The Scenius Sync (Issue #18)

Tether to Zero CP, SEC Probes BAYC, & Google Anoints Coinbase

Scenius: The intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. The communal form of the concept of genius.

Welcome to The Scenius Sync.

Our mission with this concise publication is twofold:

1. Share the essential stories driving the crypto industry and markets.

2. Highlight innovative applications and mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain technology.

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Essential News 🗞

1. SEC Probing Bored Ape Creator Yuga Labs Over Unregistered Offerings

   • Yuga Labs, the creator of the popular NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club, is reportedly one of several companies under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission as it probes the broader NFT market. The SEC investigation will examine the company’s NFTs and ApeCoin, a cryptocurrency issued by ApeCoin DAO that was adopted by Yuga. The agency has not accused the company of wrongdoing, nor is any lawsuit imminent.

2. Tether Slashes Commercial Paper to Zero

   • Reducing commercial papers to zero demonstrates Tether’s commitment to backing its tokens with the most secure reserves in the market. This is a step towards even greater transparency and trust, not only for Tether but for the entire stablecoin industry.

3. Gensler supports granting CFTC more power over spot markets

   1. Gensler's support for broadening the CFTC's authority follows a unanimous recommendation from the Financial Stability Oversight Council. The CFTC itself has pushed for direct authority over digital assets that the U.S. classifies as commodities. Those currently consist of bitcoin and ether, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, though Gensler suggested last month that the latter could be a security.

4. Coin Center sues Treasury over Tornado Cash sanctions

   • The D.C.-based policy nonprofit sued the Treasury Department, saying it overstepped its authority when it sanctioned transaction mixer Tornado Cash in August. The Treasury’s August sanctioning of the transaction mixer, “exceeded their statutory authority because Tornado Cash is used to complete functions that do not include 'any property in which any foreign country or a national thereof has any interest,'” the co-plaintiffs argue in their brief.

5. Crypto​.com invests $145M in new European headquarters in Paris, France

   • The Singapore-based crypto exchange announced Paris, France as its regional headquarters after receiving its French Digital Asset Service Provider license in September. It has invested $145.7 million in the country to establish the new operations. 

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Innovation & Adoption 💡📈

1. Google selects Coinbase to take cloud payments with cryptocurrencies and will use its custody tool

   • Google will start allowing a subset of customers to pay for cloud services with digital currencies early next year. In addition, Google said it would explore using Coinbase Prime, a service for storing and trading cryptocurrencies.

2. BNY Mellon to offer crypto services in digital asset push

   • Bank of New York Mellon Corp is adding cryptocurrencies to assets that it holds as a custody manager, as it looks to attract a diverse set of investors and traders by tapping into crypto’s popularity. The 238-year-old bank won the approval of New York’s financial regulator earlier this fall and is the first of the eight systemically important U.S. banks to store digital currencies and allow customers to use one custody platform for both its traditional and crypto holdings

3. SWIFT action: JPMorgan and Visa team up on cross-border blockchain payments

   • Traditional finance and payment giants JPMorgan and Visa are teaming up to streamline the use of their private blockchain solutions Liink and B2B Connect to facilitate cross-border payments. With Visa teaming with JPMorgan and its suite of blockchain products, it seems that the duo has an eye on providing an alternative to the commonly used Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) messaging system to manage and facilitate cross-border payments.

4. Mastercard to bring crypto trading capabilities to banks

   • Mastercard has introduced Crypto Source, a new program to enable financial institutions to bring secure crypto trading capabilities and services to their customers. In partnership with regulated and licensed crypto custody providers, Mastercard's financial institution partners will gain access to a comprehensive suite of buy, hold and sell services for select crypto assets, augmented with proven identity, cyber, security and advisory services.

5. Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart launches metaverse shopping experience

   • Flipkart has launched a metaverse offering for consumers to more interactively discover and shop new products, the latest bet from the Indian e-commerce giant as it experiments with web3 offerings to supercharge its customer experience. With Flipverse, the company is offering “gamified, interactive and immersive” experiences for consumers where they will be able to collect the company’s loyalty points — Supercoins — as well as digital collectibles from partner brands as they make purchases.