Ukraine Bans Crypto Purchases
The central bank of Ukraine has banned the purchase of cryptocurrency with the Ukrainian hryvnia, the country’s official currency. Individuals can still purchase up to ₴100,000 (~$3,400) per month in crypto with a foreign currency. The new law is designed to “prevent unproductive outflow of capital from the country under martial law.” The ruling comes after Ukraine formally legalized crypto in March, which created legislation for how virtual currencies would be classified and traded.
Boring Company: Officially Funded
The Boring Company, a lesser-known company led by Elon Musk, announced a new fundraise of $675 million at a $5.675 billion valuation. The company has bold plans to revolutionize transportation and reduce traffic in major cities by creating a mass network of underground tunnels to shuttle passengers at rapid speeds.
Farewell to CNN+
CNN is shutting down its debut streaming service just one month after its initial launch. According to executives, the service was not sustainable with only 150,00 paying subscribers and 10,000 daily active users. Programming will continue through the end of the month before all services are terminated.
Zoom Introduces Hand Gestures
An upcoming Zoom update will allow users to control video calls with hand gestures. For example, a user can give a thumbs up, and the thumbs up emoji will be sent to other participants. With Google and Microsoft now offering comparable video meeting tools, Zoom has an incentive to differentiate its product with innovative new features like hand gestures. Zoom is currently trading for ~$100.17 on the NASDAQ.
Coinbase NFT Marketplace
Last week, Coinbase released the beta version of a new NFT marketplace. For a limited time, Coinbase is offering 0% commission fees on all NFT listings and purchases, offering a sweet incentive for select traders. The beta marketplace is available for public browsing at nft.coinbase.com.
Nike’s First NFT
After Nike purchased RTFKT, a digital design studio, in late 2021, sneakerheads and NFT collectors have been anticipating the company’s official dive into the Metaverse. On Friday, the wait was over: RTFKT announced Nike CryptoKicks, a completely virtual sneaker line that takes inspiration from the Dunk Low. The initial collection release, dubbed the EVO X, has eight different skins that can be evolved with various upgrades and power-ups. The official release date is tbd, but rumors suggest a release in the coming months.
Fun fact: CNN has two dozen networks and services, available to over 2 billion people in more than 200 countries and territories.
