The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, is dropping non-fungible token (NFT) support from the social media platforms less than a year after launching it. In a Twitter thread, the company’s head of commerce and financial technologies, Stephane Kasriel, said the company was shifting its focus.

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced it will no longer support GBP deposits and withdrawals over a decision from its payments partner, Paysafe, to withdraw its support.

Cryptocurrency conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) has revealed it’s searching for new banking partners for its portfolio companies after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate.

 Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Meta Drops NFT Support from Facebook, Instagram
• Binance Suspends GBP Transactions as Payment Partner’s Decision
• Banks Including Santander, HSBC, Deutsche Willing to Serve Crypto Clients: DCG
• Chart of the Week: Stablecoins’ Depeg

Meta Drops NFT Support from Facebook, Instagram

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, is dropping non-fungible token (NFT) support from the social media platforms less than a year after launching it. In a Twitter thread, the company’s head of commerce and financial technologies, Stephane Kasriel, said the company was shifting its focus.

The move comes as the company is set to undergo another round of layoffs that will affect thousands of workers, after the company cut 13% of its workforce in November.

On the company's Q4 earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared 2023 the "year of efficiency" and vowed to trim projects that were underperforming or not crucial to the company's goals.

Some on social media downplayed the significance of the NFT deprioritization, pointing out that Meta had made little impact in the space since launching NFT capabilities for its apps last year.

In September of last year, Meta made its NFT features available to all users in the US following a successful test period with a select group of users. This move was seen as a positive development for smaller blockchains like Polygon and Flow, whichstood to benefit from the increased interest in NFTs.

Meta continued to build on this momentum in November by announcing plans to enable creators to produce their own NFTs on Instagram and sell them directly to fans through the platform.

Binance Suspends GBP Transactions as Payment Partner’s Decision

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced it will no longer support GBP deposits and withdrawals over a decision from its payments partner, Paysafe, to withdraw its support.

The suspension came into effect on March 13 for new users, with all users being affected from May 22. Despite the move, a Binance spokesperson confirmed the exchange will ensure that users with GBP balances will still be able to access them, with less than 1% of users being affected by the suspension.

Meanwhile, Binance users will still be able to deposit and withdraw other fiat currencies, as well as purchase and sell cryptocurrency on the platform's website.

Banks Including Santander, HSBC, Deutsche Willing to Serve Crypto Clients: DCG

Cryptocurrency conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) has revealed it’s searching for new banking partners for its portfolio companies after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate.

According to CoinDesk, messages from the group have revealed that Santander, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, BankProv, and others are willing to connect with cryptocurrency firms.

DCG has reportedly also reached out to major financial institutions such as BlackRock, JPMorgan and Bank of America in its efforts. The report details that some banks may impose restrictions on services, such as brokerage and money market services and the ability to wire money to third parties.

Western Alliance and Bridge Bank are reportedly still opening accounts for crypto firms, despite their falling share prices, and DCG also reached out to other banks throughout the world, including Revolut in the UK and United Overseas Bank in Singapore.

Chart of the Week: Stablecoins’ Depeg

Over the weekend, multiple stablecoins experienced depegging due to worries about USDC's reserves following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. However, stablecoins such as USDC have regained their parity after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) intervened and extended deposit guarantees to all depositors.

Despite the market turmoil, other fiat-redeemable stablecoins like USDT, BUSD, and TUSD maintained their peg to their parity.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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