• Blackrock, the largest multinational investment company globally, has launched a metaverse-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF), the iShares Future Metaverse Tech and Communications ETF (IVRS US).

• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong declared that the company’s staking services are not securities and is willing to defend this stance in court if necessary.

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that 517,000 new jobs were created in January 2021, pushing the unemployment rate to 3.4%. •