcoin is one of the world’s oldest crypto exchanges and has steadily expanded to serve customers in more than 190 countries. Though its headquarters are based in the United States, the exchange secured regulatory approval to operate in Malta and the Netherlands in July.

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SEC rejects WisdomTree's application for spot Bitcoin ETF

SEC rejects WisdomTree's application for spot Bitcoin ETF

Uverejnil používateľ | dec 2, 2021 |

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has officially disapproved asset manager WisdomTree’s spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) after deferring on a decision several times this year.According to a Wednesday filing, the SEC rejected a proposed rule change from the Cboe BZX Exchange to list and trade shares of WisdomTree’s Bitcoin Trust. Specifically, the SEC said any rule change in favor of approving the ETF would not be “‘designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” nor “protect investors and the public interest.”The SEC concluded that BZX had not met the requirements of listing a financial product under its rules in addition to the Exchange Act, saying the BTC ETF proposed would not allow the commission “to obtain information necessary to detect, investigate, and deter fraud and market manipulation, as well as violations of exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws and rules.” In addition, the SEC said that the exchange had not provided sufficient means “to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” in any potential listing. Specifically, the agency claimed that BZX did not provide enough data to conclude the crypto market is resistant to manipulation, or address concerns about possible sources of fraud and manipulation, including wash trading and other risk factors. While the exchange used the examples set by crypto futures products with the CME Group in its argument for approval, the SEC rejected them as evidence towards accepting a spot crypto ETF.[embedded content]“The Commission cannot conclude, based on BZX’s statements alone and absent any evidence or analysis in support of BZX’s assertions, that it is unlikely that trading in the ETP would be the predominant influence on prices in the CME bitcoin futures market,” said the filing.Related: Grayscale tells SEC ‘no basis’ to approve Bitcoin futures ETFs and not spot ETFsSince originally filing its application with the SEC on Mar. 26, WisdomTree has seen the commission delay a decision on its spot Bitcoin ETF several times in 2021. The SEC opened the application to the public for comment in April and designated longer periods of time to approve or disapprove the proposed rule change in May, July and September. Its reasoning for denying the offering from WisdomTree was similar to that for VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF, rejected in November.However, across the pond, WisdomTree was able to list its crypto basket exchange-traded product on Euronext exchanges in Paris and Amsterdam. The investment product, trading under the ticker MEGA, is backed by physical crypto assets including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). A separate ETF application for WisdomTree’s Ethereum Trust in the United States, first submitted to the SEC in May, is still under review. In addition, the agency will likely reach a decision on an exchange-traded fund offering exposure to Bitcoin from Kryptocoin, with the deadline expected on Dec. 24.

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Fed's Quarles says regulators should show 'constraint' on stablecoins to avoid hampering innovation

Fed's Quarles says regulators should show 'constraint' on stablecoins to avoid hampering innovation

Uverejnil používateľ | dec 2, 2021 |

Speaking publicly for the last time as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Randal Quarles urged regulators to exercise restraint on stablecoins.In a prepared statement for his speech at the American Enterprise Institute on Dec. 2, Quarles expressed concern that regulations could hamper innovation in the digital asset space, particularly when it comes to stablecoins. According to the Fed governor, some of the approaches on stablecoin regulation from the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets’ November report are unnecessary, including “limiting wallet providers’ affiliation with commercial entities.”“It is one thing to say that a stablecoin issuer itself must be a regulated bank — I think that is probably overkill, as there are perfectly effective ways for nonbanks to meet our legitimate regulatory concerns, but there is at least a clear relation between the existing framework of bank regulation and the specific measures that stablecoin issuers must address to operate safely,” said Quarles. “It is, however, quite another thing to contemplate that wallet providers may need to be completely separated from commercial firms.” The fed governor added:“It is not at all clear what regulatory interest would be furthered by such a limitation, which is much more restrictive than we require for nondigital assets.”On Nov. 8, Quarles resigned his position at the Federal Reserve where he had been serving since 2017. He will remain on the Board of Governors until the end of December, at which point there will likely be three open seats for the group of seven regulators. During his time at the Fed, Quarles said that federal agencies needed to consider the right regulatory approach before creating a framework to oversee the crypto market. Prior to the 2017 bull run, he claimed that wide-scale usage of cryptocurrencies could pose “serious financial stability issues,” suggesting that the government partner with banks to create solutions for digital payments.“While digital asset-related activities may be novel, regulators need not treat these activities differently simply because of the nature of the technology,” said Quarles in his Thursday speech. “We must focus with care on the unique risks posed by these activities and avoid unnecessarily impeding their promise.”Related: Biden is considering law professor, Fed president, and former CFPB director to fill 3 seats on Federal Reserve: ReportU.S. President Joe Biden has not yet announced his picks for the Fed’s empty seats, but said in November he planned to nominate replacements with a focus on “improving the diversity in the Board’s composition.” He has already said Jerome Powell is his pick to remain Fed chair after his first term expires in February, with governor Lael Brainard to serve as vice-chair after the departure of Richard Clarida.

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The Taliban will never understand crypto, according to founder of LEARN Afghanistan

The Taliban will never understand crypto, according to founder of LEARN Afghanistan

Uverejnil používateľ | dec 2, 2021 |

Pashtana Durrani, the founder of an organization working to make education available to women and girls across Afghanistan as the country remains under Taliban rule, said the Islamic fundamentalist group has poor financial literacy, especially when it comes to crypto.In a Wednesday interview with political commentator Tommy Vietor from Pod Save the World, LEARN Afghanistan founder Pashtana Durrani said the international community — particularly the United States — should consider removing the sanctions imposed on Afghanistan and unfreezing funds controlled by foreign governments. According to Durrani, limiting foreign aid to Afghanistan through nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other entities gives the Taliban an advantage, as opposed to using the latest technology, including cryptocurrency.“When I say unfreeze the assets, send it in cryptocurrency — the Taliban will never understand it,” said Durrani. “Send it to a private bank — they will never be able to access it […] Taliban don’t have bank accounts. Taliban were people who were fighting in rural and very mountainous regions. They had no time to go to a bank, fill out the forms and have that.” Pashtana Durrani speaking on Pod Save the WorldFollowing the almost immediate takeover by the Taliban in August, Afghanistan has faced a number of crises. In addition to the threat imposed by having armed religious extremists in control of the government, millions of Afghans are facing food insecurity and economic hardship. Many residents are still unable to withdraw cash from banks as the international community attempts to impose restrictions aimed at hurting the Taliban.“The sanction is only hurting the people who had savings in the bank accounts. It’s hurting the teachers, it’s hurting the students, it’s hurting all those people who actually worked in the past two decades — it’s never going to hurt Taliban.”Many nonprofit organizations helping Afghan refugees relocate to foreign countries have asked for crypto donations using Bitcoin (BTC) and other tokens, but Durrani has called on using digital assets as a force for good in the face of what she considers to be ineffective sanctions. In the digital age, good Samaritans have sometimes completely bypassed official sanctions imposed by the U.S. to donate directly to people impacted by war, famine or other disasters in countries like Iran and Yemen. Related: Crypto can alleviate the financial fallout for people in Afghanistan“Afghanistan can be put into those great lists of [the Financial Action Task Force] and all that,” said Durrani. “It could be one of those countries where you just start using cryptocurrency — legitimize it, whatever — but at the end of the day you’re hurting the wrong kind of people to punish the people who are in power.”

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