France approves its third-biggest bank to operate digital asset services
Société Générale, France's third-biggest bank by market cap, quietly obtained regulatory approval to operate as a digital asset service provider in the country last month.
It is France's third-biggest bank and the sixth-largest player in Europe in terms of its balance sheets.
As of last month, through its fully integrated blockchain-focused subsidiary, Societe Generale Forge, the banking giant can now custody, sell and trade digital assets. This is thanks to a digital asset service provider (DASP) ruling from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the French financial market regulator.
Currently, in France, many venture capitalists struggle to find regulated custodial solutions for digital assets. This means that French crypto funds such as the €100 million Ledger Cathay Capital fund were set up as unregulated special purpose vehicles.
Société Générale, France's third-biggest bank by market cap, quietly obtained regulatory approval to operate as a digital asset service provider in the country last month.
It is France's third-biggest bank and the sixth-largest player in Europe in terms of its balance sheets.
As of last month, through its fully integrated blockchain-focused subsidiary, Societe Generale Forge, the banking giant can now custody, sell and trade digital assets. This is thanks to a digital asset service provider (DASP) ruling from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the French financial market regulator.
Currently, in France, many venture capitalists struggle to find regulated custodial solutions for digital assets. This means that French crypto funds such as the €100 million Ledger Cathay Capital fund were set up as unregulated special purpose vehicles.
The Block
France approves its third-biggest bank to operate digital asset services
French banking giant Société Générale has been approved to operate digital asset services through its subsidiary Forge.
Prediction: As AI changes many professions, the human craft will be become more highly valued. As the cost of essentials go down, we'll pay a premium for the story behind a well-crafted object, the human touch, the love that went into it.
Mastercard will help banks offer cryptocurrency trading
The payments giant plans to announce a program Monday that will help financial institutions offer cryptocurrency trading.
Giant will act as a “bridge” between Paxos, a crypto trading platform already used by pay pal.
Mastercard will handle the regulatory compliance and security — two core reasons banks cite for avoiding the asset class.
Mastercard’s chief digital officer said polling still shows demand for the asset, but roughly 60% of respondents said they would rather test the waters through their existing banks.
The payments giant plans to announce a program Monday that will help financial institutions offer cryptocurrency trading.
Giant will act as a “bridge” between Paxos, a crypto trading platform already used by pay pal.
Mastercard will handle the regulatory compliance and security — two core reasons banks cite for avoiding the asset class.
Mastercard’s chief digital officer said polling still shows demand for the asset, but roughly 60% of respondents said they would rather test the waters through their existing banks.
CNBC
Mastercard will help banks offer cryptocurrency trading
Mastercard is launching a program to let financial institutions offer cryptocurrency trading to their clients.
Blockchain games and metaverse projects have raised $7 billion so far in 2022
Despite the harsh market conditions, Web3 games continue to be a driving force for the dapp industry.
In Q3, gaming activity accounted for almost half of all blockchain activity tracked by DappRadar across 50 networks, with 912,000 daily Unique Active Wallets (UAW) interacting with games’ smart contracts in September.
Alien Worlds and Splinterlands remain the two most played Web3 games, with over 160,000 daily UAW registered in September. Gameta, a gaming platform first deployed on Solana and now running on the BNB Chain, attracted over 1 million daily UAW in September.
Similarly, the Polygon-based Benji Bananas climbed the rankings during the last quarter attracting over 29,000 daily UAW in September.
The impact of blockchain games is also visible in the NFT market, where Gods Unchained cracked the top 5 collections by trading volume in September with over $18 million generated by its game assets.
Despite the harsh market conditions, Web3 games continue to be a driving force for the dapp industry.
In Q3, gaming activity accounted for almost half of all blockchain activity tracked by DappRadar across 50 networks, with 912,000 daily Unique Active Wallets (UAW) interacting with games’ smart contracts in September.
Alien Worlds and Splinterlands remain the two most played Web3 games, with over 160,000 daily UAW registered in September. Gameta, a gaming platform first deployed on Solana and now running on the BNB Chain, attracted over 1 million daily UAW in September.
Similarly, the Polygon-based Benji Bananas climbed the rankings during the last quarter attracting over 29,000 daily UAW in September.
The impact of blockchain games is also visible in the NFT market, where Gods Unchained cracked the top 5 collections by trading volume in September with over $18 million generated by its game assets.
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Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and its billionaire founder Changpeng Zhao have dodged scrutiny by financial regulators in the U.S. and UK.
Now there are signs that the strategy is fraying.
Now there are signs that the strategy is fraying.
Reuters
How Binance CEO and aides plotted to dodge regulators in U.S. and UK
Crypto exchange Binance and its founder have swerved scrutiny by financial regulators, Reuters reporting shows. Now there are signs the strategy is fraying
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DEX volumes have steadily declined throughout 2022 as the bear market has muted most on-chain activity.
However, Uniswap still executes most DEX volume with a 58% volume share.
The protocol's recent expansion onto zkSync positions them for continued dominance.
However, Uniswap still executes most DEX volume with a 58% volume share.
The protocol's recent expansion onto zkSync positions them for continued dominance.
app.uniswap.org
Uniswap Interface
Swap crypto on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, Unichain and more. The DeFi platform trusted by millions.
It's official: Meta's $400m Giphy takeover has been unwound by competition regulators in the UK.
Meta has admitted defeat, with a spokesperson for the company telling me the company "accept today’s ruling as the final word on the matter."
Meta has admitted defeat, with a spokesperson for the company telling me the company "accept today’s ruling as the final word on the matter."
CNBC
Facebook parent Meta admits defeat after Giphy deal is blocked by UK regulators
Meta, the owner of Facebook, has been reordered by U.K. competition regulators to sell its animated GIF unit Giphy after losing an appeal.
⚡️Facing Threat From Apple, Google Tries New Hardware Playbook
It may be Google’s worst nightmare. Apple’s iPhone is stealing share from Samsung phones powered by Google’s Android software.
At the same time, U.S. antitrust regulators are scrutinizing Google’s search deal with Apple, raising the prospect that Google’s search may lose its favored position in the Safari browser on iPhones.
These twin developments, which threaten Google’s mobile ads business, have prompted the tech giant to take a big gamble.
It is doubling down on investment in its own hardware, including its Pixel phones, including by moving product development and software engineering staff working on features for non-Google hardware to work on Google-branded devices, according to an internal document.
It may be Google’s worst nightmare. Apple’s iPhone is stealing share from Samsung phones powered by Google’s Android software.
At the same time, U.S. antitrust regulators are scrutinizing Google’s search deal with Apple, raising the prospect that Google’s search may lose its favored position in the Safari browser on iPhones.
These twin developments, which threaten Google’s mobile ads business, have prompted the tech giant to take a big gamble.
It is doubling down on investment in its own hardware, including its Pixel phones, including by moving product development and software engineering staff working on features for non-Google hardware to work on Google-branded devices, according to an internal document.
The Information
Facing Threat From Apple, Google Tries New Hardware Playbook
It may be Google’s worst nightmare. Apple’s iPhone is stealing share from Samsung phones powered by Google’s Android software. At the same time, U.S. antitrust regulators are scrutinizing Google’s search deal with Apple, raising the prospect that Google’s…
A newly developed microelectrode array that uses a special 3D printing technology can prove to be a potential breakthrough for open access brain computer interface technologies.
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Today a16z crypto to announce the launch of new accelerator, Crypto Startup School.
The program will include:
Investment from a16z crypto ($500k)
Mentorship from leading founders
Advice from domain experts
Network of fellow builders
Apply.
The program will include:
Investment from a16z crypto ($500k)
Mentorship from leading founders
Advice from domain experts
Network of fellow builders
Apply.
a16z crypto
Crypto Startup School - a16z crypto
Crypto startup school is a 12-week accelerator program for web3 startups, including access to industry experts the a16z network.
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Japan to ease the listings of tokens in a bid to revitalize the crypto industry
Bloomberg.com
Japan to Further Relax Crypto Rules by Easing Listings of Tokens
Japan plans to further loosen cryptocurrency rules by making it easier to list virtual coins, potentially burnishing the country’s allure for Binance and rival foreign digital-asset exchanges.
What are the most innovative DeFi products currently in development?
👇 write in the comments
👇 write in the comments
Brazil's largest digital bank Nubank, with 70 million users, will launch its own cryptocurrency Nucoin with polygon in the first half of next year. In June, the bank started selling bitcoin and eth on the app.
Portal do Bitcoin
Nubank vai lançar criptomoeda própria na blockchain do Ethereum | Portal do Bitcoin
O token Nucoin será distribuído para todos os clientes do Nubank e vai integrar o programa de benefícios que o banco planeja expandir em 2023
⚡️scoop: FTX is spending money to push a law thru congress that may force defi protocols to operate like centralized exchanges.
The proposal is called the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act.
A better name would be the Digital Commodities FTX Protection Act.
The proposal is called the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act.
A better name would be the Digital Commodities FTX Protection Act.
One step closer to the universal translator. Thousands of languages around the world have no standard written form, yesterday Meta AI team released a breakthrough in translating them: the first Hokkien language translation system
Facebook
A new AI-powered speech translation system for Hokkien pioneers a new approach for a primarily oral language
We're open-sourcing the first AI-powered translation system for an unwritten language. Our technology allows speakers of Hokkien (which is widely spoken within the Chinese diaspora but lacks a standard written form) to hold conversations with English speakers.
German bank N26 launches crypto trading to its over 7 million customers
European digital bank N26 announced that it is launching a crypto trading service for its customers. Notably, Austria is set to be the first market for the said launch.
The Germany-based bank will make use of crypto exchange Bitpanda’s trading and custody platform to give bank’s customers access to crypto. The service, called N26 Crypto, is set to become available to the bank′s Austrian clients in the coming weeks and it will initially include 100 tokens including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, and XRP among others.
N26 plans to roll out the feature to users in other markets over the next six months and eventually expand its token offering to include a total of 194 tokens.
European digital bank N26 announced that it is launching a crypto trading service for its customers. Notably, Austria is set to be the first market for the said launch.
The Germany-based bank will make use of crypto exchange Bitpanda’s trading and custody platform to give bank’s customers access to crypto. The service, called N26 Crypto, is set to become available to the bank′s Austrian clients in the coming weeks and it will initially include 100 tokens including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, and XRP among others.
N26 plans to roll out the feature to users in other markets over the next six months and eventually expand its token offering to include a total of 194 tokens.
CNBC
Europe’s $9 billion digital bank N26 launches crypto trading service amid bear market
An N26 executive said interest in cryptocurrencies "remains super high, even in a bear market."
OpenAI in advanced talks with Microsoft for more funding
OpenAI, whose text- and image-generating artificial intelligence has become a mainstream hit, is in advanced talks to raise more funding from Microsoft, which previously backed the startup with capital that includes credits to use Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing services to develop its technology, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.
A new deal could help Microsoft grow Azure usage, one of its top priorities, while keeping OpenAI’s business away from rivals including Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud.
The talks follow a previously undisclosed sale of OpenAI stock by existing shareholders last year to investors including Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, Bedrock Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.
In that deal, the price of the shares implied a valuation of nearly $20 billion for the seven-year-old startup, said several people with knowledge of the deal.
OpenAI, whose text- and image-generating artificial intelligence has become a mainstream hit, is in advanced talks to raise more funding from Microsoft, which previously backed the startup with capital that includes credits to use Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing services to develop its technology, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.
A new deal could help Microsoft grow Azure usage, one of its top priorities, while keeping OpenAI’s business away from rivals including Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud.
The talks follow a previously undisclosed sale of OpenAI stock by existing shareholders last year to investors including Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, Bedrock Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.
In that deal, the price of the shares implied a valuation of nearly $20 billion for the seven-year-old startup, said several people with knowledge of the deal.
The Information
OpenAI, Valued at Nearly $20 Billion, in Advanced Talks with Microsoft For More Funding
OpenAI, whose text- and image-generating artificial intelligence has become a mainstream hit, is in advanced talks to raise more funding from Microsoft, which previously backed the startup with capital that includes credits to use Microsoft’s Azure cloud…
A new report on DeFi regulation commissioned by the EU Commission was published.
This report will contribute to the EU policy debate on the topic that is expected to lead to a DeFi report (or even legislation) in 2023.
The report makes 4 policy proposals:
1. Regulate legal entities (macro-prudential provisions etc.)
2. Introduce a voluntary framework for DeFi supervision
3. Establish a public observatory that issues opinions based on public on-chain data ("embedded supervision")
4. Build an approach for oracle supervision/reg.
An interesting report that will definitely contribute to the current discussion across the pond on how DeFi should be approached from a policy/regulatory perspective.
This report will contribute to the EU policy debate on the topic that is expected to lead to a DeFi report (or even legislation) in 2023.
The report makes 4 policy proposals:
1. Regulate legal entities (macro-prudential provisions etc.)
2. Introduce a voluntary framework for DeFi supervision
3. Establish a public observatory that issues opinions based on public on-chain data ("embedded supervision")
4. Build an approach for oracle supervision/reg.
An interesting report that will definitely contribute to the current discussion across the pond on how DeFi should be approached from a policy/regulatory perspective.