Yuga Labs Pulls Out from Non-Royalty NFT Markets; South Korean Officials Discuss NFT Legal Status; US Air Force Analyst Charged with NFT Scam
Summary:
Yuga Labs withdraws its support for non-royalty NFT markets by removing certain NFT collections, spearheading a creator-led shift in the trading landscape. South Korea's financial authorities plan to discuss the recognition of NFTs as virtual assets with the US SEC Chairman. Meanwhile, an Air Force analyst has been indicted for a Solana-based NFT scam involving allegations of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
Nonfungible token (NFT) enterprise, Yuga Labs, will withdraw its collections from NFT markets that do not extend royalty benefits to all creators. On February 26, Yuga, known for its successful Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) collections, declared on platform X (previously Twitter) that certain NFT collections will exclusively trade on markets that "honour creator royalties," indicating that royalties are the backbone that allows creators to continue devising intriguing, eccentric and creative contributions in the field. Certain NFT collections of Yuga Labs including Sewer Passes, HV-MTL, 10KTF, Otherside, among others that feature a royalty filter, will be affected by this withdrawal. This withdrawal support from non-royalty markets arrives in the wake of the Magic Eden's Ethereum-accommodated market launch, a marketplace that observes contractual royalty enforcement, according to Yuga, and puts control back in the hands of web3 creators.
Financial authorities from South Korea plan to conduct detailed discussions with Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), over the potential recognition of NFTs as virtual assets. As of February 26, a report by local media outlet Edaily suggested that the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) chairman Lee Bok-hyun from South Korea is expected to initiate these talks in May. The report identified the absence of clear legal guidelines for NFTs in the nation and the exclusion of NFTs from the virtual assets' scope in upcoming South Korean laws to be implemented in July. This was on the grounds that NFT markets presented low risks owing to the predominantly collection-focused trading. Therefore, the discussions will primarily revolve around NFTs and their potential inclusion and classification as virtual assets. Yet, the FSS clarified that the meeting agenda and schedule remain unconfirmed.
An cyber analyst for the United States Air Force has been implicated in a scam involving two NFT collections based on the Solana blockchain. On February 21, Devin Alan Rhoden, a 24-year-old Air Force analyst along with 20-year-old Berman Jerry Nowlin, Jr. were indicted on the charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. If found guilty, they could face federal imprisonment for upto five years. The two had minted three Solana NFT collections, named Undead Apes, Undead Lady Apes and Undead Tombstone and lured investors to contribute a minimum of $300,000 in cryptocurrencies against the NFTs. The charges included "material misrepresentations" made by them to draw investors, such as claims of affiliations with a renowned NFT project. But after the NFT project dismissed any links with Rhoden and Nowlin's collections, the asset values plummeted. By then, the pair had converted the crypto assets secured from investors into dollars.
Published At
2/27/2024 12:03:27 PM
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