We need some hot stuff baby in crypto - we need some hot stuff baby tonight

Hello geek crew and welcome to another 🏓 Ping Pong 🏓 digest from TradeCrypto.com!

Today we have prepared some specials 😻😻, so without further ado, let's dive in 👽

Here's what's fresh from the crypto bakery for you:

1. Bitcoin is super popular for money laundering, and the first charge is coming up to $2.7M - ouch! 💰💰

2. Celebrities are diving into the Bored Ape NFT 🙊: Guess who and how much? 🙊

3. Thailand bans bitcoin and this is not an 🐠 April's fools

4. Two in NFT ‘Rug Pull’ schemes just got ⛓ charged ⛓ - bad days for crypto crime coming up!

5. Marc Andreessen may step down from Meta board #metanewsoftheday

6. Web3 Culinary Community 🍔🍔 is coming up & we're not the only ones who are cooking

7. Solana rises due to gaming 🕹 - and they said gaming couldn't change the world - well the joke's on them

8. Russia will now accept Bitcoin for oil and gas - soon we won't need the 💸 US dollar 💸 anymore 💸

9. Bitcoin hits $44K > but traders have their own doubts 🤔🤔🤔

10. LG Electronics adds blockchain and crypto 🙀, perfect timing for spreading the business!

Bitcoin: Ex Goldman Sachs Employee Charged in $2.7M Money Laundering Case  🤑 

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office revealed on Thursday, March 24th, that a former party organizer and ex Goldman Sachs employee, Thomas Spieker, has been charged with laundering $2.7 million in Bitcoin (BTC)  🤑  and cash to help various clients hide money acquired via criminal activities.

Someone got a little carried away, didn't he?

Spieker is facing several charges of illegal money transfer and laundering in the third and fourth degrees and has pleaded not guilty 👀 in New York State Supreme Court. 👀

Madonna bought an NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection for $556,000

Singer Madonna 💁🏼‍♀️💁🏼‍♀️ has purchased an NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection.

The token purchase for 180 ETH (~$556,000) was made through the concierge service of infrastructure provider MoonPay.

Thailand Bans Bitcoin and Crypto Payments 🚫🚫🚫 Effective From 1st April

This is not a joke: As recently announced by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), cryptocurrency payments will be banned in the country starting 1st April 2022 ❗️❗️❗️

According to the report, the SEC based its decision on the highly volatile crypto markets, lack of customer protection, money laundering, and cyber theft risks. That's what you get when the Government gets scared of the people 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

As consumers will no longer have access to make payments for goods and services in cryptocurrencies from 1st April, businesses have 30 days from the date announced to completely remove Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment options.

US Justice Dept. Charges 2 in NFT 🧐 ‘Rug Pull’ Scheme 🧐

Two men allegedly behind the "Frosties" non-fungible token (NFT) project, an infamous scam whose Discord server reportedly evaporated hours after mint, were charged Thursday 🧑🏼‍⚖️🧑🏼‍⚖️ with money laundering and wire fraud by U.S. prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.

It's an early example of U.S. law enforcement prosecuting an alleged NFT "rug pull."

Ethan Nguyen and Andre Llacuna, who prosecutors say is Frosties's pseudonymous backers, defrauded their NFT investors of over $1 million when theft. Facing criminal conspiracy and financial crime charges, they are among the first criminal NFT defendants in the rug-pull era. 😸😸😸

Marc Andreessen may step down from Meta board due to crypto empire

The billionaire co-founder of crypto venture capital firm A16z Marc Andreessen may be leaving the board of directors of Meta due to his firm’s investments in the Web3 space.

Business Insider reported on Mar. 25 that a source familiar with the situation said “it would not surprise me even remotely” if Andreessen exited the board in the next few months. Andreessen could leave as soon as May when the board has its next re-election.

Andreessen has not made a 🗣 public statement 🗣 regarding his future with the Meta board.

Top Chef Stars Launch Ethereum NFTs to Build a Web3 Culinary Community 🍕🍕🍕

Celebrity chefs Tom Colicchio and Spike Mendelsohn today launched their first Ethereum NFT collection, CHFTY Pizzas, in an effort to build a Web3 community around culinary creators and their fans.

But as the chefs told this week, they initially started down this path as the restaurant.

We tried it. ETH pizza good 🤩🤩🤩

Solana Price Gains 10% as Gaming Adoption Accelerates

Solana, the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, climbed approximately 10% in 24 hours, moving from about $96 to $103 at one point today. Compared to other major coins, only Cardano and Dogecoin saw similar gains, of 9% and 6%, respectively.

Solana’s upward move comes shortly after Krafton, publisher of popular battle royale game PUBG, announced that it is partnering with Solana Labs to develop blockchain games on the network.

Russia Energy Committee Chair: We'll Take Bitcoin for Oil and Gas

Pavel Zavalny, the chairman of Russia's State Duma Committee on Energy, said during a videotaped press conference this week that the country would accept Bitcoin 🤌🏽🤌🏽 for its energy exports.

According to a translated transcript, Zavalny said the West would either need to pay for oil using rubles or gold 💎💎💎, while allies or neutral countries such as China and Turkey can settle in rubles or their native currencies.

He then added: "You can also trade Bitcoins.”

Bye-bye US dollar 💵 💴 💶 💷

Bitcoin hits $44K, but traders want to see a few daily closes here before a move higher 🤓

BTC pushed through a key price level as investor sentiment soars across the sector, but analysts caution that $44,000 📈📈 must become a support to mark a macro-level trend change.

The climbing price of BTC comes amid a backdrop of surging inflation and rising interest rates, which could see up to seven hikes over the course of 2022 🌊🌊, according to Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView 🤫🤫 shows that after trading near $43,000 throughout the morning session in March, a midday spike lifted the price of BTC to an intraday high at $44,186 where it bumped up against a major resistance zone. 🤔

LG Electronics adds blockchain and crypto as new areas of business

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics has officially added blockchain and cryptocurrency as new business areas in its corporate charter 🔥🔥🔥🔥 

According to a local South Korean news report, LG added two distinct crypto-related objectives during its annual general meeting on Thursday, March 24. 💁‍♂️💁‍♂️

The objectives include “the development and selling of blockchain-based software” and “the sale and brokerage of cryptocurrency,” which led to conjecture whether LG would establish some form of crypto exchange. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Fun times we had preparing this one! 🤪🤪🤪 We hope you did too.

Let us know how you would rate today’s digest:😍 I can't get enough!🤨 Khm, try harder, we are a tough crowd🤮 I'm utterly unimpressed

Until the next time - stay tuned 🎧🎧

What is Crypto Ping Pong digest?

So all the TC lads here are working quite hard and from time to time we gotta chill.

That’s why we got ourselves a ping pong table to complete our lazy-bag-stuffed chill zone. As you all know our main hobby is Crypto, so even while we play we don’t really shut up about it. Ever.

During the game, we have a rule not to discuss serious topics like analytics, predictions, etc.

So memes, leaks, gossips naturally come about – we collect them and share them with you in this interstellar space on our site we like to call Crypto Ping Pong digest.