This Week [In] Crypto: War Rages on, CryptoPunks Rising, Serial Scammers Exposed

Updated by Kyle Baird
In Brief
  • Coffeezilla has caught Jake Paul red-handed.
  • Crypto donations to Ukraine have exceeded the $60 million mark.
  • Trading volume and floor prices of CryptoPunks and Meebits have risen tremendously.
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Missed anything about the crypto industry from March 7-13? We got you covered with the most important news and sharp details. From war in Ukraine to the U.S. President’s executive order to Jake Paul being exposed.

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The crypto digger

A YouTuber called Coffeezilla exposes online influencer frauds and recently caught Jake Paul red-handed. He linked the boxer and social media celebrity to a series of crypto and non-fungible token (NFT) scam projects.

According to Coffeezilla, Paul made around $2.2 million from projects including Sacred Devils, Yummy, Milf, and STICKDIX. Although everything is transparent with blockchains, per Coffeezilla, “it’s super easy to set up anonymous crypto identities whenever you wanna do something dodgy.” 

Jake Paul Exposed as $2.2M Serial Crypto Scammer - beincrypto.com

Ukraine Conflict

It has been three weeks since the war in Ukraine began and many companies are trying to comply with international sanctions among other things. Moreover, Satoshi Labs stopped exporting its famous cold crypto wallets to Russia.

Major world economies are worried that Russians could use cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions since top money transfer services including PayPal and SWIFT have stopped operating in Russia. 

Coinbase, however, says that crypto can ensure sanction compliance. The company has already blocked 25,000 Russian wallets. The company said,

“By transacting through shell companies, incorporating in known tax havens, and leveraging opaque ownership structures, bad actors continue to use fiat currency to obscure the movement of funds.”

google invasion russia ukraine

More crypto donations

People from all over the world have been reacting to the ongoing war in Ukraine, more than 120,000 have donated a total of $63.8 million for humanitarian and military purposes, according to Elliptic. 

One of the most famous NFT collections called the Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC) has also contributed to Ukraine by donating $1 million worth of Ethereum (ETH).

Furthermore, three Ukrainian news companies have created an NFT collection of digital keys that allow people to read the latest articles on Ukrainska Pravda, Novoye Vremya, and the NGO broadcaster Hromadske. The outlets are trying to raise nearly $1 million by selling each “NFT Key” for $99.99 from a pack of 10,000 digital collectibles. 

At the time of writing, only 33 “NFT Keys” have been sold since the start of the project. The funds, according to the outlets, will help to continue media operations in Ukraine.

Ukraine. Crypto,

From Larva Labs to Yuga Labs

The BAYC and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) creator, Yuga Labs, recently acquired CryptoPunks and Meebits from Larva Labs. Yuga Labs now has the IP rights for the four digital art collections while Larva Labs will keep a few Punks and Meebs with another collection called Autoglyphs.

“While we will work to bring additional utility to both the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections, we intend to do so as thoughtful stewards. We’re not in a rush here. We’ll be listening to the community before we decide what comes next,” Yuga Labs announced.

After the Yuga Labs acquisition, CryptoPunks’ trading volume has increased nonetheless. The floor price for a CryptoPunk NFT has risen to around $195,000 with a 1,000% rise in trading volume. 

Likewise, the starting price for a collectible from Meebits also rose to $14,500 with a 529% increase in trading volume.

Bored Ape Yacht Club Creator Acquires CryptoPunks and Meebits Collections - beincrypto.com

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