The Blockchain Integrity Act, a piece of legislation that seeks to put a 2-year moratorium on using cryptocurrency mixers, was introduced by U.S. Congressman Sean Casten on March 7 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Co-sponsored by Reps. Bill Foster, Brad Sherman, and Emanuel Cleaver, the bill proposes to conduct a study on the issue […]
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Binance Nigeria Standoff: Crypto Exchange’s Top Executives Summoned by House of Representatives Committee
Top executives from Binance have been summoned to appear before the Nigerian House of Representatives Financial Crimes Committee no later than March 4. Ginger Onwusibe, the committee’s chairperson, has warned of possible repercussions should Binance executives fail to comply with the request. Latest Escalation in the Standoff Between Binance and Nigerian Authorities The Nigerian House […]
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Kenyan Minister: US Government Recently Foiled Attempt to Detain Worldcoin Representatives
Kenyan law enforcement recently detained two Worldcoin executives as they attempted to depart the country. According to the Kenyan Interior Minister, the duo were eventually let go after the U.S. government’s intervention.
U.S. Government Reportedly Intervenes in Worldcoin-Related Detainment Attempt
The Kenyan Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki has said the U.S. government recently foiled local law enforcement’s attempts to arrest and detain Worldcoin executives. According to a report in The Nation, the U.S. insisted that the departing executives had not done anything wrong to warrant the arrest. However, the U.S. government undertook to avail the executives as and when they were needed.
As reported by Bitcoin.com News, Kenyan authorities have been coming down hard on the crypto project. However, in their attempt to appease the Kenyan government, the Worldcoin representatives led by Alex Blania recently appeared before a parliament committee tasked with investigating the crypto project’s activities.
Confirming the botched plan to indefinitely hold Blania and his fellow Worldcoin executives, Kindiki said:
“They [Worldcoin executives] tried to leave the country but were stopped and put in custody. However, the U.S. government intervened saying they should be allowed to leave because they haven’t yet been found guilty of committing a crime and gave an undertaking that it will produce them when required.”
According to the report, Thomas Scott, the legal spokesperson for Tools for Humanity, is the other Worldcoin representative who was detained along with Blania.
The Kenyan government’s attempt to arrest the duo came just days after Kindiki sought to tie crypto-related activities to money laundering and terror funding. During his own appearance before the parliament’s investigating committee, Kindiki reportedly said the Worldcoin debacle vindicates his government’s stance towards cryptocurrencies in general.
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US Representatives Bilirakis and Schakowsky Inquire About Apple’s Policies on Blockchain and NFTs
Representatives Gus Bilirakis and Jan Schakowsky, part of the House Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee, have sent a letter to Apple requiring information and documents regarding Apple’s iOS Appstore policies on blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and distributed ledger technologies. The representatives believe Apple’s policies might “limit innovation and American technology leadership” in these areas.
Bilirakis and Schakowsky Inquire About Apple’s Blockchain Policies
Representatives Gus Bilirakis and Jan Schakowsky have sent a letter to Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, requiring information about the rules on the iOS App Store regarding emergent technologies such as blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other distributed ledger technologies.
In the letter, they express their concern about Apple’s walled garden policies’ effect on the development of apps using these tools, which might hurt innovation from American companies in this area. Furthermore, they also state Apple appears to have used “its App Store guidelines to increase its own profits and reduce the utility of apps in blockchains, NFTs, and other blockchain-related technology.”
To illustrate this point, Bilirakis and Schakowsky remember Apple’s position while enforcing its policies against Coinbase Wallet in December. At the time, Apple disabled NFT transactions in the Ios version of the app, requiring blockchain fee payments to go through their in-app purchase system to collect 30% of each transaction.
Coinbase Wallet rejected this rule due to feasibility problems. At the time, it declared:
For anyone who understands how NFTs and blockchains work, this is clearly not possible. Apple’s proprietary in-app purchase system does not support crypto so we couldn’t comply even if we tried.
This 30% cut was part of the legal battle between Apple and Epic Games when the latter tried to sidestep the payment of this fee by offering direct purchases of Fortnite’s V-bucks, the game’s official token, through means different from Apple’s system. The anti-payment steering rules issue is still being litigated.
The representatives also touched on the case of Axie Infinity, a popular play-to-earn game that had to launch a limited version of its app on Ios. This “lite” version excluded core NFT functionality and is still unavailable for U.S.-based users.
Finally, Bilirakis and Schakowsky stated:
It is essential that Congress fully understand the App Store guidelines and the extent to which these guidelines limit innovation and impact American technological leadership. We want to create a level playing field within the industry so that American ingenuity can continue to thrive.
Apple’s Tight Crypto Rules
Apple announced this set of tight blockchain rules in October, detailing that apps “may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality,” including crypto and NFTs. Also, all of the NFT sales offered by these apps might go through Apple’s in-app purchase system, so long as these don’t present “buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.”
What do you think about Apple’s blockchain and NFT policies? Tell us in the comments section below.
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