Meta and the Metaverse, crypto money laundering and hacks at a record high, Coinbase winning in court, China with crypto taxes and new stablecoin on Cardano.
Another exciting week in the crypto space is drawing to a close. Here are the most important events around Bitcoin, Ethereum and Co. at a glance.
Meta: Optimistic Despite Billion-dollar Hole in Metaverse Division
While total revenue for Facebook’s parent company was better than expected, Zuckerberg’s Metaverse division is still weak. Reality Labs has racked up significant losses: $13.7 billion in 2022, and $10.2 billion the year before, according to its earnings report.
Despite everything, Zuckerberg is optimistic and sees the new year as a “year of efficiency.” After a disappointing third quarter, the group recently had to lay off 11,000 employees.
Chainalysis: Crypto Money Laundering and Hacks Hit a Record High
In the new Crypto Crime Report, Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis states: In terms of money laundering and hacking in the cryptocurrency sector, a record was reached last year.
A total of $23.8 billion was laundered using cryptocurrencies in 2022, an increase of 68% over the previous year. Cybercriminals were also able to steal more money than ever before last year – a total of US$3.8 billion.
Coinbase: Crypto Exchange Wins Class Action Lawsuit in Court
In a class action lawsuit, the American crypto exchange was accused of having issued unregistered securities. Coinbase also circumvented disclosure rules and charged “illegitimate transaction fees.” US District Judge Paul Engelmayer dismissed the lawsuit.
Regulation: China Wants to Tax Cryptocurrencies and Mining
In recent years, the crypto industry in China has faced bans and prosecutions. However, even though a general crypto ban was imposed in the Middle Kingdom, China continued to contribute a certain share of the global bitcoin hashrate.
However, according to cryptocurrency blogger Wu Blockchain, the Chinese authorities are now imposing a 20% income tax on miners’ and investors’ cryptocurrency earnings: is this a change of policy?
Cardano: New Stablecoin Djed Is Launched
About a year ago, development began on “Djed”, an algorithmic stablecoin from the DeFi Coti project. This in turn is part of the Cardano ecosystem. The new stablecoin should be able to be used primarily as a means of payment in the DeFi area.
The crypto coin is pegged to the US dollar and is backed by the in-house token (ADA), with the SHEN token designated as the reserve coin.
“The highly anticipated public mainnet launch of Djed heralds a new era for stablecoins. The launch of Djed is a significant milestone for COTI, the Cardano ecosystem, and for the DeFi ecosystem as a whole,” the company said.
After last year’s Terra debacle, some members of the crypto community took a rather critical view of algorithmic stablecoins.
By Audy Castaneda
