Summary

• John Knopf, an Emmy Award-nominated landscape photographer and National Geographic contributor, is part of the FOTO collective of digital artists.
• FOTO works to elevate the art form of digital photography by curating the work of its members in sponsored galleries and events.
• Time magazine partnered with FOTO on its own NFT drops in 2021.

John Knopf and FOTO

John Knopf is an Emmy Award-nominated landscape photographer who works for National Geographic. He was an early adopter when it came to crypto and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). While he initially thought he could make a “quick buck,” he quickly became enthralled with the potential of distributed networks. Together with seven other prominent photographers, Knopf helped found FOTO – a collective geared at training artists to work in Web3. This collective boasts hundreds of amateur and professional members today. Knopf curates these members’ art for display at sponsored galleries and events. The goal is to elevate digital art – Knopf makes no money from the artists regardless if their work sells or not.

Time Magazine Partnership

In 2021, Time magazine partnered with FOTO on its own NFT drops. The collaboration allowed people to purchase limited edition prints through NFTs. Furthermore, Time featured some of FOTO’s collections on their website such as ‘The Great Outdoors’. This project highlighted outdoorsy scenes from around the world captured by different photographers from FOTO’s community. As well as this, John Knopf’s work has been featured multiple times in publications such as Forbes, The New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

Digital Culture & Community Building

Knopf believes that Web3 technology can help build communities around art forms like photography as it allows them to collaborate in ways that have never been possible before. For example, earlier last year he founded Bored Apes – an online platform that provides education tools for photographers looking to break into cryptoart space or increase their understanding of blockchain technology. He also launched his own NFT gallery called ‘Ends Of The Earth’, where he minted a series of photos taken during his travels around the world using the Ethereum blockchain transaction layer Matic Network – allowing anyone to buy a piece of artwork without ever having met him or seen it first hand!

“Photography” NFTs Taking Off

Good photography often requires technical skill as much as artistic sensibility making it a prime candidate for experimentation within Web3 technologies like non-fungible tokens (NFTs). While talk to any collector or creator about “photography” NFTs taking off might have seemed slow initially, now there are many examples out there showing how photography has been successfully integrated into cryptoart space thanks to initiatives like Time magazine partnering up with Foto!

With initiatives like Bored Apes teaching people about blockchain technology, combined with organizations like Time magazine teaming up with collectives like Foto giving people access limited edition pieces through NFT drops – it’s clear that Johnknopfs vision is coming true! People are startingto understand how we can use digital currencies & platforms such ascryptoart space to truly elevate one another’s skillsets & turnan industry into a community!

• New York State Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against KuCoin, alleging that the Seychelles-based crypto exchange is violating securities laws by offering tokens – including ether – without registering with the attorney general’s office.
• The suit is the first time a regulator has claimed in court that ether is a security.
• The Martin Act, an 102-year-old anti-fraud law gives James powers to investigate securities fraud and bring both civil and criminal actions against violators.

New York Attorney General Alleges Ether Is a Security

The New York State Attorney General Letitia James recently filed suit against KuCoin, alleging that the Seychelles-based crypto exchange is violating securities laws by offering tokens – including ether – without registering with the attorney general’s office. This marks the first time that a regulator has claimed in court that ether is considered a security under the Martin Act, an 102-year-old anti-fraud law which grants James powers to investigate securities fraud and bring both civil and criminal actions against violators.

KuCoin Lawsuit

The press release said this lawsuit was part of ongoing “efforts to crack down on unregistered cryptocurrency platforms.” Despite Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler hinting that his agency might consider ether to be a security, its sister regulatory agency – the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) – have long maintained that both bitcoin and ether are commodity assets.

Martin Act

The Martin Act grants sweeping power to New York’s attorney general for prosecuting crimes related to various financial instruments such as stocks and bonds as well as commodities like oil or foodstuffs. It allows for greater prosecutorial flexibility than federal statutes such as those enforced by the SEC because it does not require proof of intent or reliance on misrepresented information in order to secure convictions.

Cryptocurrency Platforms

This lawsuit is part of ongoing efforts by regulators around the world to crack down on unregistered cryptocurrency platforms in order ensure compliance with local laws regarding financial services offerings like stocks, bonds or cryptocurrencies. To date, many countries have yet to create comprehensive regulations governing these activities although some jurisdictions have taken steps towards doing so through frameworks such as Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA).

Conclusion

This case could set an important precedent for future legal action involving cryptocurrencies since it will likely determine whether or not Ethereum can be considered a security under U.S law. Furthermore, if Kucoin is found guilty then other exchanges may face similar repercussions due their failure comply with applicable regulations.

• Silvergate Capital stock falls by 58% amid FTX exchange collapse and regulatory inquiries.
• Bitcoin (BTC) price remains steady above $23,000 despite the news.
• Analyst Julius de Kempenaer views the lack of a negative catalyst as a positive.

Silvergate Capital Troubles

Bitcoin (BTC) wobbled a bit early Thursday as crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital (SI) shed more than 50% of its value on worries it may not survive, but turned upward in afternoon trading and is now higher by 0.4% over the past 24 hours at $23,500. California-based Silvergate said in a filing late Wednesday that ​​the impact of recent events – notably the FTX exchange collapse and subsequent regulatory inquiries – raised questions about the bank’s ability to “continue as a going concern.” The news led to at least two sell-side downgrades and a wide range of crypto firms pulling their business from the lender. Shares were down 58% shortly before the close of Thursday trade.

Bitcoin Price Holds Steady

Unlike, for instance, the FTX collapse in November, which sent bitcoin plunging to multi-year lows, the looming concerns on Silvergate had little effect on the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value. The price of bitcoin on Thursday remained in the mid-$23,000 area. That the news around Silvergate has not been working as a negative catalyst “has to be seen as a positive,” said Julius de Kempenaer, senior technical analyst at StockCharts.com.

Positive Catalyst?

If they (crypto traders) really would be scared off and start selling then we probably would have seen Bitcoin below $20k again,” he added.”But instead we are seeing BTC stay relatively firm while altcoins are taking some heat.” Of course one day does not make or break any trend but it seems like there is still enough speculative demand out there to absorb bad news such as this one without too much damage being inflicted onto BTC’s price action.

Views From Analysts

“That it hasn’t been acting as a negative catalyst has to be seen as a positive,” said Alex Thorn of Galaxy Hear Alex Thorn share his take on “Bitcoin and Inflation: It’s Complicated” at Consensus 2023 Secure Your Seat event organizer Consensus 2023 . Other analysts suggested that while traditional banking institutions are dealing with their own set of challenges due to COVID-19 related restrictions, cryptocurrencies continue to prove resilient in light of potential risks such as those associated with Silvergate’s troubles.

Conclusion

In conclusion, despite initial worries about how Silvergates’ troubles could affect Bitcoin’s price action, BTC continues to remain relatively stable above $23K and even shows signs of growth amidst traditional banking institutions struggling with COVID-19 related restrictions . Analysts see this resilience in light of potential risks associated with Silvergates’ issuesabilityas having potentially positive implications for cryptocurrencies moving forward .

• Sam Bankman-Fried is facing new criminal charges for his alleged involvement in the FTX crime family.
• He was portrayed as a genius, but the facts reveal he was thinking zero steps ahead.
• Many of the crypto wunderkinds who ascended to fame in 2021 had leveraged relationships and theatrical self-representations to create a dumb person’s idea of what a smart person looks like.

Sam Bankman-Fried Facing New Criminal Charges

Sam Bankman-Fried is facing new criminal charges related to his alleged involvement with the FTX crime family. The charges raise further questions about Bankman-Fried’s endgame and how he expected to escape the consequences of his actions.

The Genius Cosplay

Bankman-Fried has been represented in media and among peers as some kind of genius. This narrative has also been extended to other crypto “wunderkinds”, such as Do Kwon of Terra and Su Zhu of Three Arrows Capital, who have leveraged credentials and relationships to create an impression that they are smarter than they really are.

The Reality Behind the Facade

When examined more closely, however, it becomes clear that these people were putting on an act – an impression – rather than actually possessing any great intelligence or insight into their respective fields. In fact, many have made decisions that show little forethought or long term strategy – suggesting that their “genius” might be overstated.

A Zero Step Strategy

The new charges against Bankman-Fried support this notion; his seeming attempt to curry favor in Washington D.C., for example, suggests he was not thinking too far ahead when it came to planning his escape from legal repercussions for his actions.

Conclusion

Ultimately, then, it appears that many of the crypto personalities who rose up quickly during 2021 were simply putting on a show – creating an image of genius without backing it up with actual substance or foresight into the risks they were taking with their respective projects or strategies.

– OKX, a crypto exchange, announced plans to hire 1,500 new employees which would bring their total headcount up to 5,000.
– The exchange released a proof of reserves report showing $8.6 billion in ‘clean assets’ and an overcollateralization reserve ratio of 104% for Bitcoin (BTC), 104% for Ether (ETH) and 102% for USDT.
– According to CryptoQuant data, OKX has the cleanest reserve compared to Binance’s 94% and Huobi’s 61%.

OKX Plans Expansion Despite Crypto Winter

Crypto exchange OKX plans to increase headcount by 30%, growing by 1,500 people to about 5,000 over the next 12 months. OKX Director of Financial Markets Lennix Lai discusses why and how the firm is expanding despite crypto winter.

February Proof-of-Reserves Report

Data from CryptoQuant maintains that reserves are 100% clean, compared to 94% for Binance and 61% for Huobi. OKX proof of reserves for February 2023 shows it is overcollateralized with a reserve ratio of 104% for bitcoin (BTC), 104% for ether (ETH) and 102% for USDT. The exchange says that over 175,000 unique users have visited its proof-of-reserves page since it launched the initiative late last year.

Clean Assets

In January, the exchange released a report stating it had $7.5 billion in clean assets. The cleanliness of assets refers to a metric developed by CryptoQuant which measures how reliant an exchange is on its native token.OKX continues to have an entirely clean reserve according to CryptoQuant data while Binance’s “cleanliness” comes in at 94% while Huobi has 61%.

Native Token

In an interview with CoinDesk in January, Haider Rafique, OKX’s chief marketing officer said that OKX has “never used a native token to finance the company.” He added that “the native token was always designed to engage our most active customers and give them a way to seek discounts through activity on the platform.”

Conclusion

OKX continues its expansion plan despite current market conditions as it releases another successful proof of reserves report backed up by its own metrics as well as independent third party sources such as CryptoQuant data

• Paxos, the issuer of Binance USD (BUSD), has burned more than $700 million worth of BUSD tokens since Monday.
• The burn was due to mounting regulatory pressure from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Department of Financial Services.
• This represents 6% of the total BUSD in circulation, as its market capitalization is expected to decrease over time.

Stablecoin Issuer Paxos Burns $700M Binance USD

Paxos, the issuer of the $16 billion Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin, has burned more than $700 million worth of BUSD tokens since Monday amid mounting regulatory pressure from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and New York Department of Financial Services (DFS). This represents some 6% of the total coins in circulation as its market capitalization is expected to decrease over time.

Burn Is Due To Regulatory Pressure

The burn started less than two hours after an announcement on Monday that Paxos would stop issuing the cryptocurrency due to regulatory pressures by both SEC and DFS, according to blockchain data from Nansen. Transactions totaling $703 million worth were transferred from a Paxos Treasury crypto wallet to a burn address within 27 hours starting Monday morning, essentially removing them from circulation.

BUSD Backed By Short-term Treasuries And Cash-like Assets

BUSD is a dollar-pegged stablecoin backed by short-term treasuries and cash-like assets so holders can redeem it 1:1 for a U.S Dollar anytime according to regulation from DFS – New York’s main financial regulator. Changpeng Zhao, chief executive of Binance – world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume – tweeted that the market capitalization “will only decrease over time.”

Wells Notice Sent By SEC To Firm For Unregistered Securities

News broke on Monday morning that SEC had sent a Wells notice to Paxos as they were issuing unregistered securities, signaling an imminent enforcement action from regulator which triggered this move by firm itself pre-emptively reducing coin supply in order stay compliant with rules & regulations set forth in their license agreement with DFS .

Paxos Stops Issuing Cryptocurrency Amid Regulatory Pressure

The maneuver is a sign that investors are exiting quickly as redemption at this scale happened within 27 hours since announcement was made on Monday morning making it one of quickest such exits seen recently across crypto markets

• Stargate Finance’s token STG surged 13% following its partnership with Trader Joe.
• The project also recently passed a token re-issuance proposal due to security concerns related to Alameda Research.
• Bitcoin and Ether traded slightly in the red at the time of writing.

Stargate Finance’s Token Surges

Stargate Finance’s native STG token surged 13% over the past 24 hours following its announced plan to team up with Avalanche-based decentralized exchange Trader Joe to unlock omnichain fungible tokens. STG has recently climbed from roughly 60 cents a day ago to 92 cents, according to crypto data aggregator CoinGecko, rising about 50% in the past seven days and 150% this year.

Trader Joe Partnership

The partnership with Trader Joe means that Stargate will support the increasingly popular JOE token, without requiring Trader Joe to maintain a liquidity pool on the platform. On Monday, Trader Joe announced its integration with LayerZero, making JOE a multichain token to be natively sent between blockchains.

Token Re-Issuance Proposal

STG’s climb also follows the Stargate DAO’s passage of a proposal to reissue the token and airdrop it to all STG holders. This was due to security concerns stemming from its entanglement with Alameda Research, the trading arm of disgraced crypto exchange FTX. Alameda had purchased 10% of the total STG supply from the Stargate Community sale on March 17, 2022 and committed to lock up all these tokens until March 2025; however recent on-chain transfers revealed that “Alameda does not have full control of its wallets and that a malicious actor or hacker is misappropriating Alameda’s funds.”

Bitcoin & Ether Trading Slightly in Red

At the time of writing Bitcoin and Ether traded slightly in red.

Conclusion

Stargate Finance’s native token STG has seen impressive growth over the past 24 hours following an announcement of a partnership with Trader Joe as well as passing a re-issuance proposal due security concerns related to Alameda Research. Bitcoin and Ether traded slightly in red at this time.

• Coinbase NFT has temporarily paused new collection drops, in order to focus on “features and tools” for its NFT marketplace.
• This comes after a rumor was circulating on Twitter that the marketplace would be shutting down.
• Coinbase NFT confirmed that they are not shutting down the marketplace, and are simply reallocating their resources to other areas within the platform.

Coinbase NFT, the non-fungible token (NFT) platform of the crypto exchange Coinbase, announced Wednesday that it is temporarily pausing the release of new collections in order to focus its efforts on other features and tools within its NFT marketplace. This announcement came after rumors had been circulating on Twitter that the marketplace was shutting down.

In a tweet, Coinbase NFT confirmed that they were not shutting down the marketplace, and instead are redirecting their resources to other areas within the platform. “We recently shared that we are pausing creator Drops on the NFT marketplace to focus on other features and tools that creators have asked for,” Coinbase NFT clarified. “To be clear: We are not shutting down the Coinbase NFT marketplace.”

The decision to pause new collection drops was further clarified by Coinbase NFT partner Jessica Yatrofsky, who announced that her upcoming NFT collection would no longer be dropping on Coinbase NFT. “I had been privately informed that [the] marketplace was shutting down,” Yatrofsky said. Coinbase NFT reiterated that they were not shutting down the marketplace, but rather pausing Drops to focus on other facets of the platform.

Coinbase NFT has become a popular platform for users to buy, sell, and trade non-fungible tokens, with a range of creators, collectors, and enthusiasts taking part in the marketplace. With the decision to pause new collection drops, Coinbase NFT is reallocating its resources to create new features and tools that creators have requested, such as an improved user experience and expanded options for monetizing and displaying their artwork.

Coinbase NFT’s decision to pause new collection drops is also a reflection of the ever-growing NFT space, which is seeing more and more projects and creators entering the market. With the increased competition, Coinbase NFT is taking a step back to focus on developing the best possible experience for their users.

Although Coinbase NFT is pausing Drops for now, the company has made it clear that they are not shutting down the marketplace. Instead, Coinbase NFT is looking to create a better user experience by focusing their efforts on the features and tools that creators have requested. This pause will allow Coinbase NFT to develop an even more comprehensive platform for NFT users, while giving creators the tools they need to make the most out of their artwork.

– CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson urges Congress to expand the CFTC’s authority to review crypto acquisitions.
– Johnson made the call in a speech at Duke University, advocating for regulation that formalizes the obligation to separate customer property and introduce effective governance and risk management controls.
– Following the collapse of FTX in November, the speech highlighted the need for more robust regulation of the crypto industry to prevent the next crypto crisis.

Following the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX in November, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Kristin Johnson has called on Congress to expand the U.S. agency’s authority to conduct due diligence on any firm seeking to acquire a minimum 10% share of the equity interest in a CFTC-registered market participant. Johnson made the call during a speech at Duke University on Wednesday, highlighting the need for more robust regulation of the crypto industry to prevent the next crypto crisis.

Johnson stated that the old regulatory frameworks, like antitrust legislation, may not be enough to prevent future events like FTX’s implosion. She specifically advocated for regulation that formalizes the obligation to separate customer property, ensure financial resource requirements, and introduce effective governance and risk management controls. As an example, she drew from the case of LedgerX, a CFTC-registered derivatives clearing organization.

Johnson further urged Congress to modify several pieces of proposed digital asset legislation to expand the CFTC’s authority. She noted that the agency needs to be able to review transactions involving crypto acquisitions to ensure that firms are not engaging in practices that could harm customers or the overall stability of the industry.

In addition, Johnson noted that the CFTC should have the authority to review transactions involving crypto acquisitions to ensure that the firms involved are properly managing risk. She stated that the agency should also be able to review the financial resources available to the firms, as well as their internal governance and risk management controls.

The speech comes as the crypto industry is facing increased scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers alike. Johnson’s call for expanded authority for the CFTC is likely to be welcomed by those looking to ensure the safety of their investments in the space. As the industry continues to grow, the need for robust regulation and oversight is becoming increasingly apparent.

• Cryptocurrencies have seen soaring highs and painful lows in the past year, reaching a peak market cap of $3 trillion in 2021 and dropping to less than a third of that value in 2022.
• Several major crypto events have occurred in the past year, including the implosion of the Terra stablecoin ecosystem and bankruptcies of Three Arrows Capital, Celsius Network, Voyager Digital and BlockFi.
• Regulatory initiatives are underway to expand oversight of the cryptocurrency industry.

The cryptocurrency industry has experienced a roller coaster of a year in 2021-2022. From soaring highs to painful lows, the crypto market has seen it all. In 2021, the market capitalization of the crypto space reached a peak of $3 trillion, only to drop to less than a third of that value in 2022.

The past year has seen some seismic events for the cryptocurrency market. The implosion of the Terra stablecoin ecosystem sent shockwaves around the industry and has called into question the sustainability of stablecoins. In addition, a number of major players in the crypto space declared bankruptcy, including Three Arrows Capital, Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, and BlockFi.

In light of these events, regulatory initiatives are underway to expand oversight of the cryptocurrency industry. Governments and financial regulators around the world are looking to establish clear and consistent frameworks for cryptocurrency-related activities. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is leading the charge, developing a range of measures to regulate the crypto space. These include the establishment of licensing regimes for cryptocurrency exchanges and custodians, as well as the introduction of anti-money laundering and know-your-customer requirements.

The U.S. and Europe are also taking steps to regulate the crypto space. In the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a new framework to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges and custodians, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has proposed its own framework to regulate derivatives and other cryptocurrency activities. Meanwhile, the European Commission has announced plans to introduce a harmonized framework for crypto assets across all member states.

It is clear that governments and financial regulators around the world are beginning to take a more active role in regulating the crypto space. This is a positive development for the industry, as it will help to reduce the risk of fraud and other criminal activities, and ensure that the cryptocurrency market is operating in a safe and transparent manner. As the industry continues to grow, it is important that governments and regulators continue to work together to create an effective and robust regulatory framework.