U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has introduced a bill that would prevent the Federal Reserve (Fed), the U.S.' central banking system, from developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The senator said the federal government has no authority to establish a CBDC, and these digital assets could be used as a direct surveillance tool by the government, violating the privacy rights of American citizens. More: - The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
- The Texas Senator stated that the government should encourage individual freedom instead of hindering it.
- The politician also underlined that CBDCs are backed by the government and transacted on a centralized blockchain, differently from decentralized digital assets like Bitcoin.
- Cruz introduced similar legislation in 2022.
Zoom Out: - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also recently proposed a law to ban the use of a CBDC as money in the state, citing the risks of hindering innovation and promoting government surveillance.
- U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order last year for the federal government to explore the potential use cases and risks of a CBDC.
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The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has started collecting feedback from the public on whether NFTs should be taxed at the same rate as other collectibles under the tax law. The tax authority said the comments can be submitted until June 19. More: - The IRS will determine whether it would treat an NFT as a collectible while taxing by using a look-through analysis and release guidance on it accordingly.
- The analysis will collect opinions on issues such as whether an NFT is an artwork.
- Since the deadline for feedback is June 19, the taxpayers who must report their 2022 returns by April 18 will probably not have to go by the new guidance.
- The agency will treat any NFT like an underlying asset until June 19.
- The proposal represents the IRS' first move to clarify the tax treatment of NFTs.
Zoom-Out: - Under the U.S. tax law, any person who sells collectibles, such as artworks, stamps, and fine wine, must pay a maximum capital gains tax rate of 28%.
- The proposed guidance aims to apply the same tax rate to an NFT verifying the ownership of a collectible.
- In October, the IRS also proposed a law draft that requires NFTs and cryptocurrencies to be reported under a separate section titled Digital Assets for tax purposes.
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Popular NFT platform Magic Eden has launched a new fully audited NFT marketplace precisely designed for Ordinal NFTs on the Bitcoin network. The new platform allows NFT traders to purchase and sell NFTs from Bitcoin Ordinal collections. More: - Magic Eden’s new NFT marketplace also offers users detailed information about NFTs, including inscription numbers and rarity.
- For the launch, Magic Eden partnered with several popular Ordinal collections, such as Taproot Wizards, Inscribed Pepes, and Bitcoin Bandits.
- The platform was developed within one month through a hackathon in California with participation from over a dozen developers.
- Currently, only the secondary sales of Ordinal NFTs are supported by the platform.
- Magic Eden said the marketplace would have no royalty support, adding that it is actively looking into this issue.
- The firm also plans to integrate features that would simplify the minting and inscription process for creators into the platform.
- The rivals of Magic Eden’s new marketplace include ORDX, Generative XYZ, and Gamma.io.
Zoom Out: - Ordinals are digital assets permanently attached to a satoshi, or 1/100,000,000 of a full Bitcoin (BTC).
- The number of Ordinals inscriptions increased to 240,000 on March 1, up from 679 on Feb. 1.
- These NFTs have further surged their popularity within this month, reaching a total inscription number of 567,087 as of March 21.
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The European Banking Authority (EBA), one of the regulatory agencies of the European Union (EU), has opened a job position that looks for staff with knowledge and experience in the crypto industry. The candidate is expected to help the agency in its duties regarding the EU’s long-awaited crypto-regulation, Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA). More: - The role requires strong knowledge of crypto assets and products, alongside several years of experience in supervising financial institutions.
- The banking authority will be in charge of regulating large stablecoins like the ones pegged to euros or dollars.
- The regulator will also prepare draft rules to fill in the gaps in MiCA that legislators left unfilled.
- The EBA’s Chair, José Manuel Campa, previously said they were concerned about the possibility of the inability to enforce MiCA requirements since they could not find qualified employees.
Zoom Out: - The Paris-headquartered EBA aims to increase transparency and identify vulnerabilities in the European financial system.
- The agency has the authority to overrule national regulators in the region if they cannot properly regulate their banks.
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Crypto exchange Coinbase has recently deepened its presence in Brazil, integrating the Brazilian government’s payment system Pix. The integration will allow users in Brazil to buy crypto with Brazilian reals. More: - Previously, Coinbase users in Brazil could purchase crypto only with credit cards.
- The collaboration will enable customers to withdraw Brazilian reals, too.
- The popular crypto exchange has also added language support for Portuguese to its app and started giving support for 24 hours on the platform.
Zoom Out: - Coinbase established a technology hub in Brazil in 2021 and hired more than 40 full-time engineers along with a country director.
- The Brazilian government’s Pix has more than 140 million users.
- Crypto wallet provider MetaMask and crypto trading platform Bitget also have Pix integration.
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The amount of venture capital (VC) funding raised by European crypto startups hit record numbers in 2022, according to a recent report. The study has shown that crypto startups in Europe raised $5.7B in funding in 2022, up from $5B secured in the previous year. More: - The investments peaked in Q2 of last year.
- The area showing the fastest growth became the infrastructure that involves blockchain scalability solutions, Layer-1 blockchains, and developer tooling.
- Europe has the largest number of crypto startups, and the startups in the region make up a significant portion of the early-stage crypto funding worldwide.
- On the other hand, crypto startup funding in the U.S. declined in 2022 YoY.
- Investors from the U.S. accounted for 21% and 29% of Seed and Series A fundings of European crypto startups, respectively.
- The State of European Crypto VC Funding report was jointly prepared by blockchain-focused VC firm RockawayX and startup data provider Dealroom.
Zoom Out: - In January, investments in crypto startups decreased globally by 91% YoY, following a prolonged crypto winter that heightened last year mainly due to the Terra ecosystem’s collapse and crypto exchange FTX’s bankruptcy.
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- Japanese tech giant Sony has filed for a patent that would allow NFTs to be transferred between different games and hardware, including VR headsets, consoles, tablets, smartphones, and computers.
- Cathie Wood's investment management firm, ARK Invest, sold Coinbase (COIN) shares for the first time in 2023 for $13.5M, following consecutive purchases over the last months.
- Luxury fashion house Balmain has released 130 limited edition NFT sneakers featuring a physical version, with prices ranging from $1,595 to $2,095.
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 |  | Doga is a tech and science editor who has been writing news for nearly 10 years. She worked for leading tech platforms and mainstrem media channels as an editor and presenter throughout his career. Then, she carried her know-how to more than one platform. She is a part-time cat lover and binge-watcher, and also fond of science, space, and emerging tech. She always has a story to tell. She is a bit addict to the laughter and -unfortunately- the '90s culture. |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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