roadrunner

PRESS RELEASE. LeisurePay, a merchant payment solutions provider using blockchain technology and powered by the only wholly black-owned bank in America, announces the debut exchange listing of its LPY token. “Listing with a Top 20 Worldwide exchange in Probit Global, one of the top-ranked exchanges in Bitmart, is a huge and exciting step in the LeisurePay journey. Having the LPY token listed on not just one exchange but a dual listing demonstrates the power of this project and reflects on all the effort put in by our team. We plan on announcing additional exchange listings in the months to come,” stated LeisurePay Founder Chad Elie Sr. “Additionally, our team has made significant progress in developing our payment solutions, and so today we also announce the release of the MVP version of our project.” Elie Sr. continued. “Our MVP and LeisurePay’s exclusive approach to payment transactions uses the functionality of the NFT to reduce the cost of transactions to merchants and consumers by reducing the rampant fraud found in today’s payment industry,” states LeisurePay CTO Jason McKinley. “The unique and underutilized power of an NFT is its ability to track and tie back to the real world, elements they were created to represent. Utilizing NFTs in LeisurePay’s payment ecosystem, both merchants and customers can access the originating transaction, facilitating the effective resolution of instances of fraud, chargebacks, disputes and refunds that plague today’s traditional payment systems. This is achieved without sacrificing consumer privacy as the NFT only contains a minimal amount of transaction details,” continued Jason McKinley. “This is a veritable revolution in the financial world,” concluded McKinley. About BitMart BitMart Exchange is a premier global digital asset trading platform with over 5 million users worldwide and ranked among the top crypto exchanges on CoinMarketCap. BitMart currently offers 800+ trading pairs with one of the lowest trading fees in the market. To learn more about BitMart, visit their Website, follow their Twitter, or join their Telegram for more updated news and promotions. Download BitMart App to trade anytime, anywhere. About Probit Global Used by 219 countries and in the top 20 of actual daily trading volume, Probit Global is a leading crypto exchange with over 2 million monthly users with more than 700 coins in over 1,000 markets. About LeisurePay: LPY Protocol is a decentralized closed-loop blockchain payment and merchant account ecosystem. It is powered by the only wholly-owned black FDIC-insured bank and the first black acquirer in USA History. LeisurePay brings blockchain and tokenization solutions to merchants seeking fast, safe, and effective payment solutions. Backed by the token LPY, LeisurePay is dedicated to helping minority-owned merchants access low-cost and no-cost banking and payment solutions. Twitter: https://twitter.com/leisurepayhq Telegram: https://t.me/LeisurePaytoken Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeisurePayHQ Media Contact: Media Contact Details: Leanna Decker Company name: LeisurePay Contact Person Name: Leanna Decker Official Email: info@leisurepay.io City: St. Petersburg Country:- USA website:- https://www.leisurepay.io/ 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

ETH rose to its highest level since the start of January to begin the weekend, as prices rose following yesterday’s consolidation. BTC also rallied, however remains below this week’s high of over $48,000. Bitcoin Although BTC started the weekend trading below this week’s high of $48,278, bulls looked to recapture this level, by moving away from Friday’s lows. Following the nonfarm payrolls report, BTC fell to a low of $44,846.26 on Friday, however to start the weekend, prices rose to a high of $47,028.28 on Saturday. This move comes as the uncertainty surrounding yesterday’s announcement has somewhat faded, giving bulls more encouragement to re-enter the market. The rebound in BTC’s price follows yesterday’s false breakout of support at $45,000, which then led to an extension of recent bullish sentiment into today’s session. Looking at the chart, the 14-day RSI has also shown this, with a breakout of the 62.60 resistance occurring earlier on in the day. Some believe that this could give bulls another reason to attempt to move beyond the $48,300 resistance, and potentially target $50,000. . Ethereum Whilst BTC was looking to recapture this week’s high, ETH started the weekend by hitting its peak from four months ago. The world’s second largest cryptocurrency is currently up by over 6% on the day, as it climbed to a high of $3,509.18. This rally in price saw ETH/USD rise to its highest point since January 6, and comes as markets finally moved past a troublesome ceiling. Looking at the chart, that resistance was the $3,440 point, which was one of the main obstacles stopping the price from climbing further. As of writing, price strength has also regained some momentum, with the 14-day RSI hitting its highest point since Wednesday. Now tracking above 70, prices are once again overbought, however as the $3,440 resistance has been overcome, bulls may continue to push price further. What is the next price target for ETH bulls, $3,800? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

A study undertaken by two assistant professors at American University in Cairo (AUC) has suggested that an increase of 10% in the crypto market cap causes the market value of “African micro-entities” to drop by 0.76%. Crypto Market Growth Hurts Less Competitive Sectors According to the findings of a study undertaken by Mina Sami and Wael Abdallah, each time the cryptocurrency market cap grows by 10%, there is a corresponding 0.76% drop in the market value of African micro-entities. The study findings also suggested that firms in less competitive sectors are “more likely to get hurt by the cryptocurrency market’s expansion.” For instance, the two authors conclude in their report that the cryptocurrency market has “a considerable effect on Africa’s energy, financial, industrial, and consumer services sectors.” In contrast, the real estate and the information technology sectors are less affected by the growth of the crypto market, the authors said. Meanwhile, the authors claimed that their study has highlighted the importance of having “internal strategies and firm experience.” These attributes are vital for African firms that must now compete with cryptocurrencies. Although the authors — who are also assistant professors at AUC — have acknowledged the steps taken by countries to counter the growth of the cryptocurrency market, they argue, however, that such steps have in fact “failed to protect their domestic firms.” According to the authors, this failure calls for interventions by governments that “improve the financial market’s competitiveness in Africa.” Boosting Competitiveness of Stock Markets To achieve this goal, the study says governments should first “raise the competitiveness of their stock markets.” In their paper, the authors then list three requirements that must be met in order to improve the competitiveness of stock markets. The first two requirements are listed as follows: This requires (1) Boosting innovations and improving regulations in this traditional financial market to compete with the cryptocurrency market. (2) Governments should foster the diversity of stocks in Africa. The stock market cap in Africa is considerably large; however, it suffers from limited stocks. The third listed requirement concerns Africa’s financial services and infrastructural challenges. Such challenges, according to the authors, “have become an obvious impediment to the development and competitiveness of the stock market.” Besides improving the competitiveness of stock markets, the authors said firms must also “strengthen their strategies to attract investors.” They also suggested that Development Financial Institutions (DFI) should invest more in countries, industries, or business areas that “private investors perceive as costly and risky.” Do you agree with the findings of this study? You can share your views in the comments section below. View the full article

With sanctions cutting off Russia from global finances, Moscow’s motivation to establish a domestic market infrastructure for digital assets grows, a top official at the Russian finance ministry has noted. The comment comes as Russians are losing access to foreign crypto platforms. Russia Recognizes Need for Local Crypto Assets Market Amid expanding international sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been turning its attention to cryptocurrencies while concerns in the West are growing that the country may use them to circumvent financial restrictions. The penalties have also affected the crypto space, and Russians are finding it harder to cash out their digital holdings. The incentives to build the Russian infrastructure for the cryptocurrency market have increased, as sanctions have led to restrictions for Russian nationals on foreign exchanges. The remark was made by Ivan Chebeskov, director of the Financial Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance, during the International Banking Day conference, Tass reported. It has become very difficult for Russians who have invested in cryptocurrencies abroad to withdraw their funds and convert them into fiat money, the high-ranking official pointed out. Russian citizenship now worries foreign regulators, money is being blocked, and new accounts are denied, Chebeskov elaborated and stated: Therefore, the motivation for creating the Russian infrastructure for digital currencies, of course, becomes even greater. A Russian crypto market would not only allow Russians to withdraw their assets but also conduct other transactions. According to the Finance Ministry, a growing number of them are willing to transfer their coins to the Russia. Some trading platforms, for example the leading South Korean exchanges, have already restricted access for Russian users. The Russian crypto space remains only partially regulated with the law “On Digital Financial Assets” which went into force in January, 2021. Authorities in Moscow are still discussing the future of cryptocurrencies, with the Central Bank of Russia suggesting a blanket ban while most institutions support the Minfin’s proposal to legalize the industry under strict government control. In February, the federal government approved a regulatory plan based on the ministry’s concept. Later that month, the department submitted a new bill “On Digital Currency” introducing comprehensive rules for the sector. The Ministry of Finance is also working to address the aspects of crypto income taxation, the Tass news agency added. Do you think Russia will take steps soon to create its own crypto market infrastructure? Share your expectations in the comments section below. View the full article

Bandai Namco, a game developer and publishing company involved in the production of toys from several intellectual properties (IPs), has revealed more information about its $130-million metaverse gambit. The company says this new initiative will be based on its Gundam IP, being one of the first instances in the announced IP Axis strategy of the company, which envisions a multi-IP hub of multiverses. Bandai Namco Begins Building Its Metaverse With Gundam Bandai Namco, a Japanese game developing and publishing company, has given more details about the future of its $130-million metaverse investment. The company has confirmed that the first IP that will receive the metaverse treatment will be Gundam, the popular giant robot universe with several videogames, manga, and anime adaptations. First being hinted at in an announcement last month, the company took advantage of the third Gundam conference to reveal this news worldwide. According to Bandai Namco: [This metaverse will be a] platform of opportunities for Gundam fans worldwide to come together to converse and connect in a variety of categories. Fans of the franchise will be able to form part of different communities that include music, video games, anime, and even Gunpla, the models that mimic different robots present in the franchise. Furthermore, the company also revealed that users will be able to scan their Gunpla models to be able to introduce them to the metaverse and face other Gunpla users in battle. User Content Is King Bandai Namco’s first metaverse instance will be used as a device to interest more companies to promote the entry of other companies into the Gundam market inside of the metaverse. In this way, other companies might have the opportunity of offering their Gundam-themed products with the approval of Bandai Namco. However, the focus that Bandai Namco is putting on users is also significant in this upcoming system. According to the announcement, users will be able to produce their own Gundam content, too, in the form of customer-to-customer (C2C) business. This feature seeks to allow users to get revenue from their own creations, allowing for a sustainable economy established between content creators and consumers. On this, Bandai Namco stated it “expects that new Gundam businesses will be created and that this will lead to further expansion of Gundam IP co-created with fans.” Other companies have also recognized the importance of rewards and user-generated content economies as a way of improving the longevity of a particular game proposal. This is the case with Yosuke Matsuda, president of Square Enix, who voiced his support for these new features in a letter written in January. What do you think about Bandai Namco’s Gundam Metaverse initiative? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. The Moxy.io team has built a team consisting of several veterans from the video game industry to take gaming to a whole new level by bringing blockchain technology to mainstream games. The team began their adventure in 2021, when a band of blockchain enthusiasts joined up with a group of video gaming industry experts to revitalise ‘Play to Earn (P2E).’ Having said that, Moxy.io is offering a new paradigm: ‘Play & Earn (P&E)’. As such, the team is made up of video game industry veterans who were responsible for founding the sector and generating hundreds of popular games and #1 titles over the course of the industry’s existence. Moxy.io will be able to push P&E into the mainstream by using the knowledge, skills and expertise of these professionals. The team includes seasoned veterans like Nolan Bushnell (Chief Knowledge Officer), Lawrence Seigel (Executive Chairman), Stewart Bell (President of European Operations), Matt deFouw (Chief Executive Officer), Derek Rathbun (Chief Operating Officer), Tony Bickley (Chief Product Officer), and Nolan deFouw (Director of Marketing). P&E and P2E Moxy.io’s unique P&E paradigm is not the same as P2E. P2E incentivizes a gamer to play a game only because of the available incentives; these benefits are the only consequence desired. The gamer’s perspective is to play for earned benefits, rather than for the love of a game. P2E games are thus typically uninteresting and lack value based on gameplay alone. Barriers to entry are also often high, with characteristics that discourage latecomers, such as the usage of NFTs, which only allow early adopters to benefit. This contributes to the pyramid or Ponzi scheme narrative that is frequently associated with P2E games. This is also the polar opposite of why people play AAA games; they like the experience and pay for it, not the other way around. Therefore, P&E focuses on improving the experience with mainstream-style titles that already provide a fantastic gaming experience. P&E is built on gameplay first and foremost, with the added benefit of earned rewards to boost the enjoyment element. The game should hence be playable in the classic sense, with the sole motive being the player’s enjoyment of the game. Moxy.io’s Proof of Play is a fundamental foundation to P&E. SCORE points (a sub-token) are earned within Moxy Club when users simply log relevant playtime on a game and are not AFK (away from keyboard). The amount of SCORE that users have earned determines the quantity of MOXY awards delivered each day. Participation in P&E-enabled events is not required for players to receive Proof of Play prizes; instead, they are earned simply by playing their favourite games. Furthermore, Moxy Forge, Moxy.io’s industry-standard API/SDK stack, enables video game companies and publishers to incorporate P&E mechanisms into new and current titles. Moxy Club members will also have the option to participate in a variety of skill-based game types for selection inside of Moxy.io. These game formats shall have a prize pool, as well as PvP (player versus player) and team-based games, leagues, tournaments, and seasons. Another important aspect to this is that every player will thus contribute to the reward pool through Moxy through these games, with the winner(s) receiving credit for their effort from the reward pool towards the end of the game, season, or contest. Flow ecosystem The Flow ecosystem serves as the foundation for the Moxy.io Platform. Moxy.io is leveraging the vast power and future-proof environment that Flow provides by building on it. Because of the significance of this single choice for future success, the Moxy.io Team spent a significant amount of time investigating the present condition of the DeFi environment. In the end, Flow was the only solution that satisfied all of Moxy.io’s needs. Moxy.io is based on Flow for a variety of reasons, including its rich tech stack, token mechanisms, existing stablecoin, NFT ecosystem, smart contract architecture, developer tools, and exceptional customer service. It could very well be that the partnership was predestined, since Moxy.io is “By Gamers and for Gamers” and Flow is “By Developers and for Developers.” Right now, game developers and studios may get in touch with the team to register for early access to Moxy Forge via the official website. The team recommends securing a position in the P&E revolution as soon as feasible by joining Moxy Club at the earliest possible convenience. About Moxy Moxy.io’s middleware layer, positioned to power the next generation of gaming, is introducing the P&E concept to today’s favourite video game titles spanning PC, console, and mobile platforms. Through Moxy Forge, an industry-standard SDK/API stack, they offer the functionality of blockchain as well as P&E mechanisms to any video game. With the support of Moxy.io’s infrastructure, staff, and knowledge, publishers can quickly deploy their own regulatory-compliant Play & Earn models to new or current products. To date, some of Moxy.io’s notable funding participants include Shima Capital, RockTree Capital, Polygon Studios and GSR. In terms of past achievements, Moxy has assembled an all-star team and advisory board, and successfully closed their $10,350,000 funding round. In addition, there had been 35,000 organic pre-registrations on Moxy Club with no marketing and the team will be launching two video game titles with the API stack fully integrated. Lastly, regarding future goals, the team will focus on community growth, powering the P&E revolution, making blockchain technology accessible to mainstream publishers, studios and developers, onboarding more Moxy Club members, integrating Moxy Forge to stack with additional video game titles, educating the general public about the advantages of blockchain technology, and hosting large tournaments on Moxy titles to help further build and engage with the community. The platform and Moxy Club pre-launch will occur on March 31st, with the TGE scheduled for 2022’s second quarter. For more information, visit Moxy’s website, timeline, whitepaper and Twitter feed. 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

India’s government is consulting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and Indian regulators in order to form the country’s crypto policy. “We have reached out to institutional stakeholders within the country and outside. We are taking inputs from the IMF and the World Bank and incorporating these,” said an official from the Indian ministry of finance. Indian Government in Talks With IMF, World Bank, RBI, SEBI on Crypto Policy Indian finance ministry officials are discussing a framework for cryptocurrency with various stakeholders including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Mint publication reported Thursday. “We have drafted a consultation paper on cryptocurrency,” one of the officials revealed, elaborating: Now, we have reached out to institutional stakeholders within the country and outside. We are taking inputs from the IMF and the World Bank and incorporating these. “We will update the consultation paper based on that, and based on the responses by the RBI, SEBI, we will be updating it,” the official added. The finance ministry’s consultation paper, which is expected to be finalized in the next six months, will cover how to deal with cryptocurrency, related risks, and its treatment as an asset class, the publication conveyed, noting that it will form the basis for India’s crypto policy. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said on several occasions that the government has not decided whether to regulate or ban crypto. However, in the meantime, crypto income will be taxed at 30% and a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) will be levied on all crypto transactions. The IMF’s mission chief for India, Nada Choueiri, told the publication that crypto assets posed significant risks, including to financial stability. Without commenting on India’s crypto policy specifically, she opined: Crypto assets can also be misused for money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illegal activities. Unless effective regulatory measures are implemented, the crypto assets ecosystem could face serious consumer protection challenges such as fraud and cyberattacks. She added that the IMF is also consulting with other countries to establish an effective policy on crypto assets. IMF Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath recently said that a lot more work is needed on the regulatory front on crypto and digital money. She added, “We’ve certainly seen an increase in the use of cryptocurrencies” before the Russia-Ukraine war, emphasizing that “it happen more in emerging markets than in others.” Gopinath said in December: “Regulation is absolutely important for this sector. If people are using this as an investment asset, then the rules which are there for other investment classes should apply here as well.” Furthermore, Bloomberg reported Friday that India will frame legislation for cryptocurrencies only after a global consensus is reached on crypto assets. What do you think about the Indian government consulting with international organizations on crypto? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has introduced legislation to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) directly to individuals and competing with the private sector. The senator from Texas warned that not only would this CBDC model centralize financial information, leaving it vulnerable to attack, but it could also be used “as a direct surveillance tool into the private transactions of Americans.” Senator Cruz Introduces Bill to Prevent the Fed From Issuing Digital Dollar to Retail Consumers U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced legislation Wednesday “to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) directly to individuals,” an announcement posted on his official website describes. The bill was co-sponsored by Senators Mike Braun (R-IN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). ‘‘No Federal Reserve bank may offer products or services directly to an individual, maintain an account on behalf of an individual, or issue a central bank digital currency directly to an individual,” the text of the bill reads. Stating that “The bill aims to maintain the dollar’s dominance without competing with the private sector” and “It is important to note that the Fed does not, and should not, have the authority to offer retail bank accounts,” the announcement details: The legislation prohibits the Federal Reserve from developing a direct-to-consumer CBDC which could be used as a financial surveillance tool by the federal government, similar to what is currently happening in China. The senator believes that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) must adhere to three basic principles: protect financial privacy, maintain the dollar’s dominance, and cultivate innovation. CBDCs that fail to do so “could enable an entity like the Federal Reserve to mobilize itself into a retail bank, collect personally identifiable information on users, and track their transactions indefinitely.” Noting that “Unlike decentralized digital currencies like bitcoin, CBDCs are issued and backed by a government entity and transact on a centralized, permissioned blockchain,” the senator warned: Not only would this CBDC model centralize Americans’ financial information, leaving it vulnerable to attack, it could also be used as a direct surveillance tool into the private transactions of Americans. Upon introducing the legislation, Senator Cruz commented, “The federal government has the ability to encourage and nurture innovation in the cryptocurrency space, or to completely devastate it.” He stressed: This bill goes a long way in making sure big government doesn’t attempt to centralize and control cryptocurrency so that it can continue to thrive and prosper in the United States. Cruz concluded: “We should be empowering entrepreneurs, enabling innovation, and increasing individual freedom — not stifling it.” Following Senator Cruz’s introduction of the bill, U.S. Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN) issued an announcement stating that Cruz’s bill is a companion to his own bill, which is also aimed at “prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) directly to individuals.” Emmer introduced his bill on Jan. 18. The congressman said, “I’m glad Senator Cruz has agreed to offer a Senate companion to my legislation limiting the Fed’s authorities,” emphasizing: The Fed must only craft a CBDC framework that is open, permissionless and private – meaning any digital dollar must be accessible to all, transact on a blockchain that is transparent to all, and maintain the privacy elements of cash. “Anything less puts Americans on the road to CCP-style financial authoritarianism,” the congressman stressed. The Federal Reserve has not decided whether to issue a CBDC. In January, the Fed published a report exploring various aspects of a digital dollar. Some lawmakers and Federal Reserve governors are still undecided whether the U.S. should issue a central bank digital currency. Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman similarly said in November, “I’m not really sure that I understand or see the business case for creating it.” Do you think the Fed should be able to issue a central bank digital currency directly to individuals? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On April 1, 2022, records show that 19 million bitcoin have been mined into circulation. With the max supply set at 21 million, there’s only two million bitcoins left to be found by mining participants. Satoshi’s Mathematical and Predictable Design — 19 Million Bitcoins Have Been Issued The Bitcoin (BTC) network reached a milestone on Friday, April 1, 2022, after records show that 19 million bitcoin have been mined. The watershed moment occurred at block height 730,034 and now there’s only two million left to be mined. At block height the total ammount of bitcoin in existence was 19,000,004.68 BTC at 7:05 p.m. (ET) When Satoshi Nakamoto created the Bitcoin network, the inventor set the maximum supply to 21 million, and research shows that the number is a hair less than 21 million. Some estimates indicate there will only be 20,999,817.31 BTC. The bitcoin dashboard at clarkmoody.com, which was leveraged to record the 19 million bitcoins mined into existence on Friday, shows there’s only 1,999,781.23 BTC left to find. Whenever a block is found by a miner, the coin issuance increases by 6.25 bitcoins per block ($289,656) found. A block is discovered roughly every ten minutes and the next block reward halving is expected to occur on or around May 3rd, 2024. After the next halving occurs, miners will get 3.125 bitcoins per block and the next halving will take place in 2028. BTC’s issuance is programmed, mathematical, and ultimately predictable and this is why people can estimate the time frame between difficulty adjustment changes and when the next halving occurs. At the time of writing, the Bitcoin network’s inflation rate per annum is 1.74% and after each halving, the annual inflation metric will continue to slide. While data shows there are 19 million bitcoins mined into existence, no one truly knows how many there really are in circulation. This is due to the fact that there’s an unknown number of unobtainable or lost coins that will never be spent. However, Satoshi Nakamoto accounted for the lost coins dilemma when the inventor said that unobtainable bitcoins will make the crypto asset scarcer and therefore more valuable. “Lost coins only make everyone else’s coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone,” Nakamoto said. As the next halving is expected to occur in 2024, it is estimated that block rewards will stop issuing fresh bitcoin by the year 2140, and the miner-reward system will be based entirely on transaction fees. After 19 million bitcoin was mined at 7:05 p.m. (ET), records show there’s approximately 109,966 blocks left to mine until the next reward halving. What do you think about the 19 million bitcoin found on April 1, 2022, and the fact that there’s only two million bitcoin left to be mined? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to Patrick Njoroge, the governor of the Kenyan central bank, the significant number of non-smartphones that are in use in Kenya means launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC) now may be premature and could lead to many citizens being financially excluded. Central Bank Mulls Delaying CBDC Rollout The governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Patrick Njoroge, has suggested the lack of access to smartphones of more than half of Kenya’s mobile phone users is working against its plan to launch a CBDC. He warned the central bank may be forced to delay its rollout of the CBDC as a result. According to Njoroge’s remarks published by Business Daily, proceeding with the rollout of the digital currency will likely see Kenyans without a smartphone being locked out. This blockade of non-smartphone users, in turn, works against the central bank’s goal of further narrowing the proportion of the population that is financially excluded. Njoroge explained: The CBDC will have a minimum viable technology requirement, which may be a sort of fourth-generation (4G) environment. There is an argument to be made that such a development could lead to greater financial exclusion such that some people may fall out of the financial system just because we have adopted a CBDC… This is something we need to be careful about. The governor suggested the CBK may have to wait until Kenya has more smartphone users. As noted in the Business Daily report, out of the 59 million mobile devices being used by Kenyans, about 56% or 33 million of these are non-smartphones or feature phones. Feature phones are not internet-enabled, which means owners of these devices are precluded from using a CBDC. CBDC Safer Than Crypto Despite pointing out the challenge that may result from the CBDC launch, Njoroge — who has previously expressed his opposition to cryptocurrencies — is still quoted in the report asserting that a CBDC would be “safer and more trustworthy” than privately issued digital currencies. Meanwhile, Njoroge’s latest remarks concerning the central bank’s plan to launch a digital currency come a few weeks after the CBK released a document discussing the benefits and risks of a CBDC. Also, as reported by Bitcoin.com News, the central bank has asked members of the public to share their views about the CBDC. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

A new law project presented in the Argentinian Senate is seeking to start a fund to pay for part of the debt the country has with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The project, which is being pushed by members of the ruling party, would establish that Argentinian citizens have to pay taxes for certain assets held outside the country, including cryptocurrencies. Argentinian Law Project to Tax Foreign Properties A new law project presented in the Argentinian senate proposes a way of paying the debt of more than $44 billion that the country has with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The law, called “National Fund For The Cancellation Of The Debt With The IMF,” implements a system that, if approved, will tax several key elements that Argentinians possess in foreign lands. According to the project, all kinds of properties outside of the country would be taxed, including any amount of fiat currencies, properties, stocks, credits, and cryptocurrencies, constituting an emergency input coming from these undeclared goods outside of the country. The payment of these taxes will have to be in foreign currency (U.S. dollars), deposited directly to the accounts of the Argentinian tax authority (AFIP). Percentages and Strategy Argentinian citizens will have to pay a certain percentage of the value of these funds depending on the way and time periods in which they declare their properties and cryptocurrency to the tax authority. Article number nine in the law proposal declares: The contribution to be paid by the taxpayers indicated in Article 6 will be the one that results from applying, on all the assets object of this law, the rate of twenty percent (20%). This rate applies to all taxpayers declaring these assets voluntarily in the six months after the approval of the law. After this period ends, the rate applied by the law is increased to 35% of the value of the goods, stocks, and cryptocurrency held outside the country. In other circumstances, this rate can climb as high as 50%. The penalties proposed for not complying with the duties declared in the law include prison time and fines. To have sufficient data for its application, the figure of a collaborator, which points to possible offenders with evidence, is also defined in the project. Collaborators receive a part of the funds collected by the tax authority, which can be as high as 30% depending on the importance of the case examined. What do you think about the new proposal of taxing undeclared goods and crypto presented in the Argentinian senate? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Chinese authorities have jailed four individuals that were accused of kidnapping one person and demanding “hundreds of bitcoins” as a ransom payment. While the alleged kidnapping is reported to have occurred in the Philippines, the cooperation between the two countries eventually led to the arrest and eventual sentencing of the Chinese kidnappers. A Ransom Demand Four Chinese citizens accused of kidnapping and demanding bitcoin as ransom payment have been jailed, China’s Embassy in the Philippines has said. Two of the accused — namely, Liu and Zhang — were handed prison terms of eight and 12 years, respectively. The remaining two, Cong and Jia, were sentenced to life in prison. According to a statement released by the Embassy, the four are believed to have kidnapped an individual identified as “Su” in the Philippines in August 2019. For Su’s safe return, the kidnappers demanded “hundreds of bitcoins” which are equivalent to over $3.1 million or more than 20 million yuan. The kidnapping prompted the Embassy and domestic law enforcement to launch a manhunt for Su’s captors. According to the statement, the four accused were eventually caught and brought to justice in 2019. Meanwhile, in the same statement, the Embassy reiterated the Chinese government’s zero tolerance for all illegal and criminal activities that include online gambling, telecoms fraud and kidnappings. Also, in a warning directed to Chinese citizens living in the Philippines, the Embassy suggested the Chinese government’s cooperation with its counterpart will ensure all Chinese lawbreakers in the Philippines will be brought to justice. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Authorities in Japan are planning to introduce tougher new rules for crypto operators as part of efforts to prevent Russia from using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions. The legislative initiative comes after Tokyo asked digital asset exchanges to strengthen transactions monitoring this month. Government of Japan to Close Loopholes for Russians in Crypto Space Amid concerns that Russia and its elites may employ cryptocurrencies to circumvent international sanctions, Japanese authorities are going to stiffen regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges. The platforms will be required to verify if recipients of transactions are subject to financial sanctions imposed in response to Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine. To obligation will be introduced through amendments to the country’s foreign exchange and trade law, according to government sources quoted by Japan Today. The revision aims to also deprive sanctioned individuals and entities of opportunities to transfer crypto assets to a third party account, the publication detailed. Russia is facing unprecedented penalties that have restricted its access to the global financial market and its reserves in foreign currency and gold. Reports have revealed that Russian officials are interested in cryptocurrencies and are even ready to accept bitcoin for energy exports. Support for the legalization of cryptocurrencies is growing in Moscow while lawmakers and experts are working to adopt a comprehensive regulatory framework. Earlier in March, the Japanese government urged crypto trading platforms to boost monitoring and asked them to inform financial authorities of any suspicious transactions that may breach sanctions. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association have been reportedly looking for ways to stop Russian entities from circumventing sanctions while ruling out the blocking of all Russian users. At the moment, Japanese law requires banks to check if the recipients of money transfers are subject to any restrictions, but cryptocurrency exchanges are not yet obliged to do so. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Monday that the government will prepare to introduce the respective amendments during the current parliamentary session. Reactions to the conflict in Ukraine have varied among members of the crypto industry. For example, while South Korean exchanges restricted Russians’ access, major global platforms like Binance and Kraken denied a request by the Ukrainian government to unilaterally freeze the accounts of all Russian users. Do you think the new regulations will allow Tokyo to prevent Russian entities and persons from evading sanctions through Japanese crypto platforms? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Financial sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine may result in reduced dominance of the U.S. currency, according to a high-ranking official at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The confrontation could lead to fragmentation of the world’s current monetary system, the top representative warned. New Currency Blocs May Emerge Amid Mounting Restrictions on Russia, IMF Says Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine has been met with waves of Western sanctions that have limited Moscow’s access to its foreign currency reserves and the global financial market. According to Gita Gopinath, first deputy managing director of the IMF, the unprecedented measures could gradually decrease the dominance of the U.S. dollar. Speaking to the Financial Times, the top IMF official also warned that the restrictions, including those on the Central Bank of Russia, could encourage the emergence of small currency blocs based on trade between groups of nations. Gopinath, nevertheless, predicted that the greenback would remain the world’s major currency but didn’t rule out a fragmentation at a smaller level. She elaborated: We are already seeing that with some countries renegotiating the currency in which they get paid for trade. The Russian Federation has been trying to reduce its dependence on the American currency for years, especially after the United States imposed sanctions over the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Russia is putting an emphasis on “dedollarization,” Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin stated in an interview with Interfax in October. Following the latest round of penalties, introduced in response to Russia’s military assault on Ukraine, officials in Moscow have expressed interest in using cryptocurrencies and are even ready to accept bitcoin for energy exports, alongside the Russian ruble. Efforts to legalize the crypto space have been gaining support and lawmakers have been working to adopt comprehensive regulations. Prior to the war, Russia held approximately a fifth of its foreign reserves in dollar-denominated assets, part of which being overseas in countries like Germany, France, the U.K., and Japan, that are now taking steps to isolate it from the global financial system. Gopinath noted that the growing use of other currencies in global trade would lead to further diversification of the reserve assets held by central banks. “Countries tend to accumulate reserves in the currencies with which they trade with the rest of the world, and in which they borrow from the rest of the world, so you might see some slow-moving trends towards other currencies playing a bigger role,” she explained. The IMF official pointed out that the dollar’s share of international reserves had fallen by 10 percentage points to 60% in the past two decades. Around a quarter of the decline can be attributed to the rise of the Chinese yuan. Beijing has been trying to internationalize the renminbi including by promoting its digital version. Gita Gopinath believes the war will also boost digital financial assets, from cryptocurrencies to stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). “All of these will get even greater attention following the recent episodes, which draws us to the question of international regulation. There is a gap to be filled there,” she commented. Do you agree that western sanctions on Russia are undermining the dominance of the U.S. dollar? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Koinly is a leading a cryptocurrency tax calculator and portfolio tracker for traders, investors and accountants. There are many features that make it stand out from the competition, and this article will present five key reasons why Koinly is actually the best crypto tax software in the world today. These include a wide range of exchange and wallet integrations, DeFi support, Cardano support, support for liquidity transactions, and compatibility with multiple countries. Wide Range of Integrations Whether someone is a taxpayer looking to get an accurate crypto tax report, a business looking to track their inventory or an accountant trying to work through a maze of transactions, Koinly is the go-to software. It is a crypto tax calculator that makes doing taxes enjoyable. It comes with a hoard of features and integrations that will make it extremely easy and convenient to satisfy all crypto tax needs. With Koinly, one can easily track crypto assets and taxes over time across all wallets & blockchains and exchanges. Viewing total holdings and portfolio growth over time in one place has never been more accessible. See Actual ROI and invested fiat, income overview, and preview profit/loss & capital gains for free. Aside from that, generate tax documents whenever required. Koinly’s tax calculator can help with tax returns and filing reports and it does so in compliance with the tax regulations of a person’s country. If someone is in the USA, Koinly generates filled-in IRS tax forms. The calculator also has international support for people living in Canada, the UK, Germany, and several other countries. Koinly also allows taxpayers to easily export transactions to other tax software like TurboTax and TaxAct. Say goodbye to inaccurate tax reports or absurd gains; with Koinly, a person can look at their transactions to help with finding any problems, thanks to numerous tools. There is a double-entry ledger system – every change into a person’s asset balances is backed by an entry, making it easy to debug. An auto-import verification tool also automatically checks wallets via API to ensure all the imported data is correct. Aside from this, Koinly also highlights errors due to incorrectly imported or missing transactions that result in balances going below zero and skips duplicate transactions whether the import is via API or CSV files. There is no need to track what has been imported and what is new. Most importantly, have all the transactions in one place, thanks to Koinly’s integration with 350+ exchanges (like Binance, Coinbase and AscendEx), 50 wallets (like Ledger, Trezor and Metamask) and 11 services (like Nexo, BlockFi and Paxful). No more going back and forth between different platforms. Easily sync data to Koinly and get a complete picture of all trading activity. DeFi Support Koinly can also automatically import all trades and liquidity transactions from Uniswap, Sushiswap, Cream, Value, Balancer, PancakeSwap and many other DeFi platforms when a user creates a new ETH, BSC or Polygon wallet. With tax authorities cracking down on crypto investors worldwide, it is crucial to understand what DeFi is and what are the tax implications of DeFi investments. DeFi is not just one concept. It is an all-encompassing term for various financial applications built using blockchain technology or cryptocurrency. DeFi protocols are autonomous programs (smart contracts) created to execute specific functions. DeFi protocols help to tackle problems existing in the traditional financial sector. For example, if someone wants a loan with a traditional bank, they will typically need to provide identification, proof of income, proof of where they live and fill out many forms. Nevertheless, with DeFi, all someone needs to do is deposit an asset into a given protocol that will automatically do it. The protocol dictates the terms, conditions, and rules. If someone cannot make payments back, the protocol will liquidate the contract; this is just one example of a DeFi protocol out of the hundreds that exist. A user can do anything through a centralized crypto exchange with DeFi protocols, including: Send money to anyone, anywhere Stream money worldwide Start a savings account Exchange fiat currency, coins, and tokens Manage and grow a financial portfolio Borrow funds with or without collateral Derivatives, margin and leveraged trading Loan own funds to earn interest or rewards Access and invest in stable currencies Crowdfund new DeFi platforms, services, and apps Get insurance Bet on the outcome of current events Even though tax offices have not yet issued exact guidelines on DeFi taxes, they have given clear guidance on crypto taxation. Since cryptocurrencies are considered assets for taxation purposes, they are always taxed in one of two ways – income tax & capital gains tax; depending on whether someone’s crypto investment is seen as a regular income or as regular income disposal of an asset. What kind of tax applies to someone’s investment can be challenging for many to understand, so crypto tax calculator software like Koinly makes it more accessible. Koinly crypto tax software calculates all crypto taxes for individuals, including DeFi taxes. Someone needs to sync the wallets and exchanges to use with Koinly through API or import a CSV file of their crypto transactions. Koinly will identify different crypto transactions and apply the relevant taxes. The data should be labeled automatically, but if it is not, a user can tag DeFi transactions as loan interest, an interest payment received from the pool, as sent to the pool, or as a reward. Cardano Support In addition to over 17000+ cryptocurrencies and 50 different blockchains that Koinly supports, it also can also help with your Cardano (ADA) taxes with staking on wallets such as Yoroi and Daedalus. Cardano is the blockchain platform based on proof-of-stake that was founded in 2015 by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson. Koinly Supports Liquidity Transactions The term liquidity is generally used in financial markets to describe the ease by which an asset can be converted into cash without difficulty. In terms of cryptocurrencies, liquidity is the ability of a coin to be easily converted into cash or other crypto coins. Liquidity transactions are done every day since liquidity is essential for any tradeable asset. There is a considerable debate over whether liquidity transactions are taxable or not. Koinly currently supports liquidity transactions on the Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and Polygon blockchains. Liquidity transactions are imported and tagged as Liquidity in/out automatically. It also currently supports several liquidity protocols such as: Balancer Pool, Uniswap, Sushiswap, Sakeswap, Snowswap, Mooniswap, Curve.fi, Bancor, yearn Finance, PancakeSwap, Value, Cream, STM Network, APY Finance, Pancake, 1inch; with the list ever-increasing. By default, Koinly treats liquidity transactions as taxable since use is exchanging tokens for an LP token that can be traded or staked to earn more coins. However, if someone feels that such liquidity transactions should not be taxed, then Koinly has the functionality to turn it off on the settings page, ‘Realize gains on liquidity transactions’. Koinly Supports Over 100 Countries Koinly is a good option for international tax reports, over many other tax software, because it supports over 100 countries. It is available in different countries like: USA UK Canada Australia Brazil New Zealand Denmark Finland France Germany Japan Koinly prepares localized versions of tax reports when someone changes their home country, so it does more than just changing some currency figures. For example, if a person moves from the USA to Australia and selects it as their home country, Koinly automatically has additional tax report options suited for that country. To learn more about crypto taxes in 2022 check out Koinly today. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Boston-based Circle Internet Financial has announced the company has selected BNY Mellon to custody the firm’s usd coin (USDC) reserves. The company’s dollar-pegged crypto asset is currently the second-largest stablecoin with a current market capitalization of $51.6 billion. BNY Mellon to Become USDC’s Primary Custodian Circle has chosen America’s oldest investment bank to custody the firm’s usd coin (USDC) reserves, according to an announcement published on March 31. While BNY Mellon will become the primary custodian for USDC, Circle expects the partnership to further “facilitate an exchange of expertise on a range of topics across digital and traditional markets.” The announcement on Thursday says the benefits of the newly announced relationship between Circle and BNY Mellon include: Bridging of traditional and digital capital markets, investment management, digital asset custody, cash management for fiat and non-fiat payments, and the exploration of digital cash for purposes of settlement. At the time of writing, USDC is the second-largest stablecoin under tether (USDT) and the crypto asset is pegged to the price of the U.S. dollar. During the last 24 hours, USDC has seen $4.38 billion in 24-hour global trade volume, and the stablecoin has seen enormous growth during the last 12 months. On March 31, 2021, USDC’s market capitalization was $10.8 billion and it’s grown 377.77% since last year to $51.6 billion. Today, USDC’s most dominant trading pairs include USDT, USD, BUSD, WETH, and EUR respectively. During the announcement concerning Circle selecting BNY Mellon as USDC’s primary custodian, BNY Mellon executive Roman Regelman said that the finance industry faces an evolutionary turning point. “We are at a point in the evolution of our industry where the digitization of assets is presenting new and exciting opportunities to a broad range of market participants. BNY Mellon continues to provide products and services to players in this evolving market,” Regelman, the CEO of asset servicing and head of digital at BNY Mellon said. What do you think about Circle selecting BNY Mellon to be USDC’s primary custodian? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Citi has predicted that the total market for the metaverse economy could grow to between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030. In addition, the global bank expects that the number of metaverse users could be as many as five billion. The Metaverse Is Potentially an $8 Trillion to $13 Trillion Opportunity, Says Citi Citi released a new Global Perspectives & Solutions (Citi GPS) report titled “Metaverse and Money: Decrypting the Future” Thursday. The leading global bank has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. The 184-page report explores various aspects of the metaverse in-depth. They include what a metaverse is; its infrastructure; digital assets including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the metaverse; money and defi (decentralized finance) in the metaverse; and regulatory developments applicable to the metaverse. Regarding the size of the metaverse economy, Citi described: “We believe the metaverse may be the next generation of the internet — combining the physical and digital world in a persistent and immersive manner — and not purely a virtual reality world.” Noting that “A device-agnostic metaverse accessible via PCs, game consoles, and smartphones could result in a very large ecosystem,” Citi wrote: We estimate the total addressable market for the metaverse economy could grow to between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030. In addition, the report explains that Citi believes the total number of metaverse users could be around five billion. Report co-author Ronit Ghose, global head of Banking, Fintech & Digital Assets, Citi Global Insights, explained: Expert contributors to the report indicate a range of users of up to 5 billion, depending on whether we take a broad definition (mobile phone user base) or just one billion based on a narrower definition (VR/AR device user base) — we adopt the former. The report also discusses how users would access the metaverse. “Consumer hardware manufacturers will be portals to the metaverse and potential gatekeepers,” the authors wrote. “Similar to today, there will likely be a split between a U.S./international and a China/ firewall-based metaverse in addition to a spectrum based on technology and business model too, i.e., metaverse centralization versus decentralization.” Moreover, the report details that “The metaverse of the future would encompass more digitally-native tokens but traditional forms of money would also be embedded,” adding: Money in the metaverse could exist in different forms, i.e., in-game tokens, stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and cryptocurrencies. “In addition, digital assets and NFTs, in the metaverse will enable sovereign ownership for the users/owners and are tradeable, composable, immutable, and mostly interoperable,” the Citi report notes. The authors also explored what metaverse regulation would look like, predicting that “If the metaverse(s) is the new iteration of the internet, it will attract great scrutiny from global regulators and policymakers.” They additionally warned, “All the challenges of the Web2 internet could be magnified in the metaverse, such as content moderation, free speech, and privacy,” elaborating: In addition, a blockchain-based metaverse will brush up against still evolving laws around cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (defi) in many jurisdictions around the world. In January, global investment bank Goldman Sachs said that the metaverse could be as much as an $8 trillion opportunity. Another major investment bank, Morgan Stanley, predicted the same size for the metaverse in November last year. Meanwhile, Bank of America said that the metaverse is a massive opportunity for the entire crypto ecosystem. Do you agree with Citi about the metaverse? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has listed crypto assets as an examination priority for market participants this year. “In this time of heightened market volatility, our priorities are tailored to focus on emerging issues, such as crypto assets,” said an official with the SEC Division of Examinations. Crypto Assets Among SEC Examination Priorities The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations published its annual examination priorities Wednesday. Crypto is among the top priorities highlighted in the report this year. The Division of Examinations conducts the SEC’s National Exam Program, its website details, adding that its “mission is to protect investors, ensure market integrity and support responsible capital formation through risk-focused strategies.” SEC Chairman Gary Gensler explained that the examination priorities identify key risk areas that the SEC expects registrants — including investment advisers, broker-dealers, self-regulatory organizations, and clearing firms — “to address, manage, and mitigate with vigilance.” Division of Examinations’ Acting Director Richard Best commented: In this time of heightened market volatility, our priorities are tailored to focus on emerging issues, such as crypto assets and expanding information security threats, as well as core issues that have been part of the SEC’s mission for decades — such as protecting retail investors. The Examination Priorities report lists five “significant focus areas,” and “Emerging technologies and crypto assets” is one of them. Others are pension funds; environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing; standards of conduct; and information security and operational resiliency. Regarding crypto assets, the SEC explained that “The Division will conduct examinations of broker-dealers and RIAs [registered investment advisors] that are using emerging financial technologies to review whether the unique risks these activities present were considered by the firms when designing their regulatory compliance programs.” The securities watchdog elaborated: Examinations of market participants engaged with crypto assets will continue to review the custody arrangements for such assets and will assess the offer, sale, recommendation, advice, and trading of crypto assets. “In addition, the Division will conduct examinations of mutual funds and ETFs [exchange-traded funds] offering exposure to crypto assets to assess, among other things, compliance, liquidity, and operational controls around portfolio management and market risk,” the report details. What do you think about the SEC naming crypto an examination priority this year? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Layerzero Labs, the firm behind the interoperability protocol Layerzero, has revealed the company has raised $135 million in a Series A+ finance round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), FTX Ventures, and Sequoia Capital. The new financing brings Layerzero Labs’ overall valuation to $1 billion and the funds will be leveraged to develop cross-chain decentralized applications (dapps) powered by Layerzero. Layerzero Raises $135 Million From Andreessen Horowitz, FTX Ventures, Sequoia Capital On March 30, 2022, the company Layerzero Labs announced it had secured $135 million in a Series A+ funding round. The funding round was led by Sequoia Capital, FTX Ventures, and a16z, and the funding also saw participation from Uniswap Labs, Paypal Ventures, Tiger Global, and Coinbase Ventures. The financing also pushes Layerzero Labs to unicorn status, as the latest capital injection brings the company’s overall valuation to $1 billion. “This round is a massive step forward for Layerzero Labs and the unfolding interoperability landscape,” the CEO and co-founder of Layerzero Labs, Bryan Pellegrino said in a statement. “We’ve brought some of the best and most well respected entities in the world together to accomplish the same goal: create the generic messaging layer that underpins all interoperability between blockchains,” Pellegrino added during the announcement. Just recently, the startup launched Stargate Finance, a cross-chain liquidity transfer protocol that utilizes Layerzero’s generic messaging technology. Layerzero Labs says that after the launch, Stargate “surpassed $3.4 billion in assets secured, and Stargate has sent over $264 million in transfers over Layerzero.” Stargate is interoperable with seven blockchains which include Arbitrum, Optimism, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Ethereum, Avalanche, Fantom, and Polygon. “Composability is a defining characteristic in blockchain technology, which Layerzero enables,” Ramnik Arora, an investor from FTX Ventures explained. “Layerzero allows smart contracts on one chain to seamlessly and securely leverage the network of another chain, increasing the value of the entire blockchain ecosystem. The team is a rare combination of vision and technical execution, and we at FTX are honored to support them this past year.” Cross-chain technology has blossomed quite a bit during the last 12 months. Some of the largest decentralized finance (defi) applications like Curve Finance, Lido, Uniswap, Sushiswap, and Anchor leverage several blockchains. At the time of writing, there’s $21.63 billion total value locked across various cross-chain bridges to Ethereum. What do you think about Layerzero raising $135 million from investors in a Series A+ finance round? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. NovaTerra is a Metaverse MMORPG featuring a play-to-earn model. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic future, where humanity has turned the planet into a barren wasteland. Following the planet-wide devastation, massive drought has made water an extremely scarce and valuable resource. The player character is a survivor who is helping to rebuild society and terraform this post-apocalyptic wasteland. The gameplay revolves around farming, building and cooperation between players. Successfully farming crops and cooperating with other players will reward the player with the game’s main currency — $CCO2 tokens. Coorest’s fruit-bearing NFTrees are also featured in the game. If a player owns a certain number of NFTrees, they will be able to plant them on their farm to reap extra benefits. Player cooperation and trading will be a prominent feature of NovaTerra. Initially, players will only have the option to buy land which can be used to grow their crops, trees or animals, but in the future, they will be able to rent out their own land or work on other players’ farms to earn $CCO2 tokens. The game has several game mechanics — farming, crafting and building. Farming focuses on either crop or tree maintenance and thus healing the harsh post-apocalyptic world surrounding the player. While crops and fruit-bearing trees will yield seeds and food items, farming forest trees will be an easy and effective way of getting lumber. Livestock farming will be a separate profession from tree or crop farming. As the name suggests, it will be focused exclusively on nurturing livestock and tamed animals. If the player is successful in taking care of their animals, they will be able to produce food, craft-specific materials like leather and even be able to raise their own pets! The crafting mechanic is split into professions, with each having its own set of craftable items. There will be interdependence between the different professions in Nova Terra as craftable items from certain professions will require materials from other professions. The building mechanic will allow players to create different buildings with unique purposes. Building a house will allow the player to rest, cook food and customise the interior. Just like our current world, the economy in NovaTerra will require cooperation between different areas of expertise. The player will be able to choose a profession and be able to craft items and materials specific to that trade. Constructing buildings and crafting tools will require materials from different professions. Here’s an example of how the professions might interact with each other: A blacksmith will need wooden handles from a carpenter, while the carpenter will need lumber from a forest farmer — and the list goes on! If there are only a few blacksmiths in the game world, then tools will be significantly more expensive. Initially, the game world will be divided into 9 zones, 4 of which will contain 1150 player-owned plots of land that will be available for sale. Players will only be able to farm and build structures on their owned land. The other 5 zones will be used for exploration, resource gathering, trading and farming special NFTs that contain loot. These NFTs will have a random chance to drop crop seeds, tree saplings, baby animals or decorations. Two of the exploration areas will contain an oasis next to lush forests, where the players can collect water and lumber. Trading will take place only in the zone in the centre, which contains a marketplace situated around a dormant volcano. Currently these are all the details that can be shared, as the game developers are working tirelessly to build the game world and implement new features. Coorest CEO, William ten Zijthoff: “Coorest is a complete ecosystem of secure and reliable solutions, which bridge the gap between real-world assets and blockchain technology. We are focused on the stability and growth of the Coorest Platform with NovaTerra as one of the primary projects to achieve this”. Coorest have many more updates coming for NovaTerra, as the game enters its final stages of development. Stay tuned! Want to know more about Coorest’s latest projects? Join our socials: Discord I Twitter I LinkedIN I Telegram I Medium I Facebook I Instagram 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

During the last month, Bitcoin’s hashrate has been coasting along above the 200 exahash per second (EH/s) zone, minus a number of drops here and there above and below that range. Following two difficulty changes that saw the difficulty decrease by 1.84%, the network’s difficulty is expected to increase 4.24% within the next 13 hours. Bitcoin’s Difficulty Expected to Reach All-Time High Bitcoin miners caught two breaks during the last month when the difficulty dropped two times in a row. The first 1.49% drop occurred at block height 725,760 on March 3, 2022, and the second decrease was a 0.35% drop, which occurred at block height 727,776 on March 17, 2022. The two consecutive drops made it 1.84% easier for all the mining participants to find BTC blocks. While the difficulty was 27.97 trillion prior to the two reductions, the current difficulty is 27.45 trillion on Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. (ET). Within the next 13 hours, the difficulty is expected to increase this time around, jumping 4.24% higher if current estimations are correct. With an expected 4.24% difficulty increase taking place, Bitcoin’s network difficulty will break records by reaching an all-time high (ATH). If the difficulty increases 4.24%, then the difficulty will be 28.62 trillion for the next two weeks that follow. Miners will deal with the hardest difficulty parameter they have ever dealt with in their mining careers. Moreover, the difficulty changes that have taken place since January 1, 2020, after block height 610,848, moved at the fastest pace in the network’s lifetime. For instance, it took 4,015 days to get to a difficulty rating of 13.80 trillion, or over ten years. From that point after block height 610,848, with a difficulty rating of 13.80 trillion, it took only 820 days or just over two years to reach the current 27.45 trillion. At the time of writing, the network’s hashrate is coasting along at 204.27 EH/s and has remained high during the last two weeks. While the hashrate has been fluctuating it has tapped a low of 153.97 EH/s on March 6, and a high of 246.88 EH/s on March 22. At the same time, the top mining pool on Wednesday is Foundry USA with 17.54% of the global hashrate. Foundry USA has 35.88 EH/s of hashpower and has found 77 blocks during the last three days. In terms of global hashrate positions, Foundry USA is followed by Antpool, Binance Pool, Poolin, and F2pool, respectively. Over the last 30 days, Foundry USA and Antpool have been the top two mining pools finding the most blocks (1,480 blocks combined) last month. It will be interesting to see how the mining pools deal with the upcoming difficulty ATH. Observers will be watching to see how bitcoin miners and the hashrate react to the epoch difficulty change. What do you think about the network’s upcoming difficulty change? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Using the world’s first AI utility token AITECH, Government Authorities, Megacorps, SMEs, and Professionals will be able to acquire AI services through Solidus’ Artificial Intelligence infrastructure. AITECH can be purchased, staked, or held as a long-term investment. Paul Farhi is the Founder and Head of UK Operations of Solidus AITECH. He recently joined the Bitcoin.com News Podcast to talk about the crypto business, play-to-earn games, metaverse, NFTs and much more: Paul is a born achiever and has very high standards in everything he does. He is a passionate entrepreneur and established himself as a successful investor very early on in his career. His main focus was on Property & Fine Art until he was introduced to Bitcoin in 2015 and since then has never looked back. During his career Paul has built a solid network and was instrumental in securing the partnership between Solidus Technologies and Soft Galaxy international. Paul is a forward thinker and identified very early on that Ethereum will be moving from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake which means that mining would no longer be the future for Solidus Technologies and began his research into Artificial Intelligence. Since then he has studied Artificial intelligence at the London Business School and has identified key areas that will be significant for Solidus AITECH in the near future. Paul also owns a Fine Art Company who are taking a serious look at the NFT space. Paul also oversees the overall Marketing efforts of Solidus AITECH. Solidus Technologies began as a cryptocurrency mining company in December 2017, with a focus on mining Ethereum (ETH) with GPU-based mining rigs. Following the financial crash of 2020 and a large increase in demand for AI services, the corporation turned its core focus to Artificial Intelligence and formed Solidus Ai Tech to serve as the company’s AI arm. To learn more about the project visit www.ai-tech.io and follow the team on Twitter. 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

Following strong gains during Wednesday’s session, bitcoin and ethereum both saw prices consolidate below key resistance levels. BTC remained marginally above $47,300, with ETH trading close to $3,400. The global crypto market cap was 0.48% lower as of writing. Bitcoin Bitcoin saw its price consolidate during Wednesday’s session, following strong gains on Tuesday, which saw BTC rise to multi-month highs. However on Wednesday, BTC/USD fell to an intraday low of $46,746.21, as prices failed to sustain a breakout of the $48,080 ceiling. Today’s drop came as prices rose to a peak of $47,938.21. However, bullish momentum somewhat eased as bulls likely secured some earlier gains. Now the question will be whether or not these drops in price will persist, with bears looking to enter the market in order to lead a reversal in price strength. Looking at the chart, the 14-day RSI has also begun to tail off, and now tracks at 69, which is still overbought. Should bears look to move prices lower, this could be a factor, with the 61 RSI floor being a point they could be targeting, thus pushing BTC towards $44,000. . Ethereum Despite also falling in today’s session, ethereum continued to hover marginally above the $3,400 level. As of writing, ETH/USD was trading 1.70% lower, as prices hit an intraday low of $3,349.24, following on from an earlier high of $3,466.67. Wednesday’s decline in price comes less than 24 hours after the world’s second largest cryptocurrency rose to a nearly four-month peak of $3,483. Looking at the chart, one of the reasons for the decline is the fact that price strength is deeply overbought. This comes as the 14-day RSI is still tracking above 70, which is close to its highest point since September last year. Bulls likely saw this as an opportune time to liquidate their positions, while bears viewed it as an ideal point to push prices lower. Can ETH bears continue to push prices lower, despite the current momentum being bullish? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Bake N More, a Dubai-based cafe, has become the latest company from the region to add cryptocurrency as a payment option. According to the company’s owner, Mohammad Al Hammadi, Bake N More hinted at possible plans to pay employee salaries in cryptocurrency as well. A Hub for Crypto Users in UAE A Dubai-based cafe, Bake N More, has become the latest company to add cryptocurrency as another payment option available to customers. Despite taking this step, Bake N More will nonetheless continue to accept cash and credit card payments, the owner said. According to his remarks published in a report by Khaleej Times, owner Mohammad Al Hammadi suggested the decision to add crypto to the list of payment methods was made in order to expand Bake N More’s reach. Al Hammadi also claimed the decision was because they “want Bake n More to be a coffee and pastry hub for crypto users in UAE.” Elsewhere in the report, Al Hammadi is quoted explaining how Bake N More would charge clients that buy a cup of coffee using cryptocurrency. He explained: Our payment system does the conversion accordingly as it is linked to the price charts. For instance, if a bottle of water cost Dh5 [$1.36], the system divides it by the chart rate, we can assume 3.68, and calculates the cost based on that will be 1.35 UST. Converting to Fiat Meanwhile, Al Hammadi revealed that his company is currently storing digital currency and will only engage the relevant exchange platforms when it needs to convert to fiat. He also hinted that his company may in the future pay employee salaries in crypto. As different authorities in the UAE continue to open up to cryptocurrencies, more companies are embracing them as well. For instance, Bitcoin.com News recently reported that the hospitality brand Stella Stays now accepts cryptocurrency. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. London, UK: 30 March 2022 – Play-to-earn game, DeFi Kingdoms, has partnered with crypto payments infrastructure platform, Ramp to bring an even greater in-game payment experience to players. For one week only* players can enjoy zero fees when purchasing AVAX through Ramp. DeFi Kingdoms has been wildly popular, generating more than $1.6 billion in transactions in January 2022 alone. Today’s Ramp announcement comes as DeFi Kingdoms implements its cross-chain expansion to Avalanche. Originally built on the Harmony blockchain platform, DeFi Kingdoms plays out in a nostalgic form of fantasy pixel art. The DeFi Kingdoms ecosystem includes a game, an exchange, a native token, hero Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and a liquidity pool. Through the Ramp partnership, DeFi Kingdoms players can enjoy multiple fiat-to-crypto payment options and top up their wallets or dApps instantly within the game. In particular, it will give players a fast and secure way to make in-game purchases on Harmony ONE, the platform on which the game’s governance token – JEWEL – can be traded. “DeFi Kingdoms is all about experience. As part of that, we wanted a frictionless onboarding journey for new users and a reliable, fast payment solution for existing players. We researched on-ramps and Ramp stood out for its customer focus, ease of implementation, global reach and track-record with compliance,” said DeFi Kingdoms President, Dreamer. Ramp has partnered with the world’s most popular NFT-based games, including Axie Infinity and fantasy football game, Sorare. In the case of Axie Infinity, Ramp’s integration saw onboarding times fall by 90%, while reducing costs to the end user dramatically. Meanwhile, Ramp’s integration on Sorare made the process of buying cards 40% faster and more streamlined than before. “Combining NFTs with the creation of virtual worlds is hugely appealing to gamers. DeFi Kingdoms does this beautifully. Yet barriers to the mainstream adoption of play-to-earn games remain high when the user experience is slow and complex. Players want to top up instantly inside their wallets or dApps, and that’s exactly what Ramp facilitates,” said Jacques Whales, Chief Meta Officer at Ramp. DeFi Kingdoms players will be able to enjoy fast fiat-to-crypto payments via Ramp, effective immediately. * The zero fee promotion will run for seven days from 10 am MST on 30 March 2022, or until the allocated liquidity pool is finished, whichever comes first. 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