SEC is investigating Bored Apes creator Yuga Labs
SEC is investigating Bored Apes creator Yuga Labs
Hey Fellaz,
Welcome to this week’s edition of Alpha Schedule!
It's been one helluva week for the web3 scene, with big headlines and important precedents. My favorite items?
SEC is investigating Yuga Labs
CNN has rugged their NFT collection
F1 has filed trademarks covering crypto and NFTs
Barbie is partnering up with Boss Beauties
OpenSea has added support for Avalanche
Hugo Boss is partnering with Imaginary Ones
And so much more! So without further ado … here is a rundown of the past week in the NFT space!
— 🩸💀 AMERICAN RADASS
SEC is investigating Bored Apes creator Yuga Labs
Yuga Labs, creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, is facing a probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
into whether sales of some of its offerings violate federal law, according to a report by Bloomberg.
"It’s well-known that policymakers and regulators have sought to learn more about the novel world of web3. We hope to partner with the rest of the industry and regulators to define and shape the burgeoning ecosystem. As a leader in the space, Yuga is committed to fully cooperating with any inquiries along the way."
The opening of the probe is not a foregone conclusion; Yuga Labs has not been accused of wrongdoing and the probe may not result in a legal battle. It sits within the concept of broader scrutiny by the regulator over crypto-related activities.
Kim Kardashian charged $1.3 million fine by SEC
Kim Kardashian made headlines this week when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) publicized a fine and settlement with her for allegedly failing to disclose earnings related to her promotion of the EMAX token.
While the settlement ends her case with the government, it may complicate a class action lawsuit that seeks damages from Floyd Mayweather Jr, former NBA player Paul Pierce and Kardashian, all of whom have filed motions to dismiss the case against them.
📰 OTHER NEWS FROM THE PAST WEEK
Foundation launched its new Drops functionality, which allows people to launch a collection of up to 10,000 NFTs for the cost of minting a single NFT.
Brian Roberts, the CFO of NFT marketplace OpenSea, has left his position less than a year after joining, according to a Friday update on his LinkedIn profile.
Krys Burnette (ex-Adidas, Chanel, American Express, and more) is the new VP of Web3 Strategy and Culture for Boss Beauties.
Worldwide Webb announced a minigame Rugbusterz, which is coming this fall.
BNB Chain, a blockchain linked to the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, disclosed an exploit on a cross-chain bridge that drained around $100 million in digital assets.
Axie Infinity creators Sky Mavis will stake the 11,475,000 AXS tokens on its balance sheet to “reinforce the long-term commitment to the Axie Infinity ecosystem."
Blockchain address is now available in Google search.
Popular Solana NFT project DeGods has switched to a 0% royalty model, meaning it will no longer earn royalties on the sales of its NFTs
Google partnered up with illustrator burnttoast (Doodles Co-founder) to create wallpapers in order to bring awareness to World Mental Health Day.
✨ NEW IN THE SPACE
Barbie is partnering up with Boss Beauties on a new NFT project to celebrate all 250 of Barbie’s multifaceted careers and to provide skills development, leadership opportunities & more to girls globally.
F1 has filed 8 trademarks covering crypto and NFTs
Google will accept crypto payments for cloud services
OpenSea has added support for Avalanche, bringing the total number of supported blockchains on OpenSea to seven.
Golden, a crypto firm building a data protocol with web3 tools, raised $40 million in a Series B funding round led by a16z crypto.
Stems, a decentralized music platform, closed a $4 million pre-seed funding round.
Hugo Boss announced partnering with the web3 company Imaginary Ones to launch its own NFT line, which will offer a new 360-degree experience of the Metaverse.
💀 HOW TO RECOGNIZE A RUG PULL
CNN has announced it is retiring its Vault NFT initiative. A member of the CNN team mentioned in Discord that current holders of the NFT will be compensated around 20% of the original mint price.
😂 LAUGH OUT LOUD
🤓 DISCLAIMER: NFA & DYOR
This newsletter is a curated overview of the most exciting things I’ve read the past week, the projects I’ve researched, and the NFTs I’ll be trying to buy.
This means I’m - per definition - biased, so don’t consider this as financial advice, and keep doing your own research if you see something you like.