Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

The co-founder of Twitch, Justin Kan launched a gaming-centric non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace called Fractal on December 30. Fractal’s focus is on NFTs with video game utility and the project launched an NFT collection called “Fractals,” a 100,000 unique snowflakes that give users benefits while using the primary and secondary NFT marketplace. Twitch Co-Founder Launches Fractal NFT Market On December 30, the co-founder of Twitch, Justin Kan , told his 245,600 Twitter followers that he launched an NFT marketplace called Fractal . Kan also tweeted about the Fractals NFT collection that leverages the Solana (SOL) blockchain network. “Today, we are excited to launch our gaming NFT marketplace: Fractal,” Kan said . “We are also dropping our Fractal NFTs, the largest NFT airdrop in Solana history,” the entrepreneur added. In addition to Kan, Fractal was also founded by Robin Chan, David Wurtz and Mike Angell. Fractal hosts a number of digital goods from The Sandbox, Solchicks, Nyan...

There’s a New Year’s Eve fiesta in the metaverse called the Metafest 2022 Global Party hosted by the real estate firm Jamestown and the crypto investment firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) in Decentraland. According to the announcement, the owner of One Times Square, Jamestown will recreate the iconic site in Decentraland for the 2022 ball drop. NYE Meets the Metaverse There’s New Year’s Eve ball drop celebration taking place in the Decentraland metaverse and it’s hosted by the real estate firm Jamestown and Digital Currency Group (DCG). According to the announcement, DCG is one of the largest land owner in Decentraland, while Jamestown owns the well known One Times Square. DCG’s head of real estate, Simon Koster, explains how the digital world can meld with the real one. “The metaverse is quickly evolving to bring together the most interesting and alluring parts of our favorite physical places around the world,” Koster remarked during the announcement. “From destinations, to gamin...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has added a number of advisers to Chairman Gary Gensler’s executive staff. Among them is Corey Frayer, who advises Gensler on “SEC policymaking and interagency work relating to the oversight of crypto assets.” SEC Has New Adviser for the Oversight of Crypto Assets The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Thursday the appointments of Corey Frayer, Phil Havenstein, Jennifer Songer, and Jorge Tenreiro to Chairman Gary Gensler’s executive staff. The announcement details: Corey Frayer advises Chair Gensler on SEC policymaking and interagency work relating to the oversight of crypto assets. Before joining the SEC, Frayer served as senior professional staff on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for Chairman Sherrod Brown. He also spent a decade as a senior adviser for Rep. Maxine Waters on the House Financial Services Committee and Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina. Havenstein serves as...

According to reports, roughly $2.2 million worth of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were stolen from a collector. The owner of the NFTs Todd Kramer said the incident was “arguably the worst night” of his life. Furthermore, there’s claims that the NFT marketplace Opensea froze the collectibles, and crypto advocates are complaining about the lack of decentralization. 15 BAYC and MAYC NFTs Stolen — Victim Begs Opensea for Help, Reports Claim NFTs Were ‘Frozen’ On December 30, 2021, a BAYC collector told the public that 15 Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFTs were stolen. “NFTX these apes and mutants have been stolen and flagged on Opensea . Please remove from your liquidity pool,” he added. Todd Kramer also listed all the apes that were stolen. Kramer also stressed in another tweet that it was “arguably the worst night” of his life. The 15 ape theft is one of the first NFT collection crimes since NFT collections l...

Non-fungible token (NFT) assets were extremely popular this year and to date, there’s been more than $20 billion in volume recorded in terms of NFT sales among 100 collections. While many single NFTs sold for millions of dollars a number of NFT projects and collections saw hundreds of millions and even billions in all-time volume. According to defillama.com metrics, the popular NFT collection Cryptopunks captured $2.98 billion in all-time volume. 100 NFT Collections, 6 Chains, $20 Billion in Volume Numerous NFT collections have been very prominent in 2021 and have been the topic of various discussions. While Bitcoin.com News published the top ten most expensive non-fungible token sales this year, a large quantity of NFT collections saw significant trade volume and demand. Data from defillama.com tracks 100 NFT collections and so far there’s been $20.13 billion in all-time sales from these specific NFT series. The NFTs stem from blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, Immutablex, Bin...

Starting in the year 2022, donated or inherited virtual assets will be assessed and taxed accordingly, South Korea’s National Tax Service has said. Dunamu, Bithumb Korea, Korbit, and Coinone are the new virtual asset service providers (VASPs) tasked with evaluating digital assets for such tax purposes. Virtual Asset Service Providers Tasked With Evaluating Crypto Gifts South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) recently announced that starting in 2022, digital assets that are inherited or donated will be taxed, a report has said. It added that such digital assets will be taxed at the average amount for each month before and after the date of commencement of inheritance or the date of donation. In a KBS report explaining the upcoming changes, the tax body also revealed the virtual asset service providers (VASPs) that are tasked with evaluating the property that is being inherited or donated. According to the report, these VASPs include Dunamu, Bithumb Korea, Korbit, and Coinone. Ob...

The government in Kazakhstan is considering building a nuclear power plant to overcome an electricity deficit allegedly caused by the booming crypto mining industry. Problems with power supply are driving away miners that saw the Central Asian country as a new home when China recently cracked down on the industry. NPP Project Revived Amid Short Supply of Energy for Crypto Mining Sector in Kazakhstan Authorities in Kazakhstan are now thinking of implementing a decade-old plan to construct a nuclear power plant ( NPP ) in order to solve the country’s pressing issues with a growing electricity deficit. With capped tariffs and a crypto-friendly attitude, the former Soviet republic attracted a throng of Chinese miners chased away by Beijing’s offensive against the crypto industry launched in May of this year. However, some of them are now leaving the country as their hardware is idling. Two locations are currently under consideration as potential sites for a nuclear station, Kazakhst...