The Chinese government on November 10, 2023 released a statement declaring that anyone stealing digital collections, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), will be subject to theft sentences.
“The theft of digital collections violates the protection law and interests of the crime of illegally obtaining computer information system data,” the government statement said.
The statement outlined three views on the type of crime that theft of digital collections falls under, the first two classifying it as either data or digital property. The statement, however, added that the third view, which sees digital collections as both data and virtual property, would fall under the umbrella of “co-offending.”
The statement explained that stealing a digital collection includes intrusion into the system on which it is housed, therefore also committing the crime of illegally obtaining computer information system data and theft.
Investment company BlackRock has argued that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) doesn’t have any legitimate reason to treat spot-crypto and crypto-futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications differently.
BlackRock’s plan for a spot-Ether (ETH) ETF called the “iShares Ethereum Trust” was officially confirmed on November 9, 2023 after Nasdaq submitted the 19b-4 application form to the SEC on the firm’s behalf.
In its application, BlackRock called the SEC’s treatment of spot crypto ETFs into question, as it asserted that the agency bases its reasons for continually denying these applications on incorrect regulatory distinctions between futures and spot ETFs.
“Given that the Commission has approved ETFs that offer exposure to ETH futures, which themselves are priced based on the underlying spot ETH market, the Sponsor believes that the Commission must also approve ETPs that offer exposure to spot ETH,” BlackRock said.
A recent spike in transaction fees on Ethereum and Bitcoin appears to have reignited the debate around solutions for scalability and the role of layer 2s. Ethereum gas fees reportedly breached the $ 200 mark for certain high-priority transactions in the last 24 hours.
Cryptocurrency users have also begun sharing screenshots showing double, occasionally triple-digit transaction fees on Ethereum and Bitcoin, over the last 24 hours. One screenshot showed gas fees as high as $220 for a high-priority transaction on Ethereum while other screenshots showed figures around the $100 mark.
Bitcoin users meanwhile, reported fees that were around $10 for high-priority transactions. While this is relatively low, the average Bitcoin (BTC) transaction cost has hovered around $1 over the last three months, according to BitInfoCharts. BTC fees haven’t been this high since May this year.
