Welcome to This Week in Crypto, where we cover the top trending headlines in the cryptocurrency industry. The world of crypto news moves fast, and we’re here to bring it to you for your weekly digest. This week, we’re looking at Spotify adopting NFTs, crypto donations to Ukraine, and scammers using ChatGPT to scam investors. Enjoy this week’s top stories!
Spotify Tests Exclusive Playlists Through NFT Ownership
Music streaming platform Spotify is testing token-enabled playlists on its platform with several NFT communities. Web3 gaming ecosystem Overlord announced that it would be partnering with Spotify to make its playlist exclusively accessible to holders of Creepz NFTs. The trading volume of the Creepz NFT collection subsequently surged by 240% after the announcement, highlighting the community’s excitement about the partnership. Spotify is also partnering with three other NFT collections – Fluf, Moonbirds, and Kingship to bring token-enabled playlists to those communities as well. For now the pilot program is only available to Android users in the United States, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. Hopefully we see even more integration of Web3 technology with the music industry!
Ukraine Received More than $70 Million in Crypto Donations Since Start of War
A recent report from blockchain data firm Chainalysis estimates that Ukraine received more than $70 million in cryptocurrency donations since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The donations are mainly made up of Ethereum ($28.9 million), Bitcoin ($22.8 million), and Tether ($11.6 million), as well as other coins. More than 80% of the total donations came in the first few months as the war started, and the rest slowly trickled in as it continued. Overall, this shows the philanthropic nature of cryptocurrency users and Ukraine’s willingness to adapt to accept new types of currencies as donations.
Fraudulent ChatGPT Tokens Scam New Investors
Scammers leveraging the popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT are using the name in fake tokens to scam new crypto investors. Blockchain security firm PeckShield announced that they had identified dozens of scam tokens named after Bing and ChatGPT. Microsoft’s $10 billion investment in OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, caught the eye of millions as their AI chatbot went viral on the internet with its rather impressive answers. Stories such as this one reminds us that scammers will use anything to try to trick people into giving their money away. Make sure to always do your own research!