Crypto Flipsider News – Musk Won’t Sell His Crypto, BTC/ETH/DOGE Spike; Japan Urges Crypto Exchanges to Enforce Sanctions as Russians Run to UAE; EU Votes With New York State Set to Pause Crypto Mining; BAYC Buy CryptoPunks NFTs

Read in the digest:

Tesla’s CEO has announced that he will not be selling his cryptocurrency holdings, causing assets to rally.

Socios CEO accused of price manipulation stemming from his failure to pay the platform’s advisers.

Japan reiterates warnings to cryptocurrency exchanges of Russian entities looking to circumnavigate sanctions as Russians eye the UAE as an exit plan.

The EU is set to vote on a law that could ban Bitcoin from Europe while New York mulls over the same.

The Creators of BAYC purchased the IP rights to CryptoPunks and will offer commercial licenses to individual holders.

Musk Won’t Sell His Crypto, Causing BTC, ETH, and DOGE Surge

Elon Musk has stated that he will not be sell his cryptocurrency holdings after offering a word of advice to his Twitter followers. The Tesla boss disclosed the information after soliciting the opinion of his followers on the “probable inflation rate over the next few years.”

Since stating that he had no plans to sell his assets, the values of the related currencies soon spiked. Dogecoin (DOGE) climbed by 10% to trade at $0.122, while BTC and ETH recorded positive gains to trade at $39,094 and $2,592 respectively.

U.S. inflation figures sit at 7.9% and Michael Saylor replied to Musk stating his own prediction that asset inflation will become double that of consumer inflation. The Bitcoin maximalist posits that this will cause weaker currencies to collapse while scarce property like Bitcoin will see more capital inflow.

The 1-day price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap

The 1-day price chart for Dogecoin (DOGE). Source: CoinMarketCap

Flipsider:

Elon Musk has revealed that his company is under pressure caused by inflation and the high prices of commodities.
Global commodity prices could ascend further to mark the largest upswing in 50 years, according to a Financial Times report shared by Musk.

Why You Should Care

Elon Musk’s statements typically have an extraordinary effect on the prices of cryptocurrencies, for better or worse. In the past, his memes and statements on shows like Saturday Night Live have sent Dogecoin prices on wild rides.

Socios Accused of Price Manipulation

Socios, the soccer fan token platform, has come under fire for allegedly manipulating prices. The claim came to light based on the platform’s refusal to pay its advisors their share for endorsing the cryptocurrency.

According to an internal memo from Alexandre Dreyfus, the project’s CEO, making a payment out to investors would result in the decline in the value of Chiliz. The message read, “When you give free tokens, people can sell at any price – it doesn’t matter for them.”

The company swiftly responded to the statement and expressed regret that their advisers had not been paid on time. The company claims that it has fixed this by offering a new contract to the affected parties, and stated that the reason for the delay in payments was in fact because “the company was in pre start up” and CHZ was not listed in any of the exchanges.

Flipsider:

Chiliz responded to the report saying that the claims “do not reflect the truth of the matter.”
Chiliz (CHZ) fell by 7.71% within 24 hours of the press release.

Why You Should Care

Allegations of price manipulation put a dent in the fabric of the entire cryptocurrencies industry, and increased regulation could serve to stem these occurrences.

Japan Urges Crypto Exchanges Enforce Sanctions as Russians Run to UAE

Japan has asked cryptocurrency exchanges to fall in line with the sanctions imposed on Russia by G7 countries. According to an official at the country’s Financial Services Agency, the declaration made to all cryptocurrency exchanges was to “keep the G7 momentum alive.”

The financial entity bolstered their demands of exchanges by imposing a penalty of up to 3 years in prison, or a 1 million yen fine. Since the imposition of the sanctions, talk of Russian entities using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions has only grown, causing the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a special task force dedicated to cracking down on such attempts

In the United Arab Emirates, cryptocurrency firms are being met with a barrage of requests from Russians attempting to liquidate billions of dollars in cryptocurrencies. Others have turned to real estate as a way out as the tight sanctions looming on the horizon for Russian elites.

Flipsider:

Despite increasing calls from governments for cryptocurrency exchanges to impose a blanket ban on Russians attempting to access cryptocurrencies, exchanges have so far held a staunch reluctance to enforce such a ban, with leading platforms claiming that to do so would go against the integrity of blockchain technology.

Why You Should Care

The influence of regulatory agencies on cryptocurrency companies is becoming more prominent, especially for centralized exchanges.

EU to Vote on PoW BAN as New York State Looks to Hit Pause Crypto Mining Entirely for 3 Years

The European Union is set to vote on whether or not it will ban the Proof-of-Work mining system. The bill is the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework and has been in the works for nearly two years.

If the bill is passed into law, it would mean that Proof-of-Work cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum would be phased out in European Union member states. The rationale behind the bill is largely based on environmental concerns about the mechanism’s energy usage, and the belief that Bitcoin leaves an unacceptable carbon footprint that does not comply with the EU standards.

Across the Atlantic, New York Senator Kevin S. Parker has put forward a bill that would see the temporary suspension of cryptocurrency mining activities in the state for a period of three years. At the moment, the bill is on the desk of the Environmental Conservation Committee, making it a tense moment for Bitcoin miners around the world.

Flipsider:

Bitcoin hash rates are soaring despite the chatter about bans in Europe and New York.
Hashrates reached 248.11 million terahashes per second last month, which represents a 200% increase from June 2021.

BAYC Creators Buy the Rights to CryptoPunks NFTS

Yuga Labs, the creators of ‘Bored Ape Yacht Club‘, announced over the weekend that they had purchased the IP rights to the CryptoPunks NFT collection from Larva Labs. The deal also included Meebits NFTs, and 24 hours into the purchase, activity on both NFT collections was recorded at frenetic levels.

CryptoPunks’ secondary trading activity soared by over 1,000% in less than a day to over $18 million, while Meebits recorded impressive activity. BAYC and MAYC came in third and fourth place with the floor price of CryptoPunks rising significantly.

A core part of the deal is the intention of Yuga Labs to give full commercial rights of the NFTs to the individual holders of CryptoPunks, something that has been a point of contention since the inception of CryptoPunks. Yuga Labs broke the news on Twitter, claiming that it intends to “grow the pie, not fight over slices.”

Flipsider:

Yuga Labs clarified that the BAYC ecosystem will remain the center of their universe, implying that CryptoPunks may play second fiddle to BAYC in terms of commitment.