BON VOYAGE? Publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange Voyager Digital is facing a class-action lawsuit over alleged hidden fees being charged on its trades, according to a lawsuit filed in a federal Miami court on Dec. 24. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a Florida resident, alleges that the “commission-free” platform employs various methods to charge secret commissions on trades, including by keeping the spread between the “bid” and “ask” prices intentionally wide, allegedly causing more than $1 billion in damages. Voyager says the lawsuit lacks merit.

SECURITY BLANKET: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has hired a senior adviser specializing in cryptocurrency. Corey Frayer, who has more than a decade of experience working within congressional machine including fronting Sen. Sen. Sherrod Brown's crypto proposals, will assist the agency establish a regulatory framework for crypto. Meanwhile, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce told CoinDesk TV in an interview published Thursday that the U.S. doesn't need a dedicated crypto regulator – as some in the industry, like Coinbase, have called for. Pierce added the federal securities watchdog may take a closer look at NFTs in 2022. The full interview is well worth your time.

AN APE'S REFLECTION: Two Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) parody projects launched Wednesday have ignited plagiarism accusations, several trading bans and a robust supply of ape-themed memes. The two collections – both named PHAYC, a play on “fake” and “BAYC” – appear to be identical copies of the original BAYC collection (one of the most successful NFT projects to date), but with each ape’s profile mirrored to the opposite side ... or “left-facing." Part pastiche, part social commentary on greed and intellectual property laws, the two projects sold out within hours of launch.

BLOCKCHAIN EXPOSURE: Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, has introduced what it said is the country’s first exchange-traded fund (ETF) to provide exposure to companies involved in the blockchain industry. The so-called Sberbank Blockchain Economy ETF, which trades under “SBBE,” tracks the “Sber Blockchain Economy Index,” giving investors exposure to crypto trading firms, including Coinbase, Galaxy Digital and a host of other crypto mining, consulting and financial companies.

BINANCE IS BACK? On Wednesday, Binance emailed users saying it could continue operating in Ontario after successfully working with Canadian regulators. On Thursday, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) said, in fact, the exchange is “not authorized to offer trading in derivatives or securities to persons or companies” in Canada’s most populous province. Binance, which previously alerted its Ontarian users it would shut down operations by Dec. 31 in the province, now says remedying this recent "miscommunication" is a top priority as it continues to seek a fully licensed status.

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