Crypto Flipsider News – CAR Approves Bitcoin as Legal Tender, Blackrock Launches Blockchain ETF, Bitwise Launches SMA With Direct Crypto Exposure, Reality Labs Loses $2.9 Billion, $13 Million Stolen in Latest Deus Finance Hack

Read in the Digest;

• Bitcoin is Officially Legal Tender in the Central Africa Republic, Gibraltar Introduces New Crypto Regulations

• Blackrock Launches Blockchain ETF, Bitwise Launches SMA With Direct Crypto Exposure

• Meta’s Metaverse-Focused Unit, Reality Labs, Lost $2.9 Billion in Q1 2022

• Deus Finance Suffers Second Hack in Two Months, Over $13 Million Stolen

Bitcoin is Officially Legal Tender in the Central Africa Republic, Gibraltar Introduces New Crypto Regulations

The Central African Republic has become the first African country and the second in the world to adopt Bitcoin as an official currency. Despite its rich gold and diamond reserves, the Central African Republic is one of the poorest nations gripped by rebel violence for years.

The president’s chief of staff says the adoption of bitcoin represents “a decisive step toward opening up new opportunities for our country.” The bill looks to improve the living conditions of the citizens.

Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, has published a regulatory amendment to its crypto regulation. The new amendment focuses on market integrity to eliminate potential market manipulation and insider trading.

In 2018, Gibraltar became the first jurisdiction to launch the legal and regulatory framework. The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) mandates crypto firms to fight manipulation or improper influencing of prices, liquidity, market information.

Flipsider:

• The New York state has passed a bill to ban new crypto miners that don’t use renewable energy sources.

Why You Should Care

The implementation of crypto-friendly regulations has seen the likes of FTX, Huobi, and Bullish set up shops in Gibraltar.

Blackrock Launches Blockchain ETF, Bitwise Launches SMA With Direct Crypto Exposure

Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced its new iShares Blockchain and Tech ETF to give its clients greater exposure to crypto and blockchain-related companies. The $4.7 million fund tracks U.S.-based and international crypto firms.

Blackrock calls the new iShares Blockchain and Tech ETF (IBLC) a “gradual entry point into the blockchain ecosystem.” Coinbase makes up the largest single holding with 11.45%

The largest crypto index fund manager globally, Bitwise, has also launched a separately managed account (SMA) with direct exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Bitwise BTC/ETH Equal-Weight SMA will offer equal-weighted positions in BTC and ETH.

Bitwise will rebalance the SMA quarterly to ensure that investors have balanced exposure to the world’s two largest crypto assets. According to BitWise, the SMA will help financial advisors provide their clients with direct ownership of crypto assets.

Flipsider:

• Grayscale has announced that it could sue the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over approval to convert its flagship Bitcoin trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Why You Should Care

Blackrock adds that millennials discover the intrinsic value of blockchain, creating greater financial inclusion in ways previously impossible.

Meta’s Metaverse-Focused Unit, Reality Labs, Lost $2.9 Billion in Q1 2022

In its latest quarterly report, Meta Platforms Inc., formerly called Facebook Inc., has revealed that its Metaverse-focused division, Reality Labs, posted losses of up to $2.9 billion for Q1 2022.

The quarterly report showed that Reality Labs generated $695 million in revenue, up from $534 million a year ago. However, the loss recorded in Q1 of 2022 was $2.96 billion, 61% more than the $1.8 billion loss in Q1 2021.

On Wednesday, during an earnings call, the CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, said losses are to be expected from the division because Reality Labs is mainly focused on research and development for a number of software and hardware products like Project Cambria.

The CEO added that he acknowledges that Reality Labs are expensive to build because it is the first of their kind. And it is a paradigm for computing and social connection.

Flipsider:

• Reality Labs continues to see increasing losses despite recording more sales in its VR hardware and software sales growth.

Why You Should Care

Reality Labs’ financial reports from earlier this year show an approximately $10 billion loss throughout 2021 and roughly $4 billion are due to research and development and employee costs.

Deus Finance Suffers Second Hack in Two Months, Over $13 Million Stolen

Deus Finance, the popular marketplace for decentralized financial services, has suffered a flash loan attack – the second hack in two months. In mid-March, the defi protocol suffered a $3 million flash loan attack.

Reporting the hack via a thread on Twitter, security researchers at PeckShield revealed that the hackers made away with $13.4 million in cryptocurrency, and in all, the entire loss incurred by the company could be a lot bigger.

According to Peckshield, the hacker used a flash loan-assisted manipulation of the price oracle that reads from the StableV1 AMM – USDC/DEI pair to exploit the system. The hacker manipulated the price of collateral DEI, then borrowed and drained the pool.

The initial funds (800 ETH) used to launch the attack hack have been withdrawn from Tornado Cash and channeled to Fantom via a cross-chain router protocol, Multichain. The stolen funds were sent back to Ethereum and are presently in the hacker’s address.

Flipsider:

• The first Deus Finance attacker left more than $1 million in a smart contract that was programmed to destruct, assuring the crypto could never be moved.

Why You Should Care

The calls for increased focus on security and regulation of the decentralized finance sector result from the alarming rate of hacks and exploits.