roadrunner

Crypto․com CEO Kris Marszalek has an issue with coinmarketcap.com’s exchange volume rankings, according to a tweet he published on December 25. Marszalek claimed in his tweet that the popular crypto aggregation website “arbitrarily reduced” the exchange’s ranking. Crypto․com CEO Complains About Coinmarketcap․com’s Exchange Rankings A recent tweet stemming from the CEO of Crypto.com’s Kris Marszalek indicates the exchange executive is upset with the web portal coinmarketcap.com. Marszalek claims that Crypto.com’s exchange volumes are being misreported and the trading platform’s ranking was changed to the 14th position on a whim. “Merry Christmas to [the] team [at] Coinmarketcap who a week after my response to their poorly worded tweet arbitrarily reduced our exchange ranking to 14th,” Marszalek tweeted on Christmas day. “We are 2nd/3rd on Coingecko so you guys know where to look for real and market neutral data,” the exchange CEO added. According to statistics on coinmarketcap.com, Crypto.com’s exchange ranking is 16th on Sunday. However, Coingecko’s spot exchange metrics indicate that Crypto.com’s ranking is second in terms of trade volume rankings today. 24-hour trade volume from Crypto.com is $2.8 billion, according to Coingecko stats. Meanwhile, coinmarketcap.com (CMC) metrics show Crypto.com’s volume is $1.5 billion and down more than 15%. Following Marszalek’s tweet, a number of people responded to his claims. The official Baby Doge team said they were having a hard time getting CMC to verify the BABYDOGE supply. Coingecko’s co-founder Bobby Ong thanked Marszalek for his compliment. “Merry Christmas Kris,” Ong replied. “Thanks for all the support. Have a happy holiday with your family.” A number of other people who responded to Marszalek’s tweet said that it was well understood that the trading platform Binance owns CMC. “CMC is owned by Binance… I’m not surprised,” one person replied to the Crypto.com executive’s tweet. “[I] never use CMC since Binance bought them,” another person responded. Coinmarketcap․com’s Price Feed Gets Wonky on December 14 The news follows CMC’s issues on December 14, when people were complaining about the site showing price discrepancies. That day, the price of bitcoin (BTC) on CMC was priced at $778 billion per unit and many other coin prices were wrong. CMC addressed the situation in a tweet concerning the price irregularities after getting numerous complaints on social media. “Following the irregularities we observed on our platform this afternoon,” CMC wrote in response to the complaints, “[and] despite the issue having been fixed, we will be rebooting our servers as a final step in accordance with our internal remediation plan. Apologies for the inconvenience,” the web portal’s team wrote. Later in the day, CMC jokingly tweeted: How did it feel to be a trillionaire for a couple [of] hours? What do you think about the Crypto.com executive’s complaints against CMC’s exchange rankings? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Investors in Africrypt, the now-defunct South African crypto platform, were recently reimbursed a portion of their invested funds. The payments were made by Pennython Project Management LLC as part of a settlement offer that potentially ends claims against Africrypt’s runaway directors. White Knight Investor Identity Revealed Investors in Africrypt, a collapsed South African cryptocurrency investment platform, recently began receiving payouts from a so-called white knight investor, a report has said. According to an Itweb report, which named Pennython Project Management LLC as the previously unnamed party, Africrypt investors began receiving the payouts after a majority opted to accept the tabled offer. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Pennython Project Management had proposed to pay an equivalent of 65% of each dollar invested. Although some investors were reportedly not happy with the offer, Ruann Kruger, an attorney representing Africrypt provisional liquidators, is quoted in the Itweb report confirming that most had accepted the proposal. In fact, according to the report, claims with an equivalent value of $8.4 million or (R131 million) had been paid out to 199 creditors by December 17. The report also revealed that the decision by a majority of investors to accept Pennython Project Management’s offer might result in the dismissal of a court application to have Africrypt liquidated. The next court hearing for this application has been set for January 22, 2022. Pennython Project Management’s Unnamed Directors While the identity of the investor behind the settlement offer has now been revealed, the report states that the names of the Pennython Project Management directors have not been disclosed. The report suggested that an agreement to not reveal their identities had been reached. This has led to claims that Africrypt’s two young directors, Raees and Ameer Cajee, are in fact behind the Dubai-registered Pennython Project Management. After reporting that their platform had been hacked, Raees and Ameer Cajee fled South Africa claiming their lives were in danger. At the time, reports initially suggested the brothers had vanished with approximately $3.6 billion in investor funds. The Cajees — whose is whereabouts are still unknown — have insisted that the actual figure of missing funds is much lower than that. The payouts to investors, which were supposed to have been concluded by December 22, are said to effectively end all claims against the Cajee brothers, and as one attorney suggested, it provides them with “an opportunity to resuscitate the business.” What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Everybody inside and outside of the metaverse world knows that land ownership is important, and acquiring a plot of land is a very traditional investment. What most people outside of the metaverse world don’t quite understand — or are still not convinced of — is why people want to become landowners in the metaverse, and what such virtual land ownership can actually bring them. What Can a Small Plot of Land Do in the Metaverse? Just to be clear, not all metaverse games have the same popularity level and not all of them are developed with land ready to be sold to investors. The Sandbox is one of the leading metaverse games and the Alpha release gave me a very concrete idea of how metaverse land ownership works. So I’ll take the land ownership in this game as an example. When I checked the land price on OpenSea, ranking price from lowest to highest, I could see that the smallest plot of land in The Sandbox currently costs from $11,000 to $19,000. At the same time, large plots of connected land have been acquired by various brands and whales with deep pockets, and these landowners are likely to invest a lot more to make their plots attractive. So the question is: if you get the most basic, smallest plot of land as a private investor, what can you do with it to make it worthy, and even appealing? For landowners that actually plan to build experiences and not just hold a plot as an investment, the Alpha quests offered by The Sandbox serve as a great showcase for the potential of a small plot of land. Not Only About Size In the Alpha quest of The Sandbox, we played several small quests and each of them took up about four plots of land in The Sandbox world. I can’t help comparing the gaming experience I had with the “smaller quests” that took four plots of land — such as Club XYZ and Edge of the Abyss — to that of some “bigger quests” which consisted of 16 plots of land, such as Aldrak Garrison and Xalya Sanctuary. Did I feel that the smaller quests were less appealing or less entertaining than the bigger quests? Not necessarily. The enjoyment level of one experience is not positively correlated with the size of the land, but with the story, the rich details, the many possibilities, the music, the sound effects, and other aspects of the game design. Can one tiny piece of land generate ten times the impact of 16 plots of land? Potentially, yes. What also might be overlooked is how many “floors” you can build on a plot of land. Take the Alpha quest of Edge of the Abyss, for example. That quest took place in a post-apocalyptic looking, deserted industrial town which was built on the edge of a very deep “abyss.” The whole architectural structure was about six to seven floors high. When I entered the quest, I had to use ladders, snake paths, and floating platforms to move up and down the entire vertical structure to reach all the signposts. It was hard to imagine that the Edge of the Abyss was built on only four plots of land, because — thanks to the vertical structure — the actual game experience contains a much larger playable space than many other quests built on plots of comparable size. If landowners don’t have the execution capabilities or skills to create all the assets and the game experience all by themselves, there is always the option of hiring a professional experience designer and asset creator to get the job done. Possibility of Hosting a Metaverse Event Another very popular use of metaverse land is to create a venue, such as an internet cafe, NFT gallery, dance club, or conference hall. All of these can be constructed on a fairly small plot of land. For those who enjoyed The Sandbox Alpha, I believe that the iconic concerts and stages of Deadmau5 and Snoop Dogg were truly unforgettable. I wouldn’t be surprised if those celebrity concerts helped attract fans-turned-new-players to come and experience the Alpha quests. Besides the clubbing experience and concerts, NFT galleries are already so popular it’s impossible not to bump into a couple of them when you walk around in any major decentralized metaverse game. When it comes to a metaverse conference hall, the main question is whether the existing games are technically ready to provide such infrastructure to facilitate real-time, multi-person interaction and voice communication. In The Sandbox Alpha, I didn’t see the hosting of conferences as an option yet. In other major metaverse platforms, there were already a couple of conferences that took place. Although the experience seemed to be very basic, with only the speaker’s audio and a slide presentation. The crowdcasting capability is there, but further improvement is needed. What would you do with a piece of land in the metaverse? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Tap Send, the creator of a remittances app of the same name, revealed it has raised $65 million in a Series B funding round. The fintech firm plans to use the funds to build a cheaper and faster cross-border money transfer platform. Remittances to Overlooked Countries The fintech startup behind the remittances app, Tap Send, recently said it has raised $65 million in a Series B funding round. According to the startup, the funds raised will be used to bolster remittances to the most overlooked countries in Africa and Asia. As stated in a Techcrunch report, Tap Send’s latest capital raise — which surpassed the Series A total raise of $13.4 million — was led by Spark Capital. Other participants in the round included Unbound, Reid Hoffman, Canaan Partners, Slow Ventures, Breyer Capital, Wamda Capital, Flourish Ventures, and additional unnamed investors. Market Said to Be Crowded In comments following the funding round, Tap Send co-founder and CEO Paul Niehaus explained why his firm chose to focus on remittances even though this now appears to be an overcrowded market. Niehaus explained: It’s quite easy to say remittances are crowded, but you could have said that for social networking or videoconferencing before TikTok or Zoom came along. Remittances are a deceptively simple product on the surface, with an exceedingly complicated execution under the hood. There are 1,000 parts to get right and when you do you can deliver more value to users via price, speed and reliability. Following this latest funding round, Tap Send has now raised more than $80 million which translates to a valuation of $715 million according to Pitchbook data. What are your thoughts on Tap Send’s perceived market valuation? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

UST, the main stablecoin of the Terra project, is being integrated into Binance and Huobi, two leading exchanges by trading volume, expanding the options that users have to trade the stablecoin. After these announcements, The price of LUNA, the governance asset of the Terra project, broke its previous all-time high, going over $100 for the first time in its history. UST Gets Attention From Huobi and Binance UST, the most used stablecoin from the Terra project, has reached a milestone now that two leading exchanges by volume traded have included it in their platforms. Huobi, an Asian exchange, announced it would include the asset in its Pioneer Zone on December 23, and launched a contest to entice the trade of the new currency, offering 210,000 UST to platform users. Binance also reported the listing of the stablecoin the same day, stating it would be offering three different UST trading pairs: UST/BTC, UST/BUSD, and UST/USDT. In contrast, Huobi only confirmed one trading pair, against USDT. The news was well received by Do Kwon, founder and CEO of Terraform Labs, who celebrated it, stating: Now there is literally no reason to subject your internet money to censorship risk. Happy holidays, everyone! LUNA Breaks Record Levels Again The market cap of the Terra stablecoin has experienced significant growth in just the last week, going from $8.8 billion on December 18 to almost $9.8 billion on December 24. Just after the Binance announcement, more than 200 million UST were issued. This, according to the dynamic of the issuance of the token, might have influenced the rise in the price of LUNA. LUNA, the governance token of the Terra project, is used to mint UST. As more UST is minted, the supply of LUNA shrinks, making it a more scarce product. This might, depending on market conditions, contribute to a hypothetical price rise. After the listing announcements the price of LUNA reacted favorably, breaking its recently established all-time high of a little more than $80, established on December 20. This was when UST flipped DAI, the Ethereum-collateralized stablecoin, as the most valuable decentralized stablecoin cryptocurrency project. The price of LUNA reached $100.84 yesterday, aided by the rebound of the general cryptocurrency market, and has retraced to a little more than $95 since. What do you think about Binance and Huobi listing UST, and the recent price rise of LUNA? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Three crypto exchanges have applied for licensing in Serbia, which recently adopted legislation regulating its digital asset space. The government in Belgrade expects the companies to obtain authorization within weeks and offer Serbs the option to buy and sell cryptocurrencies legally. Crypto Trading Platforms and Token Issuers File for Licenses in Serbia Authorities in Serbia are currently reviewing license applications submitted by three crypto exchange offices, the country’s Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali announced this week in the parliament, local media reported. Quoted by the Tanjug news agency, the official elaborated: I expect that we will issue the first licenses in the next few weeks — that is very important for us. Responding to questions from lawmakers, Mali also revealed that four issuers of digital tokens have already paid the application fees. The minister emphasized that Serbia has become one of the first nations to regulate this field through legislation. Slowly but surely, he added, the cryptocurrency and digital token market is evolving, too. Mali further revealed that Serbia is developing its own token trading platform, expected to launch as early as next year. He also said that the government is intensively working to adopt a growth strategy for the Belgrade Stock Exchange, which he described as “the right instrument to support the development of our financial market.” Serbia’s Law on Digital Assets entered into force at the end of June this year. The legislation defined cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as virtual assets and digital records of value that can be purchased, sold, transferred, and exchanged. The number of Serbs holding digital currencies has since increased significantly. A recent media report, quoting estimates by representatives of the crypto industry, indicated that around 200,000 residents of the Southeast European country now own one coin or another. The growing investor interest and the government’s regulatory efforts are bringing Serbia closer to the regional leaders in terms of crypto adoption. Supermarkets, gas stations and other merchants in neighboring Croatia now accept various cryptocurrencies. Slovenia, another former Yugoslav republic, has over 1,000 locations supporting bitcoin payments, while authorities in Ljubljana are taking steps to simplify the tax regime for crypto assets. Do you think Serbia will quickly catch up with the region’s leaders in crypto adoption? Share your expectations in the comments section below. View the full article

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly announced that the country’s cryptocurrency law “is ready” and will be submitted to parliament “without delay.” Meanwhile, Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), which oversees crypto exchanges, has reportedly fined Binance Turkey over violations found during liability inspections. Turkish Cryptocurrency Law ‘Is Ready’ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said at a meeting with journalists Friday that the country’s cryptocurrency law is ready, ABC Gazetesi reported. While providing information on crypto legislation, Erdogan said: The law is ready, we will send it to the parliament soon without delay. Following Erdoğan’s announcement, the state-owned Anadolu news agency reported on Saturday that the Turkish Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) has fined Binance’s Turkish exchange (BN Teknoloji) 8 million lira ($751,314) over violations found during liability inspections. Without providing further details, Anadolu detailed: The fine imposed on BN Teknoloji was the first of its kind after the authority took on responsibilities to oversee crypto asset service providers in May. Binance Turkey subsequently issued a statement emphasizing that it “openly” communicates and cooperates with regulatory and supervisory authorities. The exchange added that it “actively follows the changing policies, rules, and laws in this new field.” Furthermore, Binance Turkey said it strives to “create a sustainable, healthy, and safe ecosystem.” In September, President Erdoğan said that Turkey is “at war” with cryptocurrency. Moreover, Binali Yıldırım, deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said: “Unfortunately, cryptocurrency also opens the door to grievances. So, it’s something that needs serious control.” In May, Turkey published some rules for crypto trading platforms in the official gazette after a couple of cryptocurrency exchanges — Thodex and Vebitcoin — were investigated for fraud. The Turkish central bank has also banned the use of cryptocurrencies for payments. What do you think about President Erdoğan’s statement and Binance being fined 8 million lira? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Since November 9, 2021, or 46 days ago, transaction fees on the Ethereum network have been cut by more than half the rate they were on that day. At the time, the average fee to move ethereum was $62.84 per transfer and since then, the fees have dropped 62.85% to $23.34 per transaction. From $62 to $23 per Transaction, Ethereum Fees Have Been Cut by More Than 62% Just over a month ago, it was a lot more expensive to transfer ethereum (ETH) onchain, let alone move an ERC20 token, swap tokens, or interact with a smart contract. On December 25, metrics show the average fee spent on the Ethereum network is $22.80 or 0.0056 ether per transaction. The day prior it was $23.34 per transaction, which is 62.85% lower than the fees recorded on November 9. A 62% savings per data transfer cost is considerable and the median ether fee is even cheaper. Statistics from bitinfocharts.com indicate that on November 9, the median ether fee was $34.28 per transaction and today, the fee is 0.0032 ETH or $12.99. The decrease in median fees size was also more than 62% less than the metrics recorded for median ether fees 46 days ago. Data transfer fees are even lower looking at the recorded median-sized fee by l2fees.info statistics. On Saturday, the fee to transact with ethereum is $6.78 per transaction but to move a token will cost $15.49 per transfer. Layer 2 Networks Still Move Ether for Less Money Swapping a token will cost the user $33.89 per transaction according to l2fees.info statistics today. Of course, layer two (L2) transfer fees are much lower and the lowest provider today in terms of fee rates is Loopring with $0.16 per ether transfer. Loopring is followed by Polygon Hermez ($0.25), Zksync ($0.33), Arbitrum One ($1.87), and Optimism ($2.00). To swap a token or interact with an Ethereum-based smart contract, it will cost a Zksync user $0.81, a Loopring user $1.02, an Optimism user $2.82, and an Arbitrum user $3.22 per transfer. In addition to Ethereum network fees getting cheaper, Bitcoin (BTC) network fees are less today as well. In fact, since the end of July, BTC fees have been around $1.50 to $5.00 per transaction on average according to bitinfocharts.com data. On Saturday, December 25, 2021, the average bitcoin (BTC) fee is 0.000046 BTC which is roughly $2.36 per transaction or 0.0000001 BTC per byte. BTC fees did reach a high of $62.77 on April 21, 2021, which indicates that fees are 96.24% cheaper than the high recorded that day. What do you think about Ethereum network fees dropping more than 62% since November? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

While blockchain monitoring has increased a great deal during the last few years, cryptocurrency mixers have seen significant use from those who don’t want their financial transactions tracked. Meanwhile, two mixing applications, Tornado.cash and Cashfusion, have helped crypto owners make their ethereum and bitcoin cash less traceable. The two applications combined recorded more than $8 billion in crypto transactions that have been purposely obfuscated. Over $4.8 Billion in Ethereum Processed via Tornado.cash Digital currency privacy is a big deal to a lot of people. To some people, it’s not and they have no issues transacting on transparent ledgers that are monitored by blockchain surveillance firms. Privacy advocates, on the other hand, use a number of methods like leveraging a VPN, using the Tor browser, and accessing token mixers. As the end of 2021 approaches, the two crypto asset mixing applications Tornado.cash and Cashfusion have processed over $8 billion in digital assets. Tornado.cash is an ethereum (ETH) mixing tool that has seen approximately 2,344,835 ether worth more than $4.8 billion in deposits. The application is very popular and was even reviewed by former Bitcoin developer Gavin Andresen in 2020. Tornado.cash has also recently announced it’s in the midst of deploying on the L2 (layer 2) Ethereum platform Arbitrum One. Out of the $4.87 billion deposited, Tornado.cash users paid $7.2 million in network fees, according to metrics from Dune Analytics. Statistics further indicate that there have been 12,240 unique depositors and 36,382 unique withdrawal addresses. The $4.8 billion in deposits was distributed by 98,593 unique deposits from the 12,240 addresses. The share of withdrawals using a relayer is roughly 70,800, while traditional wallet withdrawals are around 20,233. More Than $3.8 Billion in Bitcoin Cash Fused Since November 2019 Another mixing project that has seen a few billion in coins mixed is the Cashfusion project leveraged by the bitcoin cash (BCH) community. The non-custodial mixing application that’s featured in the Electron Cash wallet has been a popular anonymity tool since November 28, 2019. Cashfusion offers significant transaction obfuscation and the project was reviewed by data analyst James Waugh in January 2020. Waugh explained at the time that he combed through thousands of transaction inputs and outputs and realized that it’s “not possible to establish a concrete link” between them. As of today, and since November 2019, 7,293,680 bitcoin cash worth 3.28 billion has been processed. There have been 6,931,976 inputs and 7,102,213 outputs to date and BCH fees are negligible in comparison to Ethereum’s network fees at 169 satoshis for every BCH fused. Both of these mixing applications are popular today and are used quite regularly. On Fridays, BCH fans participate in what’s called “Fusion Fridays,” in order to get a larger crowd fusing their coins together. With Tornado.cash supporting Arbitrum One, fees will be much smaller than the average onchain ETH fee. In addition to mixing applications dedicated to ethereum (ETH) and bitcoin cash (BCH), the non-custodial wallets Wasabi wallet and Samourai wallet also offer mixing features for bitcoin (BTC). What do you think about the privacy-mixing tools Tornado.cash and Cashfusion? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Since December 8, the stablecoin economy has grown 3.59% in 17 days as numerous stablecoin market valuations have issued more fiat-pegged tokens this month. On Saturday, December 25, the stablecoin economy’s $167 billion market valuation represents 6.68% of the entire $2.49 trillion crypto market economy. Stablecoin Issuance Jumps 3.5% There’s a great number of stablecoins in existence today that are pegged to the value of fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar is the most common stablecoin peg today, but there are others that represent the euro and the Swiss franc. On Saturday, the total value of all the stablecoins in existence is $167 billion, up 3.59% since our newsdesk’s last stablecoin report. The most dominant stablecoin today is tether (USDT) with a market valuation of around $77.7 billion spread across various blockchains. Tether’s sizable market capitalization is 46.52% of the entire stablecoin economy today. Usd coin (USDC) is the second largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization with $42.4 billion. While USDT increased 5.7% during the last month, USDC climbed 14% during the last 30 days. The third, fourth and fifth largest stablecoin market valuations belong to BUSD, UST, and DAI respectively. BUSD’s $14.8 billion market cap increased by 14.6% during the last month and UST’s issuance jumped by 36.6%. 60% of Today’s Trades Are Paired With Stablecoins The Makerdao-issued stablecoin DAI increased by 2.9% this past month with a valuation of around $8.9 billion. Terra Protocol’s UST stablecoin is 9.18% larger with a valuation of around $9.8 billion at the time of writing. MIM, FRAX, and FEI saw notable issuance increases as well with anywhere between 15.6% to 42.4% during the last month. The stablecoin origin dollar (OUSD) spiked more than 102% over the last 30 days and SUSD jumped 38.7%. On Saturday, the stablecoin economy commands $55.4 billion in trade volume out of the aggregate $92.1 billion reported volume. This means with every trade today, 60.15% of the trades are paired with stablecoins. For instance, the leading crypto asset in terms of market valuation, bitcoin (BTC), has seen around 59.68% of today’s swaps with tether (USDT). The second leading crypto asset, ethereum (ETH), has similar metrics as 51.45% of all ether swaps are with tether as well. What do you think about the stablecoin market valuation during the last 17 days swelling around 3.59%? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to the Dogecoin Foundation, the organization is working with Vitalik Buterin on constructing proof-of-stake (PoS) capabilities for the Dogecoin network. The “uniquely Doge proposal” is aimed at bolstering a “community staking” version of the protocol. Dogecoin Foundation Discusses the Project’s ‘Trailmap’ On December 23, the Dogecoin Foundation’s official Twitter account tweeted about the digital currency network’s “Trailmap,” a set of initiatives that essentially detail the proposed direction of the Dogecoin blockchain and ecosystem. The Dogecoin Foundation says that a traditional crypto “roadmap” is a rigid summary of a cryptocurrency network’s direction and usually it’s “led by a single company or ‘lead.’” The foundation behind the Dogecoin blockchain protocol says Dogecoin has always been “community-driven” with “many individual and organisational contributors.” “Dogecoin is a community-driven, consensus-based open-source project and its direction is formed by the many individuals and organisational contributors to the various projects of the Dogecoin blockchain [and] ecosystem,” the Dogecoin Foundation’s blog post notes. The Dogecoin Trailmap adds: This Trailmap represents a dog-walk the Dogecoin Foundation is committed to exploring and that we believe will contribute to Dogecoin’s success. The Trailmap explains a number of projects and proposals the foundation is working on and it shared the recently released Dogecoin Manifesto the organization published in August. Essentially, the Trailmap’s fundamentals stress that the crypto asset’s utility equates to adoption. Gigawallet Project and Working With Vitalik on a Community Staking Version of PoS One of the projects mentioned is the Gigawallet Project, which is “an open-source initiative aimed at filling that gap by providing a node / API solution that can be set up in seconds and allow a developer to add Dogecoin transactions to their platform, as easily as they might with any polished payment provider.” The Dogecoin Foundation believes the Gigawallet Project will “rapidly accelerate” dogecoin (DOGE) adoption. In addition to the Gigawallet Project, the foundation also claims it’s working with the co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin. “The Foundation [is] also working with Vitalik on crafting a uniquely Doge proposal for a ‘Community Staking’ version of PoS that will allow everyone, not just the big players to participate in a way that rewards them for their contribution to running the network, and at the same time gives back to the whole community through charitable causes,” the Trailmap details. The foundation’s PoS proposal follows Buterin’s statements about collaborating with the Dogecoin community back in June. The Ethereum co-creator discussed the subject on the Lex Fridman podcast. “If Doge wants to somehow bridge to Ethereum, and then people can trade doge thousands of times a second inside a loop ring, then that would be amazing,” Buterin said at the time. Furthermore, last September, co-founder of Dogecoin Billy Markus suggested that an Ethereum bridge and compatible non-fungible token (NFT) markets would enhance the Dogecoin network. “Two things I believe would help Dogecoin: [The] completion of DOGEETH bridge, [and] NFT platforms (e.g. Opensea) allowing for the DOGE-ETH token to be used for purchases,” Markus remarked on Twitter. “NFTs purchasing is in high demand with crypto. Allowing for DOGE purchases of NFTs greatly increases its utility.” What do you think about the Dogecoin Foundation’s Trailmap and the foundation working with Vitalik on some sort of Doge PoS system? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Tanzanians are embracing cryptocurrencies but more work still has to be undertaken in order to reduce the number of scams in the industry, a blockchain educator has said. In much of the year 2021, blockchain entities and proponents of the technology in Tanzania did much to bring this fintech to ordinary folks in that country. This has been either through roadshows or investment commitments. These efforts have also been bolstered by President Samia Suluhu Hasan’s apparent embrace of the technology. As a result of such efforts, more Tanzanians are becoming acquainted with cryptocurrencies than in the past. On the other hand, increased cryptocurrency trading activities have also forced the Bank of Tanzania to once again warn residents of the risks they face each time they trade. However, as Sandra Chogo — a Tanzania based blockchain educator — suggested to Bitcoin.com News, more work still needs to be done to ensure Tanzanians are aware of the risks involved in crypto trading. She also said the release of the right information about cryptocurrencies will boost efforts to reduce the number of crypto scams in that country and beyond. Below are some of Chogo’s responses to questions that were sent to her to via WhatsApp. Bitcoin.com News (BCN): Can you explain to our readers why you became involved in the blockchain advocacy work? Sandra Chogo (SC): We are always looking for opportunities so I saw the opportunities in Blockchain. I also saw the risks especially of cryptocurrencies to citizens and to the monetary system. This made me want to share what I already had — in terms of knowledge — with government officials. I also wanted to educate (or inform) members of the public of ways they can avoid scams as well as how they can identify or distinguish legitimate opportunities from scams. BCN: What have been some of your achievements or milestones so far? SC: 1) I have written a book in my local language Kiswahili ” Jielimishe kuhusu Blockchain” 2) I have been invited to seminars and conferences in Tanzania and Africa. 3) I have been invited to universities where I talked and raised awareness about 4IR technologies. 4) I am the managing partner at Blocktech, a firm focused on blockchain awareness and training. BCN: You are one of the few women involved in blockchain advocacy work in Africa. Do you think that there are specific challenges that stop women from becoming involved in this work? SC: African women have got a lot of house responsibilities which make it difficult for them to look for other opportunities which are not that straightforward. To understand the blockchain you need to have the time. BCN: The Tanzanian central bank recently indicated it would start exploring the possibility of issuing a CBDC. Do you see this being rolled out anytime soon? SC: The Tanzanian CBDC is still in its early stages. A lot of understanding and research still needs to be done. So it [CBDC launch] won’t happen any time soon. BCN: From your point of view, are CBDCs a good thing? SC: CBDCs are a good thing. The cost of printing paper money will be reduced hence transaction fees will go down. Less time will be used to settle payment transactions. BCN: Occasionally, a few crypto scams stories do get widespread attention and often regulators use such stories to push back or discourage the use of cryptocurrencies. What do you think needs to be done to ensure regulators are aware of the beneficial side of cryptocurrencies? SC: It’s true some regulators use such stories. I don’t blame them maybe it’s the only information about cryptos that they have at that moment. The problem is that information about cryptocurrencies is difficult to find and understand. Getting the right information and understanding cryptos will help reduce the number of scams. BCN: Do you see the much talked about mass adoption of digital currencies happening in say the next five years? The younger generation is the one adopting digital currencies or cryptocurrencies much faster than the adults. So much of the adoption will be down to the younger generation (aged 35 and below). What are your thoughts about this interview? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Marathon, one of the leading bitcoin mining companies in North America announced it has entered a new purchase agreement with Bitmain, a bitcoin mining machine manufacturer. This deal would allow them to acquire an undisclosed number of Antminer S19 XP models, an ASIC capable of delivering 140 TH/s while being more efficient than its previous iterations. Marathon hopes to host 199,000 miners by early 2023. Marathon Keeps Buying Miners Marathon Digital Holdings, one of the largest bitcoin mining companies in the world, announced today it entered a new purchase agreement with Bitmain. The agreement will allow the company to get ahold of a number of mining machines to expand its hashrate capacity next year. The machines purchased are Antminer S19 XPs, one of the newest miners developed by the Chinese manufacturer, able to deliver 140 TH/s of mining power while being more energy-efficient than its predecessors. While the manufacturer did not explain how many miners were ordered in this new agreement, it did estimate that with this new batch of miners, which are expected to ship between July 2022 and December 2022, it will have more than 199,000 miners producing 23.3 EH of hashrate by 2023. This will constitute an increase of 600% in its capacity when compared to its current hashrate, according to Peter Thiel, CEO of Marathon. He further elaborated, stating that: Given the strength of our balance sheet and our asset-light model, which allows us to invest our capital into mining machines rather than infrastructure, we were uniquely positioned to place the largest single order of S19 XPs, in terms of total hash rate, Bitmain has ever received. A Year of Growth This announcement closes a year of growth, in which Marathon has constantly secured miners for its facilities all around the United States. Last August, Marathon reported the purchase of 30,000 S19j Pro miners, also from Bitmain, At that time, the company estimated that this batch would add 13 EH/s to its already existent mining power. The cost of the miner batch was $120 million. Furthermore, earlier this month, the company announced it had secured hosting for more than 100K miners in a deal with Compute North, that would also allow them to power most of these miners with renewables, including solar and wind. The company even communicated it had planned to raise $500 million in senior notes to acquire bitcoin or more bitcoin mining machines in November. What do you think about Marathon’s latest deal with Bitmain? Tell us in the comments section down below. View the full article

The federal government in Moscow has permitted regions to determine local electricity tariffs for the population, a measure that will affect crypto mining at homes. Subsidized household electricity in Russia is often used to mint digital currencies in basements and garages. Regions in Russia Granted Permission to Increase Costs for Home Mining Russians mining cryptocurrencies at their homes may expect higher electricity bills as a result of a reform allowing regional authorities to limit the electrical energy supplied at preferential rates. The move comes after local utilities requested powers to set thresholds for the amount of subsidized electricity available to the general population while complaining about the spread of crypto mining in residential areas. Private customers will have to pay more for consumption exceeding these thresholds, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported. Most Russian regions are yet to adopt new pricing schemes, with the exception of Crimea where cheap electricity is already limited to 150 kWh per month. The Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Ministry of Energy have assured that the new policy is aimed at curbing “inappropriate energy consumption” and should not increase expenses for most consumers. Electricity tariffs for households in Russia are regulated by the state, which maintains them well below economically justified levels. Power utilities compensate for the difference through higher rates for businesses. In 2021, companies are expected to pay over 240 billion rubles (close to $3.3 billion) to finance this ‘cross-subsidization,’ data from Russia’s energy markets regulator has indicated. According to an estimate quoted by the Kommersant, last year’s average monthly consumption per household in the Russian Federation was about 250 kWh. Around 40% of homes in apartment blocks now consume more than 600 kWh per month. The recent amendments to a federal government decree will provide all other regions alongside annexed Crimea with the option to introduce differentiated electricity tariffs. The changes come after power distributors and authorities in Irkutsk Oblast complained about the rapidly growing number of crypto farms in residential buildings. Electricity for households in Irkutsk, which has been dubbed the crypto mining capital of Russia, costs only 0.86 rubles ($0.01) per kWh when the average tariff in the whole of Russia is 4.25 rubles (almost $0.06). Earlier in December, media reports revealed that a local power utility, Irkutskenergosbyt, has filed 85 lawsuits this year against at-home miners. Mining is one of several crypto-related activities that remained outside the scope of the law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which partially regulated the Russian crypto space in January. Calls have been mounting among officials in Moscow to recognize it as a business activity and tax it accordingly. This would also allow utilities to charge miners more for the energy they need to mint digital coins. A working group set up at the State Duma has recently held its first meeting to discuss regulations for mining and other sectors in the crypto industry. Do you expect Russian regions to raise electricity rates for cryptocurrency miners? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The pro-bitcoin U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has reportedly unveiled her plan to introduce a comprehensive crypto bill that will cover everything from how cryptocurrencies are taxed and categorized to consumer protections. The bill will also propose creating a new entity to oversee the digital asset market. Comprehensive Crypto Bill Coming up in US, Says Senator U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis is reportedly preparing to introduce a comprehensive crypto bill next year. The Republican senator from Wyoming explained that the bill will cover everything from how cryptocurrencies are taxed and categorized to consumer protections, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The bill will provide clear guidance on which asset class a particular asset belongs to and will also establish a framework to regulate stablecoins, a senior aide for the senator told the news outlet. In addition, it will propose creating a new entity to oversee the crypto market that will operate under the joint jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Lummis is a member of the Senate Banking Committee. She has repeatedly said that bitcoin is a great store of value. The senator recently confirmed that she owns about five bitcoins and has no plan to sell them. Her BTC is part of a broad portfolio that includes her family’s cattle ranches. In October, Lummis said in Congress: “Thank God for bitcoin, and other non-fiat currencies, that transcends the irresponsibility of governments, including our own.” Several bills have already been introduced in Congress with the intention of regulating the crypto sector. In August, U.S. Rep. Don Beyer introduced the “Digital Asset Market Structure and Investor Protection Act.” The bill provides the SEC with authority over digital asset securities and the CFTC with authority over digital assets. In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill introduced by pro-bitcoin Congressman Patrick McHenry which requires the SEC and the CFTC “to establish a working group focused on digital assets.” In August, two U.S. lawmakers urged the chairman of the SEC and the acting chairman of the CFTC to establish a joint working group for the regulation of crypto assets. Other efforts to regulate the crypto industry include the “Digital Commodity Exchange Act of 2020 (DCEA)” and the “Crypto-Currency Act of 2020.” What do you think about Senator Lummis planning to introduce a comprehensive cryptocurrency bill? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has explained why he’s pro dogecoin as the debate over web3, Ethereum, and decentralization intensifies. In the same conversation, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey insisted that he is not anti-ETH. “I’m anti-centralized, VC-owned, single point of failure, and corporate-controlled lies,” he stressed. Elon Musk Shares Why He’s Pro Doge Elon Musk’s Doge explanation came as he and dogecoin co-creator Billy Markus joined a Twitter thread about web3 and Ehtereum involving Jack Dorsey. The former Twitter CEO raised concerns this week about web3 being owned by venture capitalists (VCs). Markus wrote: “My goal is to build stuff and make money and have fun. I’m used to the corporate establishment and don’t really see any meaningful break away from it ~ bitcoin just gives power to new rich people.” Musk replied, “That’s why I’m pro Doge.” In the same thread, Dorsey clarified: “I’m not anti-ETH. I’m anti-centralized, VC-owned, single point of failure, and corporate-controlled lies. If your goal is anti-establishment, I promise you it isn’t Ethereum. Don’t believe or trust me! Just look at the fundamentals.” Musk and Dorsey independently voiced concerns over web3 this week. Musk tweeted: “I’m not suggesting web3 is real – seems more marketing buzzword than reality right now.” He then followed up with another tweet: “Has anyone seen web3? I can’t find it.” In early December, he wrote, “Web3 sounds like bs.” The Tesla boss is a huge supporter of the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin. He is even known in the crypto community as the Dogefather. He personally owns dogecoin in addition to bitcoin and ether. Musk, who has been named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, announced last week that Tesla will accept DOGE for payments. He sees bitcoin as a store of value and DOGE as the best cryptocurrency for transactions. In October, Musk revealed a different reason why he decided to support dogecoin. “Lots of people I 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,” he explained. What do you think about Musk’s dogecoin comment and the debate over web3? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Seven months ago, during the first week of May, the digital currency entrepreneur Jihan Wu said at a conference that he expects the crypto industry to surpass the internet and the following August, Wu’s firm Matrixport raised $100 million and joined the crypto industry’s growing list of unicorns. This week an interview with Wu was published and the billionaire said that he believes crypto and blockchain space will grow to tens of trillions of dollars in value. Jihan Wu: ‘Crypto and Blockchain to Grow to Tens of Trillions of Dollars’ in the Future The former CEO of Bitmain is no stranger to the world of cryptocurrencies as the pioneer has been involved in the industry for well over a decade. Jihan Wu co-founded the privately-owned company Bitmain Technologies Ltd., with Micree Zhan in 2013. In recent times, he leads the digital currency financial services company Matrixport, a startup that raised $100 million in August. Wu is a big believer in crypto and blockchain and in May, Wu spoke at the Second 421 Wet Season Festival and Mining Ecology Conference and said: In the long run, the blockchain industry is bullish and is the biggest opportunity. The innovations in this industry may even surpass the Internet itself. The Matrixport and Bitdeer Technologies founder is still bullish about blockchain and crypto and this week he was interviewed by Forbes Asia in a story published by author Robert Olsen. Wu’s optimism is shown throughout the interview and remarked that his firm believes the industry will swell to tens of trillions in the future. “We believed that crypto and blockchain together would experience rapid growth in the future to tens of trillions of dollars,” Wu elaborated during the interview. “And many of these new users will stay in the crypto market forever, so they’ll need advanced and sophisticated products to manage the wealth they accumulate in crypto assets.” Furthermore, Wu highlighted his optimism more so when he said: Even if 95% of today’s coins lose all their value and disappear, the remaining 5% will grow massively. Former Bitmain Co-Founder Briefly Speaks on Fall Out With Micree Zhan, Bitmain Continues Its Crypto Path In the interview with Forbes Asia Wu spoke briefly about his falling out with the Bitmain co-founder Micree Zhan. Wu reached a deal with Zhan, stepped away from Bitmain and started Matrixport and Bitdeer. According to Olsen, it was the first time Wu could speak about the issue but a nondisclosure agreement stops the digital currency entrepreneur from speaking on specific matters. “That was a tough period for our business and for me. And of course, the pressures of running a complex manufacturing business built up and eventually led to a falling out between us two cofounders,” Wu explained in the Forbes Asia interview. While Bitdeer recently announced plans to list on the Nasdaq and the funding Matrixport recently received, Bitmain is still moving forward in the industry. At the World Digital Mining Summit in Dubai, Bitmain revealed the company’s most powerful bitcoin mining device to date. According to the announcement the Antminer S19 XP will hash at speeds of up to 140 terahash per second (TH/s). Bitmain’s mining pool, Antpool is also the third-largest bitcoin miner today in terms of hashrate, below Foundry USA. What do you think about Jihan Wu saying that he believes crypto and blockchain will swell to tens of trillions of dollars in value? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Innovation has always been an essential part of the LBank Exchange’s core value. Lots of projects with different innovative features have been listed on LBank Exchange since its launch back in 2015. This gave 6.4 million users across the globe the chance to participate in crypto investment, which helped rocket the development of many crypto projects. In 2021, LBank Exchange listed 150+ meme/community projects, 4 of them increased by 100 times, 10 of them increased by 50 times, and 25 of them increased by 30 times. There were also 20+ early/initial listings on LBank Exchange this year which were later listed on other leading exchanges. Without the support of these projects, LBank Exchange wouldn’t have become the world-class digital asset trading platform it is today. To connect with these projects on a much deeper level, and encourage them to make continuous innovations, LBank Exchange is excited to announce the Galaxy Club Membership program. With 100 opening slots, the program chooses innovative projects that meet the requirements to help them draw more attention from the public and achieve their vision. Projects that are selected by LBank Exchange will benefit from their membership in ways such as special monthly token buy-backs, media promotion, opportunities to join global blockchain roadshows, and listing service discounts. There are some requirements for projects to meet in order to be qualified for Galaxy Club membership, these requirements are as follows: Has been listed on LBank Exchange or is preparing to be listed on LBank Exchange. Recognizes LBank Exchange as a long-term business partner and agrees with LBank Exchange’s core value. Has more than 1,000 token holders, with each one holding no less than 100 USDT worth of tokens. No less than 10,000 followers across social media channels. Tokens show price stability and have not had any large decline in value in the past three months. No major PR scandal. As a Galaxy Club member, the project will enjoy: LBank Exchange will purchase tokens from Galaxy Club members’ project amounting to 50% of last month’s transaction fees on LBank Exchange. Galaxy Club members will have 2 chances to promote collaborative events on LBank Exchange’s partnered media platforms. Galaxy Club members will have 2 chances to join global blockchain roadshows hosted by LBank Exchange. Projects recommended by Galaxy Club members will enjoy a discount for listing services. There will be 100 Galaxy Club members recruited in total, and once the spots are filled, recruitment will be suspended until a new opening occurs. Come Join the Galaxy Club, become the next star, and change the world together with LBank Exchange! Note: About Token Buy-Back: LBank Exchange will buyback at the beginning of each month. Tokens eligible for the buy-back program will need to have accumulated transaction fees of 5,000 USDT or more on LBank Exchange. Members will be excluded if any of the following occurs: Large decline in token value / Investigation from local authorities / Wide-spread customer complaints / Other major PR crisis About LBank Exchange LBank Exchange, founded in 2015, is an innovative global trading platform for various crypto assets. LBank Exchange provides its users with safe crypto trading, specialized financial derivatives, and professional asset management services. It has become one of the most popular and trusted crypto trading platforms with over 6.4 million users from now more than 210 regions around the world. Start Trading Now: lbank.info Community & Social Media: l Telegram l Twitter l Facebook l Linkedin Contact Details: LBK Blockchain Co. Limited LBank Exchange marketing@lbank.info 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

SWIFT, the Belgian-based cooperative that serves as an intermediary and settlement executor of financial transactions between banks worldwide is planning to experiment with asset tokenization in 2022. In a blog post about the subject, SWIFT notes that it will be working with firms like Clearstream, Northern Trust, and SETL to explore “the feasibility and benefits” of using SWIFT as an interconnector to tokenization platforms. Financial Intermediary SWIFT to Be Used as a Tokenization Interconnector The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), has been studying cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology for quite some time. For instance, SWIFT published a report in September 2020, that noted criminals preferred cash for money laundering in contrast to using crypto for illicit transactions. Over a year later, SWIFT is still focused on this technology and revealed in a blog post published on December 1, that it was participating in an asset tokenization test in 2022. The announcement states: Working with Clearstream, Northern Trust, SETL and others, SWIFT plans experiments in Q1 2022 to explore how it can support interoperability in the development of the tokenised asset market. SWIFT’s Report Highlights Estimates That Say Crypto Assets Could Grow to $24 Trillion by 2027 SWIFT’s report has a lot of predictions and insights strewn throughout the research. The organization explains by some estimates, crypto assets, stablecoins, and tokenized assets could swell to volumes of around “24 trillion USD by 2027.” SWIFT understands that tokenized assets can apply to nearly anything and they can be fractionalized as well. Essentially, tokenized assets can help bolster liquidity and enable accessibility worldwide to those who could otherwise not obtain these types of assets. “Tokenisation,” SWIFT’s report further notes. “Can be applied to stocks and bonds, but also to illiquid assets, including commodities, property, or even art. For example, a share or bond with a high value per unit (say over $500) can be divided into digital pieces that each have ownership and value. This increases the liquidity of the overall asset, and accessibility, by enabling a wider demographic of people to invest in assets that may historically have been unavailable to them.” The plans for Q1 2022, will entail researching and leveraging tokenization for traditional assets, securities, and other types of market infrastructures. “SETL and Northern Trust will support SWIFT and the participants in the integration between the various DLT environments and with transaction orchestrations using their respective capabilities. Results of the experiments will be shared with the financial community afterward,” SWIFT’s report concludes. Moreover, Vikesh Patel, the head of securities strategy at SWIFT highlighted that the organization wants to create an instant and frictionless system. “Our vision for instant and frictionless transactions not only applies to traditional securities instruments but also to new asset classes as well,” Patel said in a statement. “The insights from this exercise with leading capital markets participants will help us define and prioritise the concrete steps required to enable seamless processes for tokenised assets.” What do you think about SWIFT testing tokenization concepts in 2022? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The number of recorded non-fungible token (NFT) sales during the last 30 days consisted of roughly 362,374 sales. During the past 30 days, the leading NFT marketplace Opensea processed $2.39 billion, up 22.88% since last month. Decentraland volume jumped 192% since last month reaching more than $28 million in sales. NFT and Metaverse Steam Continues With Big Volume and Expensive Collectibles During the last month of the year, the metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) hype has continued to remain strong. Over the last week, Decentraland and The Sandbox processed a significant amount of sales. Seven-day metrics indicate The Sandbox saw $19.3 million in sales while Decentraland did $6.6 million. 30-day stats show Decentraland’s $28 million in sales pushed it up closed to 200% more than last month. While Opensea sales spiked 22.88% this past month, Solana’s Magic Eden marketplace saw $148.86 million in monthly sales, up 86.9%. Superrare’s $26 million in 30 day sales pushed it up 15% since last month. The Wax blockchain NFT marketplace Atomicmarket had $38.96 million in sales which is down 73%. Rarible’s NFT market sales dropped 4.5% last month with $18.27 million in sales recorded. Foundation saw $10.38 million in monthly sales (down 11.94%) and Aavegotchi had $5.78 million in sales (down 35%). Despite the discussions online concerning Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT floor prices jumping just above Cryptopunk (CP) NFT floor values, the biggest sale this month was Cryptopunk #4156 sold two weeks ago for 2.5K ETH or $10.35 million at the time of sale. Moreover, the sixth-largest sale this past month was ​​Cryptopunk #9953 which sold for 399.69 ETH or $1.57 million. While CP floor prices are just above BAYC floor value, they are roughly the same at 52 to 53.5 ether per NFT. CP’s daily media price is higher (56 ETH) than BAYC’s daily median value (55 ETH) at the time of writing. The most expensive BAYC sold this past month was Bored Ape Yacht Club #9452 which sold for $1.42 million or 347 ether. Furthermore, Bored Ape Yacht Club #9449 sold for 285 ether or $1.17 million four weeks ago. While five CPs made the top 15 most expensive NFT sales this month, only two BAYCs made it into the top 15 rankings. Another notable sale during the last 30 days was the Axie Infinity #1157920892 purchase for 550 ETH or $2.33 million. The top 15 NFT sales in the last 30 days captured $41.56 million. What do you think about the NFT sales during the last month? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The Indian government has not introduced the cryptocurrency bill that was listed to be taken up in the winter session of parliament. Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg says he has no confidence in the ability of the Indian government to figure out crypto. Garg headed the inter-ministerial committee that drafted the original crypto bill that proposes banning cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. India Fails to Introduce Crypto Bill in Parliament Again The Indian government has failed to introduce the cryptocurrency bill that was listed to be taken up in the winter session of Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. The session ended Thursday. Commenting on the government’s failure to introduce the crypto bill, former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg told IANS publication Thursday that “he had no confidence in the ability of government to figure out the complexities of this new crypto phenomenon,” the news outlet conveyed. He was further quoted as saying: I expressed serious doubts when the government had expressed its intent to present the bill about the introduction of the crypto-assets/currencies bill in the winter session of parliament. I am, therefore, not surprised to see the present situation where there is zero clarity over what is the bill. The Indian government has not revealed what’s in the crypto bill. However, there are reports that the government has decided to regulate crypto assets but ban the use of cryptocurrencies for payments. The country’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, recently said that the bill needed to be reworked. The original crypto bill was drafted by the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) headed by Garg. The “Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2019” proposed banning all cryptocurrencies and regulating digital currencies to be issued by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). However, Garg, who has resigned from his government job, now believes that crypto assets should be regulated as commodities. This was the second time that the Indian government failed to introduce a crypto bill after listing it on parliamentary agendas. The first time was in the budget session in February. According to Garg, the Indian government is caught between two opposing sides: the RBI and the crypto industry. Noting that the government seems unable to make a decision, he described: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), believing that crypto-technology and businesses are only in the currency business, has been constantly hammering the government to ban the cryptocurrencies and statutorily empower RBI to issue digital bank notes. The RBI said at its recent meeting of the central board of directors that cryptocurrencies must be fully banned, emphasizing that a partial ban will not work. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has reiterated several times that the central bank has serious and major concerns regarding cryptocurrencies. Garg added: “The cryptocurrency exchanges, applying the force from the other side, want the government to treat cryptocurrencies as assets and statutorily create a regulatory mechanism for the same.” He explained that the government also faces other critical issues, including crypto being potentially misused for hawala and money laundering, investments worth billions of dollars escaping overseas, and crypto investors not paying capital gains tax. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said that cryptocurrency should be used to empower democracy and not undermine it. He urged Democratic countries to work together to ensure that cryptocurrencies do not fall into the wrong hands. Last week, his Twitter account was hacked and a tweet was posted stating that India has adopted bitcoin as legal tender and the government has purchased BTC to distribute to residents. What do you think about India failing to introduce a crypto bill in parliament again? And, what do you think of Garg’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

‘Tis the season of giving and Bybit, one of the world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency exchange and trading platforms, wants to give back to its users. Users can now celebrate Christmas with Bybit through Jolly Jamboree, where they can win amazing prizes by completing a series of simple tasks. The festive assortment of gifts in Bybit’s sleigh includes Amazon gift cards, an iPhone 13, and the best prize of all — a Tesla Model 3. It’s easy for users to add a little more Christmas sparkle to their holiday haul. From Dec. 22, 2021, 10AM UTC to Jan. 12, 2022, 10AM UTC, all they have to do is to start clearing different tasks to unlock attractive rewards like $100 in USDT while collecting special Christmas reward cards. There are a total of 3 Christmas cards. Once all cards are collected, users will be automatically enrolled into the Jolly Jamboree grand lucky draw for a chance to drive off with a Tesla Model 3. Join the Jolly Jamboree today and start trading to win big! https://www.bybit.com/en-US/jolly-jamboree/ About Bybit Bybit was established in March 2018 and is trusted by millions of users globally. It offers Spot and Derivatives trading across three contracts with best-in-class liquidity so traders are always in optimal positions to make the best trades. Built on customer-centric values of “Listen, Care, and Improve”, Bybit aims to bring next level trading to all its users by creating a fair, transparent, and efficient exchange environment. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

A crypto working group has held its first meeting at Russia’s parliament. Its members have been tasked to put forward legislative proposals designed to comprehensively regulate cryptocurrencies and related matters in the Russian Federation. Working Group Gathers at State Duma to Draft Crypto Regulations Lawmakers, government officials, and experts have met at the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, the State Duma, to discuss and propose new legislation aimed at regulating the circulation of cryptocurrencies in the country, the head of the working group, Alexey Gordeev, announced to the media. Gordeev, who is also deputy speaker of the Duma, remarked that authorities in Moscow are well aware of the existence and the development of the crypto industry in the country. He noted, however, that proper regulations for the sector are yet to be introduced. While cryptocurrencies were partially regulated with the law “On Digital Financial Assets” which went into force in January, a range of related activities and aspects remained outside its scope, including crypto trading and taxation. Current Russian legislation lacks definitions of terms like ‘cryptocurrency’ and ‘mining’, and Alexey Gordeev believes these have to be provided. While Russia rejects digital currencies like bitcoin as a legal tender, the law does not explicitly prohibit Russian citizens from owning and transferring these assets. Gordeev revealed that representatives of the Bank of Russia, relevant ministries, and other departments took part in the working group’s first meeting on Tuesday. Discussions between them will continue in February when they will take on the task to prepare proposals for legislative regulation, the Russian business news portal Prime reported. The lawmakers are also expected to review a report in which the central bank will present its views on the outstanding questions in detail. The monetary authority has maintained a hardline stance on cryptocurrencies, consistently opposing their use in payments and calling them money surrogates. “We don’t see a place for cryptocurrency in the Russian financial market,” Deputy Chairman Vladimir Chistyukhin told reporters this week. Earlier in December, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Nikolai Zhuravlev announced that the upper house of parliament is forming its own working group on crypto regulations. Besides senators, it will comprise representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economic Development, and Ministry of Digital Development as well as Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s financial watchdog, the Federal Tax Service, Bank of Russia, and law enforcement agencies. Do you expect Russia to soon adopt comprehensive regulations for cryptocurrencies? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, a smart contract-enabled cryptocurrency platform, announced yesterday he would fly to space next year to fulfill one of his childhood dreams. The space trip will be done in a Blue Origin spaceship, the company owned by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, which also made an inaugural flight last July. Sun Also announced he will carry 5 unknown individuals with him. Justin Sun Plans for Space Travel Tron founder Justin Sun announced yesterday he had plans to fly to space next year to fulfill one of his childhood dreams. The trip, that would take the crypto entrepreneur out of the earth’s atmosphere, would be done using Blue Origin’s services, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. Sun also revealed that he had been the unnamed winner of an auction to be in the inaugural flight of the company with Bezos. He paid $28 million to be part of the launch. On this, Sun stated: I won the auction 6 months ago but missed the launch. However, this did not stop my love for space. The entrepreneur, that recently left his position at the Tron Foundation, the organization behind Tron, was also recently appointed as representative for Grenada to the World Trade Organization. Sun further declared he would be taking the flag of the country during his space voyage. 5 People to the Stars But Sun has no plans of going to space alone. He said he would be taking five people with him from different backgrounds. The campaign, which was named “Sea of Stars,” will nominate five different people to complete the party of six for the trip. The first of the nominees for the trip, according to Sun’s statements, will be a crypto entrepreneur related to the metaverse. The second nominee will be part of the Tron DAO and can have any background coming from the community. The third nominee will be chosen among tech-related entrepreneurs. The fourth nominee will have an art background, and the fifth and final nominees will be a “highly visible and socially influential celebrity,” that will be a mystery guest. These nominees will be revealed in the coming months, as Sun stated that no names have been decided for these positions yet. While Sun did not detail any specific dates for the launch, the official website for the “Sea of Stars” event states the ship will launch in the fourth quarter of 2022. What do you think about Justin Sun’s future trip to space? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Avalanche has announced the integration of flexible fiat payment on-ramps on their network, thanks to a new integration with Alchemy Pay. Alchemy Pay is a payment solution that bridges fiat and crypto economies and it will now offer support for Avalanche’s public blockchain’s native token AVAX for payments. Avalanche also announced they will be joining Alchemy Pay as a founding member of the Blockchain Infrastructure Alliance. Avalanche is a layer-1 blockchain that aims to digitise the world’s assets on what is currently the fastest smart contracts platform in the industry. This year, it has seen a huge growth in activity by attracting developers to create a thriving decentralized finance ecosystem. It offers compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, meaning developers can seamlessly port applications from Ethereum. Avalanche makes launching DeFi applications simple and makes it possible to deploy customised blockchains that fit an application’s needs. The integration with Alchemy Pay aids Avalanche developers because it enables applications hosted in the Avalanche protocol to onboard users via direct fiat on-ramps for traditional payment platforms with the likes of Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and multiple local payment channels around the world. Despite the flexibility and speed of the Avalanche network, a major factor behind adoption is the ability to bring in new users who don’t necessarily have blockchain expertise. John Tan, Alchemy Pay’s CEO, explained, “We like the idea that people will have an easy experience when they come to blockchain and DApps. By providing standard fiat channels we can allow users to enter the ecosystem directly. We want to get to the point where users can enter the crypto economy because they’re attracted by a particular app and not necessarily because they have prior knowledge of the blockchain and crypto space.” Alchemy Pay has also integrated the AVAX token into its global crypto-fiat gateway so that it can be more widely used for business to business or customer to business payments. The payment network currently supports use in 65 countries and has more than 300 payment channels. It has a global reach of more than 2 million merchants through partnerships with mainstream payment and e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Arcadier, and QFPay. The AVAX token that is used to pay online or in-store on the Alchemy Pay network can be converted automatically to fiat currency for the convenience of merchant partners. Alchemy Pay is focused on broadening crypto payment acceptance by offering low fees and fast settlement without requiring businesses to adopt new hardware. The ability to handle transactions between fiat and cryptocurrencies attracts new users and this integration means AVAX can now move seamlessly between blockchain and non-blockchain economies. It will also encourage users to view AVAX as a medium for interacting with DApps. Over the past months, Alchemy Pay has integrated a number of leading cryptocurrencies onto its global crypto-fiat network, including $MATIC, $TRX, and $NEO. It also recently co-founded the Blockchain Infrastructure Alliance (BIA) alongside NEO, NEAR and Polygon. The alliance brings together industry leaders, innovators, and investors to create synergies across all areas of blockchain technology and collectively promote the development of decentralized finance. The rise of Avalanche in the past few months has been impressive, with the total value locked going from less than $1B USD in August to $12B+ today. It’s inclusion as a founding member of the Blockchain Infrastructure Alliance will bring Avalanche closer to other leaders in the space and further strengthen BIA’s ability creating a more unified blockchain industry. About Alchemy Pay Alchemy Pay is an integrated fiat and cryptocurrency gateway solutions provider, powering seamless crypto and fiat acceptance for merchant networks, developers, and financial institutions. The company drives adoption of blockchain technology by making crypto investment, commercial transactions, and DeFi services readily accessible to consumers and institutions in the fiat economy. Today, Alchemy Pay supports over 65 countries with 200 payment channels and has touchpoints with more than 2 million merchants through partnerships with industry giants such as Binance, Shopify, Arcadier, QFPay and more. Website: alchemypay.org Twitter：twitter.com/alchemypay Telegram: t.me/alchemy_official About Avalanche Avalanche is the fastest smart contracts platform in the blockchain industry, as measured by time-to-finality, and has the most validators securing its activity of any proof-of-stake protocol. Avalanche is blazingly fast, low cost, and green. Any smart contract-enabled application can outperform its competition by deploying on Avalanche. Don’t believe it? Try Avalanche today. Website: avax.network Twitter：twitter.com/avalancheavax Telegram: t.me/avalancheavax 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