Blockchain Morning Post | Singapore bans service providers from marketing cryptocurrencies to the public; Walmart is making its way into the metacosm

Today's Highlights:

• 1 Monetary Authority of Singapore: Service providers are not allowed to market cryptocurrencies to the public in Singapore
• 2 Walmart is making inroads into the metacosm, or will create its own cryptocurrency and NFT
• 3TreasureDAO will release the Bridgeworld game and NFT trading platform
• 4Meta is recruiting communications talent to enter the Meta-Universe Market in Greater China
• 5Avalanche Ecology's new $200 million fund, the Blizzard Fund, announced its launch
• 6 There is a vulnerability in the PeckShield:BURG contract, which is currently being exploited
• 7 Indian short video sharing platform Chingari completed a $15 million financing, led by Republic Capital
• 8OpenSea (Ethereum) has exceeded $3.48 billion in January, the highest monthly transaction volume on record

Today's topic: Telecom fraud enters the blockchain

Telecom fraud is pervasive and preventable. In recent years, traditional telecommunications fraud methods have been "upgraded" and cloaked in high-tech. Many of them use the banner of virtual currency investment, and use virtual currency to launder white, concealing illegal gains. At this stage, a series of scams have been derived around the blockchain, and a new financial crime trend is forming. What do you think about this phenomenon? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area, we will select three netizens from each to reward 3 Q coins.

Regulatory messages

Pakistan's FBI is seeking to block cryptocurrency websites

According to foreign media reports, after the Pakistan Federal Bureau of Investigation (FIA) held a crypto-related meeting with the National Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Pakistan Federal Bureau of Investigation (FIA) is seeking to block websites that trade cryptocurrencies. FIA Director General Sanaullah Abbasi said that blocking cryptocurrency websites is to prevent fraud and money laundering.

Monetary Authority of Singapore: Service providers are not allowed to market cryptocurrencies to the public in Singapore

According to Bloomberg, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued guidelines to restrict cryptocurrency exchange service providers from promoting their services to the public. According to the new guidance, which takes effect immediately, digital payment token (DPT, or more commonly, cryptocurrency) service providers should not market or promote DPT services in public areas in Singapore (e.g. public transport, public transport venues, public websites), or on social media platforms, broadcast and print media, or offer physical ATMs. In addition, providers should not market through the involvement of third parties such as social media influencers. They can only market or advertise on their own company website, mobile app, or official social media accounts.

It is understood that the guidelines apply to DPT service providers including banks and other financial institutions, payment institutions under the Payment Services Act, and entities whose applications are currently being reviewed by MAS. However, the guidelines do not currently specify penalties for violations.

The authorities say that the trading of digital payment tokens (DPTs) or cryptocurrencies is highly risky and not suitable for the public, as they are subject to sharp speculative fluctuations. But "MAS strongly encourages the development of blockchain technology and the innovative application of crypto tokens in value-added use cases." MAS Assistant Managing Director (Policy, Payments and Financial Crimes) Loo Siew Yee said in a statement.

Australian financial regulator ASIC has warned against investing retirement savings in cryptocurrencies

https://view.inews.qq.com/a/20220117A08EG700

According to U.today, Australia's top financial regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has warned Australians who manage pension funds not to get involved in cryptocurrencies.

The agency described cryptocurrencies as a "speculative investment" after recently issuing warnings about the rise in the number of cryptocurrency-related scams and urged investors to proceed with caution: "Don't rely on social media ads, and don't blindly trust the online contact details of people who advertise 'investment opportunities.'" The regulator also said that THE SMSF (self-managed super fund) trustees are fully responsible for complying with tax requirements, while cryptocurrency investments may complicate compliance even more.

NFT

TreasureDAO will release bridgeworld games and the NFT trading platform

The official tweet of the NFT ecosystem On Arbitrum, TreasureDAO, announced that it will release a series of new products such as Bridgeworld games and NFT trading platform Trove in the coming weeks, and all of its revenue will go to TreasureDAO. TreasureDAO also said it was about to release Bridgeworld's white paper.

Australian Open: AO Decentraland, launched today, has sold 6,776 AO Art Ball NFTs

According to the Australian Open, AO Decentraland will launch on January 17, 2022, running in parallel with the live tournament until January 30. Ridley Plummer, Australian Tennis Programme Manager, said: "The Australian Open is fully immersed in the virtual world (including showcasing live and historical matches as well as press conferences) and is vital to providing wider coverage and access to event activities, and we have accelerated our entry into the metaverse. In addition, the Australian Open also disclosed that the 6776 AO Art Ball NFTs minted for the audience had sold out at 0.067 ETH a few minutes after the public sale.

Former Universe

Walmart is entering the metaverse and may create its own cryptocurrency and NFTs

Retail giant Walmart filed seven separate trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office at the end of December, and according to one of the documents, the company intends to manufacture and sell virtual goods, including electronics, home décor, toys, sporting goods and personal care products, CNBC reported. Walmart said in a separate filing that it is possible to offer cryptocurrencies and NFTs to users. Walmart said in a statement that it is "constantly exploring how emerging technologies can shape the shopping experience of the future."

Trademark attorney Josh Gerben said: "A lot of wording shows that Walmart has a lot of plans behind the scenes, about how they will solve the cryptocurrency problem, how to solve the upcoming virtual world metacosm, or they already have a plan." Gerben also said clothing retailers Urban Outfitters, Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie & Fitch have also applied for trademarks in recent weeks, detailing their intentions to open virtual stores.

Meta is recruiting communication talents to enter the Meta-Universe market in Greater China

According to Hacke, a job posted by Facebook revealed that Meta was looking for an experienced communications manager who worked mainly in Hong Kong. Candidates must have experience in developing and executing communication plans, managing news relationships and dealing with company issues, as well as managing communications in Hong Kong to assist the team in implementing the plan. It is reported that Facebook announced the change of name to Meta last year, which means that the future development direction of the company will focus on the metaverse ( Metaverse ) , and revealed that it is developing products that can change the public perception of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Recently, Meta published a job advertisement for the Communications Manager of Greater China on its recruitment website, believing that it is preparing to attack the Meta-Universe Market in Greater China.

Project dynamics

People's Daily Overseas Edition: The Digital Yuan is the "New Infrastructure" in China's Digital Economy Era

Today's People's Daily Overseas Edition (10th edition on July 17, 202201) published an article entitled "Digital Yuan is the "New Infrastructure" in China's Digital Economy Era", which pointed out that the digital yuan is at the forefront of the world in terms of technology research and development, pilot application, institutional guarantees, etc., and its development has endogenous advantages. The digital yuan is the "new infrastructure" in the era of China's digital economy, which will reconstruct China's currency and payment system, and its significance is as follows: First, it provides a digital currency with stable currency value and unlimited legal compensation. The second is to enhance the fairness and inclusiveness of the monetary and payment systems. The third is to better maintain financial stability and prevent financial risks, and improve information and financial security.

The Blizzard Fund, a new $200 million fund for Avalanche Ecology, was announced

The Blizzard Fund, which is invested by the Avalanche Foundation, Ava Labs, Polychain Capital, Three Arrows Capital, Dragonfly Capital and others, has a size of more than $200 million. The fund will primarily support the development, growth and innovation of the Avalanche ecosystem.

There is a vulnerability in the PeckShield:BURG contract, which is currently being exploited

Security agency PekkShield tweeted that there is a vulnerability in the BURG contract of the Crypto Burger project token, and the vulnerability is currently being exploited. It is reported that the Crypto Burger project is an NFT project on the BSC chain. The project side posted on social media seven hours ago that all wallet and token liquidity has been locked.

The number of digital RMB APP downloads exceeded 20 million, and consumers can choose to use soft and hard wallets during the Winter Olympics

According to the Financial Associated Press, data from Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, VIVO and other mainstream mobile APP stores show that the number of downloads of digital yuan (pilot version) APP has exceeded 20 million times, almost double the number of downloads 10 days ago. It is reported that during the Winter Olympics, domestic and foreign consumers can independently choose the digital yuan APP or digital yuan hardware wallet according to their own habits and usage preferences. In the digital RMB APP, the "paste a sticker" function allows the soft and hard wallets to be "interconnected" and manage the hardware wallet on the mobile phone, and the digital RMB APP can not only read the device that loads the digital RMB hardware wallet, but also set the payment password for the hardware wallet, recharge, balance and transaction details query, exchange, etc.

Financing messages

Indian short video sharing platform Chingari completed a $15 million funding round, led by Republic Capital

Indian short video sharing platform Chingari completed a $15 million Series A expansion round of financing, led by Republic Capital, Onmobile, JPIN Venture Catalyst, Hill Harbor, Angellist, Venture Collective, Makan Family, Cowa Ventures, MVC Friends, Protocol Labs and other HNI family offices participated.

It is understood that Chingari is a short video sharing platform, users can get GARI tokens when they watch or upload content on the platform, which can be used to unlock the creator's special content or purchase the experience of voice or video calls with the creator. Completed a $19 million funding round last October, with input from Alameda Research and others, and raised $40 million in November through the issuance of GARI tokens on the crowdfunding platform Republic.

Indian gaming company nCore Games completed a $10 million funding round with plans to launch an NFT in the future

Indian gaming company nCore Games completed a new round of funding of $10 million, led by Animoca Brands and Galaxy Interactive, and with Polygon and Hyperedge Capital, according to CoinDesk. The new funding will be used to advance Web 3 games. The future focus of nCore is to pivot to the metaverse and launch its own NFT.

Important data

Data: Indian users visited crypto scam websites nearly tens of millions of times last year

According to Livemint, data from blockchain tracking company Chainalysis shows that in the past two years, Indian users have visited websites that run crypto scams a million times. Indians allegedly visited crypto scam sites more than 17.8 million times in 2020, and in 2021, the number of visits dropped to 9.6 million. Chainalysis' data lists coinpayu.com, adbtc.top, hackertyper.net, dualmine.com and coinain.app as the five most visited scam sites by Indians over the past year. These sites alone received 4.6 million visits from India last year. In addition, Chainalysis' report on global crypto crime in December 2021 shows that the value of cryptocurrencies held in illegal wallet addresses worldwide soared by 79% last year, from $7.8 billion to $14 billion in 2020.

Data: OpenSea (Ethereum) has exceeded $3.48 billion in January, the highest monthly transaction volume on record

According to Dune Analytics, OpenSea has traded more than $3.48 billion in January so far, breaking the record highest monthly transaction value of $3.42 billion set in August last year.