Uncertain BTC outlook, definitely scam tokens, maybe dead queens and 20 crypto jokes

by Arthur · February 25, 2023

This week in crypto, we looked at what investors thought about the BTC price outlook, whether the bitcoin rally was running out of steam, and what ethereum’s rising deflation meant for the price. Digital asset investment funds saw $32m in net outflows last week amid a flurry of US government regulatory action, while Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian said crypto and bitcoin are “here to stay”. Binance struck a major deal with Ingenico to allow customers to pay for goods and services in crypto. Meanwhile, physical items recovered from the wreck of the Titanic were set to be tokenized as NFTs, and Spotify tested a new playlist feature created for NFT holders.

Coinbase was expected to report a 75% drop in revenue for Q4 2022, Galois Capital closed its flagship fund after losing almost half of its capital in the FTX collapse, FTX Japan resumed withdrawals on Tuesday, FTX warned the public about fake tokens issued by groups that claimed to work on its behalf, and US Democrats returned less than 3% of the $45.2 million donation from Sam Bankman-Fried. South Korean prosecutors also applauded “meaningful” charges against Terra’s Do Kwon by the US SEC, while the regulator’s legal filing against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon “could help South Korean prosecutors’ case against Kwon”.

While that was happening, Paxos was in talks with the US SEC about their decision to consider BUSD as a security, the US FTC announced that it was investigating Voyager Digital for “misleading and unfair marketing” of crypto, a French lawmaker denied that he had been paid to promote a crypto scam in the National Assembly, US Congressman Tom Emmer introduced a bill to prevent the Fed from issuing a CBDC, and authorities in Moscow arrested a British citizen accused of helping North Korea evade crypto sanctions. Hong Kong authorities decided to set aside $6.4 million to boost the city’s Web3 sector, and the city outlined plans to allow retail investors to trade digital currencies on licensed exchanges. Zambia began testing technology to regulate crypto as it aims to become a regional hub, while a leading Russian economist said central banks would ultimately decide the fate of crypto.

Meanwhile, PeckShield found a number of scam tokens looking to cash in on the ChatGPT AI chatbot craze, a report claimed that CryptoQueen’ Ruja Ignatova was killed by a drug kingpin on a yacht in Greece, South Korean police arrested 30 people for an alleged $8 million crypto scam, and up to 40 suspected crypto fraudsters faced prosecution in China, while cybercrime, crypto fraud and ransomware attacks increased in Portugal.

Joking time! Laugh, and have a great weekend.

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