Nubank’s New Nucoin Crypto, Fidelity’s ETH Offer, Bitpanda Partners With N26 Digital Bank

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Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Adoption news

  • Brazil’s Nubank announced plans to release its own crypto as part of a new customer rewards program, with a goal to offer customers benefits such as discounts and perks as they accumulate its Nucoins, Reuters reported. The Nucoin digital currency is expected to be launched in the first half of 2023.

Investment news

  • Investment giant Fidelity, through its digital assets subsidiary Fidelity Digital Assets, plans to offer institutional users access to Ethereum (ETH) transactions, according to investor Bruce Fenton, who cited a company email to investors. Customers will be able to buy, sell, and transfer the asset from October 28, it said.

Exchange news

  • Bitpanda said that it joined forces with digital bank N26 to give its customers access to crypto trading. This partnership allies two major fintechs of the DACH region, and through Bitpanda’s White Label Solution, it’s now possible for N26’s users to invest in almost 200 cryptocurrencies from as little as €1, said the announcement.
  • FTX.US is offering a recovery plan that would see the customers of the bankrupt crypto broker Voyager Digital recover about 72% of their funds, according to Bloomberg. The deal can’t be completed until a US Bankruptcy Judge approves Voyager’s bankruptcy payout plan.

Legal news

  • The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said that five Russian and two Venezuelan nationals have been charged in a global sanctions evasion and money laundering scheme. “As alleged, the defendants were criminal enablers for oligarchs, orchestrating a complex scheme to unlawfully obtain U.S. military technology and Venezuelan sanctioned oil through a myriad of transactions involving shell companies and cryptocurrency, stated the United States Attorney Breon Peace. They laundered tens of millions of dollars, the announcement added.

Regulation news

  • South Africa’s financial markets regulator has declared crypto assets as a financial product. Crypto is not issued by a central bank but can be traded, transferred, and used for payments, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) said in a notice on Wednesday.
  • The Government Blockchain Association (GBA)’s Regional Lead for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) will speak at the UK House of Commons. According to the press release, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Blockchain Chair in the House of Commons, Martin Docherty-Hughes MP, has invited Priya Guliani to speak at the APPG Evidence Meeting on Sustainability & Climate Change: Energy Consumption & Other Issues. This meeting is part of a series of APPG meetings to make the policymakers aware of blockchain technology’s developments, applications, and regulatory implications, it said.

DeFi news

  • Decentralized, non-custodial crypto platform ShapeShift DAO announced the release of a new mobile app and the migration of native web users to a decentralized version of the app. Per the press release, the new mobile app support combined with the user migration from beta.shapeshift.com expands the flexibility, mobility, and features users have access to when interacting with the decentralized world.

Charity news

  • American Red Cross partnered with artist Marlon Pruz to raise funds to help people impacted by hurricane Ian, said the press release. Non-fungible token (NFT) platform Sweet has released 10,000 digital collectibles designed by this Miami-based artist, priced at $14.99, while 10% of secondary sales will be donated in perpetuity to help people and communities as the relief efforts continue, it added.

Career news

  • a16z crypto announced that Collin McCune will be joining it as the Head of Government Affairs. Per the press release, McCune has spent a decade on US Capitol Hill and joins the company from the House Financial Services Committee, where he served as Deputy Staff Director. He will work in a bipartisan fashion with policymakers and their staff to help produce comprehensive Web3 legislation and regulation, it said.