Crypto News Headlines (09-Feb-2022)

NEW DELHI: Meta, formerly Facebook, may have abandoned the Diem cryptocurrency project, but it isn’t quite done with blockchain-based payments yet. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said some of its initiative, including digital wallet Novi, may use “blockchain-based assets” like USDP stablecoin issued by Paxos Trust Company.

https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/diem-is-dead-but-meta-is-still-pursuing-blockchain-based-payments-11644394177396.html

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Financial technology leader Worldpay from FIS® (NYSE: FIS) has partnered with Crypto.com, the world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency platform, to be a global validator and operator for the Crypto.org Chain. The Crypto.org Chain is a public blockchain which enables transactions worldwide between people and businesses. As part of the partnership, Worldpay will also provide global merchant acquiring services to support Crypto.com’s continued growth and global expansion.

Crypto.com is a global crypto platform which serves over 10 million customers. Through the Crypto.com App, the Crypto.com Visa Card and the Crypto.com Exchange, consumers can purchase and spend in over 250 cryptocurrencies.

With the market for cryptocurrencies growing rapidly, Crypto.com wanted to partner with a proven validator for the Crypto.org Chain and a payments provider with extensive experience working with crypto exchanges, to support its continued growth. Crypto.com will leverage Worldpay from FIS merchant services to process card-based purchases and sales of cryptocurrencies.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220208005189/en/Crypto.com-Partners-With-Industry-Leading-Blockchain-Validator-and-Merchant-Acquirer-Worldpay-From-FIS-to-Support-Global-Expansion

The women-focused Ethereum NFT collection Boss Beauties is debuting a one-of-one collection called Boss Beauty Role Models in New York City on March 8—International Women’s Day—that will become the first complete NFT collection ever shown at UN headquarters.

The original Boss Beauties NFT collection of 10,000 assets has a current floor price—or minimum “Buy Now” price—on OpenSea of 2.3 Ethereum—roughly $7,000 per asset. The project, launched in September, as of this writing ranks 123rd on OpenSea’s top NFT collections of all time, based on secondary volume trading sales.

https://decrypt.co/92443/united-nations-to-mark-international-womens-day-boss-beauties-ethereum-nfts

Crypto start-up Alchemy has nearly tripled its valuation in a matter of months, with the company saying Tuesday it’s now valued at $10.2 billion after its latest funding round.

The $200 million investment was led by Lightspeed and Silver Lake, and Alchemy’s previous financing round in late October valued the company at $3.5 billion. Earlier investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue and Pantera also participated.

It comes amid a flood of venture capital dollars into crypto. Tech investors are looking for winners in what some describe as the future of the internet, or “Web 3.” Blockchain funding soared 718% last year, topping $25.5 billion for the first time, according to recent report from CB Insights.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/08/crypto-infrastructure-start-up-alchemy-tops-10-billion-valuation.html

Bybit, one of the world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency exchanges, announced its partnership with leading global digital assets institution Cabital today.

Through this partnership, Bybit users can buy crypto using EUR and GBP seamlessly and directly on the Bybit platform via bank transfers, and transfer crypto between their Bybit and Cabital wallets with no deposit fees required. As a fiat on-ramp is the first step in a crypto trader’s experience, this offers an entry point to users looking to expand their portfolios and venture into crypto trading.

Additionally, Cabital’s system scans numerous exchanges to provide users with the best rates for full price transparency. It is also fortified with technologies from the market leader in crypto security and infrastructure, Fireblocks, which safeguards users’ funds with best-in-class, institutional grade protections.

“Cabital’s goals of creating an innovative and reliable crypto experience are aligned with ours to bring forth next level trading to our users and elevate their experience,” said Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit. “We at Bybit are thrilled to embark on this new partnership with Cabital, and look forward to empowering folks from all walks of life in realizing their financial goals through crypto. Let’s revolutionize the industry together.”

https://guardian.ng/ama-press-releases/top-crypto-exchange-bybit-partners-with-cabital/

Cryptocurrency prices today declined after rising for two straight sessions with Bitcoin hovering below $44,000. The world’s largest and most popular digital token was down 0.4% at $43,892. Bitcoin is down about 5% in 2022 (year-to-date or YTD) so far whereas, it is still over 36% far away from its record high of near $69,000 hit in November 2021.

https://www.livemint.com/market/cryptocurrency/cryptocurrency-prices-today-plunge-as-bitcoin-ether-dogecoin-shiba-inu-solana-fall-xrp-surges-11644371444617.html

Sequoia Capital is playing catchup with arch-rival Andreessen Horowitz in the race to invest in what could be the future of the internet — so-called Web3.

The Silicon Valley venture capital firm led a $450 million investment in Polygon, a blockchain network.

Blockchains are the distributed logs of transactions that underpin many of the world’s major digital currencies. They are maintained by a network of computers, which have to reach consensus across the whole system to confirm transactions and mint new units of currency.

Polygon serves as a support layer to Ethereum, the platform behind the ether cryptocurrency, helping it process transactions at scale.

The Ethereum network is different from bitcoin’s in that it supports applications for things like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) services, not just peer-to-peer transfers.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/sequoia-leads-450-million-investment-in-polygon-blockchain.html

The 30% tax on cryptocurrency income has evoked mixed reactions from Indians. Some opine that the rate of 30% on cryptocurrency implies that the government puts it at par with betting and speculation. A petition to scrap the 30% received the initial target of 50,000 signatures within hours of starting the petition. Some are relieved that at least a framework to tax cryptocurrency has been put in place. But to most, a 30% tax was the easier choice between two evils — the other being an outright ban. Dealing in cryptocurrency is legal in India so long as regulation does not make it illegal. Tax law, by nature, cannot legitimise transactions or commodities. Even without regulatory clarity, tax laws apply. The understanding that India has proposed a tax on cryptocurrency and hence legitimized it, is therefore, flawed.

https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/indias-framework-for-crypto-tax-still-needs-work-11644338983665.html

The FBI arrested a husband and wife on Tuesday morning, alleging they conspired to launder cryptocurrency stolen from the 2016 hack of virtual currency exchange Bitfinex, and said law enforcement has already seized over $3.6bn in cryptocurrency tied to the hack.

The action represents the United States Department of Justice’s largest-ever financial seizure, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, adding in a statement that it shows cryptocurrency is “not a safe haven for criminals”.

Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife Heather Morgan, 31, both of Manhattan, are scheduled to make their initial appearances in federal court Tuesday at 3pm (20:00 GMT) in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The case was filed in a federal court in Washington, DC.

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/2/8/us-arrests-couple-for-allegedly-laundering-4-5bn-in-bitcoin