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Certik, a blockchain security and auditing firm, has reported that the most common attack vector for hacks in decentralized finance (defi) protocols had to do with centralization in 2021. This data is present in Certik’s latest report, where the company also examines the growth of defi in 2021, and how other chains such as Avalanche and BSC rose as alternatives to Ethereum’s high fees. Centralization Costs Defi Protocols $1.3 Billion in 2021 A new report issued by Certik, a blockchain security and auditing firm, has revealed that centralization issues in defi protocols were the most common attack vector for hackers in 2021. According to the firm, $1.3 billion were exploited using single points of failure. Certik made 1,737 smart contract audits during 2021, and found 286 instances of discrete centralization risks. The report states: Centralization is antithetical to the ethos of DeFi and poses major security risks. Single points of failure can be exploited by dedicated hackers and malicious insiders alike. One of the protocols that suffered from this kind of vulnerability was BZX, when an attacker managed to phish two private keys using an email with a malicious macro in November. The attacker took control of $55 million from the protocol at that time. This is part of what the company classifies as privileged ownership vulnerabilities. Certik on Defi Growth and Multichain Tendencies The report also recognizes the massive growth the defi environment experienced last year. Certik states that the volume traded on decentralized exchanges (dex) tripled, the total value locked in defi-based protocols quadrupled, and Ethereum fee revenue skyrocketed. On the growth of Ethereum, the report acknowledges that: There is clearly a voracious appetite for the smart contract-driven decentralized applications that Ethereum enables. DeFi, NFTs, and other applications such as ENS (Ethereum Name System) have all contributed to this growth. However, due to the challenges Ethereum has faced in scaling, a number of competitors managed to take a third of Ethereum’s defi dominance. Certik states that Binance Smart Chain, Solana, Terra, Avalanche, Fantom, and Polygon were the more popular chains chosen as alternatives for users’ defi activities. Even with the Ethereum block space trading at a premium, the chain reached $153 billion TVL. But with the user migration to other chains, the decentralization debate has deepened. Solana, one of the chains ostensibly moving to replace Ethereum, has been facing constant troubles that have been formally acknowledged by its team. What do you think about Certik and the changes that occurred in defi in 2021? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

In mid-October 2021, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey revealed the payments firm Block Inc. (formally Square) was considering joining the bitcoin mining industry. Three months later, Dorsey tweeted that his firm was “officially building an open bitcoin mining system.” The Block’s Hardware General Manager: ‘We See Bitcoin Mining as a Long-Term Need for a Future That Is Fully Decentralized and Permissionless’ Jack Dorsey and the Block’s hardware general manager Tom Templeton discussed the company’s focus on bitcoin mining this week. Templeton explained that three months ago the Block hinted at building a bitcoin mining system and the firm has ultimately decided to step into the field. Templeton insists the goal is to make mining “more distributed and efficient in every way” and this includes maintenance, purchases, and setting up. “We’re interested because mining goes far beyond creating new bitcoin. We see it as a long-term need for a future that is fully decentralized and permissionless,” Templeton tweeted. Some of the problematic issues they had found people deal with when it comes to bitcoin mining include things like mining rig availability, machine reliability, and performance. “Some mining rigs generate unwanted harmonics in the power grid,” Templeton said. “They’re also very noisy, which makes them too loud for home use.” Templeton further added that the company has evaluated a number of “IP blocks, open-source miner firmware, and other system software offerings.” Moreover, the Block’s hardware team is building out a crew of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and software designers. Alongside this, Templeton noted the firm is also hiring electrical engineers, analog designers, and layout engineers. Data on January 16, 2022, shows there’s only a handful of ASIC bitcoin mining rig manufacturers today including Bitmain, Ebang, Canaan, Microbt, Innosilicon, Ipollo, and Strongu. Today’s top machines, in terms of profit per day and SHA256 terahash performance, are made by Bitmain, Ipollo, Microbt, and Canaan. A single Bitmain Antminer S19 Pro (100 TH/s) can cost anywhere between $10K to $15K per unit. This machine, in particular, using today’s BTC exchange rates and $0.12 per kilowatt-hour in electricity will generate an estimated $16.23 per day in profits. What do you think about Jack Dorsey’s payment company the Block getting into bitcoin mining? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Tampa Bay, Florida, U.S.A – 16th January 2022 – Pocket Network – an infrastructure middleware protocol which facilitates decentralized cloud computing and abundant bandwidth on full nodes interoperable with DApps across all 21+ blockchains surpasses milestone 20,000 full nodes, answering a real and conceptual question around decentralization viability. Pocket Network incentivizes a global community of independent node operators and service providers running 21,000+ full nodes adding to the network’s resilience. Pocket Network is secured by over $320M worth of network infrastructure distributed globally across 23 countries and reduces the risk of service downtime to near zero for any layer 1 or industry DApps as work is distributed evenly across thousands of full nodes, which also protects end users’ privacy. Pocket Network, who last week closed a strategic round led by Republic Capital, RockTree Capital, Arrington Capital, is undergoing exponential growth as demand for its network measured in API calls or relays jumped to 5.78 Billion relays in December, up 44% From November 2021. “Pocket is the First Mover, changing the game as core infrastructure for the Web3 revolution” said Omer Ozden, CEO of RockTree Capital “For those that are seeking the next high growth first mover like AWS or Ethereum, you can see transparently on-chain the parabolic growth of actual usage and of actual revenues of the Pocket Network. The metrics have been super impressive and we look forward to the scaling 2022 will bring.” Pocket Network has generated $56m revenue in December up from $29m in November and currently supports over 2000+ DApps run across its network which is integrated with Solana along with Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Binance, Harmony, Gnosis (formerly xDai), Fuse and many more. “There is increased investment in public, open-source infrastructure through crypto networks that continues to chip away at the dominance of today’s providers, reducing them to commodities,” said Michael O’Rourke, CEO at Pocket Network “Our attractive economic flywheel model for our network is simple and naturally drives growth – attractive node running incentives adds more nodes which in turn creates more redundancy and better DApp service experience, more DApp usage then generates more node revenue.” Pocket meaningfully encourages and incentivizes niche cloud providers which commercially have been less viable over the last decade with massively well known incumbents dominating the traditional market, and aims to provide Web3 with a much more compatible infrastructure network. About Pocket Network Pocket Network, a blockchain data ecosystem for Web3 applications, is a platform built for applications that uses cost-efficient economics to coordinate and distribute data at scale. It enables seamless and secure interactions between blockchains and across applications. With Pocket, the use of blockchains can be simply integrated into web..sites, mobile apps, IoT and more, giving developers the freedom to put blockchain enabled applications into the “pocket” of every mainstream consumer. For more information, visit https://pokt.network. RockTree Capital, a merchant bank and fund based in China focused on blockchain projects and mobile e-commerce companies, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, New York and Toronto. RockTree Capital invests into top-tier blockchain projects and accelerates their growth in Asia. https://rocktreecapital.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

The European Central Bank is concerned over inflation in the euro area rising beyond its own expectations, a high-ranking ECB official has admitted. However, Europe’s monetary authority is not prepared to raise interest rates at this point in time, the executive unveiled. ECB Sees No Reason to Adjust Interest Rates Despite Eurozone Inflation Reaching 5% Annual inflation in the area of the common European currency, the euro, has increased for a sixth consecutive month to a record high of 5% in December, according to preliminary estimates from Eurostat quoted by Trading Economics. The last time inflation declined was in June when it fell to 1.9% from May’s 2%. Source: Trading Economics “We view these figures with some concern, as they are higher than we initially expected,” Isabel Schnabel, member of the Executive Board of the ECB, commented in a recent interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung. The official also recognized the worries of many people in Europe about the drop in real wages and interest income. Nevertheless, Schnabel made it clear the regulator is not ready to raise interest rates in the eurozone for now, citing forecasts indicating that the inflation spike caused by the global pandemic will be followed by a “marked decline.” The banker also pointed out that the ECB should avoid choking off the economic recovery and stated: In our projections, medium-term inflation will even fall back below our target of 2%, even though we acknowledge that the projections are now subject to great uncertainty. European Central Bank to Act if Inflation Settles Above 2% The representative of the ECB executive body also assured that the euro area’s central bank “will act quickly and decisively if we conclude that inflation may settle above 2%.” She remarked that a precondition for lifting rates up is to end net asset purchases. Schnabel referred to the decision of ECB’s Governing Council in December to gradually reduce them over the coming quarters as the first step in that direction. The plan is to discontinue those under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program at the end of March 2022. The official dismissed criticism that inaction on the part of the ECB reflects its fears that the euro debt crisis might flare up again, especially in countries like Italy, if interest rates are raised. “Our actions are guided solely by our price stability mandate. Public borrowing by individual countries has no bearing on the Governing Council’s decisions,” she insisted. Eurostat’s data and Schnabel’s comments come as other major economies are also registering surging inflation after measures to deal with the economic fallout of the Covid-19 epidemic. Numbers published by the U.S. Labor Department on Wednesday showed that the consumer price index rose to 7% last month, as Bitcoin.com News reported. That’s the largest annual increase in the past four decades. Do you think central banks around the world will eventually raise interest rates in response to growing inflation? Share your expectations in the comments section below. View the full article

According to a recent trademark application, Crocs, the American shoe company based in Colorado may be delving into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Since 2004, Crocs has sold 300 million pairs of foam clog shoes and the application describes a protocol that can manage and store digital collectibles. Crocs Trademark Filing Describes ‘Downloadable Virtual Goods Created With Blockchain Technology, Smart Contracts, in the Nature of Footwear’ A United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) report filed on January 11, 2022, indicates that Crocs has an eye on the non-fungible token (NFT) industry. The company Crocs is well known for its injection-molded foam clogs since the firm secured exclusive rights to the proprietary foam product called Croslite in 2004. The USPTO report shows a product that is entirely different from foam clogs. The “registration is intended to cover the categories of downloadable digital media namely, digital assets, digital collectibles, digital tokens, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs),” the Crocs trademark filing notes. It further continues by mentioning things like leveraging blockchain tech and smart contracts in order to showcase Crocs’ products. The filing adds: [The registration is intended to cover] downloadable virtual goods created with blockchain-based software technology and smart contracts, in the nature of footwear, clothing, bags, accessories, and charms for decorating footwear, clothing, bags, and accessories; Downloadable computer software for creating, managing, storing, accessing, sending, receiving, exchanging, validating and selling digital assets, digital collectibles, digital tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In terms of sales, Crocs are not as popular as they once were during the first few years they were introduced and in 2010, TIME magazine added Crocs to the world’s “50 Worst Inventions.” Crocs, however, are still worn by celebrities like Nicki Minaj, Kim Kardashian, and Justin Bieber. While the trademark indicates an interest in securing the rights to NFT-based Crocs’ intellectual property (IP), the company has not mentioned anything about leveraging NFTs in recent times. Meanwhile, a slew of well known brands from all around the world have been jumping into the world of NFTs. Popular brands such as Adidas, Budweiser, Hennessy, Arizona Iced Tea, Samsung, Ubisoft, Konami, Bicycle, Pepsi-Cola, Atari, and Delorean. What do you think about the Crocs NFT trademarke filing registered on January 11? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

During the last seven days, there’s been $2.53 billion non-fungible token (NFT) sales, up 161% over the past week. Ethereum’s blockchain recorded the most NFT sales with $2.45 billion of the aggregate while the Solana network saw around $31.9 million in NFT sales this week. Across 258,536 NFT buyers this week, the NFT collection Meebits captured $1.23 billion in NFT sales. With $2.5 Billion in NFT Sales Across 10 Chains, Ethereum NFT Sales Dominate by More Than 96% A great number of non-fungible token sales continue, as the recorded sales across the top 10 blockchains with NFT compatibility amounted to $2.53 billion in NFT sales. The metric is up 161% during the course of the week, but Ethereum’s NFT sales represent the lion’s share. NFTs stemming from Ethereum captured $2.45 billion and sales on the Ethereum blockchain are up 184% according to cryptoslam.io’s data on Sunday. Out of this week’s top ten blockchain networks, Theta saw an increase in seven-day sales by 490.39%. Sales on the Wax blockchain increased by 17.10% and Flow blockchain sales jumped by 1.04% this past week. The biggest sale this week, in terms of the most expensive NFT sold in seven days, was Meebit #13824 when it sold for 15,000 ETH or $50.61 million four days ago. Meebit #9711 sold for a touch less than #13824 at 14,730 ether or $49.25 million at the time of settlement. Meebits has seen a 31,948.20% seven-day increase in sales and the collection is the top NFT compilation in terms of this week’s sales. The Meebits collection saw 574 buyers amid 2,199 transactions spend $1.23 billion in sales. The week’s second most sold collection is the NFT project Loot as it has seen $281 million in weekly sales according to cryptoslam.io metrics. Loot is followed by Cryptophunks V2 as that NFT project saw $142 million in sales. While Opensea Nears $15 Billion, Axie Infinity Nears $4 Billion in All-Time NFT Sales Volume As Bitcoin.com News reported earlier this week, there’s been an influx of traders leveraging the new NFT marketplace Looksrare. The Looksrare NFT market has outpaced Opensea’s seven-day sales statistics with $444.55 million. Opensea has seen $120.55 million in sales this week, down 32.58% from the week prior. Solana’s Magic Eden was the third-largest marketplace this week with $7.68 million in sales, according to dappradar.com stats. Meanwhile, two NFT projects are about to reach new milestones in terms of all-time NFT sales volume. The NFT marketplace Opensea, which supports Ethereum and Polygon blockchains, is nearing $15 billion in total sales with $14.68 billion today. Axie Infinity is getting close to topping $4 billion in total sales, as the NFT project has accrued $3.94 billion so far. Furthermore, Flow’s NBA Top Shot is getting close to $1 billion in volume with $776.49 million total and Solana’s Magic Eden is also nearing the $1 billion mark with $615.05 million in all-time sales. What do you think about this week’s non-fungible token sales and statistics? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is reportedly seeking to block websites dealing in cryptocurrency. The decision followed a meeting the agency had with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) which recently recommended a complete ban on crypto. Pakistan’s FIA Reportedly Seeks to Block Cryptocurrency Websites Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is seeking to block websites dealing in cryptocurrency, Dawn newspaper reported Sunday. The FIA is “a border control, criminal investigation, counter-intelligence, and security agency under the control of the Interior Secretary of Pakistan,” according to the Pakistani government website. FIA Director-General Dr. Sanaullah Abbasi told the press Saturday that his agency will approach the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block crypto websites to prevent fraud and money laundering. His statement followed a meeting he had with senior officials of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country’s central bank. The FIA chief said: The SBP officials gave a presentation in the meeting about a regulating mechanism. During the meeting, the SBP officials noted that the central bank recently submitted recommendations under the direction of the Sindh High Court on the legal framework for cryptocurrencies in Pakistan. The State Bank has recommended a complete ban on cryptocurrency. Emphasizing that his department is mainly concerned about fraud and money laundering, the FIA director-general opined: Crypto has given a new dimension to fraud. The FIA chief proceeded to discuss existing Pakistani laws: the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016; the Foreign Exchange Remittance Act 1947 (FERA); and the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010 (AMLA). He stressed that they do not contain provisions for the illegal and misuse of cryptocurrencies. In addition, the meeting with the SBP officials highlighted that Pakistan has “no regulatory framework for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in order to comply with the FATF [Financial Action Task Force] requirements,” the publication conveyed. Abbasi added that the FIA recently initiated a probe into a massive financial scam after 11 apps linked to cryptocurrency exchange Binance stopped working. The scheme allegedly defrauded Pakistani investors of over $100 million. What do you think about the Pakistani FIA seeking to block cryptocurrency websites? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. One of the most trending topics as of late is the metaverse and more specifically the relationship that this new kind of technology has with VR (Virtual Reality) technologies. There have already been many different kinds of initiatives which utilise VR alongside metaverse-based efforts in order to provide new and innovative experiences, but one industry that can perhaps benefit the most from all of this is that of the tourism sector. As the ongoing global pandemic continues, people from all over the world miss being able to freely travel to new places and other countries. However, thanks to a new metaverse project by Ariva, users will be given the chance to have a truly next-generation and seemingly unlimited travelling experience through which they could virtually go anywhere they want. What is Ariva? Ariva is a new blockchain platform that aims to improve upon the current tourist sector’s inefficiencies by offering a next-generation blockchain-oriented ecosystem for the tourism and travel industry. As a result, it hopes to alter the global sector by incorporating cutting-edge products and services into its respective ecosystem. According to its whitepaper, this is broken down into several key areas, namely Ariva.Club, Ariva.Finance, Ariva.World, and most recently the Ariva Metaverse. All of these are linked with one another too, therefore enabling increased interconnectivity and allowing visitors as well as travellers alike to have a one-of-a-kind experience enabled through the intuitive use of blockchain technology. As aforementioned, the team recently launched a metaverse project named Ariva Wonderland, with land sales set to begin towards the end of January. The goal of the Ariva metaverse project is to combine the themes of travel and VR in the cryptocurrency space to create a second life fit for an evolving tourist enterprise. Users shall hence be allowed to enjoy a new generation of digital tourism filled with seemingly limitless future travel experiences in this manner, which is certainly going to be quite beneficial as nobody knows when the current pandemic will truly end and so the metaverse and VR are going to play an increasingly important role for the foreseeable future. Accomplishments, listings and future goals Ariva has released the Ariva.Finance staking pool ecosystem (Ariva Staking Factory – ASF) which is presently operational and its users have since staked over 10B ARV in a very short time. The team also announced that a crypto payment gateway, Ariva Liquidity Farming and Lottery options will be coming to Ariva.Finance very soon. Additionally the team has created an NFT Art series named Arivaman and is currently pursuing a surprise listing. Furthermore, the amount of holders has surpassed 160,000 and social media followers have more than doubled as well. As if that weren’t enough, a 6 month marketing campaign agreement with Nasdaq has been reached. In this regard, TV interviews and billboards featuring Ariva shall be released in New York and on January 16th, Newsmax will even air the first interview. Finally, not only did ARV receive a blue tick on BscScan and have banner ads approved there and on Etherscan, but a 6.36B token burn had been accomplished by the team too and listings on MEXC Global, AAX, Liquid Global and Bittrex Global have all been finalised as well. Currently, the Arivaman NFT series is on its way along with the land sales for the metaverse project which is also set to take precedence for the future. More information can be found via the official website, as well as various social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and the Telegram group. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

The number of surveyed South Africans that own crypto grew marginally from 10.3% in October 2021, to 11.3% in December 2021. With this rate of ownership, South Africa is now ranked number 21 out of the 27 countries whose internet users participated in the survey. South African Ownership Rate Below Global Average According to the findings of the latest Finder survey, out of the 2,003 South African internet users that were surveyed, 11.3% said they own cryptocurrency. This cryptocurrency ownership rate is said to be marginally higher than that of the United States (10.5%) and Sweden (9.8%). Still, as the survey findings show, South Africa’s latest cryptocurrency ownership rate is yet below the global average, which jumped from 11.2% in October to 15.5% in December 2021. From the total of 27 countries that were surveyed, South Africa is now positioned in 21st place. In terms of the popularity of different cryptocurrencies, the survey findings indicate that 56% of the crypto owners in South Africa own bitcoin. With this proportion of internet users that own BTC, South Africa is the second-highest ranked out of the 27 countries. However, the findings also appear to suggest that other cryptocurrencies are gaining ground. “Between now and the last survey, the number of crypto owners surveyed who said they held BTC has fallen from the 73.5% of respondents who said they own Bitcoin in October to 56% in December,” explains the Finder survey report. Altcoin Popularity Growing According to the findings, ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency with a share of 31.5%. This ownership rate, which is 7.1% higher than the global average of 24.4%, sees South Africa rank as the country with the eighth-highest proportion of internet users that own ethereum. In third place is XRP which is owned by 25.8% of the surveyed users while dogecoin and solana are in the fourth and fifth positions respectively. Meanwhile, the survey also found that out of those that said they own crypto, 62% are men and 38% are women. According to the survey report, this means South African “men are roughly 1.6 times as likely to own crypto than women.” On the other hand, the survey found that 48.7% of South Africans aged 18 to 34 are crypto holders. This figure is 16 percentage points higher than that of South African holders between the ages of 35 and 54. What are your thoughts concerning the findings of the latest Finder survey? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

A carpet presented by the United Arab Emirates as a gift to the head of the Catholic Church a few years ago has been sold in the form of NFT. While the original remains in the Vatican, its digital representation has been successfully used to collect funds for the people of Afghanistan. NFT of Historic Carpet Sold for 25 ETH The Pontifex carpet was gifted by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Pope Francis during a visit to the Vatican City. In September 2016, the two met to discuss the strengthening of the diplomatic relations between UAE and the Vatican as well as the promotion of inter-religious harmony. On Friday, a non-fungible token (NFT) representing the carpet was sold for 25 ETH, close to $82,000, the Dubai-based Khaleej Times reported. The money raised through the sale will be used to support vulnerable families in Afghanistan during the cold winter months. The head of the Catholic Church will keep the physical version of the carpet, which was woven by Afghan women. The buyer of the NFT will receive a scaled down replica of the original created by Zuleya, the retail arm of Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative (FBMI). The initiative was established in 2010 to bring a change to the harsh lives of Afghanistan’s women and children. FBMI invests in healthcare, education, and an array of social and economic reforms. It also provides employment opportunities in arts, crafts and agriculture. Maywand Jabarkhyl, FBMI’s chief executive, described the NFT sale as a “crucial step forward” for the initiative. It would enable its team to showcase their designs to a global audience and also open new streams of revenue for local artisans in Afghanistan, he elaborated. “This is perhaps the most iconic NFT to be sold in the Middle East,” said Musfir Khawaja, co-founder of Nftone, a marketplace based in Dubai International Financial Centre which listed the NFT. “The buyer will get the physical replica of the carpet besides an ornate gold frame on a 165 cm digital canvas with the NFT loaded on it,” he explained. The token is one of six pieces showcased on digital canvases at the Abu Dhabi Art fair, alongside some of the best contemporary art in the world, the report added. Zuleya recreated the carpet as an NFT in partnership with the Morrow Collective NFT platform. NFTs, which offer a unique way to reproduce digital files such as photos, videos, and audio and store them on a blockchain to prove authenticity and ownership, have been around for some time but their popularity began to grow in 2020. A recent report by Reuters revealed that NFT sales reached $25 billion in 2021. Do you support NFT initiatives like the one described in the article? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Rio de Janeiro, one of the largest cities in Brazil, will invest part of its Treasury in cryptocurrencies. The announcement was made by the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, during Rio Innovation Week. The plan is to turn the city into a cryptocurrency-friendly hub, and there are other tax incentives that will also be put in place to achieve this objective, according to reports. Rio De Janeiro to Invest in Cryptocurrency Rio de Janeiro, one of the biggest cities in Brazil, will reportedly put some of its funds into cryptocurrency investments, according to statements from mayor Eduardo Paes. The mayor made the announcement during a joint lecture with the mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, at the Rio Innovation Week, an event that deals with the modernization of the city. Paes declared: We are going to launch Crypto Rio and invest 1% of the Treasury in cryptocurrency. Suarez, who also launched Miamicoin, a cryptocurrency for the city of Miami, stated this same development in Miami created opportunities for investors while offering crypto tax incentives. He declared: We created a tsunami of opportunity. Many cities in the United States were raising taxes, and we lowered them. We understood that we could be at the forefront of innovation and we invited creators here. Tax Incentives and Regulation Following in the footsteps of Miami, Paes is also planning to establish tax incentives and discounts for users who pay with bitcoin. Finance Secretary Pedro Paulo explained they are looking into offering a 10% discount for users paying certain taxes with bitcoin. However, he also stated that study of regulations to apply these changes effectively is necessary. Chicão Bulhões, secretary of the economic development and innovation team, stated that these tax incentives were focused on attracting more companies involved with cryptocurrency from other regions of the country. Bulhões remarked: We already have tax incentives approved, we already have a percentage of 2%, and we want to focus a lot on the Porto region for the arrival of these new actors as well. Regulation of cryptocurrency in the country is an ongoing matter, with a recent bill being approved for discussion by the Senate this year. The bill, identified as 2.303/15, could make bitcoin currency in Brazil as its main proposer, Deputy Aureo Ribeiro, stated last year. What do you think about Rio de Janeiro investing in cryptocurrency? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin set up a pair of polls on Twitter asking his followers if 80% of all transactions and savings in the year 2035 are in one currency and it is not ether, which currency they would prefer it to be. He asked them to choose from a number of cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, cardano, solana, tron, and Binance coin. Vitalik Buterin’s Cryptocurrency Twitter Polls Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin set up a pair of polls on Twitter Thursday for the Ethereum community. “You wake up in 2035 and 80% of all transactions and savings in the world are in one currency that is not ETH. Which would you prefer it to be?” He wrote. In his first tweet, Buterin asked his followers to choose from BTC, USD, SOL, and ADA. The second tweet lets them choose from TRON, BNB, CNY, and NEO. After 24 hours, the first poll ended with 600,697 votes and the second with 358,743 votes. Cardano (ADA) tops the results of the first poll, followed by bitcoin (BTC) and solana (SOL). Tron (TRON) tops the results of the second poll, followed by Binance coin (BNB) and neo (NEO). Buterin’s first poll includes the top cryptocurrencies by market cap, excluding stablecoins. At the time of writing, bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, has a market cap of $821 billion based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. Solana, the fifth-largest crypto, has a market cap of $47 billion while cardano, the seventh-largest coin, has a market cap of $42 billion. Buterin’s second poll includes the third-largest cryptocurrency, Binance coin, which has a market cap of $83 billion. Tron’s market cap is $7 billion whereas neo’s is less than $2 billion. While the Ethereum co-founder’s polls appear fun and have attracted many comments and likes on social media, people questioned Buterin’s motives for posting such polls, the choice of cryptocurrencies he included, whether votes were made by bots, and the likelihood that 80% of transactions will be in one currency. Bitcoin trader Tone Vays commented, “Is Vitalik looking for a new job?” The CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, opined: These results are….. wild. Other cryptocurrencies that have been recommended by Vitalik’s Twitter followers in response to the polls include XRP, dogecoin (DOGE), shiba inu (SHIB), and polkadot (DOT). Meanwhile, several people pointed out that the outcome of Buterin’s polls only reflects the popularity of certain cryptocurrencies among his followers and Twitter users, emphasizing that they have no bearing on the popularity of a particular cryptocurrency in the real world. Bank of America, however, believes that Solana could take market share away from Ethereum. What do you think about Vitalik Buterin’s polls? Which cryptocurrency would you prefer? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Bank of America’s analyst says that Solana could take market share away from Ethereum. Noting that Solana is optimized for micropayments, gaming, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the analyst expects “Solana could become the Visa of the digital asset ecosystem.” Bank of America on Crypto, Ethereum, and Solana Bank of America (BOFA) analyst Alkesh Shah published a research note on cryptocurrency this week arguing that Solana could take market share away from Ethereum. The Bank of America analyst described that Solana “produces a blockchain optimized for consumer use cases by prioritizing scalability, low transaction fees and ease of use,” citing Solana Foundation member Lily Liu. Its ease of use and low cost make the crypto optimized for micropayments, gaming, and non-fungible token (NFTs). With more than 50 billion transactions settled since its March 2020 launch, and $10 billion in total value locked, Shah said: Solana could become the Visa of the digital asset ecosystem. Solana is the fifth-largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of about $46 billion. Ethereum is the second-largest crypto with a market cap of almost $400 billion at the time of writing based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. Noting that Solana’s differentiation from Ethereum is “proving successful,” Shah noted that the valuation gap provides an opportunity for Solana. Its Proof of History blockchain helps improve the performance of its Proof of Stake consensus mechanism, the Bank of America analyst opined, noting: These innovations allow for the processing of an industry-leading ~65,000 transactions per second with average transaction fees of $0.00025, while remaining relatively decentralized and secure. Meanwhile, the Ethereum blockchain prioritizes decentralization and security, at the expense of scalability, Shah described, adding that Ethereum’s scalability issue has led to periods of network congestion and ultra-high transaction fees. Emphasizing that other scalable blockchains could chip away at Ethereum’s market share, Shah explained: Ethereum’s prioritization could optimize it for high-value transactions and identity, storage and supply chain use cases. Crypto exchange Coinbase recently predicted that “ETH scalability will improve.” However, “As we welcome the next hundred million users to crypto and Web3, scalability challenges for ETH are likely to grow.” Last week, a JPMorgan analyst explained that Ethereum’s Merge and Layer 2.0 introduction will speed up transactions and could significantly cut energy consumption. However, another JPMorgan analyst noted that Ethereum might lose its decentralized finance (defi) dominance due to scaling issues. Meanwhile, Solana is not without its problems. Last week, Bitcoin.com News reported that the Solana network experienced “degraded performance due to an increase in high compute transactions … This is leading to increased loading and transaction processing times, and some failed transactions.” Do you agree with Bank of America that Solano will take market share from Ethereum and become the Visa of crypto? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The top meme tokens by market capitalization have increased in value by 4.4% in the last 24 hours according to statistics. Dogecoin had a good week jumping more than 20% during the last seven days. However, 14 meme tokens surpassed dogecoin’s weekly jump as a few tokens have seen triple-digit spikes over the last week. Tesla Acceptance Pushes Dogecoin Up 20% This Week, Shiba Inu Gains Over 7% After the electric car company, Tesla announced the firm would be accepting dogecoin (DOGE) payments, the meme crypto spiked in value almost immediately. At the time of writing, metrics show that DOGE has gained 20.3% over the last week. Data shows DOGE has seen a 24-hour price range of around $0.182 to $0.192 per unit on January 15. DOGE has an overall market valuation of around $24.8 billion and that represents 1.13% of the $2.20 trillion crypto economy. The second-largest meme crypto token shiba inu (SHIB) has not had a great week, compared to DOGE. Despite this, seven-day metrics show SHIB has gained 7.3% against the U.S. dollar. SHIB’s market valuation is just over $17 billion on Saturday, with $614 million in global trade volume. DOGE on the other hand has $1.9 billion in 24-hour trades at the time of writing. SHIB has seen a 24-hour price range of around $0.00003064 to $0.00003155 per coin. 14 Meme Tokens Outshined Dogecoin’s Weekly Gains While DOGE saw a big push this week, in terms of seven-day gains, numerous other meme tokens saw much larger gains than the doge father of meme coins. For instance, some coins like spookyshiba (SPOOKYSHIBA) have seen triple-digit gains. The meme asset spookyshiba has jumped 226.2% this past week. Kuma inu (KUMA) has spiked 112.9% and shiba fantom (SHIBA) increased 109% over the last seven days. Other notable meme coin gainers this week include solabrador (SOLAB) which jumped 70.8%, kitty coin solana (KITTY) swelled by 59.9%, and dogebonk’s (DOBO) value grew by 53% in seven days. Baby doge coin (BABYDOGE) is up by 42.7%, cat token (CAT) lifted by 38.7%, and floki pup (FLOKIPUP) saw a 38.2% weekly gain. Five other meme coin crypto assets still had better gains than DOGE, even with Tesla’s recent acceptance announcement. What do you think about the meme coin economy today? What do you think about Dogecoin’s 20% weekly gains or the triple-digit meme token gainers this past week? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comment section below. View the full article

Russian law enforcement agencies have dismantled the notorious hacking group Revil, believed to be behind ransomware attacks in the U.S. involving cryptocurrency. Although Moscow is unlikely to hand over Russian citizens to Washington, the operation has been carried out on request from the United States, despite heightened geopolitical tensions between the two powers. Russia’s FSB Hits Cybercrime Group Revil On Friday, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) announced it has conducted raids against Revil in the capital Moscow, St. Petersburg, Leningrad, and Lipetsk regions, together with the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). Law enforcement officers searched 25 addresses and detained 14 alleged members of the organized crime group. Funds worth over 426 million rubles ($5.6 million) including cryptocurrency, $600,000 and €500,000, as well as crypto wallets, computer equipment used to commit crimes, and 20 high-end vehicles purchased with money obtained from criminal activities were seized, the FSB detailed in a press release, emphasizing: As a result of the joint actions of the FSB and the MVD, the organized criminal community ceased to exist, the information infrastructure used for criminal purposes was neutralized. FSB added that the arrested individuals have developed malicious software and organized the theft of funds from foreign bank accounts. Russian officials claim to have “established the full composition” of Revil and the involvement of its members in the “illegal circulation of means of payment and documented illegal activities.” US Welcomes Russian Actions Against Hackers Russia’s main law enforcement agency also said that the operation has been conducted on request of the respective U.S. authorities who shared information about Revil’s presumed leader and his part in attacks on foreign high-tech companies through malicious software used to encrypt data and extort money for its decryption. The Russian Interfax news agency reported that the Tverskoy Court of Moscow has held two Russians in custody until March 13 — Roman Muromsky, a 33-year-old entrepreneur and web developer with no previous convictions, and Andrei Bessonov, alleged Revil hacker. They have been charged with committing crimes under Part 2 of Art. 187 — “Illegal circulation of means of payment” — of Russia’s Criminal Code. The MVD has asked the court for similar measures against another three detainees. Revil has been blamed for high-profile crypto ransomware hits in the United States, including the one on the Colonial Pipeline which caused gas shortages on the American East Coast last May. Its perpetrators used ‘Darkside’ encryption software believed to have been developed by the group. Another case was the attack on the world’s biggest meat packing company, JBS, as Reuters reported in June. In its announcement, FSB noted that Russia has informed U.S. authorities about the results of the operation. The United States welcomed the arrests, with Reuters quoting a senior official as stating: “we understand that one of the individuals who was arrested today was responsible for attack against Colonial Pipeline last spring.” A source familiar with the investigation told Interfax that Russia is not going to extradite any Revil members with Russian citizenship to the U.S. Do you expect Russia and the U.S. to cooperate on other cases of cyberattacks involving ransomware and cryptocurrency? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

On Saturday, January 15, 2022, the value locked in decentralized finance (defi) protocols across a number of blockchains has increased from $233.95 billion since January 8, to $239.44 billion. Curve’s total value locked (TVL) dominance today is 9.76% with its $23.38 billion TVL. Meanwhile, native assets for the top nine smart contract platforms have seen seven-day gains improving from the week prior’s price slump. Defi TVL Jumps 2.3% Higher This Week Today’s top smart contract platform tokens are up in value against the U.S. dollar according to weekly statistics. The top three tokens, ethereum (ETH) jumped 5.1% this past week, binance coin (BNB) spiked 11.4%, and solana (SOL) increased 8.7%. Out of the top nine, the biggest gainers like near (NEAR) increased 31.3% and terra (LUNA) jumped 23.5% this week. Polygon (MATIC) made an impressionable 15.5% jump and polkadot (DOT) increased by 10.3% against the U.S. dollar. On January 15, the TVL in defi today is 2.34% higher than it was on January 8, when the TVL metric was $233.95 billion. Today, there’s $239.44 billion and $146.54 billion is held on the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum’s defi dominance, in terms of TVL, is 62.63% of the total value locked in decentralized finance on Saturday. The second-largest TVL belongs to Terra as the network commands $19.01 billion, but that’s only 8.12% of the aggregate TVL in defi. While Terra’s TVL in defi jumped 22.03% this week, it is followed by Binance Smart Chain (BSC) with $15.21 billion. Meanwhile, Fantom’s TVL jumped higher than Terra’s this past week increasing 26.33% to $7.12 billion. Osmosis (OSMO) increased 18.60% this week rising to a $1.36 billion TVL in its defi protocols. A number of defi chains saw TVL increases this week except for Ethereum, BSC, and HECO. Defi chains that saw TVL increases include Terra, Avalanche, Solana, Fantom, Polygon, Tron, Arbitrum, Cronos, Osmosis, Klaytn, Waves, and Harmony. Ethereum NFT Sales Dominate, Cross-Chain Bridge TVL Increases 4.6% in 30 Days In terms of non-fungible token (NFT) sales across the myriad of blockchain networks, Ethereum is the most dominant chain. Ethereum’s NFT sales are followed by NFT sales on networks like Solana, Ronin, Flow, and Wax. Ethereum’s NFT sales saw a 51.29% increase during the last 24 hours while Tezos NFT sales jumped by 33.16% during the last day. Moreover, the Looksrare NFT marketplace is still seeing a lot more daily volume than Opensea’s 24-hour NFT volume. During the last day, Looksrare’s volume was $504.37 million while Opensea’s recorded 24-hour volume was $166.09 million. The total value locked (TVL) in cross-chain bridges is $25.03 billion on Saturday which is up 4.6% over the last 30 days. The top five largest TVLs in cross-chain bridges include Polygon ($6.3B), Avalanche ($5.5B), Ronin ($4.9B), Arbitrum ($3.2B), and Fantom ($1.9B). What do you think about the recent defi action this past week? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On Saturday, January 15, 2022, the market capitalization of all the stablecoins in existence is $173 billion, which represents 7.93% of the $2.18 trillion crypto-economy. The market valuations of stablecoins tether and usd coin represent 71.84% of the entire stablecoin economy’s value. This week, the current total supply of usd coin surpassed tether, in terms of tokens issued on the Ethereum blockchain, as usd coin has a 0.568% larger fully diluted market capitalization on the smart contract network. USDC Issuance on Ethereum Surpasses Tether’s ERC20 Supply The current total supply of the stablecoin usd coin (USDC) on the Ethereum blockchain is over 40 billion units, which is higher than the number of tether (USDT) on the chain. At the time of writing, according to etherscan statistics, the current supply of USDT is 39.8 billion units. While there’s only 0.568% more USDC tokens than the number of tethers in circulation, it’s the first time USDC has overtaken USDT in terms of Ethereum issuance. While tether has seen 136,448,792 transfers total on the ETH chain, USDC has only seen 33,104,877. Essentially, ERC20 tethers have been transacted with 312.17% more than USDC tokens have been transferred. Tether also has a lot more USDT tokens across multiple blockchain networks with a current total supply of 79 billion tethers. USDC is also on a few different blockchains, but the majority of USDC resides on Ethereum. USDC has a current total supply of 45.3 billion, which means 5.3 billion USDCs are used on alternative blockchains. Stablecoin Giants Eclipse Decentralized, Algorithmic Competitors Despite Double-Digit Monthly Growth Both of these stablecoins are giants in comparison to the rest of the stablecoins in existence as they dominate 71.84% of today’s stablecoin economy. During the last 24 hours, across the entire crypto-economy, there’s been $78 billion in total trade volume. However, stablecoin trades represent $47.5 billion of today’s trade volume or more than 60% of the aggregate. Statistics from coingecko.com’s top stablecoin by market capitalization indicate that tether has increased its supply by 1.8% during the last 30 days. USDC’s supply over the last month has increased by 8.9%. Decentralized and algorithmic stablecoin supplies have seen much larger increases during the last 30 days as UST, MIM, and FRAX increased by double-digit percentages. Terra’s UST increased 22%, MIM jumped 17%, and FRAX increased by 46.4% over the last month. What do you think about the current total supply of USDC surpassing tether’s current supply on the Ethereum blockchain? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin’s hashrate has been riding high again as the processing power tapped another lifetime high on January 15, 2022, reaching 219.68 exahash per second (EH/s). The new record follows the previous all-time high (ATH) on the first day of the year, when the network’s hashrate tapped 219.5 EH/s. Bitcoin’s Hashrate Hits a Milestone, Analyst Discusses Miner Capitulation, Estimated Bitcoin Production Cost Bitcoin miners are dedicating a lot of SHA256 processing power to the BTC network on January 15, as the network quickly reached an ATH just after 12:00 a.m. (EST). The record was just a hair above the previous ATH on January 1, at 219.5 EH/s as today’s hashrate reached a high of 219.68 EH/s. At the time of writing, the network’s hashpower is coasting along at 199 EH/s. The rise follows the recent drop in hashrate that happened while citizens of Kazakhstan revolted against the government and the internet was temporarily shut off in the country. It was widely speculated that the hashrate dropped 15% because of the issues in Kazakhstan but miners in the region claimed this was not the case. Data indicated at the time that BTC’s price drop and mining difficulty increase contributed to the 15% loss in hashrate. In addition to the price drop and difficulty increase, estimates say the production cost to mine a single BTC today is $34K. Twitter account and analyst Venture Founder recently explained that the production cost price point is around 20% below the current value. “The worst dumps bitcoin ever had, were due to miners’ capitulation (Dec 2018, Mar 2020), when bitcoin fell below production costs, it is at risk for miner capitulation,” the analyst tweeted. Venture Founder added: [Bitcoin] was at risk for miner capitulation at $30k in May. The current production cost is $34k, 20% below [the] current price. Bitcoin’s Mining Difficulty Expected to Increase 3.8% in 5 Days to New All-Time High While it was expected to happen two weeks ago, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty will likely reach an all-time high during the next epoch change. The next difficulty change is expected to happen in just over 5 days from now and estimates indicate it might rise 3.83% higher than it is today. If it does rise to that point and reaches 25.31 trillion, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty will reach another lifetime high. The last mining difficulty ATH of 25 trillion was on May 13, 2021, and four difficulty decreases — including the largest epoch decrease ever — dropped the difficulty down a great deal. Since then, and after July 17, there’s been a total of 12 difficulty increases and just one decrease. On Saturday, the largest bitcoin mining pool is F2pool with 15.57% or 28.88 EH/s and the second-largest pool is Foundry USA with 15.55% or 28.80 EH/s. Both pools have been jumping back and forth during the last few weeks in terms of Bitcoin’s largest mining pool. What do you think about the recent hashrate high recorded on January 15, 2022, and the upcoming mining difficulty ATH that is expected to happen in five days? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Russians who use cryptocurrency should not be anonymous, the man who chairs Russia’s federal investigating authority has recently stated. The official leading efforts to fight corruption in the government called for additional regulations, including the introduction of mandatory identification for those who transact with digital coins. Anti-Corruption Official Pushes for Rules to Mitigate Risks of Using Cryptocurrency for Illicit Purposes Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, believes that people who use cryptocurrencies should not remain anonymous. The high-ranking official shared his opinion in an interview with the government-issued Rossiyskaya Gazeta. “I have already noted that in connection with the adoption of the federal law ‘On Digital Financial Assets’ in July 2020, additional risks of using digital currency for criminal purposes may arise, in particular for financing terrorism and extremism,” Bastrykin, a former Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia, told the official newspaper. He elaborated: Therefore, the circulation of digital currency requires further legal regulation — first of all, mandatory identification of users of such a currency is necessary. The status of online platforms providing opportunities to buy and sell cryptocurrencies anonymously is yet to be determined as well, Bastrykin remarked. Websites offering crypto exchange services have had a lot of troubles with Russian regulators and judiciary in the past few years. Digital coin trading is among a number of crypto-related activities that remains outside the scope of the current legislation on digital assets. A working group set up at the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament, is now preparing regulatory proposals to deal with the outstanding issues. The Investigative Committee is Russia’s main federal investigating and anti-corruption authority, subordinate to the Russian president. It is responsible for combating corruption and conducting investigations into federal governmental bodies, local authorities, and law enforcement agencies. In August, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree approving the country’s National Anti-Corruption Plan for 2021-2024. As part of the new strategy, the Russian head of state ordered several ministries and the central bank, to prepare inspections of officials who are obliged to disclose their digital asset holdings. Speaking to RIA Novosti in December 2020, Alexander Bastrykin insisted that cryptocurrency should be recognized as property for the purposes of criminal law and procedures. He emphasized this is a necessary condition for investigating criminal cases in which digital currencies are involved. For example, those of bribe and embezzlement. In November 2021, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia proposed to define cryptocurrency as property in the country’s Criminal Code. What are your thoughts on Alexander Bastrykin’s proposal to introduce mandatory identification of cryptocurrency users in Russia? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Economists at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) say that “crypto assets are no longer on the fringe of the financial system.” In addition, they “could soon pose risks to financial stability especially in countries with widespread crypto adoption.” ‘Our Analysis Suggests Crypto Assets Are No Longer on the Fringe of the Financial System’ The International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a blog post on Tuesday warning about the risks crypto assets pose to financial stability. The post is authored by three economists from the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department: Tobias Adrian, Tara Iyer, and Mahvash S. Qureshi. “Crypto assets such as bitcoin have matured from an obscure asset class with few users to an integral part of the digital asset revolution, raising financial stability concerns,” the IMF post describes. The authors detailed: Our analysis suggests that crypto assets are no longer on the fringe of the financial system. Given their relatively high volatility and valuations, their increased comovement could soon pose risks to financial stability especially in countries with widespread crypto adoption. “It is thus time to adopt a comprehensive, coordinated global regulatory framework to guide national regulation and supervision and mitigate the financial stability risks stemming from the crypto ecosystem,” they wrote. Three other people from the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department similarly warned in October last year about the risks crypto assets pose to financial stability. Dimitris Drakopoulos, Fabio Natalucci, and Evan Papageorgiou detailed: “Cryptoization can reduce the ability of central banks to effectively implement monetary policy. It could also create financial stability risks.” The U.S. Federal Reserve is, however, not worried about crypto hurting the country’s financial system. In December last year, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell dismissed cryptocurrencies as a financial stability concern but warned that they are risky since “They’re not backed by anything.” Meanwhile, Bank of England’s deputy governor for financial stability, Sir Jon Cunliffe, warned in November last year that cryptocurrency is getting closer to posing a threat to global financial stability due to the sector’s rapid growth. What do you think about the IMF economists’ analysis? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The ostensible first cryptocurrency ATM machine has been installed in Uruguay, developed as a joint initiative between Urubit and Inbierto, two national crypto companies. This represents a milestone for the country, which according to estimates has between 40K and 50K cryptocurrency users, whose primary avenue for purchasing crypto relies on peer-to-peer markets. Uruguay Enters the Crypto ATM Era Uruguay has received its reported first cryptocurrency ATM in its territory, which is already installed in Punta del Este, a city located in the southeast of the country. The cryptocurrency machine was developed by two national crypto companies: Urubit and Inbierto. The former focused on the software part of the system, and the latter provided the hardware for the ATM. Adolfo Varela, Inbierto’s CEO, states that one of the aims of this machine is to create trust in the cryptocurrency market in the country, where most crypto commerce happens in peer-to-peer markets that cannot go through banking due to lack of regulations. With a cryptocurrency ATM, the possibility of being victim to a scam is said to be eliminated. Varela believes they will keep growing and extending their crypto ATM network across the country. He stated: We intend to continue growing in Maldonado, then Colonia, Montevideo and by the end of the year we want to have coverage throughout the national territory. With this it has happened to us that other countries have consulted us to be able to install it. The installed crypto ATM supports only five cryptocurrencies (which include two national tokens): ferret token, urubit, bitcoin, binance coin (BNB), and binance USD (BUSD). The companies have not introduced Ethereum support to the machines because they rely on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) to process transactions. Varela explained that Ethereum’s fees would deter users from using the machine, and that’s why BSC integration was opted for instead. Regulation a Gray Area in the Country Cryptocurrency regulation remains as a gray area in the country, but the central bank issued a statement in October last year, declaring these assets were not legal or illegal, and that citizens could use them while being aware of the risks they carry. In a document issued in December, the Central Bank of Uruguay establishes a roadmap for regulating crypto assets, proposing to review current laws and make changes to include them in various existing regulations, instead of creating a virtual asset law to encompass the universe of these assets in just one project. What do you think about the launch of the first crypto ATM in Uruguay? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

According to British lawmakers, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is likely to raise the cost of borrowing while hurting financial stability. They insist the touted potential advantages of a digital pound are being overstated. Erosion of Privacy British lawmakers have said the use of a central bank digital currency when making regular payments could potentially hurt financial stability and raise the cost of borrowing, a report has said. In addition, they insist the increasing use of the CBDC could also enable the central bank to monitor spending and therefore erode privacy. As per a Reuters report, the lawmakers believe the benefits of CBDC may have been exaggerated and that there are other ways the U.K. can counter the threat posed by cryptocurrencies. One of the lawmakers who is quoted in the report speaking out is Michael Forsyth. He said: We were really concerned by a number of the risks that are posed by the introduction of a CBDC. Forsyth, who is the Economic Affairs Committee chairperson, also said the touted benefits of having a CBDC had been “overstated.” He suggested these benefits can still be achieved with a less risky alternative such as the regulation of crypto-issuing tech companies. Lawmakers Want Parliament to Have a Say In a report tabled by Forsyth’s committee to the British parliament, the lawmakers nevertheless acknowledge that a wholesale CBDC, which can be used to move large funds, will potentially result in more efficient securities trading and settlement. However, the lawmakers still want the central bank and the finance ministry to weigh the benefits of using the CBDC versus the expansion of the existing system. Forsyth is quoted in the report arguing that lawmakers must have a say before the Bank of England and the U.K. Treasury are allowed to proceed with issuing the CBDC. “[A CBDC could have] far-reaching consequences for households, business and the monetary system. That needs to be approved by parliament,” Forsyth is quoted stating. Do you agree with the British lawmakers’ views on CBDCs? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The cryptocurrency firm FTX has announced the launch of a $2 billion venture capital fund called FTX Ventures. The fund’s focus will be on advancing blockchain and Web3 technology alongside investments in “social, gaming, fintech, software, and healthcare.” FTX Reveals $2 Billion Venture Capital Fund, Hires Lightspeed Partner Amy Wu FTX Trading Limited has announced the launch of a new venture capital fund aimed at bolstering blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions that are applied to an assortment of different industries. In addition to launching FTX Ventures’ $2 billion venture capital fund, the company has hired former Lightspeed Ventures partner, Amy Wu. According to the announcement, Wu will lead FTX Ventures’ gaming, M&A and commercial initiatives. The venture capital fund announcement sent to Bitcoin.com News explains: FTX Ventures’ core mission is to advance global blockchain and web3 adoption, with a broad investment mandate across social, gaming, fintech, software, and healthcare. The fund will invest in multi-stage companies and projects, providing flexible funding and strategic support from FTX and its network of global partners. Wu says that she looks forward to working alongside FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and she remarked that FTX Ventures looks forward to supporting businesses and entrepreneurs. “We’re particularly excited about web3 gaming and its ability to bring mainstream audiences into the ecosystem,” Wu said in a statement. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Is ‘Excited to Find Disruptive Innovation’ FTX has been making a great number of moves during the last 12 months with a significant focus on sports and entertainment. Last year, FTX partnered with Monumental Sports Entertainment (MSE), Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, the global esports firm TSM, Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team, and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady and his supermodel wife Gisele Bündchen. During the first week of November 2021, FTX joined Solana Ventures and Lightspeed in order to launch a $100 million blockchain gaming fund. “Our investors at FTX have made a deep impact in supporting our growth and development,” Sam Bankman-Fried said on Friday in regard to the new venture capital fund. “We strive to do the same at FTX Ventures and are excited to find the brightest minds and disruptive innovation in tech,” Bankman-Fried added. What do you think about the new $2 billion venture capital fund called FTX Ventures? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The Kingdom of Tonga may adopt bitcoin as legal tender, according to a former member of Tonga’s parliament, Lord Fusitu’a, who tweeted about a possible timeline for this event to occur. Fusitu’a believes that by next fall a bill will be passed by Tonga’s parliament and bitcoin could be legal tender in the region by November. Former Member of Tonga’s Parliament Lord Fusitu’a Claims Bitcoin Bill Could Be Passed in Order to Make the Crypto Asset Legal Tender Tonga’s chairman of the Commonwealth Pacific Parliamentary Group on Human Rights, Lord Fusitu’a, is a bitcoin advocate and on January 11, he explained on Twitter that the Kingdom of Tonga’s government may adopt bitcoin as legal tender. The news follows El Salvador’s push to make bitcoin (BTC) legal tender last year. A few months ago, the law was codified by the Salvadoran congress and BTC was deemed legal tender in El Salvador. Lord Fusitu’a, who was once a member of Tonga’s parliament, claims the same thing will happen in Tonga. On Tuesday, an individual asked Lord Fusitu’a what the ETA was in regard to the Polynesian country legalizing bitcoin as tender. “Sept/Oct Bill goes to Parliament. Passed,” Lord Fusitu’a replied. “[It gets] sent to Palace Office for submission to His Majesty for Royal Assent. A month – HM, as advised by Privy Council, assents to Bill. 2-3 Weeks Gazetted by Govt activation date set.” Lord Fusitu’a added: On activation date [bitcoin] becomes legal tender. Former Lawmaker Claims Bitcoin Bill to Be Submitted in the Fall, Lord Fusitu’a Discussed Benefits of Tonga Adopting Bitcoin Last Year After Lord Fusitu’a tweeted out the five-point plan, a person asked whether or not “the bill passed already, or is it still with Parliament and ‘passed’ is the goal?” Lord Fusitu’a replied to the question and said: “The Bill will be submitted to the House in Sept/Oct. [Parliament] opens for [a] new session in June. June by law = National Budget. By Law, July Constituency visits. By Law August – Govts Legislative package for the year. By law, Sept/Oct Private MPs Bills may be tabled.” It’s not the first time Lord Fusitu’a has hinted about Tonga legalizing bitcoin as tender in the country. On July 5, 2021, on the podcast What Bitcoin Did episode 368, the former member of Tonga’s parliament explained how bitcoin adoption would be beneficial to Tonga. “The economy will first benefit by every customer having a disposable income increased by 30% and because our country imposes a 15% VAT, every person is putting an extra 30% into that 15% VAT, because they’ve got an extra 30% disposable income just from the rails,” Lord Fusitu’a said on the show. On the podcast, Lord Fusitu’a further explained: Simultaneously with that extra 30%, there’s some are going to be saving it rather than putting it into the economy and stacking sats which will appreciate. For the first time, someone who’s a village fisherman, and has been hand to mouth all his life, has a glimpse at possibly having savings that might be the foundation for financial freedom. As of now, it is uncertain whether or not Tonga’s active parliamentary members and the Tongan people will be willing to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. While El Salvador passed the bitcoin law, which was enacted on September 7, 2021, there was some opposition toward the government’s decision. Since then, president Nayib Bukele and the Salvadoran government have been adding BTC to the treasury and a bitcoin mining farm powered by volcanic energy was introduced. What do you think about the former member of Tonga’s Parliament hinting about the country adopting bitcoin as legal tender? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Tesla now accepts dogecoin for some merchandise on its website. CEO Elon Musk delivered on the promise he made in December that his electric car company will accept DOGE. Meanwhile, Tesla still has not resumed accepting bitcoin. Dogecoin Now Accepted for Select Tesla Merchandise Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, has begun accepting dogecoin payments for some merchandise. CEO Elon Musk announced early Friday morning on Twitter, “Tesla merch buyable with dogecoin.” He first tweeted in December last year that Tesla will accept DOGE. Following Musk’s tweet, dogecoin immediately surged about 10% but has since lost most of its gain. The price of the meme crypto is $0.1913 at the time of writing based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. Tesla’s shop now has a few items that can only be bought with the meme cryptocurrency. They include a Cybertruck Graffiti Cuffed Beanie that costs 205 DOGE; a Giga Texas Belt Buckle that costs 835 DOGE; a Cyberquad for Kids that costs 12,020 DOGE; and a Cyberwhistle that costs 300 DOGE. Tesla’s website details: Tesla only accepts dogecoin … Non-dogecoin digital assets sent to Tesla will not be returned to the purchaser. Prior to Tesla activating the dogecoin payment option, some people on social media noticed that the source code on Tesla’s vehicle payment pages contains the word “dogecoin.” However, Tesla has not made an announcement whether dogecoin will be accepted for vehicle purchases. Bitcoin.com News has verified that the code behind the payment page for a Tesla Model Y contains “dogecoin.” Musk, who has been named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year,” has long been a supporter of dogecoin. He has said several times that DOGE is best for transactions whereas bitcoin is better suited as a store of value. In October last year, the Tesla boss revealed that lots of people he talked to on the production lines at Tesla or building rockets at Spacex own DOGE. “They aren’t financial experts or Silicon Valley technologists. That’s why I decided to support Doge — it felt like the people’s crypto,” Musk explained. Meanwhile, Tesla still has not resumed accepting bitcoin for payments. The electric car company began accepting BTC in March last year but stopped in May citing environmental concerns. Musk later said that Tesla will resume accepting BTC “When there’s confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend, Tesla will resume allowing Bitcoin transactions.” Nonetheless, Tesla still holds BTC on its balance sheet worth about $1.26 billion at the end of Q3. While the company does not own any DOGE, Musk previously said that he personally owns dogecoin, bitcoin, and ether. Do you think Tesla will soon accept dogecoin payments for all products? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article