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The American politician and attorney serving as the 46th governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, announced the state’s 2022-23 budget proposal last week and proposed an idea to let businesses pay state fees with crypto assets. The governor’s “Freedom First Budget” suggests creating a department in Florida to accept state fees in cryptocurrencies. Florida Governor’s Freedom First Budget Includes Crypto The Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis seems to be keen on allowing businesses in Florida to pay for state fees in crypto assets. Florida is becoming well known for its politicians who are positive about the digital currency economy as Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has been very vocal about supporting bitcoin. Suarez gets a portion of his salary in BTC and recently announced he plans to take a fraction of his 401k retirement plan and convert it into bitcoin. A report published by Fortune says DeSantis has explained in recent times that he wants the Florida state government to become “crypto-friendly.” “Florida encourages cryptocurrency as a means of commerce and furthering Florida’s attractiveness to businesses and economic growth,” DeSantis wrote in Florida’s 2022-23 budget proposal. During His Speech in Tallahassee, DeSantis Discussed Leveraging Blockchain Pilots to Bolster State-Operated Departments DeSantis also spoke about the budget proposal in a speech on Thursday in Tallahassee. “Our view as the state government is this is something that we welcome and we want to make sure that the state government is crypto-friendly,” the Florida governor remarked. In addition to Miami’s Mayor Francis Suarez, crypto businesses like Blockchain.com, Etoro, and FTX have locations in Florida and Miami. During his speech in Tallahassee, DeSantis also discussed blockchain technology. The Florida governor explained that the state aims to launch pilot programs that tether distributed ledger technology to state-operated entities like Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and Medicaid payments. While DeSantis has officially launched his bid for reelection as the state’s governor, there are rumors DeSantis may run for president of the United States in 2024. What do you think about Ron DeSantis proposing that Florida businesses could pay state fees with crypto assets? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to reports, the e-commerce giant Amazon has recently invested in a fractional sports trading card marketplace called Dibbs. The platform, built on top of the Wax blockchain, allows users to purchase and sell fractions of collectible trading cards. Reports further add that the financial terms of Amazon’s backing of Dibbs have not been disclosed. Reports Disclose Amazon Has Entered the Digital Collectibles Space Non-fungible token (NFT) assets and digital collectibles have been gathering a lot of steam in 2021 and it seems that everyone wants a piece of the billion-dollar industry. Just recently reports disclosed that the online marketplace Amazon has invested in the trading-card platform Dibbs. “We’re thrilled to announce that Amazon entered the collectibles space by investing in [Dibbs.io],” the official Wax blockchain Twitter account tweeted on December 8. “[Dibbs] is a real-time fractional card market using Wax vIRL NFT technology.” Dibbs was founded in 2020, and the platform allows members to list a collectible trading card and mint them into NFTs, then the NFTs can be fractionalized as well. While Amazon’s investment has not been publicized, the startup raised $16 million in a Series A funding round in July. Series A Dibb investors included athletes like Chris Paul, Channing Frye, DeAndre Hopkins, Kevin Love, Kris Bryant, and Skylar Diggins-Smith. Furthermore, the Series A in July was also backed by Foundry Group and Tusk Venture Partners. The company has formally introduced a marketplace called “Sell with Dibbs” which allows owners to sell their collectibles and price and fractionalize pieces as well. Dibbs founder and chief executive Evan Vandenberg explains that NFTs and digital collectibles make the collectibles market, in general, more accessible. “For too long, the collectibles market has been riddled with barriers to entry that render it inaccessible and inequitable,” Vandenberg said in a statement this past week. The Dibbs executive added: Traditional ownership has limitations that the emerging metaverse eliminates. Moving these collectibles, which genuinely represent an individual’s online persona, into the digital domain is essential for the future of ownership and identity. Dibbs Eyes Other Types of Digital Collectibles, Fractionalized Collectibles Become a Big Deal in 2021 The Dibbs CEO also noted that cards are not the only focus his startup is concentrating on and the firm is considering moving into other avenues as well. “Cards are one thing that we do, but it’s one thing,” Vandenberg remarked. “This can be so much bigger than cards.” Besides the Dibbs concept, fractionalizing NFTs has become a significant trend that is seeing exponential growth. Blockchain projects making headway with fractionalized NFTs include platforms like Otis, Unicly, Fractional, and Daofi. Cryptopunk collectibles have been fractionalized alongside the famous Doge NFT as well. This past week the Ross Ulbricht Genesis NFT Collection raised over $6 million at auction and the collection will be broken up into pieces and fractionalized among members of a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). What do you think about Amazon reportedly investing in the fractionalized NFT trading card platform built on top of the Wax blockchain called Dibbs? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

During the first week of November, the reelected Miami mayor Francis Suarez explained that he would receive part of his salary in bitcoin via the payment processor Strike. A month later, speaking at Real Vision’s Takeover event in Las Vegas, Suarez revealed he plans to take part of his 401k in bitcoin as well. Pro-Bitcoin Miami Mayor Plans to Convert a Portion of His 401k Into Crypto Miami mayor Francis Suarez is a big fan of bitcoin (BTC) and he has spoken about his fascination with cryptocurrency on various occasions. In mid-October, Suarez told the press that he was building Miami into America’s crypto capital and the mayor stressed that cryptocurrency is a “major priority” for him. Suarez also told Chinese miners to relocate to Miami and leverage Florida’s abundant nuclear energy after China banned bitcoin mining. Last month, Suarez revealed he was utilizing the third-party payment processor Strike to get a portion of his paycheck converted into bitcoin. Additionally, a growing number of mayors in cities across the U.S. have explained they too have an interest in getting paid in bitcoin. Now Miami mayor Francis Suarez is taking it a step further and converting some of his retirement money into bitcoin as well. Speaking with the Real Vision managing editor Samuel Burke in Las Vegas, Suarez remarked that it was a “personal choice.” “I just think it is a good asset to be invested in. I think it’s one that’s obviously going to appreciate over time. It’s one that I believe in,” Suarez said. Burke asked the Miami mayor if he would invest his 401k in bitcoin next year and Suarez replied, “Oh yeah! Definitely.” The Miami mayor further added: Blockchain has succeeded so well because people have confidence in it. They have confidence in it because they see that it’s an open-source and an un-manipulatable system. And I think that is the source of the popularity and why it’s done so well. Suarez Discusses Obtaining a Crypto Yield From Miamicoin, Paying Municipal Fees in Bitcoin Suarez explained last month that Miami residents may soon get access to a “bitcoin yield” that stems from the city’s own crypto-asset called “Miamicoin (MIA).” New York City also has its own coin called “NYC” and both NYC and MIA can be mined. The Miami mayor also told Real Vision’s managing editor that Miami residents will soon be able to pay municipal fees in BTC. “We just had an industry day for bitcoin exchanges, and we’re in the process of putting out an RFP (request for proposal) on that,” Suarez remarked during his interview. The Miami mayor told Burke that because he has income stemming from the private sector it gives him the right to invest his 401k in crypto. “I do have private-sector income,” Suarez concluded. “So, in fairness, my mayoral salary is not 100% of my income. So it’s a part of my income I can do this type of investment with.” What do you think about Miami mayor Francis Suarez getting part of his 401k in bitcoin? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has outlined some recommendations of how cryptocurrency should be regulated, noting that there is an urgent need for cross-border collaboration and cooperation on cryptocurrency regulation. IMF Provides Recommendations on Crypto Regulation The International Monetary Fund published a blog post on cryptocurrency regulation Thursday. The post titled “Global Crypto Regulation Should be Comprehensive, Consistent, and Coordinated” is authored by Tobias Adrian, Dong He, and Aditya Narain from the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department. Noting that “Crypto assets and associated products and services have grown rapidly in recent years” and their “interlinkages with the regulated financial system are rising,” the authors acknowledged: Crypto assets are potentially changing the international monetary and financial system in profound ways. “Policymakers struggle to monitor risks from this evolving sector, in which many activities are unregulated,” they explained, adding: “In fact, we think these financial stability risks could soon become systemic in some countries.” IMF Suggests How Crypto Should Be Regulated The IMF post then discusses how cryptocurrency should be regulated. “The global regulatory framework should provide a level playing field along the activity and risk spectrum,” the authors asserted and proceeded to list three elements that should be included. Firstly, crypto service providers — including those offering storage, transfer, settlement, and custody of reserves and assets — “should be licensed or authorized,” the authors wrote. “Licensing and authorization criteria should be clearly articulated, the responsible authorities clearly designated, and coordination mechanisms among them well defined.” Secondly, “Requirements should be tailored to the main use cases of crypto assets and stablecoins,” they added, noting that regulators “need to coordinate to address the various risks arising from different and changing uses,” including central banks and securities watchdogs. Lastly, the IMF post notes that “Authorities should provide clear requirements on regulated financial institutions concerning their exposure to and engagement with crypto.” The authors further warned that “In emerging markets and developing economies, the advent of crypto can accelerate what we have called ‘cryptoization‘—when these assets replace domestic currency, and circumvent exchange restrictions and capital account management measures.” They concluded: There is an urgent need for cross-border collaboration and cooperation to address the technological, legal, regulatory, and supervisory challenges. What do you think about the IMF’s suggestion for crypto regulation? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about cryptocurrency at a recent Summit for Democracy hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. He called for global collaboration on cryptocurrencies “so that they are used to empower democracy, not to undermine it.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi Talks About Crypto at President Joe Biden’s Summit for Democracy President Joe Biden hosted a two-day virtual “Summit for Democracy” on Dec. 9-10. The conference “brought together leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector in our shared effort to set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle the greatest threats faced by democracies today through collective action,” the U.S. Department of State described. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the summit Friday that emerging technologies, such as cryptocurrencies, should be used to empower democracy. He stressed: We must … jointly shape global norms for emerging technologies like social media and cryptocurrencies so that they are used to empower democracy, not to undermine it. The Indian government is currently working on cryptocurrency legislation. A crypto bill has been listed for consideration in Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. Reports suggest that the government is planning to regulate crypto assets but ban the use of cryptocurrency for payments. A deadline will also be set for investors to declare their crypto holdings. Prime Minister Modi will reportedly take a final decision on how cryptocurrency will be regulated in India. A high-level meeting was held Thursday to consider all options including “a complete ban on private cryptocurrencies, a partial ban, allowing all categories of crypto products with regulation, or just a select few with regulation.” Do you agree with Indian Prime Minister Modi about cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The consumer price index (CPI) data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show prices in the United States climbed 6.8% in November compared to 12 months ago. It’s the largest rise in close to forty years, and U.S. policymakers are backing away fast from saying inflation is transitory. Inflation Accelerates in the United States Inflation continues to rear its ugly head in America as the cost of goods and services continues to rise with 2021 nearing the year’s end. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the United States Department of Labor, published the agency’s consumer price index (CPI) report for November and statistics look awful. Basically, the CPI is a measurement of a basket of goods urban households consume regularly. The metric rose the highest its ever been in close to forty years, jumping 6.8% over the same period in 2020. Of course, economists and analysts all over the world had something to say about America’s rising inflation. The journalist and “market maniac” Holger Zschäpitz discussed the latest CPI report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: “Ouch! U.S. inflation jumps to 6.8% in [November], meeting economists’ expectations,” Zschäpitz said. “The reading shows the fastest pace of price growth since 1982, when Ronald Reagan was president. Inflation has accelerated through the fall as the supply crisis and strong spending fueled price hikes.” U.S. households paid 0.8% more for consumer goods and services since October as well, according to the latest CPI report. Sven Henrich, the founder of northmantrader.com, sarcastically told his 323,800 Twitter followers “as long as you don’t need cars, housing, food or energy inflation is only 6.8%.” In a recent blog post published by Henrich, the market analyst criticized Fed chair Jerome Powell for sticking to the transitory inflation narrative for so long. “What a colossal embarrassing blunder,” Henrich said. “Once again a Fed Chair being in total denial about reality. Like Ben Bernanke in 2007 declaring subprime contained and not a threat to the economy, persistent inflation is suddenly a risk to the economy when it supposedly wasn’t all year long while the data clearly kept saying that it was.” The analyst further added: The Fed not only got inflation wrong but by extension they got policy completely wrong and I find myself very much validated here: They’ve totally overdone it on the liquidity front as they kept printing like madmen into an inflationary environment that they denied existed. Grant Thornton Economist: ‘This Is Inflation That’s Not Likely to Be Insignificant Anytime Soon’ Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton, recently spoke with Washington Post reporter Rachel Siegel and said inflation can subside, but this particular instance could be problematic. “Yes, inflation can abate, but what [policymakers] care about is: Is it significant or insignificant to peoples’ lives and decision-making?” Swonk stressed. “This is inflation that’s not likely to be insignificant anytime soon, and that’s a problem.” A longtime critic of the Federal Reserve, Peter Schiff believes the central bank’s schemes will just add more fuel to the fire. “Maybe the reason investors think the Fed can cure the worst inflation in U.S. history by lifting interest rates slightly above zero [is] because they know even a tiny rate hike will crash the economy, which they assume will kill off inflation. But in reality, it will extend its life,” Schiff said on Friday. What do you think about U.S. inflation rising at a pace not seen since 1982? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Cleanspark, a sustainability-focused bitcoin mining company, has announced it will kick-start a 20 MW initiative in its Norcross bitcoin mining facility where miners will be cooled via immersion. The company will host more than 5,900 miners in this facility, which will be submerged into tanks of a biodegradable liquid. Cleanspark states this will help them save energy and increase the hashrate obtained from the miners. Cleanspark to Use Immersion Cooling for New Facility Cleanspark, a sustainability-focused bitcoin mining company, announced it will start shifting to the use of alternative, more efficient methods of cooling its miners. The company revealed the establishment of a 20 MW immersion cooling initiative in its already established Norcross bitcoin mining facility, being one of the first mining companies to implement such technology on a large scale. The company will organize almost 6,000 miners that will be submerged in 180 tanks of liquid distributed across the whole mining facility. Cleanspark will not have to retrofit anything to install the tanks required for this, an advantage that immersion cooling presents. Each tank will hold 33 Antminer S19j Pro miners. This move will allow the company to get better performance from the miners and at the same time save energy, reducing power consumption by 20%, according to a PR statement. Immersion Cooling Picking Up Steam While liquid cooling is not new in the mining industry, with some small miners managing to build their own immersion mining systems, it is just recently starting to make sense to implement this solution in mining operations working on a bigger scale. This has to do with the benefits these companies can now obtain by implementing this new technology in already existent data centers. Cleanspark CEO Zach Bradford stated: We are constantly seeking ways to make our operations more sustainable and productive while achieving maximum performance. Deploying an environment-friendly cooling technology that also increases the economics of our bitcoin mining operations was an obvious choice for us. The company acquired the Norfolk data center in August, hoping for this initiative to be built before the end of the year. This is not the only project that big mining companies have announced using immersion cooling recently, either. Riot Blockchain, a Nasdaq-listed mining company, recently announced that it would cool half of the capacity of its new facility in Texas with immersion cooling, with 46K miners involved in that operation. What do you think about Cleanspark’s move to leverage immersion cooling? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

In early 2022, South Africa will have a new regulatory framework that covers cryptocurrencies, a commissioner with a regulatory body has said. Highly Risky Products South Africa’s financial sector regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is set to unveil a new regulatory framework that covers cryptocurrency in early 2022. According to Unathi Kamlana, a commissioner with FSCA, the new framework will determine how the trading of crypto coins like bitcoin (BTC) should be conducted. In his remarks during an interview, Kamlana suggested his organization was not keen on legitimizing highly risky products. The commissioner said: What we want to be able to do is to intervene when we think that what is provided to potential customers are products that they don’t understand that are potentially highly risky. We must be very careful to not just legitimize them. The FSCA, which is reportedly drafting the crypto trading rules in conjunction with other regulatory bodies, will also examine how the currencies interact with traditional financial products and if these pose a threat to financial stability. Cryptos Do Not Pose a Systemic Risk Still, in his remarks, Kamlana asserts that cryptocurrencies do not pose a systemic risk to the stability of the financial services sector just yet. The commissioner however said the FSCA sees cryptos as assets and not currency. Meanwhile, in keeping with the stance adopted by several countries, Kamlana urged South Africans to shun privately issued/created digital currencies which are not as stable and reliable as stablecoins issued by central banks. “I think that if I were to give advice to retail investors, I would say wait to see what comes out of the process of the work of the central bank. The best outcome in terms of stable coins is what comes out of central bank innovation, given their reliability and stability,” said Kamlana. What are your thoughts about this story concerning South Africa’s regulatory framework for digital assets? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

On December 10, the blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis revealed that the company has added support for Bitcoin’s second-layer protocol the Lightning Network (LN). According to Chainalysis, firms like exchanges and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) can leverage the company’s Know-Your-Transaction (KYT) real-time transaction monitoring software in order to access compliant bitcoin deposits and withdrawals from a LN node. Compliant Lightning Transactions The blockchain surveillance and intelligence company, Chainalysis, announced on Friday that the company has added Lightning Network (LN) support to its list of blockchain and crypto-asset networks, the company currently monitors. For years, Chainalysis has monitored the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain, and these days the firm is not only monitoring BTC, but also a myriad of crypto networks and decentralized finance (defi) protocols. Essentially, the LN is an offchain routed “layer 2” (L2) payment channel network that helps facilitate bitcoin (BTC) transfers faster and cheaper than onchain transactions. The Chainalysis LN support will provide VASPs with “Chainalysis KYT (Know-Your-Transaction) for real-time transaction monitoring will now be able to compliantly allow deposits and withdrawals of Bitcoin from a Lightning node.” As of December 1, 2021, Chainalysis estimates there is “just under 3,600 BTC worth over $205 million is locked in public Lightning Network channels.” This has increased a great deal since the total value locked in the LN was around 468 BTC on January 1, 2021. Chainalysis also mentions that the LN L2 system is leveraged by countries such as El Salvador and large corporations like Twitter. Pratima Arora, the chief product officer at Chainalysis explains that the firm hopes compliant LN transfers will help the LN mature. “Chainalysis exists to build trust in cryptocurrency in order to promote more financial freedom with less risk,” Arora said in a statement. “The Lightning Network solves many of the challenges that prevent the Bitcoin protocol from being used for micropayments and other transaction types that bolster financial inclusion. By enabling our customers to compliantly support Lightning transactions, we hope to grow the network’s popularity and help it scale.” Lightning Network Support for Chainalysis KYT Customers to Launch in February Chainalysis has expanded its resources a great deal and faces dozens of blockchain intelligence and monitoring competitors. The company raised $100 million at the end of June in its Series E funding round and the previous C and D rounds also saw $100 million capital injections. The company’s post valuation, after the Series E, was $4.2 billion according to the firm’s announcement at the time. Speaking about the LN support, Chainalysis claims that for the first time, “VASPs can now offer support for Lightning transactions aligned with global regulatory best practices.” The product Chainalysis offers called Chainalysis KYT supports “pre-screening for Lightning withdrawals and behavioral alerts.” The blockchain surveillance and intelligence company further says that the LN support will be available for Chainalysis KYT customers in February. What do you think about Chainalysis adding Lightning Network support? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

In recent times the Ethereum network has received a lot of criticism about the protocol’s data transfer fees and scalability. In a blog post called “Endgame,” published on December 6, the co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin discussed plans to improve scaling, the upcoming proof-of-stake transition, and censorship resistance. Buterin Outlines Plausible Ethereum Scaling Roadmap in Endgame Blog Post Vitalik Buterin, the prominent co-founder of the Ethereum project, has outlined his thoughts about a “plausible roadmap” that could address the network’s scaling issues. The blog post dubbed “Endgame,” explains a few concepts like a “second tier of staking with low resource requirements,” and introducing fraud proofs or Zk-Snarks where ETH users can “cheaply” acquire block validity. The roadmap Buterin summarizes aims to improve the blockchain without giving up censorship resistance. “What do we get after all of this is done? Buterin asks in his latest blog post. “We get a chain where block production is still centralized, but block validation is trustless and highly decentralized, and specialized anti-censorship magic prevents the block producers from censoring.” Buterin further adds: It’s somewhat aesthetically ugly, but it does provide the basic guarantees that we are looking for: even if every single one of the primary stakers (the block producers) is intent on attacking or censoring, the worst that they could do is all go offline entirely, at which point the chain stops accepting transactions until the community pools their resources and sets up one primary-staker node that is honest. Buterin Discusses an Ethereum Rollup-Centric Roadmap, Big Block Chains, and Cross-Domain MEVs Buterin’s recent blog post follows the discussions that took place at the end of November when Ethereum developers talked about concepts such as EIP-4488. The plan could reduce data transfer costs five times less, and Ethereum developer Tim Beiko shared his thoughts on EIP-4488 and lowering the costs of rollups. In the Endgame blog post, Buterin also talked about leveraging rollups and this technology’s “possible long-term future.” “Ethereum is very well-positioned to adjust to this future world, despite the inherent uncertainty,” Buterin stresses. “The profound benefit of the Ethereum rollup-centric roadmap is that it means that Ethereum is open to all of the futures, and does not have to commit to an opinion about which one will necessarily win.” Buterin further added: Ethereum researchers should think hard about what levels of decentralization in block production are actually achievable. It may not be worth it to add complicated plumbing to make highly decentralized block production easy if cross-domain MEV (or even cross-shard MEV from one rollup taking up multiple shards) make it unsustainable regardless. In terms of “big block chains” Buterin says “there is a path for them to turn into something trustless and censorship-resistant, and we’ll soon find out if their core developers and communities actually value censorship resistance and decentralization enough for them to do it.” Buterin’s blog post ends by saying that “it will likely take years for all of this to play out.” “Sharding and data availability sampling are complex technologies to implement. It will take years of refinement and audits for people to be fully comfortable storing their assets in a ZK-rollup running a full EVM,” Buterin’s Endgame post concludes. “And cross-domain MEV research too is still in its infancy. But it does look increasingly clear how a realistic but bright future for scalable blockchains is likely to emerge.” What do you think about Vitalik Buterin’s Engame blog post concerning scaling and possible roadmaps? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On the 4th of November, one of Times Square’s Countdown screens lit up with artworks depicting five iconic sports heroes, Alexander Ovechkin and Muhammad Ali among them. The ‘LeGENds’ NFT drop was held by Blockasset: a Solana-based sports platform aimed at providing better engagement models for athletes and their fans by pushing the limits of NFTs and fan tokens. Each NFT was masterfully drawn by a world-famous artist Dosbrak, and dedicated to one of the 5 sports icons: Alexander Ovechkin (hockey), Wayne Rooney (soccer), Muhammad Ali (boxing), Mike Bisping (UFC), and Jonah Lomu (rugby). In under nine minutes, all of the items within the 10,000 generative-art collection were sold out, grossing $5 million in sales. Thus, the drop set a new sales record for Solana, which is not Blockasset’s first: earlier this year, Italian soccer captain Giorgio Chiellini launched his “Gladiator” NFT collection in partnership with the platform, successfully breaking the ecosystem’s record at that time. Exploring New Ways of Engagement Sports are interactive in their nature. However, with numerous restrictions imposed by the COVID-19, the athletes found themselves limited in ways of interacting with their following. Blockasset’s goal is to define what the future of athlete-to-fan relationships will look like, and open new channels for quality interaction in the post-pandemic space. Holders of Blockasset’s NFTs and fan tokens get access to unique features, such as closed fan-club membership, athlete AMAs, in-person meet-and-greets, monthly draws, exclusive videos and merchandise, a chance to impact athlete’s decisions, and much more. $BLOCK, the native token, takes it further by offering even more ways of engaging with the platform and profiting from it – from direct profits from staking, farming, and getting marketplace discounts, to accessing monthly NFT drops and exclusive events, NFT listing boosting, and governance. Launchpad and community are only two components of Blockasset’s ecosystem, with more to come. In the short term, Blockasset looks to launch an internal NFT marketplace, where users will be able to trade sports-only items, set up diversified collections, and interact with each other. In Q2 2022, the platform will introduce its first play-to-earn title, also powered by the $BLOCK token. With versatile missions and challenges, it’s expected to make more users flock to the platform, attracted by the vibrancy of the community and the competitive nature of e-sports. Bringing Branded NFT Collections to the Market The world of sports clubs and brands is highly competitive. Another enticing feature of Blockasset platform is allowing any player from the sector – be it a company or an individual – to set up their own fully branded NFT collections. Embedded inside the wider narrative of the Blockasset platform, those will be right at home here, similar to how DeFi, P2E, and L2 solutions have been winning from the composable nature of the blockchain system. Through this opportunity, more industry participants will be able to leverage NFTs as a novel stream of income in changing economic conditions, as well as a way to engage their community and attract new followers. With a high-quality audience of engaged sports fans all over the world, Blockasset will come strong with its unique proposition. Sports has always been about honest efforts and fair fights. In this vein, it’s bolstering to see how decentralization gives the power back to those who actually are in the field – in rain and snow, on mornings and evenings. With its large, engaged community, thought-through tokenomics, as well as low fees, high-speed transaction processing, and a right smack of decentralization provided by Solana’s blockchain solution, Blockasset gets the upper hand as a sturdy first-mover. To learn more about Blockasset, visit the website & the social media channels. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Gitcoin, an organization that helps fund open source projects around the Ethereum blockchain, has deactivated a grant due to it being directed to individuals from a sanctioned country. The grant, called “Free Smart Contract Development Course for Farsi Speaking Communities,” was directed and organized by an organization called Women in Blockchain Farsi. The move created a huge backlash on social media against this decision. Gitcoin Defunds Farsi Speaking Community Grant Gitcoin, an organization that promotes open-source software and other innovations around the Ethereum blockchain through the use of grants, has deactivated a grant due to legal issues concerning U.S. sanctions for other countries. The grant, titled “Free Smart Contract Development Course for Farsi Speaking Communities,” was directed to make the instruction of Farsi speakers on Solidity (Ethereum’s smart contracts language) much easier. The course, that was organized and directed by an organization called Women in Blockchain Farsi is now without funds to continue its work. Prior to this, Consensys, another Ethereum software company, had also banned 50 Iranian students from attending coding classes due to them being located in U.S.-sanctioned countries last month. Women In Blockchain Farsi criticized this take, stating: The grant is for Farsi speakers, the assumption that whoever that speaks Farsi then they must be living in Iran and they must be sanctioned is absurd. Gitcoin’s Take on the Issue Gitcoin argues that they were obligated to react this way and had to act because of law and jurisdiction. It seems that the organization was not aware of the grant reach and deactivated it as soon as it could. On this, Gitcoin stated: This grant was brought to our attention by a reporter who is running a broader story about Ethereum and sanctioned nations. We are a US-based organization that complies with OFAC and US law. US sanctions laws apply to all US persons, wherever located. The organization further explains that keeping this grant as it was could have jeopardized the whole operation, exposing them to legal actions from government institutions. Gitcoin also stated that they are focusing on a more decentralized grants program with their DAO at the front, that will allow them to offer dGrants that will be able to sidestep these legal hurdles. However, this has not been well received by users on social media, who have criticized Gitcoin’s move to stop funding the grant directed to Farsi-speaking communities. What do you think about the deactivation of the Gitcoin grant for this program? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

On December 15, the non-fungible token (NFT) market platform Makersplace will drop an assortment of NFTs based on Tupac Shakur’s most well-known jewelry pieces. Makersplace and the NFT artists and curators Impossible Brief and Digital Arts & Sciences worked closely with Shakur’s estate in order to drop the NFT collectibles called “The Immortal Collection.” Tupac’s ‘The Immortal Collection’ to Drop on December 15 Fans of the rap legend Tupac Shakur (also known by his stage names 2pac and Makaveli) will soon be able to bid on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) officially backed by the Shakur estate. The NFTs will feature rare jewelry inspired by some of the pieces the influential rap star wore before his death on September 7, 1996. The NFTs for the drop hosted on Makersplace were designed by the NFT artist Impossible Brief, and curated by Digital Arts & Sciences in conjunction with the Shakur estate. “[‘The Immortal Collection‘ is] set for release on December 15, this drop will feature an NFT jewelry collection based on some of Tupac’s most well-known pieces from his 2pac and diamond solitaire rings, to his Makaveli bracelet and the medallion he wore in the last photo ever taken of him,” the announcement details. The NFTs are based on some of the Tupac artifacts and personal items that will be featured in the upcoming Tupac museum experience. The museum show will be called “Tupac Shakur: Wake Me When I’m Free,” which will premiere in January 2022. The NFT artist Impossible Brief and curators Digital Arts & Sciences were able to select pieces from the rap legend’s archives with approval from the Shakur estate. The announcement details it will be “the world’s first NFT [collection] authorized by the Shakur estate.” 2pac NFT Jewelry Collection Dubbed: ‘Artist, Activist, Sinner, Saint’ The collection will feature four pieces of Tupac’s jewelry and will be called “Artist, Activist, Sinner, Saint.” The NFTs have “some of the deepest meanings and intentions attached to them,” the announcement details. Tupac Shakur is widely considered the most influential rap artist of all time and he sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Approximately five full albums were released since Shakur’s death, and every album was certified Platinum. “The four-piece Immortal Collection is based on and connected to what Tupac saw in himself, in the stories he felt were worthy of telling, and what connects everyone to each other,” the collection description concludes. In 2020, the Shakur estate was estimated to be worth around $40 million. His mother, Afeni Shakur, managed his estate until she passed away in 2016. According to reports, trustees of Tupac’s estate are now managing the rapper’s inheritance. Despite being worth $40 million, it has also been reported that Tupac owed his record label three albums in exchange for bail funds to get out of prison. What do you think about the first NFT collection officially approved by the Shakur estate? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

A high-level meeting is reportedly being held on cryptocurrency regulation in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take a final decision on how India will regulate the crypto sector. All options are being discussed including full and partial regulation as well as a complete ban and a partial ban. Indian Crypto Regulation to Be Decided by Prime Minister Modi Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take a final decision on the country’s cryptocurrency regulation, the Economic Times reported Friday, citing two people familiar with the development. A high-level meeting was held Thursday to consider all options of how India should regulate the crypto sector, the publication noted, adding: The options include a complete ban on private cryptocurrencies, a partial ban, allowing all categories of crypto products with regulation, or just a select few with regulation. Issues discussed in the meeting included stakeholder views and concerns raised by the country’s central bank. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said on several occasions that it has “serious” and “major” concerns regarding cryptocurrency. The Indian government has listed a bill titled “Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021” to be taken up in the current session of Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. Last week, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman answered some questions regarding the cryptocurrency bill and the government’s plan for the crypto sector. She confirmed that the bill had been reworked from the original version that seeks to categorically ban cryptocurrencies. Reports then surfaced that the Indian government is planning to regulate crypto assets, like bitcoin, with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as the main regulator. However, other reports indicate that the government seeks to ban the use of crypto for payments and will set a deadline for investors to declare their crypto holdings. The bill will also set universal know-your-customer (KYC) rules for crypto exchanges. The publication added that the finance minister has finalized the draft note on the proposed cryptocurrency bill. However, the government felt that some sections of the bill need more detailed discussions, particularly “the principles underlying the bill” and the broad details of how cryptocurrencies should be treated in India, the news outlet conveyed. One person noted that “discussions are likely to focus on various options and pros and cons of adopting them,” elaborating: PM will now take a final call on these. In November, Prime Minister Modi chaired a high-level meeting on crypto regulation with participation from the finance ministry and the RBI. He also urged all democratic countries to collaborate to ensure that cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin, do not fall into the wrong hands. On Friday, the prime minister said at a virtual summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden that emerging technologies, including cryptocurrencies. should be used to empower democracy, not undermine it. What do you think Prime Minister Narendra Modi will decide about India’s crypto regulation? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Kickstarter, one of the leading crowdfunding platforms on the market, has decided to abandon its current business model and migrate to a blockchain-based platform. This will be built by an independent organization funded initially by Kickstarter to work on the protocol. The new platform will be built on top of the Celo blockchain. Kick-Starting a Blockchain Replacement Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform for products, services, and ideas, announced yesterday it will shift its operations to a blockchain-based platform. The platform made the announcement in a blog post titled “The Future of Crowdfunding Creative Projects,” where it mentioned decentralization as one of the key reasons for the pivot. According to Kickstarter: [The platform will] be available for collaborators, independent contributors, and even Kickstarter competitors, from all over the world to build upon, connect to, or use. The newly designed platform will also be open-source, so other similar projects will be able to fork it and use it for different goals, bringing this solution to the whole developer community; this means the community will have tools to create crowdfunding sites with no intermediation. The company further explained that a whitepaper for the new organization will be released in the coming weeks. Other big companies recently are also including blockchain elements in their developments. New Platform and Governance The Kickstarter team believes their crowdfunding expertise will allow them to produce a blockchain-based protocol to better suit their needs. The new protocol will be created by an independent organization financed initially by Kickstarter. Kickstarter will also create a Governance Lab, that will be in charge of supervising the methods of governance for the protocol. This lab will undertake research and issue communications about the best ways to govern the new protocol using blockchain tools, including DAOs. The crowdfunding protocol will be deployed on top of Celo, a smart contracts-enabled, “carbon-negative” blockchain (due to its proof-of-stake consensus algorithm). Kickstarter elaborated that Celo will minimize the environmental impact of the protocol. Celo’s price also benefited from the revelation, rising to $4.48 after the announcement. The price has since dipped to $3.93 moving alongside bitcoin, ethereum, and most cryptocurrencies, which are currently posting losses. However, some users have been very vocal on social media about their dislike for this decision, stating they are not aware of the benefits such a change could bring to the platform, and criticizing the possible environmental effects. What do you think about Kickstarter pivoting to blockchain? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The Bitcoin.com Team is excited to announce support for shared (multisig) wallets for Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash in the Bitcoin.com Wallet. That means you can protect your most valuable wallets with a unique form of two-factor authentication, set up a corporate treasury, safely introduce your kids to Bitcoin, and more. What Are Shared Wallets? Standard crypto wallets use one private key to access and send transactions while shared wallets require two or more private keys to access the funds connected with the wallet. Private keys in shared wallets are often given to different people, called participants. For example, if you have three private keys, you might keep one yourself and give the others to family members. Why Use Shared Wallets The first key reason to use a shared wallet is that it is a solution to the problem of having a single point of failure, which can result in losing access to your funds. For example, imagine there is a fire in the apartment building you live in. Your computer and the paper backup keys for your assets (BTC/BCH) are destroyed. Without the keys, you have no way to access your funds. But if your wallet is shared with others (who don’t live in your building!), or even with yourself assuming you’ve saved your secondary recovery phrase in a different location, you’ll still have access to your money. Share Wallet Use Cases By introducing multiple decision makers, shared wallets unlock a range of unique applications. For example, you can introduce savings for your child by providing her with some funds in a crypto wallet. If it’s a shared wallet, you’ll have the chance to review any transactions initiated before approving or declining. Another common use case is treasury management. Here, business partners or even a board of directors can be shared wallet participants, ensuring transparency in the use of funds while bypassing the legacy banking system. Here’s a list of more ways shared crypto wallets can be used. How To Set Up A Shared Wallet If you haven’t already, download and install the Bitcoin.com Wallet app. From the app’s home screen, tap +ADD/IMPORT. Select Add new shared wallet, and follow the instructions. For more details on how to set up and use a shared wallet, please refer to this guide for Bitcoin and this guide for Bitcoin Cash. View the full article

The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation has insisted that the term “cryptocurrency” should be added to the country’s legislation. The move would allow authorities in Moscow to confiscate digital assets that have been involved in criminal activities. Russian Prosecutor General’s Office Prepares Amendments Allowing Seizure of Cryptocurrency With cryptocurrencies being only partially regulated through the law “On Digital Financial Assets,” work is underway in Russia to adopt legislation introducing comprehensive rules for the turnover of bitcoin and the like. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has joined these efforts as it wants the term “cryptocurrency” added to the legal texts. “We have developed amendments to a number of regulatory legal acts so that cryptocurrencies in illegal circulation are not only recognized as а subject of a crime, but there’s also a legal possibility of their arrest and confiscation,” Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Igor Krasnov said in an interview with RIA Novosti news agency. Russian lawmakers are mulling over other legislative changes to establish a proper legal framework for cryptocurrencies. A number of activities related to digital coins remain outside the scope of the current law, including taxation, mining, and payments, for example. Calls have been mounting among officials in Moscow to recognize cryptocurrency mining as an entrepreneurial activity and tax it accordingly. At the same time, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) remains opposed to the legalization of digital currencies as a means of payment. The regulator claims these represent “money surrogates” that are banned in Russia. The monetary authority is currently developing a digital version of the national fiat, insisting that’s exactly what the Russians need. The digital ruble will provide а low cost and reliable payment solution that also protects personal data, the head of the CBR, Elvira Nabiullina, promised in November. Bank of Russia is planning to commence trials for the CBDC in January 2022. Last month, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office also proposed recognizing cryptocurrency and other virtual assets as property in the country’s Criminal Code. Igor Krasnov explained in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, that the legal definition will be used in court proceedings. Krasnov also revealed that his department has already drafted a bill that would regulate the matter and expressed hope that lawmakers would support it. Digital currencies such as bitcoin have been recognized as property under several other Russian acts like the laws on bankruptcy and enforcement proceedings, the anti-money laundering legislation, and the country’s anti-corruption law. Do you expect Russia to add the term “cryptocurrency” to its legislation? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Novi, the remittance and payments initiative of Meta (formerly Facebook), has launched a Whatsapp pilot test for customers in the U.S. This means that a small number of Whatsapp users will be able to send and receive payments, as well as purchase digital dollars directly from the interface of the messaging service. This is an extension of the pilot program started six weeks ago focusing on remittances. Novi Extends Pilot Program With Whatsapp Integration Novi, the wallet service of Meta, has launched an extension of its pilot program that started six weeks ago. This new phase includes integration with one of the most used messaging services in the world, Whatsapp. Now, selected users in the U.S. will have the opportunity to buy, send, and receive digital dollars with other users also enrolled in the test. The announcement was made by Stephane Kasriel, the new head of Novi, who detailed this new phase of the pilot program on Twitter. Regarding the choice of Whatsapp, Kasriel explained: We often hear that people use WhatsApp to coordinate sending money to loved ones, and Novi enables people to do that securely, instantly and with no fees. Payments will appear directly in people’s chat. This seems a natural evolution for the future of payments envisioned by Novi, which aims to include a wallet in each smartphone that has Whatsapp. Prior to this announcement, Novi had started another pilot focused on allowing users to send remittances from the U.S. to Guatemala. At that time, Facebook announced its system would be using USDP (paxos dollars) as currency for the system due to the regulatory problems the company had faced in launching its own currency. According to the interface shown on the official Novi Whatsapp page, this new phase of the test will also leverage USDP for payments. Kasriel also hinted at a possible extended rollout of the pilot feature to other countries, once the company evaluates the behavior of the software and the response from users. A Most Welcome Parting Gift David Marcus, who was the lead for Novi and has managed the project since 2018, referred to this new development as a “farewell gift.” The executive stated on Twitter: Another small step in the right direction. Today, we’re starting the rollout of the @novi wallet in @WhatsApp in the US. On a personal level, this is the best farewell gift from the best team ever! Marcus announced his exit from the project last month noting he’d be pursuing new projects. This release could be a breath of fresh air for the project, which has been attacked by regulators since the first time it was announced. What do you think about Novi and its Whatsapp rollout? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The well known playing card manufacturer Bicycle has announced the launch of the company’s first non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The NFT card collectibles called the “Genesis Collection” were designed by the artist Adrian Valenzuela and the first drop of NFTs were officially revealed via the NFT marketplace Kolectiv on Thursday. Bicycle Playing Card Manufacturer Aims to Bridge the Gap Between Tradition and Innovation When it comes to playing cards, the name Bicycle has been a popular brand since the company’s inception in 1885. The card’s official name Bicycle was chosen because the bicycle was an extremely popular invention at the end of the 19th century. Now close to 136 years later, Bicycle is entering the world of blockchain technology with its first non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The artwork designed by Adrian Valenzuela represents iconic Bicycle playing cards but they transformed into cards from 1,000 years into the future. “At Bicycle, we’re a heritage brand that has been at the forefront of playing cards for over 135 years and this NFT launch marks a special moment in our history where we’re bridging the gap between tradition and innovation,” Stefaan Merckx, the CEO of Bicycle said in a statement. “Looking ahead, we’ll continue to reach new consumers and generations, while also staying true to our history.” According to the firm, the new collection will start the collector on a “journey alongside Bicycle, from continued support to perks including access to exclusive events, presales, and whitelists of future Bicycle NFTs.” Essentially, the cards will serve as VIP membership, Bicycle details, to an “elite club of Bicycle collectors.” However, Bicycle does disclose that the primary sale benefit will not be “extended for NFT buyers on [the] secondary market.” The auction started on Thursday via the NFT marketplace Kolectiv. Bicycle Joins a Slew of Well Known Brands Jumping on the NFT Bandwagon Bicycle cards, ten through the Ace, and the Jokers, will be dropped in groups every couple of days. Jokers will be issued in a surprise fashion and Bicycle intends to drop 8,008 NFT items for sale on December 16th as well. These specific cards will feature “an animated card tuck case and unique mint numbers from 1 through 8,008,” Bicycle explains. Besides crypto payments, the Bicycle card NFTs can be purchased with USD via a Shopify plug-in. “The NFT launch demonstrates how Bicycle is leading the way for others as we continue to innovate and, in addition to introducing new tools that make our cards more digital and accessible, segue into a new era targeting younger generations,” said Ann Viaene, Bicycle’s CMO. “We’re focused on unlocking magical moments that foster connection and delighting our fans with new releases.” Bicycle follows a slew of well known companies getting into NFTs like Pepsi-Cola, Budweiser, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Rolling Stone, TIME, Arizona Iced Tea, Ubisoft, AMC, Sony, Fox Entertainment, WWE, Studio 54, Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, and more. Since the start of 2021 and leading up to the end of the year, NFTs have become a multi-billion dollar industry. What do you think about Bicycle’s NFT collection? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The Ross Ulbricht Genesis non-fungible token (NFT) collection auction has come to an end and the auction winner was the “Free Ross DAO,” backed by the Pleasrdao project. The NFT collection raised 1,446 ether or $6.27 million at the time of settlement. Free Ross Decentralized Autonomous Organization Wins Ross Ulbricht’s NFT Auction, DAO Plans to Fractionalize NFT Collection Four days ago, Bitcoin.com News reported on the Ross Ulbricht Genesis NFT collection amassing millions of dollars worth of ethereum (ETH) bids on the Superrare NFT marketplace. At the time, there were some very high bids from an individual called “@toxicbitcoinmaxi.” However, the report also explained that the Pleasrdao project also got involved in the bidding war for the collection and formed a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called the “Free Ross DAO.” The Free Ross DAO raised 1,446 ETH or $6.27 million at the time of exchange. According to the DAO, the NFT collection will be “fractionalized between the 500 Free Ross DAO contributors.” The NFT collection was an assortment of writings and ten artworks produced by Ross Ulbricht and it includes an animation developed by the NFT artist Levitate. Ulbricht also did the voice-over for the animated work. The NFT collection was curated by Entoptic and proceeds will be handed by the Art4giving fund, and efforts to free Ulbricht. “From the beginning with this NFT, I’ve wanted to help kids travel to see their moms and dads in prison,” Ulbricht said. “But with such high bids, we can now have a real impact on many other important causes as well.” Information concerning Ross Ulbricht’s case can be found at freeross.org and Ulbricht’s clemency petition hosted on change.org is getting awfully close to reaching 500,000 signatures. The petition is 42,014 signatures away from reaching the half-million signature milestone. What do you think about Ross Ulbricht’s NFT collection fetching more than $6 million in ethereum at the end of the auction? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Metaverse is the trending concept in the blockchain industry due to its massive potential in different sectors. Blockchain gaming is one sector that has embraced the metaverse, and GensoKishi Online “Meta World” is at the forefront of this development. GensoKishi Online “Meta World” is a new metaverse and GameFi version of the popular GensoKishi game that more than 8 million people have played. It won the “Game of the Year” Gold Award in Taiwan in 2012 and is one of the most popular games in the Asian region. GensoKishi Online “Meta World” Built on Polygon GensoKishi Online “Meta World” is built on Polygon (MATIC), a blockchain platform that provides fast transactions and scalability on Ethereum. Polygon enables an ideal architecture for GensoKishi to develop a gaming metaverse with innovative features. Players are introduced to the virtual world of GensoKishi and take up characters to compete in different activities within the game. Players can also explore the open-world metaverse and spend time with friends, and partner with them to complete tasks for rewards. GensoKishi introduces NFTs into its gameplay, and players can convert their real estate and in-game assets into NFTs. Each NFT grants ownership of these assets to holders and can be exchanged for the native token MV Coin and swapped for fiat on supported exchanges. The gaming metaverse has already released special NFTs that gamers can purchase to have exclusive access to its ecosystem. It has also deployed the popular Play-to-Earn Model, where players are rewarded for playing their favourite games. GensoKishi Online has developed its utility token Metaverse (MV) to provide players with access to its gaming metaverse. MV coin is an ERC-20 token that serves as a utility and governance for its ecosystem. Holders receive discounted prices for in-game items and can access exclusive games and events within the gaming metaverse. In addition, GensoKishi plans to add staking and DeFi features where MV coin holders can stake their assets for interests and access exclusive NFTs auctions. Massive Excitement Ahead of the Metaverse Launch GensoKishi Online has attracted the attention of many ahead of the metaverse launch due to the massive potentials it has. The gaming metaverse has already collaborated with Polygon to provide the blockchain infrastructure. In addition, several top stakeholders in the tech space have joined the project as advisors, including Masaki Kato, former president of NHN PlayArt Corporation and Tokuhiko Uwabo　 Former popular game Phantasy Star’s Creator of SEGA Co., Ltd. GensoKishi Online “Meta World” has many activities lined up starting from its Initial DEX Offering (IDO) on December 23, 2021. The IDO will present an opportunity for the public to buy MV coin at the best available price. GensoKishi Online will be listing the token on different platforms following the IDO, including Uniswap, Quickswap, Curve Finance, TrustPad and ChainBoost in Q1, 2022. To celebrate the announcement of GensoKishi Online -METAWORLD- and the opening of the social communities, a campaign will be held to distribute “Limited Equipment NFT” to all users who join the social communities by December 27, 2021, to help them advance their adventures. In addition, GensoKishi Online is running a campaign where you can participate in a drawing to join the whitelist.The entry period is from December 7, 13:00 (GMT+8) to December 19, 23:59 (GMT+8).The winner will be given the chance to invest in $100 worth of $MV at the price of the private sale.The total amount of Whitelist’s drawing is $10,000, and you only have 12 days for entry, so don’t forget and take your chances! To learn more about GensoKishi Online “Meta World” and campaign, visit the links below. Official Website Twitter Discord Telegram This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

In less than two weeks after its previous bitcoin purchase, Microstrategy bought more bitcoins. The company has added 1,434 coins to its treasury, bringing the total holdings to 122,478 coins. At the time of writing, the company’s total bitcoin stash is worth about $6 billion. Microstrategy Purchases 1,434 More Bitcoins The Nasdaq-listed company Microstrategy has purchased more bitcoin. CEO Michael Saylor announced Thursday: Microstrategy has purchased an additional 1,434 bitcoins for ~$82.4 million in cash at an average price of ~$57,477 per bitcoin. As of 12/9/21 we hodl ~122,478 bitcoins acquired for ~$3.66 billion at an average price of ~$29,861 per bitcoin. Before this latest purchase, Microstrategy bought 7,002 bitcoins at the end of November. At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is $48,736.87 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. This means Microstrategy’s bitcoins are now worth almost $6 billion. Saylor believes that bitcoin will become a $100 trillion asset class, noting that the cryptocurrency is winning against gold. “Digital gold is going to replace gold this decade,” he said. The Microstrategy CEO discussed the rising adoption of bitcoin globally on Yahoo Finance Live Thursday. Commenting on gold as an investment, he said that gold is threatened by bitcoin. “The best thing you could do is sell all $10 trillion of gold and buy bitcoin,” Saylor suggested, adding: “Gold is a dead rock. It’s the worst-performing asset, bar none, no debate. There is no hope for it.” He tweeted: Once upon a time, gold was the most desirable store of value. Now bitcoin is taking its place. What do you think about Microstrategy buying more bitcoin and Saylor’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Crypto payment firm Bitpay has added support for the meme cryptocurrency shiba inu. Following Bitpay’s announcement, retail giant Newegg announced that it too has begun accepting SHIB for payments. AMC Theatres is also expected to begin accepting SHIB soon. Meanwhile, a petition for the popular trading platform Robinhood to list shiba inu crypto has garnered more than 545K signatures. Bitpay Now Supports Shiba Inu (SHIB) Crypto payment service provider Bitpay announced Thursday that it now supports the meme cryptocurrency shiba inu (SHIB). “Attention Shibarmy,” the company wrote, confirming that shiba inu coins are now available at Bitpay. “Now you can buy, store, swap, and spend with this Ethereum ERC-20 token directly in the Bitpay app,” the platform detailed. “Consumers can now pay and merchants can immediately accept shiba inu (SHIB) for payments,” the official Twitter account for Bitpay tweeted. With the addition of shiba inu, Bitpay now supports 13 cryptocurrencies, including XRP. However, its website details that the cryptos that can be used to pay a Bitpay invoice are “bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ethereum (ETH), wrapped bitcoin (WBTC), dogecoin (DOGE), litecoin (LTC), shiba inu coin (SHIB), and 5 USD-pegged stablecoins (GUSD, USDC, USDP, DAI, and BUSD).” Bitpay stressed, “We only accept ERC-20 coins on the ETH network.” Newegg Announces SHIB Now Accepted for Payments, AMC Theatres to Follow Two major retailers have been preparing to accept shiba inu through Bitpay: Newegg and AMC Theatres. “Newegg and AMC Theaters have announced that they will be accepting shiba inu as a form of payment using Bitpay in the upcoming months,” Bitpay’s Thursday announcement notes. However, the retail giant Newegg is not waiting. Soon after Bitpay’s SHIB announcement, Newegg tweeted that its platform now accepts SHIB for payments. Newegg is able to accept shiba inu fast because it already uses Bitpay to process cryptocurrency payments. As for AMC Theaters, CEO Adam Aron previously said that his company is expected to accept SHIB in the first quarter of next year. Petition for Trading Platform Robinhood to List SHIB Now Has Over 545K Supporters A petition on Change.org to list the shiba inu coin on the popular trading platform Robinhood has garnered 545,661 signatures at the time of writing. There are rumors that Robinhood is considering listing SHIB. However, the platform has not made an announcement regarding shiba inu and the company’s chief operating officer said in November that the platform is in no hurry to add another crypto. “Our strategy is a little bit different than a lot of other players out there who are just racing the list as many assets as possible right now,” she stressed. Meanwhile, more major cryptocurrency exchanges are listing shiba inu. Bitstamp listed SHIB Wednesday. Kraken and Gemini added support for SHIB in November. In addition, a crypto-friendly travel website Travala began accepting shiba inu for payments this week. What do you think about Bitpay adding support for shiba inu? Do you think Robinhood will list SHIB soon? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Binance Labs is a chain-agnostic investor and incubator focused on supporting the global blockchain ecosystem and decentralized web. Their portfolio includes 1inch, Audius, Axie Infinity, Chiliz, Elrond, Injective, Matic / Polygon, Sandbox and Terra. Ken Li is an Investment Director at Binance Labs, with a focus on equity & token investments in Web3 social, gaming & crypto adoption platforms. He recently joined the Bitcoin.com News Podcast to talk about the market: Ken also helps lead the Binance incubation program. Prior to Binance, Ken led blockchain investment & incubation strategy at BCG Digital Ventures and started his career as a management consultant at Bain. The Bitcoin.com News podcast features interviews with the most interesting leaders, founders and investors in the world of Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), NFTs and the Metaverse. Follow us on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play. This is a sponsored podcast. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

The director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has revealed that the agency is working on a number of cryptocurrency-focused projects. Cryptocurrencies “could have enormous impact on everything from ransomware attacks,” he said. CIA Has Been Working on Various Crypto Projects CIA Director William Burns revealed Monday at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Summit that the agency is working on “a number of different projects focused on cryptocurrency.” Responding to a question from someone in the audience about whether the CIA is on top of cryptocurrencies, Burns said: This is something I inherited. My predecessor had started this, [and] had set in motion a number of different projects focused on cryptocurrency. Burn elaborated that the agency is “trying to look at second- and third-order consequences as well and helping our colleagues in other parts of the U.S. government to provide solid intelligence on what we’re seeing as well.” The CIA director explained that cryptocurrencies “could have enormous impact on everything from ransomware attacks … because one of the ways of getting at ransomware attacks and deterring them is to be able to get at the financial networks that so many of those criminal networks use and that gets right at the issue of digital currencies as well.” The U.S. government has made combating ransomware a key priority. In June, the Biden administration expanded “cryptocurrency analysis to find and pursue criminal transactions” as part of its strategy to combat ransomware. In addition, the Department of the Treasury has taken actions against cryptocurrency exchanges “responsible for laundering ransoms” as part of the whole-of-government effort to counter ransomware. One exchange was sanctioned in September and another in November. What do you think about the CIA working on a number of crypto-focused projects? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article