Crypto vibes to everybody!

Here comes the sun, with the second summer month. Cryptos are chilling either in the open space or somewhere underground. American banks open their doors for blockchained, digital yuan goes underground, Robinhood gets caught by the nowadays “Sheriff of Nottingham”. Even the conspiracy theorists get some fuel, as you will find out soon.

News from the space:

• George Soros investment fund is into Bitcoin
• 650 American banks open for crypto purchases
• Digital Yuan tested on Beijing’s subway
• Robinhood gets a historic $70 million fine
• Twitter experiments with NFTs, Katty Perry plans NFT collection

New Bitcoin Bull is in the Market. Name – George Soros

American investment management firm of billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros is trading Bitcoins and probably looking into other digital currencies. As reported by TheStreet, Dawn Fitzpatrick, a chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, permitted to actively trade Bitcoins.

The fund was among one of the most profitable companies in the history of hedge funds. Its annual rate of return over four decades kept floating around 20%.

Flipsider:

• Having in mind that George Soros is the beloved obsession of various conspiracy theorists, don’t be surprised to hear one nice day that Bitcoin is ruled by reptilians and is part of their bigger plan to take over the planet and, maybe, even the Black Hole.

650 US Banks to Allow Crypto for Their Clients

The US multinational payment giant NCR made a deal with digital asset management firm NYDIG to offer crypto buy and sell options for 24 million American users. The exposure comes after 650 financial institutions (including banks) will include direct crypto trading features into their services.

The partnership allows users to trade cryptos from their bank accounts. Traditional financial institutions will become direct competitors to cryptocurrency exchanges.

Flipsider:

• George Soros is behind the NYDIG, which is behind the crypto expansion in the United States. Hold on tighter, the conspiracists! The earth conquest is happening!!!
• (Sorry, our team couldn’t resist making jokes.) For those without tin foil hats: cryptos are here to stay. Big guys smell opportunities and jump in. The more they compete – the more we all win.

Digital Yuan Available on Beijing’s Subway Network

China’s CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) digital yuan is now available for Beijing’s subway users. The municipal authorities of China’s capital allowed subway passengers to pay travel costs with digital yuan, also called e-CNY. This is a part of the bigger digital yuan test program before CBDC goes live in 2022.

The payment method requires installing the digital yuan mobile app issued by a local ICBC bank. The Beijing subway system is used by more than 10 million people each day.

Flipsider:

• Digital yuan went underground. Interesting move from the centralized coin in a country severely fighting decentralization. Does it mean the Chinese government has something to hide? Or should we look for deeper metaphors?..

Robinhood Gets a Historic $70 Million Fine

Robinhood Financial LLC, the firm behind the popular trading and investment app Robinhood, got the historic almost $70 million penalty from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

The authority fined Robinhood for false and misleading information on critical issues, the system shut off during the severe volatile market crashes, and arbitrary trade approvals for thousands of inappropriate customers. The fine is the biggest FINRA has ever issued.

Flipsider:

• Those who play dirty, get what they deserve. The philosophy of legendary archer Robin Hood returns like a boomerang to its nowaday’s namesake. Seems like it’s the only thing in common between the noble thief and the controversial investment app.

Twitter Giveaway Experiments with NFTs, Katty Perry Plans an NFT Collection

• Twitter stepped into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with a bunch of its NFTs. The social network giant uploaded 7 different NFTs on Rarible marketplace, with the promise to grant 20 copies of each of them to the users.
• Pop star Katy Perry revealed plans to launch her NFT collection of creative moments from her residency. The singer collaborated with blockchain video streaming platform Theta.
• Part of the original source code of the Internet was sold as NFT for $5.4m on Sotheby’s. The buyer of Tim Berners-Lee’s creation of 1989 was not disclosed by the auction.

Flipsider:

• Critics say NFT mining is harmful to the environment. So, if the NFT phenomenon continues to grow, it will most probably steal the show from Bitcoin in terms of the carbon footprint.