This Week In Crypto | 10th September 2022

by Emmanuel Ademakin | Sep 10, 2022 | News | 0 comments

Hello everyone!

Welcome to another episode of crypto weekly, where you get updated on the significant events shaking the cryptoverse over the past few days.

In today’s episode of crypto stories and happenings, we bring you the following;

Crypto Markets See a Flood of Queen Elizabeth Meme Coins and NFTs

Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing $100 Million in Crypto Ponzi Scheme

Stack Releases Crypto Trading app Aimed at Teens and Parents

Let’s jump right in;

1. Crypto Markets See a Flood of Queen Elizabeth Meme Coins and NFTs

The crypto market has been flooded with over 40 new Queen-related meme coins and hundreds of Non Fungible Tokens after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II by crypto degens yesterday.

These new tokens were launched on the Binance Smart Chain’s decentralized exchanges and Ethereum within the past 24 hours.

Their names include Queen Elizabeth Inu, Save the Queen, Queen, QueenDoge, London Bridge is Down and Rip Queen Elizabeth.

Dex Screener’s data analysis has shown that the Queen Elizabeth Inu token on BSC-based Pancake Swap has since had the biggest price value gain over the past 24 hours with an eye-watering 28,506% pump to $0.00008000 at the time of writing.

At the OpenSea NFT marketplace, the RIP Queen Elizabeth project has also sprouted up within hours of the queen passing away, with 520 NFTs in the collection and each token featuring artistic renditions of the queen with sinister undertones.

2. Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing $100 Million in Crypto Ponzi Scheme

Joshua David Nicholas of Stuart, Florida pleaded guilty in federal district court on Thursday to participating in a cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of approximately $100 million, as announced by the Department of Justice.

Nicholas acted for nearly two years as the so-called “head trader” of EmpiresX, a cryptocurrency investment platform that promised investors daily profits of one percent thanks to the combined abilities of a state-of-the-art “trading bot” and Nicholas’ manual trading acumen.

Alongside EmpiresX co-founders Emerson Sousa Pires and Flavio Mendes Goncalves, he took the majority of investors’ funds and leased a Lamborghini, bought numerous items from Tiffany & Co.,

and made payments on a second home. Meanwhile, the small number of user’s funds that Nicholas did trade in the cryptocurrency market incurred substantial losses.

Nicholas today pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and faces up to five years in federal prison.

Pires and Goncalves, despite fleeing to their native country of Brazil after freezing investor withdrawals earlier this year have both been charged with securities fraud and wire fraud, as well as conspiracy to commit international money laundering.

3. Stack Releases Crypto Trading app Aimed at Teens and Parents

Mobile software firm Stack has launched an app for under 18’s interested in learning how to trade and hold crypto.

The crypto trading app aims at offering better educational alternatives to teenagers other than what may be found from crypto influencers on social media platforms such as Reddit and TikTok.

There will be regulations on the app which include parental controls and the accounts on Stack are regulated under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act which allows parents and legal guardians to maintain ownership of the account and assets until their teenager turns 18.

The announcement by Stack CEO Will Rush highlighted that there is strong demand in Gen Z to learn about crypto, but the educational content they consume online is usually via social media apps or blog posts that arguably lack substance.

Rush added that Stack is trying to fill a gap in the market by “building content to specifically resonate with teens.”

Alongside educational crypto content, Stack offers buying, selling, and holding services for seven digital assets including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), USD Coin (USDC), etc.

Instead of charging trading fees, the crypto exchange app uses a $3 per month subscription fee.

4. Ford Prepares to Enter the Metaverse With Virtual Automobiles and NFTs

Mike Kondoudis licensed trademark attorney for the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) has revealed in a Sept. 7 tweet that Ford had filed a total of 19 trademark applications covering its car brands, including Mustang, Bronco, Lincoln, Explorer, and F-150 Lightning, among others.

The trademark applications cover virtual cars, trucks, vans, SUVs and clothing, for its brands and also cover a proposed online marketplace for NFTs.

The USPTO documents filed by Ford on Sept. 2 show that the car manufacturer plans to create downloadable artwork, text, audio, and video featuring its cars, SUVs, trucks, and vans which will be authenticated by NFTs.

There are also intentions to create a marketplace to promote the “digital artwork of others” through a website, along with “online retail store services featuring non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital collectibles.”

5. UK Economic Secretary Commits to Make Country a Crypto Hub Under New PM

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury Richard Fuller has said that the government wants the United Kingdom to be the “dominant global hub for crypto technologies.”

Fuller, while in a parliamentary debate on crypto asset regulation in the U.K. on Wednesday, spoke in favour of “powerful” use cases for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, including using distributed ledger technology for customs and international trade and storing medical records on the blockchain.

Alexander Stafford, the parliamentary private secretary to newly elected PM Liz Truss, added the prime minister “reaffirmed” her commitment to providing internet connectivity for U.K. residents, which could allow access to buying, selling, and mining crypto.

“As crypto technologies grow in significance, the U.K. Government is seeking ways to achieve global competitive advantage for the United Kingdom,” said Fuller.

6. The US Recovers Part of Funds Stolen in Axie Hack

According to an announcement made by Erin Plante, senior director of investigations at blockchain sleuth Chainalysis, the U.S. government has managed to seize $30 million worth of funds stolen from the play-to-earn game Axie Infinity,

The recovered sum is roughly a tenth of the stolen funds and was possible because of cooperation between law enforcement agencies and industry players.

According to Chainalysis, its “advanced tracing techniques” were used in order to track down stolen funds.