Bitfinity Weekly: Uptober Optimism
Welcome to Issue #77 of Bitfinity Weekly for our #BITFINIANS community. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, sign up here.
What's in Today's Email?
- Global Crypto News
- This Week in our Blog
- NFT Market Bytes
- Tweet of the Week
- Meme Time
- A Matter of Opinion
Global Crypto News
🥴 Just Kidding: Midst intense public speculation of BlackRock's ETF approval being imminent, an eagle-eyed reporter noticed that the ticker for BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBTC) was listed by the DTCC, a major American clearing house, on their website for one day before being removed from the list, then relisted the next day. The appearance, disappearance, then reappearance of the ticker led to Bitcoin price fluctuations early in the week.
😮💨 Past the Stumbling Block: BlockFi, a crypto lender and exchange platform that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last November, announced their emergence from bankruptcy this Tuesday. Emergence is a financial term that means BlockFi has successfully reorganized its balance sheet in order to repay its creditors. However it remains doubtful that all former customers will be made whole, due to the company's financial entanglement with now-bankrupt partners such as FTX and 3AC.
🙄 Please Bargaining: The FTX trial continues, this week with Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) finally taking the stand for testimony. SBF claimed in court that he did not defraud anyone or steal customer balances, though he admitted to "significant oversights" and that Alameda "borrowed" customer funds. SBF also claimed that he knew nothing about crypto when FTX was founded, and that his exit plan was to sell the exchange to rival Binance from the beginning.
🦑 Krabs in a Bucket: Kraken, one of the oldest crypto exchanges in operation, will be sharing their user data with the IRS, in compliance with a court order issued in June. Specifically, information and data regarding crypto transactions above $20,000, made by customers in the years 2016-2020, will be handed over to the IRS in early November. Affected Kraken users were notified by email. Over 42,000 accounts are expected to be affected.
This Week in our Blog
Crypto scams are on the rise and getting more sophisticated than ever. Learn how to protect your hard-earned assets, the best practices for both loss prevention and response to scams, including how and where to file a report with the authorities.
Hans
AI and blockchain aren't simple internet trends, they are revolutionary technologies poised to transform human society as a whole. The two are currently at the forefront of computer science and innovation, so it only makes sense that their intersection is inevitable:
Hans
NFT Market Bytes
☀️ Rising in the East: The Chinese government appears to be easing its stance on NFTs. Xianyu, which is a peer-to-peer marketplace owned by major Chinese conglomerate Alibaba, lifted their censorship of NFT-related keywords in its search bar and relisted an NFT collection minted on the Alibaba Ant blockchain. NFTs were officially banned in 2021. No official word has been released yet.
💀 Ryder Die: Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, the duo behind BAYC-inspired NFT collection "Ryder Ripps Bored Ape Yacht Club", was ordered this Wednesday by a U.S. district judge to pay Yuga Labs $1.5M for trademark infringement. Although the defendants argued that their collection satirized BAYC, and thus cannot be considered as trademark infringement, the court concluded that Ripps and Cahen "acted with bad faith intent to profit".
🔢 Counting Down: Luxury fashion house Maison Margiela, best known for avant-garde designs, unveiled a gamified NFT minting process this Tuesday. The project centers on "merging Maison Margiela's numeric coding iconography with blockchain tech". While Margiela, like many other mainstream businesses, prefers the term 'digital collectible' over NFT, they were clear about this move being a foray into Web3, not shying away from using NFT terms like "minting".
Tweet of the Week
📢 📢 We're live! ⤵️ https://t.co/nQZRP2uvHb
— Bitfinity Network (@bitfinitynet) October 26, 2023
Missed our Space with DFINITY? No fear, the recording is here! ☝️
Meme Time
A Matter of Opinion
There's certainly a lot to be excited about. With Bitcoin holding steady at above $33k for the majority of this week, NFT volume on the rise, and a batch of crypto ETFs expected to receive SEC approval... To borrow an often-memed phrase, it indeed feels like "we're so back" to the bustle and enthusiasm of an early bull run. However, regardless of price action, market sentiment, or regulatory decisions, the fact remains that crypto is more than a vehicle for making money.
We've written frequently on this blog about the democratization of the financial system, helping the unbanked to take control of their lives, and other loftier goals in regards to blockchain technology. It is not marketing lip service from us, nor is it the case for many others in Web3, who are building earnestly and diligently to bring about fairer systems for all people.
Intrepid, a member of the MFers NFT community and adventure photographer, went viral this Friday with a personal story about how crypto quite literally saved his life. Intrepid and his young family, breastfeeding infant in tow, spent two years adrift on a fiberglass boat following the 2020 pandemic, unable to return home due to Australia's strict quarantine rules and travel bans.
Unable to dock anywhere, Intrepid was essentially cut off from the banking system when small issues began to arise and his banks asked him to verify his ID in person. Despite bank employees understanding the absurdity of his situation, the fact remains that our current system simply does not accommodate people in need. If it weren't for crypto and the freedom to transact, it's unclear how Intrepid's family could have survived for two years at sea.
DeFi is needed in a very real way, in very human ways, whether you're stranded at sea or simply trying to send money to family overseas. Yes, charts going up is fun to watch, but we should never forget why we're really here--to create a better, fairer, kinder world.
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*Important Disclaimer: While every effort is made on this website to provide accurate information, any opinions expressed or information disseminated do not necessarily reflect the views of Bitfinity itself. The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice.
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