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Kazakhstan to Integrate its Digital Tenge into the BNB Chain

by Blockchain NewsOctober 27, 2022

The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) is set to integrate its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) dubbed the Digital Tenge into the BNB Chain ecosystem.

Taking to Twitter to announce the news, Changpeng Zhao, the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Binance Exchange said its efforts to drive the mainstream adoption of digital currencies were not halted when it secured the license to operate in Kazakhstan about 2 weeks ago.

With Central Bank Digital Currencies now a big push for apex monetary authorities around the world, Kazakhstan has made a significant milestone with its Digital Tenge by launching its pilot test in a controlled environment with real users and merchants.

According to Zhao, the affirmations on the integration came from the successful negotiations with the First Deputy of the Governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, Berik Sholpankulov, and the Head of the Payment and Technological Center, Binur Zhalenov.

“We introduced them to the #BNB Chain community to discuss testing integrating their CBDC (Digital Tenge) with @BNBCHAIN, “ Zhao said in the short Twitter thread.

The crypto veteran did not give any elaborate indications as to how and what the Kazakhstani Central Bank will do or by how far innovators and builders in the BNB Chain ecosystem will launch real-world use cases featuring the Digital Tenge. Zhao also noted that he is eager to see how things will shape up per the proposed integration in the near term.

“Looking forward to NBK preparing CBDC use cases to see how they could be integrated into #BNB Chain to bridge the gap between traditional banking and the crypto ecosystem,” he said.

Binance’s global expansionary drive has recognized Kazakhstan as being very strategic in the long term. From the meeting between the country’s President Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to landing its license, Binance has remained glued to the prospect the country’s digital transformation push can offer its ecosystem users.

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Hong Kong is a Step Closer to Legalizing Retail Crypto Trading – Report

by Blockchain NewsOctober 27, 2022

Hong Kong is truly making moves that can help define it as a thriving hub for all crypto-related activities within the region.

According to a report from Bloomberg citing unnamed sources, the City’s top financial regulator, the Securities and Financial Commission (SFC) is set to permit to relisting of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in exchanges that permit retail traders.

The news that the Hong Kong SFC is considering a divergent crypto regulatory framework was first unveiled by Elizabeth Wong, Head of Fintech at the SFC as reported by Blockchain.News earlier this week. According to Wong, new allowances will be made for retail crypto traders, marking a move away from the earlier stance instituted in 2018 that sees only institutional traders with $1 million in capital trade the nascent asset class.

The timeline for announcing the new regulatory frameworks is yet unknown, however, speculations abound that the SFC will make its plans known at a fintech conference that is billed to start on Monday. Hong Kong has lost its luster as the preferred destination for most mainstream crypto companies and veterans.

With the new move, the city is looking to backtrack on its stance, thus creating an environment whereby it can compete with other countries including Singapore. With the speculation about the new crypto regime growing stronger, sentiments from stakeholders is still largely skeptical as many believe China’s influence might still be a drawback for the firm.

“The kind of conversations I’ve had was that people still fear there’ll be a very strict licensing regime,” said Leonhard Weese, co-founder of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong. “Even if they’re able to deal directly with retail users, they’re still not going to be as attractive or as competitive as overseas platforms.”

The crypto ecosystem is gaining massive traction with the UK Government making impressive strides to regulate the industry. The SFC as well as other promising nations are not slacking on this trend and are ready to do all they can to provide an enabling environment for all actors.

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Tagged : Cryptocurrency / Hong Kong / Institutional Investors / Regulation / Retail Investors / Sfc

MyNFT to Bring Europe’s First NFT Vending Machine to London

by Blockchain NewsOctober 27, 2022

Web3.0 startup and Non-Fungible Token (NFT) marketplace, MyNFT is all geared up to launch the first-ever digital collectibles vending machine in London next week.

As reported by WWD, the launch of the vending machines will take place at the NFT London conference that is scheduled to be held next week at the Queen Elizabeth II Center.

As a platform that makes accessing digital collectibles easy for everyone, MyNFT says the new vending machines will help to connect NFTs with the real world. The vending machines will feature NFTs from artists ranging from Dr. Who Worlds Apart, Thunderbirds, and Delft Blue Night Watch. According to MyNFT, the prices will range anywhere from £10 to £100 to snap up items through the machines.

“There is so much potential in the NFT market and it’s such a shame to see some of that go to waste when possible investors are put off getting involved by various unnecessary and complicated barriers.… We’re determined to turn NFT investment into an everyday activity, and break it out of its current clique,” said Hugo McDonaugh, cofounder of MyNFT.

Trailing Bitcoin ATM Evolution

Tagged as the very first NFT vending machine in the entirety of the European Union and the United Kingdom, the MyNFT-backed innovation will make a standpoint in the history of the evolution of the Web3.0 ecosystem.

Just as most technological innovations need a pioneer to blossom, so also will the NFT vending machines grow in number and spread across the world if the embrace comes out positive as envisaged.

While data from CoinATMRadar shows that there are currently a total of 38748 Bitcoin ATMs in the world with the United States taking up significantly more than 90% of the entire sum, the advent of NFT vending machines can also herald a future where the quantity and spread of these dedicated outlets for digital collectibles can be well pronounced.

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Tagged : Bitcoin Atm / MYNFT / NFT / NFT VENDING MACHINE

FTX Looking to Launch its Own Stablecoin – Sam Bankman-Fried

by Blockchain NewsOctober 27, 2022

Cryptocurrency trading behemoth, FTX Derivative Exchange may soon launch its own stablecoin as confirmed by its founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried.

Speaking in an interview with Web3 news media, The Big Whale, Bankman-Fried discussed a number of the industry’s perceptions with respect to the exchange’s position atop the ongoing crypto winter.

As against the popular belief that FTX is the biggest winner in the industry based on its success in snapping up Voyager Digital and BlockFi, both crypto lenders that got riled up as prices of assets tumbled, Bankman-Fried reiterated that its role, irrespective of the perception is to help maintain industry balance which will, in turn, benefit everyone.

Acknowledging that this current crypto winter is the “first real Bear Market we’ve been through,” the FTX boss acknowledged that the market downtime is not affecting its business as such as it is always innovating.

“One of the main characteristics of crypto platforms is that our operation is not impacted by the market downturn any more than that,” he said, “Every day we continue to grow the business, create services and new tools for customers. So, yes, the markets are less dynamic, things are a little more tense, but in the end, it doesn’t take us off course.”

While the plan to launch the stablecoin did not come with many details other than it will be done in partnership with other key players in the space, the move did not come as a surprise seeing Binance exchange, the trading platform FTX is still trying to beat in terms of daily trading volume has launched its own stablecoin.

The collapse of TerraUSD (UST), the token linked to the Terra ecosystem has sent a cold shiver down the Web3 ecosystem with intensive scrutiny and oversight from regulators. With FTX’s stance, the exchange may be well-positioned to launch a stablecoin that will align with the regulator’s guidelines.

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Tagged : Ftx Exchange / Sam Bankman-Fried / Stablecoin

Blockchain.com Accepts Visa Debit Cards for Crypto Payment

by Blockchain NewsOctober 27, 2022

Blockchain.com has accepted Visa debit cards payment to enable users to spend from their crypto balances free of charge, with the opportunity to gain cryptocurrency rewards.

Per the announcement:

“Initially available to US residents, users can spend their crypto or cash within their Blockchain.com Wallet without fees and earn 1% back in crypto anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.”

Blockchain.com Visa Card seeks to make crypto usage easier, given that it leverages Marqeta’s latest card issuing platform and Visa’s payments network.

Peter Smith, the co-founder and CEO of Blockchain.com, pointed out:

“As one of the crypto industry’s oldest and most trusted platforms, we’re excited to roll out the natural next step to make crypto easy to use in the real world and accessible to as many people as possible.”

He added that the Blockchain.com Visa Card would play an instrumental role in shaping the future of mainstream finance.

Based on Marqeta’s notable Just-in-Time Funding feature, Blockchain.com users will have the chance to seamlessly transact in fiat from their available crypto balances.

This will be made possible because each Blockchain.com Visa card will be linked to an approved Blockchain.com Wallet account.

Simon Khalaf, Marqeta’s chief product officer, stated:

“Blockchain.com has built up a massive user base, and we’re proud that our platform can make it possible for their customers to spend against their cryptocurrency wallet at the point of sale, using the magic of Just-in-Time funding.”

With Marqeta’s 2022 State of Money Movement survey disclosing that 38% of US consumers are crypto owners, it highlighted the surging need for crypto usage in daily scenarios.

Cuy Sheffield, the head of crypto at Visa, noted:

“At Visa, we believe for crypto adoption to grow, it’s critical for it to be easily accepted everywhere. We’re excited to partner with leading crypto wallets and exchanges like Blockchain.com to unlock more ways consumers can use their crypto for everyday purchases.”

Meanwhile, Mastercard recently inked a deal with BitOasis to establish a series of crypto card programs aimed at boosting daily cryptocurrency usage in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region, Blockchain.News reported.

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Tagged : Blockchain.com / Crypto Adoption / CRYPTO USAGE / Cryptocurrencies / Debit Card / Industry / Visa

Crypto Firm Q9 Capital Wins Dubai’s Regulatory Approval for Provisional Virtual Asset

by Blockchain NewsOctober 27, 2022

Crypto investment platform Q9 Capital has received regulatory approval for a provisional virtual asset (VA) from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), the company announced.

The entry into the UAE is part of the company’s expansion efforts and aims to acquire a full operating license in accordance with VARA requirements.

“Q9 aims to make a meaningful contribution to the VARA ecosystem as an engine for crypto product creation and execution in a regulated environment,” the company said.

VARA is the world’s first independent regulator for virtual assets.

Following the approval, investors can create and execute products and strategies on Q9’s platform. Furthermore, investors can build and access systematic investment portfolios and white-labelled offerings within VARA’s framework. The company said that the global distribution of these portfolios and offerings will be conducted in an “automated, transparent, regulated and compliant manner.”

Q9 Capital is a crypto investment management platform which helps crypto and TradeFi firms to “expand their offerings, distribute innovative products and simplify operations for enhanced innovation.”

The company’s management system allows investors to build, customize and fully-automate systematic portfolios. They can do so by using a wide product range and simultaneously accessing the entire market.

In Dubai, after winning a full operating license, Q9 will gain access to run its key features to help crypto and TradeFi firms by extending products and services to qualified investors and financial service providers.

Furthermore, Q9 plans to set up a regional hub in Dubai to expand and develop its business in the region and globally.

Besides gaining provisional approval in Dubai, other registrations for Q9 include Hong Kong.

According to Blockchain.News, Dubai is one of the most active influencers among gulf nations.

While many state actors may see it as a threat, many others are embracing the opportunities it brings. Dubai comes off as one of the latter, with the slew of licenses being granted to cryptocurrency exchanges today.

Besides Q9, other companies, such as the crypto trading platform OKX have also been given the green light to operate in Dubai.

As announced by the crypto trading platform, the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) granted it a provisional virtual assets (VA) license in July, an allowance that will let it offer targeted crypto products to qualifying investors.

Besides OKX, the duo of Binance and Huobi have also tapped related licenses to operate in Dubai. The implication of this is not just for the benefit of the exchanges. The masses will also have a unique diversity in their payment options, while the government will be able to generate revenue in the form of taxes.

Besides its role as one of the world’s most visited tourist locations, Dubai aims to become the financial epicentre of the Middle East, then the world. While the growth of digital assets in the region can be attributed to the bullish nature of VARA, chances are that Dubai will eventually become the most sought-after rallying point for crypto exchanges in the near term.

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Tagged : Bitcoin / Blockchain / Crypto / Dubai / Exchanges / Investment / Q9CAPITAL

Meta’s Metaverse Division Reports 3rd Quarter Loss of Over $3.7B

by Blockchain NewsOctober 27, 2022

Meta’s Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) division has reported a third-quarter loss of over $3.7 billion, making only $285 million, according to its earnings report released on Wednesday.

The FRL is responsible for the research and development of Meta’s augmented and virtual reality as well as metaverse operations.

The $285 million revenue for the quarter was a downgrade from the $558 million that they made last year.

The loss has been a follow-up of other previous losses going back quarter after quarter. So far this year, the FRl has seen losses of $9.4 billion, compared to $6.9 billion in the same period last year.

“Our community continues to grow, and I’m pleased with the strong engagement we’re seeing driven by progress on our discovery engine and products like Reels,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO. “While we face near-term challenges on revenue, the fundamentals are there for a return to stronger revenue growth. We’re approaching 2023 with a focus on prioritization and efficiency that will help us navigate the current environment and emerge an even stronger company.”

Meta shares fell over 15% in after-hours trading Wednesday. Shares are down more than 60% this year.

The company’s flagship metaverse platform Horizon Worlds is also struggling to gain users and falling short of internal performance expectations, according to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Meta’s initial goal was to reach 500,000 monthly active users for Horizon Worlds by the end of 2022. However, the company has readjusted that number to 280,000 in recent weeks. According to the WSJ, internal documents show that the current tally is less than 200,000.

User behaviour has shown that visitors to Horizon Worlds stop visiting the app after the first month, according to the documents seen by the WSJ, and the user base has gradually declined since March 2022.

Horizon is designed to be a sprawling collection of interactive virtual spaces, or worlds, in which users appearing as avatars can shop, party and work.

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Tagged : Bitcoin / Blockchain / Facebook / Meta / Metaverse / VIRTUALREALITY

Glassnode Acquires Crypto Portfolio Tracking Tax Platform Accointing.Com

by Blockchain NewsOctober 27, 2022

Leading crypto market intelligence provider Glassnode has acquired crypto portfolio tracking tax Platform Accointing.Com to allow users to track their portfolios in one place.

Glassnode is an on-chain and market data intelligence provider that provides traders and investors with a market intelligence suite and advanced metrics across on-chain as well as crypto-financial data, supplied through actionable charts.

According to the announcement, in the coming months, Glassnode will integrate with Accointing.com, combining both into a single platform.

Once the integration is done, Glassnode users can take advantage of Accointing.com’s services, including viewing their portfolio assets across wallets and exchanges.

Users will also be able to make use of Accointing.com’s automated crypto tax compliance and reporting features. Additionally, until the integration is settled, users will only be able to access both platforms using the same login.

Speaking of Glassnode, the data provider has so far been providing accurate analysis of the overall crypto market. In July, the data provider showed that the top cryptocurrency in the market has persisted in two huge capitulation events so far in 2022.

The market insight provider explained, “2022 has seen Bitcoin markets whether two enormous capitulation events, both with the largest BTC transfer volume in a loss since 2011. When LUNA collapsed, the total transfer volume in the loss was 538k BTC. This was followed by 480k BTC as the market traded below the 2017 ATH.”

In addition, Glassnode also explained in the same month that for a bear market to reach an ultimate floor, the share of coins held at a loss should transfer primarily to those who are the least sensitive to price and with the highest conviction.

The data provider added that one of the significant impacts of a lengthy bear market entails the redistribution of wealth amongst the remaining stakeholders.

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Tagged : ACCOINTING / Cryptocurrency / Enterprise / Glassnode

Binance Launches Oracle Services on BNB Chain

by Blockchain NewsOctober 27, 2022

Crypto exchange Binance has launched an oracle service called Binance Oracle to power the BNB chain ecosystem, making it the first-ever blockchain to use Binance Oracle.

Though the team at Binance has stated they have plans to expand it to other chains. “The ability to connect smart contracts with off-chain data will be made available for other blockchains in due time,” said BNB Chain investment director Gwendolyn Regina.

The Binance oracle will be used to help blockchain applications track real-world data. It will also allow existing decentralized applications (dApps) and other Web3 ecosystem partners on the BNB Chain to gain access to data sources and leading computations.

Gwendolyn Regina added, “Binance Oracle will emerge as a significant contributor to Web3 by offering a stable, reliable, and efficient Oracle network with comprehensive accuracy and accessibility features.” Binance has confirmed more than ten BNB Chain projects have already integrated with the Binance Oracle.

Furthermore, Binance revealed the Oracle solution would combine off-chain data needed by applications such as those in the decentralized finance ecosystem. It will also make use of regional domains to secure the system’s uptime during an unpredictable global crisis.

In addition, The components used to develop the Binance oracle include internal “threshold signatures” – a cryptographic tool used to sign in the individual data feed and price aggregation into blockchain applications securely using an algorithm – this cryptographic mechanism will ensure the oracle’s high dependability and guarantee that there is no single point of failure in the data security, according to Binance.

The crypto exchange has been standing its ground in many areas of the industry lately, taking advantage of its prominent position. Earlier this week, the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao or CZ, announced via Twitter that the firm is investing heavily in DeFi (decentralized finance). CZ tweeted, “Binance is investing heavily in DeFi. (not financial advice).”

Weeks before that, the crypto exchange also launched a $500 million fund on October 14 for miners unable to cope with the ongoing downturn of the crypto-market conditions.

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Tagged : Binance / Bitcoin / Blockchain / BNB CHAIN / Cryptocurrency / Exchanges / Oracle

UAE’s Central Bank Completes Wholesale CBDC Pilot Program

by Blockchain NewsOctober 27, 2022

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) said on Wednesday that it has completed the first and the largest wholesale pilot of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) transactions.

CBUAE said it conducted the six-week pilot project through participation with other regulators, including the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, and the Bank for International Settlements.

The UAE’s central bank said the pilot test took place on the “project mBridge”, which is a custom-developed distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform developed by the above five regulators (i.e., CBUAE, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, and the Bank for International Settlements).

Throughout the pilot project, 20 commercial banks in the four jurisdictions used the “mBridge” platform to settle different kinds of payments for corporate customers, focusing on cross-border trade. The commercial banks conducted over 160 cross-border payments and FX (foreign exchange) transactions totalling over Dh80 million ($21.78 million) over six weeks, the report said.

The development marks the first pilot use of wholesale CBDCs in the MENA region under the Project mBridge, as per the announcement.

Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of CBUAE, commented, “The mBridge reflects the leadership vision for the UAE to be one of the leaders in CBDC development and issuance and the preferred regional hub for advanced financial infrastructure, as well as for the CBUAE to be among the top central banks globally.”

The test comes as officials in the U.S. are expressing doubts about the country’s willingness to develop its own digital currency.

According to the latest statistics, 109 countries are taking initiatives to create a CBDC. 11 countries have fully launched a digital currency. 14 countries are in the pilot stage with their CBDCs and getting ready for the launch, one of which is the UAE.

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Tagged : CBDC / Central Bank / PILOT PROGRAM / Uae / Wholesale Cbdc