tl;dr
• Forbes under fires for deletion of article by Dr. Roslyn Layton about ETH and XRP treatment by the SEC• Late to the game, SEC goes after Terraform Labs and Do Kwon, neither of which are based in the US• Joe Kernen of CNBC and I agree on something: Charlie Munger's views on Bitcoin are pedestrian a...
• Forbes under fires for deletion of article by Dr. Roslyn Layton about ETH and XRP treatment by the SEC
• Late to the game, SEC goes after Terraform Labs and Do Kwon, neither of which are based in the US
• Joe Kernen of CNBC and I agree on something: Charlie Munger's views on Bitcoin are pedestrian at best
• Astar chosen again, this time by Sony for Web3 incubator
• Japan is the latest country to announce their CBDC pilot program
• Major bug found that can delay Ethereum Shanghai upgrade
The Cryptoverse gave you a peek into the future and it is strong. Here is what is on my mind today.
1. Forbes is under scrutiny over a piece they published by Dr. Roslyn Layton. Her essay addressed why the SEC treats XRP differently than Ethereum. The piece was titled "Why the SEC Treats Ripple and Ethereum Differently" and it deletion has the XRP community up in arms. This is not the first time Forbes has come under fire for these kinds of antics. It just goes to show you must be careful about where you get your information from.
2. Even later to the game, the SEC decides to file a lawsuit against Terraform Labs and its former head, Do Kwon. Let me get this straight. Th events around Terra happened long before FTX. As a matter of fact, there are some that allude to FTX and SBF being behind its failure. That said, this is when Gary Gensler decides to go after a company that is not domiciled in the United States? Now is when he thinks Do Kwon defrauded US citizens? Mind you, South Korean authorities have jurisdiction and are, literally, flying around the world in search of Do Kwon. I don't know about you, but I , for one, am tired of how the SEC is managing events. They constantly prove they are not the right agency to regulate crypto.
3. Finally! Joe Kernen of CNBC and I agree on something. He called out Charlie Munger's comments on Bitcoin, "Pedestrian". He also said he doesn't think Munger has read that first page of any book on Bitcoin. I am not sure if it will happen again, but we both agree on Charlie Munger's view on crypto.
4. In another notable win, Astar has been chosen for the Sony Network Communication's Web3 incubation program. Earlier this month, on the first, I told you about how Toyota is now working with Astar. Given how business is done in Japan, I am quite sure there will be another Japanese firm to choose the platform. Toyota and Sony have recently teamed up to make advanced chips. Currently ranked at 92 on CoinMarketCap, Astar is up over 179% YTD.
5. Japan becomes the latest country to announce a CBDC pilot. I think this is going to be a space where we are going to see rapid expansion around the world. Truthfully, I think it may be the last major financial move before countries give up and actually embrace crypto. Before that can happen crypto needs to mature, but I do think that is an inevitability.
6. A major bug has been found that can delay the Shanghai upgrade for Ethereum. This makes the long-awaited zkEVM by Polygon coming out in March even more important. A lot of light has been shining on Polygon with so many deal announcements and advancements in technology. As I keep saying, more to come!