Welcome to This Week in Crypto, where we cover the top trending headlines in the cryptocurrency industry. The world of crypto news moves fast, and we’re here to bring it to you for your weekly digest. This week, we’re looking at USDC’s return to normal, YouTubers getting caught up in an FTX lawsuit, and Salesforce getting into the Web3 service space. Enjoy this week’s top stories!
Circle’s USDC Operations Back to Normal after SVB collapse
After last week’s crypto contagion related to the collapse of several crypto-friendly banks, things seem to be returning to normal. This is especially the case with Circle’s USDC stablecoin, which depegged from the dollar last week as news broke that $3.3 billion of its reserves were locked inside Silicon Valley Bank, which just filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. During the shutdown, USDC accumulated a backlog of minting and redemption requests, which have now been fulfilled according to Circle. The company has since switched banking partners to distance itself from Silicon Valley Bank. Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, is quoted as saying “Everyone was talking about how we need to save the banks from crypto, but now we’re talking about trying to save crypto from the banks”. It’s been an interesting couple of weeks, showing that the traditional banking system has its own set of issues to deal with, and that Bitcoin’s anti-bank thesis may have some truth to it.
YouTubers Hit with $1 Billion Lawsuit for FTX Sponsorships
Several large YouTubers are facing a $1 billion class action lawsuit claiming that they are responsible for promoting unregistered securities and luring investors to use the now defunct crypto exchange. The plaintiffs are claiming that the defendants are liable for financial damages sustained from “misrepresentations and omissions regarding the FTX platform”. Among the defendants are popular crypto and finance YouTubers Ben Armstrong (BitBoy Crypto), Graham Stephan, and Andrei Jikh, all who have millions of subscribers and loyal followings. According to the lawsuit, many of the YouTubers erased any mention of FTX from their channels and replaced them with apology videos. Do you think they should be held liable for promoting FTX? Let us know on Twitter and use #rockitcoin!
Salesforce Launches NFT Loyalty Program Platform
Popular customer relationship management software Salesforce is stepping into the world of web3 with their platform Salesforce Web3, a system that allows brands to create and manage NFT-based loyalty programs. The program previously ran a pilot with brands like Crown Royal and Mattel, which saw a total of 275,000 transactions. In Mattel’s case, they launched the Hot Wheels NFT Garage Series, which had 215,000 NFTs of model cars, some of which gained customers access to exclusive physical models. General Manager of Web3 Adam Caplan praised the flexibility of web3 wallets, citing that they provide businesses with first-party data through a one-to-one relationship with customers, as opposed to third-party cookies that are restrictive.
