Nifty News: UK Royal Mint NFT, $960k Billionaire Dog rug and Pudgy Penguins

Published at: April 5, 2022

The U.K. government Treasury announced on Monday, April 4th, that it has asked the Royal Mint to create one non-fungible token (NFT) to be issued by the end of the year “as an emblem of the forward-looking approach the UK is determined to take.”

Chancellor @RishiSunak has asked @RoyalMintUK to create an NFT to be issued by the summer.This decision shows the the forward-looking approach we are determined to take towards cryptoassets in the UK. pic.twitter.com/cd0tiailBK

— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) April 4, 2022

The NFT was part of a series of announcements by the Economic and Finance Ministry to make the United Kingdom a global cryptocurrency hub, including amending a regulatory framework on stablecoin payments.

The NFT will be “issued by summer”, with no date publicly set for the release of the token.

Billionaire Dog NFT rug pull

Self-confessed “on-chain sleuth” “zachxbt”, popular for his Twitter threads investigating crypto figures and projects, has made a new thread on Monday alleging that French influencer Laurent Correia had a major role in an NFT project that rugged.

1/ Time for another $960k NFT rug this time involving Laurent Correia a popular French influencer with a reality TV show. pic.twitter.com/QkGeDecr5f

— zachxbt (@zachxbt) April 4, 2022

The Billionaire Dogs Club project launched in mid-December 2021 at a public mint price of 0.2 ETH, low demand for the NFTs saw the project restrict supply from 6,500 tokens to 2,000 in a bid to garner interest for the project.

According to “zachxbt”, the Discord channel and the team behind the project disappeared a week later, leaving NFT owners holding the bag. On-chain analysis by the analyst revealed that of the estimated $960,000 generated by the project, $400,000 was allegedly sent to Correia’s public crypto wallet.

4/ Here’s a breakdown where the proceeds from the project went. Laurent himself received over $400k to his public wallet. pic.twitter.com/sckMfLoT5V

— zachxbt (@zachxbt) April 4, 2022

Related: NFTs, Web3 and the metaverse are changing the way scientists conduct research

The same wallet was used to purchase other high-value NFTs which Correia posted on his social media accounts. Zachxbt tagged the Dubai Police, the local law enforcement where Correia lives, tweeting that it’s “sickening to see a DOX’d influencer so blatantly rug a project like this.”

Pudgy Penguins sold to Netz Capital

The team behind the Pudgy Penguins NFT project tweeted on Sunday, April 3rd, that the collection was under new management, Luca Netz of Netz Capital purchased the project for 750 ETH, about $2.5 million at the time.

Looking forward to spreading love across the Meta ❤️ https://t.co/ZBEF3W6XV2

— Luca Netz (@LucaNetz) April 3, 2022

A few months prior, the project voted out its controversial founder Cole Villemain, who has been subject to questions about his past dealings in projects, giveaways, and other businesses.

With the purchase of the 8,888 Pudgy Penguin NFTs, Netz will receive all future royalties from secondary sales.

Other Nifty News

Visa has announced the launch of it’s Creator Program, a mentorship program aimed at helping entrepreneurs accelerate their business through NFTs. Visa says the goal is to bring together digital creators to empower and educate them on blockchain technology and NFT commerce.

Non-custodial cryptocurrency platform ShapeShift DAO launched an NFT auction in support of female artists in the NFT and blockchain industry, the auction started on April 4th on OpenSea and runs until 11th April.

Tags
Nft
Government
Tokens
Web3
United Kingdom
Uk Government
Scams
Related Posts
Following Brexit, the UK asks crypto industry about rules for cross-border stablecoins
Her Majesty's Treasury requests and requires the crypto industry's input on prospective regulation. In a Thursday announcement of open consultation, the United Kingdom's finance policy department is asking the crypto community to weigh in on a series of proposals: "The government invites views from a wide range of stakeholders, and particularly firms engaged in cryptoasset activities." While Brexit formally came into effect early last year, New Year's Eve was the end of freedom to work and live between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The question lingers in today's consultation as to how much the nation's crypto rules should …
Regulation / Jan. 7, 2021
New tribes of the Metaverse — Community-owned economies
People have talked in glowing tones about the transformative properties of blockchain since Satoshi Nakamoto launched Bitcoin (BTC) back in 2009 — books have been written, thousands of panels and presentations have complemented its prospects, costumed Bitcoin maximalists have flaunted their newfound wealth. Despite these commendations, the transformation has been slow. However, whether the delay was due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, or just the time needed to create innovation, we are now on the cusp of change that is creating new economies and ways of human interaction. The Metaverse, with the powerful combination of game theory and blockchain, is …
Technology / Nov. 28, 2021
Uphold becomes registered crypto-asset firm in UK post-FCA approval
A European subsidiary of United States-based crypto trading platform Uphold has received approval from the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). According to the FCA website, Uphold’s U.K. subsidiary Uphold Europe Limited gained regulatory approval on Feb. 17, 2022, joining the select list of 32 firms that have received FCA approval as a Registered Crypto Asset service provider, out of the 200 that applied. The approval signifies that the firm is in compliance with the U.K. Anti-Money Laundering and CounTerrorist Financing regulations. In order for crypto exchanges and service providers to offer their services to U.K.-based customers, they must register …
Regulation / Feb. 23, 2022
STEPN to sack 100 staff as players step away from the move-to-earn app
Solana (SOL) blockchain-based move-to-earn fitness app STEPN is reportedly laying off over 100 of its contract workers amid the ongoing crypto bear market and as its user numbers dwindle from previous highs. Moderators and ambassadors will be among the sacked staff, and investment in STEPN will be scaled back according to crypto reporter Colin Wu. There will also be a shift toward promoting STEPN's parent company Find Satoshi Lab (FSL) and its new projects, Wu claimed, citing community sources. The famous blockchain game STEPN began to lay off staff in the bear market. It will mainly lay off more than …
Blockchain / Oct. 13, 2022
Japanese Prime Minister says DAOs and NFTs help support government’s 'Cool Japan' strategy
Fumio Kishida, the Prime Minister of Japan, has come out in support of blockchain as a potential solution for technological issues facing the country. In response to questioning from Liberal Democratic Party member Masaaki Taira before the Budget Committee of Japan’s House of Representatives on Feb. 1, Kishida said there were “various possibilities for using Web3” in Japan. He added that the Japanese government could use aspects including nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) in efforts to revitalize regions and promote ‘Cool Japan’ — a national strategy aimed at showing off the country’s innovations and culture to the …
Nft / Feb. 2, 2023