Hawaii to regulate crypto / Starbucks teases NFT launch / MicroStrategy at risk for a margin call

Also, Elon Musk's twitter picture causes Bored Ape NFT to jump

Inside.com Part of   Network May 04, 2022

Hawaii has become the latest state to move toward passing cryptocurrency regulations. The Senate approved bill SB2695 that would establish a blockchain and cryptocurrency task force in the region, and the bill might be passed into law by the end of 2022. More: The bill was co-signed by Sens. Donovan Dela Cruz and Rosalyn Baker to launch an official review of cryptocurrency regulations. The bill, which would launch a specialized task force to expand the use and regulation of the cryptosystem, previously passed the Commerce and Consumer Protection (CPN) and Ways and Means (WAM) committees of the Hawaii State Legislature. Once the bill gets signed into law, the blockchain and cryptocurrency task force consisting of 11 members will be required to submit a report of recommendations 21 days before convening the regular session of 2023. Related: California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Wednesday that spells out a road map on regulatory and consumer protections and calls on the state to explore blockchain solutions. Decrypt

Starbucks teased the launch of NFTs in an effort to drive community engagement. The Starbucks app is the second most used app for mobile payments in the U.S., next to Apple Pay, with over 30 million active users in the U.S. More: The popular coffee shop aims to offer "unique experiences," build communities, and increase customer engagement with the brand. The collection of NFTs will drive the "Starbucks Digital Community Web3 platform" that might include physical ties to the store, such as payments. The NFT platform will be chain agnostic, or multi-chain, to remain consistent with the brand's commitment to environmental sustainability. Coindesk

Elon Musk changed his Twitter profile picture to Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, and ApeCoin's price jumped by 19% in an hour. More: Elon Musk changed his Twitter photo to feature Bored Ape NFTs, sending the price of the token to $17.64, which then settled to $15.43.  The Tesla CEO later tweeted, "I dunno...seems kinda fungible." It is unclear whether Musk actually bought the NFT, but he has made numerous tweets about his support for Dogecoin and Bitcoin in the past.  The collage used by Musk was created by the auction house Sotheby's for an auction that it hosted last year.  Coindesk

MicroStrategy (MSTR), an enterprise software maker led by Michael Saylor, reported a first-quarter loss as the company took a $170.1M impairment charge and risks a margin call. The company also announced Andrew Kang as the new CFO, who will take over from Phong Le effective May 9. More: MicroStrategy buys large quantities of Bitcoin through loans: between Feb. 15 and April 4, the firm acquired 4,167 BTC for $190M or $45,714 per coin. By the end of March, the company had secured another $205M loan from Silvergate Bank (SI) to purchase more Bitcoin. The risk associated with raising more than $2B in debt to purchase a highly speculative digital is a margin call if the value of bitcoin declines to $21,000. The company could avoid selling bitcoin at a low price if it decides to add more collateral to its loan. Phong Le explains: "Before it gets to 50%, we could contribute more Bitcoin to the collateral package, so it never gets there, so we don't ever get into a situation of a margin call." Business insider

Venture capitalists are backing crypto-based projects, virtual economies, and the Web3 space. Based on Pitchbook data, a total of $10B has gone into these projects in the first quarter of 2022. More: VC investment in the Web3 and crypto space has increased over the past three years due to the sudden popularity of blockchain and metaverse-related projects: $3.7B in 2019 $5.5B in 2020 $28B in 2021 Venture capitalists believe that some of these projects are creating the infrastructure needed to facilitate commerce in the future, including digital economy, entertainment, and more. The projects that receive funding include crypto, NFT marketplaces, and exchanges to decentralized finance. M&A deals around Web3 companies have increased due to the sudden interest in the metaverse platforms. There have been 73 deals with a combined value of $8.8B in 2022 compared to 51 contracts valued at $6.8B in 2021. Financial post

Axen Capital, a Mexican company, launched a cryptocurrency called AxenCoin. In recent weeks, The Senate of the Republic in Mexico also promoted crypto in a forum to raise awareness and trigger the growth of digital assets in the country. More: The goal behind AxenCoin is to allow people to make shopping and entertainment purchases using cryptocurrency. CEO Dante Eludier explains in a statement: “You will be able to spend Axen Coins in department stores, food, but it will also serve as a means of exchange; if you want to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum, you can do it with AxenCoin.” AxenCoin's price is surging due to hype and interest from investors. The original price was $10 each, which increased to $317.65 per unit in a matter of weeks. The reason for a sudden surge in price could also be because the company is claiming a 0.025% ROI in 15 minutes. Entrepreneur

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Gia Mattu is based in Calgary, Alberta. She is an entrepreneur with experience in climate technology, drones, AI, machine learning, and blockchain technology. When she's not working, she loves to hike the Canadian Rockies, try new cuisine, and travel.  Editor Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford.

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