Ethereum Merger: Successful, Coinbase shines a light on crypto-friendly politicians and Dogecoin becomes the second largest proof of work coin. These stories and more this week in crypto.
The Ethereum integration was successful.
The long-awaited ‘merger’ of the Ethereum network was successfully completed on Thursday, September 15th. This completes Ethereum’s transition from proof-of-work to consensus, reducing the network’s energy consumption by 99.95%.
In an effort to make history, a user paid $60K or about 36 Ether in fees to issue the first NFT on Ethereum after the merger. This invulnerable token became the first for the network to be driven by a consensus algorithm.
The White House released the Crypto Framework
Citing the potential for abuse of crypto, while mentioning its growing role in international finance, the White House has just released a framework for the first time on what crypto regulation should look like in America. The framework outlines how the financial services industry needs to improve to facilitate borderless transactions and how to control fraud in the digital asset space.
Coinbase Tool Shows Crypto Sentiment
Coinbase users can see which US politicians are “crypto-friendly” with a new in-app tool. The announcement It comes from CEO Brian Armstrong on Twitter. The tool shows how different members of Congress rate their crypto sentiment, which can range from “very positive” to “very negative.”
Tornado Cash Funds can be redeemed.
US residents can now apply to access funds locked up in Tornado Cash, an Ethereum ‘mixer’ that was banned by the Treasury Department last month after allegations that North Korean hackers used the funds to launder money. While the legitimacy of blocking legitimate user funds and blocking decentralized software is questionable, the sanctions have prompted a backlash from the crypto industry.
Arrest warrant for Do Kwon
A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for Do Kwon, the chief developer of the Luna and Terra USD cryptocurrencies, after a spectacular crash in May brought down the crypto market. Kwon, founder of Terraform Labs, was accused of defrauding investors following its failure.
China: Crypto Trading Banned, Proprietary Protected
In a landmark case, the Beijing People’s Court ruled that even though China has banned crypto trading, ownership of crypto is still protected by law. The court said that crypto should be considered virtual property and stated that no laws, administrative regulations or departmental rules deny the protectability of cryptocurrency itself as virtual property.
Leading Asia in Crypto Adoption
China has returned to the list of top 10 countries for crypto adoption after falling off the list last year, according to a new report. The APAC region accounts for six of the top 10 countries in the index, with Vietnam topping the list for the second year in a row, with more than 20% of Vietnamese users using or owning crypto assets.
Following the Ethereum merger, the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin is now officially the second largest proof-of-work crypto in terms of market capitalization. Bitcoin is miles ahead of Dogecoin’s market cap at $7.83 billion. However, the well-followed memecoin is still ahead of major proof-of-work cryptos, including Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, and Monero.
That’s what happened in crypto this week, see you next week.