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 Lebron James NFTs selling for thousands, the crypto industry\’s donations to Turkey relief, and the latest in FTX news. Enjoy this week’s top stories!
LeBron James NFTs Sales Surge After Record-Breaking Shot
The Laker’s Lebron James broke the all-time high scoring record last Tuesday, scoring his 38,388th point in his career. Not too long after, more than $234,000 of Lebron James NFT sales occurred on popular basketball NFT platform NBA Top Shot. Dapper Labs, the company behind NBA Top Shot, also released a new drop of 100,000 packs of NFTs priced at $9 a piece. Those who purchase a pack will also receive one free additional NFT, which has a chance to be of James’s record-breaking shot. Only 99 NFTs of the shot will be minted, and 25 are already allocated for the top collectors on the platform, so ownership is limited. Will you be buying a pack for a chance at owning an ultra-rare card?
Millions in Crypto Donations Made in Response to Turkey Earthquake
The global crypto industry has come together to donate millions of dollars in aid in response to the earthquake in Turkey, which surpassed 33,000 casualties at the time of writing. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has sent a total of 150 ETH to multiple Turkish nonprofit organizations to help with recovery and rescue efforts. Binance announced that it would be airdropping $100 in BNB to users in affected areas, totaling $5 million. Other crypto companies that pledged donations include Tether, Avalanche, Bitfinex, OKX, and Kucoin. The Turkish government has banned cryptocurrency as a form of payment, but recently approved addresses posted by Turkish singer Haluk Levent to raise funds for local nonprofits. Over $2 million was raised in various cryptos in just a day! It’s great to see how cryptocurrency is being used across borders to help those in need.
House of Representatives Members Probe into SEC’s Handling of FTX
Members of the United States House of Representatives requested documents related to the SEC’s handling of FTX’s downfall as part of a probe into SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s actions. The letter sent to Gensler questions the timing of Sam Bankman Fried’s arrest the night before he was to be extradited to the U.S. for questioning. Additionally, the SEC’s ability to prevent sudden collapses like FTX is being questioned since FTX was allowed to operate in questionable ways even though the SEC has been watching the crypto industry very closely. Transparency is always best when it comes to situations like FTX, so it’ll be interesting to see the SEC’s internal communications brought to light.
