Also, Coinbase's NFT marketplace has a slow start
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This month, Gucci announced that it would start accepting cryptocurrency in select U.S locations. The company will train its staff on cryptocurrency and NFTs before the official launch of the new payment option. More: - Customers will scan a QR code that links to their crypto wallets. Gucci will accept the following cryptocurrencies:
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
- Dogecoin
- Shiba Inu
- This month, the following stores will accept the crypto: Wooster Street in New York, Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, Miami Design District, Plaza in Atlanta, and The Shops at Crystal in Las Vegas. The program will roll out in other North American stores by this summer.
- Gucci had also purchased a virtual store called the "Gucci Vault" to launch NFTs in the Sandbox metaverse platform.
- French label Off-White is also accepting crypto as payment in its London, Paris, and Milan flagship stores.
Decrypt 
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to regulate cryptocurrency in the state by establishing a regulatory roadmap. The National Conference of State Legislatures also reported that 37 U.S states have pending legislation on cryptocurrencies and digital assets. More: - Newsom laid out a regulatory framework roadmap that aligns with President Joe Biden's cryptocurrency executive order to examine risks and opportunities.
- The business and economic development office will collaborate with California's Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation to develop a transparent plan to direct Web3 companies to operate in the state.
- The roadmap will contain consumer protection and assess how the state can leverage blockchain technologies and digital assets in the region.
- Regulating cryptocurrency will potentially create new companies, new jobs, and new opportunities.
- Newsom also stated that companies like PayPal and Square should assist in adopting blockchain technologies and crypto payments.
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Pangea Management Fund, a new crypto-based hedge fund, raised $85M from Bain Capital and ParaFi with participation from Union Square Ventures, Apollo Global Management, and others. More: - The new hedge fund will be managed by Ryan Watkins, a 25-year-old former analyst at Messari Inc., and 26-year-old Daniel Cheung, a former employee at Jennison Associated LLC. The team will focus on a "long-only" strategy for the crypto markets.
- Watkins explains that crypto funds can be divided into two categories:
- hedge funds that focus on and trade bitcoin;
- second Ethereum and venture funds that focus on early-stage projects.
- Instead of focusing on new crypto projects, the fund will take long positions in three to seven cryptocurrencies that are already established in the market.
Bloomberg
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Coinbase launched its NFT marketplace this week, and it is off to a slow start. The site is still undergoing testing, but it opened up to all at noon EDT Wednesday. In its first five hours, it recorded 100 transactions and $60,000 in sales. More: - For comparison, the transaction volume on competitor OpenSea was $124M on Tuesday.
- Coinbase expected a larger volume of transactions since the project had already attracted several million signups before the launch date.
- At the end of April, the company provided early access to a select number of users.
- The company had also announced that the NFT marketplace would charge zero transaction fees as a strategy to attract more users and growth.
- Coinbase's NFT marketplace is an effort to attract users and stimulate the company's slowing growth.
Bloomberg
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Binance, a crypto exchange, intends to invest $500M in equity funding to support Elon Musk's Twitter buyout. This funding round marks the latest move in developing a decentralized social media platform. More: - Binance is the third-largest crypto exchange globally, handling over $70B in spot and derivative trading daily.
- The $500M is part of a $7B financing pledge that will support Musk's bid to take over Twitter.
- Sequoia and Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, have also committed funds.
- Jack Dorsey created Bluesky's project, which had laid out a roadmap to decentralize social media before leaving Twitter.
- Bluesky is an independent company, and Dorsey is still on the board.
- Bluesky launched as a research and development arm that will eventually lead to an open and decentralized public conversation.
- "In principle, I don't believe anyone should own or run Twitter," Dorsey said in a recent tweet.
- Musk's Twitter plans remain unknown, but there are some indications that dogecoin can be used as a payment method.
CNBC
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Bitcoin climbed by 6% after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by half a point, the most significant hike in 20 years. The future outlook will be bullish for crypto as long as the Federal Open Market Committee guidance excludes a 0.75% hike. More: - Inflation is at its highest in 40 years. The market has implemented an aggressive tightening schedule; however, a less aggressive tightening schedule would benefit Bitcoin.
- Bitcoin remains correlated with the stock market moves, and if the price of bitcoin increases, other cryptocurrencies also climb.
- The FOMC ruled out a 75-basis-point hike as Powell mentioned, “A 75-basis-point increase is not something that the committee is actively considering," and “I think expectations are that we’ll start to see inflation, you know, flattening out.”
- Cryptocurrency trading trends have aligned with equities; following the announcement, both Bitcoin and Ether rose about 3.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
- Bitcoin dropped by nearly 5% today and is now trading around $37,000. Ethereum also took a hit by dropping to $2,750 from $2,900.
CNBC
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- Are we heading for a crypto bust or a crypto boom in the coming years?
- Coinbase's CEO shares his views on crypto prices for this year.
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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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