Artist Raises $150K in Bitcoin With Lightning & Ordinal Inscriptions

• Taproot Wizards and Udi Wertheimer helped the creator of the original 2013 bitcoin wizard meme raise nearly $150,000 in Bitcoin.
• Payments were made mainly from NFT enjoyers who downloaded a lightning wallet for the first time.
• The sale did not receive positive reactions from Bitcoin maximalists and r/bitcoin moderator Bashco.

The Creation of Original Bitcoin Wizard Meme

The artist behind the original 2013 bitcoin wizard meme was able to successfully mint and sell a collection of ordinal inscriptions to celebrate its 10th anniversary with the help of Taproot Wizards and crypto advocate Udi Wertheimer. This resulted in an impressive 6 BTC or close to $150,000 worth of payments coming mainly from NFT enjoyers who used Bitcoin (BTC) and Lightning Network for the first time.

Maximalists Criticism

Despite this success, some members of the Bitcoin community still expressed disapproval towards this particular effort – especially those belonging to a group referred to as “maximalists”. Notable among them was r/bitcoin moderator Bashco, who expressed his dislike on Twitter by saying that JPEGs are evil.

Response From Crypto Community

This didn’t sit well with other members of the crypto community, as evidenced by one user’s comment asking why bitcoin maximalists want it to be world currency yet cannot buy JPEGs with it? To answer this question, Wertheimer clarified that most “Bitcoiners aren’t like this“ – thus emphasizing that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to maximalists‘ criticism against certain efforts within the space.

Conclusion

Overall, while there may be criticisms here and there over certain projects within the cryptocurrency space, it’s important to note that these do not necessarily reflect everyone’s opinion or stand on any given matter. In addition, with such successful stories as this one involving Mavensbot’s meme artwork raising nearly $150K through BTC-enabled donations via Lightning Network – we can only hope that more people will be encouraged to explore what blockchain technology has to offer beyond just money transfers or trading activities.

Takeaway


At its core, this story serves as an example of how blockchain technology can provide avenues for creative endeavors within our society – something which is often overlooked due its focus on financial applications alone.

Coinbase: Staking Services Not Securities, Criticizes SEC Regulatory Approach

• Coinbase claims its staking services do not constitute securities
• The company criticized the SEC’s approach to cryptocurrency regulation
• SEC Chair Gary Gensler hinted at more regulatory actions related to staking services

Coinbase Staking Services Not Securities

Coinbase, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S., has stated that the staking services offered on its platform do not constitute securities. Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of the company, explained how getting this point wrong in regulation may negatively affect the whole crypto industry in the country. According to Grewal, trying to superimpose securities law onto a process like staking doesn’t help consumers at all and instead imposes unnecessarily aggressive mandates that will prevent US consumers from accessing basic crypto services.

Coinbase Criticizes SEC Regulatory Approach

Furthermore, Grewal also criticized the way that the U.S. SEC is handling cryptocurrency regulation, explaining that regulation by enforcement is a „poor substitute“ to actual rulemaking. This position seems to directly oppose the stance taken by the U.S. SEC when it completed a $30 million settlement with Kraken for unregistered sale and offer of these services to its customers.

SEC Chairman Hints at More Regulatory Actions

Gary Gensler, chairman of the SEC, has hinted at more actions of this kind coming for other players in the industry, stating that these companies need to disclose risk associated with such activities to their customers. On Feb. 10th he said: Other platforms should take note of this, and seek to come into compliance, do proper disclosures, registration and alike.“

Staking as Part of Coinbase Service Portfolio

Coinbase offers cryptocurrency staking programs for different cryptocurrencies as part of its service portfolio and collects fees from users who partake in those services through Coinbase Custody or Coinbase Markets Pro products offerings. It remains unclear how far regulators are willing to extend their reach when it comes down to regulating crypto-related activities such as staking on centralized platforms like Coinbase’s or decentralized ones like Ethermint or Polkadot’s Parachain auctions which could be considered security offerings as well according some interpretations made by experts from both sides of this debate .

Conclusion

In conclusion there is still much uncertainty around how regulators will handle crypto-related activities such as staking on centralized platforms like Coinbase’s or decentralized ones like Ethermint or Polkadot’s Parachain auctions which could be considered security offerings according some interpretations made by experts from both sides of this debate . Despite this uncertainty , however , it is clear that companies offering these types of services need to ensure they comply with legal requirements and properly disclose risks associated with them so users can make informed decisions about whether they want use them or not .

Billionaire Tim Draper Pushes Sri Lanka to Adopt Bitcoin – Central Bank Says ‚No‘

• Billionaire investor Tim Draper recently visited Sri Lanka and attempted to convince the government and central bank to adopt Bitcoin.
• The Central Bank of Sri Lanka rejected his recommendation, citing worries that it could make the current crisis worse.
• Despite this, other countries have responded positively to Draper’s suggestion and have adopted Bitcoin as legal tender.

Billionaire Investor Visits Sri Lanka

Billionaire investor and venture capitalist Tim Draper recently visited Sri Lanka in order to shoot an episode of his „Meet the Drapers“ TV show with local entrepreneurs. During his visit, he attempted to convince the government and central bank of Sri Lanka to adopt Bitcoin.

Central Bank Rejects Suggestion

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka rejected Draper’s recommendation, citing worries that adoption of Bitcoin could make the current economic crisis worse. Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe stated “Adoption of 100% bitcoin won’t be a Sri Lanka reality ever”. He also noted that inflation rate was 54.2% in January 2021 and that last year, the economy contracted by 8%.

Other Countries Adopt Bitcoin

Despite the rejection from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, other countries have responded positively to Draper’s suggestion and have adopted Bitcoin as legal tender alongside their national currency. For example, El Salvador became the first country in September 2021 to do so with US dollars.

Draper Worried About Corruption

In an attempt to sway Weerasinghe’s opinion on bitcoin adoption, Draper expressed concern about corruption in Sri Lankan media coverage: “A country known for corruption will be able to keep perfect records with adoption of bitcoin“. He also asked whether or not “the administration has the guts” for such a move.

Conclusion

While some countries are open-minded towards bitcoin adoption, it appears that for now at least, Sri Lankan government is not interested in taking this step due to fears it may worsen their already difficult economic situation