Luna and its stablecoin tumble the whole crypto market, Coinbase reports first quarter losses and Instagram begins testing NFTs. These stories and more this week in crypto.
Stablecoins Are No Longer Stable
TerraUSD, a high-profile stablecoin depegged and was trading as low as 12 cents, fueling deep panic across the whole crypto market. Amid the marketwide crash, Tether — the world’s largest stablecoin, reliably seen as a safe on-chain placeholder for crypto investors, also briefly broke its peg to the US dollar, trading at one point at 95 cents. The price of Bitcoin fell as low as $26,000 while Terra’s LUNA token fell the furthest of any altcoin – shedding 100% of its value in just 24 hours.
Terra Collapse: Wall Street Denies Involvement
Following the collapse of Terra’s LUNA token after Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin lost its peg to the US dollar, rumours circulated that Blackrock, Citadel, and Gemini might have had some part in the fiasco. The three companies quickly came out to deny the accusation.
Coinbase Reports Losses
Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase reported a $430 million net loss in the first quarter with declining sales and active users. Along with Coinbase’s disappointing first-quarter earnings, the exchange has revealed that in the event that it were to go bankrupt, its users may lose all the funds in their accounts.
Instagram Begins NFT Testing
Instagram began testing NFTs on its platform with selected creators in the US. Creators taking part in the test can now share NFTs that they’ve made on their Instagram feed or in messages. Currently, the supported blockchains are Ethereum and Polygon, with support for Flow and Solana coming soon.
US Accounting Standard Considers Digital Assets
The Financial Accounting Standards Board has unanimously voted to review accounting rules for exchange-traded digital assets in the United States. While it’s still unclear when exactly the FASB will review its accounting rules, or provide any new guidance, this could have major implications for corporations seeking a regulatory pathway for better managing cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets.
KuCoin Exchange Raises Funds
Seychelles-based exchange, KuCoin, has been valued at $10 billion in its latest financing round as it looks to broaden its web3 ecosystem. The exchange has already attracted over 18 million users in over 200 regions, making it one of crypto’s largest exchanges supporting worldwide customers.
Diamonds on Blockchain
The world’s most famous diamond producer, De Beers, has deployed a platform to keep secure records of their diamonds on blockchain. According to De Beers, the platform, known as Tracr, provides an immutable record of a diamond’s provenance, and empowers jewelry retailers to have confidence in the origin of the diamonds they purchase.
Belgian Museum Tokenizes Masterpiece
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Belgium has tokenized a million-euro painting and is allowing fractional ownership of the masterpiece. Partial ownership of Carnaval de Binche, by Belgian artist James Ensor is available to anyone who invests in a so-called Art Security Token, and the money raised will be used to purchase the painting.
Sending Cardano just got easier. If you’re using Yoroi Wallet you can send and receive ADA without long complicated addresses thanks to Unstoppable Domains. In collaboration with tofuNFT, one of the largest multichain NFT marketplaces in Web3 Unstoppable Domains is now releasing 100 Gamer Tag themed .nft domains. First come, first served so grab yours quickly with the link below.
That’s what’s happened this week in crypto, see you next week.
