David Bowie unreleased record debuts as music NFT

April 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Charity

Gala Music, a Web3 startup subsidiary, is launching 3,003 NFTs on April 14, with an unreleased version of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” included.

A previously unreleased version of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” has surfaced as part of a limited edition collection of nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

Gala Music, a subsidiary of the Web3 startup Gala Games, has joined forces with music producer Larry Dvoskin and publisher Warner Chappell Music to unveil an unreleased version of David Bowie’s 1983 track “Let’s Dance” as part of a limited edition collection of NFTs. The announcement was made on Thursday, March 6.

David Bowie created an impressive discography that included 27 studio albums, 11 live albums, four soundtracks and 128 singles during his lifetime. However, despite his passing in 2016, the singer-songwriter still has at least one unheard track.

Gala Music plans to launch 3,003 NFTs that showcase Bowie-inspired artwork on April 14, four decades after the original release of “Let’s Dance.“ Each NFT will grant its owner exclusive access to an unreleased version of the song, which Dvoskin co-produced with Bowie in 2002.

Put on your red shoes and dance the blues!

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of 'Let's Dance' we're releasing a never before heard version of #DavidBowie's iconic track with proceeds donated to @MusiCares.

Let's Dance! https://t.co/bzbfHiHBZV #BowieForever #ABetterWayToPlay pic.twitter.com/rTLPEHr6v8
— Gala Music (@GoGalaMusic) April 6, 2023

The NFTs will be available for purchase on a “pay-what-you-wish” basis, and the initial profits from the sales will go toward supporting MusiCares, a charity offering health and human services to individuals in the music industry.

The upcoming release next week will not be the first time the Bowie estate has ventured into blockchain technology. In September 2022, the Bowie estate collaborated with OpenSea NFT marketplace to introduce a collection of NFTs called “Bowie on the Blockchain” to raise charity funds. However, this collection faced significant criticism from Bowie’s supporters, who viewed the foray into blockchain as contradictory to the artist’s principles and beliefs.

Gala Games is primarily recognized for its Web3 gaming initiatives, allowing developers to create play-to-earn crypto and NFT games, but it has also expanded its interests to include music and film.

Magazine: 2023 is a make-or-break year for blockchain gaming: Play-to-own

P2P Bitcoin Exchange Paxful Suspends Marketplace With Uncertainty of Return

April 4, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Crypto donations amplify speed and global reach during crisis

March 2, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Charity

Cryptocurrencies are proving useful in facilitating fast and unencumbered donations during crises, as recently seen during earthquake relief efforts in Turkey and Syria.

Donations made in cryptocurrencies are proving to be a fast and far-reaching means of providing financial aid during times of crisis, according to multiple industry players.

This has proven to be the case after devastating earthquakes hit parts of Turkey and Syria in February. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis estimates that around $5.9 million of donations have been made to support relief efforts in the region in the month since the natural disaster took place.

The likes of Turkey’s Ministry of Interior Earthquake Humanitarian Aid campaign, Turkish Red Crescent, Save the Children and Project Hope have received cryptocurrency-based donations. In addition, a number of cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Tether, Bitfinex, OKX, and KuCoin, donated more than $9 million to support victims in the area.

Cointelegraph reached out to Chainalysis to unpack the methodology used to monitor crypto-based donations supporting disaster relief efforts in Turkey and Syria.

Chainalysis director of research Kim Grauer said the firm uses a combination of human intelligence gathered by its experts and proprietary heuristics to identify and monitor flows to cryptocurrency services. This includes organizations accepting donations as well as scams that have looked to divert donations from unwitting supporters.

Grauer believes that the speed of transactions and global nature of cryptocurrency transactions are proving to be an important means of providing quick monetary support during times of crisis:

“Cryptocurrency is cross-border, instantaneous, and liquid, making it an ideal technology for raising funds and getting them to where they are needed most quickly.”

Grauer also highlights the ability to accurately monitor blockchain data as another strong argument for the utility of cryptocurrencies in facilitating donations and support after disasters and major emergencies:

“The transparency of blockchains is a unique benefit to cryptocurrency, providing opportunities to aid organizations to track donations and for law enforcement agencies to identify and trace illegitimate schemes attempting to capitalize in times of crisis.”

Antonia Roupell, Web3 operations lead at Save the Children, tells Cointelegraph that the organization first accepted Bitcoin as a method of donation in response to Typhoon Haiyan that ravaged the Philippines in 2013. From 2020 onwards, the charity has raised $7.4 million in cryptocurrency donations.

This has continued during the organization’s earthquake relief work in Turkey and Syria. Roupell highlights a number of benefits of crypto-based donations in comparison to fiat-based donations.

“The vast majority of our crypto donors are first-time donors to Save the Children so crypto has enabled us to access a new and growing supporter base.”

Blockchain functionality also powers recurring giving, according to Roupell. In 2021, Save the Children received a number of Ethereum donations from NFT sales, some of which coded future donations through the smart contract functionality of specific NFTs.

Roupell also highlights tax benefits in the United States for donating cryptocurrency to charity, which has led to an increase in donations at the end of the financial year. She also notes that crypto donations are, on average, significantly higher than fiat ones.

While highlighting positives, Roupell said a downside was the anonymity of the majority of cryptocurrency donors, which rules out the ability to thank benefactors for their contributions.

Roupell believes there is great value in blockchain-based solutions facilitation and support aid efforts around the world and that humanitarian organizations will have an increasingly key role to play in integrating and scaling access at grassroots levels:

“Cryptocurrency is a great donation vehicle, but the underlying technology, peer-to-peer electronic cash, is truly revolutionary for economic inclusion.”

The charity supports a variety of cryptocurrencies that are accepted by the crypto donation platform The Giving Block, while Roupell said the organization does ‘not endorse, promote or pass judgment’ on any specific tokens. It also accepts global fiat currencies and stocks, with a priority to raise urgent funds to support global humanitarian responses.

Charity tied to former FTX exec made $150M from insider trading: Report

February 14, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Charity tied to former FTX exec made 0M from insider trading: Report

Business

The former FTX chief of staff reportedly ‘donated’ FTT tokens he had obtained at a price of $0.05, later selling them after public trading opened for $1.

Polaris Ventures, a charity created by former FTX and Alameda chief of staff Ruairi Donnelly, reportedly wants to access roughly $150 million earned from insider trading on the bankrupt exchange’s tokens.

According to a Feb. 14 Wall Street Journal report, Donnelly received roughly $562,000 in salary during his time at FTX, which was converted into FTX Tokens (FTT) at a rate not yet available to the public — $0.05. The former executive reportedly ‘donated’ the tokens to Polaris Ventures, selling them in 2019 and 2020 after public trading opened at price of $1 and making millions.

FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022, at which time many wallets and funds tied to the exchange were seized by authorities or otherwise frozen for legal proceedings. Donnelly reportedly seeks to cash out the $150 million amid public scrutiny on FTX and Alameda and their former CEOs.

Donnely’s legal team reportedly said the charity’s FTT tokens “were not FTX’s funds” and seemingly not subject to claims from other parties. Debtors for the exchange said on Dec. 19 they would “make arrangements for the return” of funds donated to charities or political campaigns and suggested legal action to obtain payments with interest should any group refuse.

Sharing the FTX Debtors’ press release just issued: https://t.co/NdXQlUTM6r
— FTX (@FTX_Official) February 5, 2023

Amid FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings in the United States, some regulators have announced investigations into charitable organizations. The Charity Commission for England and Wales said in January that it had launched an inquiry into Effective Ventures due to FTX being a “significant funder” of the group.

The Web3 community responds to Turkish–Syrian earthquake tragedy

February 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Charity

In the aftermath of a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southeastern Turkey, the Web3 community has come together to raise awareness and aid for victims of the disaster.

A massive earthquake hit southeastern Turkey along the border with Syria on Feb. 6, which has so far caused the death of more than 5,000 people. The quake had a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale, which is internationally categorized as a “major” earthquake, and occurred along 100 kilometers (62 miles) of the fault line.

Infrastructure in the area suffered major damages, resulting in a deadly cross-border humanitarian disaster.

However, the world was quick to respond. Across the internet and various social media platforms, people have been gathering funds for local and international aid organizations to provide relief to those in the affected areas.

Two of the largest aid efforts in Turkey, AFAD Turkiye, the government agency for such disasters, and the NGO Ahbap, led by philanthropist Haluk Levent, have been at the head of organizing an influx of aid.

Levent announced that his organization has opened up crypto addresses in order to accept aid in various forms of digital currencies.

Ayrıca diğer adresler

ERC20 Ağı Transferleri:
0xe1935271D1993434A1a59fE08f24891Dc5F398Cd

BEP20 Ağı Transferleri:
0xB67705398fEd380a1CE02e77095fed64f8aCe463

Avalanche Ağı Transferleri:
0x868D27c361682462536DfE361f2e20B3A6f4dDD8
— Haluk Levent (@haluklevent) February 7, 2023

Refik Anadol, a Turkish artist and art director, also started a crowdfund via an Ether (ETH) address, in which he will transfer the collected funds to both AFAD and Ahbap.

Dear friends, ETH wallet to support people in earthquake region. This funds will help so much for people under massive challenges in the most cold days. Hope we can gather together a strong support in web3 community! Thank you! 0xEd67922e36eD2422d391306f6f6ECC19d58EAa4f
— Refik Anadol (@refikanadol) February 6, 2023

Within the Web3 space, various companies in the industry have stepped up to provide help, be it in the form of crypto or fiat donations or even physical aid.

Crypto derivatives trader Bitget announced that it would commit 1 million Turkish liras (~$53,000), while Bitfinex, Keet, Synonym and Tether pledged 5 million liras (~$265,500), and Gateio pledged 1 million liras (~$53,000).

Local Turkish crypto exchange Bitci sent an aid truck to the earthquake zone while announcing that all commission income for the month of February will be donated to Ahbap on behalf of the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake. Icrypex announced coordination efforts with AFAD and Ahbap.

BtcTurk told Cointelegraph that, aside from donating 6 million liras ($318,000) to the Ahbap and Akut organizations, the Turkish crypto exchange sent 1.2 million liras ($62,000) worth of clothing aid to the zone in coordination with local governments.

The Turkish branch of ByBit and OKX have both committed to send $100,000 and 1 million liras (~$53,000) in aid, respectively.

Cointelegraph also spoke with Sebastien Borget, co-founder and chief operating officer of The Sandbox, about his efforts with The Sandbox Turkey to provide on-the-ground support for the local communities.

“Our thoughts are with the Turkish people today. Together with The Sandbox creator community in Turkey, we are in touch with relevant non-governmental organizations to create a relief fund and support earthquake-affected areas.”

He said together with The Sandbox Turkey, they’ve helped fill a truck with urgent supplies for the victims and people affected and look for options for more long-term support.

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have also been mentioned as a possible way of fundraising for the disaster.

Turkish NFT artist Pak tweeted about an ETH donation to Ahbap, along with plans for an NFT initiative for long-term support. Gate.io, in its proposal, also mentioned developing an NFT aid initiative for additional support in the near future.

This is a developing situation that Cointelegraph is monitoring. This article will be updated with any relevant information.

FTX Debtors Demand Return of Funds Given to US Politicians and Super PACs

February 6, 2023 Bitcoin.com

UK regulator investigates charity linked to FTX

January 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Charity

The Charity Commission opened the inquiry on Dec. 19, after FTX had filed for bankruptcy in the United States and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested.

The commission in charge of regulating registered charities in England and Wales has announced it had begun investigating Effective Ventures Foundation, an organization tied to bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.

In a Jan. 30 announcement, the Charity Commission said it had launched the inquiry due to FTX being a “significant funder” of Effective Ventures. According to the commission, Effective Ventures reported its ties to FTX as a “serious incident” potentially affecting other assets, opening the door for the regulator to investigate its trustees.

“There is no indication of wrongdoing by the trustees at this time,” said the commission. “However, there are indications of potential risks to the charity’s assets, and the inquiry has been opened to establish facts and help ensure the trustees protect the charity’s assets and are running the charity in line with their duties and responsibilities.”

We’ve opened an inquiry into Effective Ventures Foundation following the bankruptcy of a significant funder.

Read more: https://t.co/zjH1TdysYf pic.twitter.com/Qda9I0YwVP
— Charity Commission (@ChtyCommission) January 30, 2023

The Charity Commission reported that the trustees were “cooperating fully” as part of the investigation, and it will release a report on its findings. The regulator opened the inquiry on Dec. 19 — after FTX had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas.

In the United States, charitable organizations that previously benefited from FTX funds have reportedly been targeted amid the exchange’s bankruptcy proceedings — the firm made millions of dollars in donations to various groups and causes. Many political campaigns have pledged to return funds tied to FTX or Bankman-Fried, but it’s unclear whether businesses and investors will be forced to legally ‘refund’ the exchange’s debtors.

Binance Charity to provide over 30K Web3 scholarships in 2023

January 22, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Binance Academy

Among the education centers involved include colleges in Australia, Cyprus and Germany, Nigerian-based tech hub Utiva, Women in Tech, and two Ukrainian organizations.

The philanthropic arm of Binance — Binance Charity — is set to fund 30,65 scholarships to students keen on forging out a career in Web3 in 2023.

The Binance Charity Scholar Program (BCSP) will provide free Web3 education and training courses which will enable tech-savvy students to upskill without having to leap-frog any unnecessary financial barriers, Binance Charity explained, in a January 20 blog post:

“We recognize that digital education and skills development can be out of reach for many, resulting in a blockchain industry that lacks diversity and talent. The Binance Scholar Program changes all that, covering the costs of tuition and course fees at some of the world’s leading universities, colleges and vocational training providers.”

The blog stated that over 82,000 applicants were interested in becoming a part of the next BCSP cohort, which equates to an acceptance rate of about 37%.

Amongst the education partners getting involved include University of Western Australia, University of Nicosia in Cyprus, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in Germany, and Nigerian-based technology hub Utiva.

French-based tuition-free training center Simplon, Women In Tech, Kyiv IT Cluster, and Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation will also host some of BCSP’s events.

Binance Charity said they partnered with the Ukraine-based departments to help re-train Ukrainians who may have lost their jobs due to the war with Russia.

The partnership with Women In Tech will endeavor to train about 3,000 women in rural South Africa and Brazil to support future female entrepreneurs.

Binance Charity will also receive partnership support from Binance Academy — the company’s non-profit blockchain education portal.

In 2022 alone, Binance Charity hraised more than $3.5 million — most coming in the form of Binance USD (BUSD) — which helped fund over 290,000 hours of Web3 education and training courses.

Our @BinanceBCF team has travelled across the globe this year, offering help and education to those in need.

As we roll into the new year, let's look back on everything #Binance Charity has achieved in 2022. pic.twitter.com/mBSpD0jpaF
— Binance (@binance) December 30, 2022

Head of Binance Charity Helen Hai said interest in the program continues to grow in spades:

“The response to our Web3 education projects has been unprecedented, showing the keen appetite of so many people to learn about blockchain, De-Fi, NFTs, coding and much more.”

“We’re seeing interest from a diverse range of people, including a great ratio of women [...] With so many more education initiatives with amazing partners in the pipeline, we’ve never been more excited to build a more inclusive Web3 world,” she added.

Binance Charity did not confirm when the 30,000+ positions would be filled and when each of the scholar programs would start.

Ukrainian Steals Bitcoin From Russian Darknet Market, Donates to Charity

December 26, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Who has returned donations or contributions from FTX amid the firm’s reputational risks?

December 20, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Charity

Politicians and news organizations have reportedly planned to return roughly $6.6 million in donations from FTX — a mere fraction of the crypto exchange's estimated contributions.

Before its downfall, crypto exchange FTX and its then-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried had been some of the most prolific spenders in the space, bailing out crypto firms and donating to political campaigns and media outlets. With more than 1 million FTX creditors looking to be made whole, what’s happening with these funds?

Bankman-Fried said in May he had been willing to donate between $100 million and $1 billion to lawmakers as part of elections in 2024. Bloomberg reported on Dec. 12 — hours before SBF’s arrest in The Bahamas — that the total donations could be at least $73 million, given directly to candidates or through political action committees (PACs).

Though many of Bankman-Fried’s and FTX's donations to Democrats were noted with the Federal Election Commission as part of the public record, the former CEO implied in a December interview that Republicans had received roughly the same amount in “dark” donations. North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, a Republican, reportedly donated to the Salvation Army the $11,600 he received from SBF and former FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame.

The Democratic National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee all reportedly pledged to return more than $1 million in donations from SBF they had collectively received since 2020. CNBC reported on Dec. 20 that the Senate Majority PAC — supporting Democratic candidates — planned to return the roughly $1 million received from Bankman-Fried and $2 million from former FTX engineer Nishad Singh.

U.S. President Joe Biden, whose 2020 presidential campaign accepted $5.2 million in donations from Bankman-Fried, has not commented on what he intends to do with the funds. Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke — a Democrat who lost his race against incumbent Greg Abbott — reportedly returned a $1 million donation from SBF prior to the 2022 election. New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin have also reportedly donated funds they received to unnamed charities.

These estimates suggest roughly an additional $5 million available to creditors following bankruptcy proceedings, solely from FTX's political contributions.

Along with lobbying politicians, FTX and SBF were directly responsible for loans and grants to news organizations in and out of the crypto space. On Dec. 9, the CEO of crypto news site The Block resigned after accepting and failing to disclose two loans totaling $27 million from Alameda Research, as well as a reported $16-million loan used to purchase property in The Bahamas.

It’s unclear whether The Block or its former CEO is willing to make some FTX investors whole by restructuring. However, Axios reported on Dec. 20 that nonprofit news organization ProPublica planned to return $1.6 million it had received from Bankman-Fried's family foundation as part of a grant, with the funds sent to a separate account until authorities determine the best course of action.

Total estimated returns? $6.6 million.

FTX Users: “Where’s my money?”

Sam: pic.twitter.com/TbfZYlnjIM
— (@DMNDMINE) November 16, 2022

On Dec. 19, FTX announced a “voluntary return” plan for recipients of contributions from the crypto exchange or its executives, hinting at legal action if the funds were not returned. It’s unclear whether all funds will be required to be returned to FTX debtors handling the bankruptcy and reimbursing creditors, or third parties have the option of sending funds directly to the latter.

Bankman-Fried’s legal team reportedly said on Dec. 19 that the former CEO would not fight extradition proceedings to the United States, where he would face charges related to violations of campaign finance laws, wire fraud, and securities fraud. He could be looking at a 115-year sentence if convicted.

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