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| Take a look at the hits from today's Inside Cryptocurrency briefing: - 📸 The first photo of former FTX CEO SBF in jail,
- ⛔ eBay's alleged plans to exit the NFT market,
- 🏞️ Forbes' new permanent virtual experience in The Sandbox, and more.
Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | Independent crypto reporter Tiffany Fong has recently shared a photo of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's former CEO, at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York after interviewing with a pseudonymous former inmate, G Lock. The post marked the first and the only photo of SBF in jail since he was imprisoned in August 2023 after his bail was revoked by U.S. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. More: - The photo was reportedly taken on Dec. 17, 2023, and reveals an image of SBF standing alongside five other inmates.
- In the post, Fong highlighted that SBF grew a beard in jail as opposed to his former clean-shaven look, lost some weight, and is not taking a shower very often.
- Fong also shared a short snippet from her interview with G Lock, who described SBF as a strange but good guy.
- In the snippet, G Lock said SBF does not experience too hard of a time in prison, underlining that he had not faced any serious violence or intimidation during his stay.
- The former inmate pointed out that SBF is notably more "gangster" than the rapper Tekashi69 and never snitched on anyone while in prison, unlike the rapper.
- G Lock also shared a memory in which SBF and his fellow inmates all sat down together to watch an interview with the author Michael Lewis, which aired alongside the release of Lewis' book on the life of former CEO, titled Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon.
- A previous report published in November last year claimed that SBF pays for a haircut with mackerel fish in jail and offers crypto tips to prison guards.
Zoom Out: - FTX, previously the third-largest crypto exchange, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022, with all the 130 entities under the roof of FTX Group.
- The downfall followed the claims that SBF used customer funds in FTX to compensate for losses at the sister company Alameda Research.
- In November 2023, SBF was found guilty of all seven criminal charges brought against him by U.S. prosecutors, including wire fraud, money laundering, and misappropriation of customer funds, after a month-long trial process.
- The former CEO currently awaits his sentencing hearing on March 28 and faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: The price of Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, briefly surpassed $3,000 on Tuesday, hitting a 22-month high. The last time the popular cryptocurrency reached this level was in April 2022. Through the latest rally, the token brought its weekly and monthly price gains to nearly 12% and 20%, respectively. After hitting $3,001 for a few minutes, Ether started hovering around $2,900 again and held on to this level. Relevance: The Ethereum blockchain network's native token, ETH, entered an upward trend over the past month. The increase in Ether's value was primarily triggered by the upcoming Dencun upgrade, expected to take place on the main network on March 13. The upgrade will bring a new feature to the blockchain that would improve the cost, speed, and scalability of ETH transactions. Another igniter of the price increase has become the positive expectations about the spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications in the U.S. If the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approves the applications in May, the new products will allow retail and institutional investors to get exposure to Ether through traditional brokerage accounts without dealing with crypto-native platforms that have come under scrutiny by regulators over the past years. Several industry experts, including famous American investor Cathie Wood and wealth management firm Bernstein, have recently shared their estimations that Ether will be the only other cryptocurrency securing a spot in the global ETF market after Bitcoin. Bloomberg analysts have also given a 70% chance for the approval of spot Ether ETFs. However, investment bank TD Cowen shared an entirely different estimation last month, pointing out that Ether ETF applications will probably not be approved in the U.S. until late 2025 or early 2026. Brands that should care: The financial institutions waiting for the SEC to approve their spot Ether ETF applications in the U.S. include BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Grayscale Investments, VanEck, Ark Invest, and 21Shares. | | | |
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| 3 | | E-commerce giant eBay has laid off 30% of the staff in its Web3 division as part of its decision to exit from the NFT market, according to a recent report citing sources familiar with the matter. The report pointed out that the division's two key senior personnel also parted ways with the company. More: - EBay made its first foray into the NFT space in June 2022 when it acquired the U.K.-based NFT marketplace KnownOrigin.
- The acquisition saw KnownOrigin's team and intellectual property having been integrated into eBay's Web3 division.
- However, the increased tension within the unit has reportedly paved the way for a shift in eBay's Web3 strategy focusing on NFTs and a suspension of the firm's future plans related to digital collectibles.
- Sources claimed that the business and strategy officer of eBay's Web3 division, Stefanie Jay, has stepped down from his role at the company.
- Also, KnownOrigin co-founder David Moore was allegedly made redundant from his job.
- EBay has yet to make an official statement on the issue or its plans for the NFT market.
Zoom Out: - In 2022, eBay also expanded its NFT operations by purchasing the digital trading card marketplace TCGPlayer for $295M and launching an initial NFT collection in partnership with OneOf, a Web3 firm specializing in music NFTs.
- However, a decline in popularity and sales after the prime time of NFTs in 2021 and 2022 caused turbulence in eBay's foray into the market, though the NFT industry recently experienced a recovery in key metrics.
- Last year, reports claimed that rival e-commerce platform Amazon had also planned to launch an NFT marketplace but later postponed its plans.
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| 4 | | Payment processing giant Mastercard has partnered with Swoo Pay, a mobile payments app focusing on emerging markets, to offer loyalty rewards in cryptocurrencies. The new service aims to help users access crypto rewards in the regions where customers have limited access to Google services, including the mobile payment service Google Pay, due to sanctions. More: - As part of the partnership, Mastercard and Swoo Pay will primarily target emerging markets like Africa and Southeast Asia.
- Customers in many countries within these regions predominantly use affordable Huawei smartphones that do not support Google services due to the U.S. government's sanctions on the Chinese tech giant.
- The new service will offer the rewards in the Swoo loyalty tokens to users.
- Customers will be able to immediately convert these loyalty tokens into other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and USD Coin (USDC).
- The two firms have already conducted a pilot for the new offering, which saw 17,000 participants receiving a 5% payback on all their Mastercard purchases made through Swoo Pay.
Zoom Out: - Mastercard previously launched another crypto loyalty program in partnership with crypto payments app Bakkt, which was later discontinued.
- Rival payment processing firm Visa similarly partnered with the now-shuttered crypto lender BlockFi to launch a credit card that allowed users to earn rewards in Bitcoin on their purchases.
- Visa also recently launched a new Web3 loyalty and customer engagement solution that uses digital assets as its core reward.
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| 5 | | Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry has announced that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet recently approved a law amendment to allow local venture capital (VC) and investment firms to acquire and hold cryptocurrencies. If the proposal is also approved by the parliament, it will amend the country's Act on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness. More: - The amendment will add cryptocurrencies to the list of assets that can be acquired and held by local investment limited partnerships.
- Investment limited partnerships are a vehicle used by VC firms and investment funds to secure capital for their investments in unlisted companies and startups.
- The move will also allow Japan's investment sector to get greater exposure to digital assets.
- The proposed bill will now be submitted to Japan's legislative body, the Diet, for debate in the current session.
- Under Japan's current laws, VC firms cannot directly hold and invest in crypto assets, which prevents them from investing in projects that only issue cryptocurrencies.
- This restriction forces Japanese crypto projects to look for and source capital from foreign VC firms, limiting the total amount of funding they can raise.
Zoom Out: - Japanese Prime Minister Kishida's policy of reinvigorating Japan's economy includes supporting the growth of local Web3 firms.
- Despite its strict regulations for the digital asset industry, the country's government has recently made several attempts to flex its crypto-specific rules in areas like token listing and taxation.
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| 6 | | The 107-year-old business magazine Forbes has purchased a virtual land in the blockchain-based 3D open-world game The Sandbox, establishing a permanent presence in the metaverse. The new experience has already been made available to the public. More: - Forbes' space in The Sandbox includes a luxurious pool, an elegant bar, and a comprehensive gallery dedicated to the magazine's latest 30 Under 30 list, which arrays 30 notable people under 30 years old across various industries every year.
- The magazine said each element in its land was designed to provide an engaging and immersive virtual environment encouraging exploration and interaction.
- Special QR codes were also sprinkled throughout the experience to allow visitors to set off a scavenger hunt to unlock access to exclusive content.
- Forbes' foray into The Sandbox came around three months after the metaverse platform opened its space for businesses, allowing any brands to launch their own virtual space to the public.
Zoom Out: - In December, Forbes also announced that it would publish the latest edition of its 30 Under 30 list on the Ethereum blockchain network in addition to the printed version to preserve the accomplishments and narratives of young entrepreneurs forever.
- Several other major brands, such as Adidas, Atari, and Gucci, similarly purchased virtual lands in The Sandbox.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Bim Afolami, economic secretary to the Treasury of the U.K., has announced the U.K. government's plans to establish new rules on stablecoins and crypto-staking services within the next six months.
- The U.S.-based tech giant Apple's App Store has approved a fake app posing as the crypto wallet Rabby Wallet before listing the real one.
- The U.S. sports magazine Sports Illustrated has moved the infrastructure of its NFT ticketing platform, Box Office, from the Polygon blockchain network to Aptos nearly 10 months after the launch.
- Decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure provider AllianceBlock has been rebranded as Nexera Foundation, shifting its focus to business-to-business (B2B) applications.
- Blockchain-based payment protocol firm Ripple's former managing director, Navin Gupta, has become the new CEO of Crystal Blockchain, a firm developing software tracking blockchain-based transactions for companies and government agencies.
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 | Staff Writer | | 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. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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