Axie Infinity game launched on the App Store in Latin America and Asia
Sky Mavis is launching its Axie Infinity: Origins card game on the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store, expanding its availability in key markets where it is popular. The AXS token (COIN:AXSUSD) reacted, up 6.73% over the last 24 hours to $7.29. The strategic card-based game will initially be available in Latin America and Asia. Additionally, the company is launching Mavis Market, an NFT marketplace powered by the Ronin blockchain. Following a security overhaul following a hack last year, Axie Infinity has also partnered with game development studios to expand its universe. “Sky Mavis remains committed to our vision of a digital player-owned nation and is excited to work with app stores to open up our ecosystem to a new generation of Lunacians,” said Trung Nguyen, CEO of Sky Mavis.
Ripple acquires Swiss startup Metaco
Ripple has acquired Swiss startup Metaco, expanding its global footprint and services. The purchase comes amid Ripple’s legal dispute with the SEC. Ripple (COIN:XRPUSD) CEO Brad Garlinghouse invested $250 million in the deal, highlighting the importance of the deal at a challenging time for the crypto industry. Garlinghouse sees the acquisition as a sign of resilience and a boost for the industry. Metaco offers secure digital asset custody services to financial institutions. The legal battle between Ripple and the SEC is expected to be resolved in the coming months.
Tether announces regular Bitcoin purchases to strengthen reserves
Tether (COIN:USDTUSD) plans to buy Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) regularly to shore up its excess reserves, utilizing up to 15% of its net operating profits. The company already owns approximately $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and plans to increase its reserves based on realized profits. However, critics question the transparency of the US dollar reserves backing USDT, raising concerns about the company’s dubious claims. “Bitcoin has continually proven its resilience and emerged as a long-term store of value with substantial growth potential”, said Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether. “Its limited supply, decentralized nature and wide adoption have positioned Bitcoin as a preferred choice among institutional and retail investors.”
WazirX claims Binance retains control over WRX token
Indian crypto exchange WazirX stated that Binance conducted the initial exchange offering (IEO) for its WRX token and retains control over the supply of tokens. The WazirX team clarified that Binance has withheld all IEO funds, worth around $2 million. The dispute between Binance and WazirX over the ownership structure remains ongoing. In a May 16 statement, the WazirX team clarified, “It is important to note that the WazirX team has not received any token allocations.” Currently, the WRX token (COIN:WRXUSD) is trading at $0.116.
Coinbase expands Singapore services
A Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) is expanding its services in Singapore, strengthening its international presence amid a regulatory crackdown in the US. The company obtained approval as a payment institution in Singapore and a license to operate an international exchange in Bermuda. It now offers fee-free purchases of USDC in SGD, staking for various cryptocurrencies, and USDC order books. Surveys show that a quarter of Singaporeans consider cryptocurrency to be the future of finance and 32% own or intend to trade cryptocurrencies this year. Coinbase sees resilience and an adoption cycle underway in Singapore. “The message here is that the world is moving forward with or without the US, and we are very committed as a global company to continue to move forward in international expansion,” said Hassan Ahmed, country director for Singapore at Coinbase.
Brian Armstrong’s NewLimit raises $40 million
NewLimit, a startup co-founded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, has raised $40 million with the goal of extending people’s lives. The longevity pharmaceutical company, co-founded by former Google Ventures partner Blake Byers, has secured Series A funding from investors including Dimension, Founders Fund, Kleiner Perkins and others. NewLimit is focused on epigenetic reprogramming and seeks to discover ways to restore the regenerative potential lost with aging. The company aims to develop therapies to slow or reverse the aging process, as well as treat diseases associated with aging. “The idea is that one day, if we’re successful, you could make older people’s immune systems younger and more functional,” said Byers. “So in an ideal world here in the future, there is a way for us, our bodies and our minds, to stay young,” added Armstrong.
AnotherBlock raises €4 million fueling the tokenized music rights revolution
Web3 marketplace AnotherBlock has raised €4 million in funding led by Stride VC after successfully selling Rihanna’s music rights. The marketplace uses NFTs and tokens to generate ownership-related royalties, allowing artists to receive payment when users purchase their music NFTs. This trend has boosted investor interest in Web3 and blockchain technology, with other NFT music marketplaces such as the Royal platform also securing significant funding. These advances are revolutionizing the music industry and making it possible to share financial incentives between creators and fans.
Airstack raises $7 million in funding
Web3 development platform Airstack has completed the second part of its pre-seed funding round, raising over $7 million. The startup allows developers to access and utilize data from multiple chains using natural language requests backed by artificial intelligence (AI). Since its launch in April, Airstack has attracted over 200 developers spanning diverse projects in the crypto space. The company also announced an updated version of its Jam social app. While the services are currently free, Airstack plans to implement a pricing model in the future. “Our goal is to identify the areas where we add the most value and where genuine business use cases emerge before finalizing our pricing model,” said Jason Goldberg, CEO of Airstack.
France welcomes crypto companies seeking refuge from US regulators
France is establishing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency companies, offering predictability and attracting companies looking to avoid regulatory uncertainty in the US. With around 74 registered cryptocurrency companies in the country, that number could increase to 100 as companies anticipate the rules of EU crypto asset markets. France is willing to welcome US companies seeking immediate benefits under the French regime and from 2025 onwards under European agreements. This becomes relevant amid regulatory crackdowns in the US.
Greenland Holdings plans to enter Hong Kong’s digital asset trading industry
Chinese state-owned company Greenland Holdings seeks license to trade virtual assets in Hong Kong, becoming the first state-owned company to express interest in the city’s digital trading sector. The new unit of Greenland Financial Technology will submit an application to the local regulator, wanting to trade cryptocurrencies, NFTs and carbon emissions related products. The company emphasizes the importance of strong regulation and investor protection to avoid risks in the virtual asset market. “Having sound regulation and investor protection is key for Hong Kong to develop as a virtual asset trading hub,” he said. “The FTX collapse indeed provided a good lesson for us to learn how to prevent Hong Kong from making the same mistake.” said James Geng Jing, CEO of Greenland Financial Technology Group.
China warns against NFTs due to financial and security risks
China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate has warned that NFT digital collections have “virtual asset attributes” banned in the country. Despite the recent emergence of NFTs as “digital collectibles”, they are now considered high risk by Chinese authorities. The report highlights the financial, security and legal risks associated with NFTs. ”Although it has high popularity, it is very likely to cause financial risks, management risks, network security risks, etc., especially the legal risks. Prosecutors are paying close attention,” Monday’s report said. While China is averse to cryptocurrencies, the country is interested in leveraging the blockchain technology underlying virtual assets to develop its digital infrastructure.
Florida draws criticism by banning CBDCs in commercial transactions
Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation in Florida to block the use of government-backed virtual currencies in commercial transactions. However, legal experts claim the law is absurd and potentially harmful to the digital asset industry, according to CoinDesk. While DeSantis described the law as a ban on central bank digital currencies, in practice it just excludes CBDCs from the definition of cash in the Florida Uniform Commercial Code. Furthermore, the view that the US is moving towards issuing a digital dollar is not yet reflected in federal actions. State law would be superseded by any federal legislation on the matter. Experts also point out that the definition of CBDC in Florida law does not match existing or planned CBDCs.
Compound Finance expands on Arbitrum, Ethereum’s Layer-2
Compound Finance is implementing its latest iteration of the Arbitrum scaling solution, making borrowing and lending cryptocurrencies cheaper. Compound, a pioneer in decentralized finance (DeFi), allows users to lend and borrow various cryptocurrencies. Implementation in Arbitrum is limited to some cryptocurrencies, optimizing risk management. Layer 2 solutions such as Arbitrum and zk-rollups are gaining prominence, helping to alleviate congestion on the Ethereum network. “You can now use ARB, GMX, WETH and WBTC as collateral to borrow USDC at Arbitrum,” said the tweet from Compound Labs.
Lightning Labs announces Taproot Assets Protocol
Lightning Labs announced on Tuesday that the latest version of Bitcoin’s Taproot Assets protocol is currently in the testnet phase, allowing it to support multiple assets via the Lightning Network. The protocol aims to promote greater use of Bitcoin by adding fast, cheap and scalable asset issuance capabilities to the network. Unlike the Ordinals protocol, Taproot Assets works with the Layer 2 Lightning Network, offering greater privacy and scalability. This could represent a turning point for critics who want to keep Bitcoin purely as a monetary network.