Web3 news: Here’s all of the top yarns you need to start your day
- The UK’s Economic Secretary will host roundtable discussions on crypto throughout 2023.
- FBI claim North Korea was behind last year’s $100M Harmony protocol hack.
- The founders of Gemini-owned NFT platform Nifty Gateway have departed the firm.
- Today’s top cryptocurrency performers.
Web3 news: UK Kicks The Can On Crypto Regulation
The UK’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith spoke openly on the prospect of regulating the cryptocurrency sector in a parliamentary discussion on Wednesday, but stopped short on announcing a deadline date.
In April last year, former Chancellor of the Exchequer turned Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak stated that it was his ambition to “make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology.” However, progress on such ambition has stagnated since.
On January 10th, Griffith told fellow Members of Parliament (MPs) that the country is “not going to be legislating in 2023” despite calls to maintain pace with the European Union on finalising a legislative framework on the nascent sector.
“My undertaking is to have six roundtables with the sector with a variety of sector participants during 2023”, remarked Griffith during the discussion before stating the UK intends to “bring forward timely, sensible and balanced regulation in order to allow the safe use of this technology.”
Scottish National Party MP, Dr Lisa Cameron who chaired the discussion challenged the timeline of progress, urging that the clarity must be “taken forward at pace.”
FBI Accuse North Korea of $100M Crypto Hack
The FBI has accused North Korea of engaging in a US$100 million crypto heist on Harmony Protocol in June last year via their anonymous alias, Lazarus Group.
The law enforcement agency revealed that two weeks ago, hackers managed to launder US$60 million worth of Ethereum. The remaining cash is sat in dormant wallets addresses that are being automatically monitored for activity.
In the last five years, North Korea has amassed an estimated US$1.2 billion in stolen funds from the crypto space, and has been distributing the money towards their nuclear weapons programme, among other areas.
Nifty Gateway Founders Depart
Founders of the NFT platform Nifty Gateway, Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster have announced their resignation via Twitter amid the controversy surrounding crypto exchange Gemini.
Gemini acquired the platform in November 2019 for an undisclosed amount. In the announcement, Duncan claimed that the pair had originally decided to continue for 4 years following the buy-out, but that now was the time to embark on a new project.
“In the coming weeks, we will publicly outline a roadmap and a plan for the future of Nifty. After we depart we will stay connected to the mission in an advisory role to ensure continuity”, the pair reassured its community.
Web3 news: Cryptocurrency… todays’ top performers
Biggest gainers
- Layer-1 blockchain Aptos’ token APT is up 39%.
- Ethereum layer-2 service Optimism (OP) is up 16%.
- Mina Protocol’s MINA token is up 10%.
Biggest losers
- Threshold Network’s ‘T’ token is down 14% after a surge yesterday.
- Layer-1 blockchain Kava’s native token KAVA, is down 11%.
- Bitcoin Cash hard fork Bitcoin SV (BSV) is down 7%.
And that’s all the crypto and Web3 news you need to know before you start your day.
