Satoshi Island, Thailand vs. Crypto, NFT Fraud + More News

 

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.

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Adoption news

• Satoshi Island, the project that aims to make a 32m sq. ft (3 sq. km) private island into a crypto haven, announced it has received endorsement from the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, where the island is located. The Prime Minister wrote that due to difficulties with COVID-19, “Vanuatu looks for innovative solutions to help grow [their] economy.”
• Tech giant LG Electronics added crypto, blockchain, and medical devices as new business areas in its corporate charter, Korea JoongAng Daily reported, citing a spokesperson for the company. They added that their new objectives include “the development and selling of blockchain-based software” and “the sale and brokerage of cryptocurrency.”
• Data privacy solutions provider Meeco announced the launch of its Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) Decentralised Identifier (DID) and token visualization tooling called Trustury on the Hedera (HBAR) blockchain, with the HBAR Foundation’s support. They added that they are developing the solution in partnership with a range of service providers in the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) market, and that they welcome participation from interested parties.

Regulation news

• Thailand will restrict the role of commercial banks in the digital assets business to protect them from unforeseen risks, Bloomberg reported, citing Bank of Thailand Assistant Governor Roong Mallikamas. The central bank said that banks should limit their investment in the digital assets business, including crypto exchanges, to 3% of their capital as regulators are stepping up their oversight.
• The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reminded all regulated firms that have exposure to cryptoassets of their existing obligations, which include customer clarity, registration with the watchdog, as well as prudential and custody considerations. They added that they’re working with international authorities on more crypto-related clarity and that they will also be engaging with industry participants to seek insights.

NFTs news

• Two defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in a million-dollar scheme to defraud purchasers of NFTs advertised as “Frosties.” Ethan Nguyen and Andre Llacuna allegedly transferred around USD 1.1m to themselves in a “rug pull” scheme, and both charges carry up to 20 years in prison each.
• Internet giant Google filed a trademark application for “Non-Fungible Planet,” an educational campaign aimed at “providing information in the areas of environmental protection, conservation, energy efficiency, climate change, reducing carbon footprints, environmental issues and sustainability efforts,” according to the filing. There is no clarification on whether the “non-fungible” part of its name has a direct correlation with non-fungible tokens.

Investments news

• Decentralized, non-custodial platform ShapeShift DAO and Web3 protocol data validator UMA announced the strategic investment by Coinbase Ventures and Chapter One in a “significant portion” of the ShapeShift DAO’s recently minted FOX Success Tokens, for a total of USD 625,000.

Legal news

• US, Manhattan court indicted Thomas Blackaller Spieker Jr. for operating a global money-laundering business that enabled at least seven criminal clients to use bitcoin (BTC) anonymously to hide and obscure their illegal proceeds. Per the press release, he converted more than USD 2.3m into BTC and more than USD 380,000 worth of BTC into USD between January 2018 and August 2021.
• Gordon Brad Beckstead from Nevada admitted his role in laundering funds solicited for BitClub Network, a USD 722m fraudulent cryptoasset scheme, per the US Department of Justice (DOJ), pleading guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of aiding in the preparation of a false tax return.