Fidelity Files Metaverse Trademarks Applications, Unfreeze Finance To Refund Users After Hacking, Argo Blockchain Suspends Nasdaq Trading

Get your daily, bite-sized summary of cryptoassets and blockchain-related news – examine the stories that fly under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Metaverse news

• American asset manager rendering has filed three trademark applications in the United States for providing services in the metaverse and other virtual worlds. They also mention non-fungible tokens (NFT), NFT marketplaces, virtual real estate investing, crypto trading, and metaverse investment services.

Security news

• Decentralized Finance Protocol Defrosting Finance, which was hacked on December 23, said that as all V1 hacked funds had been returned, the team would “soon begin the process of refunding these assets to their rightful owners prior to the attack.” In the following days, a refund smart contract will be deployed and owners will be able to claim back their assets in stablecoins.

Investment news

• Crypto mining company Argo Blockchain said it had requested a suspension of trading for its ADSs and unsecured notes traded on Nasdaq Global Select Market as London Stock Exchange is closed for trading on 27 December. The company expects trading on Nasdaq to resume on 28 December, the press release states.
• Struggle, a digital asset and financial services infrastructure builder, announced crypto-on-ramp and off-ramp application programming interfaces (APIs), which they said make it easier to hold or disburse cryptocurrencies to various products, including neobanks, marketplaces, Web3 apps, and decentralized finance projects (DeFi). “The company’s new fiat-to-crypto or crypto-to-fiat can be built into any crypto or fintech product so users can easily buy and sell crypto,” a press release said.

Regulatory news

• The The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines issued an advisory to the public against using unregistered crypto exchanges operating in the country. While it is not mentioned FTX by name, it said that “in view of the recent collapse of a major international cryptocurrency exchange, [SEC] warns and strongly advises the public against trading with unregistered and unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges that can be accessed and deemed to be operating in the Philippines. The collapse left hundreds of thousands, even millions of unsecured creditors with little or no chance of getting their money back.”

Adoption news

• The Web3 Blockchain market in Latin America, Middle East and Africa should witness a market growth of 42.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the forecast period (2022-2028), said a ResearchAndMarkets.com report. The Brazil market dominated the LAMEA Web3 Blockchain Market by country in 2021, and would continue to be a dominant market until 2028, achieving a market value of $206.3 million by 2028. The Argentina market is showing a CAGR of 42.9% during by 2022-2028 , while the UAE market would register a CAGR of 41.7% during that period.

Career news

• Octopus Networka multi-chain crypto network built on NEAR protocol, announced a set of restructuring measures amid the ongoing market downturn, saying 40% of members (12 out of 30) would leave the core team through the ‘voluntary separation programme’. The remaining team members will accept a 20% pay cut and the team’s token incentive will be suspended indefinitely.
• Crypto exchange Crypto.com announced the promotion of Eric Anziani to President, in addition to maintaining his current role as Chief Operating Officer (COO). In his expanded role, Anziani, who joined the company in 2018, will oversee operations (including customer experience, onboarding and global payments), and he will continue to lead strategy, product, sales, international expansion, data, research and blockchain. integration, it added.