roadrunner

After the LUNA and UST meltdown, many crypto investors have been curious about the project’s rise in popularity and people wonder about the background of Terra’s co-founder Do Kwon. Moreover, it is not commonly known that Terraform Labs was also founded by Daniel Shin, the founder of a payment firm called CHAI. After Shin left the company, the startup saw significant growth and Kwon became the main face of Terra’s ‘Lunatic’ movement. Do Kwon — A Stanford Graduate That Became the Face of the Terra Money Project Following His Partner’s Departure The Terra blockchain fiasco will go down in crypto history as one of the craziest events during the last 13 years. It all started during the second week of May, when the once-stable coin terrausd (UST) lost its peg from its $1 parity. This caused a massive bank run-like event where billions of dollars worth of crypto was withdrawn from Curve Finance, Lido, and the decentralized finance (defi) lending app Anchor Protocol. Terra blockchain’s native token (LUNA) fell significantly in value as well, as the network’s LUNA/UST swapping mechanism drove the coin toward a death spiral. Terra’s entire ecosystem was wiped off the top crypto projects list, and now it is placed at the bottom of the barrel, among a litany of failed digital currencies. However, for quite some time Terra was considered one of the hottest blockchain projects out there, and LUNA reached an all-time high at $119.18 per unit on April 5, 2022. Today is a different story, as a single LUNA is now exchanging hands for $0.00018000 per unit. While many disliked Terra’s co-founder Do Kwon, a great number of people enjoyed his attitude. The 31-year-old South Korean native Do Kwon is a Stanford University graduate and according to nymag.com, he allegedly worked for Apple and Microsoft. At Stanford Kwon graduated with a degree in computer science. While not much is known about Kwon’s prior history, he’s been a member of the crypto community for quite some time. According to a report published by Coindesk authors Sam Kessler and Danny Nelson, Kwon was allegedly involved with another failed stablecoin project called “Basic Cash.” Former Terraform Labs employees claim Kwon operated the Basic Cash project under the pseudonym “Rick Sanchez.” Kwon is known for founding Terraform Labs with Daniel Shin, the founder of a payment firm called CHAI. Terra’s White Paper, Terra Alliance, and Capital Injections From Well-Known Backers The Terra project’s white paper was authored by Evan Kereiakes, Marco Di Maggio, Nicholas Platias, and Do Kwon. The white paper details that the main foundations of “Terra Money” include “stability and adoption.” The Terra project was created in January 2018 and LUNA’s first recorded market value was $3.27 per unit on May 7, 2019. By January 2020, LUNA was trading for much lower values at $0.20 to $0.50 per unit. Then, in February 2021, LUNA started to gain significant market traction and eventually climbed 23,700% to the crypto asset’s all-time price high. Additionally, from October 2020 all the way until May 9, 2022, Terra’s stablecoin terrausd (UST) held its $1 parity with the U.S. dollar. Before both of these tokens and the many other crypto assets built on top of Terra, the project derived from the group Terra Alliance. The group is a 16-member international network of Asian e-commerce and financial advisory firms. In February 2019, Terra Alliance had an overall reach of around 45 million users in ten different countries with platforms such as Musinsa, Yanolja, TMON, and Megabox. TMON was a billion-dollar startup that was founded by Daniel Shin and in August 2018, Shin told the press his new stablecoin project raised $32 million. Investors included Arrington XRP, Kenetic Capital, Binance Labs, FBG Capital, 1kx, Hashed, and Polychain Capital. “We are pleased to support Terra, which sets itself apart from most other blockchain projects with its established and immediate go-to-market strategy,” Polychain Capital’s Karthik Raju said at the time. The project’s official mainnet launch was in April 2019 and ecosystem tools were made available like the block explorer Terra Finder and the wallet Terra Station. In May 2019, Terraform Labs had a ‌corporate funding round led by Arrington XRP Capital, and in August 2019, Hashkey Capital backed the team. In January 2021, Terraform Labs raised $25 million from Coinbase Ventures, Galaxy Digital, and Pantera Capital. The following July, Galaxy Digital, Arrington XRP Capital, Blocktower Capital, and others injected $150 million into an ecosystem fund created by the Terra team. Additionally, Terraform Labs invested in other companies such as Hummingbot, Stader Labs, Espresso Systems, Leapwallet, and Rain. Anchor: The So-Called ‘Gold Standard for Passive Income’ 2019 was the year Terra started seeing a lot more buzz surrounding the project and in June of that year, the network had its first protocol upgrade. A year later in July, Shin’s firm CHAI launched the CHAI card and by January 2020, Shin left Terraform Labs after two years of working with the project. Shin still leads CHAI corporation and he still runs TMON as well. While Shin was the face of Terra’s initial leap getting backing from Binance in August 2018, it was Kwon who accepted the $25 million in January 2021, and the $150 million in July 2021. Moreover, in the summer of 2020, a concept built on Terra called the “Gold Standard for passive income on the blockchain” was born. In June 2020, Anchor Protocol’s white paper was published and it was written by Nicholas Platias, Eui Joon Lee, and Marco Di Maggio. “Anchor offers a principal-protected stablecoin savings product that pays depositors a stable interest rate,” the white paper explains. Nicholas Platias introduced Anchor on July 6, 2020, explaining that the team wanted to get rid of the “highly cyclical nature of stablecoin interest rates” in defi. For quite some time, Anchor Protocol gave depositors a 20% compounding interest rate until the project decided to shift to a dynamic earn rate at the end of March 2022. The Anchor project started to see a lot more criticism at the time and sustainability concerns. During the last few months, Anchor was called a Ponzi scheme in a number of social media and forum posts written by crypto proponents. Do Kwon: ‘I Don’t Debate the Poor on Twitter’ and ‘95% of Coins Are Going to Die’ Terra’s stablecoin UST was also criticized by the Galois Capital executive Kevin Zhou who predicted the de-pegging incident well before it happened. Do Kwon was admired by a large army of ‘Lunatics’ and despite Zhou’s early criticisms, Kwon proudly told people to continue staying “poor.” “U still poor?” Kwon asked on social media, “I don’t debate the poor on Twitter,” the Terra founder explained. Notice how the cockroaches are silent tonight as the 🌕 shines bright As promised, the moon gave no quarter — Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) December 22, 2021 Kwon also once remarked that “95% [of coins] are going to die, but there’s also entertainment in watching companies die too.” The Terra co-founder additionally had problems with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the regulator took issue with Terra’s Mirror Protocol. Kwon then said he decided to sue the SEC for not using the proper channels to deliver his subpoena and that the regulator lacked jurisdiction over Terra’s properties. “The SEC attorneys were well aware that TFL and Mr. Kwon had consistently maintained that the SEC lacked jurisdiction over TFL and Mr. Kwon, and at no time asked Dentons lawyers whether it was authorized to accept service of subpoenas,” Kwon’s lawsuit stated. Similar to Terra’s suite of stablecoins, Mirror Protocol allowed people to mirror stocks like Amazon or Apple via Terra’s blockchain network. Would prefer to ask whatever your net worth is and bet 90% But maybe this is what that is already — Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) March 13, 2022 Terra’s Story Continues With No End in Sight Now the Terra project looks to revive itself from a near-dead state by forking the network without a stablecoin. However, a lot of controversy surrounds the Terra project today and Terra’s co-founder Do Kwon has been blamed for a number of miscalculated errors. Questions have surrounded the bitcoin (BTC) reserves the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) held in order to defend UST’s $1 parity. Later the Singapore-based nonprofit LFG disclosed what the organization did with the 80K+ bitcoin (BTC) it once held in its reserves. Then three members of the Terraform Labs (TFL) in-house legal team abruptly resigned after the project’s fallout and reports further noted that Do Kwon dissolved TFL before UST and LUNA collapsed. Woah. Do Kwon describing Terra's "Protocol Armageddon" in 2021. "A kill switch" where TFL "pulls the trigger" and disappears from the project after cutting all of their ties – "in 24 hours we're gone." Is this potentially related to what's happening with Terra 2 this week? pic.twitter.com/jFDx0zLcIy — FatMan (@FatManTerra) May 20, 2022 Terra rose to popularity rather quickly, but the project’s demise was even quicker. The Terra project has not been put out of its misery, and the platform’s native tokens still have a small amount of value. Today, many Terra supporters are hopeful while detractors are doubtful that Terra and Do Kwon can revive the broken blockchain ecosystem. The market has already decided, for the most part, that LUNA and UST are not as valuable as they once were. Whether or not a Terra fork and airdropping new tokens will help the project come back remains to be seen and it’s safe to say, Terra’s story has not ended. What do you think about the rise of Terra LUNA and the people that helped Do Kwon? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

ETC rose by over 10% to start the trading week, as prices rose to a two-week high on Monday. FTM also saw its value increase during today’s session, climbing by nearly 20% earlier in the day. Ethereum Classic (ETC) ETC was one of the most notable gainers during Monday’s session, as cryptos were mostly in the green to start the week. Following a low of $20.56 on Sunday, ETC/USD surged to an intraday peak of $23.65 earlier in the day. Prices have now risen for three consecutive sessions as ETC continues to move away from its recent support level at $19.50. Since moving away from this floor, prices are now hovering slightly below resistance of $24.10, with the RSI also at a ceiling. Looking at the chart, the Relative Strength Index is currently tracking at a resistance point of 45.70, which hasn’t been broken since early April. ETC has spent the majority of the year trading above $25, and should it head back towards that point, the RSI ceiling must give way. Fantom (FTM) Whilst ETC was one of the most notable movers on Monday, FTM was undoubtedly the biggest, as prices rose by nearly 20%. FTM/USD rallied to an intraday peak of $0.5183 earlier in the day, which is the most it has traded at since May 10. This almost two-week high comes following a rally at the price floor of $0.3100 five days ago, as FTM was deep in consolidation. Since then, prices are now closer to resistance of $0.6000, which is an area prices haven’t hit in the past two weeks. Similar to ETC, we may not see this ceiling hit unless price strength increases, however the RSI is also hovering below a ceiling of its own. Traders will now wait to see if this week will be different to last, with either bulls or bears taking charge of market direction. Do you expect consolidation to continue this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

While Bitcoin’s hashrate has remained above the 200 exahash per second (EH/s) mark, over the last two weeks the network’s mining difficulty has been at an all-time high (ATH) at 31.25 trillion. However, after 289 blocks are mined or roughly two days from now, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty is estimated to drop 3.67% giving miners some relief after the recent difficulty ATH. Bitcoin’s Next Difficulty Change Could Give Miners a Break At the time of writing, the Bitcoin (BTC) network hashrate is around 210 to 225 EH/s after the network reached an ATH on May 2, 2022. On that day, Bitcoin’s hashrate reached 275.01 EH/s at block height 734,577. Furthermore, since April 27, the blockchain network’s difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA) increased two times and tapped a lifetime high at 31.25 trillion on May 10. The difficulty height has made it the most difficult time ever to mine BTC and on top of the DAA increases, BTC’s price has been down over 23% during the past 30 days. Bitcoin miners are still profitable, but data from asicminervalue.com indicates that using today’s BTC exchange rates and electricity costs at $0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), makes it so only 27 mining rigs profit today. Bitmain’s Antiminer S19 Pro+ Hyd. with 198 terahash per second (TH/s) can get an estimated profit of around $8.93 per day. A Canaan Avalonminer 1246 with 90 TH/s can get an estimated profit of around $1.34 per day in BTC profits. While the difficulty is higher than ever before and the price is lower, bitcoin miners may catch a break in two days when the DAA shifts. The estimated difficulty change, at least at the time of writing, could drop by 3.67% after 289 blocks are mined. The difficulty will drop from the 31.25 trillion ATH to 30.11 trillion two days from now. Of course, the estimated DAA could increase or decrease during the time it takes to mine the 289 bitcoin blocks. Meanwhile, over the last three days, Foundry USA has been the top bitcoin mining pool in terms of blocks found and hashrate. Foundry commands 45.92 EH/s of hashpower which equates to 21.80% of BTC’s hashrate. The mining operation has found 87 blocks out of 399 over the last three days. Bitmain’s Antpool controls 14.29% of the global hashrate or 30.08 EH/s. Antpool has found roughly 57 out of the 399 blocks found during the three-day period. Today, there are only 12 known mining pools dedicating hashrate to the BTC network, and 0.25% of the hashrate is operated by stealth miners. What do you think about Bitcoin’s upcoming difficulty change? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin rallied to above $30,000 to start the week, as bulls returned to crypto markets on Monday. The news comes as it was announced that fashion brand Balenciaga is set to accept crypto payments. ETH also moved higher on the news. Bitcoin BTC climbed to its highest point in four days earlier in today’s session, as markets reacted to the news that Balenciaga had decided to begin accepting crypto payments. Following a bottom of $29,710.18 on Sunday, BTC/USD surged to a peak of $30,590.59 during Monday’s session. Today’s climb comes as bitcoin continues to move away from its recent support at $28,800, following marginal gains in the past few days. As a result of this mini run of results, BTC is now trading close to a resistance point at $30,900, with the RSI also at a ceiling of its own. Looking at the chart, the 14-day Relative Strength Index is currently tracking at 40.67, which is close to its ceiling at 41.63. Recent bullish momentum will be tested as we approach this level, with bears likely to begin re-entering the market. Ethereum ETH was also up over the course of today’s session, as it once again rose above $2,000 following a brief drop in price during the weekend. So far today, ETH/USD has risen to an intraday high of $2,080.37, following Sunday’s low of $1,993.98. Similar to BTC, ETH is also heading towards a resistance level of its own, which is near the $2,100 point. As prices have risen, so has relative strength, with the 14-day RSI now tracking at its highest point in just over three weeks. The index is currently reading at 39.60, which is its highest point since May 7, and very close to hitting a ceiling at 40.5. Unless we see further gains in price strength above the current resistance points, then we will likely see prices continue to consolidate to end this month. Will we see any significant gains in ETH this week? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

The World Economic Forum (WEF), one of the most influential international institutions, has expressed its worries about the safety of metaverse dwellers, especially younger ones. The group has raised a number of concerns regarding the anonymity and safety of young individuals in this upcoming alternate world, and has given a number of recommendations to preserve them. World Economic Forum Puts Metaverse Child Safety First Big forums and institutions in the world are thinking about the implications that living a part of our lives in the metaverse might bring. The World Economic Forum (WEF), an “international institution for public private cooperation,” has expressed its worries about the safety of young individuals in the metaverse. In an article written as part of the Davos 2022 meeting of the forum, Mark Read, CEO of WPP, explains the growth of this sector and why building a safe metaverse is a priority. The article conveys that while the metaverse is being promoted as an alternate world for everyone, due to its traits, gaming applications will be the ones garnering the most attention at first glance, which means that children will be the first exposed to these experiences. In this sense, it explains: Children are in front of more games across more devices for longer – partly because of the pandemic. They are witnessing wide-ranging behaviour (including abuse, if they are not monitored). And monitoring itself is becoming so much more of a challenge. How to Make the Metaverse a Safe Space The Institution also made some recommendations about how to achieve this safety for younger people in the future of the metaverse. According to a survey made by Wunderman Thompson, 72% of the parents that know what the metaverse is are worried about the privacy of their children therein, and 66% are also worried about their safety. In view of this, some companies have already started to produce walled and protected metaverse experiences designed especially for children. But in a multi-connected metaverse, this approach does not apply. The article notes that “we must learn how to design better algorithms and business models, and intervene well.” It explains: Anticipating new behaviors should surely be part of the mix. The metaverse enables immersive, 3D digital experiences and actions not seen before, but we are also seeing a new set of behaviors, some of them worrying, and many of which should not surprise us. Companies are already building metaverse experiences for kids. In April, Epic Games announced a partnership with Lego to produce a joint metaverse, allowing children to be entertained by building their own experiences. Epic Games owns Superawesome, a company that deals with maintaining these experiences safely for children. What do you think about the worries that the World Economic Forum has about children’s safety in the metaverse? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Gate.io is one of the longest running secure exchanges in the world and over time, surpassed 10 million users worldwide. To mark this milestone, the exchange is launching a rebranding and a sweepstake with $9,000,000 in prizes! Read on to find out more about what makes Gate.io such a success and what the team has in-store for users as part of its 9th anniversary. Gate.io’s Journey to Business Legend Founded in 2013, Gate.io is one of the longest-running secure exchanges in the world. Subsequently, it has grown to offer over 1400 cryptocurrencies and become a platform that provides a wealth of trading services to its users. Its portfolio of products includes Startup that allows users to invest in projects early, NFT Magic Box that allows the creation and trading of NFTs – something trendy right now, GateChain, its native blockchain system, and Gate Ventures, the venture capital investment division. One of the several secrets to Gate.io’s success is that it was one of the first to build a comprehensive solution for users on one platform – an ecosystem of digital assets. To date, Gate.io has grown and gone through a developmental curve, updating itself and gaining several achievements based on courageous innovation, being user-centric, and focused on global market improvement. Its wide range of product and service offerings has also led to the rise of the platform’s popularity, with the platform surpassing 10 million users. 2020 was a crucial year for Gate.io because Gate.io achieved much critical growth. Knowing that the global crypto market was expanding incredibly quickly, Gate.io launched Startup in January 2020 to give investors around the world a convenient way to come across hidden gems and strike it lucky on the ‘next big thing.’ Startup is Gate.io’s very own Blockchain Projects Discounts platform, and with the platform, users can gain early access to new and innovative projects. Many success stories have been listed on the platform, with users seeing high ROIs. In March 2020, GT – the native token of GateChain mainnet, was upgraded and formally became the exchange token for Gate.io – renamed ‘GateToken’. In May of that same year, the company became the first mainstream trading platform to offer 100% margin audit certification. One of the core problems regarding crypto exchanges is transparency, which primarily involves the proof of reserves. Customers need to know and confirm that the service they are using does hold 100% of their funds. Gate.io came up with a smart solution, utilising the Merkle tree approach to give customers the ability to verify that Gate.io entirely holds their fund. The 100% margin audit certification service offers users a sense of relief and security that they are investing safely. Gate uses an independent and cryptographically verified audit to help with the audit process and to reassure users on the platform further. Some of the other milestones in Gate.io’s journey have been: The launch of the DeFi ecosystem and labs incubator program by GateChain – a high-performance permissionless blockchain in February 2021, allowed more blockchain projects to deploy their contracts on GateChain’s interoperable ecosystem successfully. In May 2021, GateChain mainnet officially supported the EVM smart contract module. NFT Magic Box – a creation and auction platform built to be the finest NFT trading platform for mintage, creation, promotion, and auction; was launched in June 2021 during the 8th anniversary of Gate.io. In September 2021, Gate.io launched Gate Ventures, an early-stage crypto venture capital fund. And in January 2022, Gate.io exceeded 10 million users worldwide. Ninth Anniversary Celebration To celebrate Gate.io’s ninth anniversary, a ninth anniversary celebration will kick off in mid-May. Along with a series of celebrations to give back to users, the Gate.io brand will also receive a major upgrade. A Brand New Look for Gate.io Gate.io will reveal a revamped brand identity for its logo, slogan, and colour scheme, reflecting the culmination of nine years of digital asset innovation since founded in 2013. Gate.io has matured to offer a more inclusive, integrated, and unique experience with a wealth of digital asset services for over 10 million users. The rebranding also marks the beginning of a new chapter for Gate.io in the rapidly evolving and growing crypto economy, which frequently sees the platform reach the second-largest daily trading volume in the world. Easier Than Ever to Trade on Gate.io’s Apps Alongside its new brand identity, Gate.io will launch a notable update to its mobile app that will allow users to opt for a “Lite App” version within its flagship app, offering streamlined and simplified in-app transactions for crypto trading of more than 1,400 coins, tokens, and other digital assets. In addition, the Lite App’s cleaner, more user-friendly interface makes it even easier for new and existing users to invest and trade quickly and efficiently as they can access a suite of features for different crypto assets on the go. Celebrate with Gate.io To kick off the 9th birthday festivities, users can take part in a series of exciting contests and promotions, with a total of US$ 9,000,000 in prizes. The Gold Bar campaign on Twitter, which launches on May 18th, gives participating Gate.io users the chance to win a prize pool worth US$50,000 in tokens, and one lucky winner will win a 999 gram 999.9 gold bar. Gate.io will also be hosting NFT and trading contests for its users as part of the celebrations. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

The International Monetary Fund has mentioned it is providing technical assistance to the government of El Salvador in various ways. According to Gerry Rice, a spokesperson for the organization, the group is having talks with people of the Salvadoran government about tax and money laundering matters, including critical issues that the IMF raised in earlier reports. International Monetary Fund in Talks With El Salvador While the International Monetary Fund disagreed with the move that El Salvador made last year by declaring bitcoin as legal tender, it is still having regular talks with representatives of the Salvadoran government. In a press conference offered last week, Gerry Rice, a spokesperson of the organization, stated there was contact with the government about several issues related to bitcoin adoption in the country. Rice declared: IMF staff and Salvadoran authorities continue to hold regular conversations on the critical issues that were emphasized by our Executive Board in January of this year. Even though the fund warned that the decision made by approving the Bitcoin Law in the country might pose stability risks for the nation, El Salvador has stayed its course, with president Nayib Bukele investing public funds and purchasing more than 2,300 BTC, and maintaining bitcoin as legal tender. Technical Help Rice also specified the purpose of the ongoing talks, mentioning tax, money laundering, and providing technical help to the government regarding bitcoin adoption statistics. Rice clarified this by stating: The discussions are ongoing, including the advancement of the authorities in the collection of statistics on the use of bitcoin and other information related to the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador. Therefore, we provide technical assistance on this topic. However, the spokesperson did not specify in which ways it was providing help to quantify the use of bitcoin and crypto in the country. El Salvador’s credit score has suffered greatly due to the lack of transparency that some agencies, like Moody’s, attribute to the bitcoin investments made by Bukele. Jaime Reuschem, senior vice-president of the agency, stated that this happened due to the lack of information on the subject, having only Bukele’s tweets to account for these purchases. According to local media, the country’s talks with the International Monetary Fund could contribute to closing a $1.3 billion deal to order its finances, with the organization asking El Salvador to tighten its policies on several subjects, including the fight against money laundering, fiscal transparency, accountability in the use of public funds, and strengthening of the anti-corruption framework. What do you think about the talks between the International Monetary Fund and the Salvadoran government? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The Central African Republic (CAR)’s surprise bitcoin adoption decision once again shows that the top cryptocurrency can be an alternative to fiat currency. However, the African country still needs to invest heavily in its telecommunications infrastructure. The CAR also needs to prioritize education that helps the population to familiarize itself with cryptocurrency basics. The CAR’s Expensive Internet There is little doubt Central Africa Republic’s decision to designate bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender has surprised many. Few people expected CAR — one of Africa’s most impoverished countries and one whose economy has been ravaged by a civil war — to be the first to adopt bitcoin. For critics still trying to understand why another nation has joined El Salvador in making bitcoin legal tender, the CAR’s move is perplexing. To begin with, they cannot understand how a country with such a low internet penetration rate — less than 12% — has chosen the top cryptocurrency as its transacting currency. The Central Africa Republic’s reported infrastructure deficit and the fact that mobile connections are only available to 30% of the population seemingly renders the case for adopting bitcoin less convincing. Also, according to a 2018 ICT Profile of the CAR, the country’s then “uncertain institutional situation” was said to be constraining investment in broadband networks and access to cross-border submarine cables. As a result of this and many other factors, the Central African Republic, according to the ICT profile, has had to rely on expensive satellite connections for most of its international internet bandwidth and this translates to high internet prices. Expensive internet is one of the many barriers that impede adoption efforts. Despite these seemingly insurmountable challenges, proponents of bitcoin and supporters of an alternative financial system are adamant the Central African Republic’s decision proves digital currencies have a role to play. This is particularly true for countries that are cut off from the global financial system. Private Money Can Still Be Legal Tender For followers of Friedrich Hayek, a famous Austrian economist and proponent of private money, the adoption of bitcoin by El Salvador and now the Central African Republic proves he was right — there is indeed a place for private money. Despite the strong opposition from institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), some believe more countries will still make bitcoin legal tender. In fact, reports that some 44 countries were represented at El Salvador’s recent bitcoin exhibition suggest more countries might follow in the footsteps of these two countries. While it is logical to assume that the CAR plans to invest heavily in the development of the telecommunication infrastructure, the mere increase in the sum of funds earmarked for this is no guarantee this will also lead to changed attitudes towards bitcoin. The CAR must therefore ensure it has funds reserved for efforts that are aimed at boosting the population’s understanding of bitcoin and how to buy bitcoin for the first time. Indeed, education is still key to eradicating ignorance, not just in the Central African Republic but across much of the developing world. Learning the Basics A majority of the CAR’s more than 5 million inhabitants must become acquainted with the basics such as a bitcoin wallet, recovery phrases or a wallet’s public address. When that is achieved, the chances of the CAR succeeding in becoming a country where bitcoin functions as legal tender and a transactional currency will be greatly enhanced. On top of educating its population, the CAR needs to work with players in the crypto space like cryptocurrency exchanges, payment processors, and wallet providers. Just like the first country to adopt bitcoin El Salvador, which has since sought the services of a cryptocurrency exchange, the African country also needs to partner with a reputable player in the industry. If the Central African Republic decides to follow the recommendations suggested in this article, it could well achieve its goal of seeing bitcoin become the country’s reference currency much sooner. The same is true for any other country that wants to make bitcoin an alternative legal tender. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Coinmena, the Bahrain-based cryptocurrency exchange, recently announced that residents of Qatar can now buy and sell cryptocurrencies on its platform. The cryptocurrency exchange claimed it is the first regulated digital asset exchange to open its platform to Qatari residents. Residents Can Now Connect Bank Accounts to Their Crypto Wallets The Bahrain headquartered cryptocurrency exchange, Coinmena, has become the first regulated digital asset exchange to offer its services in Qatar. According to a statement released by the exchange on May 19, Coinmena’s foray into Qatar means the country’s residents can now connect their bank accounts to their crypto wallets. This enables them to “deposit and withdraw funds directly and safely.” In a joint statement following the exchange’s latest foray into another Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market, Coinmena’s co-founders, Dina Sam’an and Talal Tabbaa said: We are delighted to become the first crypto exchange to offer our services in Qatar. Investors have been asking about our plans to enter the country for some time now, so this news represents a major milestone on our long-term geographic market expansion plans. Sam’an, meanwhile, revealed that Coinmena intends to become the “region’s preferred crypto financial services company” and is, therefore, constantly looking to onboard more countries. Coinmena’s entry into Qatar comes just a few months after it was reported that the Middle East country was examining the possibility of issuing a digital currency. However, according to one report, the decision to issue a digital currency or not will only be made once the central bank completes its study. Meanwhile, in an apparent response to Coinmena’s announcement, the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is reported to have issued a statement warning residents against dealing with “unlicensed financial institutions and service providers.” In a translation of the QCB’s Arabic language warning published by The Peninsula, the central bank reiterated that “no financial institution has been licenced to provide services of exchange, transfer, trading and dealing on virtual currencies.” In a warning that was also issued on May 19, the QCB said it will take legal action against any entity that provides virtual asset services without a licence issued by the central bank. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Luxury watch manufacturer TAG Heuer announced it’s introducing online cryptocurrency payments for customers in the United States. The Swiss company provides the new payment option through a partnership with crypto payment processor Bitpay. Tag Heuer Partners With Bitpay to Offer US Clients Bitcoin Payments Designer and maker of luxury timepieces TAG Heuer is now accepting crypto for its high-quality products. Techniques d’Avant Garde (TAG), founded over a century and a half ago by Edouard Heuer in Switzerland, said this week that clients within the U.S. will be able to purchase its watches and accessories online with multiple coins. The company explained the move in a press release: With an increasing number of customers using or earning digital currencies regularly, TAG Heuer intends to be a key player in the imminent transformation of the e-commerce and retail spaces. The alternative payment method is facilitated by the crypto payment platform Bitpay. Buyers can spend a dozen cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ethereum (ETH), and dogecoin (DOGE), as well as five stablecoins. They will be able to pay up to $10,000 per transaction with no minimum spending requirements. “We have been following cryptocurrency developments very closely ever since bitcoin first started trading,” TAG CEO Frédéric Arnault was quoted as stating. “As an avant-garde watchmaker with an innovative spirit, we knew TAG Heuer would adopt what promises to be a globally integrated technology in the near future despite the fluctuations,” the executive added. Atlanta, Georgia-based Bitpay provides companies with a payment gateway service allowing businesses to integrate cryptocurrency payments on their platforms. “We are excited to see global brands such as TAG Heuer investing in the crypto space and seeking the support of Bitpay to adapt their digital platforms to the rapid transformation of e-commerce,” said Stephen Pair, co-founder and CEO of Bitpay. A pop-up window now greets visitors on Tag Heuer’s U.S. website, informing them that the company already accepts cryptocurrency. To spend their digital coins, they will have to click ‘Bitpay’ during the checkout and select their preferred crypto. Do you expect cryptocurrency payments to continue to spread despite the current market downturn? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitmex co-founder Arthur Hayes is not going to prison for violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act. Instead, the former crypto exchange CEO has been sentenced to “six months of home detention and two years of probation.” Hayes has agreed to pay a fine of $10 million. Bitmex’s Arthur Hayes Sentenced The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Bitmex has been sentenced for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Hayes pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act in February. The DOJ states: Hayes, 36, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced to six months of home detention and two years of probation. Hayes also agreed to pay a fine of $10 million dollars representing his pecuniary gain from the offense. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams explained that while building a cryptocurrency trading platform “that profited him millions of dollars,” Hayes “willfully defied U.S. law that requires businesses to do their part to help in preventing crime and corruption.” Williams added: “He intentionally failed to implement and maintain even basic anti-money laundering policies, which allowed Bitmex to operate as a platform in the shadows of the financial markets.” Two other Bitmex co-founders, Benjamin Dalo and Sam Reed, also pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced in the near future. Like Hayes, the two other co-founders have also been ordered to pay $10 million each in a civil monetary penalty. What do you think about Arthur Hayes’ sentence? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Following his release from prison, the former hedge fund manager and convicted felon, Martin Shkreli, discussed cryptocurrencies and using the decentralized exchange (dex) platform Uniswap from a federal penitentiary. The so-called ‘Pharma Bro’ further explained that eventually, a crypto entity could dethrone some of the largest banking giants. Martin Shkreli Talks Defi and Cryptocurrencies Martin Shkreli has been released from prison early and is now located at a halfway house located in New York. Shkreli’s federal custody will end in September, and as soon as he got out of prison he took to his social media accounts to speak. On Facebook, Shkreli jokingly said that getting out of jail was “easier than getting out of Twitter prison.” Shkreli is a former hedge fund manager and he’s infamous for purchasing the license to a pharmaceutical drug called Daraprim. It wasn’t the fact that Shkreli’s firm Turing bought the drug, but that the company raised the drug’s price from $13.50 to $750 per pill in 2015. Shkreli also has an interesting persona and is known for being very cocky. The so-called ‘Pharma Bro’ was eventually convicted of securities fraud in a case completely unrelated to the Daraprim price increase. Shkreli also is known for purchasing an unreleased Wu-Tang Clan album, which was seized from his estate after being convicted of securities fraud. A non-fungible token (NFT) art collective ended up purchasing the unreleased Wu-Tang Clan record for $4 million. Shkreli was sentenced to seven years for his crime but got out early by completing shortened-sentence or good behavior programs. On Saturday, during a Twitter Spaces post, the former hedge fund manager seemed to go from a so-called ‘Pharma Bro’ to a ‘Crypto Bro.’ Shkreli also said he leveraged the decentralized exchange (dex) platform Uniswap from behind bars. “Uniswap is really cool. I started using Uniswap in prison,” Shkreli told his Twitter Spaces’ attendees. Shkreli seems to wholeheartedly believe in the crypto ecosystem and decentralized finance (defi). The convicted felon said: I don’t think [defi’s] at the limit of where it can go. I think we’ll see more and more financial products that end up in defi… eventually, we’ll see some crypto entity be bigger than the banking behemoths. Shkreli Discusses Bitcoin Dominance, Ethereum, Solana, Algorand Shkreli said that BTC dominance may get “eaten away,” and the entrepreneur also commented that companies like Apple and Tesla should have their own coins. “There are so many ways we can do things with [decentralized finance],” Shkreli remarked. “There should clearly be an Apple coin and a Tesla coin,” he added. Shkreli also talked about blockchain networks like Solana and Algorand. Ethereum is one competitor that could flip BTC dominance, Shkreli highlighted during the conversation. “It’s hard for that not to happen given the use cases of ether,” Shkreli explained. The former hedge fund manager likes to tell people about what he’s doing and had no problem with telling his fans he used Uniswap in prison. Uniswap’s founder Hayden Adams discussed Shkreli after the Twitter Spaces topic started to trend on social media. “Will Shkreli still like Uniswap when he learns I listened to that [Wu-Tang Clan] album he bought more recently than him?” Adams said. What do you think about Shkreli saying he used Uniswap in prison? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Russian law enforcement officials are investigating a crypto mining operation at Butyrka, Russia’s oldest prison. A deputy warden has been accused of stealing electricity to mint digital coins with the help of unidentified accomplices. Deputy Warden Suspected of Mining Cryptocurrency in Moscow Prison A high-ranking representative of the management of Butyrskaya prison, in the Tverskoy District of central Moscow, is under investigation for setting up a crypto mining farm. Also known as Butyrka, this is the oldest prison in Russia, built in the distant 1771. The coin minting hardware was found in the premises of a psychiatric clinic run by the Federal Penitentiary Service at the prison. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation is currently checking one of the deputy wardens for possible abuse of power, the business daily Kommersant reported this week. The investigators have so far established that the official, together with his accomplices who are yet to be identified, installed the mining equipment in November 2021. The rigs were extracting cryptocurrency until February of this year. During that period, the machines consumed almost 8,400 kW of electricity paid by the government at a total cost of more than 62,000 rubles (close to $1,000). For this, the deputy warden is accused of “actions that clearly go beyond his powers, thereby significantly violating the legally protected interests of the society or the state.” Crypto mining with subsidized and sometimes stolen electricity has become an attractive source of additional income for many Russians. Regions such as Krasnoyarsk Krai and Irkutsk Oblast, which have historically maintained low electricity rates for the population and public institutions, have become hotspots of the unauthorized activity. Illegal miners have been blamed for frequent breakdowns and blackouts, particularly in residential areas where electrical grids are unable to handle the excessive loads. To deal with the phenomenon, Russia’s anti-monopoly agency recently proposed the introduction of higher electricity rates for home crypto miners. Raids have been carried out against underground mining operations across the country, with law enforcement agencies recently seizing over 1,500 mining rigs from two illegal cryptocurrency farms in Dagestan. One of them was minting cryptocurrency at a pumping station of the Russian republic’s water supply utility. What do you think will happen with the Russian prison official accused of illegal crypto mining? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Amid the market carnage tied to Terra’s recent fallout, bitcoin sent to exchanges saw a brief spike on May 7, jumping more than 2% higher from 2.481 million to 2.532 million bitcoin. Despite the recent increase of bitcoin sent to trading platforms, the number of bitcoins on exchanges today remains lower than ever before. Bitcoin Continues to be Taken Off Exchanges Bitcoin (BTC) continues to be removed from centralized cryptocurrency exchanges as the number is much lower than the lows that were recorded on November 15, 2020. 248 days earlier, on March 12, 2020, the day after the infamous ‘Black Thursday,’ there were just over 3 million bitcoin held on centralized digital currency trading platforms. During the course of that time frame, the number of BTC held on exchanges dropped 15.86% on March 12 from 3 million BTC to 2.524 BTC on November 15, 2020. In more recent times, the number of BTC held on exchanges has been lower and in May the metric hit two significant lows. First on May 2, 2022, cryptoquant.com data shows there was 2.481 million BTC held on exchanges. The 2.481 million bitcoin was 1.70% lower than the number of BTC held on November 15, 2020. However, amid the Terra blockchain fallout and the terrausd (UST) de-pegging event, there was a brief spike of BTC deposits sent to exchanges. After the low on May 2, there was a 2% increase in BTC deposits sent to centralized crypto exchanges. But that metric changed real quick as the 2.532 million bitcoin high on May 7, dropped over the course of the following week down 2.21% lower to 2.476 million BTC. Out of $73 Billion in Bitcoin Held on Trading Platforms, 5 Exchanges Hold Over $50 Billion At the time of writing, there’s 2.503 million bitcoin worth $73.7 billion held on digital currency trading platforms. Data provided by Bituniverse’s Exchange Transparent Balance Rank (ETBR) indicates Coinbase holds roughly 34% of the bitcoin held on exchanges. The ETBR list shows that Coinbase holds 853,530 bitcoin on the trading platform which is valued at roughly $25.14 billion using current BTC exchange rates. 13.58% of the 2.503 million bitcoin kept on exchanges is held by Binance. Binance is the second-largest exchange, in terms of BTC holdings, as it currently controls a stash of 340,410 BTC worth roughly $10 billion. Okex commands the third-largest position, in terms of BTC holdings, as the company currently holds 266,530 BTC, or 10.62% of the aggregate total. Huobi Global commands the fourth largest position today, with 160,950 bitcoin held on the platform. Huobi’s BTC stash equates to 6.39% of the entire 2.503 million bitcoin held by exchanges. The crypto exchange Kraken is the fifth largest BTC holder with 102,900 bitcoin held or 4.07%. Between the top five exchanges, as far as BTC reserves held is concerned, the group of trading platforms holds 68.66% of the 2.503 million bitcoin. The five exchanges command 1.724 million BTC worth $50.7 billion out of the aggregate of 2.503 million worth $73.7 billion. While there’s a lot less BTC held on exchanges, the number of bitcoin held by these trading platforms is largely concentrated on Coinbase, Binance, Okex, Huobi, and Kraken. What do you think about the amount of BTC kept on centralized exchanges? What do you think about the 68% held on five crypto trading platforms? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The co-founder and CEO of Circle, Jeremy Allaire, has announced the cryptocurrency firm that issues the stablecoin usd coin plans to provide the public with weekly stablecoin reserve reports. Additionally, the company Tether has also released an assurance report on its stablecoin reserves via the Cayman Islands auditing company MHA Cayman. Circle CEO Says Firm’s Stablecoin Is a ‘Very Efficient Pipe Between Legacy Electronic Dollars and Digital Currency Dollars’ The two largest stablecoin providers, Tether and Circle, want the public to be assured that tether (USDT) and usd coin (USDC) are fully backed by reserves. The latest assurances follow the recent terrausd (UST) de-pegging event, which saw UST drop from its once-stable $1 parity to today’s $0.06 per UST. Following the event, Circle published a blog post on May 13, called “How to Be Stable,” which explained Circle’s USDC reserves are backed entirely in cash and short-dated U.S. Treasuries. After the blog post, a week later the co-founder and CEO of Circle, Jeremy Allaire, explained that the company will now provide weekly USDC attestations concerning the stablecoin’s reserves and liquidity. “As promised a week ago, we are now providing weekly reports on USDC reserves and liquidity operations,” Allaire tweeted. Allaire also shared the USDC assurance report and further said: “Over the past week, we saw 8.6 billion USDC issued, and 6.3 billion USDC redeemed, with a net weekly increase in circulation of 2.3 billion USDC.” The Circle CEO added: What makes USDC such a great product is that it’s easy to create and redeem, with seamless integration with the existing global banking system. As a result, customers are able to use it as a very efficient pipe between legacy electronic dollars and digital currency dollars. Per the report, the usd coin (USDC) in circulation is 52.9 billion while Circle’s reserve backing count is $53 billion as of May 20, 2022. $12.8 billion of the USDC backing is in cash, while $40.2 billion is held in short-duration U.S. Treasuries. Out of the entire $1.3 trillion crypto economy, USDC represents 3.95% and during the past 24 hours, USDC has seen $3 billion in global trade volume. Circle’s stablecoin is the second-largest fiat-pegged crypto token that’s tied to the value of the U.S. dollar. Tether Publishes May 2022 Assurance Report Authored by MHA Cayman This month, Tether published an assurance report written by the firm MHA Cayman, an auditor formally known as Moore Cayman. The report says Tether’s “consolidated total assets amount to at least USD 82,424,821,101 and the asset breakdown set out in the CRR is materially accurate.” MHA Cayman says it conducted attestation methods such as an ISAE 3000, an ISQC 1, and accountant responsibilities in accordance with the IESBA Code. Tether is the largest stablecoin crypto asset today, as coingecko.com data shows there’s currently 73.2 billion USDT in circulation. The company’s transparency page indicates that the firm holds $78.4 billion in total assets on blockchains like Omni, Ethereum, Tron, EOS, Algorand, and more. Tether’s market capitalization today equates to 5.44% of the $1.3 trillion crypto economy, and USDT has seen $31 billion in global trade volume over the last day. In fact, 47.71% of bitcoin’s (BTC) past 24 hours of trades were all paired with USDT, and 48.77% of all ethereum’s (ETH) swaps were paired with tether this weekend. What do you think about Circle’s and Tether’s reserve backing assurance reports? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

This week, both Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein and Tesla boss Elon Musk weighed in on the issue of an impending recession in the U.S., issuing sobering estimations. In the wake of Terra’s epic implosion, the topic is all the more critical, but LUNA-tattooed Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz still thinks the “crypto revolution is here to stay.” This is the Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. Goldman Sachs’ Blankfein Advises Companies and Consumers to Prepare for US Recession — Says It’s a ‘Very, Very High Risk’ Lloyd Blankfein, a former Goldman Sachs CEO who is now the firm’s senior chairman, has warned about an impending recession in the U.S. Blankfein says that companies and consumers should prepare, and stressed that it’s a “very, very high risk.” Read More Elon Musk: US Economy Is Probably in Recession That Could Last 18 Months — Warns It ‘Will Get Worse’ Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk says that the U.S. economy is probably in a recession and it could be “tough going” for 12 to 18 months. He added: “The honest reason for inflation is that the government printed a zillion more money than it had.” Read More Onchain Analysis Report Says Terra’s Bitcoin Reserves Were Sent to Binance and Gemini After the collapse of Terra’s once-stable coin terrausd (UST), a number of people wondered where the Luna Foundation Guard’s (LFG) bitcoin went, as the funds were supposed to be used to defend UST’s $1 parity. On Friday last week, the blockchain intelligence and analytics firm, Elliptic, published a blog post that summarizes where the bitcoin was sent, according to the firm’s network surveillance tools. Read More Billionaire Investor and Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz Addresses the Terra LUNA and UST Fallout On May 18, the billionaire investor and crypto proponent Mike Novogratz published a post about the recent Terra blockchain fallout. Novogratz and his firm Galaxy Digital were big believers in the Terra project, and the investor even got a LUNA-centric tattoo on his arm. Despite the recent events and losses the crypto economy felt this past week, Novogratz stressed that he still firmly believes the “crypto revolution is here to stay.” Read More Do you think a recession is on the way? How will crypto fare through it all, if so? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. View the full article

SWIFT, the interbank payments protocol and messaging system, has announced it is working to connect the different central bank digital currency (CBDC) protocols in development today. The company has partnered with Capgemini, a digital services provider, making a series of experiments to ensure that the new set of CBDCs have cross-border payments and remittance capabilities. SWIFT Set to Modernize Connection Systems SWIFT, the bank and payments interconnection protocol, is working to bring its services to the upcoming group of central bank digital currencies. The member-owned cooperative has announced it is already running experiments with decentralized platforms to ensure that remittances and cross-border payments will be available for users of these currencies in the future. To SWIFT, the interconnection of this new kind of currency will be pivotal for its success. While there are not many CBDCs operating currently, according to reports from the Bank of International Settlements, nine out of ten central banks are now exploring the possibilities of CBDCs, meaning that there is interest in the subject. Nick Kerigan, Head of Innovation at SWIFT, remarked on the importance of this interconnection, stating: Different systems and different CBDCs will need to be able to efficiently work together, or it will hamper the ability of businesses and consumers to make frictionless cross-border payments using CBDCs. CBDC Experiments The experiments that SWIFT is performing, in partnership with Capgemini, a digital services company, are testing the ability of these new currencies to be exchanged among different systems not designed to perform such functions. While the inner workings of the system in place have not been explained to the public, SWIFT clarifies that part of the already existent payments infrastructure is being reused, including existing bank messaging standards and authentication models, ISO 20022, and SWIFT’s private key infrastructure. So far, the experiments, which use several decentralized ledger platforms, such as Corda and Quorum, show it could be possible to achieve the goals proposed. This would mean that CBDCs could coexist with traditional fiat currencies using SWIFT systems, in a transitional phase to total digitization. SWIFT also hinted at the possibility of including other kinds of crypto assets in its network, as they become regulated at a global level. What do you think about the CBDC experiments being performed by SWIFT? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Sony, the global electronics giant, has announced it will take a more focused approach when it comes to metaverse experiences as part of its entertainment strategy. The company that owns the Playstation brand revealed that prior investments in Epic, makers of the Fortnite game, and Bungie, another gaming studio, are part of this new push. Sony to Take Metaverse Seriously Gaming and entertainment brands are now trying to integrate metaverse experiences to entice more users to enter their ecosystems. Sony, one of the most influential companies when it comes to entertainment and gaming, has announced its interest in including more metaverse-inspired experiences to attract customers. At an annual strategy meeting held this week, Sony Chief Executive Kenichiro Yoshida stated: The metaverse is at the same time a social space and live network space where games, music, movies and anime intersect. Sony’s prior investments in other companies include Epic Games, the makers of popular online franchise Fortnite, and Bungee, creators of the Destiny series, and are part of this new focus. According to numbers presented by the company, more than 50% of the revenue in the last fiscal year came from Sony’s entertainment division, which encompasses gaming, movies, and music-related services. Playstation vs. Other Metaverse Players Sony intends to use its Playstation brands to secure a place among the leaders in the metaverse industry. The Sony Playstation has one of the biggest install userbases in the world, so it might serve as a tool for this new metaverse push. In this sense, the company stated 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.” However, the company is already playing catch-up with others in the field like Meta, which is producing hardware to provide metaverse immersion experiences to its customers. Meta owns the Oculus brand of VR headsets and provides its flagship metaverse app, called Horizon Worlds, exclusively to owners of these products. Microsoft is another company positioning itself to be a metaverse player, acquiring Activision for almost $69 billion dollars as an approach to the metaverse, and launching Mesh, a corporate metaverse for its Teams meeting suite. Sony has already presented its VR2 line of headsets to work in tandem with the PS5 line of consoles. The headset was rumored to be set for release this year, but it might be delayed until 2023 due to supply chain issues. What do you think about Sony’s metaverse push? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The Singapore High Court has granted a court injunction which stops or blocks the sale of a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) that one man claims was wrongfully taken away from him. NFT Used as Collateral A Singapore man has won a court injunction that blocks the sale or potential transfer of a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) that he claims to be rightfully his. According to a report, the NFT is currently in the possession of an online lender named Chefpierre. The man, who has been identified by the Strait Times (ST) as Janesh Rajkumar, is seeking to recover the BAYC 2162 NFT which he pledged as his security for a loan obtained from Chefpierre. Rajkumar claimed the NFT was wrongfully taken from him. The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs are popular with celebrities, some of whom have paid large sums of money to acquire them. The ST report notes Madonna is the latest celebrity to become the owner of a BAYC non-fungible token, after she reportedly paid 180 ETH. BAYC’s Rare Attributes Detailing the NFT’s uniqueness, Rajkumar argued the collection is rare even among BAYC NFTs because it has attributes that enable the holder to create another exclusive series. Leveraging the NFT’s rarity and high value, Rajkumar was able to use the BAYC as collateral when borrowing. In his arguments before the Singapore High Court, Rajkumar insisted his loan agreement with Chiefpierre stipulated he was not relinquishing ownership of the NFT. In the event he failed to pay back on time, Rajkumar would inform the lender who then had to provide a reasonable extension of the repayment period. The agreement also specified that the lender could not exercise the foreclose option, Rajkumar argued. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Chinese experts have called on leaders of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries to consider countering the dollar, whose global hegemony is thought to be abusive. Still, the experts concede that any attempt to diminish the dollar’s dominance will take time. BRICS Countries’ Dependence on the US-Dominated Global Financial System Chinese experts have urged BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, to counter the dollar’s global dominance which is now being abused by the United States government, a report has said. According to the experts, BRICS countries can achieve this by enhancing trade ties and limiting their reliance on a financial system in which the U.S. dollar dominates. As explained in a Global Times report, the call by the experts was made just before the foreign ministers from the five countries were scheduled to hold a virtual meeting on May 19. At the meeting, the foreign ministers were expected to discuss enhancing solidarity, building consensus, as well as giving emerging markets a greater voice in global governance. In making the case against BRICS countries’ continued dependence on the U.S.-dominated financial system, one of the experts, Cao Yuanzheng, the chairman of BOC International Research, claimed the United States only prioritizes its domestic needs and is less concerned about the potential consequences of its policies. Yuanzheng said: The international transactions and financial markets, which are dominated by the US dollar, have shown growing internal contradictions as Washington’s policies treat its domestic needs as the first goal instead of international needs. US Dollar Neutrality The expert added that the recent sanctioning of Russia, as well as the United States government’s freezing of the former’s forex and gold reserves, means the U.S. dollar is no longer a neutral currency. Meanwhile, the report implied China’s yuan currency, which is popular in countries and regions along routes of the Belt and Road Initiative, can be an alternative to the dollar. Therefore, an agreement between BRICS countries could potentially result in the increased use of the yuan in certain regions, the report said. However, other experts interviewed by Global Times warned that reducing the U.S. dollar’s dominance will take time. Similar sentiments were recently expressed by the former governor of China’s central bank, Zhou Xiaochuan. Xiaochuan has previously warned that reducing the dollar’s dominance will also depend on whether businesses and the public are willing to suddenly abandon a currency they have been using for a long time. Tian Yun, the former vice director of the Beijing Economic Operation Association, suggested the yuan’s chances of taking the U.S. dollar’s position as the main settlement currency depend on other countries’ confidence in China’s progress. Still, another expert, Zhou Maohua, a macroeconomic analyst at Everbright Bank, spoke of the Chinese currency’s rising role in global payments, settlements, and foreign exchange reserves over the long term. What are your thoughts on this story? You can share your views via our comments section below. View the full article

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has explained why he does not own any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. “I like investing in things that have valuable output,” Gates said, adding that crypto is “not adding to society like other investments.” Bill Gates on Crypto, and Why He Isn’t Investing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates shared his opinion about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) session Thursday. One of the questions he was asked was “What do you think about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies?” Gates replied: I don’t own any. I like investing in things that have valuable output. He added: “The value of companies is based on how they make great products. The value of crypto is just what some other person decides someone else will pay for it so not adding to society like other investments.” Gates’ stance on cryptocurrency echoes that of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett. The Oracle of Omaha explained in detail why he would not invest in bitcoin or cryptocurrency earlier this month. “It doesn’t produce anything,” Buffett described BTC, noting that he wouldn’t pay $25 for all of the bitcoin in the world. “What would I do with it? I’d have to sell it back to you one way or another. It isn’t going to do anything,” he opined. The Microsoft co-founder and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has long been a critic of bitcoin and cryptocurrency. In February last year, he said he didn’t own bitcoin, adding that he has taken “a neutral view.” However, he also said crypto was one tech innovation the world would be better off without. Gates noted: “The way cryptocurrency works today allows for certain criminal activities. It’d be good to get rid of that.” Gates also commented on Tesla CEO Elon Musk owning bitcoin in February last year. “Elon has tons of money, and he’s very sophisticated, so I don’t worry that his bitcoin will randomly go up or down,” Microsoft co-founder said. “If you have less money than Elon, you should probably watch out,” he warned. What do you think about Bill Gates’ comments about bitcoin and cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

As the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of prices for goods and services, hit another all-time high in April reaching 8.3%, Americans are stressed out more than ever about inflation and money. A recent survey published by the American Psychological Association shows that 87% of U.S. residents say inflation on everyday items has driven their stress levels way up. APA Survey Says 87% of Americans Are Stressed About Inflation Two recent studies show that a great number of Americans are stressed out over inflation and the rising costs of everyday goods and services. According to the American Psychological Association (APA) “Stress In America Survey,” Americans are burdened by mental health issues tied to money and inflationary pressures. Vaile Wright, a senior director of health care innovation at the American Psychological Association, further explained to CNBC’s Charlotte Morabito that “Eighty-seven percent of Americans said that inflation and the rising costs of everyday goods [are] what’s driving their stress.” Moreover, Mark Hamrick, the Washington bureau chief at Bankrate, told Morabito that Americans do have hope. “I think that people need to have a sense of hope,” Hamrick said. “When the economy is working for them, there’s a greater likelihood that people will have hope that they can accomplish their basic personal financial objectives.” The Stress In America Survey published by the APA shows that the top issue for stress was “due to inflation (e.g., gas prices, energy bills, grocery costs, etc.)” and other top issues included “supply chain issues,” and “global uncertainty.” In fact, the APA study shows that Americans are tired of dealing with crises and most believe that there seems to be a streamlining of catastrophe after catastrophe. “The survey findings make clear that U.S. adults appear to be emotionally overwhelmed and showing signs of fatigue,” the APA’s Stress In America Survey notes. “The vast majority of adults (87%) agreed it feels like there has been a constant stream of crises over the last two years, and more than seven in 10 (73%) said they are overwhelmed by the number of crises facing the world right now,” the report adds. Economists Say the Democrats’ ‘Greedflation’ Excuse Doesn’t Add Up Additionally, a number of Americans and economists are not pleased with the Democrats’ ‘greedflation’ excuse, as one report shows the political party’s rationalization doesn’t add up. “Many Democrats blame price-gouging companies for the worst surge in Americans’ cost of living in more than a generation,” Bloomberg’s author Erik Wasson notes on Thursday. “But economists, including several who are left-leaning, disagree.” Jason Furman, a Harvard professor who worked with the Obama administration’s Council of Economic Advisers, says ‘greedflation’ is playing a small role. “Corporate power is playing likely a very small role in the inflation that we’re seeing right now,” Furman explained on Thursday. “The primary solution has to come from the primary cause of inflation, which is demand is way too high,” the Harvard professor added. Bankrate’s April Mental Health Report Shows 40% of Americans Say Money Is Impacting Their Mental Health Negatively In addition to the APA’s Stress In America Survey, Bankrate’s April 2022 Money and Mental Health report says 40% of Americans have said money is impacting their mental health in a negative way. “And among adults who say money can have a negative impact on their mental health, about half (49 percent) say looking at their bank accounts is a trigger,” the Bankrate April mental health report notes. “This suggests that as a society, we need to do a better job having experiences with, and conversations about, money.” Making matters worse, equities markets and the macro environment indicate things are headed toward a long and drawn-out bear market. On top of that, the Federal Reserve’s chief Jerome Powell recently explained that the U.S. central bank has no issues with continuing to hike the benchmark interest rate. “We will go until we feel we’re at a place where we can say financial conditions are in an appropriate place, we see inflation coming down,” Powell said in a Wall Street Journal interview. “We’ll go to that point. There won’t be any hesitation about that,” the U.S. central bank’s chair added. What do you think about the recent stress survey from the American Psychological Association? Is inflation adding stress to your life? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Tim Draper, an early bitcoin investor, has declared he is still optimistic about the value of the first cryptocurrency even with the downturn its price has taken in the last months. Draper believes that the asset is still valuable as an inflation hedge, and that the market we are navigating right now is “very similar” to the dot-com bubble burst, but with higher inflation. Tim Draper Still Bullish on Bitcoin Tim Draper, the venture capitalist famous for his early investments in bitcoin, has explained his stance when it comes to the value of bitcoin in the current market situation. In an interview broadcast by CNBC, Draper explained that the importance of bitcoin in the downturn that crypto and traditional markets are experiencing, has to do with its inflation hedge traits. Draper told CNBC: I’m still a bull on Bitcoin because it’s a great hedge against inflation, and as speculators leave it will diverge from tech stocks. I do believe that tech stocks will keep going down as long as interest rates keep going up. He extended his vision of bitcoin as an inflation hedge asset, stating that this trait of the currency can be appreciated only in the long term, and noted it also provides a safe haven against bad governance and too much regulation. Bitcoin Advantages and Overregulation Draper — who invested in bitcoin first via an auction of almost $30K in bitcoin organized by the U.S. Marshals Service back in 2014 — believes that bitcoin has a place in the future as an alternative finance system separated from the fiat world. About this, Draper declared: I am free to move bitcoin around the world and I have the trust of hundreds of thousands of miners watching over the blockchain. There will be a moment there where I can buy my food, my clothing and my shelter in bitcoin, and there will be no need for a fiat currency controlled by governments and banks. The venture capitalist also believes that, even with all the problems that the bitcoin investments in El Salvador are causing, it has spurred a wave of innovation that is making companies in the sector move to El Salvador due to a crypto-friendly policy and regulations. He concluded: The innovators are all going there because our government is overregulating and so we’re losing innovation because we have too much regulation. What do you think about Tim Draper’s remarks on bitcoin? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

A16z has launched a new fund that seeks to invest $600 million in gaming experiences including Web3 and metaverse. The fund, which seeks to build the future of the gaming industry, aims to back several startups and projects in different areas including gaming studios, the intersection of gaming and consumers, and infrastructure. This move complements the investments that the VC has made in other gaming and metaverse-involved startups. A16z Doubles Down on Gaming Executives at a16z seem to be enticed by the intersection of metaverse, Web3, and gaming happening now in the industry. The company has announced the launch of a $600 million gaming fund called Games Fund One, which seeks to power startups in the industry in three key sectors, including gaming studios, gaming relationships, and infrastructure building. The fund, according to the company, bases its operation on the belief that “games will play a pivotal role in defining how we socialize, play, and work over the next century.” This is a natural step up from the investments that the company has made in traditional and Web3 gaming startups, including Epic Games and companies like Metatheory and Sky Mavis. On how the fund might help their portfolio startups, the company stated: We will continue to add more functions and develop deeper networks that are tailored to the games ecosystem so we can help our portfolio companies with everything from building digital communities, to managing their virtual economies, to IP licensing best practices, to helping build their development teams. A Metaverse Opportunity A16z supports the idea that these investments will also be key to the development of the metaverse, an alternate world in which people will be able to interact. In this sense, a16z declared: We believe games infrastructure and technologies will be key building blocks of the Metaverse, an opportunity that dwarfs the current $300 billion game industry itself. The introduction of the metaverse in the gaming field means that there could be an emergence of new technologies capable of supporting such activities in the virtual world. These gaming experiences can also bring tokens into the environment, directed to satisfy the need for native payments in the area. A16z recognizes this potential, stating that “games are also driving innovation across the entire consumer ecosystem, pioneering … monetization, such as microtransactions, battle passes, and web3 tokens.” The metaverse concept is already subject to heavy investing by several parties, and Citi has estimated that the total market of the metaverse economy might grow up to $13 billion by 2030, attracting more than 5 billion people. What do you think about the $600 million gaming fund launched by a16z? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook, has filed five trademark applications for “Meta Pay.” The filings cover a wide range of cryptocurrency services. The company is renaming Facebook Pay to Meta Pay. Trademark Applications for Meta Pay Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook, filed five trademark applications for “Meta Pay” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last week. Trademark attorney Josh Gerben tweeted explaining Wednesday that, in his opinion, Meta’s applications indicate the company is planning to launch a payment platform called Meta Pay for users to exchange regular fiat money for cryptocurrencies. Meta’s head of fintech, Stephane Kasriel, explained last week that the company is “investing more” in its existing payments experiences, noting that it has been in payments since 2009. “Today, people and businesses use our platforms to make payments in 160 countries and 55 currencies,” Kasriel wrote, elaborating: The experience that people see today is Facebook Pay, but we’ll be bringing that closer to the Meta brand soon by renaming it Meta Pay. In March, Meta filed eight trademark applications for its logo covering the metaverse as well as a wide range of cryptocurrency services. What do you think about Meta filing trademark applications for Meta Pay? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article