roadrunner

PRESS RELEASE. Miami, Florida. – Vybe, LLC announced today that they are building an app that lets people mine their social media for cryptocurrency. “What if you earned crypto for every like you earned on social media?” Vybe Business Development Manager Blake Marum said, “That’s what Vybe does. It connects your content creator sites to a cryptocurrency wallet and automatically deposits VYBE into your wallet for every like you get on social media.” VYBE is a token, or Algorand Standard Asset (ASA), on the Algorand blockchain. It operates like Algo, and has been verified by Algorand’s official wallet, Pera. “The app disperses 222,603 VYBE every six hours for 20 years,” Vybe Lead Developer, Ravi Dhar, explained, “It calculates the total number of likes, posts, followers and other metrics that each user gets in six hours and awards them a proportion of this mining pool. So it measures content quality. The more likes you get from the world, the more VYBE you get from the app. Users are miners who get paid to post.” Once downloaded, the app runs in the background and automatically deposits VYBE in your Algorand wallet. “It’s like a bank account,” Marum said, “or a slot machine,” he laughed. “Ching, ching, ching… You don’t have to do anything else. The app quantifies and rewards content quality. If you’re posting anyway, why not get paid for it?” So how much are VYBE worth? “Nothing,” Vybe Project Manager Armaan Kapoor said, frankly, “right now they’re worth absolutely almost nothing. Almost zero. But the plan is to change that.” Kapoor, however, said that they’re building quality products with real use cases that have value over time, and he explained why he and his team think this code creates substantive value, “Instagram made over $20 billion dollars in ad revenue last year. How much of that did they generate from their own content? Hardly anything. Their users made their content for them. You did. And how much did they pay you for this content? Nothing. You produced their content, and they paid you in heart emojis.” Kapoor added, “Your content has value. That’s why over half the world’s population uses social media and spends an average of three hours a day on it. That’s why people follow you, and that’s why Twitter is worth $44 billion dollars. Vybe tokenizes likes. This isn’t possible with credit cards and centralized systems. It is with blockchains and cryptocurrency. This makes it possible for creators to extract these likes, and some of this value, off your social media sites and put it in an Algorand wallet, where you can convert it to other assets.” Kapoor added that Vybe also makes it as easy as possible for anyone to mine cryptocurrency. Instead of using expensive processors that consume a lot of electricity to solve arbitrary math problems that are discarded once solved, like BTC, Vybe uses likes. “This is our mining mechanism,” Kapoor said, “this is how we distribute VYBE to the world.” Vybe is also building a geolocation gaming app to add additional value to the Vybe ecosystem over time. Vybe launched their Early Adopter program on 20 May. It runs until 1 August, when they plan to release the mining app. You can learn more about it on their webpage, and pre-register to be an Early Adopter. “We’re in this,” Marum said, “to build useful apps and have fun.” For more information about Vybe, follow them on Instagram, Twitter, Reddit and their other social media sites. You can also read more about the Vybe project and team here. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

Turkey is reportedly drafting crypto legislation to be submitted to parliament in the coming weeks. The bill may also impose taxes on some crypto transactions. New Turkish Crypto Legislation Underway Turkey is drafting a bill to establish new rules for the crypto industry, Bloomberg reported last week, citing two unnamed Turkish officials familiar with the matter. According to the officials, the governing AK Party of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan plans to submit the cryptocurrency bill to parliament in the coming weeks. Under the new regulatory framework, companies would be required to have a minimum of 100 million liras ($6 million) in capital. In addition, global cryptocurrency exchanges would be mandated to open branch offices that can be taxed in Turkey. The authorities are also exploring ways to safely store cryptocurrencies. The new measures were on the agenda of a meeting held at the president’s office last week. The meeting was attended by Vice President Fuat Oktay, Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati, and Trade Minister Mehmet Muş. Moreover, the government is also considering imposing a symbolic levy on crypto purchases, the publication added. In January, President Erdoğan reportedly instructed the country’s ruling party to conduct a study on cryptocurrency and the metaverse. According to crypto payments service provider Triplea, over 2.4 million people, or 2.94% of Turkey’s total population, currently own cryptocurrency. There have also been reports that crypto ownership is soaring in Turkey as high inflation and a weak lira prompt Turks to seek ways to preserve their wealth. According to reports, the Turkish lira has lost half of its value in the past 12 months while annual inflation reached a 20-year-high of nearly 70% in April. What do you think about Turkey drafting cryptocurrency legislation to submit it to parliament in the coming weeks? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

After relative calm for a few months, the Lebanese pound has plunged to an all-time low of 35,600 per dollar, a report has said. The currency’s latest slide is expected to worsen Lebanon’s economic challenges. Pound Depreciation In a sign that Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis is worsening, the black market exchange rate of the Lebanese pound is reported to have plunged to an all-time low of 35,600 against the dollar. According to an Al Jazeera report, it took just two weeks for the pound’s black market exchange rate to drop from 26,800 to the latest rate. At the time of writing, the pound’s official exchange rate was 1,510 for every dollar. The pound’s reported quickfire depreciation has worsened Lebanon’s already difficult economic situation. Also as noted in an Al Jazeera report, the currency’s plunge was preceded by a 25% increase in petrol prices. Plans to scrap subsidies — which in turn can lead to further price increases — are expected to worsen the plight of the country’s residents. While authorities in Lebanon have blamed the rising global inflation, some experts believe domestic reasons are largely to blame for the country’s deteriorating situation. One of the experts, financial adviser Michel Kozah, explained: “When global prices change, Lebanon is not hit once, but twice. It’s because we cannot protect the value of the Lebanese pound.” IMF Bailout While Lebanon was briefly successful in halting the pound’s slide earlier in the year, the country’s limited resources meant its policy of defending the pound could not be sustained, the report said. Meanwhile, one of the country’s newly elected politicians, Mark Daou, is quoted in the report insisting that Lebanon can only escape its present predicament if it institutes reforms. “Financial reforms like capital controls, banking secrecy, judicial independence and a few others are fundamental for regaining trust and stabilising the markets,” Daou explained. The politician added that the country needed to implement the reforms as this was the only way it can qualify for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial bailout. What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

In the crypto industry, investors are always on the search for undervalued projects that have the greatest potential for increasing early investors’ returns. Finding these hidden gem initiatives just before noteworthy launches is an easy way to profit. Mars4 is one of these projects to keep an eye on, as the team behind it is working on exciting new releases that will be available the next month. These updates will boost the game’s economy and provide players with a sneak peek at the upcoming game. The community should expect the Mars4 project to acquire credibility as a result of these changes, bringing additional investors to the initiative. What exactly is Mars4? Mars4 offers non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that represent virtual Mars. All NFTs are unique in terrain and were modeled using NASA data to make them accurate representations of the Red Planet. The planned Mars metaverse game will make use of these land parcel NFTs. In the game, you can explore your virtual property, gather resources from it, and construct stations, domes, and other structures on it. All of this will be done while earning the MARS4 token, a cryptocurrency, simply by playing the game, as Mars4 is a play-to-earn game. The Future of Mars4 The Mars4 game will be released in phases. The first stage is a 3D demo version of the game that may be played by any landowner. It’s the first step toward a multiplayer Mars metaverse in which people can interact with one another and form habitats. This demo will be used to gather input from players in order to develop the game in the future. The Mars Control Center, which is expected to launch at the end of June this year, is another major release. Players can access their owned NFTs, trade and manage assets, check their revenue and leaderboards, and get earnings on MCC, which provides a variety of purposes linked to controlling the game and its assets. MCC allows you the opportunity to finally interact with your assets and benefit from them. The community pool, which was developed as a revenue distribution instrument, also benefits Mars4 investors. You can view the total amount in the pool and vote on when it should be distributed using the Mars Control Center. Sales (including B2C and B2B), marketplace transactions, advertising and sponsorships, and in-game transactions all contribute to the pool’s growth. As the Mars4 team works to improve the experience by allowing investors to earn more, more income sources may be added to the list. The share of the community pool that investors will get is decided by their productivity score. You can spend money on NFTs to boost your productivity score, or you can play the game and earn money by performing missions, tasks, and other activities. In other words, investing more time or money results in more revenue. Purchasing NFTs today will increase your score even before the MCC release, however, MCC is a tool that will allow you to check and control it. Now only Mars land plots NFTs are available for purchase, however, with the MCC launch, in-game NFTs will be available as well. These NFTs can be utilized in the game to raise your productivity score and help you earn more money. You could, for example, purchase a vehicle and drive over Mars’ surface delivering items and collecting fees. Summary If you’re searching for a hidden gem project to invest in, the Mars4 project is worth checking into, since the company is working on major releases for the next month, including the demo version of the game, Mars Control Center, and in-game NFTs. All Mars4 NFT landowners will be able to try out a demo of the play-to-earn game. NFT holders will use the Mars Control Center to manage their assets, examine earned income, and collect it. In-game NFTs boost the Mars4 project’s passive (community pool) and active (upcoming game) income. Jumping in early just before these releases is an easy way to accumulate revenue. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

A new survey has found people’s opinion of the metaverse in emerging countries is significantly more positive than in their developed counterparts. The study, carried out by Ipsos for the World Economic Forum (WEF), also shows that Latam countries are among the most enthusiastic about the future of the metaverse and its applications for different industries. Latam Believes in the Metaverse More and more companies are interested in the opinions people in different parts of the world have about the metaverse. A new survey conducted by Ipsos for the World Economic Forum has found that, while half of the adults across the world have a positive opinion about the metaverse and how it might affect their lives, emerging countries have a more enthusiastic sentiment on this issue. The study surveyed groups of 1,000 and 500 adults in 29 different countries, considered representative of the actual populations of each country. The study reported that all of the countries in Latam surveyed — including Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, and Peru — had a more positive opinion that the rest of the world about metaverse technologies. Peruvians had an exceptional opinion about the metaverse, with 74% of the adults surveyed being positive about it, being only surpassed by some countries in the APAC area. More Insights The survey also found that most people believe that certain applications of metaverse technology will be more successful than others. When asked about which kinds of metaverse apps would change people’s lives in the next 10 years, most of the surveyed believed that the impact of this tech would be more intense in activities such as virtual learning (66%), entertainment in VR (64%), virtual work settings (62%) and virtual/enhanced gaming (60%). Trading of digital assets, something that is already being worked on in several isolated metaverse platforms, scored a 52%. Regarding virtual tourism, people were not so enthusiastic, with only 48% of the surveyed being positive about its impact. The study further states that: Familiarity and favorability toward the new technologies are also significantly higher among younger adults, those with a higher level of education, and men than they are among older adults, those without a college-level education, and women. However, even with all these differences, most people still believe that their lives will be impacted by metaverse technologies in the next 10 years. What do you think about the latest metaverse survey carried out by Ipsos? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Frodo Tech aims to create an environmentally-friendly blockchain ecosystem based on a unique cryptocurrency service that all the people in the world can access, without any limitations based on race, region or country. Frodo Will Have No Limitations and No Mining Frodo Tech is an IT and Financial blockchain services company based in Auckland, New Zealand, and a member of the Blockchain Association of NZ (BANZ). Since 2018, it has provided best-fit and trustful solutions around AI, cybersecurity, data analysis, custom applications, mobility, migration, and managed services. The goal of Frodo Tech is to create an online platform of services that brings tomorrow’s business today that is secure, trustable, and excellent. In 2021, the team at Frodo Tech decided to start a blockchain-based business providing a unique crypto service. The goal is simple: allow all kinds of people access to services without any race or region limitation – become an open, free platform and sustain an ecosystem of blockchain services for everyone. In the past and to date, many environmentalists have raised concerns about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency mining and the direct impact on the environment and the climate. One of the company’s goals, and achievable by launching the token, is to decarbonise the industry and achieve net-zero emissions in the global crypto industry. Frodo Tech’s token does not have mining, allowing transactions to be processed with the exact energy requirements as an ordinary computer network. As a result of this, the cryptocurrency has negligible environmental consequences. Frodo Tech’s vision is to utilise blockchain technology as a financial tool; it wants to use a decentralised blockchain network to bring billions of new users into the global economy, hence why it offers three unique features: The Standard Euro, The Standard DAO, and The Standard Token. The Standard Euro is the first algorithmic stable coin worldwide that is soft pegged to the Euro and backed by fungible assets. DAO is a decentralised autonomous organisation responsible for growing and governing the ecosystem. And Standard Token enables its holders to participate in the governance system of the Standard Protocol. FRDX is Frodo Tech’s BEP-20 based token, explicitly created for this platform. The team launched its ICO on December 2, 2021. The total supply of the tokens is 85000000000. The platform accepts BTC, ETH, LTC, TRX, SOL, USDT, BCH, BNB, USDC, DASH, XRP, BUSD, and DOGE in exchange for FRDX. Frodo Tech Aim to Create a Secure, Trustable Excellent Payment Platform That Provides Blockchain as Service (BaS) Frodo Tech is a complete ecosystem of blockchain services and offers various exciting features to its users on the platform. These include Frodo Pay, FPG (Frodo Payment Gateway), Frodo Wallet and FNC (Frodo Native Coin). Frodo Pay is a rapid crypto payment solution (one-to-one) using QR and private URL payment. E.g. every user, while shopping, does not require to use credit, master or debit card, and with scanning Frodo Pay QR can do the process of payment instantly using crypto! However, can transfer crypto using IoT solutions, phone contact numbers, a unique username, or a private URL. FPG (Frodo Payment Gateway) works like IPG (internet payment gateway). All online stores can use FPG to handle crypto payment solutions. FPG have many plugins, such as WordPress, Drupal, Magento, etc., to implement in your business with ZERO fee transactions. Furthermore, they have significant documentation of FPG to implement the API to your custom business. Currently, the company offers the following solutions: Peer-to-peer transactions Cross-border transactions No intermediaries Real-time exchange Easy integration Auto-settlement option OS compatibility Retailers, merchants, and businesses will receive payment directly from the users. The company will integrate the payment gateway into their existing payment model to ensure that. That attribute speeds up the transaction time. It also brings two significant benefits: speedy transactions and secure access to the payment gateway. Moreover, the crypto payment solutions eliminate the role of mediators and third parties from the payment system, which is another significant advantage. The payment will reach the merchant directly from the customer’s wallet, avoiding high transaction costs. Even though the crypto market is highly volatile, with the value of currencies often rising or falling quickly, there is a solution for safeguarding investors’ funds. The real-time exchange feature makes the payment gateway capable of converting coins into fiat at any time, ensuring that the users won’t lose much money in case of volatility. Overall, Frodo Tech has strong potential, a well-developed roadmap, and an experienced team. Given all these advantages, it is the perfect opportunity for people to use the eco-friendly blockchain services platform with countless features to satisfy any crypto and blockchain needs. To learn more about the project visit frodotech.com, read the whitepaper and follow the team on Twitter, Telegram or Facebook. They are intensely active on social media – beyond offering constant and instant support – often hosting live AMA sessions, podcasts and friendly online gatherings. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. 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A new study has found that nearly 43% of Turkish individuals surveyed consider gold to be the best form of investment, while just 1.9% said they would invest in cryptocurrencies. Real estate is the next most-preferred after gold, with 27.4% of the respondents saying they would invest. Fewer Turks Now View Gold as Best Investment A recent study by Areda Survey has found that a significant number of Turks — about 42.9% — still consider gold to be the best form of investment. The figure is almost 15 percentage points lower than the number of Turkish individuals that viewed gold as the ideal investment in April 2021. In terms of the gender of those that said they would invest in gold, the study found that 45.9% of the respondents were women, while men constituted 42.2% of such respondents. Besides gold, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that Turks’ next most-preferred investment is real estate at 27.4%. The number is marginally higher than the 26.9% that said they would invest in real estate last year, the report added. Foreign Currency Preferred As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Turkey’s high inflation rate combined with a depreciating currency has forced residents to switch from the Turkish lira to foreign currencies. According to the May 2022 Areda Survey, 23.7% of respondents said they would prefer foreign currencies when asked the type of instrument they would invest in. While reports have suggested that Turkey’s economic situation is forcing residents to invest in cryptocurrencies, the Areda Survey findings appear to suggest that few Turks see these as an ideal investment. As shown in the Hurriyet report, only 1.9% of the respondents said they would invest in cryptocurrencies. This is lower than the 3.1% that said they would invest in deposit accounts, but higher than the 1% that would invest in stocks. What are your views on these findings? You can tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Former Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aimé, believes that the gaming industry is steadily going to integrate metaverse elements into its games. Fils-Aimé thinks that established gaming companies, like Nintendo, are better suited to be leading the race for the metaverse than other companies due to their experience in building interactive and persistent worlds. Former Nintendo President Thinks Gaming Companies Will Lead the Metaverse The race toward the metaverse space is on, and some think that gaming companies have the upper hand to lead the space in the short term. Reggie Fils-Aimé, former executive and president of Nintendo of America from 2006 until 2019, believes that gaming companies like Nintendo and Sony are better suited and equipped to lead this metaverse race due to the experience they have when designing and building immersive experiences for games. About metaverse and gaming companies, Fils-Aimé told Yahoo Finance: I do believe it’s going to be led by gaming companies and I do believe that — if delivered in a way that’s fun, that’s compelling — it’s an experience that people will want to have. Furthermore, Fils-Aimé stated that metaverse elements like persisting digital worlds, and digital avatars are elements that are already present in a number of gaming experiences today, so the movement from traditional gaming to include metaverse elements will not be a major change for gamers. Metaverse and Gaming The metaverse has been predicted to be a $13 billion opportunity capable of attracting more than five billion users, so gaming and other companies are interested in entering this nascent industry as soon as possible. Companies like Sony, owners of the Playstation brand, have already inserted the metaverse as an important concept for the business plan of the company. At the time, Sony stated that it “intends to leverage the unique strengths provided by its diverse businesses and expertise in game technology… creating new entertainment experiences in the area of the metaverse.” Microsoft has also declared they want to enter the metaverse space through its acquisition of Activision, so the space seems to be crowded with different players for the future. However, Fils-Aimé stated that, while focusing on the metaverse for the future is important, providing interesting and fun content for consumers should be the objective of gaming companies. On this, the executive gave a shout-out to From Software, developers of Elden Ring, a game that has been recently qualified by Elon Musk as the “the most beautiful art I have ever seen.” What do you think about the opinion of former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé on the future of metaverse and gaming companies? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Nigerian presidential hopeful, Bukola Saraki, recently said he supports the digital currency industry which he claimed has created opportunities for the country’s youth. However, he insisted that there is a need for the enactment of laws that guide players in this space. Digital Currencies Create Opportunities for the Youth One of Nigeria’s presidential aspirants, Bukola Saraki, was recently quoted saying he supports digital currencies and that he does not think they will wreck the economy. The presidential hopeful nevertheless suggested that there must be legislation and policies in place to guide players in this space. In his remarks during an interview, Saraki, one of the fifteen individuals seeking to become the opposition’s candidate in Nigeria’s upcoming presidential elections, acknowledged that digital currencies have created opportunities for the country’s youth. He said: I also think it has helped especially the young generation in creating jobs and opportunities. And anything that creates jobs and an enabling environment for people to do their businesses, I am in support of that. So, yes, I am in support of that. Saraki reiterated, however, that money laundering and abuse concerns that regulators often raise including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must be addressed. Nigerians’ Love Affair With Crypto Assets As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the Nigerian central bank has since February 5, 2021, required financial institutions to block crypto-related transactions. The bank insists that privately issued cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have no place in Nigeria’s conventional financial system. However, despite the CBN’s directive to financial institutions and its subsequent crackdown against errant institutions, Nigerian interest in digital currencies has not waned as peer-to-peer bitcoin traded volumes continue to show. This fact is further evidenced by Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s recent announcement of rules and guidelines that govern the players in the crypto industry. Meanwhile, in the interview, Saraki still did not outline his plans for the crypto industry if he were to win the Nigerian presidency. At the time of writing, reports had emerged that Saraki had lost the race to become People’s Democratic Party candidate to Atiku Abubakar. What are your thoughts on this story? You can let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. In a radically different approach to handling an NFT sale, PlanetQuest, has just launched its community friendly Planet Sale at planetquest.io. The Cinematic Multiverse and Blockchain Game, backed by Hollywood and Gaming talent, top tier investors and a community of over 215.000 Explorers, is pioneering a whole new sales approach that promises to eliminate gas wars, frustration and front running bots, while ensuring their first ever, real-time 3D Planet NFTs end up in the hands of deserving buyers and community members. After coming out of stealth on the 15th of December of 2021, PlanetQuest had already built a massive fanbase. With its interactive storyline, that saw community members voting to decide the fate of beloved characters, closing in on the end of its first season, an ancient artifact, known as The Cradle, has been discovered and activated, opening wormholes to unexplored galaxies, and setting the stage for the next phase of the PlanetQuest journey: The Community Planet Sale. In this sale, community members will be able to buy not just deeds to a piece of land, but entire planets, each of which completely unique, that can be viewed from orbit in full 3D, right in the browser. Making this one of the first, instantly accessible, real-time 3D NFTs ever sold. A new approach to NFT sales With demand exceeding supply by a large margin, first come, first serve NFT sales have led to massive gas wars, failed and hung transactions, frustration and crashing websites, as well as front-running bots getting their hands on NFTs intended for community members. Instead, PlanetQuest has teamed up with Immutable X to organize a Community Sale, giving interested parties plenty of time to decide which planets they’d like to buy and submit their application on the PlanetQuest website. After the application period closes, all entries will be ranked and planets will be allotted to the most deserving entries, with Immutable X providing gas-less purchases. “Since coming out of stealth, PlanetQuest has become an instant hit with the IMX community, leaving quite a few of our own team members addicted to its concept and storyline, and eagerly awaiting touching down on the first planets. We’re thrilled to see that, in part thanks to our technology, PlanetQuest is able to execute on its vision for a bot-less, gas-less, community friendly, Planet Sale.” – Robbie Ferguson, Co-founder of Immutable X Boosting your chances For those looking to get their hands on a planet, there’s three ways to boost your ranking: Joining the community and earning points on your Explorer Holding PlanetQuest Insignia NFTs, which are currently being traded on Writing a great motivation as part of the application All of these avenues will be open until the 7th of June, allowing both existing members of the community and new fans to boost their chances of nabbing one, or even several planets. Ready for a preview? Although every planet sold will be totally different, example previews of the differing planet tiers, from Common, all the way to Legendary, are now live on the PlanetQuest website, allowing would-be-buyers the opportunity to get a glimpse of what they’re in for. With surface level visuals of the first planets expected to go live in Q3 of this year, buyers no doubt have even more stunning visuals to look forward to. More than a collectible Naturally, the planets are much more than just a gorgeous 3D collectible, with players of the free-to-play game needing a home planet to play the game, planet owners will quite literally hold the keys to the PlanetQuest universe. Access to higher tier planets will be in particularly high demand as they provide players with additional bonuses allowing them and the planet’s owners to earn additional Quantum or $PQX, PlanetQuest’s token and in-game currency, which is expected to go public later this year, before the game enters Early Access in Q1 of 2023. Once opened up, Early Access will see players team up with their friends to venture out onto these uncharted planets, facing off against dangerous wildlife or worse yet, players of opposing factions, in their search for powerful gear, valuable quantum and extremely rare, planet altering artifacts. New to the universe? For those who didn’t discover PlanetQuest yet, there may be a lot to catch up on, as the massive community driven Cinematic Universe has been moving at quite the pace with new story drops, team member interviews and planet reveals occurring on a weekly basis. The community has, however, done a lot to help out new members, even going so far as to launch an incredibly detailed wiki at https://planetquestwiki.com as well as a PlanetQuest inspired newspaper known as The Quantum Chronicles. Immutable X prize pool To celebrate this first ever NFT Planet Sale, Immutable X has provided a community prize pool of 20.000 IMX tokens. Each valid application, even those that do not rank high enough to be awarded planets, will be entered into a raffle to win various prizes in the form of IMX tokens, from smaller prizes of 100-1,000 IMX to the grand prize of 10,000 IMX. For a chance at owning one of the first real-time 3D Planet NFTs, as well as shot at IMX token prizes, prospective planet owners can submit their Planet Sale application at https://planetquest.io. About PlanetQuest PlanetQuest is a cinematic multiverse and free-to-play blockchain game that, for the first time, offers players the opportunity to own entire planets. Built by a global team with a shared history in games, Hollywood and procedural technology, the game promises a multiplayer exploration and discovery experience, that has players touching down on foreign planets and fending off dangerous wildlife in their search for valuable, planet altering artifacts. Future players can already join the community, at planetquest.io, where they can participate in the planet sale, vote on a universe altering storyline and earn unique NFT rewards. To learn more about PlanetQuest visit: https://planetquest.io PlanetQuest social media: Twitter, Medium Contact: press@galacticentertainment.com About Immutable X Immutable X is the first and leading Layer 2 scaling solution for NFTs to enable gas-free minting and trading, while not compromising the security of the most used blockchain globally for NFTs, Ethereum. The solution, powered by StarkWare’s innovative technology, offers instant trade confirmation, massive scalability (up to 9,000 transactions per second), and fantastic developer and user experience. Immutable X has announced integrations with established marketplaces such as OpenSea and Mintable, and is powering some of the largest NFT plays across consumer apps (TikTok), social metaverse (IMVU), gaming (ESL Gaming, Ember Sword, Gods Unchained, Guild of Guardians, GreenPark Sports, Illuvium, MyCryptoHeroes+), and launchpad partners (SuperFarm, Epics.gg). To learn more about Immutable visit: https://www.immutable.com/ Immutable social media: LinkedIn, Twitter, Medium This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

The average Ethereum network fee has dropped to the lowest value recorded in over ten months, after fees hit a low of $2.96 per transaction on Sunday afternoon (ET). The last time ethereum transfer fees dropped below the $3 mark was last year on July 11, 2021. Moreover, median fees are even cheaper, as the median-sized ethereum transaction fee on May 29 is around 0.00086 ether or $1.56 per transfer. Ethereum Gas Costs Sink to Lowest Levels Since July 2021 Ethereum network fees are the cheapest they have been in over ten months and around 12 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, the average ETH transfer fee slid to a low of $2.96 per transaction. As the day continued on, average ether fees have jumped a bit higher to 0.002 ether or $3.56 per transfer. Ethereum’s transaction fees have not been this low in quite some time. Bitcoin.com News has been covering the fact that gas costs have been dropping since mid-February and during the first week of March, ethereum transaction fees slid to just above the $10 mark. The last time average ETH fees dropped below $3 was on July 11, 2021, or roughly ten months ago. In fact, during a few weeks in July 2021, average gas costs using Ethereum’s layer one (L1) network were between just under $3.00 to just above $8.00 per transfer. In addition to average ethereum fees dropping to fresh lows, median-sized gas costs have dropped a great deal this week as well. For example, on March 8, 2022, the median-sized ether fee was 0.0014 ETH or $3.73 per transfer, and today it’s 0.00086 ether or $1.56. Furthermore, the cost of an Opensea sale is about $10.63 on the high end, and $10.26 for a lower fee. Swapping coins on a decentralized exchange (dex) platform such as Uniswap today is $9.69 on the high end, while on the low end it can cost $9.36 per transaction. The cost to move an ERC20 token like USDT or USDC, is about $4.37 per transfer. In terms of Ethereum’s aggregate 24-hour ETH mining rewards, miners pulled in approximately $50,241,489 on Sunday, May 29. That’s around 94.7% of the fees bitcoin (BTC) miners acquired on Sunday, as bitcoin miners captured $53,035,200 in BTC mining rewards during the past 24 hours. Layer two (L2) transfer fees to send ethereum (ETH) are also quite low on Sunday. Zksync transactions are around $0.04 to send ethereum and $0.09 to swap coins. Loopring’s ether transaction fees are the same, at $0.04 per transfer, but swapping a coin will cost $0.45 using Loopring. Using Optimism will cost $0.12 per ether transfer and leveraging Arbitrum One will cost $0.23 to move ethereum. Boba Network’s ether transaction fees are $0.17 right now, and the cost to swap a token using Boba is $0.35. When ETH fees are low, it’s a good time to transact if there’s a need to move ethereum or an ERC20, swap tokens, or conduct a sale on a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. What do you think about Ethereum network fees dropping to lows not seen since last summer? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Crypto exchange Binance has received regulatory approval from Italy’s financial regulator to operate as a cryptocurrency service provider in the country. “Clear and effective regulation is essential for mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies,” said Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Binance Now Licensed in Italy Binance announced Friday that Binance Italy “has received regulatory approval” through registration as a Cryptocurrency Service Provider with the Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM), as required by the Italian legislation on crypto assets. The announcement states: The registration of Binance Italy … allows the company to offer crypto products to its customers in Italy. Binance Italy, established in recent months, is the legal entity of the Binance Group in Italy. Earlier this month, Binance said it has received approval from the French financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), to operate as a registered Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP). The crypto exchange also recently received licenses in Bahrain and Dubai. Changpeng Zhao (CZ), co-founder and CEO of Binance, commented: Clear and effective regulation is essential for mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies. What do you think about Binance receiving approval in Italy to operate a crypto exchange? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Hedge fund manager Michael Burry, famed for forecasting the 2008 financial crisis, has warned of a looming consumer recession and more earnings trouble. He cited falling U.S. personal savings and record-setting revolving credit card debt despite trillions of dollars in stimulus money. Michael Burry’s Recession Warning Famous investor and founder of investment firm Scion Asset Management, Michael Burry, warned on Friday about a looming consumer recession and more earnings trouble ahead. He is best known for being the first investor to foresee and profit from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010. He is profiled in “The Big Short,” a book by Michael Lewis about the mortgage crisis, which was made into a movie starring Christian Bale. Burry explained on Twitter Friday: US Personal Savings fell to 2013 levels, the savings rate to 2008 levels – while revolving credit card debt grew at a record-setting pace back to the pre-Covid peak despite all those trillions of cash dropped in their laps. Looming: a consumer recession and more earnings trouble. His tweet includes two images. The first shows a sharp decline in U.S. personal savings. The other shows a steep rise in consumer credit outstanding. At the time of writing, there were 476 comments on Burry’s tweet, which has been liked 11K times and retweeted almost 2.5K times. Many people agreed with Burry on Twitter, thanking him for raising the issue and telling others to heed his warning. One commented: “This is wild. We airdropped helicopter money on people and yet personal savings went down and credit card debt went right back to where it was.” Another wrote: “Exactly what I said- inflation is not a problem. Consumer debt IS a problem. Demand-side monetary policy is faulty. Rate manipulation fails to correct the market. Americans flushed with cash. Divert into long-term savings instead of focusing on expenditure. Kill imports.” A different user opined: While the media wants the narrative to be that the consumer is strong, the numbers say otherwise. Decreased savings, increased debt, and inflation metrics that are still rising MoM, with energy prices near highs we haven’t seen since 2008. Several people agreed that “numbers don’t lie,” and the U.S. economy is looking as grim as Burry suggested or even worse. A growing number of people have recently warned that a recession is either here or is imminent, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Rich Dad Poor Dad Author Robert Kiyosaki, and Goldman Sachs’ senior chairman and former CEO, Lloyd Blankfein. What do you think about Michael Burry’s warning? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Allianz Chief Economic Advisor Mohamed El-Erian says the Federal Reserve will have to “decide between two policy mistakes.” One risks triggering a recession and the other could prolong inflation well into 2023. “I think the time has passed for a soft landing,” the economist stressed. Mohamed El-Erian on Inflation, Recession, and the U.S. Economy Economist Mohamed El-Erian discussed where the U.S. economy is headed and the Federal Reserve’s plan to bring inflation under control in an interview with Bloomberg Friday. El-Erian is Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz, the corporate parent of PIMCO, one of the largest investment managers, where he was CEO and co-chief investment officer. He is also the president of Queens’ College, Cambridge University. He was asked what’s feasible for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell under the current economic environment. The economist replied that “at best,” it is “what Chair Powell called a ‘softish’ landing, and the ‘ish’ is really important.” He elaborated: I think the time has passed for a soft landing. He continued: “We could have done it but that would have implied the Fed moving nine months ago. It should have. It didn’t. So, instead of tightening into a growing and dynamic economy, it is tightening into a slowing economy.” Noting that “it is very difficult to get a soft landing,” the economist stated that “the best you can hope for right now is a soft-ish landing.” However, he said the probability of that happening is “Not as high as [he] would like it to be.” El-Erian further opined: The Fed is going to have to decide between two policy mistakes. Hit the brakes too hard and risk a recession or tap the brakes in a stop-go pattern … and risk having inflation well into 2023. The Allianz economist is not the only one warning that the U.S. economy could be headed towards a recession. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last week that we are either already in a recession or approaching it. However, he sees it as a good thing. Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager with nearly $10 trillion under management, similarly said last week: If they [the Fed] hike interest rates too much, they risk triggering a recession. If they tighten not enough, the risk becomes runaway inflation. What do you think about El-Erian’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

A proposal to permit companies to use cryptocurrency in cross-border settlements has made its way to a draft law designed to regulate Russia’s crypto space this year. According to a press report, the finance ministry has introduced a number of revisions to the legislation it has been working on in the past few months. Changes to Cryptocurrency Bill Can Make International Coin Payments Possible in Russia The Russian Ministry of Finance has revised its draft law “On Digital Currency” to reflect various suggestions by other government departments and agencies, the business daily Vedomosti unveiled, quoting government sources. The amendments have been coordinated with the ministries of economy, digital development, internal affairs, the Federal Tax Service, and Russia’s financial watchdog, Rosfinmonitoring. The one major institution missing from that list is the Central Bank of Russia, which remains opposed to any legalization of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and respectively disagrees with the Minfin’s regulatory concept which aims to establish a legal market for digital assets. The ministry’s legislation was first submitted to the federal government in February. There is a wider consensus among Russian authorities that cryptocurrency should not be accepted as legal tender in the country. The law “On Digital Currencies” bans the use of crypto assets as a means of payment but suggests recognizing them as an investment tool. Nevertheless, a provision introduced with the latest revisions would allow Russian legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to use cryptocurrencies for payments with foreign counterparties, Vedomosti revealed. The news comes after the Interfax news agency reported earlier that the finance ministry is considering this option as Russia’s access to the traditional payment channels is limited by western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine. Among the other proposals incorporated in the revised bill is a ban on the advertising of crypto trading platforms that are not licensed to operate in Russia. At the same time, authorized exchanges may be obliged to store information about cryptocurrency holders and their transactions for a period of three years and share the data with Russian law enforcement. Only customers that have passed identity verification will be able to buy and sell cryptocurrencies and only through Russian bank accounts. Do you expect Moscow to allow Russian companies to use cryptocurrencies in their foreign trade activities? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

A non-fungible token (NFT) collection called Goblintown is capturing millions in sales, as the NFT project has recorded $22.85 million in sales this week surpassing Otherdeed’s $20.73 million. At the time of writing, Goblintown obtained $2.26 million in sales during the past 24 hours, and the collection’s floor value jumped 103.2% higher today, to a daily high of 2.79 ether. Mysterious Free-to-Mint Goblintown NFT Collection Captures Millions The latest NFT collection turning heads this week is a project called Goblintown, an NFT compilation consisting of 9,999 goblins. One reason the project getting noticed is because the NFTs were minted for free and then they gained significant real-world value over time. Without any frills, major promotions, or commercial hype, by May 23, 2022, Goblintown’s floor value was 0.5 ethereum (ETH), and its increased 458% to 2.79 ETH by Sunday evening on May 28. The project officially launched on May 22 and the only way people heard about it was through word of mouth. By the time the word got around the crypto campfire, Goblintown NFTs were getting pricey. Goblintown’s Twitter account currently has 37,400 followers today and current metrics show 4,725 owners hold at least one Goblintown NFT. When a visitor arrives at the website called goblintown.wtf, there is a tab at the top of the page that says: “F***ing enter,” and after entering it says “sold out f***ers.” At the time of writing, weekly NFT sales metrics show that Goblintown recorded $22.85 million in sales volume since May 22, and Goblintown is currently the top-selling NFT project this week. While the project is the hottest today, no one is really sure where the compilation came from and who exactly is behind the new digital collectibles. GoblinTown holding the whole NFT market right now… …👀 @goblintownwtf #goblintown #goblintownwtf #goblin #nft #nfts #bayc #crypto #mayc pic.twitter.com/oDjtmzSunY — John Savage 🦇🔊 (@johnsavage_eth) May 28, 2022 There’s been a slew of unfounded rumors that the American DJ Steve Aoki or Yuga Labs are behind the NFT collection. Because the project has gathered significant value in a week’s time, Goblintown sellers have profited a great deal. One Goblintown trader during the past seven days profited by 5,039% and another trader made a 264% profit in five days. The most expensive NFT sold from the collection during the past seven days is Goblintown 8,995, which sold for 69.42 ether or $136K. Goblintown 5,948 sold for 26 ether or $51K and Goblintown 7,944 exchanged hands for 27 ether or $46K. The Goblintown collection’s sales this week have been helpful to the NFT industry’s sales, in general, as the NFT economy has been dealing with its first crypto bear market. What do you think about the mysterious Goblintown NFT project that has been capturing a significant number of sales during the past seven days? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Authorities in Belarus have mastered the seizure of cryptocurrencies, the head of the country’s Investigative Committee revealed in a recent interview. The high-ranking law enforcement official claims the state has already confiscated crypto assets worth millions of dollars. Companies Allegedly Help Belarus Government With Crypto Seizure Belarus had to deal with the challenge of how to seize cryptocurrencies when they were first used in drug trade and later economic crimes, Dmitry Gora, who heads the nation’s Investigative Committee, told the state-run ONT channel. He added that law enforcement agencies had to find a way to confiscate such digital assets and have already seized crypto worth hundreds of millions of Belarusian rubles (millions of U.S. dollars). The former Soviet republic, a close ally of Russia, legalized various crypto activities with a presidential decree which went into force in May 2018. The document introduced tax breaks and other incentives for crypto businesses operating as residents of the Hi-Tech Park (HTP) in Minsk within efforts to develop the country’s digital economy. In March 2021, President Alexander Lukashenko hinted at a possible tightening of the country’s crypto regulations, referring to China’s example. However, HTP officials later insisted Belarusian authorities had no intention to adopt stricter rules for the industry. What’s more, the finance ministry proposed amendments to allow investment funds to acquire digital assets. In April of this year, the Ministry of Justice adopted a legal procedure allowing the seizure of crypto funds as part of enforcement proceedings. It implements another decree by Lukashenko from February who ordered the establishment of a special register for crypto wallets used for illicit purposes. Dmitry Gora went on to quote his “advanced subordinates,” saying that cryptocurrency was just “digital trash.” “Based on this, I set the task: our state needs money to compensate for the damage caused. Let’s think about how to make money out of trash. I will not go into details, but we have learned how to do it… There are mechanisms that allow us to deal with these issues, and quite successfully,” he elaborated. The law enforcement executive pointed out that both government agencies and commercial organizations are involved in the process. As a result, “the amounts that are already in the form of good, normal money are on the accounts of the Investigative Committee,” Gora stated. Do you expect Belarus to change its policies regarding cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Following the demise of the Terra-based stablecoin UST, the fiat-pegged token DAI has become the largest decentralized stablecoin in existence today. Moreover, Makerdao has regained the decentralized finance (defi) protocol’s position as the top defi protocol in terms of total value locked (TVL). Makerdao’s DAI Regains the Top Decentralized Stablecoin Position This month, it’s quite clear that the Terra LUNA and UST fallout has rippled across defi and the crypto ecosystem in general. Furthermore, the Terra implosion has allowed the stablecoin DAI to regain its position as the largest decentralized stablecoin in terms of market capitalization. DAI is the fourth largest stablecoin but the top three (USDT, USDC, BUSD) are centralized stablecoin products. DAI is issued by the Makerdao (MKR) project and unlike an algorithmic stablecoin like UST, DAI leverages an overcollateralized loan and repayment process. Today, DAI’s market valuation is $6.24 billion but the stablecoin’s market cap is down 27.3% over the last 30 days. While DAI remained stable, Terra’s implosion sent shockwaves through the crypto community which in turn cut the TVL in defi in half. More than $2.6 billion worth of DAI was removed from circulation since May 1, 2022. On May 28, DAI’s largest trading pair is the U.S. dollar as it captures 30.96% of all DAI trades. Other large DAI trading pairs include USDC (21.18%), TUSD (17.71%), USDT (17.46%), WETH (8.17%), and EUR (2.31%). DAI has seen $159,99 million in global trade volume during the past 24 hours and Kraken is the currently most active DAI exchange. DAI trade volume is also high on FTX, Okex, Bittrex, and Crypto.com. While the stablecoins USDT, USDC, and BUSD are in the top ten in terms of market cap, DAI is ranked 16 today. Additionally, Makerdao has a native token called MKR which is exchanging hands for $1,178 per unit. MKR is the 58th largest cryptocurrency today in terms of market capitalization. Defillama.com statistics show that Makerdao is the most dominant defi protocol as far as TVL is concerned. Makerdao has $9.38 billion total value locked which has a dominance rating of around 8.77% out of the aggregate $106 billion TVL in defi today. Despite being on top, Makerdao’s TVL has shed 28.59% during the past month. The defi protocol Makerdao has lost roughly 2.53% of the 28.59% during the last seven days. What do you think about DAI regaining its position as the top decentralized stablecoin asset today? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

From a desperate investor’s ill-advised visit to Terra co-founder Do Kwon’s house resulting in an arrest, the announcement of a new Terra network, and blockchain talk at Davos, to predictions of U.S. economic collapse if inflation isn’t reigned in quickly, there’s no shortage of action-packed crypto stories this past week. Without further ado, this is the Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. LUNA Investor Arrested for Knocking on Do Kwon’s Door After Losing $2.4 Million in Terra Crash A crypto investor has been arrested after knocking on Do Kwon’s door following the collapse of cryptocurrency terra (LUNA) and stablecoin terrausd (UST). He lost about $2.4 million and is now under investigation by the South Korean police. “I felt like I was going to die,” he said about losing his investments. Read More A New Terra Network Is Coming With Support From Major Exchanges, LUNA and UST Holders Eligible for Airdropped Tokens According to a recent announcement from the Terra blockchain team, the community voted and passed a proposal that plans to launch a new genesis version of the Terra blockchain without an algorithmic stablecoin. The governance proposal called “Terra Ecosystem Revival Plan 2” has been amended and the final release of the new Terra Core codebase has been released to prepare for the new network. Read More Billionaire Ray Dalio Speaks in Davos — Says ‘Blockchain Is Great, but Let’s Call It Digital Gold’ This week the world has been talking about the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, which started on May 22 and ends on May 26. At the event, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio spoke about today’s economy, the Federal Reserve, cash, and cryptocurrencies. Dalio noted at the WEF conference that he believes blockchain is great, but says “let’s call it a digital gold.” Read More Billionaire Investor Bill Ackman Says Unless the Fed Aggressively Hikes Rates, Stock Market Could Crash, ‘Catalyzing an Economic Collapse’ Billionaire hedge fund manager and founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, Bill Ackman, believes “inflation is out of control.” The investor thinks that if the Federal Reserve “doesn’t do its job” by applying “aggressive monetary tightening,” the U.S. economy could collapse. Read More What are your thoughts on this week’s hottest crypto stories from Bitcoin.com News? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

China’s anti-crypto regulations have reportedly forced the non-fungible token (NFT) game, Stepn, to exclude users from the mainland starting on July 15. Shortly after the announcement, Stepn’s in-game cryptocurrency is reported to have briefly dropped by 38%. Stepn Adheres to Local Regulations China mainland users of the NFT gaming app Stepn will not be able to access the app starting on July 15, the developers have said. The blockade on users from this region is set to become effective when Stepn stops providing GPS and IP location services. Despite revealing the plans to stop serving users from the mainland, the dev team insisted in a tweet that they had not engaged in any business with players from the region. The team tweeted: We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. STEPN has not engaged in any business in mainland China since its establishment and has not provided download channels. STEPN has always attached great importance to compliance obligations and always strictly abides by the relevant requirements of local regulatory agencies. In addition to the May 26 announcement, the Stepn team said they will still inform users of any new details relating to the blockade via social media, email, and in-app alerts. The In-Game Cryptocurrency’s Plunge Meanwhile, a report in the South China Morning Post said Stepn’s in-game cryptocurrency had plunged by 38% following the announcement. The report also said that shortly after the announcement was made, Stepn had become the top trending search term on Weibo, China’s social media platform. Described as the “move-to-earn” game, Stepn enables users to trade the so-called NFT trainers as well as the in-game cryptocurrency (GMT) by either walking or running in the real world. The in-game cryptocurrency earnings are either converted to cash or other crypto assets, the report added. Nevertheless, China’s ongoing crackdown against crypto-related businesses appears to have forced the dev team to take steps that ensure Stepn complies with the country’s regulations. What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has accelerated the development of its digital ruble in response to Western sanctions. The monetary authority now intends to pilot transactions with the new version of the national fiat in early 2023 instead of 2024, as originally planned. CBR to Launch Transactions, Smart Contracts With Digital Ruble as Early as Next Year Sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine have convinced the Bank of Russia to speed up the development of the digital version of the ruble, the Russian-language edition of Forbes reported, quoting CBR’s First Deputy Chairman Olga Skorobogatova. She revealed this during a meeting organized by the Association of Banks of Russia. The high-ranking official remarked that Russia’s central bank had initially scheduled the digital ruble pilot with real transactions and users for 2024 but it has been decided to launch the project in April 2023. At the same time, the regulator also wants to start implementing smart contracts based on the digital ruble infrastructure. Last spring, the Central Bank of Russia announced that the digital ruble’s prototype will be ready by the end of 2021 and devoted 2022 to trials with the participation of commercial banks. It started testing the platform in February of this year and announced the first successful transfers between individual wallets later that month. The users were able to open digital ruble wallets through mobile apps, exchange regular electronic money from their bank accounts for digital rubles, and then transfer the coins between themselves, the CBR detailed. At the time, Skorobogatova assured that the digital currency transactions will be free of charge for all Russians and available in every region of the country. A dozen Russian banks have so far applied to join the pilot group for the project and three of them have already connected their systems to the central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform. Two of the financial institutions have successfully completed a full cycle of digital ruble transfers between clients, the CBR revealed in its announcement. Bank of Russia started testing the digital ruble amid disagreements with the Ministry of Finance over the future of cryptocurrencies in Russia. While the ministry wants them legalized and regulated, the monetary authority proposed a blanket ban on crypto-related activities. Discussions on the matter continue in Moscow but the central bank maintains its hardline stance, insisting the legalization of their circulation brings risks for the country’s financial stability and its citizens. Forbes quotes Fitch analysts who expect the CBR to continue to advocate a prohibition of decentralized cryptocurrencies in order to make room for the development of its own digital currency. They also suggest that the emergence of a digital ruble could lead to an outflow of funds from deposits in the banking system, increased competition in the financial market, and rising interest rates. Do you think Bank of Russia will manage to issue the digital ruble by April 2023? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The new installment of Ni No Kuni, an RPG franchise brought by independent gaming studio Level 5 and animated by Studio Ghibli, has launched with blockchain elements present. The game, which has been designed for mobile and PC platforms, introduces a token system that lets players use their earnings outside of the game, and will feature support for NFTs in the future. ‘Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds’ Goes Blockchain More and more game developers are now including blockchain and play-to-earn elements in their games as a means of innovation and empowering players. “Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds,” the new sequel to the acclaimed RPG franchise, developed by independent Japanese studio Level 5, has announced it will make use of NFTs and tokens to establish its own game economy. The game, which features studio Ghibli animations and five different characters, each one with different attributes and stories, will use these elements to enrich the player experience. According to the official page of the game: Our goal is to emphasize the game’s intrinsic fun factor and create a token economy structure that benefits both players and token holders. Furthermore, the company added that these tokens will be used to “avoid speculative pre-sales and NFT pre-releases.” Token Economies and Reception Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds designed its token economy with a dual token system. The players will be able to earn two kinds of resources in the game: Territe and Asterite. Players will be able to exchange these resources for their corresponding Territe and Asterite tokens, with the company providing the exchange functionality. The game has also built a roadmap with these blockchain elements at its center, with staking for the tokens planned to be launched in Q3, and NFT content to be included in the game in Q4. However, the form of this NFT integration has not been defined. This inclusion of blockchain and NFT elements has been negatively received by some fans of the franchise, that are upset about the new mechanisms used by Level 5 to enrich the game. Other projects that have attempted or signaled their interest to include such elements in games, like Ubisoft and GSC Games, have also faced backlash. However, companies like Square Enix have introduced these innovations as part of their business plan, with the company’s president expressing his support for play-to-earn and NFT elements at various opportunities. What do you think about Ni No Kuni’s introduction of blockchain and NFT elements? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has proposed to adopt a “graded approach” to launching the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). The RBI also said it is exploring the pros and cons of introducing a digital rupee in India. RBI on the Upcoming Digital Rupee Launch The Reserve Bank of India released its annual report for 2021-22 Friday. India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) is among the many topics discussed in the report. “The design of CBDC needs to be in conformity monetary policy, financial stability and efficient operations of currency and payment systems,” the report details, elaborating: The Reserve Bank proposes to adopt a graded approach to introduction of CBDC, going step by step through stages of proof of concept, pilots and the launch. In addition, the report reveals that the central bank “has been exploring the pros and cons of [the] introduction of CBDC in India.” The RBI further detailed that “the appropriate design elements of CBDCs that could be implemented with little, or no disruption are under examination.” India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the central bank’s plan to launch a digital currency in February while presenting the Union Budget 2022-23. The RBI report concludes: An appropriate amendment to the RBI Act, 1934 has been included in the Finance Bill, 2022. The Finance Bill, 2022 has been enacted, providing a legal framework for the launch of CBDC. In April, RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar said central banks would go about launching a CBDC “in a very calibrated, graduated manner, assessing impact all along the line.” Meanwhile, the RBI has maintained an anti-crypto stance. Governor Shaktikanta Das warned last week about investing in the crypto market after the collapse of cryptocurrency terra (LUNA) and stablecoin terrausd (UST). In February, the central bank said that cryptocurrency is a big threat to India’s macroeconomic and financial stability. The bank’s deputy governor also stated that banning cryptocurrency is “most advisable” for India and that regulation is “futile.” Nonetheless, the Indian government has not decided on the country’s crypto policy but crypto income is currently taxed at 30%. Moreover, a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) will soon go into effect in India. What do you think about how the RBI plans to launch its digital currency? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On Saturday, May 28, 2022, LUNA classic and UST classic holders received an airdrop consisting of new LUNA 2.0 tokens based on two blockchain snapshots. The crypto asset’s first recorded value at 5 a.m. (ET), was $14.31 per unit and it hit an all-time high (ATH) roughly 20 minutes later at $18.87 per LUNA. LUNA has dropped more than 70% as it traded for $4.20 per unit at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. LUNA 2.0 Launches The new LUNA token is now trading as the crypto asset was airdropped to LUNA classic (LUNC) and UST classic (USTC) holders. Presently, there’s a maximum supply of 1,000,000,000 LUNA coins but the current amount of tokens in circulation is unknown. LUNA is currently seeing the most activity on the trading platform Okx and 24-hour metrics indicate LUNA has seen a price range between $18.87 and $4.20 per unit. Other exchanges seeing LUNA trading activity include Gate.io, and MEXC Global. “Luna2” and “Luna 2.0” have been trending on social media during the past 24 hours as holders have been receiving their airdrops. A number of people have been asking where they can trade the new LUNA token. Terra’s co-founder Do Kwon tweeted about the launch on Saturday and said: “Phoenix-1 mainnet is now live and producing blocks – public node services, wallets and explorers should be going live shortly.” Kwon also said: “To view your LUNA (or LUNA2 as some exchanges call them) token balances, you only need to log into [Terra Station] and refresh the page.” A number of exchanges have been adding support for the new LUNA such as Kraken, Bitrue, Kucoin, Bybit, Nexo, Lbank, Bitfinex, and Bitget. Cryptocompare data indicates that tether USDT commands a great majority of LUNA trades followed by ETH. The crypto asset is also paired with the fiat currencies USD, CAD, EUR, PHP, INR, and IDR. Terra’s new LUNA coin has been a topical conversation on crypto forums and social media. ”If you liked losing all your money with LUNA 1.0, you’re going to love losing all your money with LUNA 2.0,” one individual on Twitter said on Saturday mocking the 2.0 launch. “LUNA 2.0” is ancient Egyptian for “we still need that McNugget meal at table #5,” another person tweeted. A number of individuals talked about the Terra blockchain founder. “Do Kwon sticking around whilst he gets tarred and feathered daily is the most alpha thing I’ve ever seen,” an individual wrote on Saturday. “Literally just buying luna 2.0 out of respect LMAO,” the person added. Others were not so kind to the new Terra blockchain project. “Buying Luna 2.0 is the equivalent of calling back your ex knowing she cheated on you. Have some self-respect,” another person opined. What do you think about the new LUNA blockchain project and the crypto asset shedding 70% hours after the genesis launch? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

DOGE rose on Saturday, following yesterday’s tweets from Elon Musk confirming that Spacex could soon accept the memecoin as a payment option for merch. Tezos was also higher to start the weekend, as it rose by nearly 5%. Dogecoin (DOGE) DOGE was one of the most notable movers in crypto markets on Saturday, coming as traders continued to buy the memecoin following a recent tweet from Elon Musk. As we covered yesterday, Musk stated that Spacex merch will soon be available to purchase using DOGE. DOGE/USD hit an intraday peak of $0.08538 on the news, pushing prices to an 11-day high in the process. This move saw the memecoin hover marginally below its resistance of $0.08500, however as traders moved in to secure profits, some of these earlier gains were lost. As of writing this, DOGE is now trading at $0.08124, which is close to its recent support level of $0.08080. Price strength still remains elevated despite the surge easing, with the RSI hovering above its resistance at 35.5. Tezos (XTZ) Following two consecutive sessions of declines, XTZ rebounded on Saturday, as prices moved towards a short-term resistance point. XTZ went from trading above $2.25 on Thursday, to falling to $1.75 during yesterday’s session. However, bulls have since re-entered, with prices now consolidating. On Saturday, XTZ/USD hit an intraday peak of $1.94, which is marginally below an interim resistance level at $1.95. Bulls are likely looking to recapture the $2.00 level, however in order to do so, there are some obstacles to overcome. One of the main ones being the 44.80 ceiling on the 14-day RSI, which has been broken once in the last two months. However, should this break, we will likely see an influx of bulls taking prices back to the $2.25 level, but if such a breakout fails, we could see a move closer to support of $1.65. Could Tezos break into the $2.00 level this weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article