Looks Like Twitter Is Building A New Crypto Product

Blissful Tuesday, everyone. It's BitDegree Insider here, and it's time to take that daily web3 news vaccine. But, before we begin, here's a question for you:

Today' we're talking about:

• ⚡Twitter Enters Crypto Wallet Race
• ⚡Chinese Intelligence Officers' Bitcoin Bribe
• ⚡New 'Crypto' Definition from IRS
• ⚡Selected Meme of The Day
• ⚡Bite-Sized News

Twitter Enters The Race

Jane Manchung Wong, a blogger and a security researcher just stirred the crypto Twitter up. You see, she ain't no regular blogger. She's someone you can find in Forbes 30 under 30 list. And the reason behind her reputation? She's a pro digital detective. Previously, she's uncovered what kind of updates or products Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook had been working on, before they were officially announced. Today she once again found out something about Twitter:

Even though Twitter has not (yet) made any public announcements about something like this, it's probably safe to assume that we're about to hear an official statement about this pretty soon.

Twitter is very much aware of the demand for crypto-related products and services. In September 2021, Twitter introduced a new feature called 'cryptocurrency tipping'. Eventually they started talking about integrating web3 DApps into the Twitter-space. Finally, if you use Twitter, you must have seen those hexagon-shaped profile pictures that are, of course, NFTs.

If a TWTR Wallet (we're just guessing its possible name) turns out to be true, this means that the crypto wallet market is about to get way more competitive. Companies like Trustwallet, Metamask, Coin98, Blocto would have to do their best to stand a chance against the hypothetical Twitter Wallet in the fight for crypto's introduction for the masses. And oh. By the way. Bybit, one of the world's leading crypto exchanges, just announced that they're launching a wallet as well. Well. Let the Crypto Wallet Games begin.

TL;DR: Twitter is believed to be in the process of creating their own crypto wallet.

Chinese Officers' Bitcoin Bribe

Okay, so China is back at the center of the world's attention. Xi Jinping has just secured his third term as the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) chief. In an unprecedented turn of events, Xi Jinping is successfully climbing up the ladder of becoming the most influential Chinese leader since Mao. One of the techniques that he used to achieve such levels of influence was his nefarious war against corruption.

Ironically, it has just been reported that two Chinese intelligence officers tried bribing U.S. law enforcement officials with $61k worth of Bitcoin. To add an extra layer of irony, remember that China notoriously banned crypto.

Guochun He and Zheng Wang are the names of the two accused Chinese intelligence workers who, allegedly, tried obstructing an investigation led by the U.S. Department of Justice. Allegedly, they were trying to access secret info about an ongoing prosecution against an unnamed company. It is believed that the company in question is Huawei.

The official press release about the incident states: "The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by any foreign power to undermine the rule of law upon which our democracy is based."

Just recently we wrote about Binance hiring a former FBI agent. Agents and crypto started overlapping more and more.

TL;DR: Two Chinese intelligence officers are accused of trying to bribe a U.S. law enforcement official with bitcoin so they could obstruct an ongoing legal procedure.

IRS New 'Crypto' Definition

So the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has just announced a new, expanded definition of 'crypto'. The space between crypto and regulators is getting thinner and thinner. Quite obviously, new precedents, experiences and realisations have made it clear that 'crypto', as a term, is a bit too wide, and it ceases to be useful when dealing with individual cases, malpractice, or classification.

In their freshly released draft bill, people could find a section that concentrates on digital assets (page 16). It's intricate, and pays attention to the details. It makes it clearer about what taxpayers can expect after having ventured into crypto, stablecoins, or NFT trading.

Here's how they define 'digital assets': 'Digital assets are any digital representations of value that are recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger or any similar technology. For example, digital assets include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and virtual currencies, such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.'

At the end of the day this means one thing. Crypto is becoming the norm. People learn how to trade it, regulators begin to understand it.

TL;DR: IRS released a draft bill which contains a well-defined section about what crypto, digital assets, NFTs, and stablecoins.

Selected Meme of The Day

Bite-Sized News

• Crypto Custodian Fireblocks Rolls Out Digital Asset Payment Engine
• FTX to Compensate Phishing Attack Victims With up to $6 Million
• Apple Introduces New App Store Rules for NFTs and Cryptocurrency Exchanges
• NEAR Foundation Opens Up $40 Million Fund to Protect USN Investors