Since central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are showing more exposure to the market, taming illegal activities requires a delicate balancing act between data access and user privacy protection, according to HashCash Consultants CEO Raj Chowdhury.
Chowdhury pointed out:
“CBDC projects need to address their drawbacks and act considering the potential side-effects. They may lead to the disintermediation of the nation’s banking sector, and lend the government an upper hand in state-sponsored censorship of a citizen’s spending patterns.”
Even though the CBDC idea is revolutionary, Chowdhury believes caution should not be thrown to the wind because of possible dangers regarding storage.
He noted:
“The working principles of CBDC are converse with the ideals behind Bitcoin and blockchain technology. A centralized storage system has grave security risks, which will likely diminish the anonymity and privacy normally associated with conventional cash or crypto transactions.”
Therefore, extensive research is necessary before launch to iron out possible difficulties.
The issuance of CBDCs seems to be a race against time because, in the eyes of many nations, owning a CBDC is instrumental in having control of the global markets.
For instance, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) recently launched a year-long trial to explore innovative use cases and business models of a CBDC, Blockchain.News reported.
Therefore, the pilot project aimed at getting better insights into the regulatory, legal, and technological aspects of CBDCs.
Meanwhile, CBDCs are expected to drive the financial inclusion of nearly 1.7 billion people left out of the banking system once implemented.
This attribute might be propelled by the fact that CBDCs are digital assets pegged to real-world assets and backed by the central banks. As a result, they represent a claim against the bank exactly the way banknotes work.
Nigeria and crypto exchange Binance are in talks to establish a digital hub like the Dubai virtual free zone to propel blockchain growth in the country, according to the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority.
Nigeria sees the transformation of a digital hub as a stepping stone toward diversifying its economic scope beyond crude oil.
The Nigerian administration has been rolling out crypto-friendly initiatives. The partnership will trigger the creation of a digital economic zone that will offer entrepreneurs more blockchain opportunities.
Earlier this year, the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) established “rules on issuance, offering platforms, and custody of digital assets” for virtual firms meant to boost crypto trading, Blockchain.News reported.
Various fintech startups like Flutterwave and Interswitch have made notable moves in the crypto space, attaining more than a billion-dollar status.
Based on an increasingly youthful and connected population, the digital economic zone will come in handy in availing more opportunities.
Nigeria has been topping the charts in various crypto areas. For instance, a survey conducted by Block, Inc. disclosed that Nigeria took the highest Bitcoin optimism levels at 60%.
Furthermore, a study by crypto exchange KuCoin revealed that 35% of Nigerians had set foot in the crypto space in 6 months, driven by factors like high inflation rates and the lack of affordable financial services.
The survey also pointed out that peer-to-peer (P2P) was a favoured strategy among Nigerians, given that 65% of crypto investors in the nation made fiat deposits to cryptocurrencies through P2P platforms.
Therefore, the digital economic zone intends to enhance Nigerian soil’s blockchain/crypto sector.
South Korea-based digital manufacturer LG Electronics has launched a new NFT platform in collaboration with Hedera blockchain.
The platform LG Art Lab will allow users to buy, sell and put up digital art or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on their television sets, the company announced.
While Swiss-based Tag Heuer became the first watchmaker in June to announce a tool to allow watch owners to display NFTs on their smartwatches, the Seoul-based television company has become another top company to add value to the NFT space with this new mew move.
The company also announced that LG Art Lab is available on television webOS 5.0 or later in the US.
The platform also allows users to preview the profile of artists and their upcoming work, along with a countdown to their upcoming NFT releases. Its marketplace provides a venue for trading pieces.
The Hedera network supports LG Art Lab, and the transactions will run through Wallypto – an LG-patented crypto wallet for smartphones.
According to a report from Blockchain.News, LG Electronics is launching Wallypto as a part of plans to expand its business scope to include platforms and software.
Wallypto will help the tech giant enter the blockchain or NFT market in earnest.
Per the announcement, “it is also expected to actively create synergy effects by combining blockchain technology with existing flagship businesses such as home appliances and electric fields.”
Christian Hasker, CMO of Swirlds Labs, the Hedera developer, said in a statement that the announcement will bring NFTs “beyond being computer-based collectables and toward becoming a piece of art displayed as any other artwork would be within the home of its owner.”
Earlier this year, LG made it clear that it was eyeing an expansion drive beyond home appliances to include blockchain, cryptocurrency, and medical devices as new sectors in its corporate charter.
During the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in March, shareholders approved these changes so that its new objectives would entail the brokerage and sale of cryptocurrencies and the development and sale of blockchain-based software, Blockchain.News reported.
LG has also partnered with the Kakao Ground X blockchain platform and launched smart TVs with an NFT option in February this year.
Cryptocurrency exchanges are now requested to report suspected sanctions breaches to UK authorities under new rules recently introduced amid concerns that cryptos are being used to evade restrictions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Guardian media reported the matter on Sunday., citing the updated official guidance of HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) on August 30. The regulator explicitly included cryptocurrencies and other valuable digital assets like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) among those that must be frozen if sanctions are imposed on an individual or a company.
The rules set by the regulator now mean that crypto exchanges commit a criminal offence if they fail to report customers designated for sanctions.
Under the latest regulation, crypto exchanges must immediately act if they suspect that one of their clients is under sanctions or if they suspect a breach of sanctions.
The new policy has given such exchanges obligations similar to just the likes of professionals like estate agents, accountants, lawyers, and jewellers.
Financial sanctions on people and firms linked to the regime of Vladimir Putin have been among the UK’s most prominent responses to the Ukraine invasion.
Targets for sanctions have included Russian oligarchs and relatives with direct interests in crypto assets, including Vladimir Potanin, Said Gutseriev, and Oleg Deripaska, among others.
In April, Binance cryptocurrency exchange blocked the accounts of relatives of Russian politicians, including Polina Kovaleva, the stepdaughter of the foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, and Elizaveta Peskova, the daughter of Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov.
This came as a response by the western powers led by the US, the UK, and the EU imposing unprecedented financial sanctions on Russia. During that time, fears amounted to Russian companies considering using cryptocurrency for international payments to dodge sanctions.
Using crypto to evade sanctions and move money across the globe was already illegal under UK laws. However, the new changes underline authorities’ concern that the new asset class could be used for evading sanctions because users do not depend on regulated entities to make transactions.
Whether Russia may try using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions has been an open discussion since March this year. And decentralized finance (DeFi) and decentralized exchanges (DEX) platforms are seen as particularly vulnerable.
Cryptocurrencies have already been used to evade sanctions in Iran and North Korea.
Working out has become a trending conversation on social network platforms. Exercise, especially indoor-style, is influencing lifestyle amid a wide range of COVID-19 lockdowns globally.
Blockchain.News spoke to Keith Rumjahn, CEO of OliveX and Founder of DOSE token, to explore the potential development of a move-to-earn business model and how cryptocurrency shapes the virtual fitness and sports industry.
Riding a bicycle is more than just a fun physical activity nowadays as the connection between fitness facilities and personal mobile devices is about to introduce users to a new chapter in the virtual world.
Move-to-earn: Dustland Rider
OliveX, a Hong Kong-based fitness startup company founded by CEO Keith Rumjahn in 2017, demonstrated their latest upcoming product, Dustland Rider, in a recent press event in Hong Kong. It provided an alternative way to encourage the public to get into the crypto space by simply riding a bicycle.
By completing specific missions by linking users’ mobile devices, a so-called move-to-earn (M2E) approach and it’s application mechanism so that users can enjoy their fitness achievements in exchange for earning token rewards.
Specifically, the company designed a series of scenarios with immersive stories and missions for users to experience while exercising. Users would need to tackle some challenges in this virtual game to win points or tokens; for example, users might be rewarded a unique golden yellow sports suit if they complete riding 100km in the game.
Tokens would be able to purchase additional equipment or upgrades to characters in the game or be traded on the secondary market.
The company said their Dustland Rider would go live soon, expecting to roll out by the end of September or October of this year.
OliveX is a gamified fitness ecosystem to enhance the workout experience through game design techniques and play-to-earn mechanisms, according to its whitepaper.
Prior to launching the Dustland Rider, the company rolled out another similar move-to-earn audio fitness application to the market in 2021, called Dustland Runner, a survival theme-based fitness game.
The official whitepaper reads that Dustalnd Runner is the first proof of workout audio game, allowing players to earn some native token or even gain Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or other monetary incentives through physical running in daily life. In addition, its NFT, named Kettlemine, can be minted on the Polygon chain, followed by earning more DOSE tokens by burning Kettlemine NFT.
CEO of OliveX and Founder of DOSE Token Keith Rumjahn Rumjahn
In an exclusive interview with Blockchain.News, Keith Rumjahn Rumjahn, CEO of OliveX shared his journey of running a startup business.
“One of the reasons I founded this company is that I realised some data apps could sell out our exercise data to other commercial companies. As a user, however, we lost our ownership of data ourselves, not aware of (our data) being sold, and even we do not get any benefits or cashback from it,” said Keith Rumjahn.
OliveX’s Keith disclosed that some well-known data-driven service platforms would purchase or utilise these users’ movement data to enhance the purpose of their sale, such as deploying more rental vehicles to a specific area where more people exercise.
On the other hand, the higher traffic acquisition costs for tech giant platforms such as Google or Apple dominating the market is another reason why Keith Rumjahn intends to establish a decentralised platform by himself.
When asked how to differentiate and make the brand more unique to maintain its advantages among competitors, Keith Rumjahn said understanding the gaming lifecycle and the rate of retention among users are critical to designing gaming products, as users typically intend to look for more stylish or trending products within a short period, said Keith Rumjahn; bringing innovation and a fresh product idea would be key elements for OliveX to differentiate their products among competitors.
The sense of business and industry knowledge helped Keith Rumjahn to equip a sensitive awareness to meet customers’ needs. The Canadian Chinese basketball coach and software developer said users normally enjoy the diversity of sports, as some of them would participate in multiple sports within a period of time. The company would develop more types of sports, including Boxing or Yoga, to expand the “portfolio of game, so that users might have more options to choose their own favourite sports.”
Nevertheless, the 37-year-old executive said he hopes the public to build up a regular exercise habit in the long term, “I hope the public would be able to build a healthy lifestyle and regular exercise habit, no matter whether playing our game or not in the future,” which is much more important objectives to him personally while leading the company to keep being competitive among competitors.
The company was acquired by Animoca Brands in 2017 and is a spin-off of the parent company. Over 27% of its shares are owned by the leading gamification platform.
Initially, the former fitness app developer was running a business of establishing smart mirrors. This interactive device can track body movement for analysing body figures with fitness centres before entering the crypto world.
Yet, the pandemic of COVID-19 crushed many fitness centre operations, resulting in massive downsizing or even termination of those fitness centres, forcing OliveX to transform itself again.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong-based company discovered the potential development in the crypto space later on and declared to list on the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX: OLX) in Australia in 2020 and launched its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
The Australian-listed company has been raising over $2.6 million between 2017 and 2018 over the last three rounds, according to Fobes.
Furthermore, the company realises the potential business development in the crypto and virtual economy. Senior management decided to expand their footprints in the virtual space.
DOSE Token
Gamification could be an easier way to convince sports lovers to get into virtual sports in the Metaverse who do not become familiar with cryptocurrency. A recent survey by ChianPlay suggests that 75% of investors join the crypto space because of GameFi.
Unlike other traditional or developed fitness applications in the market, OliveX launched its native token or called DOSE for its M2E in 2021, which can be traded on at least three major crypto exchange platforms, including OKex and Gate.io and KuCoin, at a $56 million fully diluted market Cap currently, according to data platform provided by CoinMarketCap.
Keith Rumjahn said their launching of Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is even earlier than their main competitors, including STPEN, Solana-based move-to-earn apps.
DOSE is the major trading medium within its ecosystem, allowing users and investors to unlock items, purchase NFT or join special events and game modes, according to its whitepaper.
In explaining why OliveX listed their own native token-DOSE, rather than adopting other mainstream or benchmark tokens, Keith Rumjahn Rumjahn said DOSE as an Ethereum-based token, “we wish to build our own specific token in terms of fitness,” adding that “adopting those mainstream or benchmark tokens might be hard to maintain its balance of internal economy (of the game)”
“Many games (developers) would generate their own tokens to each different game but might not be connective to each other. DOSE token would connect all the products instead, including Dustland Runner and Dustland Rider,”
Subject to the character of the volatility among tokens in the crypto market, Keith Rumjahn further explained that that would be more difficult to peg with their products if they adopted other tokens. A consistent token would be necessary to maintain the stability of the product price and their “in-game economy.”
Keith Rumjahn believes the external and floating price of its token in the market would not undermine the company’s performance, adding that he would not set any targeting price for DOSE as the milestone for the long-term achievements.
DOSE reached its all-time high at $0.4051 on Nov 3 in 2021. As per the time of writing, DOSE was trading at $0.01133 with a 24-hour trading volume of $481,789, according to CoinMarketCap.
OliveX offers different kinds of trading services, including staking and swapping.
Subject to recent crypto winter influenced by the collapse of LUNA and UST, most of the leading benchmark tokens sank from their all-time-high,
Regarding risk management, Keith Rumjahn said the company has the expertise in managing risk and the tools of treasury governance for financial operations, whether in the stock market or the crypto market. The company is confident in avoiding liquidity risks from the crypto market, backed by Animoca Brand’s liquidity pool, especially to strengthen its liquidity when necessary.
As a result, the fitness-based company could concentrate its resources on game development, “Our capital is mainly used for operating the game, rather than putting them for investment-purposed,” added Keith Rumjahn.
Building a virtual fitness centre in Metaverse
The fitness-based company also shows its ambition by entering into the Metaverse. OliveX enjoys a 12X 12 land plot on the Sandbox, where the company is establishing a virtual entertainment and even virtual Sales space, according to the official whitepaper.
By introducing strategic partners, including Stages Cycling, TRIB3, and TRAX among others, the company is aiming to bring digital fitness experience and NFT collectables to the Metaverse community.
Through partnerships with some local fitness brands, the company believes that would be an effective way to attract sports lovers to join the Metaverse, who are outsiders of this industry.
OliveX intends to overseas market in the long-term, including Japan and South Korea by recruiting local operation teams for community management.
Outlook towards virtual industry development in HK
Developing blockchain-based startups in Hong Kong is challenging in terms of legal and regulatory challenges. Keith Rumjahn suggests local regulators should optimise policies, allowing more open-mind and crypto-friendly regulations in the city.
In terms of investment, that would be great to allow companies to invest in crypto-related industries or startup companies in terms of licensing so that more capital from the top-end might penetrate to the bottom-end side of the business.
Working out has become a trending conversation on social network platforms. Exercise, especially indoor-style, is influencing lifestyle amid a wide range of COVID-19 lockdowns globally.
Blockchain.News spoke to Keith Rumjahn, CEO of OliveX and Founder of DOSE token, to explore the potential development of a move-to-earn business model and how cryptocurrency shapes the virtual fitness and sports industry.
Riding a bicycle is more than just a fun physical activity nowadays as the connection between fitness facilities and personal mobile devices is about to introduce users to a new chapter in the virtual world.
Move-to-earn: Dustland Rider
OliveX, a Hong Kong-based fitness startup company founded by CEO Keith Rumjahn in 2017, demonstrated their latest upcoming product, Dustland Rider, in a recent press event in Hong Kong. It provided an alternative way to encourage the public to get into the crypto space by simply riding a bicycle.
By completing specific missions by linking users’ mobile devices, a so-called move-to-earn (M2E) approach and it’s application mechanism so that users can enjoy their fitness achievements in exchange for earning token rewards.
Specifically, the company designed a series of scenarios with immersive stories and missions for users to experience while exercising. Users would need to tackle some challenges in this virtual game to win points or tokens; for example, users might be rewarded a unique golden yellow sports suit if they complete riding 100km in the game.
Tokens would be able to purchase additional equipment or upgrades to characters in the game or be traded on the secondary market.
The company said their Dustland Rider would go live soon, expecting to roll out by the end of September or October of this year.
OliveX is a gamified fitness ecosystem to enhance the workout experience through game design techniques and play-to-earn mechanisms, according to its whitepaper.
Prior to launching the Dustland Rider, the company rolled out another similar move-to-earn audio fitness application to the market in 2021, called Dustland Runner.
The official whitepaper reads that Dustalnd Runner is the first proof of workout audio game, allowing players to earn some native token or even gain Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or other monetary incentives through physical exercise in daily life. In addition, its NFT, named Kettlemine, can be minted on the Polygon chain, followed by earning more DOSE tokens by burning Kettlemine NFT.
CEO of OliveX and Founder of DOSE Token Keith Rumjahn Rumjahn
In an exclusive interview with Blockchain.News, Keith Rumjahn Rumjahn, CEO of OliveX shared his journey of running a startup business.
“One of the reasons I founded this company is that I realised some data apps could sell out our exercise data to other commercial companies. As a user, however, we lost our ownership of data ourselves, not aware of (our data) being sold, and even we do not get any benefits or cashback from it,” said Keith Rumjahn.
OliveX’s Keith disclosed that some well-known data-driven service platforms would purchase or utilise these users’ movement data to enhance the purpose of their sale, such as deploying more rental vehicles to a specific area where more people exercise.
On the other hand, the higher traffic acquisition costs for tech giant platforms such as Google or Apple dominating the market is another reason why Keith Rumjahn intends to establish a decentralised platform by himself.
When asked how to differentiate and make the brand more unique to maintain its advantages among competitors, Keith Rumjahn said understanding the gaming lifecycle and the rate of retention among users are critical to designing gaming products, as users typically intend to look for more stylish or trending products within a short period, said Keith Rumjahn; bringing innovation and a fresh product idea would be key elements for OliveX to differentiate their products among competitors.
The sense of business and industry knowledge helped Keith Rumjahn to equip a sensitive awareness to meet customers’ needs. The Canadian Chinese basketball coach and software developer said users normally enjoy the diversity of sports, as some of them would participate in multiple sports within a period of time. The company would develop more types of sports, including Boxing or Yoga, to expand the “portfolio of game, so that users might have more options to choose their own favourite sports.”
Nevertheless, the 37-year-old executive said he hopes the public to build up a regular exercise habit in the long term, “I hope the public would be able to build a healthy lifestyle and regular exercise habit, no matter whether playing our game or not in the future,” which is much more important objectives to him personally while leading the company to keep being competitive among competitors.
The company was acquired by Animoca Brands in 2017 and is a spin-off of the parent company. Over 27% of its shares are owned by the leading gamification platform.
Initially, the former fitness app developer was running a business of establishing smart mirrors. This interactive device can track body movement for analysing body figures with fitness centres before entering the crypto world.
Yet, the pandemic of COVID-19 crushed many fitness centre operations, resulting in massive downsizing or even termination of those fitness centres, forcing OliveX to transform itself again.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong-based company discovered the potential development in the crypto space later on and declared to list on the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX: OLX) in Australia in 2020 and launched its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
The Australian-listed company has been raising over $2.6 million between 2017 and 2018 over the last three rounds, according to Fobes.
Furthermore, the company realises the potential business development in the crypto and virtual economy. Senior management decided to expand their footprints in the virtual space.
DOSE Token
Gamification could be an easier way to convince sports lovers getting into virtual sports in the Metaverse who do not familiar with cryptocurrency. A recent survey by ChianPlay suggests that 75% of investors join the crypto space because of GameFi.
Unlike other traditional or developed fitness applications in the market, OliveX launched its native token or called DOSE for its M2E in 2021, which can be traded on at least three major crypto exchange platforms, including OKex and Gate.io and KuCoin, at a $56 million fully diluted market Cap currently, according to data platform provided by CoinMarketCap.
Keith Rumjahn said their launching of Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is even earlier than their main competitors, including STPEN, Solana-based move-to-earn apps.
DOSE is the major trading medium within its ecosystem, allowing users and investors to unlock items, purchase NFT or join special events and game modes, according to its whitepaper.
In explaining why OliveX listed their own native token-DOSE, rather than adopting other mainstream or benchmark tokens, Keith Rumjahn Rumjahn said DOSE as an Ethereum-based token, “we wish to build our own specific token in terms of fitness,” adding that “adopting those mainstream or benchmark tokens might be hard to maintain its balance of internal economy (of the game)”
“Many games (developers) would generate their own tokens to each different game but might not be connective to each other. DOSE token would connect all the products instead, including Dustland Runner and Dustland Rider,”
Subject to the character of the volatility among tokens in the crypto market, Keith Rumjahn further explained that that would be more difficult to peg with their products if they adopted other tokens. A consistent token would be necessary to maintain the stability of the product price and their “in-game economy.”
Keith Rumjahn believes the external and floating price of its token in the market would not undermine the company’s performance, adding that he would not set any targeting price for DOSE as the milestone for the long-term achievements.
DOSE reached its all-time high at $0.4051 on Nov 3 in 2021. As per the time of writing, DOSE was trading at $0.01133 with a 24-hour trading volume of $481,789, according to CoinMarketCap.
OliveX offers different kinds of trading services, including staking and swapping.
Subject to recent crypto winter influenced by the collapse of LUNA and UST, most of the leading benchmark tokens sank from their all-time-high,
Regarding risk management, Keith Rumjahn said the company has the expertise in managing risk and the tools of treasury governance for financial operations, whether in the stock market or the crypto market. The company is confident in avoiding liquidity risks from the crypto market, backed by Animoca Brand’s liquidity pool, especially to strengthen its liquidity when necessary.
As a result, the fitness-based company could concentrate its resources on game development, “Our capital is mainly used for operating the game, rather than putting them for investment-purposed,” added Keith Rumjahn.
Building a virtual fitness centre in Metaverse
The fitness-based company also shows its ambition by entering into the Metaverse. OliveX enjoys a 12X 12 land plot on the Sandbox, where the company is establishing a virtual entertainment and even virtual Sales space, according to the official whitepaper.
By introducing strategic partners, including Stages Cycling, TRIB3, and TRAX among others, the company is aiming to bring digital fitness experience and NFT collectables to the Metaverse community.
Through partnerships with some local fitness brands, the company believes that would be an effective way to attract sports lovers to join the Metaverse, who are outsiders of this industry.
OliveX intends to overseas market in the long-term, including Japan and South Korea by recruiting local operation teams for community management.
Outlook towards virtual industry development in HK
Developing blockchain-based startups in Hong Kong is challenging in terms of legal and regulatory challenges. Keith Rumjahn suggests local regulators should optimise policies, allowing more open-mind and crypto-friendly regulations in the city.
In terms of investment, that would be great to allow companies to invest in crypto-related industries or startup companies in terms of licensing so that more capital from the top-end might penetrate to the bottom-end side of the business.
Since JP Morgan has purchased virtual land in Decentral Land, more and more financial institutions have gradually entered the Web 3.0 market, such as HSBC has brought land size 3 x3 lands in Sandbox, Hang Seng Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, the Ocean Park and MTR. South China Morning Post has built up its Central Pier metaverse Game.
Why do so many big names have entered the Metaverse?
The answer is Fear of Missing Out. Mr Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, is not crypto and a digital asset-friendly guy and has said Bitcoin was worthless. The funny thing is that JP Morgan has opened crypto trading to their clients. Advisors in JP Morgan’s USD630 billion wealth management division can now accept orders to buy and sell five crypto products, including Crayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, Bitcoin Cast Trust, Ethereum Trust, Ethereum Classic products and Osprey Funds’ Bitcoin Trust. (quote from Forbes July 22, 2021). In 2022, JP Morgan set up their business in the virtual world.
I joined zoom earlier; guests speaker Ms Cola Mok (Hang Seng Bank) and Mr Henry Chan (South China Morning Post) explained their business model in planning NFT, GameFi and Web 3.0 concepts, how to arouse the public in going into their metaverse games in Sandbox when Alpha 3 has opened to the public soon.
In Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, those big names financial institutions have missed opportunities to participate in the market and missed a huge fortune, for example, Facebook (now called meta), a media platform by Mark Zuckerberg (a billionaire) or Google, Web 2.0 companies have earned more than a thousand million in income from a simple idea as advertising income.
It is straightforward for IT companies to enter financial and insurance markets, such as virtual banks and insurance companies. However, it is hard to see insurance and financial companies entering the internet. Now Metaverse with Web 3.0 will replace the internet in the coming decade. Big financial institutions don’t want to miss this huge business opportunity so that you will see all big names come first and lead the market.
It is not difficult to see JP Morgan running a media platform to replace meta soon as the pie is big enough.
Since JP Morgan has purchased virtual land in Decentral Land, more and more financial institutions have gradually entered the Web 3.0 market, such as HSBC has brought land size 3 x3 lands in Sandbox, Hang Seng Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, the Ocean Park and MTR. South China Morning Post has built up its Central Pier metaverse Game.
Why do so many big names have entered the Metaverse?
The answer is Fear of Missing Out. Mr Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, is not crypto and a digital asset-friendly guy and has said Bitcoin was worthless. The funny thing is that JP Morgan has opened crypto trading to their clients. Advisors in JP Morgan’s USD630 billion wealth management division can now accept orders to buy and sell five crypto products, including Crayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, Bitcoin Cast Trust, Ethereum Trust, Ethereum Classic products and Osprey Funds’ Bitcoin Trust. (quote from Forbes July 22, 2021). In 2022, JP Morgan set up their business in the virtual world.
I joined zoom earlier; guests speaker Ms Cola Mok (Hang Seng Bank) and Mr Henry Chan (South China Morning Post) explained their business model in planning NFT, GameFi and Web 3.0 concepts, how to arouse the public in going into their metaverse games in Sandbox when Alpha 3 has opened to the public soon.
In Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, those big names financial institutions have missed opportunities to participate in the market and missed a huge fortune, for example, Facebook (now called meta), a media platform by Mark Zuckerberg (a billionaire) or Google, Web 2.0 companies have earned more than a thousand million in income from a simple idea as advertising income.
It is straightforward for IT companies to enter financial and insurance markets, such as virtual banks and insurance companies. However, it is hard to see insurance and financial companies entering the internet. Now Metaverse with Web 3.0 will replace the internet in the coming decade. Big financial institutions don’t want to miss this huge business opportunity so that you will see all big names come first and lead the market.
It is not difficult to see JP Morgan running a media platform to replace meta soon as the pie is big enough.
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia, has announced the appointment of Mohsen Al Zahrani, the former Managing Director at consultancy Accenture, to lead its digital assets and Central Bank Digital Currency programme, according to coverage of Bloomberg reported on Sunday.
The hiring signals the Gulf state’s potential cryptocurrency ambitions.
According to the people familiar with the sources, Al Zahrani reports to Ziad Al Yousef, the Central Bank’s Deputy Governor for development and technology, who asked to remain anonymous because the matter is private.
As per the report, Al Zahrani and Al Yousef are part of a team in Riyadh (the capital city of Saudi Arabia) that is engaging with some of the world’s biggest crypto companies on future regulations.
Saudi Arabia has recently taken a more cautious approach towards digital assets, as officials raise concerns about their speculative nature.
According to people familiar with the matter, the emergence of the neighbouring nation, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as a global cryptocurrency hub has created some urgency in Riyadh to draft more formal rules for the asset class.
Saudi Arabia has been pushing companies to increase their footprints in Riyadh as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to turn the capital city into a global hub.
Binance, among others, is some of the industry’s biggest players that have beefed up their staff in Saudi Arabia, identifying the kingdom as a huge untapped market if the current restrictions on crypto trading get loosened.
In April 2018, The SAMA banned Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, recognizing them as a disrupting factor in the traditional financial and banking system.
However, the government has lately appeared to have taken a supportive stance toward digital assets and blockchain technology. Though, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has not yet released any official regulations surrounding crypto.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia’s Central Bank and its counterpart in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) jointly announced a digital currency called Aber. The cryptocurrency was designed for cross-border payments between the two nations and backed by their respective fiat currencies.
According to a recent survey, as reported by Blockchain.News, around three million Saudis have invested in crypto assets as of May 2022, representing 14% of the country’s adult population.
The Venezuelan arm of the giant accounting firm, PwC Venezuela, was under attack as its official Twitter page has been displaying a phishing link to a fake XRP token giveaway.
So far, the link remained on the social media platform for more than seven hours on Sunday. According to reports, it seems that PwC Venezuela has lost access to its accounts, as the link was posted countless times.
He posted the link more than fourteen times. Such attacks most times end up instructing users to follow the link, and then users are expected to deposit some amount of cryptocurrency to receive extra in return, more like a Ponzi scheme. It is all a malicious strategy to make users do away with their funds.
It was suspected that either PwC Venezuela was not aware of the attack or they had lost total control over their Twitter social media platform.
Every tweet containing cryptocurrency phishing links posted by the bad actors remained active. PwC Venezuela has over 37,000 followers on its Twitter page. With this in mind, if its users start clicking on the link, the effect will be significantly destructive for the big four accounting firms.
Analyst Suspects Veracity of Several Crypto Firms Attack Claims
Crypto analysts have warned users against clicking on the link prompt. Attempting to click on the link may spell doom for investors and traders alike as the bad actors may defraud the mate of cryptocurrency attacks in recent times is raising concerns in the crypto community. Many analysts and investors suspect that it may just be a ploy by insiders in digital assets firms. Interestingly, most explanations given by these crypto firms in terms of their attacks and breaches are regarded as invented stories.
Like in the case of crypto lending firm BlueBenx which halted withdrawal on its platform after claiming it had been attacked and lost about $32 million. It has not been ascertained if its reason for halting its platform trading is comparable to bankrupt crypto lender Celsius which ran into debt.
