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A crypto-friendly special economic zone in Honduras has adopted bitcoin as legal tender, allowing the cryptocurrency to be used to pay taxes and fees. In addition, bitcoin bonds can be issued within its jurisdiction using “world-class standards for AML and KYC.” Bitcoin Operates as Legal Tender in Próspera Próspera, a special economic zone located on the island of Roatan in the Western Caribbean and the Northern Corridor of Honduras, announced Thursday that it has adopted bitcoin as legal tender. Referring to Próspera as “crypto-friendly,” the announcement details, “Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies effectively operate as legal tender within its jurisdiction.” A spokesperson for Próspera told Bitcoin.com News: Próspera has no capital gains taxes, which means that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies effectively operate as legal tender in the jurisdiction. “Residents and businesses in Próspera may transact using bitcoin, Honduran Lempiras, U.S. dollars, or any other currency of their choice without triggering capital gains tax liabilities on transactions,” the spokesperson added. The announcement notes: Unlike most other jurisdictions, transactions in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not subject to capital gains taxes. Issuing Bitcoin Bonds Próspera also announced that starting Thursday, “municipalities, local governments, and international firms can issue bitcoin bonds” in its jurisdiction “to attract foreign investments.” The special economic zone noted that bitcoin bonds issued through Próspera “will comply with world-class standards for AML [anti-money laundering] and KYC [know your customer].” El Salvador, a neighboring country of Honduras, made bitcoin as legal tender in September last year alongside the U.S. dollar. The country’s tourism has increased 30% after BTC became legal tender. What do you think about this special economic zone in Honduras adopting bitcoin as legal tender? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Amid the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the Russian ruble has managed to rebound despite the strict sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation. The country’s central bank has taken a few steps to protect the nation’s currency as the Bank of Russia revealed a fixed price for gold and rubles. Furthermore, after pegging the fiat currency to gold, on Friday Russia’s central bank announced a surprise interest rate cut that starts Monday. EU Leaders and Western Allies Create Stricter Sanctions Amid Ruble Rebound At the end of February, after the conflict started between Ukraine and Russia, the European Commission and Western allies imposed strict restrictions on the Bank of Russia’s international reserves. The sanctions sparked bank runs and the Russian ruble dropped to record lows against the U.S. dollar. With harsh sanctions still imposed against Russia and the conflict still taking place, European leaders are planning to stop Russian coal imports. On Friday, European Union (EU) leaders formally agreed to ban coal and current coal contracts with Russia must be canceled by August. The EU also banned imports of Russian caviar, vodka, and specific chemicals, alongside exports of jet fuel. However, despite all the sanctions, Russia has managed to keep the Russian ruble afloat and against the U.S. dollar it has returned to pre-war levels. Economists and analysts have attributed the rise to a few choice chess moves Russia has played in recent times like surprisingly announcing the ruble would be backed by gold. Russia’s central bank pegged the price of RUB to 5,000 for a gram of gold. While creating a gold parity for a national currency is something nation states did decades ago, the practice has mostly been retired. A great number of speculators believe the move to create a gold parity with the ruble will have lasting effects on the U.S. dollar. Pegging the ruble to gold could make the fiat currency desirable in Forex markets and bring allies from other nation states interested in the gold-backed framework. Russian Gas to Be Paid in Ruble Only, Bank of Russia Slashes Interest Rate Another step Russia has taken to protect its financial interests is a new law that requires “unfriendly” countries to pay for gas with the ruble. The order was signed by Russian president Vladimir Putin on March 31 and went into effect on April 1. “In order to purchase Russian natural gas, they must open ruble accounts in Russian banks. It is from these accounts that payments will be made for gas delivered starting from tomorrow,” Putin explained in statements he made on Russian television. On Friday, the Bank of Russia slashed the country’s benchmark bank rate from 20% to 17%. The rate will become effective on Monday as the central bank said it “changed the balance of risks” in order to curb inflation. “External conditions for the Russian economy are still challenging, considerably constraining economic activity,” Russia’s central bank disclosed in a statement on Friday. “Financial stability risks are still present, but have ceased to increase for the time being, including owing to the adopted capital control measures.” Amid the sanctioned economy and war, peace talks between Ukraine and Russia have failed. According to reports on Friday, a rocket attack killed at least 50 people in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. Furthermore, Russia is demanding that the country recognizes the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk among other demands. The two areas are located in eastern Ukraine and Vladimir Putin says the regions are independent. For now, Putin’s and Russia’s ruble has a lot more strength than it did at the beginning of the war, and Luis Saenz the head of international distribution at Sinara says the Bank of Russia does not want the momentum to stop. “The central bank wants to be a locomotive of the economic rebound, not a brake,” Saenz said on Friday. What do you think about the recent ruble rebound and the steps the Bank of Russia is taking to protect the economy? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

With the current concerns around global energy usage, combined with increasing requirements for data processing services, many countries previously supportive of centralized data processing businesses are investigating the impact of these businesses and how they mitigate a requirement for continuous energy distribution to all sectors – commercial and private. Data processing services consume large amounts of energy in a localized physical space. The combination of energy consumption and physical footprint expansion is impacting the continuous and uninterrupted distribution of energy creating an unsustainable demand from both the commercial and private sectors. To ensure continuous availability across all markets, countries are limiting supply, terminating supply or stopping new operating licenses. However, demand for data processing requirements is not diminishing, it is growing and so alternative data processing solutions are required. Spreading energy consumption with decentralized data processing networks Global, decentralized data processing is the way forward. Creating a decentralized, global data processing network, interconnected through Internet technology is one approach to solving the centralized data processing problem. Harnessing processing devices into one network, with supercomputer performance, facilitates the delivery of large scale data processing requirements whilst spreading the consumption of processing energy, globally. This approach creates a greener, more ecologically compliant approach to energy consumption for data processing services, spreading processing capability through different countries and regions, mitigating energy consumption bottlenecks, and resolves supply problems through the ability to re-route network processing. Harnessing the power of a GPU GAIMIN has created a data processing network with supercomputer level performance by harnessing the underutilized processing power found in high performance PC-based Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). Following research, GAIMIN identified gaming PC’s as the most appropriate device to target to create the GAIMIN distributed data processing network as a gaming PC typically includes a high performance GPU, the GPU is underutilized (a gaming PC is typically only used for around 4 hours per day for gaming, but remains switched on when not being used) and is continually upgraded by the gamer to improve their gameplay, resulting in even greater performance available from the devices. GAIMIN – Generating revenue, delivering benefit The GAIMIN business model is based around a large number of users downloading the GAIMIN application and allowing their devices to be incorporated into the GAIMIN data processing network to deliver distributed data processing services. Based on research, the PC gamer is the key demographic for a GAIMIN application user. As such, GAIMIN’s approach is to target gamers and the market sectors in which gamers participate to create brand awareness and ultimately, application download and participation in the GAMIN data processing network. As a company was set up by gamers, for gamers, GAIMIN identifies the importance of correctly targeting a gamer, delivering a gamer what they want to improve and enhance their gaming experience, whilst creating a business based on a gamer’s technology and their involvement in the GAIMIN community. Brand Awareness = User Acquisition With a focus on user acquisition, GAIMIN is implementing strategies to create brand awareness across a number of gaming sectors, with a specific focus on esports. Esports is a high-growth area with popular esports games having millions of followers across a number of genres. GAIMIN has recently established GAIMIN Gladiators, an esports community and group of teams participating in the DOTA2, Counter Strike Offensive, Rainbow 6 Siege, Pokemon Unite and Rocket League leagues. GAIMIN Gladiator’s roster of players have been selected due to their skills and expertise, and are trained by skilled and experienced players, attending regular bootcamps to improve their performance and skills. GAIMIN Gladiators GAIMIN Gladiators was only formed in January 2022 however in the first 3 months, the teams have already successfully competed in a number of tournaments and events, improving their rankings and moving forward into higher level tournaments. With a strong social media presence and a rapidly increasing social media following, especially within the Discord and Telegram communities, GAIMIN are rapidly exceeding brand awareness expectations and creating an excited community ready to download and run the GAIMIN application when it is fully released. User monetization and rewards GAIMIN generates revenue primarily from application users participating in the GAIMIN data processing network and monetizing their devices. GAIMIN pays upto 90% of the revenue generated back to the user and retains 10% for its operations. The more users participating in the GAIMIN network, the more revenue generated by GAIMIN and the more is returned back to users. GAIMIN monetizes the data processing network through the delivery of different data processing services. Currently the primary monetization approach is the powering of blockchain computations, however GAIMIN has successfully trialed video rendering, which is more profitable. Using AI to maximise rewards GAIMIN’s AI driven approach determines the current device availability, creates the data processing network and allocates the processing network to different monetization functions depending on performance availability and the most profitable monetization option available at the current time. For example, this could be video rendering services, it could be powering blockchain computations, it could be something else! GAIMIN are currently researching other uses for the GAIMIN distributed data processing network and intend to launch new mechanisms to monetize devices in the future. GMRX – GAIMIN’s own cryptocurrency GAIMIN pays its users in GMRX, GAIMIN’s own cryptocurrency. When a user monetizes their device, GAIMIN receives payment for the delivery of services in a number of different ways – fiat and crypto for example, and returns upto 90% of the rewards generated back to the user in the consolidated GMRX crypto currency. A user stores their GMRX, which can be used for the purchase of accessories, merchandise, in-game assets and NFTs. As GMRX is soon to be listed on crypto exchanges, a user can convert their GMRX into other crypto assets or fiat currency. As you would expect, GAIMIN wants its users to retain their GMRX and use it for purchases through GAIMIN. GAIMIN incentivises GMRX holders to retain their GMRX through additional benefits, bonuses and discounts, including NFTs, bespoke merchandise, discounted accessories. GAIMCRAFT NFTs are an interesting proposition. The current market trend and philosophy around NFTs is to create unique NFTs, sell them at a high price and support the secondary market in reselling NFTs at a profit. GAIMIN is taking a different approach. As a gaming company, GAIMIN perceives the benefit of a NFT to be owned by an individual and re-used across a number of different games and platforms that support NFT and blockchain technology. GAIMIN has developed GAIMCRAFT – GAIMIN’s approach to augmenting games to incorporate blockchain technology and NFT components into gameplay, either through the development of dedicated metaverse environments for games, such as Minecraft, or through the development of SDK’s to allow game developers to incorporate blockchain and NFT technologies into their games. GAIMCRAFT takes gaming NFTs to the next level through the implementation of interoperable NFTs which can be reused across different games but will morph depending on the game in which they are being used. The morphing of the NFT will be dependent on the in-game utilisation and could be as simple as a “re-skinning” of the NFT, a more graphically intensive design for the NFT, or it could be a complete change in the asset – for example, a sword in one game could be a flower in another game. NFT Acquisition GAIMIN will sell NFTs in its marketplace at a low cost to enable users to build their NFT asset repository at a low cost. As an example, a user with a mid-range GPU could expect to earn $1 per day when active in the GAIMIN network. GAIMIN intends to create in-game NFTs for $1 or less, enabling a gamer to build their own repository of in-game interoperable NFTs to support their gameplay. Being interoperable, the NFTs can be re-used across different games and genres and take a form and operational structure relevant to the game. Medium and higher cost NFTs, which have enhanced utility and attributes, will be minted but require the user to remain participating in the GAIMIN network until they have earned sufficient rewards to acquire a more expensive asset. User Incentivization GAIMIN will incentivise users to retain GMRX, spend it on GAIMIN products and services and actively continue to participate in the GAIMIN monetization network. GAIMIN wants utility based NFTs to be widely available and used, rather than held for investment and growth. GAIMIN grows its user community through brand building GAIMIN will create a community that engages in brand-building events; a community that can easily acquire in-game assets, builds an extensive repository of interoperable, in-game NFTs and is rewarded for their participation and retention of GAIMIN branded and GAIMIN generated assets through the use of GMRX which is designed to have value and reward holders for use within GAIMIN and GAIMCRAFT. No Gamer Left Behind As GAIMIN’s monetization approach is multi-functional and not based on one aspect (such as mining), GAIMIN has created a number of user-retention mechanisms. Traditional mining-based monetization options typically focus on one approach – mining, where the value of user rewards are dependent on the hashpower contributed by the user. The greater the performance of a device, the greater the hashpower contributed, the greater the reward. This discriminates against users who do not have high performance devices! GAIMIN’s multi-functional monetization approach implements a variety of mechanisms reward users for participating in the GAIMIN network. This includes rewards based on hashpower however to ensure no gamer is left behind, GAIMIN has introduced other approaches to reward a user – for example, time (hours) connected to the GAIMIN network – the longer a device remains active on the network, the more hours the user builds to allow them to claim different NFT assets and rewards. This approach is unique to GAIMIN and sets GAIMIN apart from the perceived competition whose focus and reward is purely based on hashpower. GAIMIN’s philosophy of “no gamer left behind” is designed to allow as many gamers as possible to earn rewards and enhance their gaming experience and does not just reward those users who have highly performing devices. For more information on GAIMIN Gladiators click on this link: https://linktr.ee/GaiminGladiators For more information on GAIMIN click on this link: www.gaimin.io For up to date information, please follow the following GAIMIN social media accounts: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gaimin.io Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gaimin_io/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/GaiminIo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gaimin/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Gaimin Telegram: https://t.me/officialgaimin Discord: https://discord.gg/7XUnd2kjJK This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Facebook transformation to Meta a conceptual displacement towards Metaverse and Web 3.0, crypto and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are perceived by the global community as a game changing leap forward with a huge potential. The estimated number of global crypto users is 106 million people in the world. 13% of Americans bought or traded crypto in the past 12 months. (By comparison, only 24% of Americans invested in stocks). Even bigger companies such as Tesla or Square have up to 7-10% of their assets in cryptocurrency. In 2021 investors poured a record $30 billion into crypto. Armaldia is a fantasy metaverse globe. It is an economic, social, MMO unique cryptogame using BNB chain (BInance smart chain). The universe is composed of 198k revenue generating land plots that can be purchased as NFT. A pivot is a war. War is the main amusement and money provider. The builder game includes construction, production of resources and trade. Crypto and Web 3.0 as the edge of the present Web 3.0 which includes cryptocurrencies’ little brother NFT, immersive virtual and augmented reality and secured decentralized messengers as Secretum that gives full ownership of the data. Armaldia is one of Web 3.0 phenomena, a city builder genre cryptogame. Though as it has infinite expansion, it is one of a kind. The switch from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 corresponds to the switch from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. The difference between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 is in their working principles based on certain values. In Web 3.0 everyone owns the data. There is no need for intermediaries due to smart contracts. Everything is provided automatically and with no regulator. The process is transparent and therefore reliable. Values of Armaldia as a blockchain game Blockchain performs as a horizontal and more liberal structure, a future alternative to Web 2.0’s censorship of market monopolies. Armaldia uses Binance Smart Chain to support NFTs. Binance NFT is the world’s largest centralized NFT marketplace with view and trade a wide variety of in-game items, virtual earth, artwork and more – with a flat trading fee of just 1%. BNB is faster and cheaper than other blockchains with an amplified infrastructure. Since its launch in June 2021, Binance NFT has become the biggest and fastest growing NFT marketplace in the world, selling over 1 million NFTs and partnering with over 800 creators worldwide. The strengths of Armaldia blockchain game: Security. Since online gaming uses a strong blockchain system of cryptography to secure transactions, it provides a drastic level of security and anonymity. Decentralization. Metaverse on BNB Blockchain used for Armaldia is not centralized. Speed. Cryptogame offers an accelerated mode of payment without any intermediary such as banks or credit companies. Comfortable transactions. There are no chargeback issues usually associated with credit cards. NFT. Armaldia supposes earning of crypto & NFT by paying. Passive income. Play and gain. Play to earn in Armaldia metaverse Armaldia is an innovative blockchain that has been created as an addition of NFT in video games. It is a complex game universe with NFT objects inside. Some of them play a crucial role in the game. A revolutionary move of Armaldia in relation to Web 2.0’s versions of video games is an actual profit for players. Players can control a limited supply of highly valuable land plots, each of which is a unique and non-replaceable NFT, the fundamental building block of Armaldia. Armaldia assumes construction and personalization of buildings and trade of resources. Everything to gain more money, continue amplification and increase the value of a NFT by customizing it. Profit is derived through exchange between players. Two types of plots (and visual themes respectively) are perfectly scripted: a wild land and a tech land. Plus, there is an interactive structured war between two conflicting factions. Only buildings constructed specifically for war can be destroyed, while NFT buildings remain safe. The game is composed of three major steps: Preparation: construct buildings, obtain and trade resources to prepare for the war. This is a NFT stage. War: generate power for your constructed buildings, destroy the enemy buildings. Recovery: scavenge the resources from the war for the next cycle. Armaldia cryptogame is building, trading and making profit of land, avatars and estates. The main attraction is a war. The treasure is a personalized NFT. Every player is a virtual NFT land owner. Armaldia is an insurmountable changeover in online gaming. Visit Us! – Armaldia Join Discord – https://discord.gg/yGte9WQdXR Medium – https://medium.com/@armaldia.game Telegram – https://t.me/armaldia Twitter – https://twitter.com/ArmaldiaGame Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/armaldia This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

On Thursday, the payments and checkout and shopper network, Bolt has announced the firm plans to acquire the digital currency provider Wyre in a $1.5 billion deal. Bolt has explained the acquisition is aimed at bolstering cryptocurrency services and “the opportunity of Web3.” Payments and Checkout Firm Bolt Acquires Wyre The e-commerce platform Bolt has revealed a definitive agreement to acquire Wyre, according to the company’s press statements published on Thursday. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the deal was one of the largest crypto firm acquisitions in terms of financial settlement size in 2022, as the WSJ report noted the acquisition was roughly $1.5 billion. The official Bolt press release does not disclose the financial details of the acquisition deal. The announcement explains that the companies aim to “decentralize commerce” and “simplify digital shopping.” Both Bolt and Wyre plan to “close the transaction and fully integrate before the end of the year, and once complete, the acquisition will bring the power of Bolt’s CheckoutOS—one-click checkout, authentication, payments, and fraud protection—to the cryptocurrency ecosystem.” CEO of Bolt: ‘Acquisition Will Pave the Way for Seamless, Secure Crypto Transactions’ The firm says the benefits of the partnership include millions of Bolt network shoppers gaining access to a variety of digital currencies. Bolt detailed that “hundreds of retailers” can now accept crypto assets for goods and services. Furthermore, Bolt users will be able to acquire non-fungible tokens (NFTs) via Wyre’s APIs. “Our merchant and retail partners expect us to always be innovating on their behalf—because their customers demand it,” the CEO of Bolt, Maju Kuruvilla said in a statement. “That’s why it’s such a thrill to announce this acquisition, which is yet another step that Bolt has taken to improve the buying experience.” The Bolt executive added: This acquisition will pave the way for seamless, secure crypto transactions, and NFT enablement for our retailers. Both consumers and retailers will benefit from a friction-free buying experience that supports crypto and NFT natively. Wyre is a blockchain payment platform co-founded by Michael Dunworth and Ioannis Giannaros in 2013. Wyre offers blockchain-connected payment APIs and fiat-to-crypto onramps. In December 2016, Wyre raised $5.8 million in a Series A led by Amphora Capital, Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Draper Associates. The e-commerce firm Bolt was founded a year later in 2014 by Ryan Breslow. Bolt reported $1 billion in annualized payment volume in January of 2019, according to the Bloomberg author Olga Kharif. In 2018, the company raised $22 million in a Series A and in 2019, Bolt raised another $68 million in a Series B led by Activant Capital, and Tribe Capital. Other Bolt investors include Stanford’s Startx Fund, Floodgate, Naval Ravikant, Tom Proulx, and Jake Seid. What do you think about Bolt acquiring Wyre for $1.5 billion? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The metaverse will become the most popular place to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency, according to a recent survey. In addition, 70% of respondents agreed that “cryptocurrency and blockchain technology advancements will be critical to shaping the future of the metaverse.” Survey: Metaverse Will Be the Most Popular Place for Crypto Nasdaq-listed Agora (NASDAQ: API), a video, voice, and live interactive streaming platform, conducted a survey on the metaverse and published the results Tuesday. The company asked 300 U.S.-based developers a set of questions “to learn more about what they thought about the metaverse and what we will see in the coming years,” Agora detailed. Developers were surveyed because for them, “the growth of the metaverse allows the development of new communities and allows them to better connect with users,” the company explained. According to the results: 57% of respondents think that the metaverse will become the most popular place to buy, store and trade cryptocurrency, while 18% disagree and 25% feel neutral. In addition, 70% agreed that “cryptocurrency and blockchain technology advancements will be critical to shaping the future of the metaverse,” while 9% disagreed. Regarding non-fungible tokens (NFTs), “The majority of developers are bullish on NFTs and believe they will become the biggest [currency] in the near team,” the survey results note. Survey participants were also asked who they think will own the metaverse. 55% of respondents said Meta (formerly Facebook), 9% said Google, 7% said Microsoft, 6% said Apple, and 5% said Amazon. Meta recently filed eight trademark applications covering the metaverse and a wide range of crypto services. A number of analysts have estimated the size of the metaverse. Last month, Citi predicted that the metaverse could be a $13 trillion opportunity with five billion users by the year 2030. Meanwhile, investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley both said the metaverse could be an $8 trillion opportunity. In February, JPMorgan opened a lounge in Decentraland after stating that “The metaverse will likely infiltrate every sector in some way in the coming years, with the market opportunity estimated at over $1 trillion in yearly revenues.” Do you think that the metaverse will be the most popular platform to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon sees decentralized finance (defi) and blockchain as real, new technologies that can be deployed in both private and public fashion. He also noted that JPMorgan is at the forefront of this innovation. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Praises Defi and Blockchain JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon recognized the merit of decentralized finance (defi) and blockchain technologies in his latest annual letter to shareholders, published Monday. While talking about his company’s investments in technology, Dimon said: Decentralized finance and blockchain are real, new technologies that can be deployed in both public and private fashion, permissioned or not. The CEO elaborated: “JPMorgan Chase is at the forefront of this innovation. We use a blockchain network called Liink to enable banks to share complex information, and we also use a blockchain to move tokenized U.S. dollar deposits with JPM Coin.” According to its website, 39 countries are now covered within the Liink network. More than 25 of the world’s leading banks have signed up to participate and over 400 leading institutions have signed letters of intent to join. The global investment bank said that it “established Liink to find more efficient ways to transfer data through custom applications.” JPMorgan explained that “JPM Coin is a permissioned, shared ledger system that serves as a payment rail and deposit account ledger, enabling participating J.P. Morgan clients to transfer US Dollars held on deposit with J.P. Morgan.” The coin “facilitates real-time value movement, helping to solve common hurdles of traditional cross-border payments,” its website details. Commenting further about blockchain in his letter to shareholders, Dimon wrote: We believe there are many uses where a blockchain can replace or improve contracts, data ownership and other enhancements. Nonetheless, he cautioned that for some purposes, “It is currently too expensive or too slow to be deployed.” While praising decentralized finance and blockchain technologies, Dimon has not warmed up to cryptocurrency, even after JPMorgan began offering some crypto-related products to clients. Dimon warned in November last year: “Cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value … I would be very careful.” In October, he said bitcoin was worthless and questioned its limited supply. In May, he advised people to stay away from cryptocurrency. Last week, a JPMorgan report stated that there is limited upside for crypto markets. However, in February, the firm predicted that the long-term price of bitcoin would reach $150,000. Nonetheless, JPMorgan said global regulation is urgently needed for banks to help clients invest in crypto. What do you think about Jamie Dimon’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The National Bank of Georgia is taking steps to regulate the crypto market in the Southern Caucasus country, its governor revealed in a recent interview. While companies in the industry are to expect a licensing regime, financial institutions have already been banned from providing crypto-related services. Central Bank of Georgia to Propose Cryptocurrency Regulations Georgia’s monetary authority is planning to introduce rules for operations in the nation’s crypto space. The financial regulator has drafted new legislation to achieve this, the bank’s Governor Koba Gvenetadze told The Financial, a Georgian business news portal. The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has prepared the necessary amendments in accordance with the requirements of the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), the top official emphasized. The bank is also receiving technical assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the development of the regulatory framework, Gvenetadze added. Quoted by the publication, he elaborated: The draft legislative changes at this stage include registration and licensing, compliance testing and AML control requirements for crypto market players. While the rules for these entities are still being finalized, Georgian authorities have already introduced measures limiting the exposure of traditional financial companies to decentralized crypto assets. They have been prohibited from providing digital currency exchange and transfer services, Gvenetadze remarked. “Also, persons that carry out activities related to virtual assets should be classified by financial institutions as high-risk clients and should be subject to appropriate enhanced preventive measures,” the governor said. Asked to provide an estimate of the current cryptocurrency turnover in the country, the head of the central bank noted that as the crypto sector is not regulated yet, Georgian authorities do not have recent and accurate data about its size. According to a report published by Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (Moneyval) released in September 2020, the monthly crypto exchange transaction volume in Georgia was between 3.5 and 5 million Georgian lari (€1 to €1.5 million). The regulatory push now comes after in October last year, the NBG announced it’s going to launch a digital version of the national fiat currency as early as 2022. The monetary policy regulator said it plans to employ the blockchain-based central bank digital currency (CBDC) to facilitate retail sales. Do you expect Georgia to regulate its crypto space in the near future? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On April 7, the digital currency exchange Crypto.com announced that fighters from the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), will be able to win Fight Night bonuses that will be paid in bitcoin. Fight Night bonus payouts will vary depending on placement, and contestants that finish first place will get paid $30,000 in bitcoin for the win. UFC and Crypto.com to Pay Athletes Bonuses in Bitcoin via Fan Voting Process After partnering with the UFC during the first week of July 2021, the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com announced on Thursday bitcoin bonuses for UFC athletes who place first, second, and third in a Fight Night competition. Moreover, the placement decision will be done by fan voting in order to choose the top three best fighters from each UFC pay-per-view (PPV) event. “Bitcoin bonuses include $30,000 for First Place, $20,000 for Second Place, and $10,000 for Third Place,” the crypto exchange’s announcement explains. The bitcoin (BTC) bonuses will be based on the USD exchange rate at the time and the first bitcoin bonus Fight Night will be at UFC 273: Volkanovski vs the Korean Zombie. The UFC tournament will take place on Saturday, April 9 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. “Crypto.com has been an official UFC partner for less than a year, and I’m telling you they are already one of the best partners we’ve ever had,” UFC president Dana White said in a statement. The UFC executive added: [Crypto.com is] constantly coming up with new ideas about how we can work together to connect with the fans. This new Fan Bonus of the Night is an awesome way to get fans more engaged in our events while rewarding the fighters for bad-ass performances. According to the announcement on Thursday, each UFC PPV event will have fan voting and fans will leverage the URL crypto.com/fanbonus to access the portal. Crypto.com says the voting is open to all users globally and fans get three votes per PPV event. Fans can vote for two fighters per bout and voting begins at the start of the PPV preliminaries, while voting ends an hour after the Fight Night event. “Central to our partnership with UFC is creating the most unique and compelling ways for fans to connect with the sport and their favorite athletes,” Steven Kalifowitz, Crypto.com’s chief marketing officer said. “We are thrilled for this next step in our partnership with UFC and excited to build even more innovative and engaging experiences as our partnership continues.” What do you think about the UFC and Crypto.com giving fighters bonuses in bitcoin? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

At the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, Block, Inc., formerly Square, Inc., announced three new bitcoin services for the company’s mobile payment platform. The mobile payment platform Cash App will feature a “paid in bitcoin” service that allows users to auto-invest their work pay into bitcoin. Cash App Adds 3 New Bitcoin Services Jack Dorsey’s Block announced in Miami that the Cash App mobile payment system will offer three new features. The San Francisco company explained that the first feature will be a “paid in bitcoin” service that allows people to convert their pay into bitcoin (BTC). Cash App users will be able to convert 1% or up to 100% of their payroll into the leading crypto asset. The Block, which also manages Spiral, TIDAL, and TBD, explained at the conference that the team has been working on the idea since 2019. The next service the company revealed was a bitcoin round-up service which basically allows Cash App users to round up spare change from purchases into bitcoin (BTC). Essentially, the user’s Cash App card transactions will round up the purchases and automatically transfer the change to the user’s BTC wallet. Block is not the first firm to introduce paid in bitcoin services or BTC round-up services, as the concepts have been around for quite some time. For instance, people can leverage Coinbase or Bitwage to be paid in crypto as well, and Bundil and Roundlyx offer BTC round-up products. The third feature Cash App announced at the Miami bitcoin conference was “Lightning Network (LN) Receives” with a seamless Bitcoin UX. The Bitcoin UX will leverage unified QR codes that utilize the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal BIP 21. The QR code can combine both Lightning Network invoices and onchain information to make the process easier for Cash App users. Cash App already allowed LN payments since its introduction in January, but now users can leverage unified QR receive codes in order to accept LN payments directly. The move by Cash App follows the Atlanta-based payment processor Bitpay announcing LN support on Wednesday. Recent Breach Leaves 8 Million Cash App Customers Exposed The Cash App news follows the firm’s issues with a former employee that caused a massive data breach. Reports show that 8 million Cash App users were affected as the former employee was accused of downloading information tied to customers in December. The report from the Block claims that the download took place after the employee left the company. While the downloaded data does not contain bank info, usernames, passwords, or social security numbers, the information did contain the users’ brokerage account numbers and full names. What do you think about the three bitcoin products Cash App is launching? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Ethereum classic was easily the biggest gainer in the top 30 on Thursday, as the global crypto market was trading 0.9% lower as of writing. ZEC was also higher on the day, in what was a choppy session, as volatility remained higher, following a recent decline in prices. Ethereum Classic (ETC) Ethereum classic (ETC) was one of the only cryptocurrencies in the top 30 to climb on Thursday, following a turbulent market session. Following a low of $38.40 on Wednesday, ETC/USD rallied to a peak of $43.11 during today’s session. This comes after prices rebounded from the support point near $38.40, which has been in place since March 21. Thursday’s surge in ETC, comes after two consecutive sessions of declines that pushed prices further away from a recent five month high of $54.59. Looking at the chart, today’s move came as the 14-day RSI bounced away from its floor of 44.50, and moved past the ceiling of 48. Price strength is now tracking at 52.21, which is somewhat overbought, meaning that today’s gains may be temporary, and could still reverse. This uncertainty will likely worry today’s bulls, and could mean that some may close positions, and secure profits. Zcash (ZEC) Similar to ETC, zcash (ZEC) also rebounded after recent losses on Thursday, with today’s gains ending three consecutive days of declines. As of writing this, ZEC/USD hit an intraday high of $176.86 today, as the world’s 52nd largest cryptocurrency climbed by roughly 3.25%. Gains on Thursday follows a low of $159.20 on Wednesday, which is close to the current support level of $158.60. Although today’s decline didn’t take ZEC beyond this floor, prices are still at their lowest point since March 18. This comes as the moving averages of 10 and 25-days look set for a downward crossover, which could be a sign that more drops in price could be imminent. One of the only positives for bulls, is that today’s surge means that the floor of 45.83 on the RSI indicator was not broken, as such prices have stabilized, following recent falls. If this floor is broken, what price target will be the next landing spot for ZEC bears? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. PALO ALTO – April 7th, 2022 — Syntropy, a transformative Web3 connectivity company, announces its new customer – the sports betting and gaming giant, Entain. The FTSE 100 company is leveraging Syntropy’s global relay network with its decentralized autonomous routing protocol (DARP) to connect the company’s data centers across the globe. Syntropy’s technology reduces latency and packet loss, improving the overall performance and reliability of Entain’s network for its core offering as well as its future expansion into the metaverse with Ennovate Labs. The Syntropy Relay Network runs on top of the public internet and is fully programmable. This global digital fabric creates a network of networks composed of the best-connected ISPs, clouds, data centers, and devices, ensuring the best possible performance and security. Syntropy’s blockchain-based technology solves the fundamental issues with the internet. “With many exciting Web3 and metaverse projects in the making, we have to face the fact that the current internet infrastructure and routing protocol was not designed for performance optimization which is a fundamental requirement to make digitally immersive experiences a reality. Syntropy’s open, decentralized technology overcomes this technological roadblock,” said Domas Povilauskas, CEO at Syntropy. “Entain’s forward-looking networking team recognized the need for a Web3-ready connectivity system as they move into entertainment in the metaverse and NFTs.” Prior to deployment, Entain conducted a technical proof of concept (PoC), revealing that the default internet path suffered a substantial latency increase with spikes over 1500ms for 35 minutes, which rendered the connection unusable. Without any human intervention, Syntropy’s DARP technology immediately detected the performance problem and switched to an alternative, best-performing path immediately. “Due to the success of the technical PoC with Syntropy’s technology, Entain decided to become a customer and is already planning a rollout across the rest of its global footprint, including its 40+ geographically dispersed private data centers,” says Domas Povilauskas, CEO at Syntropy. “We are thrilled to be a partner and support their expansion into the metaverse.” Entain’s success with Syntropy Relay Network shows how the technology can easily be deployed by an enterprise network and managed through Syntropy Stack. This collection of tools and libraries enables enterprises to seamlessly create, automate, scale, and optimize encrypted connections between any devices or services running on a cloud, on-premise, or edge location. Leveraging the encryption layer of Syntropy Stack, Syntropy Relay Network introduces a crucial layer of programmability with enhanced encryption-based security that is critical for enterprise adoption. According to Markus Röglsperger, Head of Network, Datacenter, and Infrastructure Automation, Entain, “Syntropy’s segment-routing approach goes beyond the scope of traditional SD-WAN solutions and perfectly fits to our strategy to connect all Entain’s worldwide distributed sites only over the internet. Instead of relying on Internet Service Providers where Entain must give up control once a packet leaves the private network, Syntropy’s Relay Network continues to optimize Entain’s traffic while in transit all the way to the destination. This not only significantly reduces packet-loss and round-trip-times, but also saves a lot of time previously spent on troubleshooting issues between various service providers.” “It is exciting to see the critical data routing protocol that will enable Web3 being used to drive better customer experiences in a live enterprise scenario”, said Shawn Hakl, former SVP Business Product at Verizon and advisor to Syntropy. “The implementation of Syntropy’s blockchain-based technology at Entain demonstrates the evolution of enterprise networking to deliver a dynamic, decentralized network topology. Learn more about Syntropy by visiting, https://www.syntropynet.com/ About Syntropy Syntropy is a transformative, user-centric connectivity system that meets the voracious network demands of Web3. It is designed to solve issues prevalent in the current internet framework, including performance, privacy, governance, and ineffective resource utilization. Syntropy utilizes a combination of innovative technologies, including blockchain, encryption, performance routing, and an economic model that enables and fosters the creation of a more reliable, secure and faster-performing internet experience for all. To learn more visit www.syntropynet.com Media Contacts Kevin Gavin Syntropy Tel: 510 910-5191 Email: kevin@syntropynet.com Gina Jacobs Syntropy Email: gina@syntropynet.com This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

This past Tuesday, April 5, was the 89th anniversary of Executive Order 6102 when the U.S. government would strictly “forbid the hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States.” While the global economy seems to be heading toward disaster and the U.S. dollar’s strength is being examined, many have questioned whether or not the U.S. government will confiscate gold again. ‘No Crisis Should Go to Waste’ Over the last two years since the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, the world has been dealing with a rollercoaster economy. Months before the pandemic, monetary easing was already in high gear as more than 18 central banks started to notch benchmark bank rates down in a coordinated fashion in September 2019. The following month, 37 central banks participated in stimulus and easing practices approximately four months before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic in March 2020. During that month in 2020, the coronavirus outbreak fueled the central banks’ negative rates and quantitative easing policies as it expanded the monetary supply like at no other time in history. The U.S. Federal Reserve was one of the leading central banks that expanded the monetary supply and handed out ‘helicopter money’ to American citizens in the form of stimulus checks. Since then, inflation in the United States has run rampant and month after month, Americans using the U.S. dollar are losing purchasing power. Since the Ukraine-Russia war started, the economy has worsened. While the spread between 2-year and 10-year Treasury yields inverted, trend forecaster Gerald Celente said if the war ensues, the odds of recession will increase. Amid all of this, bureaucrats have implemented extreme measures like pressuring non-consenting adults to vaccinate, causing significant disturbances in the U.S. workforce. U.S. lawmakers have targeted businesses and economists have called for government-enforced price controls. With all that has happened in the U.S. over the last two years, and all of president Biden’s executive orders, it is possible the government could confiscate gold again. By simply asking the question on Google, one of the first articles published by mgsrefining.com a year ago today, says the government can absolutely confiscate gold again. “Could gold confiscation happen again?” the article asks. The mgsrefining.com author writes: In short, yes. Although there is no federal law that explicitly states that the government can call in your gold, during extreme crises the government has the means to seize it whether it comes in the form of an Executive Order or a law. Satoshi Nakamoto’s Birthday 89 years ago, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order on April 5, 1933, that banned American citizens from owning gold. The order started with a banking crisis, something the U.S. is never short on these days, and by March 1933, the government called it the Emergency Banking Act. Similar to the coronavirus pandemic, the main benefactors of the banking crisis were politicians and bankers. The financial depression was followed by World War II, and American bankers like JP Morgan’s ‘Money Trust’ made lots of money. It is well documented that Wall Street, Morgan, and his friends not only funded the allied forces, but also Stalin’s movement and the Nazi regime as well. It is also well documented that American panic has led to the creation and expansion of societal corruption. Peter Schiff’s publication schiffgold.com asked the question “could it happen again” when it comes to the U.S. government confiscating gold a second time. The article published on April 6, 2022, explains while it’s possible the government could confiscate gold, schiffgold.com writers say it is unlikely. “Of course, it is theoretically possible for the government to confiscate gold,” schiffgold.com’s article notes. “It’s also theoretically possible for the government to confiscate cell phones. That doesn’t mean it will.” Another interesting aspect about April 5, is that the date is tied to the creator of Bitcoin. Satoshi Nakamoto’s profile on p2pfoundation.ning.com features the date as the inventor’s birthday. In fact, Satoshi Nakamoto’s birthday is April 5, 1975, if we are to believe the birth date is legitimate. However, many assume that Satoshi chose April 5 in order to hint at the memory of when the U.S. government confiscated gold. Interestingly, U.S. president Gerald Ford repealed Executive Order 6102 on December 31, 1974, the day before 1975 started. Individuals have asked the question many times over the years concerning whether or not the U.S. government can confiscate gold again. Every one of them seems to understand that it’s feasible via a crisis and executive orders that follow. There’s a chance Satoshi Nakamoto wanted to remind the world of this time in history, as it’s possible Bitcoin’s creator thought it could happen again. What do you think about the 89th anniversary of the time the U.S. government confiscated gold from ordinary American citizens? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

In response to the military crisis in Ukraine, Binance Charity has committed $10 million to major Intergovernmental Organizations and local NGOs, including UNICEF, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, iSans and People in Need. They also launched a crypto-first crowdfunding site, Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund to allow people to donate crypto to help provide emergency relief to refugees and children and to support logistics on the ground such as food, fuel and supplies. Helen Hai is the Head of Binance Charity. She recently joined the Bitcoin.com News Podcast to talk about organization’s humanitarian efforts in Ukraine: Helen is the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Goodwill Ambassador for Industrialization in Africa. She is heading the Binance Blockchain Charity Foundation with the mandate to use Blockchain for Social Good. Ambassador Hai was named a 2015 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and she is the co-chair of the Global Future Council on the Future of Consumption for the World Economic Forum. Ambassador Hai was named 2017 Wu Fellow by UC Berkeley, Global Visionary by UBS, and she was also featured on the “Ones to Watch” for Bloomberg’s 50 People Who Shaped 2018 in Unexpected Ways list. You can support Ukrainian families, children, refugees, and displaced people by donating BTC, ETH, and BNB to Binance Charity’s Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund The Bitcoin.com News podcast features interviews with the most interesting leaders, founders and investors in the world of Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), NFTs and the Metaverse. Follow us on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play. This is a sponsored podcast. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

BTC and ETH were once again lower during today’s trading session, as both were trading close to two-week lows. Bitcoin dropped below $43,000 for the first time since March 24, while ETH hit a bottom near $3,100 on Thursday. Bitcoin Bitcoin continued trading lower on Thursday, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency fell below $43,000 for the first time in over two weeks. Following a peak of $45,424.98 on Wednesday, BTC/USD fell to an intraday low of $42,899.91 during today’s session. This is the lowest level BTC has traded since March 24, and bitcoin has seen its price fall close to its long-term support of $45,500. Since hitting this floor, prices have somewhat rebounded, with bulls ramping up pressure in order to keep them above the support. Looking at the chart, the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) has also fallen to its lowest point in over five weeks, however there could be more lows ahead. Should the RSI move below its current floor of 46.60, price strength could drop to as low as 34, as seen in late February. Ethereum ETH also fell to a multi-week low during today’s session, however prices have since rebounded after hitting a recent support point. As of writing, ETH/USD had dropped to a bottom of $3,155.58 during today’s session, which was close to its support of $3,145. However, prices have rallied since hitting this point, and ETH is now trading at $3,250.06, which is still 1.69% below yesterday’s high. Similar to BTC, the 14-day RSI on the ETH chart is now tracking at 53.23, which is its lowest point since March 15, however it is still relatively overbought, as it remains above 50. The moving average of 10-days (red) has also shown some signs of slowing, as it has begun trending sideways, which increases the chance of a future downward cross. Should this happen, prices will likely be trading below the $3,000 level, as momentum would have truly turned bearish at that point. Do you expect this decline in ETH to continue as we prepare for the weekend, following its recent upwards rally? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

The Nigerian central bank recently fined four financial institutions it accuses of failing to stop clients from using their respective platforms to conduct cryptocurrency transactions. According to one of the affected institutions, the central bank is using a certain “advanced ability” to detect crypto transactions. Lenders Unable to Detect Crypto Transactions The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently penalized four lenders it accuses of failing to abide by a directive that forbids Nigerian financial institutions from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions, a report has said. According to the report, one of the affected financial institutions, Stanbic IBTC Bank, was fined an equivalent of $478,595. The fine, according to the bank’s CEO Wole Adeniyi, relates to two bank accounts that have been used to facilitate crypto transactions. While Adeniyi insisted that his organization is complying with the CBN’s directive, he admitted that his bank was unable to detect the transactions that ultimately prompted the central bank to take action. Unlike financial institutions, the CBN is reported to have access to an “advanced ability” that enables it to detect cryptocurrencies. CBN’s ‘Advanced Ability’ As explained in the report, the central bank is now sharing access to its “advanced ability” with lenders that are eager to avoid its sanctions. “It doesn’t seem that they are going to entertain a refund, but they are now sharing intelligence with us to be able to kind of deter clients,” Adeniyi is quoted explaining. Besides Adeniyi’s bank, the CBN is reported to have imposed a fine of nearly $1.2 million against Access Bank Plc after the lender failed to close a client’s crypto account. United Bank for Africa was fined an equivalent of $239,000, while Fidelity Bank is expected to pay just over $34,000. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Jason Kilar, the outgoing CEO of Warner Media, has touted blockchain as a technology that could transform the entertainment industry. He also said the tech could bring about new forms of financing. Transforming the Entertainment Industry The outgoing CEO of Warner Media, Jason Kilar, has said the future of Hollywood is in the blockchain, a technology he sees transforming the entertainment industry. According to Kilar, this is especially true now, in an era where the process of buying digital collectibles has become much easier. As per a Reuters report, Kilar likened the technology’s potential to that of a digital versatile disc (DVD) before it went mainstream. “I think that’s going to be a potential wave that’s going to be coming to Hollywood, in the same way that the DVD wave came to Hollywood in the ’90s,” Kilar is quoted explaining, regarding his thoughts on NFTs and blockchain technology. The outgoing CEO did concede that while DVDs were ultimately successful they changed the economic fortunes of many entertainment companies, including those of Warner Media. Still, for Kilar, who is known to push for the adoption of technology and changes in the entertainment industry, the blockchain could also present new forms of financing. Warner Media’s Response to the Pandemic According to the report, which chronicles Kilar’s journey in the entertainment industry, the outgoing CEO joined Warner Media in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic was spreading. During this period, which was characterized by lockdowns and severe restrictions on human movement, Kilar is reported to have introduced a new way of bringing movies into homes. Instead of waiting for a certain period to pass before releasing a movie for home viewing, the CEO reportedly initiated the practice of releasing new films in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service on the same day. This move is believed to have helped HBO Max and the HBO cable TV network bring in 73.8 million new subscribers. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The crypto space is growing at a rapid pace, and it’s beginning to change major industries around the world. Even with the widespread of crypto, some people still do not have any idea of what it is. According to a survey mabe by Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), three in 10 people in the UK can’t correctly identify the definition of cryptocurrency from a selection of possible answers. The importance of crypto education can’t be overemphasized, with the accelerating growth of crypto adoption, there are key things to be aware of, for example, you need to know how to DYOR (Do Your Own Research). Having a solid foundation in crypto and financial education will help you to understand the evolution of the crypto space. Financial education is important for every individual to function in their everyday life, ranging from business owners to investors, etc. Business owners need this knowledge to make wise business decisions, likewise investors. Unfortunately, getting well-structured Crypto information/knowledge online can sometimes lead to a dead end as most of content are not comprehensive and well-structured. There’s also no process to keep track of ones learning progress and they are not as engaging. Most of these resources are just lengthy and too rigid which bore people out, and they eventually lose interest. How Dohrnii is Changing The Game Dohrnii seeks to bridge the gap, using The Dohrnii Academy to support the growth of the crypto industry by giving users access to education and the right tools they need to succeed. The curriculum of the Dohrnii Academy is curated by qualified and seasoned university professors to ensure the quality of education being taught. The Academy uses a gamified approach in teaching crypto education, which means that there is a user journey, and as a result, makes learning fun, engaging, and rewarding. It’s a learn-to-earn system that rewards users as they progress in their learning, just like play-to-earn games where users earn rewards for playing games. Dohrnii Academy tracks your progress and strengths, also allowing you to interact with other participants that are learning on the platform. The Crypto Academy provides users with a wealth of information on everything from blockchain basics to economics etc., where you can learn all you need to know about crypto. It has been simplified into a game-like app with proper guidance and follow-up. It’s quite noticeable that most crypto courses are really expensive to purchase and this limits a lot of people who have an interest in learning. Dohrnii Academy bridges, this inaccessibility, as it is 100% free to learn while you earn! Conclusion As the gaming industry is looking to blockchain for opportunities, gamified decentralized learning experiences have already proven effective in delivering crypto knowledge. Marrying these concepts produces a unique experience that can be rewarding too. By offering comprehensive education in both crypto and finance, Dohrnii is changing the way people learn about these important topics. So if you’re looking for an engaging way to learn about crypto, while earning, Dohrnii is the perfect platform for you to get your crypto journey started. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

The Central Bank of Russia has turned down a proposal to allow the use of digital currencies for the purpose of sanctions evasion. The monetary authority believes this is hardly an option as Western regulators are already taking steps to prevent such transactions. Employing Bitcoin to Evade Sanctions Not Possible, Central Bank of Russia Says Bank of Russia considers it impossible to use cryptocurrencies to circumvent financial restrictions imposed over the military conflict in Ukraine. That’s according to a statement by the central bank’s First Deputy Governor Ksenia Yudaeva, issued in a reply to a proposal by a member of the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament. Anton Gorelkin, a lawmaker from the ruling United Russia party, had suggested that Russian companies and individual entrepreneurs should be allowed to make payments in digital currencies, including for settlements with foreign partners. He thinks the establishment of a Russian national crypto infrastructure in response to the sanctions introduced by the West is inevitable. Central bank officials are convinced, however, that transfers of large amounts of money in cryptocurrency by Russian businesses would not be feasible. Quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency, Yudaeva pointed out that regulatory authorities in the EU, U.S., U.K., Japan, and Singapore have started to implement preventive measures. Digital asset platforms such as crypto exchanges are also adopting restrictions amounting to denial of access to funds for Russian users, she added. And even in jurisdictions where crypto payments are not banned at the moment, authorities are setting ever higher standards for crypto service providers regarding compliance with customer identification rules. The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) remains a strong opponent of the legalization of cryptocurrencies. In January, the financial authority proposed a blanket ban on crypto-related operations in the country. It maintains that decentralized digital currencies like bitcoin cannot be used in payments for goods and services. With its hardline stance on the matter, the CBR has found itself in isolation among government institutions in Moscow. In February, the federal government approved a regulatory plan based on the Finance Ministry’s concept which favors regulation under strict oversight, over prohibition. Days before the Russian army crossed the Ukrainian border, the ministry submitted a new bill “On Digital Currency” tailored to comprehensively regulate the country’s crypto market. In mid-March, another Russian lawmaker working on the upcoming crypto regulations, Alexander Yakubovsky, suggested that cryptocurrencies could help Russia restore its access to global finances. Do you expect Bank of Russia to change its attitude towards cryptocurrencies if Western sanctions continue to expand? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

A newly established Ukrainian charity organization, Pray4Ukraine, has brought together hundreds of digital artists that are using art to raise funds for the Ukrainian army and civilians devastated by the war. The organization is also attempting to use the power of art to help end the war in Ukraine. 10,000 NFTs Created A newly launched Ukrainian charity project, Pray4Ukraine, has brought together hundreds of the country’s digital artists who have created 10,000 NFT art pieces. Working in concert with Pray4Ukraine, the artists hope to raise funds that will be used for humanitarian aid and to support the country’s armed forces. In a statement, the Pray4Ukraine team also revealed the charitable organization has already launched the sale of its NFT collection which consists of 9,930 artworks. According to the statement, the funds raised from the sale will go directly to the wallet of Come Back Alive, another charitable foundation that has been on the “humanitarian frontline since May 2014.” The statement adds that financial reports will be released daily via Pray4Ukraine’s public channels. Using Art to Save Lives In addition to raising funds for Ukrainians devastated by the war, the Pray4Ukraine team said it will also use digital art and NFTs to fulfill the organization’s broader goal of bringing an end to hostilities between Ukraine and Russia. The statement explained: Pray4Ukraine’s mission is to show that everyone can help to bring an end to this war and save countless lives in Ukraine. Digital art and NFT offer the crypto community an alternative method for joining a forceful global solidarity movement. According to the statement, one of the artists signing up for the cause, Olga from Kyiv, has refused to leave the capital where she “continues to channel her understanding of the enveloping events through digital art.” Another artist, Kamila, said while the war has made it difficult to find inspiration, her will to help in any way she can allows her to overcome the challenges she has faced since Russia invaded Ukraine. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The Ecuadorian Police and the prosecution of Ecuador have raided several locations linked to Fortunario Digital Assets, a company that was allegedly making illegal collections of money related to forex and cryptocurrency business. The operation also encompassed the seizure of more than $7 million from the accounts of the Ecuadorian company. Ecuadorian Police Raid Fortunario Digital Assets The Ecuadorian police and the prosecution were the main actors in an operation against a company that was allegedly making illegal collections of money. On April 2, these two organizations carried out a joint operation leading to the raid of five locations linked to the aforementioned company in Quito, the capital of the country. According to a preliminary investigation, the company scammed investors through a network of companies that offered investment services on financial platforms. The company supposedly offered operations in forex and cryptocurrency markets and offered a minimum monthly return of 17% for the lowest tier plan, for customers investing from $500 to $15,000. However, there were also two other tiers, which offered rewards of $19% and 21% with investments from $20,000 to $90,000, and from $100,000, respectively. The webpage of the company, which is still up at the time of writing, describes the organization as a “group of experts in the area of investments in digital assets and in the financial markets with technical analysis and macroeconomic studies related to cryptocurrencies and arbitration in cryptocurrencies.” The company also presented a roadmap that included the creation of its own metaverse and the release of its own token, that would be issued on top of the Binance Chain. Actions Taken and Similar Companies According to local media, the prosecution managed to get a preliminary action that blocked the funds of the accounts in the name of Fortunario Digital Assets, which had $7 million in funds. There have been other platforms that have been scrutinized by the Bank Superintendence, like IX Inversors, an investment platform that offered users interest of around 1.15% daily. The company was liquidated as a result of a similar procedure. At that time, the institution made a call for citizens “to act with caution and stay informed through official channels, avoiding being a victim of scammers and criminals.” Regulation for cryptocurrency in Ecuador might come later this year, according to statements made by Guillermo Avellan, manager of the Central Bank of Ecuador, bringing more clarity to the crypto scene in the country. What do you think about the actions taken against Fortunario Digital Assets? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

EverRise, the blockchain technology company that brought the buyback to crypto, has upgraded to a new smart contract that supports VeNomics (vote escrowed token model) and on-chain utility NFTs. The upgraded EverRise protocol introduces increased security features and an innovative staking platform built with on-chain utility NFTs. The RISE token is available on Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Fantom, and Avalanche with one shared supply, made possible with EverRise’s bridging solution, EverBridge. With use of on-chain NFTs, staking contracts are now fully secured on the blockchain. Most NFTs today are stored off-chain on a centralized server, with just a serial number and redirect link on the blockchain. These on-server NFTs can be changed in the future by the contract deployer. EverRise makes full use of the public ledger and the immutability of smart contracts by securing all information needed to generate NFT Stakes via The EverRise NFT Staking Lab. Both the metadata and the image of the EverRise NFT Stakes are stored directly on the blockchain and require no external data source besides the blockchain itself. The attributes and image of the NFT are generated from the exact data of each individual stake. The NFT Stake is the container of the RISE token and the veRISE governance tokens. If the NFT is transferred, the tokens move with it. When the NFT is bridged from one blockchain to another, all of its metadata and contained tokens move to the other chain, becoming an NFT Stake of the new chain. EverRise implements an automatic buyback and stake model which fortifies the EverRise liquidity pools and rewards stakers. RISE tokens are automatically purchased from the market and distributed to the staking rewards pool. Holders can mint EverRise NFT Stakes when they stake their tokens and interact with a suite of features in the EverRise NFT Staking Lab. In addition to on-chain NFTs, those who stake RISE receive vote escrowed RISE (“veRISE”) which gives them governance votes for the EverRise protocol. The improved smart contract introduces unprecedented flexibility to staking. Each staking contract is an on-chain NFT tethered to locked RISE tokens. The key innovation with EverRise’s new staking protocol is that the NFT Stake itself, which holds the staked RISE tokens, is transferable, tradable, and bridgeable to BNB Chain, Ethereum, Polygon, Fantom, and Avalanche. While each stake is a commitment to lock RISE tokens for a set period of time, holders have flexibility to do more with their assets. In addition to transferring, trading, and bridging, EverRise NFT Stake holders can split, increase, and extend their staking contracts using the NFT Staking Lab decentralized application. As of Monday, April 4th 2022, EverRise has over 70% of their total supply staked. EverRise has also introduced key features to provide protection to the RISE token and RISE assets including time-locks, bounded permit approvals, ability to mass-revoke operator approvals, and auto-timeout. These new security features guard against exploits commonly seen in the DeFi and NFT space. The upgraded RISE token is available through EverSwap, EverRise’s multi-chain swap interface that allows projects to collect transaction tax in native cryptocurrencies rather than project tokens, eliminating sell pressure caused by the common “swap and liquify” function. About EverRise EverRise is a blockchain technology company focused on increasing accessibility to decentralized finance by bringing security solutions to the space. Through an innovative ecosystem of decentralized applications, EverRise provides investors and developers the tools to access the widest possible market with the maximum level of security. They are working towards the mass adoption of safety protocols across Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Avalanche and Fantom networks and currently offer 5 security dApps: EverBridge, EverOwn, EverMigrate, EverStake and EverSwap, with more on the way. Website | Twitter | Telegram | Discord | Reddit | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

The bitcoin mining startup Primeblock has announced plans to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal. Primeblock will merge with a blank-check firm 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp. II, and the company’s shares will be listed on Nasdaq. Primeblock Reveals SPAC Merger With Plans to Be Listed on Nasdaq in the Second Half of 2022 — SEC Targets SPACs, Shell Companies, and Projections Another bitcoin mining firm is going public and will be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Primeblock revealed a SPAC merger with 10X Capital and the merger should be complete by the end of Q2 2022. Primeblock will join a number of mining operations that have already gone public. Companies such as Riot Blockchain and Marathon Digital Holdings are listed on Nasdaq. The deal with 10X Capital, will bring Primeblock’s overall valuation including debt up to $1.25 billion. The company further explained during the SPAC merger announcement that it had secured $300 million in equity financing from the firm Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. Primeblock operates data centers in North America and the website explains it had 1,000 petahash of hashrate. That equates to 0.6% of Bitcoin’s global hashrate today and Primeblock details it has over 70 megawatts of capacity across the company’s mining facilities. The mining operation offers hosting services, equipment supply chain resources, logistics, and mining containers. “Primeblock’s fully integrated approach to mining and digital infrastructure is a critical advantage that ensures industry-leading deployment lifecycle from planning to complete setup,” the company’s website explains. Following the merger, the company will be led by Primeblock’s chief executive officer Gaurav Budhrani. Primeblock follows a slew of crypto firms that have gone public and more specifically firms that have leveraged a special purpose acquisition company deal. Firms like Griid, Apifiny, Circle, Bitdeer, and Coincheck have all utilized SPAC deals. However, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently revealed new draft reforms for SPAC disclosures. SPAC deals could face legal challenges if the proposals are enacted and SPACs will have to disclose a lot more financial information concerning sponsors and blank-check firms. “The Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing rules intended to enhance investor protections in initial public offerings by special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs),” the U.S. regulator’s proposed rules document notes. What do you think about Primeblock’s SPAC deal with 10X Capital? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The UIAF, which is the Colombian money laundering watchdog, has postponed the date on which exchanges and individuals must start reporting their transactions to the organization. The institution will now open a consulting period in which companies and individuals can present their thoughts regarding the proposed regulation, which might be modified before its application on June 1st. Colombian Watchdog Delays Report Resolution for Transactions The UIAF, the organization that controls and detects money-laundering and terrorism-financing activities in Colombia, has delayed a resolution that established the obligation for exchanges and individuals to report some cryptocurrency transactions. The Colombian unit will start receiving these reports on June 1, instead of when it was established before, on April 1. The exact reasons behind the delay were not specified in the document, but the new resolution that establishes the postponement states: In order to ensure that the submission of reports to the UIAF is complete and meets the information needs of the entity, the need to extend the reporting start date was considered. The new resolution also states that organizations that have already sent in their reports can still send them in a voluntary way, but that no penalties will be derived for not sending them before June 1st. This will give more time to adapt to the rule that was established in December 2021 with resolution 314, while the organization receives commentary from different groups on the issue. Objective and Criticism The UIAF considered the need of overseeing cryptocurrency transactions in Resolution 314, that established subjects must report single transactions whose value goes over $150, or groups of transactions whose value goes over $450. For the purpose of this, the Colombian organization stated that: Virtual assets have created a situation that merits the intervention of the UIAF, to the extent that, although they are operations that in Colombia are not illegal by themselves, they can lend themselves to illicit activities, due to the anonymity or pseudonymity in the transactions, the absence of support from the central bank and the non-recognition as an instrument that has liberating power. However, this resolution has faced heavy criticism from several crypto-related personalities in the country, who oppose the huge volume of data that will have to be delivered to the institution. Among these is Alejandro Beltran, Buda.com country manager for Colombia, who stated: Reporting from USD $150 would contemplate a large volume of transactions, and the other associated data goes far beyond even the information that the exchanges themselves can handle about the operations. What do you think about the delay in the application of the crypto transaction reporting resolution in Colombia? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, has added more cities to test its digital currency. According to the latest official data, the digital yuan has more than 261 million users. PBOC Adds More Cities to Test Its CBDC The Chinese central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), said Saturday that it is adding more pilot cities to test its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan (e-CNY). The new pilot cities are Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, and six cities in the Zhejiang province that will host the 2022 Asian Games in September. The six cities are Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Shaoxing, Jinhua, and Huzhou. The digital yuan is already being tested in 10 major cities: Shenzhen, Shanghai, Suzhou, Xiong’an, Chengdu, Hainan, Changsha, Xi’an, Qingdao, and Dalian. It was also tested at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Commenting on its digital currency, the Chinese central bank stated: Policies must be designed to stimulate creativity and enthusiasm among the banks, technology firms, and the local government in the development, promotion and proliferation of the digital yuan. “In the process of promotion, competition should be encouraged,” the PBOC added. Besides the new digital yuan pilot cities announced by the PBOC, Hong Kong plans to soon roll out a pilot scheme for the use of the e-CNY for shopping and dining, Eddie Yue Wai-man, CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), said in February. According to the latest data from the Chinese central bank, the digital yuan had 261 million unique users at the end of 2021. In addition, transactions worth 87.5 billion yuan ($13.8 billion) have been made using the e-CNY. What do you think about China adding more cities to test its central bank digital currency? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article