DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ OpenSea receives Wells notice from SEC, regulator says NFTs are securities
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-28 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Crypto marketplace OpenSea has been added to the SEC's list of targets, as the regulator extends its crackdown on the sector. The company's CEO said in a post on X on Wednesday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Wells notice against OpenSea. A Wells notice is typically one of the final steps before the SEC issues formal charges. The letter, according to the OpenSea chief, alleges that the nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, sold on its platform are securities. In May, investment platform Robinhood announced it received a Wells notice for the company's crypto operations.

Persons: Wells, Devin Finzer, OpenSea, Coinbase, Gary Gensler, Crypto, haven't, Donald Trump, Trump, Gensler Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, OpenSea, SEC, NFTs, CNBC, Ethereum Foundation, Robinhood, Republican Locations: California, U.S

☆ Mark Cuban is offloading a portion of his NFTs—one already sold for over $30,000
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-01 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

For the first time in two years, Mark Cuban is selling a portion of his collection of non-fungible tokens — and he's already made a little over $39,000. Most notably, he sold his Pudgy Penguin NFT for $30,950. Cuban could rake in even more money for his digital collectibles. Cuban has been a longtime collector of the virtual tokens and still has nearly 1,600 items in his cryptocurrency portfolio. Like other physical collectibles, such as comic books or postage stamps, NFTs may hold sentimental value to the collector.

Persons: Mark Cuban, NFT, NFTs, they're Organizations: ETH, Cuban, CNBC Locations: OpenSea

☆ Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs sold for millions in 2021—prices have dropped 90% since then
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A person walks by Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT characters inside Radio City Music Hall during the 4th annual NFT.NYC conference on June 21, 2022 in New York City. Yuga Labs, the creator of the viral Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens, announced a new round of layoffs on Friday as the NFT frenzy appears to cool. But despite Bored Ape Yacht Club's substantially lower floor price, the NFT market is still showing some signs of life. How YugaLabs got startedYugaLabs' Bored Ape Yacht Club collection launched in April 2021 with 10,000 NFTs depicting the cartoon apes with various colors, clothing and facial expressions. The startup went on to release several other NFT collections, including Mutant Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks.

Persons: Greg Solano, Justin Bieber, Paris Hilton, Sotheby's, YugaLabs Organizations: Radio City Music Hall, Yuga Labs, ETH, Yacht, CryptoPunks Locations: New York City

☆ Bankman-Fried trial poses biggest test to date for crypto's top cop
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Bankman-Fried's will be the first of Williams' blockbuster white collar cases to go to trial. The cases Williams, 43, has brought so far show he has been a "steward" of the SDNY's longstanding priorities, said Kan Nawaday, who overlapped with Williams at the office. Prosecutors had described the cases as the first insider trading cases brought involving digital assets. Williams' charges against Bankman-Fried came just one month after FTX's collapse, which former prosecutors say is very fast for a complex white collar case. WILLIAMS HAS STRUGGLED WITH SELF-DOUBTBankman-Fried's trial comes after some setbacks and amid ongoing challenges for Williams' office.

Persons: Damian Williams, Mike Segar, Sam Bankman, Williams, Charlie Javice, Bill Hwang, Joe Lewis, Javice, Hwang, Lewis, Kan Nawaday, He's, Venable, Prosecutors, Alex Mashinsky, WILLIAMS, SDNY's, John Paul Stevens, General Merrick Garland, Garland, Joe Biden, Bob Menendez, Menendez, Fried, Joshua Naftalis, Pallas, Brian Benjamin, haters, Luc Cohen, Noeleen Walder, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Attorney, Southern, of, REUTERS, U.S, Yale Law School, Archegos Capital Management, Supreme, Allianz's U.S, Allianz, Bankman, New, Columbia Law School, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, of New York, English, Jersey, Bahamas, Caribbean, New York, Bronx, Georgia

Crypto companies have been expanding in Washington to combat growing regulatory scrutiny, especially from the SEC which says the industry has been flouting its rules. "Everybody wants to make sure that what they're doing isn't going to be erased by the government," said Kara Calvert, head of U.S. policy at Coinbase, referring to the crypto industry. A House vote before year-end is possible, but the outlook is dimmer in the Senate, where industry-friendly crypto bills have failed to gain traction. And Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown of Ohio has shown little interest in making it a priority to advance the House bills. "The last thing we need is for the crypto industry to write their own rulebook — too many Ohioans have been burned by fraud and scams," said Brown in a statement to Reuters.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Katherine Dowling, Coinbase, OpenSecrets, Brian Armstrong, Kara Calvert, Mark Hays, Sherrod Brown of, Brown, Ian Katz, Hannah Lang, Michelle Price, Richard Chang Organizations: REUTERS, Coinbase, Financial, National Defense, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Binance, Reuters, OpenSea, Financial Reform, Senate, Capital Alpha Partners, Thomson Locations: Washington, NFTs, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Ohio

☆ LA media company settles first SEC enforcement case over NFTs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Signage is seen at the headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. The SEC said Impact Theory marketed its Founder's Keys--sold in "Legendary," "Heroic" and "Relentless" tiers--as a means to profit from its business by investing at an early stage. Impact Theory allegedly raised $29.9 million by selling 13,921 Founder's Keys in late 2021, and received $978,000 of royalties from secondary sales. The SEC said Impact Theory also compared its NFTs with "handing ($20) to Mark Zuckerberg in his dorm room," referring to the billionaire Facebook co-founder. SEC commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda partially dissented from Monday's settlement, saying the regulator owed investors better guidance on NFTs.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Disney, Mickey Mouse, Willie, Mark Zuckerberg, Antonia Apps, Hester Peirce, Mark Uyeda, Peirce, Uyeda, Nathaniel Chastain, Jonathan Stempel, David Gregorio Our Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Los, U.S, Securities, Walt Disney, Disney, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, Los Angeles, York, Manhattan, New York

☆ Ex-OpenSea Employee Sentenced to Three Months in First NFT Insider-Trading Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Erin Mulvaney | Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/finance/ex-opensea-employee-sentenced-to-three-months-in-first-nft-insider-trading-case-c5587323

Persons: Dow Jones

The logo of non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea is seen through a magnifying glass amid NFT items displayed on its website, in this illustration picture taken February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge sentenced a former product manager at OpenSea, the world's largest marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), to three months in prison on Tuesday for buying NFTs he knew would soon be featured on the site's home page. Nathaniel Chastain, 33, was convicted of fraud and money laundering in federal court in Manhattan in May for what prosecutors called the first insider trading case involving digital assets. Chastain's attorneys had asked for no prison time, saying he had already lost his reputation, job and equity in OpenSea worth millions of dollars. Prosecutors unsealed charges against Chastain in June 2022, after a boom in NFT sales saw the market grow to about $40 billion in 2021.

Persons: Florence Lo, Nathaniel Chastain, Chastain, Ishan Wahi, OpenSea, Jody Godoy, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, Prosecutors, Global Inc, Court, Southern District of, Thomson Locations: U.S, OpenSea, Manhattan, Southern District, Southern District of New York, New York

☆ From banking giants to lending up-and-comers — here are the world's top 200 fintech companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Statista identified 40 firms as top digital payments companies. While digital payments is often the area that draws most investor buzz, lending generates more money in financial services. Statista identified 25 fintech companies that fall into the category of top alternate lending firms. They include American small business lending firm Biz2Credit, Irish e-commerce lending company Wayflyer, and Latvian loan refinancing startup Mintos. Digital business solutions

Persons: Monzo, there's, Statista, Afterpay, It's, Binance, eToro, Equity crowdfunding, hasn't, Peter Hazlehurst Organizations: JPMorgan —, Orange, Digital, U.S, SEC, European, Education, Equity, Republic, Tech, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, CNBC, Solaris Locations: fintech, Europe, Nigeria, Orange, Africa, Terra, U.S, Cayman Islands, American, Latvian, U.K

☆ Justin Bieber's Bored Ape NFT was valued at $1.3 million in 2022—now it's only worth around $60,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But today, prices for Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, one of the most popular collections, has crashed to a two-year low. Take one Bored Ape NFT owned by Justin Bieber, for example: It has declined in value by about 95% over the past year and a half. In January 2022, the Grammy award-winning music artist entered the world of NFTs by allegedly dropping 500 ETH (around $1.3 million at the time) on Bored Ape #3001, an NFT belonging to Yuga Labs' Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection. But as of July 2023, Bieber's Bored Ape is only worth around $59,000, according to Bitcoinist. Basketball star Stephen Curry purchased Bored Ape #7990 for 55 ETH (nearly $180,000 at the time) on Aug. 28, 2021.

Persons: Justin Bieber, Stephen Curry, Madonna, It's, Bieber, Curry, DappRadar's, Warren Buffett Organizations: Labs, ETH, Los Angeles Times Locations: That's

☆ Andreessen Horowitz to open first office outside the U.S. in London in bet UK will become crypto hub
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON — Andreessen Horowitz is opening its first office outside of the U.S. in London, the venture capital firm announced Monday. Sriram Krishnan, an ex-Twitter employee who joined Andreessen Horowitz as a general partner, will relocate to London to head up the firm's office there, Quintenz said. Andreessen Horowitz also plans to launch its first crypto startup school in the U.K. in a bid to identify future talent in the crypto and Web3 space. Andreessen Horowitz has been one of the most active investors in crypto and Web3, backing startups ranging from the crypto-based sports collectibles trading game Dapper Labs to nonfungible token marketplace OpenSea. Andreessen Horowitz was not an investor, but several rival firms, including Sequoia, were.

Persons: Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, Brian Quintenz, Sriram Krishnan, Quintenz, ‘ Organizations: U.S, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, CNBC, Twitter Locations: Silicon, Airbnb, Coinbase, London, U.S, United States, FTX, Sequoia

☆ Ex-OpenSea Worker Found Guilty in First NFT Insider-Trading Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( James Fanelli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The home page of NFT marketplace OpenSea. Photo: Ariel Zambelich/The Wall Street JournalA former employee of NFT marketplace OpenSea was found guilty Wednesday of what federal prosecutors described as the first insider-trading case involving digital tokens, marking a win for the Justice Department in its push to police the crypto industry. A federal jury in New York convicted Nathaniel Chastain of wire fraud and money laundering for using nonpublic information from his employer to trade on nonfungible tokens in 2021. The Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office charged Mr. Chastain in 2022, accusing him of purchasing the NFTs ahead of OpenSea’s featuring them on its home page. Once the NFTs spiked in value after being featured, Mr. Chastain sold them, pocketing tens of thousands of dollars in profit, prosecutors said.

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBitcoin rises, and ex-OpenSea manager found guilty in NFT insider trading case: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Ryan Rugg, the head of digital assets for Citibank's TTS business, discusses blockchain technology and tokenization from Digital Assets Week in San Fransisco.

The case could have broader implications for assets that do not fit in to existing regulations preventing investment advisers, brokers and others from trading on material nonpublic information, legal experts have said. "You can't hold Nate to a standard that didn't exist," his lawyer Daniel Filor told jurors in his closing argument on Monday. "Nobody told Nate that he couldn't use or share that information." Prosecutor Allison Nichols said Chastain used anonymous OpenSea accounts to make the illegal trades, showing he knew what he was doing was wrong. "He hid what he was doing," Nichols told the jury in her rebuttal argument.

Companies Ozone Networks Inc FollowNEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - A former employee of OpenSea, the world's largest marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), used inside knowledge of which assets would be featured on its homepage to make "free money," a prosecutor said on Monday as an insider trading trial wound to a close. Prosecutors have called it the first criminal insider trading case involving such assets. Prosecutor Thomas Burnett said in his closing argument that Chastain chose which NFTs to feature, and then profited illegally by selling his tokens shortly thereafter. They have said that his actions were not insider trading, and that the information he accessed was not OpenSea's property and had no inherent value to the company. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ First-Ever NFT Insider-Trading Case Heads to Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( James Fanelli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

OpenSea is the largest online marketplace of nonfungible tokens. Photo: Ariel Zambelich/The Wall Street JournalThe first-ever trial involving alleged insider trading of digital tokens kicks off in a New York federal court Monday, a test of how the Justice Department applies age-old laws to a new and lightly regulated industry. The defendant, Nathaniel Chastain , is a former employee of OpenSea, the largest online marketplace of nonfungible tokens, and his case turns on whether he used confidential information to purchase NFTs ahead of the company featuring them on its home page.

It is considered the first criminal insider trading case involving such assets. "He abused that position of trust," prosecutors said in an April 4 filing. He added that if prosecutors mention insider trading, "there is a substantial danger of undue prejudice and confusion of the jury." "Is it insider trading of anything?" "If this case sticks, there is precedent that insider trading theory can be applied to any asset class."

☆ More layoffs may still come for tech workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The tech sector has shed an estimated 330,000 jobs since last year, but my colleague Hasan Chowdhury writes that more cuts will likely come. Here's why tech workers have to brace for more layoffs. The AI arms race has pushed tech organizations to recruit AI talent from university programs aggressively. Google employees reportedly tried to stop Bard. Read Insider's exclusive on the cuts.

☆ LayerZero Labs valued at $3 billion after latest fund-raise
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 4 (Reuters) - LayerZero Labs said on Tuesday that it has raised $120 million in an early stage funding round, that has tripled the blockchain messaging protocol's valuation to $3 billion. The Series B fund-raise saw participation from 33 investors, including a16z crypto, Christie's, Circle Ventures, OpenSea Ventures, Samsung Next, and Sequoia Capital, amongst others. In February, Via said it bagged a valuation of $3.5 billion after a funding round led by 83North. Last year, the New York-based blockchain infrastructure provider had raised $135 million in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital, FTX Ventures among others that valued it at $1 billion. It has received backing from some of the strongest crypto-focused companies in the entire world, including Binance, Blockdaemon, Christie's, Circle Ventures, Coinbase, OpenSea Ventures, and many more.

☆ An NFT collector accidentally destroyed a $129,000 CryptoPunk: 'This is truly a devastating mistake for me'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

With one wrong move, a non-fungible token (NFT) collector made a very costly mistake. On March 25, Brandon Riley tweeted that he accidentally destroyed his CryptoPunk #685, an NFT he had purchased weeks earlier for 77 ETH, which was worth about $129,437 at the time, according to Etherscan. While following a step-by-step guide on how to complete the transaction, Riley unintentionally sent his NFT to a burn address, he explained on Twitter. A burn address is a virtual wallet that doesn't have a private key, meaning no one can access it. These types of wallets are typically used to permanently destroy a certain number of tokens, thus creating scarcity and potentially causing the price of that token to rise, according to Coindesk.

☆ Crypto firm Animoca Brands cuts target for new fund again -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Animoca Brands said in November that it was working on a new Animoca Capital fund with a target of $2 billion, but then halved that target in January to $1 billion. Recently, it has trimmed the target by another 20% to $800 million, two people familiar with the matter said. Latest data on the platform show that the company’s market cap stood at just under 1.9 billion Australian dollars ($1.26 billion) earlier this week. A spokesperson for Animoca Brands declined to comment on its fund raising plans. Animoca Brands was removed from the Australian Securities Exchange in 2020 by the regulator because of its aggressive expansion into the cryptocurrency industry.

☆ As NFT trading surges, a 'golden key' prize from Yuga Labs' limited-time game sold for $1.6 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A non-fungible token (NFT) collector just dropped more than $1 million on a virtual "golden key." Adam Weitsman, CEO of Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling, purchased Yuga Labs' "Golden Key Sewer Pass" for 1,000 ETH, which was valued at about $1.6 million at the time of sale on Feb. 27, 2023. Jackson won the one-of-one, digital "golden key" after receiving the highest score on "Dookey Dash," Yuga Labs' web-based NFT game. Jackson also said that royalties would be paid in full to Yuga Labs. This seven-figure sale comes amid a surge in NFT trading and sales in early 2023, according to DappRadar's latest industry report.

☆ Failed crypto scheme endorsed by soccer player Paul Pogba reportedly plunges one investor into so much debt that he now lives with his parents again
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A flopped NFT project promoted by Juventus soccer player Paul Pogba has plunged one investor deep into debt. "The main reason we invested was Pogba," he said, referring to the NFT collection CryptoDragons that's plunged in value since its inception. I'm just working, working, working," Kurnaz said. "The main reason we invested was Pogba," Kurnaz said. Pogba isn't the only Premier League player to have promoted a NFT collection that has ended up in the dumps.

☆ 2 former Barclays bankers just netted a 700% profit selling Bored Ape NFTs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mike Anderson and Ovie Faruq offloaded their collection of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs this week. The 72 NFTs sold for $9.25 million, according to OpenSea data cited by Bloomberg. The former Barclays junk bond traders reportedly netted a 700% profit for the deal. The two traders' 700% profit still pales in comparison to what they could have made at the height of the crypto boom, according to Bloomberg. The publication estimated that Anderson and Faruq's Bored Ape collection was worth $30 million at the start of May 2022 – which would have netted them profits of just under 3,000%.

☆ Cryptoverse: Punk apes and a resurrection of NFTs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The NFT market is twitching out of its torpor, defying reports of its demise. Over the past 30 days, though, OpenSea remains top with volumes of $443.98 million, versus $366 million for Blur. BITCOIN JOINS NFT PARTYIn another non-fungible development, the novel use of the bitcoin blockchain for minting an NFT collection has caused a stir among crypto enthusiasts. Bitcoin Punks is a series of monkey-themed NFTs and a derivative of the wildly popular CryptoPunks collection. Some media reports have indicated Bitcoin Punk NFT being sold for as much as 9.5 bitcoin, worth in the region of $205,000.

Search resuls for: "OpenSea"

25 mentions found