Welcome to Around the Blockchain, Huobi Learn’s daily rundown of the crypto markets.
Opensea co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer has denied rumors that hackers had stolen $200 million in a breach of the NFT marketplace’s codebase. He said an investigation had shown it was a “phishing attack” not linked to Opensea’s website. Finzer admitted, however, that NFTs had been stolen from some users who had “signed a malicious payload from an attacker”. While some remained unconvinced, Finzer went on to claim the attackers had returned some of the NFTs, and that Opensea was unaware of any recent phishing emails sent to users. He also said Opensea was now “working with users whose items were stolen to narrow down a set of common websites they interacted with that might have been responsible for the malicious signatures”.
Leaked data shows that Credit Suisse had until recently held accounts worth over $100 billion for sanctioned individuals and heads of state accused of money laundering. The data leak included more than 18,000 bank accounts open from the 1940s to the 2010s, and account holders like Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Venezuela’s former vice minister of energy, Nervis Villalobos. The irony was apparent to the crypto community, which had been accused of facilitating criminal activity for years. Banteg, lead developer at DeFi yield farming platform Yearn Finance, tweeted that Credit Suisse had “happily hosted human traffickers, murderers, and corrupt officials”. The bank has denied wrongdoing, but Switzerland’s bank secrecy laws and the Credit Suisse’s centralized clandestine operations still contrast starkly with transparent blockchain technology, which makes it easier to monitor anyone trying to evade economic sanctions in real time.
Former Cisco employee Sean O’Brien has launched BuyTheBroncos, a DAO aiming to give fans a chance to own a piece of NFL team the Denver Broncos, regardless of their level of wealth. If successful, the Broncos would, along with the Green Bay Packers, be among fan-owned NFL teams. However, fans who want to own a stake of the Broncos via the DAO can contribute as much or as little as they want, unlike the $300 per share for the Packers. DAO members who contribute ETH to buy the team will be issued an NFT that will also serve as a ‘membership card’ that gives them “access to the cooperative”. However, it is still not known if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will allow a DAO to own and operate a team.
Crypto lender Nexo has announced that US citizens will no longer be allowed to earn interest on new savings wallet top-ups, though US customers will continue to earn interest on their current savings wallet balances held before the announcement. This comes after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined crypto lending platform Blockfi $100 million last week for not registering its retail crypto lending product. A Nexo representative said its non-US clients were “not subject to the SEC’s guidance and remain unaffected”.
The Indian crypto industry is confused by the country’s latest government announcements regarding crypto, made by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman while introducing India’s budget for the coming year. The government will levy a 30% tax on income generated by crypto transactions and another 1% tax at source on all transactions, as well as introduce a digital rupee within the financial year. The confusion stems from how crypto is to be taxed when it is still not legal in India, something for which the government has yet to provide any explanation. During the media briefing after the budget presentation, Sitharaman said that while she was “collecting inputs on regulation for crypto”, she would not “wait till regulation comes in for taxing people who are making profits”.
Show me the money
According to data from Huobi Global, both BTC and ETH rose in the morning before falling slightly the afternoon, with daily charts showing a short-term downward pressure for both. Contracts-wise, Huobi Futures data shows unchained open interest (OI) in both BTC and ETH futures, with a drop in contract trading volume amid a relatively inactive contract market.
New to Huobi? Register for a Huobi account and receive up to $300 as a ‘Welcome Bonus’ to help you start your investment journey! If you’re an existing user, check out Huobi Earn, where you can start earning interest from your idle cryptocurrencies!
