Crypto Flipsider News – September 21st – Evergrande Leads Crypto Selloff, Coinbase Halts Lending Program, Robinhood Could Allow Withdrawals Soon, Favourable Regulation Push in Miami, Texas, and Massachusetts, and Football NFT Platform Raises $680M

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Evergrande Leads Crypto Selloff and Blockchain Market to Reach $37.9 Billion 2025
Coinbase Halts Lending Program and Robinhood Could Allow Withdrawals Soon
Favourable Regulation Push in Miami, Texas, and Massachusetts
NFT Artist Donates to Journalism and Football NFT Platform Raises $680M

Evergrande Leads Crypto Selloff and Blockchain Market to Reach $37.9 Billion 2025

The volatility of the crypto market has been brought to light – this time, a massive sell-off was triggered by Evergrande. The Chinese real estate giant currently has more than $305 billion in liabilities.

The property developers had alerted banks that it would be unable to repay debts that were due this month. After that, the prices of its shares plunged to an 11-year low. The losses that began in the real estate industry quickly spread to other markets.

As a result, the crypto market lost more than 11% of its value (over $250 million) in 24 hours. The valuation of the entire crypto market dipped below $2 trillion as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana all plunged.

The total valuation of the crypto market. Source: TradingView

Flipsider:

While the crypto market is experiencing a significant sell-off, a new market research report is bullish about the future of blockchain
According to the report, the blockchain market size expected to grow from $3.0 billion in 2020 to $39.7 billion by 2025

Why You Should Care

The sell-off shows that the crypto markets remain connected to other real-world assets, while market research confirms that blockchain is tomorrow’s technology.

Coinbase Halts Lending Program + Robinhood Could Allow Withdrawals Soon

Following an initial rejection of threats of a lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Coinbase has cancelled its ‘Lend’ product launch. The SEC had sent a Wells notice to Coinbase stating that it would sue the exchange if they launched the crypto lending product.

While Coinbase played hardball with the SEC, the CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, described the SEC’s behaviour as “incomplete.”

Flipsider:

While Coinbase has hit a roadblock with the SEC with regards to its lending program, the popular exchange, Robinhood could be experiencing a breakthrough
Robinhood is currently testing a crypto wallet that will support cryptocurrency transfer features, and users could possibly get a direct withdrawal from Robinhood

Why You Should Care

There is a growing intensity of regulatory agencies in the crypto industry. As government agencies seek to make currencies more accountable and transparent, they could impose more restrictions on crypto services.

Favorable Regulation Push in Miami, Texas, and Massachusetts

The city commission of Miami has voted to access about $5 million worth of MiamiCoin, a cryptocurrency unique to the city. Mayor Francis Suarez shared the news on his Twitter:

The @CityofMiami decision to accept the gift contributions generated by the @mineCityCoins Protocol-currently valued at $4.3M-represents a major milestone in Miami’s quest to become a crypto innovation hub

Funds that will directly impact the lives of all our residents! https://t.co/pcrY4PwD06
— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) September 14, 2021

The crypto-friendly trend continues in Texas, where a survey has concluded that more people are inclined towards friendly regulations of the industry. According to the survey, more than 40% of voters in Texas support crypto-friendly regulations.

Things are not so different in Massachusetts, where the Boston Blockchain Association (BBA), in conjunction with Media Shower and the Chamber of Digital Commerce, have called for regulatory clarity of the crypto industry.

The alliance has released a crypto regulatory toolkit for lawmakers in the state. In addition, the trio is looking to work with the government to ensure favourable regulatory clarity in the state.

Flipsider:

While countries are looking to create crypto-friendly regulations, the President of Turkey has announced that the government is at war with crypto

Why You Should Care

The push for friend regulations could play a crucial role in the adoption of cryptos in these regions. Ultimately, cryptos will need friendly regulations to reach their full potential.

NFT Artist Donates to Journalism + Football NFT Platform Raises $680M

NFTs have experienced another major boom, with their use spreading across almost every sector. In a new development, Fortune Magazine and the famous NFT artist, pplpleasr, have donated half of their auction to journalism.

In the August auction, Fortune and pplpleasr raised over 429 ETH, or $1.3 million. Half of the raised amount, approximately $658k in ETH, has been donated evenly to four journalistic organizations.

One of the most famous NFT sports platforms, Sorare, has raised the largest-ever fund to be raised by an NFT platform. The funding round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund, LionTree, Bessemer Ventures, IVP, Hillhouse and Atomico.

On September 21, Sorare announced it had raised $680 million in its Series B fundraising event. As a result, the European fantasy football and NFT collectable platform now has a valuation of $4.3 billion.

Flipsider:

As NFTs become more popular, there has been a growing trend of hacks on NFT platforms
In August, one of the biggest NFT hacks played out, with approximately $3 million stolen from SushiSwap

Why You Should Care

Because of their immutability, NFTs are referred to as the future of digital art. Already, sales of NFTs have reached an all-time high, with collectables piercing through almost every industry.