Ferrari Ends Relationship With Crypto Sponsor Ahead Of 2023 Formula One Season. The Ferrari-Velas partnership starting in 2021 is set at USD 30 million or IDR 468.78 billion (assuming an exchange rate of IDR 15,626 per US dollar) per year aimed at increasing fan engagement through non-fungible tokens (NFT) and other joint initiatives.
However, the team did not comply with a clause allowing Velas to create NFT drawings, according to RacingNews365.
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Launch Cointelegraph, Sunday (8/1/2023), in November 2022, Mercedes also suffered a loss of USD 15 million after suspending its partnership with FTX because the crypto exchange filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Red Bull Racing’s partnership with the Tezos Foundation suffered a similar fate as the blockchain company reportedly decided not to renew its agreement citing strategic inequalities. Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff warned other teams could face similar situations.
However, the relationship between F1 and the crypto ecosystem goes beyond partnerships. In October 2022, Formula One filed for the trademark ‘F1’ for disclosing plans to establish an online marketplace for cryptocurrencies, meta tokens, digital collectibles, crypto collectibles and NFTs.
Amidst a sluggish market, the Web3 project is taking the lead to strengthen the interaction between fans and sports leagues.
The Deloitte report “2022 Sports Industry Outlook” predicts an acceleration in the mix of real and digital worlds, as the market for NFT and immersive technologies grows.
As Cointelegraph reports, the lack of an easy-to-use platform is the biggest challenge to mainstream adoption.
Previously, Immunefi, a bug and security service platform for the Web3 ecosystem, published a report which revealed that the crypto industry lost a total of USD 3.9 billion or the equivalent of IDR 60.97 trillion (exchange rate of IDR 15,633 per USD) in 2022.
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According to a report released on January 6, hacking was found to be the main cause of losses accounting for 95.6 percent of total losses.
The remaining 4.4 percent is in the form of fraud and the like. Immunefi also found that decentralized finance (DeFi) was the most targeted sector, experiencing a loss of 80.5 percent, compared to centralized finance (CeFi) which experienced a loss of 19.5 percent.
“DeFi has suffered a total loss of USD 3,180,023,103 in 2022, from 155 incidents. This figure represents a 56.2 percent increase compared to 2021, when DeFi lost USD 2,036,015,896 from 107 incidents,” wrote the report, quoted by Cointelegraph, Saturday (7/1/2023).
CryptoBNB and Ethereum are the most targeted chains. In the fourth quarter of last year, the industry suffered losses of around USD 1.6 billion, of which DeFi was the main target at 57.6 percent and CeFi 42.4 percent.
“By identifying and proactively addressing vulnerabilities, we can protect communities from harm and build trust on the ground. As we make the industry safer, everything else can evolve,” said Immunefi CEO Mitchell Amador.
Ferrari Ends Relationship With Crypto Sponsor Ahead Of 2023 Formula One Season. Previously, the retail chain of Pharmacies in Ukraine, ANC had accepted crypto payments to purchase various products such as medicines and other goods.
This new payment option has been accessible since Tuesday (3/1/2023), the company claims to have become the first pharmacy network in Europe to offer crypto payments.
“Starting January 3, you can enjoy instant payments when buying pharmaceutical products. It will be possible to pay for orders with cryptocurrency in Anc,” the company announced, quoted from Bitcoin, Friday (6/1/2023).
Transactions with crypto will be processed through Binance Pay, a payment system developed by the world’s largest digital asset exchange based on trading volume.
It enables users and businesses around the world to spend, send and receive more than 70 digital currencies such as bitcoin.
To take advantage of this service, customers must download and install the Binance app, go to the ANC website, place an order and pay bills using Binance Pay. Then they can receive the product or pick it up at one of the network stores.
ANC operates a chain of pharmacies under its brand name and brings together several other Ukrainian chains such as Blagodiya and Kopiyka. ANC has stores in more than 130 cities in Ukraine with more than 7 million customers annually.
In recent years, Ukraine has established itself as a regional leader in crypto adoption.
Since Russia launched its invasion in late February, the country’s government and volunteer organizations have relied on cryptocurrency donations to fund defense and humanitarian initiatives, which are also supported by industry.
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Previously, US Senator John Boozman revealed that even though it is called a cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is still considered a commodity, not a currency. He emphasized that exchanges where commodities are traded, including bitcoin, must be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
“Bitcoin, even though it’s a cryptocurrency, it’s still a commodity. It’s a commodity in the eyes of federal courts and the opinion of the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). There is no dispute about this,” Boozman said in a hearing, quoted from Bitcoin.com, Tuesday (6/12/2022).
Calling FTX’s collapse a shock, the senator said public reports showed a lack of risk management, conflicts of interest and misuse of customer funds.
Senator Boozman went on to talk about crypto regulation and empowering the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as the primary regulator of the spot crypto market.
“The CFTC has consistently demonstrated its willingness to protect consumers through enforcement action against bad actors,” continued Senator Boozman.
Boozman believes the CFTC is the right agency for an expanded regulatory role in the digital commodity spot market.
Ferrari Ends Relationship With Crypto Sponsor Ahead Of 2023 Formula One Season. In August 2022, Boozman and several senators introduced the Digital Commodity Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA) to empower the CFTC with exclusive jurisdiction over the digital commodity spot market.
Two other bills have been introduced in Congress this year to make the derivatives regulator the primary watchdog for the crypto sector.
While bitcoin is a commodity, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has repeatedly said most other crypto tokens are securities
