Beauty and Fashion Brands Use Web3 Technology To Better Engage With Consumers

💳 Before the emergence of Web3, brands primarily relied on Web2 channels, such as social media, to connect with consumers. In fact, recent statistics show that 77 percent of businesses use social media to reach customers. Consumer engagement strategies are evolving, however. With the maturation of new technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence, forward-thinking brands have started incorporating these elements to better engage with consumers.

⚫️ Jana Bobosikova, Co-Founder of community commerce company KIKI World, told Cryptonews that while the internet provides a platform for brands to be seen, new technologies can ensure that online products are not just passively consumed.

⚫️ “KIKI is on a mission to empower passionate consumers,” said Bobosikova. “We founded the company with a simple vision that customers and communities should be rewarded and able to participate in the success of what they champion.”

🐱 To ensure this, Bobosikova explained that KIKI uses blockchain infrastructure to connect its community with products that may interest them.

Reserve Bank of Fiji Says Crypto Not Recognised as Legal Tender

📊 The central bank of the Pacific island country of Fiji has released a note to the public cautioning that cryptocurrencies and virtual assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether are not recognised as legal tender in the country. In an announcement, the Reserve Bank of Fiji said it is illegal for any individuals to purchase or invest in cryptocurrencies using funds held in Fiji

🛍 The bank reminded the public that as per the RBF Act (1983) legal tender in Fiji is currency notes and coins issued or deemed to have been issued by the Reserve Bank of Fiji. The Fijian dollar has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873.

⚡️ None of the Pacific Island countries officially utilize private cryptocurrencies or stablecoins, but Fiji, Palau, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, have been exploring the concept of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The vast majority of Fijians rely on cash for most of their daily transactions.

💸 The Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor Ariff Ali has acknowledged that there are businesses promoting cryptocurrency investment schemes in Fiji through various platforms including social media.

Citadel-Backed Hidden Road Partners Targets $120M in Series B

💣 Hidden Road Partners, Citadel Securities-backed prime brokerage, plans to raise $120 million in its Series B funding round, aiming for a market valuation of $1 billion.

⚫️ According to a Bloomberg report, sources familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity due to the information sensitivity, stated that the Citadel Securities-backed prime brokerage firm is seeking to expand its offerings in the cryptocurrency and foreign exchange markets.

⚫️ The round is currently projected to raise about $120 million, according to two of the people. A Hidden Road representative declined Bloomberg’s request for comment. Hidden Road was established in 2018 by Marc Asch, a former employee at Steven Cohen’s hedge fund firms SAC Capital and Point72 Asset Management. This firm quickly positioned itself in the financial market by securing $50 million during its Series A funding round.

💣 The Series A was led by Castle Island Ventures. Notable investors in this round included Citadel Securities, FTX Ventures, Uncorrelated Ventures, Greycroft, XBTO Humla Ventures, Wintermute, Coinbase Ventures, among others.Hidden Road offers prime-brokerage services across multiple markets, such as foreign exchange, precious metals, and digital assets.

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Is The Bull Market Over Before The Bitcoin Halving? Glassnode Report

🪙 Firstly, Bitcoin’s short-term holder MVRV ratio is now re-approaching 1.0, meaning its unrealized profit and loss have reached a break-even point. This level can serve as support after a bull market dip, but also major resistance during bear markets when most Bitcoin holders are underwater.

🟡 “Little undercuts are good,” said Check. “In 2023 we had several of these retests. If we assume this is a resilient uptrend, we should expect the short-term holder cost basis to hold, somewhere in that $58,000 to $59,000 region. “

🟡 Similarly, short-term holder SOPR has also recently dipped beneath 1.0, meaning that short-term holders are now beginning to realize more losses than profits. Should SOPR fall significantly under this level without resurfacing, it may be a sign of a sustained bear market to come.

⚠️ As of this week, short-term holders realized losses have spiked substantially – a sign that new buyers were panic selling at a loss amid news of rising conflict between Iran and Israel. “This is essentially what you do want to see, as a contrarian,” Check added. “As a contrarian, you kind of want to see people doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.”

Finnish Tax Administration Found €30 Million Worth Unreported Crypto Gains in 2023

🇫🇮 Finland’s Tax authority has found profits from sales of unreported crypto gains in 2023, amounting to €30 Million ($31.9 million). As a result, the EU nation has mandated reporting of income from the sale of mining digital assets. Per a report from a local media outlet Verkkouutiset, in line with the tax supervision following the unreported tax gains last year, the authority has asked those who invested in virtual currencies to pay ten million euros in capital income tax.

💵 “The amount found last year is large in euro terms, which indicates that the control works and is effective,” says Mika Siivonen, tax expert from the Finnish Tax Administration. Besides paying taxes, individuals who have not declared their income are mandated to pay a tax increase and late penalties. Failing to this may lead to criminal sanctions, the report added.

💵 According to the findings from the country’s tax authority, a total of 9,800 customers reported receiving crypto income in 2022. This is lower than that of 2021, which reported 16,000 customers. “When the exchange rates of virtual currencies have been low, investors have sold less of their holdings than before or for some reason sales losses have not been declared for taxation.”

💲 Per the estimates, still a large portion of crypto income receivers fail to declare their income in question for taxation. The Tax Administration received the information from several foreign virtual currency exchanges through international data exchange.

Worldcoin Executives Meet Malaysian Leaders Amid Privacy Concerns

🌍 Worldcoin executives have met with top Malaysian officials amid ongoing privacy concerns and regulatory challenges. According to a recent social media post by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, the engagement highlighted the key role of MDEC’s programs, demonstrating potential collaboration opportunities including strategic expansion into Malaysia.

🔘 The Deputy General Secretary of the Ministry of Digital, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation CEO Ts. Mahadhir Aziz, and Director General of the Department of Personal Data Protection Mohd Nazri bin Kama attended the meeting.

🔘 “Exciting discussions today as we met with Nordstar and its impressive lineup of portfolio companies including Nothing, Airwallex, and Worldcoin,” the post reads. “The meeting was attended by YB Tuan Gobind Singh Deo, Minister of Digital; YBrs. Tuan Ma Sivanesan.”

🌐 “The session explored MDEC’s impactful programmes, its pivotal role in nurturing the venture capital and start-up landscape, and avenues for collaboration, including strategic expansion plans into Malaysia,” the post reads.

⚡️ PORTAL seems to be cooking up some new things with their new launchpad

The debut token on the Portal Launchpad is $SOMO (https://twitter.com/playsomo) and those who stake $PORTAL will be able to receive a guaranteed allocation for the $SOMO sale which is happening on Thursday, 25th April at 11 am EST and I’m expecting this to skyrocket 🤑

Within the niche of Web3 gaming, we’ve seen many successful launches recently such as My Pet Hooligan’s $KARAT – $SOMO could be next. SOMO will quite literally be the Pokemon Go of Web3 and is also a playable 3D game

$SOMO seems to be the next big cook following after $PORTAL’s success, hitting a 3bn FDV and it was the biggest Binance Launchpool launch in history. I would really recommend picking up some $PORTAL and staking via their launchpad for the $SOMO sale➡️ https://launchpad.portalgaming.com

⏺Wallets will be able to purchase up to 1 ETH of $SOMO and to balance the demand against the available allocation – there will be a weighted raffle to give everyone a fair chance. Your chances in the raffle are dictated by your ticket size and how early within the 24 hours you purchase.
The earlier you purchase and the bigger your ticket, the more $SOMO you’re likely to receive. The current presale price terms seem very fair considering other rounds available like Pixelmon’s $MON and Revolving Games’ $RCADE.

✖️ Portal Twitter: https://twitter.com/Portalcoin
✖️ SOMO Twitter: https://twitter.com/playsomo

Magic Partners with Tezos Foundation to Simplify dApp Onboarding

🎁 The open-sourced decentralized blockchain platform Tezos Foundation has partnered with Magic to enhance the onboarding process for decentralized applications (dApps). According to a press release shared with Cryptonews com, the partnership will leverage Magic’s wallet solutions and Tezos’ blockchain to streamline the user experience, focusing on simplifying processes for web3 applications.

✌ The integration by Magic, supported by a grant from the Foundation, tackles key web3 challenges such as user onboarding and authentication. Magic’s wallet solution would allow users to create wallets without the need for seed phrases, downloads, or plug-ins, simplifying the process and enhancing the accessibility of decentralized applications.

👍 With this integration, the network has become one of the select blockchain platforms featured on the Magic platform. This move is set to boost user engagement and application development. “Magic extending their Tezos support will make it easier for builders and creators to onboard new users to their dApps,” said Tezos co-founder Arthur Breitman.

DOJ Counters Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm’s Defense, Asserting Money Transmitting Operations

🇺🇸 The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has rejected Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s motion to dismiss criminal charges, arguing that the defense’s filing presented disputed facts that should be weighed by a jury rather than being resolved in an early-stage motion.

🧬 Storm, along with fellow developer Roman Semenov, was charged by the DOJ with conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter, and conspiracy to violate sanctions laws through the creation and operation of Tornado Cash.

🧬 In their motion to dismiss the indictment, Storm’s attorneys argued that Tornado Cash is not a custodial mixing service and does not meet the definition of a “financial institution.” They also contended that Storm had no control over the service and could not prevent entities like Lazarus Group from using it.

Venezuela’s Digital Currency Use to Face Tighter Regulatory Scrutiny

🇪🇨 The development comes as Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA is ramping up digital currency use for crude oil and fuel exports, according to Reuters. This decision follows the Biden administration declining to renew a license that had eased restrictions. Essentially, this led to reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry.

🟡 In response, Venezuelan opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez and a Chainalysis director Kristofer Doucette presented a report on Monday, calling for democratic governments to take action. Their report detailed financial transactions conducted since Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration.

🟡 Since last year, PDVSA has reportedly been quietly ramping up its use of digital currency. The company has particularly been using Tether (USDT) for oil sales to avoid having accounts frozen by US oil sanctions. Maduro earlier suggested there are countries interested in doing business with Venezuela. But they would be willing to do so if they could use digital currency to avoid the traditional financial system.

🔥 The report further stated that other autocratic leaders under international sanctions, like those in Iran and Russia, have launched their own crypto programs. These programs, the report alleges, are a way to dodge financial systems reliant on US dollars or Euros, currencies vulnerable to sanctions.

UK FCA Dedicated 30% of Financial Crime Personnel to Monitor Crypto Companies in 2023

📈 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it conducted risk assessments across various sectors and identified retail banking, wholesale banking, wealth management, and crypto-asset firms as especially susceptible to financial crime in 2023. These sectors were deemed the most at risk of being misused for money laundering activities.

💸 In its fight against financial crime, the FCA’s team of specialists conducted a significant number of reviews. This included 231 in-depth analyses (desk-based reviews) and seven on-site visits. Additionally, other supervisory teams within the FCA identified 375 potential cases, with 95 specifically linked to crypto assets.

⚠️ Also, the regulator extended a key survey – called REP CRIM – to crypto businesses in April 2022. This comprehensive survey gathers information on anti-money laundering (AML) controls implemented by these firms. Data obtained through REP-CRIM, along with other intelligence reports, allows the regulator to pinpoint risks more effectively and tailor their supervisory actions accordingly.

Chinese AI Startups Take on Industry Giant OpenAI

🇨🇳 OpenAI’s ChatGPT’s absence in China has created a unique opportunity for a new wave of Chinese AI startups, each vying to fill the void and establish themselves as leaders in the generative AI space. Backed by major regional investors, these startups are developing advanced AI systems capable of producing various types of content, from images and text to music, posing a major challenge to OpenAI’s global supremacy.

🔴 Four key startups have become leaders in China’s AI sector, each achieving unicorn status with valuations exceeding $1 billion. Zhipu AI, backed by giants like Alibaba Cloud and Tencent, is leading with a valuation of $2.5 billion. They focus on providing comprehensive AI solutions and have amassed a team of 800 employees.

🔴 MiniMax, based in Shanghai, takes a unique approach, employing anime-themed characters to engage the gaming market. Valued at $2.5 billion, their interactive avatars can generate responses, jokes, and even flirt with users. Meanwhile, 01.ai, with a valuation of $1.2 billion, focuses on open-source models tailored to the Chinese market, such as the productivity-focused Wanzhi.

🟩 “There is no winner of foundation models yet in the China market. These are some of the names leading the charge to claim that title,” Charlie Dai, Vice President and principal analyst at tech-focused consultancy Forrester, told the Financial Times.

Why Tokenization Could Be the Answer to Real Estate Liquidity Crunch

⚔️ However, amidst this surge of RWAs, one asset class that has yet to get the attention it deserves is real estate. The latest statistics reveal that the global real estate market was valued at $613 trillion in 2022, with projections showing it could eclipse $729 trillion by 2028. However, despite this potential, real estate remains one of the most illiquid asset classes.

🟧 To provide some context, assets like stocks and bonds are traded on a daily basis, but a piece of property can take more than a decade before it changes hands. Of course, one of the main reasons is that property owners prefer to hold real estate as a long-term asset or because of the sentimental value attached to generational ownership.

🍾 According to a tokenization report by BCG, the opportunity to tokenize illiquid assets such as real estate, art, and select commodities stands at a whopping $16 trillion. This partly explains why traditional financial companies that have been anti-crypto are, for the first time, willing to join the digital asset bandwagon.

Nigeria Pushes Back Against Binance, Claims CEO’s Bribe Allegation ‘Lacks Any Iota of Substance

🇳🇬 The statement on Wednesday followed Binance CEO Richard Teng’s blog post, where he accused a Nigerian government official of pressuring crypto representatives to accept a secret agreement. This agreement would supposedly settle claims the Nigerian government has against the exchange.

🟢 “Teng made false allegations of bribery against unidentified Nigerian government officials who he claimed demanded $150m in cryptocurrency payments to resolve the ongoing criminal investigation against the company,” the Ministry of Information spokesman Rabiu Ibrahim said.

💲 The exchange “will not clear its name in Nigeria by resorting to fictional claims and mudslinging media campaigns,” he added. “The only way to resolve its issues will be by submitting itself to unobstructed investigation and judicial due process.”

Wells Fargo Banks Has Invested $143 Million In Bitcoin, Filing Reveals

🪙 The vast majority of those funds were held with the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) – a Bitcoin spot ETF whose shares are designed to track Bitcoin’s spot price during traditional stock market hours. The fund directly backs its shares with a fixed amount of BTC, which gradually declines over time due to management fees.

💲 The other two Bitcoin-related investments include a $99,000 position in the Bitcoin ATM provider Bitcoin Depot and a $1.2 million position in the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), a Bitcoin futures ETF. The total position represents just a drop of Wells Fargo’s $603 billion in assets under management and has likely shrunk alongside Bitcoin’s price since the reporting period.

💵 Nevertheless, the crypto community has hailed the bank’s allocation as a massive step toward institutional Bitcoin adoption. Back in 2018, the same bank temporarily banned crypto credit card purchases, but its analysts came to recognize Bitcoin’s rapid adoption growth and price appreciation over the coming years.

Wall Street Giants, JPMorgan’s Onyx Eye Industrializing Blockchain PoCs

🛡 Leading financial institutions on Wall Street are shifting their focus towards industrializing proofs-of-concept (PoCs) developed within the blockchain experiment known as Project Guardian. JPMorgan’s blockchain platform, Onyx, is particularly keen on converting the insights gained from its pilot program with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) into tangible products.

🔗 During the TokenizeThis event held in Miami on May 10, Stephanie Lok, product manager of JPMorgan’s Onyx, said the company is focused on investment fund tokenization as a key area of focus. “That’s a very big focus area: how can we kind of productionize, industrialize what we built out as a proof-of-concept?” Lok stated.

🔗 Another traditional firm heavily invested in blockchain-enabled finance migration is WisdomTree, an asset manager. Maredith Hannon, head of business development for WisdomTree, highlighted the company’s interest in portfolio personalization and blending portfolios with checking accounts.

ℹ️ Hannon further elaborated on the potential benefits of real-world asset tokenization for investor portfolios, envisioning the ability to create a myriad of allocation variations and risk profiles. WisdomTree is also exploring the provision of different on-chain services through a unified interface for its clients.

Former FTX Executive Ryan Salame Seeks 18-Month Sentence, Citing Cooperation and Remorse

💣 Ryan Salame, a former executive at FTX who pleaded guilty to election fraud charges in September, is requesting leniency from the court in the form of an 18-month sentence. According to a sentencing memorandum filed on Tuesday, Salame’s attorneys argue for a lighter sentence based on his cooperation with authorities and genuine remorse.

⚫️ During his time at FTX and Alameda, Salame was responsible for managing wire deposits and fiat currency conversions for FTX customers. He also participated in political contributions using Alameda funds and led charitable initiatives in the Bahamas.

🧍‍♀️ In the filings, Salame’s attorneys emphasize that his role in the fraudulent activities was less central and more operational. They said that he had no knowledge of the conspiracies orchestrated by the individuals at the center of Alameda and FTX.

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