Emin Gün Sirer, creator of the Avalanche Consensus protocol and Ava Labs CEO, believes that there is one very straightforward method to spot a long-standing cryptocurrency project. On Feb. 7 Sirer discussed blockchain venture capital and crypto regulation in a fireside chat with MarketAcross chief operations officer Itai Elizur at the Web3 builder-focused event, Building Blocks 23. During the discussion, the Avalanche founder pointed out the crucial role of “staying power” in the crypto industry, condemning players that run from one project to another or jump into “every single new coin offering” in the hopes that they will go up. …

The Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), the regulator in charge of overseeing cryptocurrency laws within Dubai, has issued new guidelines for virtual asset service providers (VASP) operating within the emirate. According to information sent by Irina Heaver, a crypto and blockchain lawyer based in the United Arab Emirates, VARA has issued the “Full Market Product Regulations” which include four compulsory rulebooks and activity-specific rulebooks that lays down the rules for operating VASPs. The rules apply to market participants within Dubai only, with the exception of those operating under the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a free zone with its own …

The CEO of crypto miner Layer1 Technologies has filed a lawsuit against the firm’s two other board members — including co-founder Jakov Dolic — for allegedly commandeering Layer1's operations for their own gain. Chief executive John Harney and DGF Investments Inc — a British Virgin Islands-based investment firm — filed the lawsuit against Dolic and fellow board member Tobias Ebel in Delaware’s Chancery Court on Feb. 2. The lawsuit alleges that both Dolic and Ebel used a power vacuum at Layer1’s equity parent Enigma to seize control of the Bitcoin mining company and operate it as their own personal fiefdom.” …

The creator of the nonfungible token (NFT) collection Bored Ape Yacht Club has settled a lawsuit with one of the developers behind a copycat collection known as RR/BAYC. On Feb. 6, Yuga Labs settled a lawsuit that involved Thomas Lehman, the developer of websites and a smart contract selling “misleading” BAYC NFTs from digital artist Ryder Ripps. The firm behind the blue-chip collection sued Lehman in January for his involvement and technical support for the collection of mimic monkeys. According to the suit, Lehman assisted Ripps and Jeremy Cahen to develop and promote the NFTs on social media. It claimed …

The co-founder of Web3 metaverse game engine “Webaverse” has revealed they were victims of a $4 million crypto h after meeting with scammers posing as investors in a hotel lobby in Rome. The bizarre aspect of the story, according to co-founder Ahad Shams, is that the crypto was stolen from a newly set up Trust Wallet and that the hack took place during the meeting at some point. He claims the thieves could not have possibly seen the private key, nor was he connected to a public WiFi network at the time. The thieves were somehow able to gain access …

Newly proposed advertising rules in the United Kingdom could potentially see executives of crypto firms face up to two years of prison for failing to meet certain requirements around promotion, according to the U.K. financial watchdog. In a Feb. 6 statement, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed that if the proposed "Financial promotions regime" is approved by Parliament, all crypto firms in the country and overseas would have to follow certain requirements when advertising their crypto services to U.K. customers. “Cryptoasset businesses marketing to UK consumers, including firms based overseas, must get ready for this regime,” said the FCA. …

Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF's) lawyers have reached an agreement with federal prosecutors concerning his use of messaging apps. According to a Feb. 6 court document, both parties have agreed SBF “shall not use any encrypted or ephemeral call of messaging application, including but not limited to Signal.” However, under the agreement, the former FTX CEO will be able to access FaceTime, Zoom, iMessage, SMS text, email and Facebook Messenger. He will also be allowed to use the encrypted messaging service WhatsApp but only if “monitoring technology is installed on his cellphone that automatically logs and preserves all WhatsApp communications.” The latest …

Genesis Global has announced it has reached an "agreement in principle" with Digital Currency Group (DCG) which will eventually see its crypto lending and trading arm sold as part of restructuring efforts. According to a Feb. 6 press release, DCG would contribute its equity in Genesis Global Trading, a trading subsidiary business, to Genesis Global Holdco, the holding entity for Genesis — bringing all Genesis-related entities under the same holding company. After the transactions are final — pending necessary court approval — Genesis will seek to put its then-owned Genesis Global Trading entity up for sale. Crypto exchange Gemini also …

Fans watching the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 will reportedly not see a plethora of ad spots for cryptocurrency companies as they did in 2022. According to a Feb. 6 Associated Press report, there had been four potential deals with crypto firms for commercials costings roughly $6 to $7 million in the 2023 Super Bowl, all of which fell apart following the FTX bankruptcy filing in November. Fox Sports’ executive vice president of ad sales Mark Evans reportedly said there would be “zero representation” from major crypto companies on …

Crypto mining firm Riot Platforms — formerly Riot Blockchain — reported that 17,040 rigs deployed at its operations in Texas were offline due to “severe winter weather” in the state. According to a Feb. 6 announcement, Riot reported two of the buildings at its Whinstone facility in Rockdale, Texas were damaged in December 2022 as the state experienced days of sub-zero temperatures. From Dec. 22 to Dec. 25, temperatures across many parts of Texas — and the United States — dropped to below freezing. “Some sections of piping in Buildings F and G were damaged during the severe winter storms …

Binance has announced that it is temporarily suspending bank transfers in United States dollars (USD) beginning Feb. 8. No other trading methods will be affected, the exchange said in a tweet on Feb. 6. The news came with no explanation, although the company, which is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, added in the same tweet that: “We are working hard to restart the service as soon as possible. […] All other methods of buying and selling crypto remain unaffected.” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said in a separate tweet: “It is worth noting that USD bank transfers are leveraged by …

United Kingdom-based neo-banking platform Revolut, which boasts 25 million customers globally, has introduced crypto staking to its U.K. and European Economic Area (EEA) customers. According to a report by London-based news agency altfi, the staking feature is expected to go live this week, allowing users to generate income on their crypto assets during its "soft testing" phase. At present, the staking feature is available for Polkadot (DOT), Tezos (XTZ), Cardano (ADA), and Ether (ETH) crypto assets, with yields ranging from 2.99% to 11.65%. However, these yields are not guaranteed. In cryptocurrency, staking is a process where an individual holds or …