In order to protect Australia from falling behind the international markets, the recently reelected Labor government has been urged by the country's cryptocurrency industry to give digital asset legislation immediate top priority.
Here are the updates from the crypto updates
In order to protect Australia from falling behind the international markets, the recently reelected Labor government has been urged by the country's cryptocurrency industry to give digital asset legislation immediate top priority.
According to Cointelegraph, the incumbent Australian Labor Party returned in a landslide win against the Liberal and National Parties. Both parties had promised crypto law reform, but only the opposition pledged to deliver draft legislation within 100 days.
John O’Loghlen, the Coinbase managing director for APAC said on May 5 that the reelected Albanese Government has the “opportunity and the responsibility to move quickly on this issue” and called for a Crypto-Asset Taskforce to be established within its first 100 days “with the aim of bringing forward legislation that protects consumers, promotes innovation, and stops the exodus of talent and capital to other markets.”
Binance’s head of global regulatory and APAC legal, Joy Lam, said the exchange has been consulting with Treasury officials since late 2023 about its proposed legislation, and it was now time for action.
“Timing is really quite critical now because obviously it's something that has been discussed and kicked around for quite a few years,” she told Cointelegraph in an interview on May 2.
Mattel, a Toymaking giant, is putting the brakes on its Hot Wheels Virtual Garage non-fungible tokens, pending a decision on the collection’s future.
In an update on the website, Mattel said, There will be no future releases of any new NFT series or feature drops for the “foreseeable future.” The company also said that it will decide on the “long-term future” of Mattel digital collectibles.
The company said, “Your unwavering support and enthusiasm for the Hot Wheels Virtual Garage has been legendary, and we’re incredibly grateful to have been on this journey with you.”
“As we evaluate the changing world of virtual collectibles, we’ve determined the time has come to end our Series and Feature Drops in 2025 and onward.”
According to Mattel, in the meantime, users’ hot wheel NFT collections, the Mattel Digital Collectibles Marketplace, the community Discord and other channels will continue to operate as normal through at least 2025.
Holders can still buy, sell and trade their Hot Wheels NFTS on the Mattel Digital Collectibles Marketplace, while existing and outstanding redemptions will be “fulfilled as promised.”
However, at this time there is no way to move the NFTs to different wallets or marketplaces. According to Mattel, it’s exploring possible options around this feature.
“We are developing a long-term plan for Virtual Collectibles and will share updates with the community in the future,” the company said.
Maldives government has signed an agreement with MBS Global Investments, a Dubai-based family office in order to develop a $9 billion crypto and blockchain hub in Malé, the capital of the South Pacific archipelago nation.
As per a report from the Financial Times, this deal, was signed on May 4. It was done in the hopes of moving the Maldives away from reliance on tourism and fisheries by attracting foreign direct investment into blockchain and Web3 technologies.
The plans for the Maldives International Financial Centre outline, an 830,000-square-meter facility that will reportedly employ up to 16,000 individuals.
It is expected that the project will take five years to complete and the capital needed for the ambitious development are more than the $7 billion in annual gross domestic product (GDP) of the Maldives.