Evening News | OpenSea confirms blocking users based on the U.S. sanctions list; BlueFocus subsidiary plans to invest in a16z's blockchain seed fund

Organizer: Vincent, Chain Catcher

"What are the truly important news today?"

1. Central Bank: Continuing to Maintain a High-Pressure Crackdown on Virtual Currency Trading Speculation

According to Chain Catcher, the People's Bank of China held a television conference on financial market work for 2022 on March 1, mentioning that it will continue to promote self-examination and rectification work for financial businesses of internet platform companies in conjunction with relevant departments, and maintain a high-pressure crackdown on virtual currency trading speculation. (Source link)

2. Manchester City Announces OKX as Official Cryptocurrency Exchange Partner

According to Chain Catcher, Premier League defending champion Manchester City announced a multi-year agreement naming OKX as its official cryptocurrency exchange partner. This deal marks OKX's first foray into the sports industry and will cover Manchester City's men's and women's teams as well as its esports business. It will include collaborations at Manchester's two venues, the 55,000-seat Etihad Stadium and the 7,000-seat Academy Stadium, as well as future projects.

Last year, FTX completed a 19-year naming rights deal worth $135 million for the Miami Heat arena, while Crypto.com spent over $700 million to acquire a 20-year naming rights deal for the Los Angeles Staples Center. A recent report by Nielsen projected that cryptocurrency spending in the sports sector will reach $5 billion by 2026. (Source link)

3. BlueFocus Subsidiary Plans to Invest in a16z's Blockchain Seed Fund, Contributing No More Than $35 Million

BlueFocus announced that its subsidiary, BlueFocus USA, plans to invest no more than $35 million from its own funds to subscribe to the first phase of the Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) blockchain seed fund (CNK Seed Fund I, which aims to raise $750 million to $1 billion) and the fourth phase of the blockchain fund (CNK IV, which aims to raise $3 billion to $3.5 billion), becoming its limited partner, with a proposed fund duration of ten years.

The announcement also disclosed the fund's management model, with a management fee of 2.5% per year, decreasing by 0.25% during the 8th to 10th years. The carry interest is set at 25% for net investment returns of 1-2 times, and 30% for returns exceeding 2 times. (Source link)

4. OpenSea Confirms User Blocking Based on U.S. Sanctions List, Community Questions Decentralization of Large Blockchain Companies

According to Chain Catcher, the NFT marketplace OpenSea has banned users from Iran, with a spokesperson stating that OpenSea's terms of service explicitly prohibit sanctioned users or users from sanctioned regions from using OpenSea's services. OpenSea adopts a zero-tolerance policy for the use of its services by sanctioned individuals or entities and personnel located in sanctioned countries. If OpenSea discovers an individual violating its sanctions policy, it will take swift action to ban the related accounts.

Current U.S. sanctions regulations prohibit U.S. companies from providing goods or services to any users from sanctioned countries, including Iran, North Korea, Syria, and now Russia. OpenSea is a U.S. company headquartered in New York. These actions by OpenSea have sparked a new debate about whether large blockchain-based companies and services are sufficiently decentralized. (Cointelegraph)

5. City of Lugano, Switzerland Announces Bitcoin and USDT as Legal Tender

According to Chain Catcher, during an event called "Lugano's Plan ₿," the mayor of Lugano, Switzerland, announced alongside Tether's CTO that Bitcoin, USDT, and the Swiss franc stablecoin LVGA will become legal tender in the city, allowing citizens to use these cryptocurrencies to pay for public services or taxes. Currently, the city has partnered with over 200 merchants to promote the adoption of Bitcoin and Lightning payments.

Additionally, the city plans to establish an investment fund to promote the adoption of Bitcoin, USDT, and LVGA, as well as provide funding sources for blockchain startups looking to relocate and establish headquarters or bring personnel to Switzerland. (Source link)

6. a16z Invests $70 Million in Decentralized Staking Solution Lido Finance

According to Chain Catcher, a16z announced an investment of $70 million in the decentralized staking solution Lido Finance and plans to use Lido to stake a portion of a16z Crypto's undisclosed ETH holdings on the Ethereum Beacon Chain.

Lido Finance, founded in 2020, provides liquid staking solutions for Ethereum 2.0 and public chains like Solana and Terra, allowing users to stake their ETH, SOL, and other tokens without lock-up or minimum deposit requirements. Lido completed a $73 million funding round led by Paradigm in May 2021, with participation from Three Arrows Capital, Alameda Research, DCG, and others. (Source link)

7. Kava Network Launches $750 Million On-Chain Developer Incentive Program "Kava Rise"

According to Chain Catcher, Kava Network has launched a $750 million programmatic on-chain developer incentive program called "Kava Rise," aimed at attracting innovative developers from the DeFi, GameFi, and NFT sectors to the Kava network.

Kava Rise adopts a programmatic financing model, planning to allocate 200 million KAVA over four years, with 62.5% of all block rewards allocated to developers building applications on Kava's Ethereum and Cosmos Co-Chains, and the remaining 37.5% allocated to stakers, with rewards transparently distributed on-chain based on usage. (Source link)

"What Articles Are the Editors of Chain Catcher Reading?"

1. "It's Time to Face the 'Centralization' Problem Brought by Infura"

On March 4, a user expressed on social media that they were unable to use the MetaMask wallet in Venezuela, and upon investigation, found that the issue was with the API service provider Infura. This is not the first time Infura has caused issues affecting the Ethereum ecosystem. We do not deny the significant value of Infura, but could we alleviate this problem by trying other methods?

2. "On-chain TVL Surges, Analyzing the Development Background and Ecological Projects of Waves"

Waves was originally founded in 2016 by Russian Ivanov, with the intention of allowing traditional businesses and their end-users to enjoy the benefits of blockchain technology, while individuals could have control over their own assets, data, and privacy. Over six years, Waves has evolved into the largest multi-purpose blockchain network in Russia, with various use-case DApps running on the network.

3. "After the Explosion of Polygon, India Moves Towards the Center of the Crypto World"

Compared to its competitors, Polygon has gained its advantageous position by leveraging the resources provided by India's Web3 ecosystem, such as talent and funding. If Polygon can successfully realize its potential, it may achieve a larger vision—placing India at the core of the next wave of foundational technology.