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Crypto Roundup: These are some of the cryptocurrency and blockchain stories that caught our eye this week
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About those generators…
Last year, Vancouver-based Link Global set up four gas generators in Sturgeon County, Alta., to run computers for crypto mining. The problem is, the company didn’t tell the Alberta Utilities Commission. A second site followed in Kirkwall.
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Now the company faces a total of $7 million in fines from the AUC, which would only be the second time the regulator has issued a disgorgement penalty of this kind. The number was calculated in part based on the plants’ hours of operation and the daily price of Bitcoin.
“Link Global received a significant economic benefit by immediately commencing operations at both power plants without taking any of the measures required to receive approval from the Commission or to qualify for an exemption,” the enforcement team stated on Sept. 24. Their plant also affected neighbours, who complained about lack of sleep due to the noise of the machinery.
AUC’s enforcement team also said that Link Global hasn’t produced evidence of the revenue generated between March 8 and Aug. 26 when the plants were forced to shut down.
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The Sturgeon plant operated for 364 days and the Kirkwall plant for 426 days without approval. The Sturgeon plant is being relocated further north at the cost of some jobs, while Link has filed paperwork to re-establish the Kirkwall plant. A third plant in Westlock did meet the AUC’s conditions.
The company also has plans to start three new crypto mining facilities in western Alberta later this year.
Uncle Sam can’t stop talking about crypto
The U.S. government is trying to wrap its head around cryptocurrencies and everyone is getting in on the fun.
On Friday, Bloomberg News reported that the U.S. Treasury Department and the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets are leading an effort to regulate stablecoins, recommending that rules be set up to allow crypto banks to manage them as deposits. This comes from a report that is expected to be finalized and published at the end of the month.
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Should this directive come to fruition, it would appear to conflict with the SEC’s Garry Gensler, who just a few weeks ago expressed disdain for stablecoins and revealed in a September Washington Post interview that the SEC is seeking expanded authority to regulate them.
The Treasury Department and Working Group have also been mulling whether or not to ask the Financial Stability Oversight Council to examine whether stablecoins pose a systemic threat. The current market value of stablecoins exceeds US$120 billion.
The Treasury’s move cames shortly after another government agency, the U.S. Federal Reserve, announced it will release a paper soliciting public comment on the risks and opportunities of introducing a central bank digital currency.
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The decision to launch a digital currency would only be taken should there be “clear and tangible benefits that outweigh any costs and risks,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Sept. 22. Any movement on a digital dollar would require legislation from Congress.
Both developments indicate at the heightened interest in the potentials and pitfalls of cryptocurrency among high-ranking U.S. financial regulators.
Even U.S. President Joe Biden is taking an interest. On Friday, he will attempt to corral thirty countries together “to accelerate our cooperation in combatting cybercrime, improving law enforcement collaboration, stemming the illicit use of cryptocurrency, and engaging on these issues diplomatically,” national security advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN.
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Ride and mine
Daymak, the world’s top light-electric-vehicle producer, is planning to launch an LEV that will be able to mine crypto while parked, plugged in or charging wirelessly.
The Spiritus will be a three-wheeled all-electric designed to carry two adult daily commuters. The base model Spiritus Deluxe has a top speed of more than 136 km/h and a range of 289 km. The upgraded sport model Spiritus Ultimate has a top speed of over 209 km/h and a range of 482 km. Their suggested retail prices are $19,995 and $149,000 respectively. So far, there have been 25,000 deposits and distribution orders for the Spiritus, the company said in a release.
The crypto mining itself will be done through a UI right into the dashboard, billed as “the world’s first comprehensive cryptocurrency suite for EVs.” Spiritus cars will also include the Nebula Wallet crypto app for managing your tokens. Supported currencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Doge and others.
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“You’re using a car one hour a day, more or less. So our car, 23 hours a day, you’ll be making money — could be between $5 to $12 depending obviously on crypto prices,” Aldo Baiocchi told Yahoo Finance. While Baiocchi mentioned that new owners could use their crypto mining to offset the monthly lease costs, it would not make much of a dent.
Rise of the crypto billionaire
On Tuesday, Forbes released its annual list of the 400 richest Americans. The top spot was no surprise (Jeff Bezos) but what was new was the seven crypto entrepreneurs in the mix. At the top was Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX worth US$22.5 billion and at 29, the youngest list member. Forbes also notes he’s the richest “self-made” newcomer in the history of the list.
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Coinbase founders Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam follow behind at US$11.5 billion and US$3.5 billion respectively. Others include Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the twins of early Facebook fame who went on to found the Gemini exchange are doing fine with a net worth of US$4.3 billion.
Lastly, Jed McCaleb, a co-founder of crypto payment protocol Ripple, comes in with US$3 billion to his name. He was also responsible for launching Mt. Gox, which he sold before it was hacked.
Chris Larsen, another founder of Ripple, was the only crypto billionaire featured on the 2020 Forbes list. He brings with him an estimated net worth of US$6 billion.
Public art gets the NFT treatment
What does a public installation art NFT look like? Torontonians had the distinction of being the first to find out this past weekend as the Continuum project was unveiled at the city’s Fort York.
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Curated by DJ Steve Aoki, the NFT featured animation by Toronto-based artist Krista Kim in collaboration with Efren Mur on a 100-metre-long and four-metre-high wall of LED light, as well as live music from the Smashing Pumpkins’ Jeff Schroeder.
It debuted as part of the Toronto History Museum’s Awakenings program, which features art from Black and Indigenous artists with themes of anti-oppression, anti-racism and anti-colonialism.
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“In a symbolic act of healing & rebirth, the work will be installed at Fort York National Historic Site, transforming it from a military fortification into a light of hope for the future,” Kim said in a statement.
The project was auctioned off to an unknown buyer via a Sotheby’s auction ahead of its public display. According to its site, Continuum will next appear in Miami in December.
Whatever the public thought of it, it’s likely this will be far from the last public art installation NFT. Third-quarter sales of NFTs surged to $10.7 billion from $1.3 billion the previous quarter, a more than eightfold increase according to DappRadar.
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