Major cryptos slide after Fed’s 75 bps rate hike

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) announced that it will continue with its aggressive monetary policy to fight inflation, and both crypto and traditional markets tanked following the decision.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was trading at $20,150, down by about 1.5 percent, while Ethereum was trading around $1500 odd levels, down over 4 percent. Tiptoeing the broader financial markets, other cryptocurrencies like BNB and Ripple too were down 1.3 percent and 2 percent respectively. Read full here

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao says prepared to join the Twitter board as a favour to Elon Musk

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao on Wednesday said he was prepared to join the Board of Twitter as a favour to Tesla chief Elon Musk, as he was already very busy with his cryptocurrency exchange. The Binance co-founder was speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon.
“I’m indifferent to it. If I’m asked, I probably would do it just as a favour, but it’s not something I’m dying to do. I’m pretty busy with Binance already,” he said. Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has already pumped in $500 million towards the acquisition of Twitter by Musk last week. Read details here

Visa partners with Crypto.com to launch NFT collection ahead of FIFA World Cup in Qatar

Payments behemoth Visa has announced a partnership with crypto.com to launch a non-fungible tokens (NFT) collection of iconic goals from five legendary footballers, ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Iconic goals by legendary footballers Jared Borgetti, Tim Cahill, Carli Lloyd, Michael Owen, and Maxi Rodriguez will be minted into NFTs and will be auctioned. Fans who attend the World Cup tournament will also be given the chance to create their own digital art. Take a look

Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit suffers $28 million hack, ceases withdrawals

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Deribit has ceased withdrawals, following a $28 million hot wallet attack. The company revealed that the exchange’s hot wallet was compromised before midnight UTC on November 1. “Deribit hot wallet compromised, but client funds are safe and loss is covered by company reserves. Our hot wallet was hacked for USD 28m earlier this evening just before midnight UTC on 1 November 2022,” the company stated. Read more here

Warner Brothers partner with NFT Marketplace Nifty’s to launch digital collectibles

Game of Thrones creators Warner Brothers have teamed up with the NFT marketplace Nifty's to release a line of digital collectibles, inspired by the well-known television series. Digital production company Daz 3D will oversee the design, produce and develop the NFT collection, called "Game of Thrones: Build Your Realm.” The initial sales will start when Game of Thrones-themed avatars are released, according to Nifty's. A set of digital collectibles will be included with the avatars, which collectors can use to enhance their avatars. Game of Thrones is a fantasy television program produced by HBO. Read more here

Crypto lending firm Celsius in deeper legal trouble

A New York bankruptcy judge increased the scope of the investigation in the Celsius Network bankruptcy case, as the company’s clients demanded an investigation into the activities of the cryptocurrency lender. Judge Martin Glenn of the US Bankruptcy Court directed the court-appointed examiner and the official committee of Celsius creditors to agree on who will be in charge of an investigation into the company's handling of client funds. Read more here

SEC chair emphasizes crypto enforcement cases to legal professionals

Gary Gensler, Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), highlighted significant enforcement proceedings against cryptocurrency firms as an example of the "economic realities" of securities regulation.
Gensler referenced examples of SEC enforcement against crypto lending company BlockFi and a former Coinbase employee in prepared remarks at the Practising Law Institute's Annual Institute on Securities Regulation to support the agency's actions regarding violations of US securities laws. According to Gensler, the SEC would approach enforcement proceedings the same way, regardless of the type of securities, funds, or investors. Read more here

Union Bank of Philippines allows trading in Bitcoin and Ethereum

One of the biggest universal banks in the Philippines, UnionBank, has begun a pilot program for custody and trading services for Bitcoin and Ether for a small group of retail customers. UnionBank went online on a digital asset platform developed by Metaco called Harmonize, as part of the debut of the new investment and trading function. In January 2022, UnionBank and Metaco formed their first joint venture for the development of cryptocurrency trading services. Read more here