Trait Sniper Weekly News 8 (18.07 - 24.07.2022)
Since the bear market began, the NFT market has been quiet in recent weeks. We are still waiting for a breakthrough name. In the meantime, Tesla sold 75% of its bitcoin, which surprised many supporters. Legal issues regarding blockchain are still being pushed forward in blockchain corporations and countries. Trait Sniper will give you a quick summary below.
Blockchain Market
Ex-Coinbase Manager Has Been Charged With Crypto Insider Trading
Former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi, his brother Nikhil Wahi, and Ishan's friend Sameer Ramani have been charged with two offenses involving crypto insider trading based on secret Coinbase information: wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud.
From June 2021 to April 2022, Ishan is accused to have given insider information to his brother and a friend before Coinbase announced the public listing. Nikhil Wahi and Sameer Ramani reportedly acquired at least 25 distinct crypto assets at least 14 separate times. The scheme allegedly made the three approximately US$1.5 million in realized and unrealized gains. All participants face a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s CEO, shared Twitter to address the charges, saying, “In April, we received information about possible frontrunning of assets shortly before being listed on Coinbase. We immediately launched an investigation into this. As a result of our investigation, we identified 3 suspects and provided this information to law enforcement. One person was a Coinbase employee who we terminated. Today, the DOJ has criminally charged this former employee and the two other individuals for this abusive conduct.” Armstrong also emphasized that it was a “reminder for everyone in crypto, and at Coinbase, that front-running is illegal and erodes trust.”
Tesla Sold 75% Of Its Bitcoin As Profits Slump Due To Production Challenges
"The reason we sold a bunch of our bitcoin holdings is we were uncertain as to when the COVID lockdowns in China would alleviate, so it was important for us to maximize our cash position given the uncertainty," Musk said. "We are certainly open to increasing our bitcoin holdings in the future, so this should not be taken as some verdict of bitcoin."
Tesla's second quarter of 2022 ended on an uncertain note, as it announced a decline in earnings due to its inability to satisfy demand due to the closure of its Shanghai facility and manufacturing challenges at new plants. The corporation reported a $2.26 billion net profit for the second quarter on Wednesday, a decrease of 32 percent from the first quarter's record levels.
Elon Musk's selling has hurt the crypto sentiments since the technocrat has been a fervent supporter of digital assets. And we cannot deny that he has always favored Dogecoin above Bitcoin since he said he still holds Dogecoin.
Dubai Introduces Virtual Assets Laws Concerning NFTs and Crypto
This year, the Virtual Asset Law is part of Law No. 4 issued by Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Accordingly, the UAE aims to use the new law to expand its presence in the Metaverse. Of course, the significant step also means Dubai welcomes crypto-related businesses to its ultra-modern physical land.
Another part of the process is the autonomous public organization VARA. VARA supports, regulates, and promotes any digital asset or crypto-related business endeavor. This organization works with the Dubai World Trade Center Authority and the UAE Central Bank and Securities Authority.
For instance, Dubai residents will need to get a VARA permit for the following operations:
Exchanging cryptocurrencies and other digital assets
Digital wallet services
Trading tokens stored on the blockchain
NFT/crypto platform operations
Digital asset custody services
The Virtual Asset Law is currently valid in all free zones of Dubai. Citizens can find the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority in The Sandbox too.
NFT Market
NFTrees Could Help Africa Combat Land Degradation
The Great NFTrees project will enable users to acquire tree NFTs linked to geo-tagged locations of real trees planted in Africa's Great Green Wall. The Great Green Wall is the world's biggest carbon capture project, seeking to plant one trillion trees over an 8,000-kilometer length of land in Africa.
“We see the great Green Wall as an economic opportunity for the people of the Sahel and the world,” Kwende explained in an email exchange with NFT. “Our objective is to partner with Kaloscope to widen the investor base for the initiative. NFTs represent a new frontier in fintech and an infinite growth path for investments in the Great Green Wall. Kaloscope has proven leadership in the NFT ecosystem with a strong focus on doing good and doing well.”
The Kaloscope app, where users will be able to display their metaverse spaces and purchases, will use what Allen calls “perkabilities,” a portmanteau of “perks” and “utilities.” The aim is to provide perks for these digital goods. The platform may provide collectors access to unique events, one-on-one interaction with William, or a variety of other ideas on the platform.
The Great Green Wall will receive 90% of revenues from The Great NFTrees, which will be minted on the Polygon blockchain and take place later this year on a website. The remaining 10% will be used to fund administrative expenses. Kaleidoscope plans to allow collectors to acquire NFTs using multiple cryptocurrencies.
KIA America Launches NFTs with QR Code Project
KIA America is launching NFTs as a part of the advertising and marketing campaign for its model year 2023 KIA Soul. The 30-second spot options NFTs as expertise and incorporates a singular QR code embedded into the art.
On the whole, there are 10,100 KIA America-themed NFTs, powered by the Candy NFT platform. Viewers who watch the advert merely have to scan the QR code with their smartphone to acquire one of these NFTs. The advertising and marketing campaign, titled “Constructed for Whoever You Are," features a 30-second spot that options NFT characters. It follows three of the preferred DASK NFT characters as they hop into a brand new 2023 Kia Soul.
Russel Wagner, KIA America’s Vice President of Advertising and Marketing, commented: “The Soul is as individualistic as the NFTs are. As a model, Kia is at all times innovating to remain on the slicing fringe of the place the market is headed.”
Final Thoughts
The news that Tesla sold 75% of its bitcoin was surprising, but still, it did not significantly affect the market price. In addition to legal actions to reduce damaging activities and educate citizens about trade, there are projects that are helpful to the environment and go beyond in many fields. This illustrates the potential long-term sustainability of NFT and blockchain technologies.