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India’s PM Modi pushes for collective action on cryptocurrency

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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the recently held World Economic Forum pushed for a ‘collective and synchronized global action’ in terms of regulating blockchain-backed digital currencies. Speaking through a video conference at the Davos Agenda 2022 event, Modi deemed cryptocurrency as a challenge to the changing global order and compared it with supply-chain disruption, inflation, and climate change.

“The way technology is related to it [cryptocurrency], any decision taken by a particular country will not be adequate to resolve the challenges it poses. We need to keep a uniform thought process on it.”

The latest call for a joint effort comes after the end of the Parliament’s winter session, where a cryptocurrency bill scheduled to be listed did not make it as expected.

In a brief recall, the Indian administration, as per sources, has been working on a regulatory framework for digital assets for quite some time. The bill titled “The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency” could not be introduced due to reasons unknown. As per the latest reports, the government is planning to have wider consultations on the matter and the PM will reportedly take the final decision on it.

The Reserve Bank of India [RBI], has maintained its stance on imposing a blanket ban. In its recent meeting of the central board of directors, RBI reiterated that a partial ban would not work. The Indian crypto industry is currently seeking clarity especially in the case of taxation in the Union Budget 2022-23. 

It needs to be mentioned that, at the beginning of the year, India’s Directorate General of GST Intelligence [DGCI] has raided the premises of several crypto exchanges operating in the country after detecting tax evasion by Binance owned exchange WazirX. Following which the trading platform blamed the ‘ambiguity in the interpretation of one of the GST components’ as the reason for the miscalculation in taxes paid.

So far in India’s crypto scene

That being said, many new developments have taken place ranging from launching its first-ever crypto index to the nation’s Bitcoin ETF.

India’s first crypto Index dubbed IC15 debuted on the super-app CryptoWire two weeks ago. Following suit after the US approved Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds [ETF], India to soon get ETFs for Bitcoin and Ethereum, as per reports. In fact, according to The Financial Express, Torus Kling Blockchain IFSC, has signed a memorandum of understanding [MoU] with India INX to roll out the country’s first cryptocurrency ETF.

Walmart foray into the metaverse realm but is it too late?

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Retail giant Walmart is the latest to jump into the bandwagon of mainstream entities that are increasingly making a beeline to the metaverse and NFT sector. According to CNBC, the US-based multinational firm is reportedly embarking onto the metaverse realm with plans to create its own cryptocurrency and collection of non-fungible tokens or NFTs.

As it turns out, the big-box retailer filed several new trademarks back in late 2021 that reflect its interest to create and sell digital goods, including a host of products ranging from electronics, home decorations, toys, sporting goods, and personal care products. In a separate filing, Walmart revealed that it would offer users digital currency, as well as NFTs.

As per data obtained from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Walmart filed the applications on December 30, 2021. Altogether, seven separate applications have been submitted. Without specifying any details on the patents filings, Walmart in a statement stated,

We are continuously exploring how emerging technologies may shape future shopping experiences. We are testing new ideas all the time. Some ideas become products or services that make it to customers. And some we test, iterate, and learn from.

Josh Gerben, a leading Washington-based trademark attorney believes that there’s a lot of planning going on behind the scenes about how Walmart addresses cryptocurrency, the metaverse, and the digital world in general. In addition to that, few businesses such as fashion powerhouses Burberry and Louis Vuitton, are too jumping into the NFT and gaming world to promote their brands.

Walmart’s entry – Better late than never

Walmart previously on September 2021 grabbed headlines after a press release announcing the partnership between the firm and Litecoin turned out to be fake. A month later, Walmart started a pilot program allowing shoppers to buy Bitcoin at Coinstar kiosks in its stores on October 21, last year. 

Few other retailers such as Starbucks, Newegg, Whole Foods, Nordstrom, Home Depot, and GameStop have opened up its door by accepting crypto payments. Apart from Walmart, major e-commerce marketplace Amazon is believed to launch its own crypto token in 2022 and is reportedly setting up a blockchain for the rumored launch. However, at the time of writing, there isn’t an official confirmation regarding the same.

NEAR raises $150M to spur Web3 adoption

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In an official blog post, on 13 January 2022, the U.S.-based decentralized application platform and Ethereum competitor, NEAR protocol has announced that it has raised a $150 million fortune directed by Three Arrows Capital. According to the blog post, the funds would be used at regional centers through which it will bolster people to learn about decentralized podiums.

The funds will be utilized to advocate millions of people to learn and use blockchain technology and to endorse Web3 technologies. This benefit of development on the NEAR decentralized blockchain could make it possible for users to network with new audiences.

The agreement has conclusively proved sections across Asia, Europe, Africa, and the team aim to broaden support in Latin America, India, and Turkey.

Marieke Flament, NEAR Foundation’s CEO, said,

“We are delighted to have such a fantastic list of backers supporting NEAR’s mission. We are looking forward to leveraging the funding to improve access to blockchain technology in an ever growing list of countries across the world.”

What is NEAR protocol?

NEAR protocol is a highly efficient blockchain constructed to be extremely fast. It is considered to be unbelievably safe and also eminently scalable. It was designed to run decentralized applications and works to compete with Ethereum and many other superior smart contract-facilitated blockchains such as EOS and Polkadot. Its prime token is also known as NEAR and is used to pay for commission and cache. These tokens can also be invested by token holders who take part in executing network consensus as transaction proofs.

The company is formated by an explicit group of techies and entrepreneurs to be easy to utilize, general, and environmentally friendly. The company is supported by leading venture capitalists like A16Z, Pantera Capital, Electrical Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Blockchain.com, and Baidu Ventures.

As decentralized applications have grown in fame, the crypto society is faced with an increasing scalability issue. Ethereum has been surfaced with scalability obstacles because of the increasing request for its purpose, and whilst a few endorse scaling issues to be resolved by building it on top of Ethereum (Layer-2-solutions), other businesses like NEAR are determined to build a completely fresh blockchain with distinct framework.

NFT investors scramble for paperwork as IRS keeps a close watch on defaulters

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The red-hot NFT market has ballooned to $44 billion valuations, now the Internal Revenue Service or IRS wants a piece of the pie. According to tax experts, the market which has attracted a host of celebrities faces multi-million dollars in taxes and rates as high as 37%. NFT enthusiasts might be up for a bitter surprise as the season for tax filing begins this month amidst revenue officials across the U.S. government preparing for a crackdown against tax evaders.

However, the rules surrounding taxing these digital tokens aren’t clearly defined, leaving NFT collectors confused with regards to calculating how much they owe. Investors of digital tokens may not even realize they need to pay any taxes at all or that they should file more than once a year, thereby increasing the likelihood of future penalties. San Francisco-based tax attorney James Creech noted that IRS has failed to provide guidance and has made it difficult for people to get to a reasonable conclusion.

NFTs gained massive attention as representations of digital art. In 2021, token sales exploded with NFTs such as CryptoPunk #3100 which consists of an alien sporting a headband selling for a staggering $7.7 million after an initial price of $2,000 in mid-2017. “Everyday: the First 5000 Days” from digital artist Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, sold for a whopping $69.3 million. 

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Michael Desmond, the former chief counsel at the IRS says that with so much money at stake, the IRS will likely be forced to clarify the rules, but it may begin auditing people first. According to sources, IRS investigators are gearing for a possible surge in cases this year.

No respite for NFT creators?

Meanwhile, NFT connoisseurs brace for heavy paperwork. “It’s an absolute nightmare,” exclaim Adam Hollander, an NFT investor, and creator of the “Hungry Wolves” collection, adding that he has spent 50 hours combining through months of transactions.

A few days ago, Tax software firm TaxBit partnered with crypto businesses like PayPal, Coinbase, FTX, etc in order to ‘make paying Bitcoin and NFT Taxes a whole lot easier.’ TaxBit announced a new network that will provide free, unlimited federal information returns needed for cryptocurrency and digital token investors for 2021 for transactions that were conducted on exchanges that belong to the TaxBit Network.

Crocs registers for NFT Trademark

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The footgear company, Crocs, chronicled a trademark application, on 11 January 2022, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The application is notable for ‘downloadable computer software for creating, managing, storing, accessing, sending, receiving, exchanging, validating and selling digital assets, digital collectibles, digital tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

These days, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) seem to be the most spoken about. Every firm, enterprise, even people are getting themselves into NFTs. The most recent addition to this family is the very famous yet often criticized shoe brand, Crocs. The company has filed a trademark application to make use of its name in the virtual space.

A technique of declaring ownership over an item of online content such as videos or pictures, NFTs have been amplifying in fame among both collectors and investors as famous personalities like Martha Stewart and Paris Hilton enter the arena. Some eminent Nfts, like the Bored Ape Yatch Club, could be sold for millions.

The need for Crocs to enter this space

With clothing brands like Nike, Adidas and Under Armour making progressive moves to expand their contribution of NFTs, Crocs did not see a reason as why it shouldn’t be doing the same to keep up with the pace of the fast growing cryptocurrency industry. whilst, Nike bought a company that designs NFTs, Under Armour recently launched one that look like the pair of sneakers worn by the NBA legend, Stephen Curry, in the record breaking match.

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Stephen Curry-Under Armour NFT in Metaverse 3

In light of these recent events, the trademark filing at the USPTO, Crocs requests the right to use the brand’s name on NFTs of ‘footwear, clothing, bags, accessories and charms for decorating the same’ and on the software needed to create, develop and sell them.

The filing is yet to be reviewed by an inquisitor and could easily be made to obtain rights for the future, its files as ‘intent-to-use’ could imply that the foot apparel brand is likely to start pumping out NFTs quite soon.

Cryptocurrency worth $400M sacked by N.Korean hackers

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It has been reported that North Korean hackers stole nearly $400 million worth of digital assets through a minimum of seven attacks on cryptocurrency networks in 2021.

The blockchain data platform, Chainalysis reported that it was one of the most prosperous years for cyber-gangsters in North Korea. As reported, these attacks were primitively aimed at investment firms and centralized exchanges. The closed East Asian state started to launder the funds in custody only to cover up the theft.

In the report, Chainalysis said,

“From 2020 to 2021, the number of North Korean-linked hacks jumped from four to seven, and the value extracted from these hacks grew by 40%.”

The techniques and tactics used by the hackers had led many security investigators to identify cyber gangs for North Korea as advanced persistent threats (APTs). Techniques such as phishing lures, code exploits, malware, and advanced social engineering were used to drain funds out of the investment firms’ and exchanges’ internet-connected ‘hot’ wallets into Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)-controlled addresses.

Rise of Lazarus Group linked to cryptocurrency crime

The Lazarus Group had first gained fame through its cyberattacks, in 2014, on Sony Pictures Entertainment. This hack was supposedly an act of revenge for ‘The Interview’, a satirical movie that mocked the leader Kim Jong Un.

Conforming to the report, since 2018, the Group has been involved in the theft and laundering of a huge amount of cryptocurrency every year, generally in an overflow of $200 million.

It is said that the hackers aim at an array of cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin (BTC), accounting for only one-fourth of the embezzled wealth.

A panel of the United Nations (UN) monitoring sanctions on North Korea has reportedly charged Pyongyang with using embezzled assets to support its nuclear and ballistic missile programs as an out to dodge international sanctions.

Furthermore, in February 2021, the US had charged three North Korean computer programmers with an extensive hacking rampage that had targeted to steal more than $1.3 billion in capital and cryptocurrency.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said that this cyberattack on cryptocurrency impacted firms from financial institutions to movie studios in Hollywood.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at $43,098.27 with a daily rise of 0.69%.

Shiba Inu reacts to CoinMarketCap issues

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CoinMarketCap listed three fake Shiba Inu contract addresses on their website in a quite recent update. The SHIB token team took to Twitter to announce that the three contract addresses listed on CoinMarketCap, namely Binance Smart Chain, Solana, and Terra, are all fake and that interaction with these contracts must be avoided if not the user will be at risk of irreversibly losing their funds.

The SHIB token defense team expressed their disappointment in their tweet. Supposedly, the CoinMarketCap team had refused to communicate with the SHIB team concerning the updates on the token page. Allegedly, CoinMarketCap had willingly allowed these malignant troupe to deface the ‘dogecoin killer’ token. The meme coin team explicitly showed displeasure over the lack of professionalism rendered by the crypto asset price tracking website.

Wormhole addresses for Shiba Inu

In response to the squabble, CoinMarketCap interpreted that the contract addresses are indeed wormhole addresses for the SHIB. They explained that these addresses were used to aid cross-chain transactions of wrapped versions of the altcoin.

At the moment, the reason for the listing of the alternative addresses is uncertain, but such delinquency is adversely harmful not only to the altcoin but the entire crypto society.

At the time of writing, the three wormhole addresses were still visible on CoinMarketCap, in the dropdown segment next to the SHIB token’s official ETH contract address.

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Shiba Inu reacts to CoinMarketCap issues 4

Despite the warnings given by the Shiba Inu team, there seems to be an array of transactions on each of these fake contract addresses’ chains. This indicates that quite a few investors have already sent money to these addresses, which is alarming.

In a lighter perspective, Shiba Inu has risen as the most viewed cryptocurrency of the previous year, 2021, according to CoinMarketCap. It has been enumerated by the cryptocurrency price-tracking website that there have been more than 188 million views, for the meme token, over the last 12 months. The more astonishing fact happens to be, Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest and most sought-after cryptocurrency had only 145 million views at the same time, which makes it the second most viewed crypto asset.

Shiba Inu remains to be eminently frivolous despite its rising idolization among holders. At the time of writing, Shiba Inu was priced at $0.00003142 with a daily drop of 1.79%.

Tesla Takes DOGE Payments Mainstream as Musk Builds Hype

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It is now official that Tesla accepts Dogecoin (DOGE) payments for some of its merchandise. Not very long ago did Elon Musk tweet about his company accepting the famous meme coin, after which things were kept very low-key. Now, the cat is out of the bag.

Earlier this week Twitter user had confirmed the payment mode, among other modes of payment, on his Twitter handle. Although there was a huge tide of speculation, the token’s followers awaited an official confirmation from the company itself. Today, Elon Musk and Billy Markus, the founder of Dogecoin (DOGE) took to Twitter to announce that the American-based company is now accepting the meme token as payments. Musk’s tweet read,

“Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin”

Tesla’s Electric cars not in exchange for Dogecoin

There was a bunch of merchandise listed in exchange for DOGE, but the electric cars weren’t one of them. Nonetheless, people were allowed to purchase Cyberquad bikes for kids, Giga Texas Belt Buckle, and Cyberwhistles with the altcoin.

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Tesla Takes DOGE Payments Mainstream as Musk Builds Hype 7
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Tesla Takes DOGE Payments Mainstream as Musk Builds Hype 8

The company put out a support page exclusively for Dogecoin inquiries. The page guides buyers on how to purchase with the altcoin. The Dogecoin network will be charging network fees every time a payment is made using the token.

The company has ensured to bring to the notice of the purchasers that any merchandise bought with DOGE as payment cannot be canceled once the order is placed. There is also a strict no-return policy in place when a product is bought using Dogecoin. To sum it up, the company has presented a draconian policy regarding all purchases through the altcoin and called it a ‘final sale’ with no return, no cancellation, and no exchange of products.

Furthermore, it has been made very clear that Tesla only accepts Dogecoin. The company asserts that it cannot receive or detect any other cryptocurrency. A disclaimer regarding the use of any other form of digital asset has been clarified on the support page.

With this news like a gust of wind, Dogecoin (DOGE) price seems to be soaring high. At the time of writing, Dogecoin (DOGE) was priced at $0.1965 with a an escalation of 13.26% over the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin ETF, a first in India

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The launch of India’s first Bitcoin and Ethereum Futures ETF and Metaverse US-listed Large-cap Discount Certificates by Torus Kling Blockchain IFSC, a 50:50 joint venture between Sam Ghosh endorsed Cosmea Financial Holdings (CFH) and Kling Trading India, signed an MOU with India INX has been the hot topic of the hour in the nation, as reported by local media.

These Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) Futures will be barraged under a Sandbox design of IFSCA. This will be the fircrypto-supportedted futures ETF outside of the US and the first Asian Discount certificates trailing Metaverse Large Cap stocks in US and Europe markets.

Torus Kling Blockchain will be at the financial end providing liquidity to India INX by catering to the all-time necessity of deep liquidity with smart order routing. The Torus global distribution team and its partners are accountable for the distribution of the products, according to reports.

Mr. V.Balasubramaniam, the Managing Director and CEO of India INX, said,

“India INX at GIFT IFSC is looking at exploring the launch of Digital Asset based products and has already made an application to IFSCA under Regulatory Sandbox. This is a part of our product innovation initiative to benchmark offerings with other internatiofinancialance centers. We will be launching products in these new-age assets in compliance with the prevailing laws after receiving all required post regulatory approvals”

Bitcoin ETF’s big struggle in the U.S

There have been big battles that were faced to launch the first Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. The reason was that Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency in the world, seemed to be unregulated. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was hesitant to allow an ETF focused on the then-new and broadly unproven cryptocurrency market to make its way into the community.

After 8 long years of struggle, the first application for a Bitcoin ETF trade, at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), was filed in the U.S. The first Bitcoin ETF in the United States began trading on 19 October 2021.

Now, India escalated its game by permitting the launch of not only Bitcoin ETF but also Ethereum futures ETF. This being a first, crypto enthusiasts look forward to more ETFs being launched.

Digital assets information sought out by Congress’s Agriculture Committees

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The U.S Congress sent out a letter, on 12 January 2022, to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) requesting more information on digital assets marketplaces. The letter was addressed to Rostin Behnam, chairman of CFTC.

Currently, the agriculture committees are asking Behnam to report on the growth of the crypto industry and to specify how privileged the CFTC is to step up when that rise puts the consumers in jeopardy. The letter in detail talks about CFTC’s rapport with crypto, along with its supposition of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether being commodities. It also reprises that the CFTC is authorized to enforce actions against digital asset forum though the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).

The letter asserts that the CFTC has been active in prosecuting persons and entities engaging in misconduct in digital asset markets under its jurisdiction and that the Commission had also issued interpretive guidance on retail transactions in certain digital assets and educated the public on the technology underlying this marketplace and its attendant risks.

It has been highlighted that the consumers reported losing nearly $82 million to cryptocurrency scams between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, more than 10 times the amount from the same six-month period a year earlier.

Considering the hike of digital assets that are being traded on decentralized financial (DeFi) protocols, the committees have expressed concern over the DeFi protocols offering derivatives contracts on unregistered exchanges which is the subject of the recent CFTC enforcement action.

8 specific explanations to 8 questions on digital assets

Congress wants to understand the benefits and risks better to identify the CFTC’s role. To understand the scope and size of the digital asset markets, the benefits and risks presented by these emerging technologies, and the role of the Commission with respect to these markets, the Congress has laid down a set of 8 questions for the CFTC to answer.

The questions ask the CFTC to estimate the measurement of the digital asset house on the whole and its U.S members, also to analyze and differentiate it to the conventional finance house. Information on any collaboration the company has with digital asset stakeholders and different businesses working to manage the trade and questions whether or not the Commission’s present authorities are sufficient to guard shoppers in the digital asset house was also requested.