Crypto Giants vs SEC

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The market saw a great start to the year, but the past week has been a rough with leading cryptocurrencies experiencing some significant value drops. Furthermore the SEC hit Kraken with a hefty fine in its latest crackdown on the industry. It's not all doom and gloom. Shopify announced its brand-new suite of blockchain products for merchants, a big step forward for blockchain and e-commerce. And, in case you missed it, crypto ads took a backseat at this year's Super Bowl, but there was still some representation.

Markets

Bitcoin, Ethereum See First Week of Losses This Year (3 minute read)January saw a great start to the year for crypto, but the past week has looked less positive. The leading cryptocurrencies experienced significant value drops in the past week, putting a damper on the market's gains so far this year. Bitcoin saw its biggest weekly loss this year so far, dropping 7.5% to $21,760 at the start of the weekend. Ethereum also took a hit, falling 8.5% to $1,524. The bearish sentiment is partly due to U.S. regulators keeping a close watch on the crypto world following high-profile bankruptcies from companies like Celsius, Three Arrows Capital, and FTX.

Crypto exchange Kraken settles with SEC for $30 million, will close U.S. staking operation (2 minute read)The SEC hit Kraken with a $30 million fine and ordered it to shut down its staking service for allegedly selling unregistered securities. The exchange allegedly failed to register the offer and sale of its crypto staking program and made $147 million in revenue from over 135,000 U.S. users, who had crypto assets worth over $2.7 billion on the platform. This move highlights the ongoing scrutiny of the industry by U.S. regulators who have begun their crackdown on staking.

Crypto markets are undergoing a 'flight to quality,' says Goldman Sachs digital assets chief (4 minute read)Last year's crypto turmoil caused investors to flock to "quality" players, according to Goldman Sachs' head of digital assets, Mathew McDermott. He shared that Goldman Sachs has a crypto trading desk, but only trades cash-settled derivatives, options, and futures. Bitcoin took a major hit last year, dropping 60% amid investor caution and concerns about regulation after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and other crypto companies. But, the tough times seem to have made investors more selective, with bigger clients seeking out better-regulated and capitalized entities, McDermott said.

Tech

Shopify Launches Comprehensive Blockchain Suite For Merchants (3 minute read)Shopify has just unveiled a brand-new suite of blockchain products for merchants! This exciting development is set to enhance the experience for users of web3-based stores on Shopify. The new tools also allow for token gating, giving merchants the ability to create exclusive access to products for certain token holders. The expanded wallet ecosystem is also expected to bring in new features for merchants to leverage. With token gating, Shopify merchants can now control who has access to special products and create a sense of exclusivity for token holders.

Misc

Gensler Unleashes Critics for Cracking Down on Kraken (3 minute read)Crypto prices were volatile this week due to increased attention from US regulators. The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been keeping a close eye on the industry since the fall of Terra last year. This week, popular exchange Kraken got hit with a $30 million fine and had to shut down their staking service. The founder and former CEO, Jesse Powell, wasn't convinced by the SEC's reasoning, and neither were others on Twitter who vocalised their concerns.

Coinbase Product Head Departs for a16z Crypto (1 minute read)Surojit Chatterjee, former chief product officer for Coinbase, has left! He's now an executive in residence for Andreessen Horowitz's crypto unit. Surojit joined Coinbase in 2020 and previously spent over a decade at Google, working on payments, ads, and commerce, including developing Google Shopping. He didn't share why he left Coinbase, but it's clear he's ready to tackle new challenges at Andreessen Horowitz.

Cryptocurrency adverts benched ahead of Super Bowl LVII (2 minute read)Crypto ads took a break at this year's Super Bowl, with celebs taking center stage instead. Last year, Coinbase, Crypto.com, eToro, and FTX all made their mark at Super Bowl LVI, but declining crypto prices and some big fails have pushed crypto to the sidelines this year. However, there was some representation during one of the biggest TV events of the year, a first appearance for NFTs watched by a whopping 100 million people.

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