Hello, Rebel!
Welcome to April and Q2, 2023. This month, we are excited and hopeful for positive vibes only. Q1 signalled a strong start to the year, and crypto lovers are hoping that sooner, the bear will finally give way to the bull.
Without giving away too much, here are the stories in today’s issue;
Let’s get to business!
In the past 24 hours, BTC dipped by 1.20% but still maintained its gain of over 3% in the past 7 days. ETH also maintained its pump of over 5%.
Following Elon Musk's move to change the Twitter icon to a Japanese Shiba Inu and his filing in court to dismiss a US$258 billion lawsuit charging him with price manipulation, Dogecoin saw an 18.51% surge.
It has been a busy week for the major exchanges. Yesterday, 10 new coins were listed on Gate.io. See them here.
TL: DR
Binance and CZ are very much still in the eye of the storm.
The company has denied rumours that its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, is facing a Red Notice request from Interpol. The rumour, which spread on Twitter, caused a significant drop in the price of Binance's BNB token as well as the broader cryptocurrency market.
This is not the first time that Binance has come under scrutiny from regulators. The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced last month that it was taking civil enforcement action against the exchange for violating the Commodity Exchange Act and other CFTC regulations. These latest rumours have added to the challenges that Binance is facing, and have once again highlighted the vulnerability of the cryptocurrency market to rumours and speculation.
In other news,
TL: DR
We have gushed over AI-generated photos of the Pope spotting impressive papal drips, and almost fell for the fake photos of the Trump arrest, but a certain world leader won’t be having his AI feature just yet.
Midjourney, a generative AI platform, has banned users from creating images of Chinese President Xi Jinping, citing concerns over censorship and political satire.
Critics argue that the ban undermines free speech and expression, and may set a precedent for other countries to follow. Midjourney CEO David Holz defended the decision, stating that the greater good is allowing Chinese people to use the technology rather than encouraging political satire. However, Sarah McLaughlin, Senior Scholar at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), believes that the restrictions may ultimately lead to China blocking access to the platform.
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TL: DR
Luxury fashion house Gucci has partnered with Yuga Labs, to release a limited-edition series of physical Gucci products and associated NFTs tied into the lore of Otherside, Yuga’s long-awaited ape-themed metaverse game.
The first "Relic" to be released via Yuga’s collaboration with Gucci will be the KodaPendant, an NFT representing both a physical piece of jewellery and a nonfungible token that will unlock numerous perks within the Otherside metaverse.
Exactly 3,333 KodaPendants will be made available for sale beginning on Thursday, April 6, at 6:00 pm EST.
This is not the first time a high-profile NFT company has collaborated with a luxury fashion brand to create rarified physical goods tied to digital ownership. Last year, CryptoPunks, which is also owned by Yuga, joined forces with Tiffany & Co to create a limited-edition series of 250 gold, ruby, and diamond necklaces, each modelled in the likeness of purchasers’ unique CryptoPunk NFT avatars. The necklaces, which cost $51,000 each, sold out instantly, and Cryptopunk trading volume soared in the process.
In other news,
TL: DR
Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) has recently released a warning letter stating that several foreign cryptocurrency exchanges, including Bybit, MEXC Global, and Bitget, have been operating in the country without proper registration, violating Japan's fund settlement laws.
This regulatory action is part of Japan's ongoing efforts to crack down on unregistered crypto exchanges and promote a safer and more transparent industry. The FSA has introduced new regulations requiring crypto exchanges to register with the agency and obtain a licence to operate in Japan. It has also made it clear that unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges are facing greater regulatory scrutiny due to concerns about fraud, money laundering, and market manipulation.
Although Japan is working on new regulations for the crypto and Web3 sectors, it has not yet imposed strict regulations like other larger economies, such as the United States.
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