Summary of the Week in Crypto
Here’s a look back at the crypto stories you may have missed over the past few days
- U.K. Seized NFTs in Investigation over Tax Fraud
- Netflix Ordered Documentary on the Bitfinex Saga
- Canada puts hold on Crypto with Emergencies Act
- JPMorgan becomes the first bank to create a metaverse presence
- Twitter’s tipping feature now allows Ether
- Ukraine tension drops Bitcoin to $40,000
1. U.K. Seized NFTs in Investigation over Tax Fraud: U.K. tax officials had seized some non-fungible tokens and fear that digital assets could be a new way to launder or hide money by criminals as three arrests were made, claiming the suspects had used “sophisticated” methods to hide themselves — utilizing stolen identities, prepaid cell phones and false addresses.
According to Officials, this seizures will serve as a “warning to anyone who thinks they can use crypto assets to hide money.” HMRC is determined to track all forms of criminal activities as deputy director for economic crime told the newspaper: “We constantly adapt to new technology to ensure we keep pace with how criminals and evaders look to conceal their assets.”
So, the U.K. has joined other countries in introducing tighter regulations on cryptocurrencies and NFTs
2. Netflix Orders Documentary on the Bitfinex Saga: Still on the bitfinex saga, Netliix has taken it upon itself to commission a documentary about the $3.6 billion in Bitcoin that was seized in the U.S. As they announced a series that will focus on “the biggest criminal financial crime case in history.”
It’ll tell the tale of how the husband and wife allegedly tried to fortify the tainted crypto by using fake identities to buy physical gold amidst investigation. Its gonna be a hit.
3. Canada puts Crypto on hold with Emergencies Act: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the very first time in history.
This unprecedented response came to light for the Freedom Convoy movement, as truckers paralyzed the country’s movement including a bridge connecting the U.S. and Canada.
In response to the movement, government officials announced that Canada is broadening the scope of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules so that they cover all crowdfunding platforms — including those that facilitate cryptocurrency transactions, which was one of many ways utilized to raise funds for the freedom convoy movement.
4. JPMorgan becomes the first bank to create a metaverse presence : JPMorgan has become the first major bank to create its presence on the metaverse. And has even launched its own in-house blockchain payments system called Onyx.
The major bank has set up shop in Decentraland’s Metajuku Mall, and decorated its space with a virtual tiger and a framed photo of CEO Jamie Dimon.
And in their lines, the bank said “companies of all shapes and sizes” are set to get involved and avoid this trend to pass them by.
5. Twitter’s tipping feature now allows Ether: Twitter’s tipping feature now allows content creators to receive financial contributions from their followers via ether. This social platform has always positioned itself as a crypto-friendly platform, and now allows users to send and receive digital currencies. It has also recently unveiled a feature that allows NFT collectors to connect their crypto wallets and display digital art as their avatars and these features are only possible through Twitter’s mobile apps.
6. Ukraine tension drops Bitcoin to $40,000: Bitcoin almost fell below $40,000 on Thursday as tensions amid Russia and the West increases. As at Friday morning, Bitcoin was down 7% and trading at $40,738.52.
The prospect of a Russian invasion has spiked the apprehension at Wall Street, thereby bringing cryptocurrency in unison to stocks.
If this invasion turns out to happen, what do you think will be the fate of BTC?
About the Author
Igwe Ihuoma Patience is a self-taught creative and industry specific content writer, cryptocurrency enthusiast with 2years plus experience and knowledge of the constantly evolving blockchain space.
I am skilled in content creation, copy writing, curating captions, video editing & graphic designing with mobile phones and I teach others how to get started in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space and My goal is to make blockchain learning and updates easy for anyone to understand.
