Twitter’s DOGE venture, Canada’s new crypto conglomerate, UK banking news
Twitter CEO Elon Musk has made a new marketing move to bridge the gap between the social media platform and the crypto community by changing its logo icon to the Shiba Inu dog – Dogecoin’s (DOGE) digital symbol. However, the move appears to be more than just an engagement strategy. It comes just two days after Musk asked a judge to dismiss a $258 billion lawsuit alleging the operation of a pyramid scheme to promote Dogecoin.
Whether intended or not, the new icon led to another spike in DOGE prices during the week.
A less optimistic reality faces crypto firms in the UK, where financial institutions are restricting the ability of crypto-related businesses to access banking services. The move runs counter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plans to prioritize financial technology disruption and turn the UK into a global crypto hub.
This week’s Crypto Biz explores Canada’s new crypto conglomerate, the recent untimely passing of the Cash App creator in San Francisco, as well as DOGE news and UK crypto challenges.
Elon Musk changes Twitter icon to Doge after asking for dismissal of lawsuit
Dogecoin fans – and investors – welcomed the new Twitter icon with the popular meme token. The social media platform updated its avatar on April 3, two days after CEO Elon Musk asked a US judge to dismiss a $258 billion lawsuit filed by investors alleging the operation of a pyramid scheme to promote Dogecoin. Several recent market studies have suggested that Musk tweeting about DOGE tends to boost prices. However, Musk’s lawyers argued that “funny photos” and “tweeting endorsements” do not amount to a fraud claim. In this week’s case, at least, the promotion positively affected the price of the altcoin, with the token rising by over 22% one hour after the icon change.
WonderFi merges with Coinsquare and CoinSmart to form a regulated platform for cryptoassets
A new crypto conglomerate has emerged in Canada as WonderFi Technologies, Coinsquare and CoinSmart Financial have announced their merger to become the country’s largest regulated crypto trading platform, with over 1.65 million registered users. The newly merged company promises to offer Canadians a wide range of diversified products and services, including retail and institutional crypto trading, staking products, business-to-business crypto payment processing, sports betting and gaming. The companies “traded over $17 billion since 2017 and have over $600 million in assets under custody.” The new company is estimated to have approximately $50 million in cash and investments and no outstanding debt.
UK banks reject crypto clients
Crypto companies have trouble accessing banking services in the UK. The few banks that still work with crypto firms are asking for more documentation and information about how they monitor their customers’ transactions. Challenges include having applications rejected, frozen accounts and overwhelming paperwork. Crypto companies are turning to payment service providers such as BCB Payments and Stripe to maintain business operations in the UK. Just a few weeks ago, HSBC Holdings and Nationwide Building Society banned the purchase of cryptocurrency via credit card for retail customers in the country, joining a growing list of UK banks to tighten restrictions on digital assets.
Creator of Cash App dies after stabbing in San Francisco
Tragic news came out of San Francisco when Bob Lee, the former chief technology officer of Square and creator of the Cash App, was found dead after a stabbing in the early hours of April 4. A release from the San Francisco Police Department explained that officers attended a report of a stabbing at approximately 2:35 a.m. local time, where they found a “43-year-old adult male victim suffering from apparent stab wounds.” Lee was a cryptocurrency advocate who rose to prominence in the tech industry for being the first CTO of payments platform Square – later renamed Block – and for creating the popular mobile payment service Cash App.
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