Warner Music Goes for Blockchain Gaming, Mintable Recovers Stolen NFTs + More News

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.

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Gaming news

• Warner Music Group (WMG) announced it has partnered with blockchain gaming developer Splinterlands. The “first-of-its-kind deal” will see the partners collaborating to give select WMG artists opportunities to create and develop play-to-earn, arcade-style blockchain games, they said.

NFTs news

• NFT marketplace Mintable said it is sending three NFTs that were stolen in a recent OpenSea exploit back to their rightful owners after finding them on the LooksRare marketplace and buying them. Mintable is first reaching out to the Azuki project where these NFTs originated to help identify the community members who own the tokens and then to open up a channel of communication to ensure that the NFTs returned remain secure.
• Privacy-oriented blockchain SCRT Network is launching what they say is the first-ever play-to-mint NFT platform called Legendao. Their technology will enable new top-tier artists, brands, and creators to launch their own NFT projects through a gamified experience and platform that’s designed to be its own universe, they added.
• User-controlled digital identity platform Unstoppable Domains announced that almost 150 projects have now added support for its NFT domain names. This includes 90+ dapps that have added support for its latest product, Login with Unstoppable.

Regulation news

• The Brazilian Senate’s economic affairs committee approved a bill regulating crypto transactions, which creates the label “virtual service providers” for crypto companies, to be subject to criminal liability for violations against the Brazilian financial system. In addition to crypto companies receiving authorization to operate, if the bill is approved, crypto firms will have to notify the Brazilian Financial Activities Control Council of transactions suspected of money laundering.
• The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning shot on crypto mergers following an acquisition announcement by Austrian exchange Bitpanda. The watchdog stated that it has yet to “assess the fitness and propriety” of the exchange, adding that it “can take steps to suspend or cancel the registration of a cryptoasset business if it is not satisfied the firm or its beneficial owner is fit and proper.”
• Crypto platform Uphold announced it has received authorization from the UK FCA to operate as a Registered Crypto Asset firm in the UK.
• Up to 210 bank accounts holding about $7.8m were frozen when the federal government in Canada used emergency powers to end a protest occupation of downtown Ottawa, but federal officials report that most of the accounts are now in the process of being released, CBC reported.

Security news

• Developers behind Web3Memes (W3M), a Binance Smart Chain (BSC)-based memecoin, have reportedly drained the token’s liquidity pools of nearly BNB 625 (USD 237,345), according to blockchain security firm PeckShield.

Wallet news

• Crypto exchange Coinbase said they’re adding support for the Ledger hardware wallet to their Coinbase Wallet extension.

Payments news

• Crypto payments company Wirex announced the addition of the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain to their recently launched non-custodial wallet, as well as the Wirex app. Later this year, Wirex has plans to integrate further blockchains into their app.

Exchanges news

• Binance announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build a partnership with SM Brand Marketing (SMBM), a subsidiary of a South Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment (SM). Binance and SMBM will establish a global “play-to-create” ecosystem, where the partnership will begin with cooperation in the NFT sector and the creation of a joint fund.

Stablecoin news

• Stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) said that, on December 31, its consolidated total assets amounted to at least USD 78.6bn with consolidated total liabilities amounting to USD 78.5bn, of which USD 78.48bn relates to digital tokens issued in its latest quarterly assurance opinion. Also, the company said it increased investments in money market funds and treasury bills as well as A-1+ commercial paper holdings over the previous quarter.

Investments news

• Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, purchased a stake in blockchain innovation company tZero. ICE Chief Strategy Officer David Goone will become tZero’s new chief executive officer next month.
• Crypto exchange Foxbit raised USD 21m in a Series A funding round led by OK Group, owner of crypto exchange Okcoin. Funds will be used for the development of new technologies, expansion of the company’s product and technology teams, and potential acquisitions, they added.
• Cash stream protocol Zebek raised USD 15m in a new financing round co-led by Solana Ventures and Distributed Global. Zebec’s initial application, Zebec Pay, is a tax compliant, on-chain payroll processing system enabling employees to be paid by a second in stablecoins and immediately use their money.
• Emerging markets neobank Canza Finance announced the completion of its USD 3.27m seed round led by Fenbushi Capital. This funding enables Canza to continue headcount growth and expand its service offering in Nigeria and other growth regions including South America and Asia, they added.
• Decentralized margin protocol Marginfi announced it has raised USD 3m in seed financing co-led by Multicoin Capital and Pantera Capital. The funds will be used to drive community and ecosystem development, launch the protocol into DevNet in Q1, and support institution and partner integrations.

Mining news

• Crypto tech firm Bitfury said operations have begun at its new Canadian mining site, with capacity expected to reach 16 megawatts by the end of the month, and another 12MW to be completed by the end of May. This Sarnia, Ontario, facility joins other Bitfury mining locations in North America, Norway, and the Republic of Georgia.

Web3 news

• Scaling platform Polygon is launching Finity, a rapid-build, user interface (UI) development tool that aims to deliver a ‘facelift’ to UIs and user experiences (UXs) in Web3. The project aims to enable developers to focus on crucial dapp features and functionality while ensuring the UI and UX are up to scratch.

Career news

• Christine Moy, one of banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s top blockchain executives, is leaving the firm to pursue a new opportunity. She has not revealed what that opportunity is.