Following the Buckingham Palace announcement yesterday that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has died, the phrase ‘London Bridge is down’ trended on the social media space to signal the end of a reign after 70 years of reign.
While the queen’s demise has been marked by an almost unprecedented outpour of condolences and tributes, crypto vultures have also seized the event as an opportunity to launch another set of coins. In fact, some meme coins and NFT projects were immediately created after her death to ride on the popularity.
A cursory count shows that over 40 tokens gave been created on the Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain that are linked to the deceased monarch’s name. The most prominent one is Queen Elizabeth Inu.
Queen Elizabeth Inu
According to @Zazoo_me on Twitter, “Crypto grifters have seized the opportunity to launch over 40 Queen-themed meme coins on Ethereum and Binance’s BNB Chain, just hours after she passed.”
Names of the popular shitcoins are: Queen Elizabeth Inu, Queen Doge, God Save The Queen, London Bridge Is Down, Queen Grow, Rip Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth II, Queen Inu II and others.
Amazingly, Queen Elizabeth Inu and Save The Queen Tokens are on a tear. The account says that prices are extremely volatile and “highly unlikely to sustain themselves. The most liquid tokens have already processed $900K in trading volume: Save The Queen $700,000 Queen Elizabeth Inu $200,000.”
Another token has been named after the Commonwealth’s new ruler, King Charles III. King Charles Inu (CHARLES) is already off to a flying start and is expected to keep climbing considering the publicity that will come from his impending coronation.
Now to some other news:
As a roundup of crypto stories that were prominent across the week, we will add a list other interesting stories from across the week (mostly good news). These include an announcement that the Nigerian government and Binance are teaming up to establish an Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA). The objective is to establish a digital economic zone similar to Dubai.
And, remember El Salvador?
The first country to adopt bitcoin marked the first anniversary of officially making bitcoin its legal tender this week. Time really flies.vNow, a bit of detail on these and many more stories from around the world this week.
Here we go:
Binance and Nigeria seal partnership
Binance is partnering with Nigeria to build an Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA). The aim is to create a digital economic area similar to Dubai, according to a Bloomberg report. After completion, the facility will be the first in West Africa.
According to NEPZA’s managing director Adesoji Adesugba, the purpose of the country is to create a flourishing virtual free zone so that it can benefit from the almost trillion-dollar virtual economy in blockchains and the digital economy.
It seems the country may finally coming to terms with the possibilities of the blockchain technology, after seasons of hostile stances.
El Salvador Bitcoin anniversary
It’s been a year since El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender. The decision was considered a footprint for the rest of the countries intending to go down the same path at a point Bitcoin is still undergoing maturity.
Apart from the fact that bitcoin has lost over 60% of its market value since then, its adoption has faced a myriad of challenges. For instance, the recent collapse in Bitcoin’s value has complicated matters for the country as it searches for funds to pay its $1.6 billion sovereign bonds that will be due in 2023 and 2025.
Also, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been pushing for the country to revise Bitcoin’s legal tender status citing financial, economic, and legal concerns.
Read also: IMF names 97 countries with CBDCs, only two have fully launched
However, El Salvador’s adoption has inspired other countries to consider Bitcoin, chiefly the Central African Republic which made the decision in April. In spite of the hurdles, President Bukele remains defiant, maintaining that the Bitcoin strategy is on course.
Bill Murray loses $185k worth of Ethereum
An Ethereum wallet belonging to actor Bill Murray was hacked hours after receiving funds from an NFT auction inspired by his life. The actor lost the 119.2 ETH raised from the auction, although investigations are ongoing to identify the perpetrator, CoinDesk reports.
Etherscan data indicates that the hacker began retrieving the funds on September 1. The actor’s team noted that the bad actor tried to steal about 800 NFTs from Murray’s personal collection but the plot was foiled.
Murray’s team is engaging with crypto analysis firm Chainalysis to conduct a forensic audit into the incident. The actor’s team has also filed a police report following the incident to commence investigations.
The NFT auction was completed on August 31 as part of an initiative to raise funds for the Chive Charities initiative. The proceeds were to support the care of a three-year-old girl identified as Evelyn, who is contending with the effects of a rare CLDN5 gene mutation and intractable epilepsy.
Amazingly, following the loss, a Coinbase user sent 120 ETH to Chive Charities to replace the lost amount.
Elon Musk Dogecoin lawsuit expands
According to a report by Reuters, the Dogecoin-related lawsuit against Tesla CEO Elon Musk has gotten bigger.
The already massive lawsuit has seen an addition of several new plaintiffs as well as Musk’s Boring Company and the Dogecoin Foundation, the non-profit organization behind the meme coin, among new defendants.
Recall that Dogecoin investor Keith Johnson filed a $258 billion class-action complaint against Musk in June, alleging that the billionaire ran a pyramid scheme by promoting the popular meme coin.
Related post: Elon Musk sued for $258bn over dogecoin ‘pyramid scheme’
Johnson also named Tesla and SpaceX in the initial version of his lawsuit. Musk has been accused of advertising Dogecoin as a “legitimate investment” on his social media profile to artificially inflate its price. The lawsuit alleges that the famous Bitcoin parody derives its value solely from marketing.
However, Musk remains an avid supporter of Dogecoin in spite of its massive price downturn. Shortly after the $258 billion lawsuit was filed in June, Musk tweeted that he was buying more DOGE.
Here is all from us for this week. See you next week!