Evening Standard and Trevor Jones Launch Royal NFT, Ripple CEO discusses costly SEC battle and urges for clear Crypto regulation, Pepe Whales enjoy $92.6M in profits, and more

In a bid to commemorate the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, the Evening Standard newspaper collaborated with digital artist Trevor Jones and Apollo NFT to present a unique, free Ethereum NFT collection to honor the royal event. 20,202 editions of the collection dubbed ‘The Oath’ were minted by unique wallets. An animated, digital rendition of Jones’ artwork, “The Oath” portrayed St Edward’s Crown, a 2.2-kilogram solid gold crown that has been used in every coronation since Charles II’s in 1661. The digital creator first painted the crown physically at his studio in Edinburgh. “With Layer-2 in play now and the carbon footprint down 99.99%, there’s no longer an environmental issue with using the Ethereum blockchain,” Jones said. Full report here.

Liechtenstein’s government is considering the acceptance of Bitcoin as a form of payment for various state services, according to Prime Minister Daniel Risch, who spoke with the German newspaper Handelsblatt. The plan would involve converting any cryptocurrency received into Swiss francs immediately to avoid potential exchange rate risks. Although the Swiss franc remains the official currency of Liechtenstein, Prime Minister Risch, who also serves as the country’s finance minister, has expressed his willingness to explore the possibility of investing state reserves in crypto assets. Handelsblatt reports that Liechtenstein, a debt-free nation, saves up to three times its annual budget of 900 million francs (approximately $1 billion) each year, which is typically invested in securities. More here.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating if Binance Holdings Ltd., the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, was employed unlawfully by Russians to bypass U.S. sanctions and transfer funds, as reported by sources knowledgeable about the situation. The investigation, led by the Justice Department’s national security division, is examining whether Binance or its officials violated sanctions connected to Russia’s Ukraine invasion, according to five individuals aware of the matter who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the investigation. This unreported investigation is running concurrently with an ongoing inquiry by the criminal division, as noted by one of the sources. More here.

South Korea’s financial regulator has submitted a series of crypto transactions by an opposition party member to local prosecutors, igniting controversy over a possible conflict of interest. Democratic Party of Korea’s Rep. Kim Nam-kuk allegedly withdrew 800,000 WEMIX tokens from late February to early March 2022, as reported by CoinDesk Korea. Kim’s WEMIX holdings were valued at 6 billion won ($4.5 million) between January and February 2022. The Financial Services Commission’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) deemed the withdrawals as suspicious transactions and forwarded them to the prosecutor’s office. South Korea adopted the FATF’s travel rule on March 25, 2022, shortly after Kim’s alleged withdrawals. More here.

As tensions with US regulators grow, Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is seeking to strengthen its ties with policymakers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The country has become a center of web3 innovation, boasting over 500 startups, with Dubai taking the lead and Hub71 in Abu Dhabi providing crucial access to blockchain and virtual asset infrastructure. In a recent blog post, Nana Murugesan, the Vice President of International and Business Development at Coinbase, highlighted the potential of the UAE to serve as a strategic hub for the company. This move would amplify Coinbase’s efforts worldwide, acting as a bridge between Asia and Europe. Murugesan revealed that Coinbase is engaging with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) regulators to expand the licensing and availability of Coinbase International Exchange. More here.

A recent tweet from @lookonchain revealed that the top 15 holders of the meme cryptocurrency PEPE, excluding exchanges and contract addresses, hold a significant share of the total supply. Together, they possess 38.07 million PEPE tokens, which account for 9.05% of the entire circulating supply. These PEPE whales have all experienced profits from their investments in cryptocurrency, with their total profit amounting to an impressive $92.6 million. The tweet further highlights that the average buying cost for these top holders was $0.0000000853 per PEPE token. The total outstanding profit for these whales can be calculated by multiplying the average buying cost by the number of tokens held (38.07 trillion PEPE) and then subtracting the result from the current market value of their holdings. More here.

The enactment of a contentious cryptocurrency regulation in Estonia has led to an approximately 80% decrease in the number of registered companies, as per data released by the nation’s anti-money laundering agency on Monday. Around 200 licenses were voluntarily revoked by the firms themselves, while a similar number were denied by Estonia’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which is responsible for enforcing a 2022 law mandating substantial capital reserves and genuine connections to the country for businesses. Matis Mäeker, the FIU’s director, commented on the renewal of authorizations, stating that they encountered surprising situations that would astonish any regulatory body. Maeker added that “suspicious circumstances” in some applications hinted at potential ties to illegal activities. More here.

Ripple’s ongoing legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has already cost the company a staggering $200 million, according to CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
> Speaking at the Dubai Fintech Summit on May 8, Garlinghouse shared his concerns about the lack of regulatory progress in the U.S. compared to advancements in the United Arab Emirates and the European Union’s recent Markets in Crypto-Assets (MICA) bill.
> The Ripple CEO highlighted the substantial costs involved in defending the company against a lawsuit he deems baseless, estimating the total expenditure to reach $200 million by the case’s conclusion.
> Garlinghouse expressed disappointment in the U.S. for falling behind in regulatory clarity as Ripple seeks growth in markets like the United Arab Emirates. Details here.

Bitcoin (BTC) started the U.S. trading week on a bearish note, dropping below $27,500 in the afternoon (ET). The leading cryptocurrency by market cap traded around $27,350, witnessing a decline of over 5.5% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. Market participants weighed the impact of the PEPE meme coin’s increasing interest and temporary suspension of bitcoin withdrawals by Binance due to congestion issues over the weekend. Binance resumed services on Sunday night (ET), but the interruptions and bitcoin’s rising price raised concerns about the effects of large transaction volumes. Ether (ETH) followed suit, slipping below the $1,900 mark it maintained for most of the previous week. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap traded at around $1,829, down 4.4% on a 24-hour basis. Most major tokens traded in the red on Monday, including crypto payment-focused XRP and Polygon’s MATIC, which both plummeted over 8% to trade at around 42 cents and 92 cents, respectively. The PEPE frenzy seemed to be subsiding, with its market cap falling to approximately $878 million after surpassing $1 billion before the weekend, according to Messari data.