Coinbase Increases Transparency Of Potential 2022 Listing

Coinbase has announced a series of tokens that could be listed in the second quarter of 2022 to increase transparency.

The largest US crypto exchange also considers other tokens but has not explicitly mentioned any. They will focus on 45 ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum network and five SPL tokens on the Solana network.

Some of the coins with relatively large market caps are Binance USD (BUSD), the third-largest stablecoin on the market, and BitDAO (BIT), one of the largest DAO projects, with a market cap of just over $1 billion at the time.

The exchange said its new method for listing its tokens would also provide as much information symmetry as possible. Information symmetry promotes efficiency and fairness within the market.

It also reduces the likelihood of a pull-up sell-off on listing day, as advanced listing knowledge can mitigate the retail hustle. While it is more common on other centralized and decentralized exchanges, Coinbase has a sizable share of this price action for its listed tokens. In 2020, the OMG Network (OMG) rallied 200% within 15 minutes of its Coinbase listing before crashing.

Crypto projects are aware of the attention a Coinbase listing can bring, or even just the potential it can get. Relatively small DeFi data tokenizer Big Data Protocol (BDP) with a market cap of $3.3 million tweeted today that Coinbase is pleased with the prospect of its possible listing.

Other investors may not even have noticed Coinbase’s new transparency efforts. Many were concerned about the exchange’s intention to produce three films about the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s NFT collection.

China’s Sichuan Province Launches NFT Market

Despite the Chinese government’s ambiguous approach to digital collectibles, Sichuan province in southwest China keeps developing NFT trading platforms.

Sichuan has become a hotbed of modern Chinese music. According to a press release last week, many music companies opt to use blockchain technology to protect their copyrights.

Most companies in China label NFTs as digital collectibles due to state media’s condemnation of the NFT market craze. However, Sichuan authorities did not avoid using “NFT” in their statement.

The NFT platform project has been outsourced to a local blockchain company.

Coincidentally, some other Chinese state media have also been working on launching their own NFT trading platforms. Last week, Shandong state-run TV revealed its plans to build a trading platform for digital collectibles. However, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party last week also called for stricter regulation of digital collectibles.

The Chinese NFT market is now implementing a self-regulatory policy on its platform to comply with government-backed policies.

They have pledged to ban speculation on their NFT market, Alibaba’s blockchain subsidiary AntChain has decided to impose a 180-day transfer ban on its platform, and Tencent has banned secondary transfers.

Delivery App Rappi Starts Accepting Crypto In Mexico

Colombian delivery app Rappi, which provides on-demand delivery of groceries and other goods in Latin America, announced Monday that it had launched a pilot program for cryptocurrency payments in Mexico.

Rappi has partnered with cryptocurrency platforms Bitpay and Bitso to support the new service. The service will allow users to convert cryptocurrencies into points for purchases within the app.

Rappi, which operates in nine Latin American countries, launched Pay with Rappi in Mexico last year. Rappi’s goal was to challenge Paypal and regional rival MercadoLibre (MELI.O) by offering online payments.

It also provides some financial services in Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and Chile. In the future, the company also plans to offer digital banking in Colombia this year.

Epic Games Gets Sony’s A Big Deal To Develop Metaverse

Epic Games announced Monday that it had secured a 1 billion euro investment from multinational conglomerate Sony to accelerate the development of its Metaverse.

According to the announcement, investment plays a crucial role in creating new social entertainment by connecting digital and physical spaces. While the press release doesn’t detail what the funding will involve, statements from top executives at both companies suggest that the financing will indicate the development of the Metaverse.

Sony is already a partner of Epic Games, investing $250 million in the gaming company in 2020. In 2021, Sony gave Epic another $200 million. Monday’s investment was the third and twice as much as the previous one.

The release also suggests that Sony is looking to Epic to support the giant’s virtual reality efforts, with Sony’s PSVR2 just around the corner.

Besides Epic’s $1 billion acquisition of Sony, the company received another $1 billion from the private family owning KIRKBI. KIRKBI CEO Søren Thorup Sørensen responded to Sony’s presentation on the role of investment in the “long-term direction” of Metaverse’s development.

Epic’s current value is about $32 billion.

California Financial Institutions Seek Influence Through Crypto Influencers

California’s consumer financial regulator is trying to work with cryptocurrency influencers to gain visibility. The agency has filed many consumer complaints about digital assets.

California lawmakers last year restructured the state’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), giving it authority over previously unregulated consumer financial services. They also tasked DFPI with promoting “responsible innovation” in financial technologies, including cryptocurrencies.

In March, the DFPI solicited bids for a contract to raise public awareness of the work, including paying cryptocurrency influencers to spread the word.

The effort comes amid a surge in consumer interest in cryptocurrencies and complaints from individuals about fraud and other issues.

California has allowed the cryptocurrency industry to operate in a regulatory gray area because it has yet to determine whether cryptocurrency services fall under its remittance rules. Individual companies can receive submissions from the DFPI, allowing them to operate without a license.

The agency received 326 complaints about cryptocurrency products or services between Jan. 1, 2021, and Feb. 14, 2022. A spokesman for the agency said in response to a Reuters inquiry.

Complainants reported total losses of $7.75 million due to fraud, or compromised accounts, with an additional $2.26 million due to access issues, account suspensions, or processing delays. The DFPI said the number of reported casualties was significantly higher than other types of complaints.

A DFPI spokesperson confirmed the agency has to use its new consumer protection agency to crack down on cryptocurrency companies. It can forward fraud reports to law enforcement agencies.

Coinbase and Binance accounted for most of DFPI’s crypto complaints, with Coinbase accounting for 29% and Binance accounting for 17%.