Buffett Ditches Visa for a Bitcoin-Friendly Bank, the FBI Launches a Crypto Crime Enforcement Unit, and a Rare Cryptopunk NFT Was Sold for How Much? These stories and more this week in crypto.
Bitcoin critic Warren Buffett sold shares of Visa and Mastercard to buy shares of a Bitcoin-friendly Brazilian bank. A securities filing revealed Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought $1 billion worth of Nubank stock. Nubank focuses on innovative financial services and enables its customers to invest in bitcoin.
The FBI is forming a new specialized team dedicated to fighting the growing cryptocurrency crimes. The division called the Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit (VAXU) will include crypto security experts who will perform blockchain analysis to track and seize digital funds associated with illicit activities. It will also innovate its own cryptographic tools to guard against future cyber threats.
Ukraine passed a Virtual Assets Law that recognizes crypto as a legal asset and establishes an official regulator to oversee the activity. Foreign and Ukrainian crypto companies will be able to operate legally, while Ukrainians will have convenient and secure access to the global virtual asset market.
Twitter is now allowing users to tip each other in Ethereum using select third-party payment providers after enabling Bitcoin tipping last September. Twitter’s “Tips” service allows users to send payments, including cryptocurrency, to accounts they benefit from through Twitter’s mobile application. Twitter is also now supporting new international fintech providers and expanding tipping to other countries.
The Federal Reserve has approved rules prohibiting senior officials from buying and holding cryptocurrencies and other investments. Trading in assets will only be permitted with prior approval and agreement to hold the investment for at least one year. The rule change was intended to bolster public confidence in impartiality and integrity after a series of scandals.
Sequoia Capital, one of the oldest and most successful venture capital firms in the world, is launching its first-ever industry-specific crypto fund. The Sequoia Crypto Fund, which will be worth between $500 million and $600 million, will invest primarily in what it calls “liquid tokens” — tokens that are already listed on crypto exchanges and some that are not yet.
Payment processing giant Mastercard plans to expand its advisory services with new practices focused on open banking, open data, crypto and digital currencies. Mastercard is expected to onboard more than 500 professionals in 2022 as part of its expansion plans to help financial institutions navigate cryptocurrency adoption through its advisory efforts.
The New York Stock Exchange has filed a trademark application to register the term “NYSE” for a non-fungible token (NFT) market. However, a NYSE spokesperson said it has no immediate plans to launch cryptocurrency or NFT trading, the company is simply considering new products and their impact on their businesses on a regular basis. brands.
A CryptoPunk NFT sold for nearly $24 million, doubling the collection’s previous record. The legendary status of CryptoPunks is partly due to their age as they predate the modern NFT craze, having been minted on the Ethereum blockchain in 2017. The Cryptopunk that sold out last weekend is the most rare – an alien. There are only nine aliens in the collection of 10,000.
Send and receive crypto without memorizing complex addresses, as easy as sending emails with a simple and memorable username from Unstoppable Domains, our sponsor of the week. Use NFT domains as a payment URL or address as part of your digital identity. Get yours now with no renewal or claim fees with the link below.
That’s what happened this week in crypto, see you next week.
