business
Coinone will stop withdrawals to unverified external wallets
South Korean crypto exchange Coinone has announced it plans to no longer allow withdrawals of tokens to unverified external wallets starting in January. In a Wednesday announcement, Coinone said users would have from Dec. 30 to Jan. 23 to register their external wallets at the exchange, after which time it would restrict withdrawals. The exchange specified that crypto users could only register their own wallets, and the verification process “may take some time” and could change in the future. According to Coinone, it planned to verify users’ names and resident registration numbers — issued to all residents of South Korea — to ensure crypto transactions were “not used for illegal activities such as money laundering.” Customers at the exchange likely won’t be able to withdraw funds to wallet...
Robinhood plans to launch beta crypto wallets in January as HOOD drops to $17
Cryptocurrency and stock trading app Robinhood plans to roll out the beta version of its digital wallet feature starting in January 2022. In a Wednesday blog post, Robinhood said tens of thousands of users currently on the waitlist for the trading app’s crypto wallet would have access to the beta version starting in mid-January. The trading app said more than 1.6 million people were waiting for the wallet, which will support depositing and withdrawing Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE) and other tokens. The trading app has been testing its digital wallet feature since it was first announced in September, completing its first alpha transfer — using DOGE — on Nov. 22. According to Robinhood chief operating officer Christine Brown, the beta rollout would be focused on the secur...
FTX exchange floats $1M prize for banks to accept stablecoins
Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX is calling on banks to reach out and discuss the possibility of accepting stablecoins in exchange for a $1 million reward. In a Tuesday Twitter post, FTX said it was exploring forming relationships with banks in different regions to allow users to have “near-instant and near-free deposits and withdrawals” through stablecoins. The exchange floated the idea of offering a $1 million prize for the first bank in each region to accept the tokens but hinted it would be open to giving more. How much would it cost to convince a bank to accept stablecoins? If we offered a $1m prize for the first bank in each region that does it is that enough? Do you work for a bank and want to discuss this? — FTX – Built By Traders, For Traders (@FTX_Official) December ...
Getting paid in BTC was a ‘big part’ of the reason this MMA fighter signed with Eagle FC
Kevin Lee, a professional mixed martial arts fighter, has said a major factor in his decision to sign with a new promotion company was Bitcoin (BTC). According to a report from MMA news outlet BJ Penn, the Russia-based Eagle Fighting Championship will be paying Lee in BTC as part of a four-fight contract. The fighter has reportedly been a HODLer since before the 2017 bull run, later using some of the profits to live off of after paying for knee surgeries. “To be paid in Bitcoin and not give me any pushback on it whatsoever, was huge in the decision [to sign with Eagle FC],” said Lee. “It gives me a lot more financial security and will help me fight better, too.” Уважение орёл #EagleFC pic.twitter.com/tgmCQyYK2R — Kevin MTP Lee (@MoTownPhenom) December 15, 2021 Payments concerning the ...
Some Salvadorans claim funds are missing from their Chivo wallets
Some of the money from El Salvador’s state-issued Chivo wallets is reportedly missing, according to many Salvadorans posting on social media. In a Dec. 16 Twitter thread started by user “the commissioner,” at least 50 Salvadorans have reported December losses totaling more than $96,000, following the setup of the Bitcoin (BTC) wallets by the government. Some of these transactions were for as little as $61, but others said they were missing thousands or more. 2- $3,921 pic.twitter.com/fvP8aLHQyP — El Comisionado (@_elcomisionado_) December 18, 2021 “There is a security flow on the wallet where money and transactions disappeared,” said Luis Guardado in a direct appeal to President Nayib Bukele. “No tech support and only useless calls, where is my money.” Bukele said in October that 3 million...
Argo Blockchain among most traded stocks by Fidelity customers
Financial services company Fidelity Investments’ U.K. arm reported that over the last 12 months, customers were most interested in trading shares of crypto mining firm Argo Blockchain. In a Thursday report, Fidelity said Argo Blockchain ranked third among the top five stocks most actively traded by its customers in 2021 — the others were Rolls-Royce, British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines, oil giant BP and Lloyds Banking Group. Argo, which Fidelity described as a “trending” stock, also ranked third among stocks traded by Self-Invested Personal Pension, or SIPP, investors. However, the financial services company hinted that Argo may not make the top five next year. According to Fidelity, “new arrivals” knocked the mining firm off the list of most actively traded sto...
Weverse Fandom Report 2021: BTS, BLACKPINK Dominate as Subscriber Count Passes 36M
On Thursday (Dec. 23), HYBE’s global fan community platform Weverse revealed its second annual 2021 “Weverse Fandom Trend,” which breaks down the year’s most popular topics, hashtags, keywords and posts among Weverse fandoms worldwide. The growth in Weverse subscribers was substantial this year, surpassing 36 million from 238 countries. That’s up a whopping 16.8 million from 2020, though that number does include duplicate subscribers, according to a press release announcing the 2021 report. The total number of posts on Weverse in 2021 approximately doubled from the number of posts last year, exceeding 240 million as of Dec. 14, while the total number of comments reached 460 million. The total number of moments, posts and comments written by artists themselves reached 120,000. Explore See l...
Bakkt president Adam White announces departure from digital asset platform
Adam White, the president and founding executive of digital assets company Bakkt, is leaving the firm after three years. In a Thursday post on Twitter, White said next week would mark his departure from Bakkt, where he has served as both chief operating officer and president. White joined Bakkt after leaving Coinbase in 2018, where he worked as a vice president and general manager. The Bakkt president did not reveal what his next move would be, or whether he would continue to work in the crypto space. “I’ve loved working at intersection of crypto + markets and good to see the industry finding the balance between innovation & regulation,” said White. “Lots of work still to do here but never been more optimistic about the future.” After a great 3+ years at bakkt, next week will be my las...
Nirvana Fires Back In ‘Nevermind’ Naked Baby Lawsuit, Says Case Was Filed Too Late
Nirvana is firing back at a recent lawsuit that claims the band violated child pornography laws with the iconic image of a nude baby on the cover of Nevermind, blasting the case as “not serious” and saying it was filed years too late. The lawsuit made headlines in August when it was filed by Spencer Elden, the now-30-year-old man who appeared in the image as a baby. He claims that the 1991 album cover — one of the most famous in rock and roll history — amounted to “commercial sexual exploitation” of a minor. In the band’s first formal response to the lawsuit, Nirvana said Wednesday that Elden’s case has a fatal-flaw: It was filed years after the statute of limitations had run out, by a man who had long embraced the image. “Elden has spent three decades profiting from his celebrity as the s...
NFT-collateralized loan platform Arcade raises $15M in funding round
Arcade, a platform that allows users to utilize nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as loan collateral, has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round with participation from Pantera Capital. In a Wednesday announcement, Arcade said Pantera, Castle Island Ventures, Franklin Templeton Blockchain Fund, Golden Tree Asset Management, Eniac Ventures, Protofund, Probably Nothing Capital and Lemniscap in addition to angel investors BlockFi CEO Zac Prince and Quantstamp CEO Richard Ma were behind the investment in an effort to connect NFT-collateralized lending with the decentralized finance space. The platform is also coming out of a private release with $3.3 million in total loan volume secured on a total of $10 million in assets. Arcade co-founder Gabe Frank said NFTs account for a significant portio...
Eric Clapton ‘Does Not Intend’ to Collect Money from German Widow in Bootleg CD Case
A German woman has been ordered to pay nearly $4,000 for attempting to sell a bootleg Eric Clapton CD on eBay, according to a report on the German website DW. But after facing widespread condemnation online, Clapton’s management team now says the musician won’t be pursuing what he’s owed. The 55-year-old woman, identified in court documents as Gabriele P., claims she inherited the bootleg CD Eric Clapton – Live USA from the estate of her late husband, who purchased it at a department store in 1987. But after listing it for sale on eBay for €9.95 ($11.27), lawyers for Clapton issued an affidavit in Düsseldorf regional court stating the CD was illegal. The court eventually issued an injunction barring the woman from selling the CD online and ordering her to pay €3,400 ($3,852) in legal fees ...
5 Seconds of Summer Hit with $2.5M Breach of Contract Suit by Former Management Firm
5 Seconds of Summer’s former management company, YM&U Group, is suing the Australian pop-rock band for breach of contract, according to court documents reviewed by Billboard. Filed in California Superior Court on Dec. 17 by YM&U attorneys Howard King and Stephen Rothschild of King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, the complaint alleges that 5SOS – with the encouragement of their current manager, Benjamin Evans – has refused to pay YM&U commissions the firm is owed for multiple lucrative deals it negotiated on behalf of the group, including a $10 million single-album recording contract with BMG and a $1.5 million merchandising extension with Bravado International Group. Evans is named as a defendant in the lawsuit alongside 5 Seconds of Summer members Luke Hemmings, Calum Hood, As...
