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☆ Kenya suspends crypto project Worldcoin over safety concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Stickers handed out to people who signed up for WorldCoin are seen at a sign-up site in Shoreditch, East London, Britain July 24, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Howcroft/File PhotoNAIROBI, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Kenya's interior ministry said on Wednesday that it had suspended the local activities of cryptocurrency project Worldcoin while government agencies assess potential risks to public safety. "Relevant security, financial services and data protection agencies have commenced inquiries and investigations to establish the authenticity and legality of the aforesaid activities," interior minister Kithure Kindiki said in a statement. Kindiki said the government was concerned with Worldcoin's activities, and agencies would probe how it intends to use the data it gathers. The project has also come under scrutiny in Britain, Germany and France.

Persons: Elizabeth Howcroft, Sam Altman, Kithure Kindiki, Worldcoin, Kindiki, Humphrey Malalo, Bhargav Acharya, Alexander Winning, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Kenyan, Thomson Locations: Shoreditch, East London, Britain, NAIROBI, Kenya, Germany, Spain, France

LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - A German data watchdog has been investigating OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Worldcoin project since late last year due to concerns over its large-scale processing of sensitive biometric data, the regulator's president told Reuters. Will said the Bavarian state regulator is the lead authority investigating Worldcoin under the European Union's data protection rules because Tools For Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin, has a German subsidiary there. This leads to a number of risks, including whether users have given explicit consent to their highly-sensitive biometric data being processed on the basis of "sufficient and clear" information, Will said. Privacy campaigners have long raised concerns about the wide-scale collection and storage of biometric data, which could increase surveillance or target certain demographic groups. France's privacy watchdog told Reuters on Friday that the legality of Worldcoin's data collection "seems questionable".

Persons: Sam Altman's Worldcoin, Worldcoin, Michael Will, Will, Elizabeth Howcroft, Louise Heavens Organizations: Reuters, Bavarian State Office, Data Protection, Humanity, Worldcoin, Thomson Locations: Bavarian, German, Cayman Islands, France, Germany, Spain

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency which aim to keep a constant value and are usually backed by traditional assets such as dollars. Tether's reserves report, signed off by accountants BDO Italia, says Tether's assets rose to $86.5 billion in the three months to June 30, 2023, up 5.7% from the previous quarter and a record high, according to previous reports on its website. Tether is a key cog in global digital asset trading, with many crypto-to-crypto trades denominated in the stablecoin. U.S. regulators have warned banks that stablecoin reserves could be subject to rapid outflows, for example if holders rushed to exchange such tokens back into traditional currency. Tether's holdings of U.S. Treasury Bills hit $55.8 billion, up 5.2% from the end of March, while non-U.S. Treasury Bills rose to $62.9 million, up more than 30% from the previous quarter, the report said.

Persons: Elizabeth Howcroft, Christina Fincher Organizations: BDO Italia, Treasury Bills, U.S . Treasury Bills, New York Attorney, Thomson Locations: . U.S, U.S

LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - France's privacy watchdog CNIL said on Friday it is aware of ChatGPT-founder Sam Altman's Worldcoin project and that the legality of its biometric data collection "seems questionable". CNIL, the French watchdog, said in response to a Reuters question on Worldcoin "The legality of this collection seems questionable, as do the conditions for storing biometric data." The Worldcoin Foundation is a Cayman Islands-based entity which describes itself as a "steward of the Worldcoin protocol". "The Worldcoin Foundation complies with all laws and regulations governing the processing of personal data in the markets where Worldcoin is available," it said. The project is supervised in the European Union by the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision, the Worldcoin Foundation said.

Persons: CNIL, Sam Altman's, Worldcoin, Elizabeth Howcroft, Amanda Cooper, Jane Merriman, Louise Heavens Organizations: Reuters, Bavarian, Worldcoin, European Union, Office, Data Protection, Thomson Locations: Bavarian, Germany, Cayman Islands, European

July 27 (Reuters) - British asset manager Schroders (SDR.L) reported a drop in first-half assets under management on Thursday, due to weaker investor sentiment and market volatility. Schroders' assets under management fell to 726.1 billion pounds ($940 billion) in the six months to June 30, from 737.5 billion pounds at December-end. The company generated 5.7 billion pounds in net new business, excluding joint ventures and associates. In contrast, Jupiter Fund Management (JUP.L) jumped 14% to the top of the FTSE mid-cap (.FTMC) after it reported assets under management rose 2% to 51.4 billion pounds. The fund manager saw "small" net inflows of 23 million pounds, helped by institutional client demand.

Persons: Schroders, Calastone, Peter Harrison, Jefferies, James's, Peel Hunt, Eva Mathews, Savio D'Souza, Sinead Cruise, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Bank of England, JPMorgan, Jupiter Fund, Peel, Thomson Locations: British, Bengaluru

☆ British asset manager St James's Place attracts $4.4 billion in first-half net inflows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - British asset manager St James's Place (SJP.L) reported a fall in half-yearly profit after tax on Thursday but attracted 3.4 billion pounds ($4.40 billion) of net inflows in what the company called a "challenging period" for UK investors. Funds under management hit a record 157.5 billion pounds, up from 148.4 billion in December 2022. Profit after tax fell to 161.7 million, down from 208.2 million in the same period last year, and the interim dividend was 15.83 pence per share, representing 30% of the previous full-year dividend, the company said. "As we look ahead, there continue to be challenges for UK consumers," he said. ($1 = 0.7722 pounds)($1 = 0.7719 pounds)Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft, editing by Sinead CruiseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: St James's, Andrew Croft, Croft, Elizabeth Howcroft, Sinead Cruise Organizations: St, Funds, UK savers, Thomson Locations: British, U.S

☆ Binance withdraws application for crypto license in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 26 (Reuters) - Binance has withdrawn its application for a crypto license in Germany, suggesting the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange is rethinking its immediate expansion plans amid a tough regulatory stance towards the industry. German regulators had told Binance they would not grant it a crypto custody license, Reuters reported last month. "Binance confirms it has proactively withdrawn its BaFin (Germany's financial regulator) application. The situation, both in the global market and regulation, has changed significantly," a spokesperson for the company said on Wednesday. "Binance still intends to apply for appropriate licensing in Germany, but it is essential that our submission accurately reflects these changes," the spokesperson added.

Persons: Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Niket, Elizabeth Howcroft, KRishna Chandra Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Securities, Exchange, CoinDesk, Thomson Locations: Germany, Netherlands, France, Bengaluru, London

"We note the launch of WorldCoin in the UK and will be making further enquiries," a spokesperson for the Information Commissioner's Office told Reuters. Worldcoin launched on Monday with two million users from its trial, with the crypto project scaling up eyeball-scanning operations in 20 countries, including at sites in London. Described on its website as a "new identity and financial network", the Worldcoin project assigns people who sign up a digital ID which it says would distinguish humans from artificial intelligence online. Its cryptocurrency, called the Worldcoin token, will be allocated to users who sign up in some countries, according to the website. The Worldcoin token initially rose after its launch on Monday, hitting a peak of $3.30, and on Tuesday was at $2.01 according to market tracker CoinGecko.

Persons: Sam Altman, Worldcoin, Elizabeth Howcroft, Tom wilson, Louise Heavens Organizations: Commissioner's, Reuters, Thomson Locations: London

The project launched on Monday, with eyeball scans taking place in countries including Britain, Japan and India. Applicants lined up to have their irises scanned by the device, before waiting for the 25 free Worldcoin tokens the company says verified users can claim. Worldcoin's data-collection is a "potential privacy nightmare," said the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a U.S. privacy campaigner. Worldcoin tokens were trading around $2.30 on the world's largest exchange, Binance, on Tuesday. For many users, the promise of financial gains from the crypto coins was enough to make them hand over personal data.

Persons: Sam Altman, Saeki Sasaki, Worldcoin, Ali, Madeleine Stone, Sujith, Elizabeth Howcroft, Medha, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, Privacy, Big Brother Watch, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, BENGALURU, Britain, Japan, India, Tokyo, U.S, London, Bengaluru, Medha Singh, Anton

July 24 (Reuters) - Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, launched on Monday. Blockchains can store the World IDs in a way that preserves privacy and can't be controlled or shut down by any single entity, co-founder Alex Blania told Reuters. The project says World IDs will be necessary in the age of generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, which produce remarkably humanlike language. Altman told Reuters Worldcoin also can help address how the economy will be reshaped by generative AI. Since only real people can have World IDs, it could be used to reduce fraud when deploying UBI.

Persons: Sam Altman, Alex Blania, Altman, Reuters Worldcoin, ”, UBI, Anna Tong, Juby Babu, Elizabeth Howcroft, Kenneth Li, Navaratnam, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Humanity, Reuters, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, Berlin

☆ Global shares rise, dollar rebounds as Fed seen on target for rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Herbert Lash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Retail sales increased 0.2% last month, the U.S. Commerce Department said, but core retail sales increased 0.6%, excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services. Headline data for May also was revised higher to show sales gaining 0.5% instead of 0.3% as previously reported. Asian stocks fell earlier in the session as markets caught up with growth data from Monday showing the post-pandemic bounce in China's economy was over. Besides the Fed, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan also hold policy meetings next week. Expectations that the Fed and the ECB will diverge on rate hikes have caused the dollar to weaken recently.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Morgan Stanley, Jimmy Chang, Chang, J.P, Morgan, Fiona Cincotta, DAX, Brent, Herbert Lash, Elizabeth Howcroft, Selina Li, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis, Deepa Babington Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Bank, Federal, Bank of America, U.S . Commerce Department, Rockefeller, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Fed, European Central Bank, Bank of, ECB, U.S, West Texas, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, New York, Europe, China, Germany, Bank of Japan, London, Hong Kong

☆ Global shares rise, US shares mixed as Fed seen on target for rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Herbert Lash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 7, 2023. Headline data for May also was revised higher to show sales gaining 0.5% instead of 0.3% as previously reported. Deutsche Bank said it was lowering its forecast for China's economic growth this year, following similar moves on Monday by J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Besides the Fed, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan also hold policy meetings next week. Expectations that the Fed and the ECB will diverge on rate hikes have caused the dollar to weaken recently.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Dow Industrials, Thomas Hayes, Dow, Morgan Stanley, J.P, Morgan, Fiona Cincotta, DAX, Brent, Elizabeth Howcroft, Selina Li, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Reserve, U.S . Commerce Department, Treasury, Dow, Nasdaq, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Great, Great Hill Capital, Bank of America, Dow Jones, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Fed, European Central Bank, Bank of, ECB, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Great Hill, New York, Europe, China, Germany, Bank of Japan, Hong Kong

As investors bet on a milder inflation outlook, the MSCI World Equity index (.MIWD00000PUS) rose to its highest so far this year. BOND YIELD BOUNCEU.S. government bond yields bounced back slightly on Friday after sharp declines earlier in the week. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was up 10.6 bps at 4.717%. "Getting the 3% (inflation reading) is one thing, getting back to 2% is going to be a much harder task," Villamin said. LOWER DOLLAR HOLDSThe dollar hovered near a 15-month low on Friday and was set for its biggest weekly decline since November after softening U.S. inflation data.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Germany's DAX, Michele Morganti, Morganti, Norman Villamin, We're, Villamin, Brent, Lawrence Delevingne, Elizabeth Howcroft, Jan Harvey, Nick Macfie Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, U.S . Federal Reserve, Wednesday U.S, JPMorgan Chase, UnitedHealth, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Generali Investments, Treasury, Brent, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Rome, Libya, Nigeria, Boston, London

As investors bet on a milder inflation outlook, the MSCI World Equity index rose to its highest so far this year. On Friday it was up 0.2% on the day, after a week of gains put it on track for its biggest weekly rise since November 2022 (.MIWD00000PUS). The positive momentum was set to continue into Wall Street, with S&P 500 futures up 0.1% and Dow futures up 0.4% . The U.S. dollar index was at 99.821, holding near the 15-month low of 99.574 hit earlier in the session and set for its biggest weekly decline since November . Meanwhile the Swedish crown was set for its biggest weekly gain against both the dollar and euro in 14 years , .

Persons: Germany's DAX, Norman Villamin, We're, Villamin, UBP's Villamin, Brent, Gold, Elizabeth Howcroft, William Maclean, Chizu Organizations: U.S . Federal Reserve, Dow, Money, Federal Reserve, U.S, JPMorgan Chase, Wells, Thomson Locations: Europe, U.S

NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - Alex Mashinsky, founder and former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, pleaded not guilty Thursday to U.S. fraud charges that he misled customers and artificially inflated the value of his company's propriety crypto token. Three federal regulatory agencies also sued Mashinsky and Celsius in connection with the case. Mashinsky, 57, was charged with seven criminal counts - including securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud - according to an indictment unsealed earlier on Thursday. Its founder Sam Bankman-Fried was charged with fraud last year, and has pleaded not guilty. "Whether it's old-school fraud or some new-school crypto scheme, it doesn't matter one bit.

Persons: Alex Mashinsky, Mashinsky, Sam Bankman, Fried, Ona Wang, Roni Cohen, Pavon, Cohen, Damian Williams, Williams, Hannah Lang, Luc Cohen, Chris Prentice, Elizabeth Howcroft, Chizu Nomiyama, Michelle Price, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: YORK, Prosecutors, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Futures Trading Commission, Federal Trade Commission, U.S, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, Israeli, U.S, Hoboken , New Jersey, Washington, New York, Bengaluru, London

July 13 (Reuters) - Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, was arrested and charged with fraud, a U.S. prosecutor in New York said Thursday, while three federal regulatory agencies sued him and his company. Mashinsky, 57, was charged with seven criminal counts - including securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud - while Celsius' former chief revenue officer, Roni Cohen-Pavon, was charged with four criminal counts, according to the indictment, which was unsealed on Thursday. Its founder Sam Bankman-Fried was charged with fraud last year, and has pleaded not guilty. Crypto lenders such as Celsius grew rapidly as crypto prices surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Federal Trade Commission also sued Celsius and Mashinsky.

Persons: Alex Mashinsky, Roni Cohen, Pavon, Cohen, Sam Bankman, Fried, Mashinsky, Niket, Hannah Lang, Elizabeth Howcroft, Chris Prentice, Shinjini Ganguli, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Mashinsky, Attorney's, Prosecutors, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Arrows Capital, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Network, Coinbase, Arbinet, Transit Wireless, Thomson Locations: U.S, New York, Manhattan, New Jersey, cryptocurrency, Singapore, Bengaluru, Washington, London

Transactions associated with sanctioned entities accounted for 44% of 2022's record-high $20.1 billion worth of crypto crime, Chainalysis said in January. Crypto payments to ransomware attackers hit $449.1 million in the first half of 2023, up $175.8 million from the same period last year, Chainalysis said. If this continues, ransomware attackers will have their second best year on record, the analysts added. "Big game hunting - that is, the targeting of large, deep-pocketed organizations by ransomware attackers - seems to have bounced back after a lull in 2022. At the same time, the number of successful small attacks has also grown," Chainalysis said.

Persons: Chainalysis, fraudsters, Elizabeth Howcroft, Sinead Cruise, Mark Potter Organizations: Thomson

LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - Global hedge funds not specialising in crypto assets have grown skittish from recent industry turmoil and this has lead to an exit from the sector, a survey showed on Tuesday. The proportion of traditional hedge funds investing in crypto-assets has dropped to 29% this year from 37% in 2022, the report by PWC and the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) said. Traditional hedge funds that avoided trading in crypto said deterrents included reputational risk, a lack of clear guidance from regulators and tax authorities and unreliable data. Hedge funds that are invested in crypto mostly use bitcoin or Ethereum. Almost half of hedge funds that were already trading crypto said they would put more money in, but that crypto only accounted for 2% of assets under management.

Persons: PWC, bitcoin, Jack Inglis, Nell Mackenzie, Elizabeth Howcroft, Dhara Ranasinghe, Alexander Smith Organizations: Global, Alternative Investment Management Association, Investors, Reuters, Thomson

☆ Wall Street rallies, dollar softens after solid economic data
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermidNEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks moved sharply higher in a broad rally on Tuesday, and the dollar softened as robust economic data eased recession fears and stoked investors' risk appetite. "The economic data today was particularly strong," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments in Atlanta. Emerging market stocks rose 0.58%. U.S. Treasury yields edged higher as solid economic data calmed recession jitters. Crude prices slid after U.S. economic indicators surprised to the upside, ahead of energy demand data expected later in the session.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Thomas Martin, Martin, Jerome Powell's, Christine Lagarde, Lagarde, Brent, Stephen Culp, Elizabeth Howcroft, Chizu Nomiyama, Deepa Babington Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Nasdaq, U.S, GLOBALT Investments, Financial, European Central Bank, ECB, Dow Jones, Japan's Nikkei, Treasury, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Atlanta, China, Asia, Pacific, Japan, London

[1/2] The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, June 26, 2023. Asian shares received a boost from Chinese Premier Li Qiang saying Beijing will roll out policies to boost China's economy. But the positive market sentiment faded in early European trading, with the pan-European STOXX 600 down 0.4% by 1149 GMT (.STOXX). MSCI's Europe index (.MSER) was down 0.1%, London's FTSE 100 lost 0.3% and Germany's DAX declined 0.1% (.GDAXI). It hit a seven-month high against China's yuan as investors braced for the possibility of China doing more to support the currency.

Persons: Li Qiang, Germany's DAX, Hani Redha, Christine Lagarde, Analysts, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Michael Hewson, Shunichi Suzuki, Elizabeth Howcroft, Ed Osmond, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Staff LONDON, PineBridge Investments, U.S . Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, Monetary, European Central Bank, Wagner Group, CMC Markets, U.S, ECB, U.S ., Finance, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Europe, United States, Beijing, Russia, U.S, China

LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - UK law can accommodate crypto assets by creating a new category of personal property that would include digital assets, independent body the Law Commission said on Wednesday. The group also said the government should create a panel of experts to advise courts on legal issues involving digital assets. These steps would support the UK government's aim of becoming a global hub for crypto assets, the Law Commission said in a statement. “The use and importance of digital assets has grown significantly in the last few years," said Sarah Green, law commissioner for commercial and common law. He asked the Law Commission to review whether current laws can accommodate digital assets.

Persons: Sarah Green, Rishi Sunak, Adam Sanitt, Norton Rose Fulbright, Sanitt, Elizabeth Howcroft, Mark Potter Organizations: Commission, Norton Rose, Thomson Locations: England, Wales

If approved, a bitcoin ETF from the world's biggest asset manager could attract investors reluctant to buy the high-risk cryptocurrency directly. Digital asset manager Grayscale had its proposal for a spot bitcoin ETF rejected last year. LESS CAPITAL OVERALLAfter surprise rate hikes in Australia and Canada, and as the Federal Reserve forecasts two more hikes, investors are now betting that interest rates will remain higher for longer. Bitcoin had benefited from ultra-low interest rates, which incentivised investors to take riskier bets in search of returns. "Albeit - there are likely to be further challenges with interest rates continuing to increase," he said.

Persons: Mike Caldwell's, Jim Urquhart, Bitcoin, Charles Schwab, Youwei Yang, BTCM, Wes Hansen, Gordon Grant, Grant, Strijers, he'd, Riyad Carey, Genesis Trading's Gordon Grant, There's, bitcoin, Usman Ahmad, Elizabeth Howcroft, Tom Wilson, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, BlackRock, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Citadel Securities, Fidelity Investments, Reuters Graphics, Silicon Valley Bank, SEC, Fidelity, Cboe, Kaiko, Federal Reserve, Blackrock, Zodia, Chartered, Technology, Thomson Locations: Sandy , Utah, Silicon, United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong

The recent crypto platform bankruptcies trapped customer assets now worth around $34 billion, according to Xclaim, which allows creditors to trade such claims. To protect themselves, institutional crypto investors are switching to exchanges that offer stronger asset protection, boosting due diligence on trading partners, and executing trades in smaller chunks, among other new risk management measures, according to executives and industry data. European crypto asset manager CoinShares ramped up its counterparty due diligence after losing 26 million pounds ($32.65 million) in the collapse of FTX. Financial regulators like the SEC say many crypto companies flout applicable rules, meaning risk management still lags the traditional financial sector. "This is inevitably risk we're all carrying in crypto - we have uncomfortable concentration risk on one large exchange called Binance," said Nickel's Crachilov.

Persons: Samed Bouaynaya, Coinbase, Altana, Binance, Anatoly Crachilov, Martin Lee, Nansen, Stephen Richardson, CoinShares ramped, cybersecurity, Jean, Marie Mognetti, Changpeng Zhao, Nickel's Crachilov, Wes Hansen, Hansen, Elizabeth Howcroft, Michelle Price, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Voyager, London, Coinbase, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Asset Management, Arca, Thomson

☆ Three Arrows Capital's NFTs fetch $10.9 mln at Sotheby's
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - A set of non-fungible tokens previously bought by bankrupt cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital sold for $10.9 million at Sotheby's in New York on Thursday, the auction house said. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a blockchain-based asset that represents ownership of a digital item such as an image, video or piece of text. It sold for $6.2 million on Thursday, Sotheby's said, having been bought by Three Arrows Capital for around $5.9 million in August 2021 according to DappRadar data. Singapore-based Three Arrows Capital was the first in a series of major crypto firms to go bankrupt in 2022, following the collapse of cryptocurrencies Luna and TerraUSD. Another seven of Three Arrows Capital's NFTs were already sold for $2.5 million at a Sotheby's auction in May.

Persons: Dmitri Cherniak, Sotheby's, Michael Bouhanna, cryptocurrencies Luna, NFTs, Elizabeth Howcroft, Nilutpal Timsina, Sonali Paul Organizations: Arrows Capital, Arrows, U.S, Three Arrows Capital, NFTs, Thomson Locations: New York, Sotheby's, Singapore

The dollar made little progress as investors opted for riskier assets, with the Fed widely expected on Wednesday not to hike rates for the first time since January 2022. "Investors have been looking forward to a Fed pause in the rate hiking cycle since they started over a year ago. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 202.78 points, or 1.53%, to 13,461.92 in its biggest one-day percentage gain since May 26. Traders are pricing in a roughly 75% chance of the Fed keeping rates steady, and a 25% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Given said a Fed hike "would likely be very dollar-positive as it would go against current market expectations."

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Price, Burns McKinney, McKinney, Sterling, Helen, Brent, Sinéad Carew, Gertrude Chavez, Dreyfuss, Elizabeth Howcroft, Andrew Heavens, Nick Zieminski, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, U.S, CPI, PPI Fed, Treasury, U.S . Federal Reserve, Brent, Consumer, Index, PPI, NFJ Investment, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Traders, Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank of Canada, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Monex USA, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Dallas, Washington

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