WAO ART #366

Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) has filed for a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF), making it the eighth firm in the crypto industry to do so. This comes after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the trading of spot Bitcoin ETFs last month, allowing 11 firms to launch the product.

World of Warcraft's subscription is becoming almost 3,000% more expensive in Argentina due to inflation. The monthly subscription fee has increased from 650 to 12,000 Argentine Pesos (ARS), and Blizzard plans to charge players in USD going forward.

Starknet, the Ethereum L2 blockchain, will be airdropping its native token, STRK, to 1.3M eligible wallets on February 20. The airdrop aims to fuel community participation and project governance. The 782 million-token airdrop will be sent to Starknet users, developers, and contributors.

Shares of Australia's big 4 banks, including Commonwealth Bank of Australia, fell after CBA warned of worsening margins due to increased economic pressure from high interest rates. CBA's shares dropped 3.1%, while ANZ Group Holdings, National Australia Bank, and Westpac Banking Corp fell between 1.2% and 2.1%.

Kenya's IT industry is opposing a proposed bill on AI and robotics, warning that it would be a "national disaster" if implemented. The bill, titled Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Society Bill, 2023, aims to establish a society to oversee the sector and requires all players to obtain a license.

Japan is looking to regulate crypto Peer-to-Peer (P2P) transactions in order to curb fraud and unlawful money transfers. The National Police Agency and Financial Services Agency believe that a significant portion of fraudulent activities involve crypto-assets.

Fidelity has reduced the fee for its Bitcoin ETP in Europe, following a trend among crypto issuers to lower fees amid increasing market competition. The Fidelity Physical Bitcoin ETP (FBTC) will now have its total expense ratio (TER) reduced from 0.75% to 0.35%, making it more competitive in the market.