• Blur, the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, has seen a significant increase in volume since its launch in October.
• According to statistics from Dune Analytics, Blur has captured about 30% of the market share in terms of sales volume, rivaling industry leader Opensea.
• The platform has scheduled the launch of its native token, which was originally planned for January 2023 but delayed, to Feb. 14, 2023.

The non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, Blur, has seen a significant boost in volume since its launch in October. The platform has gone from relative obscurity to becoming a major player in the market, rivaling industry leader Opensea. According to statistics from Dune Analytics, Blur has captured around 30% of the market share in terms of sales volume, making it the second-largest NFT marketplace in the world.

The platform has also announced the upcoming launch of its native token, which was originally planned for January 2023 but delayed. The token is now scheduled to be released on Feb. 14, 2023. The platform tweeted, “We know this is past our initial estimate of January and we’re sorry for the delay. We’re trying new things and the extra two weeks will allow us to deliver a launch that hasn’t been done before.”

Seven-day metrics from Dappradar.com indicate that Blur has recorded $33.06 million in NFT sales. This is a significant increase from the platform’s total sales of just $8.3 million in the first week of October. The platform’s 24-hour sales statistics indicate that Blur’s sales over the last day totaled $5.08 million, compared to Opensea’s $16.24 million.

The platform’s surge in popularity is likely due to the airdrop of 120 million LOOKS tokens, or 12% of the total supply, to the Looksrare community in 2021. The airdrop likely attracted a lot of attention to the platform and increased its user base.

With the launch of its native token on the horizon, it looks like Blur is well on its way to becoming a major player in the NFT market. Many are optimistic that the platform will be able to continue its impressive growth and solidify its place as a leader in the space.

• European law enforcement authorities have detained four more members of the crypto exchange Bitzlato team.
• Bitzlato is accused of facilitating the laundering of large amounts of criminal proceeds.
• Police have conducted eight home searches and seized wallets with €18 million ($19.5 million) worth of cryptocurrency.

European law enforcement authorities have conducted an international investigation against crypto exchange Bitzlato, resulting in the detention of four more members of the Bitzlato team and the dismantling of its digital infrastructure. The investigation is a joint effort between the U.S. and France, as well as Belgium, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. Europol, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, announced the news on Monday.

The Hong Kong-registered coin trading platform is suspected of facilitating the laundering of large amounts of criminal proceeds, with Europol estimating that nearly half of the funds processed through Bitzlato were associated with various criminal activities. Last week, the U.S. announced the arrest in Miami of its co-founder and majority owner Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national residing in China.

In addition to Legkodymov, four more individuals have been detained in Europe as part of the investigation. Among them, the CEO, financial director, and marketing director of the exchange who were arrested in Spain, and another person handcuffed in Cyprus.

As part of the investigation, police have conducted eight home searches. This included four searches in Spain, one address in the U.S., two in Portugal, and one in Cyprus. The searches led to the seizure of wallets with €18 million ($19.5 million) worth of cryptocurrency, vehicles, computers, hard disks, and documents.

The investigation is still ongoing, and although the exchange infrastructure has been dismantled, it is unclear if any other arrests will be made in the near future. Bitzlato has yet to respond to the accusations.

• A Belarusian citizen was fined 2,700,000 Belarusian rubles (approximately $1 million) for illegally trading cryptocurrencies online.
• The fine was imposed by the Economic Court of Minsk after the man was found to have used the Telegram messenger to set up his own online cryptocurrency exchange.
• The Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus rejected the man’s appeal against the fine, which was deemed fair given that he was making 5,400,000 rubles as income from his illegal activities.

A Belarusian citizen has been ordered to pay a hefty fine of 2,700,000 Belarusian rubles (approximately $1 million) for engaging in illegal cryptocurrency trading activities. The man, identified only by the initial ‘A’, was found to have used the Telegram messenger to set up his own online cryptocurrency exchange in January 2021. The exchange facilitated the trading of digital assets outside the law, with the man earning 5,400,000 rubles in income from his illegal activities.

Law enforcement authorities in Belarus, where certain cryptocurrency activities are legal, were able to trace the man’s transactions and present the gathered evidence to the judiciary. As a result, the Economic Court of Minsk imposed the fine, deeming it fair as the man could have been ordered to part with the full amount of his income. The man appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus, but the court rejected his appeal, upholding the original ruling.

Belarus legalized certain crypto-related activities such as mining and trading with a decree signed by President Alexander Lukashenko in 2018. However, the government has been cracking down on those who engage in illegal crypto activities, as evidenced by this case. Those who wish to partake in such activities are required to register under the special legal and tax regime of the Belarus Hi-Tech Park in order to stay within the law.

• Huobi, a cryptocurrency exchange, is reportedly laying off 20% of its employees.
• Justin Sun, Huobi’s advisor and founder of Tron, initially denied these rumors but they were later confirmed by Huobi’s spokesperson.
• The layoffs are a result of the bear market, and Huobi plans to maintain a very lean team going forward.

Huobi, one of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, is reportedly laying off up to 20% of its employees. The news came after multiple reports of layoffs over the past two days, which were later confirmed by a Huobi spokesperson.

The layoffs are a result of the current bear market, which has resulted in a decrease of trading volumes and caused many firms to downsize. The Huobi spokesperson told Coindesk: „With the current state of the bear market, a very lean team will be maintained going forward.“

The news of the layoffs sparked controversy and speculation, and many were surprised when Justin Sun, Huobi’s advisor and founder of Tron, initially denied the reports. However, Sun later admitted that the layoffs were true when asked by reporters from the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

The news of the layoffs has caused some employees to protest, as they claim that Huobi is changing their salary form from fiat currency to USDT/USDC. Some believe that any employees who cannot accept this change may be dismissed.

Huobi is one of the oldest and most respected cryptocurrency exchanges, having been founded in 2013. The company has a strong focus on technology and security, and has implemented a number of measures to ensure that user funds are safe and secure.

It is unknown how the layoffs will affect Huobi’s operations and the impact it will have on its users. The company has not yet released any official statements regarding the layoffs, but it is likely they will do so in the near future.

• MEXC released two retrospective articles reviewing the cryptocurrency market in 2022 and their own development
• Major events such as the LUNA crash and the FTX thunderstorm affected the crypto industry in 2022
• MEXC Global optimized their Futures, launched NFT Index, upgraded the brand color, and saw an increase of 1200% in Futures business with 10 million users

In 2022, MEXC Global went through a rollercoaster of a year with the crypto industry. The market experienced black swan events such as the LUNA crash and the FTX thunderstorm which caused a great deal of suffering for users, project parties, and cryptocurrency trading platforms. Despite the tumultuous year, MEXC Global was able to thrive and find success.

MEXC Global continued to carry out in-depth optimizations of their Futures, launching the second-level K-line function, NFT Index and other products, as well as upgrading their brand color to “Ocean Blue.” As a result of their efforts, their global userbase exceeded 10 million and their Futures liquidity reached the world’s first place. In addition, their Futures business grew by an impressive 1200%.

MEXC Global focused on optimizing their Futures products, providing second-level K-line functions, contract maker 0 rate activities, and more according to user needs. It was reported by blockchain media Cointelegraph that as of September this year, MEXC’s Futures liquidity was the world’s first. Liquidity is an important indicator for contract trading, as a liquid market requires many bids and offers in order to easily enter and exit. Therefore, the better the liquidity, the smaller the spread.

Overall, MEXC Global was able to overcome the tumultuous year in the crypto market, and their efforts in optimizing their Futures products, launching new products, and upgrading their brand color paid off – achieving a 1200% increase in their Futures business, with a userbase of 10 million.