Regulators in the United Kingdom are releasing new regulations for influencers and memes that promote financial products. In a new press release, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is giving out new guidelines on how social media can be used to promote financial products, including fintech and digital assets, as a means of combating fraud. […]
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Popular dog-themed meme asset Dogecoin (DOGE) is seeing a bump in price after billionaire Elon Musk shared a Scooby-Doo meme. On Wednesday, the business magnate posted a meme of Scooby-Doo that compared the popular cartoon character to various famous historical philosophers with the caption “Doges for the win.” The business magnate’s post sent DOGE flying […]
The post ‘Doges for the Win’ Dogecoin Leaps 3% in 15 Minutes After Elon Musk Shares Scooby-Doo Meme appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Lawmakers in the UK are now targeting crypto memes and fintech influencers in an effort to enforce new social media guidelines. According to a new press release by the nation’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the regulatory agency will be cracking down on illicit and non-compliant financial promotion starting in October. “The FCA has been ramping […]
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Memes found to be non-compliant with financial promotion rules could carry up to two years in jail under a proposal from the FCA.
Crypto firms and influencers may need to start slapping disclaimers on crypto memes to stay compliant with advertising laws in the United Kingdom, according to a new proposed guidance from the country's financial regulator.
On July 17, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a proposed guidance on social media financial promotions which targets promotional memes and financial influencers — “finfluencers.”
Too many people across the UK are being shown financial promotions from unsuitable sources.
— Financial Conduct Authority (@TheFCA) July 17, 2023
We’ll be ramping up our work to stamp out illegal financial promotions, particularly those found on social media. #financialpromotions #financialservices https://t.co/sK8r5ExxVm
The FCA said it’s seen memes from crypto firms circulated online which many don’t realize are subject to its promotional rules.
It said promotional memes are particularly prevalent in the crypto sector and added any type of communication could be considered a financial promotion.
The FCA considers crypto a high-risk investment. It can be advertised to retail investors at large but there are requirements such as including risk warnings and a ban on investment incentives.
It said in Q4 2022, 69% of financial promotions on websites or social media from authorized firms were amended or withdrawn following FCA intervention.
It launched the consultation to update its guidance from 2015 and make clear its expectations on how marketers are to implement its regulations around promotions.
The FCA stated it’s seen an increase in the number of finance-oriented influencers promoting financial products they have little knowledge of, which typically target a younger audience.
Related: UK bill on online safety should apply in the metaverse, say lawmakers
It warned influencers their promotions could be an offense punishable by up to two years in jail, an unlimited fine or both. The law applies even to promotions from outside the U.K. which could have an effect in the country.
In its reasoning for the reminder, it cited a report that claimed over 60% of 18-to 29-year-olds follow social media influencers, with three-quarters saying they trust their advice.
A 2021 FCA survey found 58% of respondents under 40 years old cited hype from social media and the news as reasons for their investment in what the watchdog considers a high-risk product.
Public comments on the proposed guidance are open until Sep. 11.
Magazine: Cryptocurrency trading addiction — What to look out for and how it is treated
The conference known as “Proof of Conference,” slated to run in May, has been canceled due to “less interest than anticipated,” according to co-founder Kevin Rose.
Kevin Rose, the co-founder of the nonfungible token (NFT) collection Moonbirds, has confirmed that their flagship conference, “Proof of Conference,” scheduled for May, has been canceled, citing “less interest than anticipated.”
We made a tough decision today, I want to apologize to everyone that planned on making the trip out. Full ETH refunds have been processed, hotels are refundable, and contact us about flights. (details below) https://t.co/tV4ba85648
— KΞVIN R◎SE (,) (@kevinrose) February 20, 2023
The conference was first announced in early November. It was scheduled for May 11 to May 13 in Los Angeles.
However, Rose explained in a Feb. 20 letter to ticket holders that it wasn’t “the right time” for the conference:
“As you know, in the world of NFTs, timing is everything. And today, it’s time for us to recognize that right now isn’t the right time for the PROOF of Conference.”
Rose explained that he and his Proof team considered alternatives, such as opting for a smaller venue in Los Angeles, reducing the scope of the event and lowering ticket prices.
But ultimately, it was best to cancel the whole event, he said.
“After several weeks of sales data, speaking with potential sponsors, and talking to community members, it's clear that there is considerably less interest than anticipated for an event like this right now.”
Rose confirmed that the company is processing Ether (ETH) refunds and that Proof has a claim page for people to submit non-refundable flight cancellations.
The event would feature Michael “Beeple” Winkelmann — the artist behind the famous NFT that sold for $69 million in March 2021 — Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian; Greg Solano and Wylie Aronow of Yuga Labs; and NFT entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk — among others.
The announcement comes despite the NFT market soaring in recent months, with January seeing an eight-month high in monthly NFT trading volumes above $1 billion.
The emergence of NFT-like “Ordinals” on Bitcoin over the last month has brought a series of meme images to the network of late, including a famous Bitcoin wizard meme that first made rounds on the Bitcoin subreddit in 2013.
Thanks to Ordinals, the meme artist known as “Mavensbot” has just received 6 Bitcoin (BTC) — worth $150,000 at current prices for his iconic work.
This was made possible after blockchain research analyst Udi Wertheimer and meme-inspired Bitcoin community Taproot Wizard inscribed the wizard meme on Bitcoin to not only “celebrate the 10-year anniversary of his art” but reel in some cash for the creator of the meme, “Mavensbot,” according to Wertheimer:
Short story about how we got NFT mfers to support a historic bitcoin artist with $150,000 via lightning payments, and how bitcoin maxis HATE us for it.
— Udi Wertheimer ♂️ (@udiWertheimer) February 21, 2023
(I know it’s a long tweet but it’s a good story)
Mavensbot (on top in the screenshot below) is the creator of the famous 2013… https://t.co/kPd9IlCaWs pic.twitter.com/wGTegIiDM4
Within the first three hours alone, 6 BTC were sent from “NFT enjoyers” to Mavensbot via the Lightning Network.
“Watching this made me really happy. The NFT community that I admire, using the Bitcoin asset and Lightning Network that I believe in, to support an artist whose work means so much to me.”
“You love to see it,” he added.
Taproot Wizards is part of a movement that wants to “make Bitcoin magical again” with magic internet JPEGs inscribed forever on the Bitcoin blockchain.
However, Wertheimer highlighted that not everyone is on board with the whole Ordinals concept — particularly the “Bitcoin maximialists.”
But Wertheimer doubled down, demanding Bitcoin maximalists not to take everything seriously:
“It’s time to go back to the spirit of the 2013 Bitcoin wizard. Playfulness, experimentation, innovation. Not taking ourselves so god damn seriously all the time. HAVING FUN, for Satoshi’s sake. I truly believe that with ordinals we finally have a chance to do this.”
Australian cocktail and NFT connoisseurs have a new venue in Sydney to haunt — one that allows holders of its NFTs access to additional privileges at the bar.
The Sydney-based cocktail bar, Bar Lulu, launched on Feb. 21, along with an NFT members club bar named Cryptolulu.
Based in Sydney, patrons must buy the NFT member club bar on NFT marketplace OpenSea on the Ethereum network to access certain privileges.
There are three tokens that can be purchased — Jia Lulu, Joo Lulu and Ryuu Lulu.
Each NFT represents a different tier to their membership which will unlock unique and incremental rewards, priorities and benefits.
Tokenholders can attend various Web3 networking events and educational sessions and be granted access to exclusive private lounges and dinners, among other things.
Bar Lulu claims the NFT membership program to be an Australian first.
The bar added that the launch comes on the back of months of seeing how similar experimentations worked out overseas in the hospitality sector.
A former Amazon and Starbucks executive, Ben Straley, has launched NFT startup, “Thred,” which aims to be the Yelp, Tripadvisor or Zillow of the NFT industry.
The NFT-focused startup launched Feb. 16 and will help users discover NFT collectibles and review them, according to a report from TechCrunch.
Straley’s move into the NFT space comes from 25 years in digital product and customer experience leadership roles.
Thred’s platform will combine automated machine learning and algorithms to rank NFTs on the Ethereum and Polygon networks.
It will help potential buyers better understand the collections' significance and help distinguish which NFTs are legitimate.
One month into the “Ordinals” mania on Bitcoin, a protocol fork has made Ordinals possible on the Litecoin network. Australian software engineer Anthony Guerrera said it was “quite simple” and that he was motivated to make the fork due to a 22 Litecoin (LTC) bounty.
Real Vision co-founder and CEO Raoul Pal stated on Feb. 20 that NFTs will act similarly to high-end property in the traditional economy and potentially outperform ETH during bull markets.
The former JPMorgan executive explained that NFT collections, such as CryptoPunks and the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), had become status symbols, much like luxury cars and houses, and he expects that trend to continue.
The community has been divided as to whether the NFT-like "digital artifacts" are the right fit for the Bitcoin ecosystem.
The recent launch of a nonfungible token (NFT) protocol on the Bitcoin mainnet has the crypto community divided over whether it’ll be good for the Bitcoin ecosystem.
The protocol, referred to as “Ordinals,” was created by software engineer Casey Rodarmor, who officially launched the program on the Bitcoin mainnet following a Jan. 21 blog post.
The protocol essentially allows for the Bitcoin version of NFTs — described as “digital artifacts” on the Bitcoin network.
These “digital artificats” can comprise of JPEG-like images, PDFs, video and audio formats.
The introduction of the protocol has the Bitcoin community divided however, with some arguing that it would offer more financial use cases for Bitcoin, while others say its straying away from Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision of Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer cash system.
Bitcoin bull Dan Held was one of those on board with the development, noting that it would drive demand for block space, and thus fees, while bringing more use cases to Bitcoin.
Why it's good:
— Dan Held (@danheld) January 29, 2023
- Brings more financial use cases to Bitcoin
- Drives more demand for block space (aka fees)
My take:
- If you pay a tx fee, it's not spam.
- Bitcoin is permissionless. Can't stop anyone from building it anyway.
Some have pointed out that these NFT-like structures have taken up block space on the Bitcoin network, which could drive up transaction fees.
BREAKING: NFTs ON #BITCOIN
— Bitcoin News ⚡ (@BitcoinNewsCom) January 29, 2023
Ordinals are taking up most of the BLOCKSPACE pic.twitter.com/Gxwq4vV8MI
Among those include “Bitcoin is Saving” on Twitter, suggesting to its 237,600 followers on Jan. 29 that “privileged wealthy white” people’s desire to put JPEGs as status symbols may exclude marginalized people from participating in the Bitcoin network.
Cryptocurrency researcher Eric Wall disagreed with the opinion that the in-built block size limit will prevent a rise in transaction fees.
Others, such as Blockstream CEO and Bitcoin core developer Adam Back wasn’t happy with meme culture being brought to Bitcoin, who suggested the developers to take the “stupidity” elsewhere:
"you can't stop them" well ofc! bitcoin is designed to be censor resistant. doesn't stop us mildly commenting on the sheer waste and stupidity of an encoding. at least do something efficient. otherwise it's another proof of consumption of block-space thingy.
— Adam Back (@adam3us) January 29, 2023
However, Ethereum bull and host of The Daily Gwei Anthony Sassano took a shot at the Blockstream CEO for wanting “undesirable” transactions to be censored — which many believe goes against the ethos of Bitcoin:
Adam Back and Luke Dashjr are both Bitcoin core developers who have encouraged censorship over the last 48 hours of these "undesirable" transactions
— sassal.eth (@sassal0x) January 30, 2023
So no, it isn't just Bitcoin maximalists - it's actual Bitcoin core developers
Related: Stacks ecosystem becomes #1 Web3 project on Bitcoin
In a blog post, Rodarmor explained that the NFT-like structures are created by inscribing satoshis — the native currency of the Bitcoin network — with arbitrary content.
These inscribed satoshis — which are cryptographically represented by a string of numbers — can then be secured or transferred to other Bitcoin addresses, according to notes in Ordinal’s technical documentation:
“Inscribing is done by sending the satoshi to be inscribed in a transaction that reveals the inscription content on-chain. This content is then inextricably linked to that satoshi, turning it into an immutable digital artifact that can be tracked, transferred, hoarded, bought, sold, lost, and rediscovered.”
The inscriptions take place on the Bitcoin mainnet, no sidechain or separate token is needed, the document states.
Inscriptions are finally ready for Bitcoin mainnet.
— Casey Rodarmor (@rodarmor) January 20, 2023
Inscriptions are like NFTs, but are true digital artifacts: decentralized, immutable, always on-chain, and native to Bitcoin. https://t.co/a4dK7zdITS
It appears that only 277 digital artifacts have been inscripted thus far, according to the Ordinals website.
Interestingly, Rodarmor — admitted in an Aug. 25 interview on Hell Money Podcast that Ordinals was created to bring memes to life on Bitcoin:
“This is 100% a meme-driven development.”
Ethereum bull Anthony Sassano and Gnosis co-founder Martin Köppelmann were among those explaining later that the Wrapped Ethereum (wETH) FUD was part of an inside joke.
An inside joke about the “insolvency” of Wrapped Ethereum (wETH) over the weekend has forced influencers to explain it was just a “shitpost” after members of the community took it as real.
The wETH insolvency FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) seemingly began to make the rounds on Nov. 26, with false rumors alleging that wETH isn’t backed 1:1 by Ether (ETH) and is insolvent.
Blockchain developer and contributor to the ERC-721A token standard “cygaar” was one of the first to spread the joke, before confirming in a subsequent post that it was in fact a “shitpost” to see who was reading his content.
This is really a test to see who’s been reading my content.
— cygaar (@0xCygaar) November 26, 2022
In fact, only a day before, cygaar tweeted that “WETH cannot ever go insolvent” and that “WETH will always be swappable 1:1 with ETH.”
Ethereum bull and host of The Daily Gwei Anthony Sassano also joined in on the wETH joke with his own parody post on Nov. 27, but had to clarify later that the initial post was “shitpost/ meme” after reading the replies.
Reading the replies I feel like I should clarify
— sassal.eth (@sassal0x) November 27, 2022
This is a shitpost/meme - there is nothing wrong with WETH and you can always redeem 1 ETH for 1 WETH
Though if you don't believe me I'll buy all of your WETH right now for 0.3 ETH
Sell me all you want
Then go fuck off
Gnosis co-founder Martin Köppelmann was another one to get in on the joke, claiming in a Nov. 27 Tweet to his 38,800 Twitter followers that wETH is no longer fully backed by ETH and that “we might see a bank run on redeeming WETH soon.”
Hours later, he said he hoped the joke “did not cause too much confusion,” linking to a thread that explained the joke for those who weren't in the know.
I hope this joke did not caused too much confusion. If you need more context find it here:https://t.co/KDN3NvdO2z
— Martin Köppelmann (@koeppelmann) November 27, 2022
Related: What is wrapped Ethereum (wETH) and how does it work?
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Markus Thielen, the head of research at crypto financial services platform Matrixport has also confirmed that there is little to no truth to the WETH “shitposts.”
wETH’s logic is automated by smart contracts and it isn’t controlled by a centralized entity, he explained:
“I am not too concerned about WETH as it's a smart contract and not stored by a centralized exchange. Since the smart contract is open source, it can be checked for bugs or flaws.”
On the other hand, recent FUD against Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) could be warranted, said Thielen, referring to rumors that FTX may have printed 100,000 wBTC out of thin air, as FTX’s Nov. 11 bankruptcy filing does not show any BTC on FTX’s balance sheet.
“WBTC is completely different and here the concerns are valid,” Thielen explained.
wETH is a wrapped version of ETH that is pegged at a 1:1 ratio, which aims to solve interoperability issues on Ethereum-compatible blockchains by allowing for ERC-20 tokens to be exchanged more easily.
wETH was introduced as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum network for this reason, as ETH follows different rules and thus cannot be directly traded with ERC-20 tokens.
Despite the lighthearted humor behind the jokes, “Dankrad Feist” suggested to his 15,500 Twitter followers in a Nov. 27 Tweet that the comments should be marked “more clearly as jokes” as it “may not be obvious to outsiders.”
A lot of people making jokes about WETH.
— Dankrad Feist (@dankrad) November 27, 2022
Please be aware it may not be obvious to outsiders that it's completely different from bridged assets and there is literally almost zero risk. I think it would be better to mark these more clearly as jokes.
wETH is currently priced at $1,196, at a current ratio of 0.999:1 to ETH, according to data from Coinmarketcap.
President Nayib Bukele is responding to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) warning that El Salvador should remove the legal tender status of Bitcoin (BTC) with a meme. Back in September of last year, El Salvador became the world’s first nation to recognize Bitcoin (BTC) as an official currency. The leading crypto asset has since gone […]
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