NFTs available with Avalanche (AVAX) on OpenSea, G20 overhauls crypto framework and Russian accounts restricted by Dapper Labs
We start off this Young Monday with news coming from OpenSea: from Tuesday the 11th October, it will be possible to buy NFTs with AVAX, Avalanche’s crypto. On the 13th October 2022, a review of the CARF (Crypto Asset Reforming Framework, the international regulation in place regarding cryptocurrencies) took place at the G20 meeting in Washington, and Dapper Labs decided to restrict the use of its platform to Russian users. After creating a countdown dedicated to The Merge, Google now allows users to see the balance of Ethereum contained within a wallet through its search engine!
On OpenSea you can buy NFT with Avalanche crypto (AVAX)
As of Tuesday, the 11th of October, it is possible to buy NFTs with Avalanche on OpenSea. The AVAX crypto joins the six others with which it is possible to buy NFTs on the Web3’s most widely used marketplace: Ethereum, Polygon, Klaytn, Solana, Optimist and Arbitrum.
To date, the NFT landscape on Avalanche is still in an embryonic stage. The first non-fungible tokens appeared on Emin Gün Sirer‘s blockchain in early 2022 and never really took off, unlike on other blockchains. The only NFTs from the Avalanche network that have enjoyed some success are from the ecosystem’s play-to-earn games, such as Crabada hermit crabs or Ragnarock avatars.
Compared to its main competitors, Ethereum and Solana, Avalanche’s NFT scene is still a long way from the volumes and number of sales generated by these ecosystems. In fact, if we look at Crypto Slam’s September 2022 data, we can see that Avalanche’s blockchain produced around $2.4 million in trading volume and generated 25,000 transactions. Meanwhile Solana had almost 130 million USD in volumes from almost 3 million transactions.
Will Avalanche be able to catch up thanks to the new stage offered by OpenSea or will it remain an outsider in the NFT sector?
Crypto Kitties startup restricts use to Russian accounts
Dapper Labs, the startup that created the CryptoKitties NFT collection and the NFT card game NBA Top Shot has decided that it will restrict the use of its services to users residing in Russia. The decision was made following sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia as of Thursday, the 6th October 2022.
Specifically, users residing in Russia will not be able to buy and sell NFTs and game items from Dapper Labs. In addition to not being able to interact with the Dapper Labs marketplace, which is built on the Flow blockchain, they will also not be able to withdraw funds from their accounts on the platform. The EU sanctions for Russian citizens participating in Web3 have tightened considerably compared to previous months. In fact, as of April 2022, regulations in this regard only restricted wallets holding more than EUR 10,000 in cryptocurrencies.
The G20 focusses on crypto for a common law plan
During the fourth G20 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which took place on the 13th of October 2022 in Washington, cryptocurrencies were also a topic of discussion. For what purpose? To update already drafted documents on the subject. The Annual Meetings are regularly attended by the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the G20 countries. The document that was the subject of discussion was the CARF (Crypto Asset Reporting Framework).
In April 2021, the G20 commissioned the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to draft a method that would automate and standardise tax reporting for cryptocurrencies across nations. Out of this came the CARF, which is also responsible for defining so-called ‘crypto assets’ and NFTs. But why was it necessary to revise this document? The review was necessary according to the OECD because cryptocurrencies and NFTs are currently not covered by the CRS, the plan in place to prevent international tax evasion. The second topic of discussion was CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), cryptos issued by states’ central banks.
