What happened this week? Latest cryptocurrency, NFT and metaverse news

SAM BANKMAN FRIED and the FTX saga continue to dominate the crypto space – and now, it looks set to dominate Hollywood and television studios too.

Amazon is understood to have commissioned a mini-series on the downfall of the crypto exchange, while Oscar winner Graham Moore is looking to direct a full feature length film on the crisis.

Documentary makers and authors are also eager to jump on the bandwagon, with a whole host of media types rushing to get involved in telling the SBF story.

This week the founder of FTX pleaded not guilty to fraud and other criminal charges levelled against him.

It’s quite possible that by the time his trial begins in the autumn of this year, several in-depth or dramatised accounts of what happened will already be public, with the race on for who can be the first to cover the story in full.

Meanwhile, as SBF continues to take centre stage, his replacement at the crypto exchange – John. J. Ray – is still trying to work out how to recover as much money as possible for investors and customers of FTX.

The company made over $160million in charity donations which Ray is now trying to claw back.

Some have agreed to return money given to them, while others have already spent the funds making it hard to recoup the losses.

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Here’s a full debrief of what happened this week…

Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin has hit its highest price since December 15, with a current value of $16,968.
Some of Sam Bankman-Fried’s closest associates at FTX pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to work with US prosecutors in building their case against the firm’s founder.
Accounts from Wintermute, one of the world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency funds, reveal that the company paid staff an average of $2.3million each a year before the crash last May. Staggering figures show it made $582million in profits in the 12 months to December 2021.

Metaverse

Management consultancy giant McKinsey & Company this week tipped the metaverse to be worth $5trillion in value by 2030. Describing the opportunities offered by the visual world as “simply too big to be ignored” and claimed 50 percent of live events could be held in the metaverse by the end of the decade.
At the annual Consumer Electronics Show, taking place this week in Las Vegas, manufactures such as Samsung and LG unveiled smart TVs which will allow users to access the metaverse.

NFTs

The founder of the Mutant Ape Planet NFT collection was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. US prosecutors have alleged French national Aurelien Michel of operation a “pull rug” scheme. He will face trial in America later this year.
NFT marketplace SuperRare has slashed its staff by 30 percent as a result of a cooling in interest in the tokens. The company says it overtired” after a surge in interest at the start of last year, anticipating sustained increased interest in purchases of NFTs.