⚡ The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) surges in popularity, hits all-time high

⚡ The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) surges in popularity, hits all-time high 🧾 Should NFTs be taxable? US states of Washington and Pennsylvania say yes 👮 Organized crime and crypto: a match made in hell?

GM, vEmpions! Auguste Rodin once said: "Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely" - and that'll be our motto for today. We've all had those moments where we've looked back on something and thought "what a waste of time". But even the biggest wastes of time can teach us something, if we're willing to learn from them. While you dwell on that, check out what we've got for you today:

⚡ The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) surges in popularity, hits all-time high 🧾 Should NFTs be taxable? US states of Washington and Pennsylvania say yes 👮 Organized crime and crypto: a match made in hell?

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) surges in popularity, hits all-time high

Well well well, it looks like the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is on the rise! According to a recent report from OpenSea, ENS domain names are now the most traded token on their marketplace, surpassing Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) in just a matter of days.

OpenSea, the leading digital marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has announced that the weekly trading volume of Ethereum domain NFTs has hit 2,249 ETH. This surpasses the volumes of BAYC and RTFKT Clone X, which are 1,777 ETH and 1992 ETH respectively.

With the recent increase in trading volume, the average price of an ENS domain name has surged to an all-time high of 0.3895 ETH, worth a whopping $641! This represents an increase of over 167% from the previous day's price.

And it's not just the average price that's gone up; the daily volume has spiked to an unprecedented 1,044.6 ETH from the previous 120.7 ETH.

OpenSea, the leading marketplace for ENS domain names, reports that the average price of an ENS domain name is now 0.3207 ETH, worth $533.71.

Some of the most expensive ENS domain names include 000.eth, crypto,eth, opensea.eth, nike.eth, and google.eth. The top spot is currently held by 000.eth, which was purchased for 300ETH and is now up for sale for 5,000 ETH.

This sudden feat for Ethereum is happening just some days before the long-awaited Merge. So what does this mean for ENS? Well, we can only speculate at this point, but one thing's for sure: the future looks bright for this little service.

Should NFTs be taxable? US states of Washington and Pennsylvania say yes

Ever since the first NFT was sold for a whopping $69 million, everyone's been asking the same question: are these things taxable?

Well, it looks like we finally have an answer, courtesy of the states of Washington and Pennsylvania. These two trailblazers have become the first in the US to explicitly list NFTs as digital assets subject to sales and use taxes.

That's right, folks - if you're buying or selling an NFT in either of these states, you're going to have to pay up. And while might see this as a sign of progress for some reason or another, we can't help but feel like this is just another way for the government to get its hands on our hard-earned cash.

The IRS has yet to provide any specific guidance on the taxation of NFTs, but that hasn't stopped some states from taking matters into their own hands. Pennsylvania's Department of Revenue was the first to act, adding NFTs to its "taxability matrix" in June without providing any accompanying guidance. Washington followed suit in July, publishing an interim statement that proposed a schema for determining the "sourcing" of NFTs (or where, for tax purposes, related transactions physically take place).

The lack of clarity from the IRS has left many taxpayers scratching their heads, wondering how they will be taxed on their NFT holdings. And with the value of some NFTs soaring into the millions of dollars, the stakes are high.

For now, it appears that states are taking a wait-and-see approach to NFT taxation, but that could change if the IRS provides more guidance on the matter.  In the meantime, if you're buying or selling NFTs in Washington or Pennsylvania, be sure to set aside some money for taxes - you're going to need it.

Organized crime and crypto: a match made in hell?

The Europol seems to have liked the fact that crypto was always advertised as being untraceable, when in reality it is quite the opposite. The organization said that blockchain networks allow investigators to easily follow illicit funds and recover stolen assets converted into crypto. This was the general consensus among crypto specialists and financial investigators who last week gathered for the 6th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptocurrencies in The Hague hosted by Europol with the support of the Basel Institute on Governance. According to the speakers, who represented European regulators, law enforcement, and experts from crypto exchange Binance, crypto is "key" to cracking down on crime.

Crypto has been used to finance some of the most illicit activities imaginable, from drug smuggling and match-fixing to financing the manufacture, acquisition, possession, and export of weapons of mass destruction.

And let's not forget the professional money launderers who are taking advantage of digital assets to cleanse the proceeds of all kinds of crimes, both physical and cyber.

Organized crime is a thorny issue, and blockchain technology offers a unique opportunity to investigate criminal networks and recover stolen funds. However, it's not a silver bullet by itself. Tackling organized crime will still require the right tools, capacity and cooperation, said the experts.

So if you're a criminal, make sure to convert all your assets into crypto. With the open ledger, the investigators will have an easy time following the money and recovering what was stolen. Hopefully.