🪙 Crypto Market News
Drake Pockets $381,000 From Super Bowl Bitcoin Bets. Canadian rapper Aubrey “Drake” Graham made a killing betting on Super Bowl LVI, netting $381,000 in Bitcoin as the L.A. Rams battled back to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20. Leading up to the big game, Drake made three major bets using Bitcoin holdings, a sum of $1.6 million CAD. In a moneyline wager, he bet $600,000 that the favored Rams would triumph over Cincinnati. That winning bet netted $306,000—about 5.65 BTC at today’s price. 📰 Decrypt
DBS Plans to Launch Retail Digital Assets Trading Desk by Year End. Singapore’s DBS Bank, which opened an institutional digital assets trading desk in early 2021, is planning on expanding its digital assets trading offerings to retail investors by the end of the year, its CEO said on an earnings call Monday. “We are starting the initial work to expand it beyond the current investor base” CEO Piyush Gupta said during the call. “Lots of work to do with suitability and anti-fraud … we should have something by the end of the year.” 📰 Coindesk
Illicit Crypto Transactions Hit All-time High of $14B in 2021. Illicit crypto transactions reached an all-time high $14 billion last year, but criminal activity’s share of cryptocurrency transaction volume has never been lower, according to a Chainalysis report published Wednesday. Although the value of illicit transactions surged in 2021 from $7.8 billion the year before, these nefarious transactions accounted for 0.15% of crypto volume last year, down from 0.62% in 2020, the report said. 📰 Blockworks
Bitpanda Acquires Crypto Custodian Trustology. Bitpanda, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Vienna, has acquired U.K.-based digital asset custodian Trustology. The financial terms were undisclosed, but a source close to the deal said the dollar amount was in the eight figures. Trustology, which won full registration from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in October, specializes in decentralized finance and will be rebranded to “Bitpanda Custody.” 📰 Coindesk
Russian Government Introduces Crypto Bill to Parliament Over Central Bank Objections. Russia's Ministry of Finance is pushing forward with its plan to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country, and has introduced a bill to parliament. According to a press release published on Monday, the bill was presented Feb. 18. and is based on the previously approved roadmap drafted by several government bodies, including key law-enforcement agencies. The announcement highlights the policy split with the Bank of Russia, which opposes regulation and would rather see cryptocurrency trading and mining banned. 📰 Coindesk
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🖼️ NFT & Metaverse News
New Samsung Galaxy comes bundled with an NFT. Here's one way to max leverage publicity around the launch of your keystone product: Throw in an NFT. And that's just what Samsung has done, at least for consumers in South Korea. In partnership with crypto project Theta Labs, the electronics company will dole out commemorative non-fungible tokens to people who have pre-ordered either the Galaxy S22 smartphone or the new Tablet S8. . 📰 Decrypt
JPMorgan Is the First Bank Into the Metaverse, Looks at Business Opportunities. JPMorgan, the largest bank in the U.S., said it has become the first lender to arrive in the metaverse, having opened a lounge in Decentraland, a virtual world based on blockchain technology. As well as the unveiling of the Onyx lounge (the name refers to the bank’s suite of permissioned Ethereum-based services), JPMorgan also released a paper exploring how businesses can find opportunities in the metaverse. "There is a lot of client interest to learn more about the metaverse,” Christine Moy, JPMorgan’s head of crypto and the metaverse, said in an email.. 📰 Coindesk
A Real Estate-Backed NFT Sold For $653,000. ida home was auctioned off as an NFT (non-fungible token) — a potential first for both real estate and cryptocurrency. The Gulfport four-bedroom house sold for $653,163 of ether, and the winning bidder now holds the NFT, signifying ownership on-chain. Propy, a blockchain real estate startup, hosted and facilitated the sale. “This is just the first seller in our pipeline and we’re seeing a lot of demand,” Natalia Karayaneva, chief executive of Propy, said in a statement. 📰 Blockworks
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