**Cryptocurrency News:**
• An Indian parliament member says crypto is like gambling and must be taxed at a high rate, such as 50%.
• One of the largest cryptocurrency payment platforms in the world, Bitpay, announced the Atlanta-based company had integrated bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network, with Pacsun being the first merchant to leverage Bitpay to accept Lightning Network payments.
• A newly established Ukrainian charity organization, Pray4Ukraine, has brought together hundreds of digital artists using NFT to raise funds for the Ukrainian army and civilians devastated by the war.
• The Central Bank of Russia has turned down a proposal to allow digital currencies to use for sanctions evasion. The monetary authority believes this is hardly an option as Western regulators are already taking steps to prevent such transactions.
• Coinbase has now made its crypto trading services available to users in India.
• ESPN and Autograph, the NFT company founded by Tom Brady, announced Wednesday a multi-year deal to mint the sports network’s first NFT collection.
• Philippines-based major fintech company PayMaya has reportedly launched a new cryptocurrency feature on its app, following in the footsteps of PayPal, Venmo, and others.
• Nium, a cross-border payments firm based in Singapore, has announced the launch of a new API-based solution that will allow businesses to start accepting cryptocurrency payments.
• Blockchain project NEAR Protocol has raised $350 million in a funding round led by Tiger Global, with participation from Republic Capital, Hashed, FTX Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, and others.
• Bridge Network, a cross-chain communication protocol, has closed its $3.8M funding round with backing from FTX Ventures, MEXC Global, Master Ventures, Blockfinex, Croc Capital, and others.
• OpenSea, the venture-backed marketplace for non-fungible tokens, has gone live with its long-anticipated integration of Solana.

** CoinMarketCap Top 10 Trending Cryptos:**
1. GMT
2. SOL
3. SHIB
4. BNB
5. MINIFOOTBALL
6. ADAO
7. JASMY
8. CEEK
9. BUSD
10. 1EARTH