Crypto Weekly Roundup: BlackRock Launches Bit…

The week has been momentous as Ethereum finally completed its final testnet before going live with the PoS system on its mainnet. The developer team has also set a soft launch date for the mainnet merge. Therefore we might be getting the upgrade sooner than expected. Let’s dig deeper. 

Bitcoin

The investment management company, BlackRock, has launched a private trust, which will be its first product offering direct Bitcoin exposure. 

President Nayib Bukele has been gushing about the positive effects of El Salvador’s Bitcoin policies on its tourism industry. 

Ethereum

Ethereum has completed the final scheduled test before The Merge, moving it closer to adopting the Proof-of-Stake model.

Ethereum developers have agreed to a tentative date for the mainnet merge, which could be sooner than expected.

DeFi

Curve Finance reported that an exploit on the site’s nameserver and front end resulted in a loss of over $573,000.

The co-founder of MakerDAO has expressed that he plans to sell $3.5 billion worth of USDC for ETH, which puts the DAI token at the risk of losing its dollar peg. 

Altcoins

Crypto solutions company Ripple has just published a new report on crypto trends in business, highlighting the blockchain-driven Internet of Value.

Technology

According to a report, up to a third of stolen crypto funds (over $50 million) are being used to fund the North Korean missile program. 

Days after the U.S. government announced sanctions against crypto mixing platform Tornado Cash, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin defended the platform’s use case for legitimate contexts.

Business

The parent company behind the Ripple network has expressed interest in purchasing assets belonging to the bankrupt Celsius Network. 

Reddit has partnered with FTX to enhance the user experience on the Community Points project for over 400 million monthly active users. 

Hodlnaut has become the latest crypto lending platform to halt withdrawals, token swaps, and deposits, citing difficult market conditions.

Regulation

Newsletter and email marketing firm Mailchimp has suspended the accounts of several crypto platforms this week.

An anonymous user has been sending small amounts of Ethereum via Tornado Cash to hundreds of public wallets in the U.S., including popular celebrities. 

Crypto.com has secured access to the South Korean crypto market after acquiring two local companies providing it with EFTA and VASP registration in the country.

NFT

After welcoming USDT into its fold, the blazing fast, energy-friendly Tezos blockchain network is enjoying rapid traction in both the NFT and the DeFi spaces. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.