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Officials from Tanzania’s financial sector have called for a clearer global consensus on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and crypto-assets. The officials agreed that more discussions still need to be carried out before a final decision is made. Interoperability of CBDCs Just under a year after the Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan asked the country’s finance chiefs to prepare for cryptocurrencies, officials from the country’s financial sector are now calling for a clearer global stance towards central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and crypto-assets. The officials, the Finance and Planning Minister, Mwigulu Nchemba and the central bank governor, Florens Luoga, have both reportedly agreed that further discussions around the two topics are needed before any decision is made. According to a report published by The East African, the two officials said this while addressing a virtual summit organized by the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The summit, according to the report, was specifically convened for Anglophone countries in Sub-Sahara Africa. The event reportedly sought to give finance officials from countries in this region more insights on issues that relate to financial inclusion, cybersecurity as well as the interoperability of CBDCs. According to the report, a similar event targeting Francophone countries is likely to be held later in the year. Tighter Regulations Meanwhile, Nchemba is quoted in the report revealing the extent of the progress that has been made by the BOT. He said: [The central bank is] finalising preparations of a business case for [the] establishment of a CBDC in Tanzania and evaluation of crypto assets after recording significant progress. For his part, Luoga reiterates that “crypto-assets have increasingly become common” and because of their ramifications, “there is a quest for interventions through tighter regulations.” Bo Li, the deputy managing director of the IMF, insisted that while countries are expected to have different reasons for embracing CBDCs, the global lender will neither encourage nor discourage the issuing of CBDCs. However, Li said his institution will still provide technical support to countries that decide to issue CBDCs. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The global crypto community has actively supported humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and two crypto exchanges are also looking to help Ukrainian refugees abroad. Binance, the largest coin trading platform, and the Ukrainian Whitebit have turned their attention to the Ukrainians who had to leave their country as a result of Russia’s invasion. Binance to Launch Charity Crypto Card for Ukrainian Citizens Escaping Conflict The world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, will launch a “charity crypto card” this month for those who have been forced to leave Ukraine and need help, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov announced on Telegram, following a conversation with the company’s CEO Changpeng Zhao. “This is an important support for our citizens during the war,” the government official stated, quoted by the crypto news outlet Forklog. He noted that the exchange continues to work with his department on cryptocurrency adoption and plans to support educational projects in the digital space to help more Ukrainians acquire digital skills and new professional qualifications. Fedorov, who also serves as deputy prime minister in Kyiv, highlighted that the company has already committed $10 million to Ukraine and intends to increase the amount to $20 million in the near future. Crypto donations collected through Binance Charity finance the humanitarian initiatives of major intergovernmental and local non-government organizations. Whitebit to Provide Assistance to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry Meanwhile, Ukrainian crypto exchange Whitebit has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The company recently said it can help people who left Ukraine to escape the ongoing hostilities through its representative offices in foreign countries and its technical and other resources. In recently published blog post, it stated: We continue to work, establish cooperation with the state, and help Ukraine. By scaling up the business in other countries, we scale up social projects essential for maintaining democracy and European values. Whitebit intends to provide assistance to Ukraine’s Consular Service in the countries where it maintains offices and facilitate “the transition of foreign diplomatic institutions to barrier-free digital spaces.” It also pledged support for the foreign ministry’s Anti-Crisis Center and a call center providing consultations to Ukrainians in need. You can support Ukrainian families, children, refugees, and displaced people by donating BTC, ETH, and BNB to Binance Charity’s Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund. Do you expect other crypto platforms to join efforts in support of Ukrainian refugees? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The third-richest billionaire in Mexico, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, has shared his experience of living through hyperinflation. He warned that the U.S. and several other civilized countries are “going exactly the same route” his country went through in the 1980s. Mexican Billionaire Warns About Inflation Mexico’s third-richest billionaire, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, gave some advice Thursday regarding inflation, hyperinflation, bitcoin, and fiat currencies at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, Florida. Salinas is the founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas, a group of companies with interests in telecommunications, media, financial services, and retail stores. According to Forbes’ list of billionaires, his net worth is about $13 billion currently. The billionaire began by sharing his own experience living with inflation. “I was making $2,000 in 1980 and a few years later I was making 20 bucks — the same salary was down from 2,000 to 20 bucks,” he said, adding: So I know about hyperinflation. I’ve been there. And it’s not the same to know it in theory as to actually be a victim of it. He warned: “The bad news is that the U.S., and Japan, and the U.K., and the euroblock — they are going exactly the same route my country went in the 80s. It’s exactly copy-paste, you could just change the numbers but the graph would be the same.” The Mexican tycoon proceeded to show a chart of the total federal debt of the U.S. government, which is projected to be $36.2 trillion in 2031. “See, horrific. $36 trillion and this is on the books debt, not counting off the books stuff,” he exclaimed. The next chart he showed was of total U.S. assets, which grew from $0.8 trillion in 2005 to $8.9 trillion this year. “So the Federal Reserve has a lot of assets, that must be great, mustn’t it? And they’re buying bonds, that must be great,” he commented before explaining what the Federal Reserve actually did. “What they are doing is making fake money out of thin air and loaning it out to create a purchasing power to the tune of, we’re now, $9 trillion of fake savings made by the Federal Reserve,” the billionaire described, adding: The creation of fake credit which equals purchasing power has been astounding. The problem is because the dollar is the reserve currency of the world, can’t do anything about it. You can’t go out of the dollar — unless you go to bitcoin. Salinas Warns About Central Bank Digital Currencies Salinas proceeded to talk about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). He brought up a picture of ECB Chief Christine Lagarde, BIS general manager Agustin Carstens, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. He labeled them “The Villains.” He said: “CBDC, central bank digital currency, that’s even worse than the dollar. It’s much worse than the dollar because if the CBDC is issued, these people will have full control over how you can spend your money.” He opined: Furthermore, they will be tracking 100% of all your spending and what you spend and how you spend it — they’re pretty devilish people. He pointed out that while Lagarde was the chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the organization published papers stating that “the way to deal with government debt is through inflation, we will liquefy the debt and get away with paying less.” Noting that right now we are at the equivalent of his $2,000 a month salary and we are going the route of earning $20 a month, he then asked, “Is this the future you want?” He concluded: “I’ve been there and I’ve done that and it’s going to come. It’s not a pretty sight. So what can we do? We can buy bitcoin and sell those shitcoins that we have there. And definitely no to fiat fraud.” He warned: “This has happened. It just didn’t happen to the U.S. It doesn’t mean it can’t happen to a civilized country. Germany was a highly civilized country until it got hit by the inflation in Weimar.” While admitting that Germany is not the same as Zimbabwe, he said it can go through the same process. The billionaire opined: “Unfortunately, in the U.S. it’s curtains. This is the way to save your skin — buy bitcoin.” Salinas tweeted Thursday: Please… don’t put your future in governments’ hands, you and I know how that always ends, stay away from fiat money, invest in BTC. What do you think about the comments by Ricardo Salinas? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has suggested making the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE) a payment option for the Twitter Blue subscription service. Musk is now Twitter’s biggest shareholder. He recently joined the social media giant’s board of directors and promised to bring “significant improvement” to Twitter. Elon Musk Suggests Allowing Payments in Dogecoin Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and Spacex, has actively been engaging Twitter’s users regarding potential improvements to the social media platform since he took a 9.2% stake in the company and joined its board of directors. He has promised to make “significant improvements” to the platform. One of the ideas he has been discussing on Twitter concerns the authentication checkmark. Musk suggested that everyone who signs up for the Twitter Blue subscription service and pays $3 a month should get an authentication checkmark. Replying to a user asking for the fee to be lower in Argentina since an entire family eats for $3 there, the Tesla boss agreed that it “should be proportionate to affordability & in local currency.” In addition, he suggested that one of the payment options could be “to pay in doge.” Twitter Blue is a monthly subscription service launched in June last year. It is currently available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. “An active Twitter Blue subscription gives you access to premium features like Undo Tweet,” Twitter explained. Blue subscribers have 20 seconds to edit their tweets before they’re sent. Regarding the price of Twitter Blue that comes with the authentication checkmark, the Spacex boss clarified: “Price should probably be about $2/month, but paid 12 months upfront & account doesn’t get checkmark for 60 days (watch for CC chargebacks) & suspended with no refund if used for scam/spam.” He noted that if a user cancels the subscription, the checkmark “should go away or scammers will game the system by signing up only for a few months.” Musk also said that the authentication checkmark “should be different from [a] ‘public figure’ or ‘official account’ checkmark.” The Tesla CEO’s suggestion about DOGE payments has boosted the price of dogecoin. At the time of his tweet, DOGE was trading at $0.144240. It has risen 8.45% to $0.156430 at the time of writing. Dogecoin supporters are very happy to hear Musk being supportive of their coin once more, seeing the move as ultra bullish. The Tesla executive is sometimes known in the crypto community as the Dogefather. Musk previously revealed that he personally owns bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and dogecoin (DOGE), noting that he will not sell any of his coins. Earlier this month, he shared a dogecoin video, stating that it “explains everything.” He sees bitcoin as more of a store value and dogecoin as the best crypto for transactions. He previously said that dogecoin is the people’s crypto. His electric car company, Tesla, currently accepts the meme cryptocurrency for some merchandise. Do you think Twitter users should be able to pay for services on the platform with dogecoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On Friday, Grant McCarty, the director of policy and public affairs at Bitcoin Magazine, announced the launch of three political efforts aimed at bolstering bitcoin public policy at the Bitcoin 22 conference in Miami. McCarty revealed the Bitcoin Advocacy Project (BAP), the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) and an independent expenditure-only political committee called the Financial Freedom PAC. 3 Newly Launched Political Efforts Aim to ‘Bring About an Orange Wave Across Washington’ A new bitcoin-themed Super PAC has been launched to help “elect bitcoin champions.” According to the Financial Freedom PAC website introduced by Bitcoin Magazine’s Grant McCarty, the new Super PAC supports “candidates that aim to defend and uphold the following rights of bitcoin owners in the United States.” In recent times, bureaucrats have unveiled a number of regulatory policies toward digital currencies and many fear that strict crypto regulation can stifle technological innovation. Basically, a Super PAC is an independent political committee that solicits donations to bolster independent political activity and help frame public policy. While Super PACs cannot donate directly to political candidates, the PAC can spend unlimited sums of money to either fight against political candidates and legislation or advocate for specific bureaucrats. The Financial Freedom PAC explains that it supports four political candidates including the Ohio Republican Senate candidate, Josh Mandel, the California Democrat House candidate, Aarika Rhodes, the Ohio Democrat House candidate, Matthew Diemer, and Arizona Republican Senate candidate, Blake Masters. Corporations, unions, associations and individuals can donate to the Financial Freedom PAC but they cannot donate with U.S. dollars. The organization’s website discloses: “Fiat donations are currently not working. This is a feature, not a bug. Please donate bitcoin.” The bitcoin-centric Super PAC website adds: The fight for bitcoin in the U.S. will be a marathon, not a sprint. True to bitcoin’s ethos, this organization will operate with a low-time preference, focusing entirely on high-impact expenditures. And by denominating our balance sheet in bitcoin, whatever we don’t spend gives us more purchasing power in future elections. This is the first political organization whose power will scale with bitcoin’s. Voting out Anti-Bitcoin Politicians In addition to the bitcoin-centric Super PAC, McCarty also revealed the Bitcoin Advocacy Project (BAP), and the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI). BAP has launched a “Nakamoto Grant,” and awarded it to the BPI as the institute published a white paper concerning “Bitcoin and national security.” The main goal for the organization BAP is to “bring about an orange wave across Washington.” “In addition, BAP supported the creation, development, and funding of the Financial Freedom PAC — the first Bitcoin Super PAC that aims to elect Bitcoin champions and vote out anti-Bitcoin politicians like Brad Sherman and Elizabeth Warren,” McCarty said on Friday. “BAP has pledged $100,000 to get the Financial Freedom PAC off the ground and secured another half-million dollars in verbal commitments since the organization was filed.” What do you think about the new Super PAC dedicated to supporting bitcoin advocacy and positive public policy? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Non-fungible token (NFT) sales have been lackluster this past week, as the aggregate sales volume during the last seven days has dropped 13.75% since last week. The largest number of sales stemmed from Ronin this week as 45,875 buyers increase Ronin-based NFT sales by more than 72%. The NFT collection that recorded the most sales volume over the last seven days was Clonex as the NFT collection’s sales saw a 94.05% rise. 7-Day NFT Sales Slide by 13.75% After the week of March 20-26, 2022, Google Trends data shows the search term “NFT” slid from a score of 39 to this week’s score of 37. Since scoring a 100 on the week of January 16-22, 2022, the number of queries worldwide for the search term “NFT” dropped by 63%. Last week, in terms of sales, NFT sales volume increased by 34%, and the NFT collection Azuki was the top-selling collection. Since Bitcoin.com News published the weekly NFT sales report, seven-day statistics show NFT sales are down 13.75%. Metrics derive from cryptoslam.io rankings and the platform records sales stemming from 15 different blockchains. Ethereum saw the most number of NFT sales during the last week with $570.2 million. All 15 blockchain networks processed approximately $662.4 million over the last seven days. This means more than 86% of all the NFT sales last week stemmed from the Ethereum blockchain. However, Ethereum-based non-fungible token sales dropped 12.55% lower than last week’s ETH-based NFT sales. The blockchain network Ronin was the leader this week in terms of NFT sales capturing a 72% increase from last week’s numbers. Following Ronin’s NFT sales were the blockchain networks Panini up 25.47%, Cronos NFT sales increased by 24.13%, and Palm sales jumped by 22.70% this week. The biggest blockchain losers in terms of seven-day NFT sales include Tezos down 52.93% and Avalanche down 36.35% since last week. This week’s top NFT collection in terms of sales is the Clonex NFT compilation which has increased by 94.05%. Clonex has captured $45,945,175 in sales over the last seven days between 487 buyers. Clonex’s seven-day sales stats are followed by Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Arcade Land, and Moar respectively. While BAYC was the third-highest last week in sales, BAYC sales volume has dropped by 28.69%. BAYC still has the most expensive floor price at 109 ether but another collection called PROOF Collective has a floor at 82 ether at the time of writing. The top three most expensive NFT sales this week stemmed from the BAYC collection. Bored Ape Yacht Club 5,149 sold for $797.7K or 245 ether, Bored Ape 7204 sold for $695.8K or 215 ether, and Bored Ape 1131 exchanged hands for $627.2K or 180 ether at the time of settlement. What do you think about the week’s NFT sales action? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

During the last year, there’s been a lot of discussion concerning bitcoin treasuries or public firms putting bitcoin on their balance sheets. However, the leading crypto asset by market valuation is not the only digital currency being held by treasuries. Ethereum has become a prominent treasury asset as a number of companies are known to hold the second leading crypto in their reserves. Ethereum Treasuries Have Grown According to the bitcoin treasuries list, exchange-traded funds, countries, public companies, and private firms own 1,559,047 bitcoin (BTC) worth roughly $66 billion. While bitcoin is being stashed away by these entities, ethereum (ETH) is also held by funds and companies that believe in the crypto asset’s future. For instance, it was reported on Thursday that the fund manager Three Arrows Capital purchased 31,345 ether. The same day, Three Arrows Capital’s co-founder Su Zhu told Bloomberg he remains bullish about crypto investments. The web portal cryptotreasuries.org shows data tied to 12 different funds and companies that hold ethereum. The data currently says the entities hold 212,875 ether worth close to $700 million. The biggest holder on that particular list is Galaxy Digital Holdings, as cryptotreasuries.org states that the firm holds 98,892 ether at the time of writing. This would mean Galaxy Digital Holdings commands 46.45% of the 212,875 ether across the 12 entities. The second-largest holder on the list is Ether Capital Corporation with 43,512 ether. Ether Capital Corporation’s stash is 20.44% of the aggregate recorded on cryptotreasuries.org. Other notable holders on the ethereum treasuries list include Coinbase Global (31,787 ether), Meitu (15,000 ether), and Hive Blockchain (13,331 ether). There’s also another ethereum treasuries list hosted on ethtreasuries.pory.app which has a number of different holders listed. For instance, the web portal notes a lot of entities like M31 Capital, Gerber Kawasaki Investment Management, Arca Labs, Heat Capital, and FD7 Ventures with “undisclosed” ethereum amounts. This particular list of ether treasuries is not up to date and some of the sources are questionable, in comparison to the list hosted on cryptotreasuries.org. However, the list hosted on ethtreasuries.pory.app does mention firms like Three Arrows Capital and the Grayscale Ethereum Trust, both of which hold tens of thousands of ether. What do you think about the list of companies storing millions of dollars worth of ethereum in treasuries? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On Sunday, April 10, 2022, the Terra (LUNA) project and Luna Foundation Gaurd (LFG) acquired 4,130 bitcoin worth $176.1 million at the time of settlement. Using today’s bitcoin exchange rates, LFG now has a total of 39,897.98 bitcoin worth $1.7 billion. Luna Foundation Gaurd Obtains $176 Million in Bitcoin for the UST Decentralized Forex Reserve Two days ago, the Luna Foundation Gaurd (LFG) announced a partnership with the Avalanche Foundation and disclosed it would be purchasing $100 million worth of avalanche (AVAX) in an over-the-counter (OTC) exchange. The $100 million in AVAX is meant to diversify the reserves held for the project’s UST Decentralized Forex Reserve. Terrausd or UST is Terra’s (LUNA) algorithmic stablecoin and LFG has also been backing the forex reserve with bitcoin (BTC). Four days ago, on April 6, LFG acquired 5,040 bitcoin (BTC) which pushed the stash up to 35,767.98 bitcoin. Today, on April 10, LFG obtained another large amount of BTC as it deposited 4,130 bitcoin worth $176.1 million into LFG’s bitcoin wallet. The first transaction was 1,482 BTC, the second was 492 BTC, the third transfer was 1,174.99 BTC, and the final transaction sent to the LFG wallet was 981 BTC. In addition to the large bitcoin deposits stemming from Terra’s purchases, the address receives a myriad of BTC dust transfers on a daily basis. LFG Now Holds $1.7 Billion in Bitcoin Reserves Before the LFG bitcoin wallet saw those deposits, the Singapore non-profits Gnosis safe address withdrew 183,515,000 tether (USDT) from the address. According to onchain metrics, the LFG ethereum address only has 164.17 million tethers left. However, the address does hold a large sum of usd coin (USDC) as it currently has 398.95 million USDC on April 10. This means the Terra (LUNA) project has 563.12 million stablecoins on hand. After depositing 4,130 bitcoin, the LFG bitcoin wallet now holds 39,897.98 bitcoin worth $1.7 billion, using today’s BTC exchange rates. The wallet has seen a total of 66 transactions or deposits and the wallet has not sent out any bitcoin since it was created. The first balance change occurred two months ago, according to Blockchair’s blockchain explorer statistics. What do you think about the Luna Foundation’s stash of bitcoins? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Another week has passed in the action-packed world of crypto, so it’s time to kick back, take stock of the situation, and enjoy this week’s bite-sized digest of the hottest crypto news from the past seven days. On the menu this go-round is Tesla CEO Elon Musk talking about Twitter’s ‘single most annoying problem,’ a deep dive into the world of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT gains, a pile of bitcoins connected to Mt Gox still shrouded in mystery, and tax developments in Indonesia. Without further ado, this is the Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. Elon Musk Promises to Make ‘Significant Improvements’ to Twitter — Calls Crypto Spam Bots ‘Single Most Annoying Problem’ Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has joined Twitter’s board of directors and promised to “make significant improvements” to the social media platform. Some changes he is considering include adding an edit button and solving the crypto spam bot problem, which he sees as the “single most annoying problem on Twitter.” Read More An In-Depth Look at the 5 Most Profitable Bored Ape NFT Traders of All Time Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been extremely popular during the last two years and in recent times, specific NFTs from certain collections sell for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars per NFT. During the last 30 days, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs saw $257 million in sales volume. While people still question the value of NFTs, it’s also interesting to see who is purchasing the most expensive NFTs like Bored Apes and trading them regularly. The following is an in-depth look at the top five BAYC traders of all time and the millions of dollars in profits they have made. Read More Bitcoin Cold Case: The Tale of the Dormant Wallet With Close to 80,000 BTC From Mt Gox For the last 11 years, a mysterious wallet associated with the Mt Gox scandal has sat dormant holding close to 80,000 bitcoin worth $3.7 billion today. While the wallet was once the sixth-largest address a few years ago, today it’s the ninth-largest wallet in terms of bitcoin held, and the funds have never been spent since the first deposit on March 1, 2011. Read More Indonesian Government Sets Crypto Tax at 0.1% to Be Levied Starting in May The Indonesian government has decided to tax capital gains income from crypto investments at 0.1% starting in May. In addition, value-added tax (VAT) of the same rate will be levied on crypto purchases. Read More What are your thoughts on the past week’s hottest crypto news? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation has revised a draft law designed to regulate the country’s crypto space, introducing provisions for cryptocurrency mining. The bill has been resubmitted to the government and may be adopted during the parliament’s spring session. Updated Law ‘On Digital Currency’ Filed With Russian Government Russia’s Ministry of Finance has amended a bill intended to implement comprehensive rules for the Russian cryptocurrency sector. The latest version now takes into account the positions announced by other government institutions on the matter, the department announced Friday. The finalized draft law “On Digital currency” has been returned to the cabinet of ministers in Moscow. The legislation, which was initially submitted to the federal government in February, aims to regulate crypto transactions in Russia as well as the activities of crypto market players. It was prepared to fill the regulatory gaps left after the adoption of the law “On Digital Financial Assets.” According to a recent statement by Anatoly Aksakov, chair of the Financial Market Committee at the lower house of Russian parliament, the new law is likely to be adopted during the State Duma’s spring session, along with amendments to the Russian Tax Code pertaining to cryptocurrency operations. Certain provisions in the bill have been clarified, the Finance Ministry said, including those related to the regulation of crypto mining. While the use of bitcoin in payments has been met with opposition, most notably from the Central Bank of Russia and most recently from Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, many Russian officials have backed the idea to recognize mining as an economic activity. In January, the Bank of Russia pushed for а blanket ban on a range of crypto-related activities, including mining but the Russian government has sided with Minfin’s view that the industry needs to be regulated rather than restricted. President Vladimir Putin asked them to resolve their differences and emphasized on Russia’s potential as a mining destination. In February, the Ministry of Economic Development proposed to authorize the extraction of digital currencies in regions with power surplus and to offer miners acceptable electricity rates. In late March, the Ministry of Energy called for urgent legalization of mining and introduction of regional energy quotas for bitcoin farms. This week, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities suggested the implementation of an experimental legal regime for mining. Do you expect Russia to quickly adopt the new law “On Digital Currency?” Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The HBAR foundation, a nonprofit organization designed to accelerate the development of the Hedera Hashgraph ecosystem, has announced the launch of a new Metaverse fund. The fund, which launches with $250 million, will serve to entice builders and programmers to bring their metaverse products to the Hedera network and make use of its decentralized ledger technologies. HBAR Foundation Wants the Metaverse to Happen on Hedera The battle for the metaverse is intensifying, and many organizations are offering incentives for these experiences to be built using their own infrastructures. The HBAR Foundation, an organization devoted to the growth of the Hedera Hashgraph ecosystem and the apps on it, has announced the launch of the THF Metaverse Fund that will offer $250 million in incentives to programmers that want to bring their metaverse apps to life by using Hedera Hashgraph’s tools. On why the HBAR Foundation believes that Hedera is an ideal platform for metaverse inspired apps, it stated: DLT [Decentralized Ledger Technology] is the core component of such infrastructure and it is the Hedera network that is best architected to meet the DLT demands of enterprise platforms and their complex economies. Furthermore, the foundation is confident that it will be able to help newcomers in the area to tackle the hardships of launching these products with a “wealth of experience and financial backing … accelerating the development of applications in high-growth target areas.” Specific Developments The foundation offered some examples — referencing projects such as Tunefm and Siki — in which they are working with different brands in the metaverse and NFT space that want to develop their products on this blockchain. In the gaming space, it aims to include more of these projects by using middleware services that allow for rapid deployment of projects in the environment. Regarding consumer brands and collectibles, it announced: [The foundation is] working with industry partners who brands trust to hand-hold them into the Web3 space. The enterprise metaverse sector is also being given special importance by the organization, which believes that middleware directed to support this kind of product is “key to powering future virtual economies.” In this sense, the company expects these products to also be developed on Hedera due to its favorable traits. Hedera’s metaverse fund joins other funds that also center their interest on the development of the metaverse, which, according to a recent survey, will be a popular place to buy, store, and sell cryptocurrencies. What do you think about Hedera’s $250 million metaverse fund? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

European institutions are closing crypto loopholes for Russia with the latest package of penalties imposed by the EU over Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine. The new sanctions prohibit the provision of “high-value” crypto-asset services to Russian entities and residents. EU Limits Russian Crypto Wallet Deposits to €10,000 Expanding its sanctions in response to the Russian military assault on Ukraine, the European Union has again targeted cryptocurrencies. On Friday, the European Commission, the executive body in Brussels, welcomed the fifth round of restrictions agreed upon by the Council of the EU. They have been tailored to “further contribute to ramping up economic pressure on the Kremlin and cripple its ability to finance its invasion of Ukraine.” The new Council regulation, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, bans the provision of “high-value” crypto-asset services to the Russian Federation. It applies to crypto wallet, account, or custody services for Russian citizens, other residents, and legal entities established in the country, if the total value of the digital funds exceeds €10,000 (close to $11,000). The EU emphasized: In view of the gravity of the situation, and in response to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, it is appropriate to introduce further restrictive measures. In particular, it is appropriate to extend the prohibition on deposits to crypto wallets. Similarly, the EU limits fiat deposits by Russian individuals and organizations but the threshold is much higher, at €100,000. The measures, intended to close various other loopholes, also ban the sale of banknotes and transferrable securities denominated in the euro or other official currencies of the EU member states to Russia and Belarus, Moscow’s closest ally, or to any person or entity registered there. The financial restrictions also envisage the freezing of assets, and a full ban on the transactions of four Russian banks representing a quarter of the country’s banking sector. In late February, Western allies, including EU members and institutions, excluded “selected Russian banks” from the SWIFT messaging network for interbank payments. The European Commission and the Council noted that the Russian financial institutions are now being “completely cut off from EU markets.” Do you expect the EU to further strengthen crypto-related sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has predicted that trillions of dollars will flow into cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin. In addition, he said bitcoin mining will “save the world.” O’Leary Says ‘Spigots of Capital’ Will Flood Into Crypto Like You’ve Never Seen Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary gave a keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2022 conference Thursday. He said that based on his experience in the indexing business, “massive pools of capital, these trillion-dollar pools” are waiting for policy. They currently own zero or very little crypto. “It’s the purvey of high net worth individuals, hedge funds, and retail investors,” he clarified. Mr. Wonderful detailed: What we’re missing is policy. When we get policy and the regulator regulates, that’s not a negative thing. The spigots of capital are going to flood into this sector like you’ve never seen. “So for those of us that can invest in it now, you are going to get ahead of what’s going to be a huge wave of interest when policy occurs,” he added. O’Leary continued: I predict in the next 10 years that crypto, blockchain, bitcoin — all of this innovation — will be the 12th sector of the S&P. ‘Why Bitcoin Mining Is Going to Save the World’ The Shark Tank star also discussed “why bitcoin mining is going to save the world.” He explained: “Why is bitcoin mining good for the Earth? Because the next generation of bitcoin miners … are starting to work with energy that does not require carbon — hydroelectricity and nuclear power, wind and solar.” Mr. Wonderful continued: “The drive to produce bitcoin is so economic in value that they will go ahead and fund the next generation of machines and turbines. 90% of dams built in America in the last hundred years contemplated hydroelectricity but never installed the turbines.” He exclaimed: “I’ll install the turbines. Why? Because it’s great economics if I can use that and not be hassled by a carbon audit.” Noting that “It provides for communities, it provides extra power,” the Shark Tank star opined: This is the future of bitcoin mining. We will be developing power for all communities while we mine coin in an ethical and 100% green mandate that we can do with hydroelectricity. Regulation Will Help Bitcoin Rise in Value O’Leary further said: “The beautiful strategy here is when we get policy … When we make bitcoin an allocation for institutions, which they do not have yet, what I predict will happen: they will put between 50 basis points to 300 basis points into their portfolios.” He concluded: How much money is that? Trillions of dollars. So if you want to see bitcoin appreciate in value, if you are an advocate like I am … You want regulation … and you stand back and watch the capital pour into this. What do you think about Kevin O’Leary’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The mayor of the U.S. city of Miami, Florida, has unveiled his “Vision for Bitcoin America 2024.” Stressing that the U.S. needs to elect a pro-bitcoin president, he said “we need to integrate bitcoin into every aspect of our society” this year and “unleash the macro power of bitcoin.” Miami’s Mayor’s Vision of Bitcoin America Miami Mayor Francis Suarez talked about bitcoin at the Bitcoin 2022 conference that’s taking place in his city this week. The pro-bitcoin mayor has led several bitcoin initiatives in his city and state. His salary is already paid in bitcoin and his city employees can choose to be paid in bitcoin. “I need to articulate a vision for this country,” he said. “The vision is simple. I call it: Vision for Bitcoin America 2024.” Suarez explained that it has three points, stating: The first is we need to elect pro-bitcoin candidates, and yes the next president of the United States has to be a pro-bitcoin candidate. “Because what’s at stake is federal legislation that can either propel us into the next generation or can set us back,” the mayor emphasized. “There’s one thing the United States should never do: it should never agree on anything with Russia and China when it comes to bitcoin,” he continued, elaborating: The second thing we need to do this year is we need to integrate bitcoin into every aspect of our society, every part of the fabric of our society. We need to make sure that you can go into a convenience store and buy a Snickers with a satoshi. Mayor Suarez proceeded to highlight his third point. “The last thing that we need to do is: we need to unleash the macro power of bitcoin,” he said. “Bitcoin has the power to democratize and to create wealth for the unbanked and for the poor in our community who are getting decimated by inflation and government spending that has gone rampant.” The pro-bitcoin mayor noted: “If you have a bank account today, guess how much interest you’re earning — zero. And it’s worse than that because of inflation. Someone is sticking a hand in your bank account and taking money out because the purchasing power of your fiat currency, the fiat currency of the world, is being diminished.” He stressed: So we have to lean into this generational wealth creation opportunity so that the poor in our community don’t get left behind like they always do when the government intervenes. Suarez noted: “We have to understand that bitcoin has a possibility of being able to allow for people to transmit money outside of the banking system efficiently and quickly and give people in countries that are dominated by, in many cases, socialist and communist regimes the ability to untether themselves from that control, and be able to be free and be able to spend money in their countries and buy goods without having to worry that the currency that they’re using is being controlled by the very government that controls all of their decisions.” Stressing that “We want to create a world that has economic peace and prosperity … Bitcoin has been a factor for good across the world,” he concluded: We want a world of freedom. We want a world where people can choose their own destiny, where their tomorrows are better than their yesterdays — and I plan to be a part of it. What do you think about Mayor Suarez’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Global markets company and Chicago-based derivatives exchange CME Group plans to launch 11 new reference rates tied to specific crypto assets. The reference rates and real-time indices bolstered by CF Benchmarks are typically leveraged by exchange-traded products and other investment vehicles. 11 Crypto Assets Get Reference Rate Treatment From CME Group and CF Benchmarks CME Group is adding 11 more cryptocurrencies to the firm’s existing bitcoin and ethereum reference rates. Crypto reference rates like the CME CF Reference Rates are often used as a benchmark for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other financial products. The new rates cover polygon, solana, stellar, algorand, bitcoin cash, cardano, chainlink, uniswap, cosmos, litecoin, and polkadot values. Pricing data for the benchmarks will be provided by Bitstamp, Coinbase, Gemini, Itbit, Kraken, and LMAX. Each coin will leverage two exchanges, CME Group’s announcement discloses. “As the digital asset market continues to expand, there is an increasing demand for reliable, standardized cryptocurrency pricing information based on robust, regulated reference rates,” Tim McCourt, CME Group’s global head of equity and FX products said in a statement. McCourt added: These new benchmarks, which capture over 90% of the total investible cryptocurrency market cap today, are designed to allow traders, institutions and other users to confidently and more accurately manage cryptocurrency price risk, price portfolios or create structured products like ETFs. The new reference rates for the 11 crypto assets can be used as benchmarks for bundled and diversified funds, ETPs, and derivatives markets. Elliot Johnson the chief investment officer at Evolve ETFs explained on April 7, that the company already uses CME CF Reference Rates for its crypto exchange-traded funds. “Evolve’s physical-crypto ETFs rely on CME CF Reference Rates to provide liquidity, tight tracking, and reliable NAV for investors,” Johnson explained. “We’re very excited to see the CME CF index family expanding to lay the foundation for new, innovative ETFs in this highly coveted asset class,” the Evolve executive added. CME Group’s new reference rates follow the launch of Micro Bitcoin (MBT) and Micro Ether futures (MET). MBT and MET contracts are “sized at one-tenth of their respective underlying tokens in size.” CME Group and CF Benchmarks plan to launch the 11 new crypto reference rates on April 25. What do you think about CME Group adding 11 new cryptocurrency reference rates? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

While many Americans believe the U.S. Federal Reserve is the caretaker of the country’s monetary system, its also believed to be one of the worst financial institutions ever created. In 2022, amid a gloomy economy, war, and a number of global crises, the possibility of a great monetary shift has increased. The preceding years filled with panic, are very similar to the years that led to the creation of the Federal Reserve System. The Panics That Led to the Last Transition of Wealth May Help Us Understand Today’s Monetary Transformation During the last few years, just before the onset of Covid-19, discussions about a “Green New Deal,” a “Great Reset,” and a “New Bretton Woods Moment” have increased a great deal. These topics have made people believe a great transition of wealth is taking place, and the consortium of modern central banking is bolstering the change. Many people wonder how these changes happen so fast, and why the public simply allows such transformative changes without question. The best way to understand such changes is to look at the great transition of wealth that took place in the late-1800s into the mid-1900s. The first historical moment that took place back then was the creation of the Federal Reserve System. It is well documented that the Fed was born on December 23, 1913, after president Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act, but the central bank’s inception started years before Wilson’s Act. What most people don’t know is that J.P. Morgan and the “Money Trust” or the “House of Morgan” helped fuel the creation of an American central bank. None of the evidence is hidden from the public as the Pujo Committee, a congressional subcommittee that operated from 1912–1913 investigated the group in great detail. In the late 1800s, Americans grew untrustful of banks as a financial cartel had formed that used American deposits for bucket shops and proposition bets. Financial manipulation was growing wildly and in 1896, Morgan created the Morgan-Guarantee Company. Over the next decade up until the summer of 1907, the U.S. economy was extremely volatile. While the ‘Panic of 1907’ or the ‘Knickerbocker Panic’ is well known in history. There were earlier panics and bank runs in America in 1873 and 1893. Morgan and his friends reportedly monopolized a great deal of businesses, and more specifically Morgan controlled close to half of the country’s railroads. Tim Sablik and Gary Richardson from the Fed’s Bank of Richmond branch explain that the “Panic of 1873 arose from investments in railroads.” That summer in 1907, the U.S. economic system broke and a large swathe of financial institutions and corporations went bankrupt. The biggest failures stemmed from Westinghouse Electric Company and Knickerbocker Trust in New York City. Richardson and Sablik noted that the Panic of 1884 derived from two major New York City financial firms failing. Both of the bank’s owners made “speculative investments” and Marine National Bank and Grant and Ward went bust. The U.S. Treasury tried to save the day in 1907 by funneling millions of dollars into failing financial institutions. While liquidity was horrid for American banking customers and depositors, a number of businesses and banks created cash substitutes. After the Treasury attempt and cash substitutes did not work, J.P. Morgan stepped in to fix the situation. Morgan and America’s leading finance men channeled lots of money into weak banks with help from the government and the country’s business leaders. 3 Financial Crises, Jekyll Island, and the Aldrich Plan — Are Panics and Crises Preceding Today’s Monetary Shift? The three financial crises (1873, 1893, 1907) led a majority of Americans to believe the United States banking system was officially corrupt. After the Panic of 1907, bureaucrats in collusion with a number of U.S. business leaders, convinced the public the banking system needed reform. After all, the public was fed up with banks spending their deposits on speculative investments and bucket shops, and they were growing tired of bank runs. U.S. politicians then moved toward strict regulatory reform and Congress introduced stop-gap legislation and the National Monetary Commission. The Aldrich-Vreeland Act (1908) allowed U.S. bankers to start national currency associations, in the event a national emergency of liquidity arose. The initiation of the Federal Reserve was sparked by the liquidity crises mentioned above, and through the Aldrich-Vreeland Act, banknotes were backed by the institution’s securities and government bonds. Government library documents further show the Panic of 1907 “made people want a powerful central bank that could ‘protect’ the common man from the ‘abuses of the Wall Street bankers.’” Similar to the recent economic calamities America is facing today, with Covid-19 lockdowns and the disruptions from the war in Europe, the previous financial crises in 1873, 1893, and 1907 invoked one of the largest monetary shifts in history. While most Americans are taught in high school that the Fed’s system manages the money and credit throughout the country, G. Edward Griffin’s 600-page book “The Creature from Jekyll Island” paints a different story. It explains how the “House of Morgan” and a favorable U.S. president colluded to create the U.S. central bank. A descendent of the Rockefellers, Nelson Aldrich was also instrumental in the secret meeting at the Jekyll Island Hunt Club in Georgia. The Federal Reserve System was crafted by Morgan’s ‘Money Trust,’ select politicians, and Nelson’s foundational design called the “Aldrich Plan.” In recent times, descendants of the Rockefellers from the Rockefeller Foundation have been accused of designing plans called “lock step” in 2010, which is eerily similar to the Covid-19 lockdowns that happened ten years later. The New York-based philanthropy report discusses how governments could control an influenza-like pandemic through lockdown measures. While Wilson’s December 23, 1913 signing is well documented, most Americans don’t know about the secret meeting held on Jekyll Island in 1910. History teachers and school books do not discuss the years before the Fed was created. But those who do know about how the Fed started and hold the belief that it continues to manipulate the free market, want the central bank abolished. “The Fed has become an accomplice in the support of totalitarian regimes throughout the world,” Griffin writes in his Jekyll Island book published in 1994. The previous years that led to the consortium of modern central banking and the Fed are very similar to today’s economic crises, and it’s safe to say panic fuels these changes. If a great transition of wealth is taking place today, the signs show a transformative outcome, planned years ago, may very well be on the horizon. It’s uncertain what the monetary shift will look like, but looking back at history and things like the creation of the Federal Reserve system, clearly shows that certain people are likely to benefit more than others. What do you think about today’s transition of wealth and comparing it to the panics and crises that happened over 100 years ago during the last great monetary transition? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On Saturday, the second-largest meme-based cryptocurrency shiba inu has seen a lot of tokens burned during the last 24 hours. According to statistics, the network’s burn rate has increased by 26,592% as 1.4 billion SHIB has been destroyed. Shiba Inu Burn Rate Increases Significantly On February 22, a SHIB team member named “Archangel” revealed that the project would have a decentralized exchange (dex) called Shibaswap 2.0 with a burn portal. The portal is meant to help bolster a deflationary supply and in mid-March, SHIB team members launched a project defense team called Defense Breed. The Defense Breed aims to enhance SHIB’s “communication and transparency” and “protect the ecosystem from any malicious projects or persons from trying to take advantage of the community.” Now the shiba inu (SHIB) supply is burning tokens at an extremely fast rate, much faster than the likes of Ethereum’s burn rate. Statistics from shibburn.com show that 1.4 billion SHIB has been burned in the last day at a rate of 26,592%. On March 14, SHIB’s burn rate was 6,700%, or 745 million SHIB destroyed in a day. For some comparison, the Ethereum blockchain destroyed 4,098 ether during the last 24 hours. Ethereum’s 24-hour value burned is far more valuable at $13.2 million burned in the last day. SHIB’s 1.4 billion tokens burned, on the other hand, is only worth $34,554. Shiba Inu Team Member Says ‘Burning SHIB Is a Core Aspect of Our Ecosystem’ During the last five hours, three addresses alone burned 59,998,118 SHIB or $1,448 worth using today’s SHIB exchange rate. SHIB has not had the best week as the meme-token has lost 7.6% during the last seven days. Year-to-date, however, SHIB has gained a whopping 39,795% against the U.S. dollar. SHIB is the second-largest meme-based asset in terms of market capitalization as it hovers beneath dogecoin (DOGE). While DOGE has a $19.1 billion market cap, SHIB’s market valuation is around $13.2 billion, ranked number 15 among 13,617 cryptocurrency market caps. According to SHIB’s project leaders, the Defense Breed will be in charge of screening partners, collaborations, and incoming projects. In the blog post concerning the Defense Breed, a SHIB team member dubbed “Trophias” explained the importance of the SHIB burn portal. “Burning SHIB is a core aspect of our ecosystem and we are always exploring new options to burn SHIB via utility,” Trophias said at the time. What do you think about Shiba Inu’s burn rate spiking above 26,000% during the last 24 hours? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Following a gain of over 25% on Friday, NEAR dropped by over 10% to start the weekend, while XMR rose to a four-month high. The move in NEAR comes as traders look to be taking profits from recent highs, and as market uncertainty remains high. Near Protocol (NEAR) After being Friday’s biggest gainer, climbing by over 25%, NEAR was trading lower to start the weekend. NEAR/USD fell to an intraday low of $16.39 during today’s session, as bullish sentiment in the world’s nineteenth-largest cryptocurrency began to fade. This drop follows on from a top of $19.45 less than 24 hours ago, which came after speculation grew that Near Protocol would create a stablecoin that would rival the likes of Terra’s UST. Looking at the chart, yesterday’s peak was close to resistance of $20, and traders likely dumped NEAR as price uncertainty emerged at that level . Today’s selloff has now sent prices below short-term support at $17.50, with some bears likely targeting the lower support of $15 in the next few sessions. Price strength is still relatively overbought, and is currently tracking at 62.30, which could be yet another signal to bears looking to enter the market. Monero (XMR) Despite crypto markets falling by over 2% during today’s session, XMR was one of the few to trade in the green. Following a low of $215.28 during Friday’s session, XMR/USD rose to an intraday high of $237.81 on Saturday. This rebound in price came after prices failed to break out of the $212 support, with bulls seeing this as a sign to buy the dip. Saturday’s surge came as XMR rose past its long-term resistance level of $228.55, on its way to its highest point in over four months. As seen on the chart, today’s gains have somewhat eased, in a similar fashion to the move in early January, as traders likely secured profits. The 14-day RSI is now sitting below a key resistance level of 63.69, and until this point is breached, we may not see any further gains in price. Is there enough bullish momentum to overcome this hurdle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

While the Ethereum community is getting prepared for The Merge and the protocol’s transition to a full proof-of-stake (PoS) system, the network’s hashrate reached an all-time high (ATH) on April 7, 2022. On Thursday, Ethereum’s hashrate reached a high of 1.131 petahash per second (PH/s), jumping 13% in 89 days. Ethereum’s Hashrate Climbs 13% Higher Since the First Week of January The Ethereum blockchain is expected to transition into a full proof-of-stake (PoS) network this year via The Merge. It’s unclear how smoothly that transition will go and for now, ethereum (ETH) miners are minting blocks as fast as they can. The three-month hashrate chart via coinwarz.com shows that Ethereum’s hashrate captured a high of 1.131 petahash per second (PH/s) on April 7, 2022. On January 9, 2022, Ethereum’s network hashrate rose above the 1.032 PH/s zone. This means over two months, after reaching a single petahash, the network has seen a 13% increase in hashpower. Ethereum’s hashrate has grown exponentially since March 21, 2016. On that day, the hashrate was roughly 1.51 terahash per second (TH/s) or 1,510,000,000,000 hashes per second (H/s). Today’s Ethereum hashrate at 1.131 PH/s, or 1,131,000,000,000,000 H/s, is 74,800% higher than it was six years ago. In recent times, Ethereum’s daily mining rewards have outpaced Bitcoin’s 24-hour mining rewards as well. On April 9, 2022, Ethereum’s daily mining revenue of $88.8 million is 16% more than Bitcoin’s $76.4 million in daily rewards. Ethermine.org Commands Top Pool Position, Innosilicon’s A11 Is Top Ether Mining Rig On Saturday morning (ET), the mining pool Ethermine.org is the network’s top mining operation with 281.29 TH/s of hashpower. F2pool is the second-largest ethereum (ETH) mining pool with 146.15 TH/s, and is followed by Poolin’s hashrate of 114.33 TH/s. The top three ethereum mining pools are followed by Hiveon, 2miners, Flexpool, Antpool, Nanopool, Mining Pool Hub, and Ezil, respectively. The top ether mining operation Ethermine.org commands 24.87% of the network’s hashrate, capturing 290 blocks of the last 1,000 ETH blocks found. The top mining rig this weekend in terms of profit is the Innosilicon A11 Pro ETH miner with 1,500 megahash per second (MH/s), or 1.5 gigahash per second (GH/s). The A11 Pro, using current ether exchange rates and $0.12 per kilowatt-hour of electricity, will produce $69.32 per day in profits. Meanwhile, the Innosilicon A10 Pro+ ETH miner with 750 MH/s can get around $34.15 per day in ether profits. Rumor has it that Bitmain will launch an Antminer called the E9 with 3 GH/s in power. However, E9 rumors have been discussed for a long time and the alleged machine has not seen the light of day. If it were to exist, the 3 GH/s of eth hashpower would produce $144.81 per day in profits. What do you think about Ethereum’s hashrate tapping an all-time high as miners race to find blocks before The Merge takes place? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin was trading close to its long-term support level during Saturday’s session, as the decline in crypto markets continued. The price of ETH was also lower to start the weekend, falling below $3,200 in the process. Bitcoin Cryptocurrency markets were down by over 2% on Saturday, with BTC falling by the same amount to start the weekend. On Saturday, BTC/USD was trading close to its $42,000 support level for the majority of the session, following an earlier low of $42,183.25. This drop follows on from Friday’s intraday high of $43,903.02, however as volatility continued to rise, trades liquidated some positions, sending prices lower. However, the drop fell short of breaking out of the floor, as the downward momentum eased, despite the moving averages nearing the point of a crossover. Looking at the chart, momentum fell as we hit another key support point, this time in the form of the 14-day RSI, which saw the 43.55 floor hold firm. Should this be broken, bears will likely look to take BTC/USD towards the $40,000 point, however, bulls could possibly look to hold the line. Ethereum After attempting to withstand the current red wave, the world’s second-largest crypto was finally submerged, as ETH fell below $3,200 today. ETH/USD fell to an intraday low of $3,179.14 to start the weekend, which came less than 24 hours after hitting a high above $3,300. Saturday’s drop means that ETH is now down close to 9% in the last seven days, and as such, is staying close to its long-term floor. This current support level in ETH is at the $3,145 point, which has been in place since March 21, following an engulfing bullish candlestick which broke the then ceiling. Now acting as a support, ETH has been trading close to this zone for the last three sessions, which many see as the sign of a sustained spell of consolidation, following its recent bullish streak. The 14-day RSI continues to also consolidate, moving between the 51 and 55 levels, with many not expecting any substantial change in momentum, until these points are broken. How long do you expect this consolidation to continue? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

The Parliament of the EU has designated ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, the top cryptocurrency regulator of the region in the latest draft of MiCA, the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation. The European organization would have the task of licensing crypto-related institutions and exchanges, putting national regulators under its authority. ESMA Gets Crypto Regulatory Powers in Latest MiCA Draft The latest draft of MiCA, the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation, has brought significant changes to the way in which cryptocurrency licenses for organizations are approved. The draft, approved by the EU Parliament, assigns the role to ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, undermining the authority of institutions like the Bafin in Germany, or the CNMV in Spain on the subject. This draft mimics the system that the EU also uses for approving banking licenses in the region, where the European Central Bank is the only authority capable of granting or revoking banking licenses to entities inside the system. However, in previous iterations of the mentioned draft, it was the national regulators that were responsible for this task. The reasons for the change in the focus of this aspect of the law have not been announced yet. Furthermore, a new directive gives ESMA the ability to determine which crypto assets are under the scope of the law, and which aren’t. The directive states ESMA will issue “guidelines that reduce legal uncertainty and guarantee fair competition conditions between market operators.” More Changes The new draft also introduces a new classification for a kind of crypto assets called “e-money tokens,” which are stablecoins linked to legal tender currencies. These tokens are of special importance for MiCA because of their usage as payment methods. The issuers of these tokens must have a banking license or operate as an electronic money entity. Traditional assets and NFTs are not within the scope of the law, meaning these would be managed by the regulators of each country as they see fit. All of the changes proposed are still subject to approval, but the whole text might be greenlighted in Q3. A lot of controversies have resulted from the inclusion of some clauses in the draft. For example, the ban on proof-of-work-based cryptocurrencies due to sustainability concerns that has now been dropped. Another European crypto law that has received backlash is the Transfer of Funds Regulation, which seeks to apply stringent controls to cryptocurrency transactions, including those initiated from unhosted wallets. What do you think about the new MiCA draft that designates ESMA as the top crypto regulator in Europe? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The head of the South African central bank has insisted that regulators and policymakers should be involved in directing any potential move to markets that are based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). Pondering the Implications of Innovation The governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Lesetja Kganyago, has argued that central banks, regulators, and policymakers should and must play a role in “shaping a potential move to DLT-based markets.” According to Kganyago, these stakeholders can achieve this objective by “pondering the implications of innovation, promoting responsible innovation for the public good.” In addition, they can also do this by “informing an appropriate policy and regulatory response.” In his virtual address following the launch of the Project Khokha 2 (PK 2) report, Kganyago shared his views concerning the future of central banks in a world that is based on the principles of decentralization. He said: From a regulatory perspective, I think it is unlikely that decentralised markets will be suitable in all instances or that decentralisation will guarantee the achievement of public policy objectives such as consumer protection, financial stability as well as safety and soundness, which fall within the mandates of central banks and regulators. The governor nonetheless concludes in his address that the role of central banks and regulators should “evolve with financial markets” to ensure they stay relevant in future markets just as they are relevant now. Experiment No Indication of Support Meanwhile, Kganyago revealed that during the second phase of the project, PK2 had explored the implications of “tokenisation in financial markets through a proof-of-concept (POC) that issued, cleared and settled SARB debentures using distributed ledger technology (DLT).” PK2 also examined “how settlement in central bank money and commercial bank money can happen on DLT.” The SARB governor clarified in remarks that the PK2 experiment did “not signal support for any particular technology” or a change in policy direction. According to Kganyago, in the initial experiment, dubbed PK1, the central bank and its partners had explored “the use of DLT for interbank settlements by successfully replicating some functions of the South African real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system on DLT.” What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Sky Mavis, the company behind the play-to-earn (P2E) game Axie Infinity, announced it has raised $150 million in a funding round to replenish the funds the company lost in the Ronin Network exploit. The funding round — which was led by Binance and had the participation of companies like Animoca Brands, a16z, Dialectic, Paradigm, and Accel — constitutes part of the actions the company is taking to recover its ecosystem and reimburse users. Sky Mavis Raises Funds to Replenish Its Ronin Bridge Sky Mavis, the operator of Axie Infinity, a recognized play-to-earn (P2E) video game in the Web3 ecosystem, has finally announced the actions it will take to recover the funds lost and restore trust in its Ronin Network. The company revealed a funding round where it raised $150 million, led by Binance with the participation of companies in the play-to-earn field like Animoca Brands, and other firms like a16z, Dialectic, Paradigm, and Accel. On the participation of Binance in this round, Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the exchange, stated: We strongly believe Sky Mavis will bring a lot of value and growth for the larger industry and we believe it’s necessary to support them as they work hard to resolve the recent incident. Other Actions On the Way The company also informed about another set of actions it will be taking as a result of the exploit the Ronin Bridge suffered. Sky Mavis declared that with the new funds and other funds taken from its treasury, all of the users’ accounts affected will be reimbursed. However, the 56K ethereum that was taken will remain under-collateralized as the company works with law enforcement to recover its cryptocurrency stash. The company will also address the limited validator number that was a factor in the exploit. On this, Trung Nguyen, CEO of Sky Mavis, declared: With the support of Binance and other industry leaders, we will be able to quickly expand the validator set from five to 21 validators to ensure the security of the Ronin network. The Ronin Network bridge, which is still non-operational since the aforementioned exploit, will be reopened once it undergoes new security audits, which Sky Mavis has declared can take several weeks. The company said it is taking security more seriously now, and is undergoing “rigorous internal security measures” to prevent similar new attacks that could have a social element. What do you think about Sky Mavis’ $150 million funding round? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Johannes Gawaxab, the governor of the Bank of Namibia (BON), has said his organization is planning to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The governor, however, warns the launch might have implications for financial stability. BON Researching CBDCs The BON governor, Johannes Gawaxab, recently confirmed that the central bank is now planning to launch a CBDC. He confirmed the BON has already started researching CBDCs which, according to him, are now a “reality” that cannot be ignored. In remarks published by Namibia Daily News, Gawaxab hinted that the increased interest in privately issued cryptos may have forced the central bank to act. He said: The number and value of cryptocurrencies have surged, raising the possibility of a financial world operating outside the control of governments and central banks. There is thus a need for central banks to have a clear digital currency agenda to reinforce Central Bank authority over money and maintain control over the payment system. Namibia’s Digital Agenda Concerning Namibia’s proposed digital currency agenda, Gawaxab is quoted in the report insisting that such an agenda should only be accepted if it’s a product of consultations between governments, financial institutions, and the general public. Meanwhile, the BON governor suggested that while the central bank is looking to launch the CBDC, the country’s policymakers should also be aware of the potential impact on financial stability that comes with such a digital currency launch. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar has outlined the implications of India issuing a central bank digital currency, the digital rupee. ”I think central banks would go about it in a very calibrated, graduated manner, assessing impact all along the line,” he explained. RBI’s Deputy Governor Discusses Indian Central Bank Digital Currency RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar talked about the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) Thursday at an event organized by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). He also outlined potential implications on India’s financial system and monetary policy, PTI reported. The RBI will issue a central bank digital currency this financial year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced during her budget speech in February. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described that the digital rupee will be the digital form of India’s physical rupee and will be regulated by the RBI. “The digital rupee will revolutionize the fintech sector,” he said. Commenting on different CBDC models, Deputy Governor Sankar pointed out that there are many “uncertainties in terms of which model works, which design works well in terms of its impact on the banking system, on data privacy, on monetary policy.” He opined: I think almost all central banks and we are no exception will probably go in for a very careful and calibrated, nuanced manner. Emphasizing that central banks should “do no harm” when introducing any new technologies, he said: ”I think central banks would go about it in a very calibrated, graduated manner, assessing impact all along the line and then making those connections with what is most demanded.” The RBI deputy governor proceeded to highlight some benefits of issuing a digital currency, including cost, distributional, and settlement efficiency. He noted that the digital rupee will significantly reduce the time taken for cross-border transactions and make them real-time. Discussing how central bank digital currencies could affect India’s financial system, he cautioned, “one must realize that global experience is virtually non-existent at this point in time on a few things like [how] CBDCs might affect the banking system.” Deputy Governor Sankar explained that CBDCs could affect the transactional demand for deposits in the Indian banking system. He detailed that if that happens, “the deposit creation would get affected negatively and to that extent the ability to create credit by the banking system also goes down.” He added: To the extent low cost transactional deposits move away from the banking system, the average cost of deposits might go up, which generally would lead to slight upward pressure on the cost of funds in the system itself. During the ICRIER event, V. Anantha Nageswaran, chief economic advisor to the Indian government, said the launch of a CBDC will not obviate the need to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country as they will continue to exist. The RBI deputy governor also commented on stablecoins, warning that they could become a much bigger threat to dollarization than a cryptocurrency. As for cryptocurrencies, he believes that they cannot be used in small transactions due to their extreme volatility. The Indian government is currently working on a framework for cryptocurrency. Finance ministry officials are reportedly consulting with international organizations on the matter, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Meanwhile, cryptocurrency income is now being taxed at 30% without loss offsets or deductions allowed. On July 1, a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) will also be levied on crypto transactions. What do you think about RBI Deputy Governor Sankar’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article