Tag: Adoption

Changshu Civil Servants to Receive Digital Yuan as Payment

by Blockchain News

Changshu, a city located in the Jiangsu Province of China, has issued a notice stating that all civil servants in its jurisdiction will be paid their full salaries in digital RMB or digital yuan from May 2023. This means that civil servants, including public service personnel, public institution personnel, and personnel of state-owned units at all levels in the city, will receive their salaries in digital yuan payment.

The notice was issued jointly by the Changshu Local Financial Supervision Bureau and the Changshu Municipal Bureau of Finance. In addition to civil servants, an on-site staff member of a local hospital confirmed that the workforce would also receive payments in digital yuan starting next month. Moreover, employees can opt for digital yuan settlements through self-service terminals.

This move is part of China’s pilot program to establish an efficient and convenient digital RMB operation and management system by 2025. The province of Jiangsu, where Changshu is located, has initiated this pilot program for digital RMB in Q1 2023.

China has been pushing for the adoption of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) or digital yuan in recent years. In fact, several Chinese city governments gave away over 180 million yuan ($26.5 million) worth of the CBDC during the Lunar New Year period in February 2023 to boost adoption.

However, the government’s push for CBDC adoption has not been well-received by residents of Hong Kong. In the first four days of the digital yuan hard wallet launch, only 625 Hong Kong residents had signed up, despite a 20% discount on purchases from 1,400 local vendors, subsidized for CBDC owners by the government.

The lack of adoption in Hong Kong is due to various factors, including concerns about the potential loss of privacy and autonomy, as well as uncertainty about the long-term stability of the digital yuan. Despite this, China is pushing ahead with its CBDC adoption plans, and Changshu’s decision to pay its civil servants in digital yuan is just one example of this ongoing effort.

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Mastercard Enables USDC Spending in Asia

by Blockchain News

However, the blending of traditional and decentralized finance (DeFi) continues to strengthen despite the challenges. In Nigeria, crypto wallet MetaMask has partnered with crypto fintech MoonPay to enable users to purchase crypto via instant bank transfers without requiring a credit or debit card. This integration is estimated to reduce the decline rate for direct crypto purchases in Nigeria from 90% to 30%. Nigeria is a major market for MetaMask, ranking third in mobile monthly active users, and is also ranked by Chainalysis as one of the top 20 countries in cryptocurrency adoption.

On the other hand, OKX, a major crypto exchange, announced that it will no longer provide services or allow new accounts for Canadian users starting on March 24, 2023, citing “new regulations.” Customers in the country must close open options, margins, perpetuals, and futures positions by June 22 and withdraw their fiat or tokens by that date. In February, The Canadian Securities Administrators required crypto exchanges to sign new, legally binding undertakings while they await registration with regulators.

Despite these challenges, Bitcoin’s value proposition continues to attract attention as its price continues to climb following the collapses of Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank. Cathie Wood, the CEO of ARK Invest, believes that Bitcoin’s current decoupling from the equity markets may attract more institutional investors into Bitcoin over time. Wood expects that most firms would allocate between 2.5% to 6.5% of their investment portfolios to BTC by 2030, taking the leading cryptocurrency’s price to $1–1.5 million.

Finally, crypto analyst Marcel Pechman explains the relationship between banking valuation and cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin’s ethos, and provides insight on how to analyze banks and avoid inaccurate market capitalization indicators.

In conclusion, Mastercard’s partnership with Stables is a significant move in the adoption of stablecoins in the Asia-Pacific region, while challenges in the banking and regulatory sectors have not slowed down the blending of traditional and decentralized finance (DeFi). As the world continues to grapple with a global banking crisis, Bitcoin’s value proposition remains on full display, and its price continues to climb, attracting attention from institutional investors.

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eNaira Adoption Grows Amid Nigeria’s Cash Shortages

by Blockchain News

Nigeria’s central bank launched its own digital currency, the eNaira, in 2021, and nearly 18 months later, the CBDC is seeing increased adoption in the country. The acute cash shortage in Nigeria is due to the central bank’s decision to replace older banknotes with bigger denominations, which has caused severe shortages in national fiat reserves. In a country where cash accounts for about 90% of transactions, the lack of physical cash has forced Nigerians to turn to the eNaira.

According to a recent Bloomberg report, the value of eNaira transactions has increased by 63% to 22 billion nairas ($47.7 million), indicating a growing adoption of the CBDC. Furthermore, the total number of eNaira wallets has grown more than 12 times compared to October 2022, and is currently at 13 million, as reported by Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The demonetization, which reduced the circulating cash supply from 3.2 trillion nairas to 1 trillion nairas, prompted Nigeria to mint over 10 billion eNairas to compensate for the decline. The use of eNaira payouts in government initiatives and social schemes has also contributed to the increase in CBDC adoption.

For developing countries like Nigeria, CBDCs present a way to overcome challenges presented by the fiat economy, including reducing operating costs and strengthening Anti-Money Laundering initiatives. The eNaira, in particular, has emerged as the electronic payment channel of choice for financial inclusion and executing social interventions, according to Emefiele.

In addition to the increased adoption of the eNaira, Nigerians have also been presented with another option for procuring cryptocurrencies. MetaMask’s parent firm ConsenSys recently announced a new MoonPay integration, which allows Nigerians to purchase crypto via bank transfers. This new feature is available within the MetaMask mobile and Portfolio DApp, significantly simplifying buying crypto without using credit or debit cards in Nigeria.

It is clear that the adoption of CBDCs like the eNaira in Nigeria is becoming increasingly important in the face of cash shortages and other economic challenges. The use of digital currencies presents a viable solution to revamp the fiat capabilities of developing nations and to provide greater financial inclusion to citizens. As such, it will be interesting to see how the adoption of eNaira and other CBDCs continues to evolve in Nigeria and beyond.

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Indonesia’s State-Backed Crypto Exchange: An Analysis

by Blockchain News

The decision made by Indonesia’s government to launch a cryptocurrency exchange that will be supported by the state is a major step towards the promotion of a crypto market in Indonesia that is more safe and transparent. As the cryptocurrency business continues to be plagued by scams and fraud, it is anticipated that the newly established exchange in the nation will address the need for more regulatory monitoring and investor safety.

In its pursuit to position itself as a regional powerhouse in the cryptocurrency business, Indonesia has taken a courageous step by launching a cryptocurrency exchange that would be supported by the state. The country aims to promote greater transparency and accountability in the cryptocurrency market by setting new regulations that require at least two-thirds of management to be Indonesians residing in the country, storing client funds in bank accounts held by third parties, and prohibiting exchanges from reinvesting in crypto assets.

In addition, it is anticipated that the state-backed cryptocurrency exchange would enhance crypto acceptance in Indonesia, which has experienced substantial rise in transactions involving crypto assets over the course of the previous year. It is anticipated that the exchange would entice a greater number of individual investors, institutional investors, and blockchain initiatives, all of which will stimulate innovation and contribute to the expansion of the nation’s economy.

The success of the cryptocurrency exchange that is sponsored by the Indonesian government will rely on a number of things, including the strength of the laws, the faith that investors have in the exchange, and the exchange’s capacity to combat fraudulent activity. On the other hand, if Indonesia puts in place the appropriate rules and tactics, it has the potential to become a key participant in the cryptocurrency business and to foster a market that is more safe and transparent for investors.

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G20 To Establish Standards For Global Crypto Regulatory Framework

by Blockchain News

It was announced on February 25 by the group of the 20 largest economies in the world, known collectively as the G20, that the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) will deliver papers and recommendations establishing standards for a global crypto regulatory framework.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is expected to publish its recommendations by July 2023 on the regulation, supervision, and oversight of global stablecoins, crypto asset activities and markets, as stated in a document that provides a summary of the outcomes of a meeting with finance ministers and governors of central banks.

The next set of guidelines is not anticipated to be released until September 2023. At that time, the FSB and the IMF are scheduled to jointly provide “a synthesis document incorporating the macroeconomic and regulatory aspects of crypto assets.” Another research on the “possible macro-financial ramifications of the broad adoption” of central bank digital currencies is scheduled to be published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the same month (CBDCs). The following is an excerpt from the statement that was released by the G20: “We look forward to the IMF-FSB Synthesis Paper which will support a coordinated and comprehensive policy approach to crypto-assets, by considering macroeconomic and regulatory perspectives, including the full range of risks posed by crypto assets.”

Additionally, the BIS will provide a paper that discusses analytical and conceptual concerns in addition to potential risk reduction techniques associated with crypto assets. The text does not include any information on the deadline for this report. The use of cryptocurrency assets to finance terrorist operations will also be investigated by a financial task group established by the G20.

During the course of the event, United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said that it was “essential to put in place a solid regulatory framework” for activities relating to cryptocurrencies. In addition to this, she emphasized that the nation is not advocating for a “outright ban on crypto activity.” In a brief conversation with reporters on the margins of the main event, the managing director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, suggested that the G20 nations need to have the option of outlawing cryptocurrencies.

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Grayscale CEO challenges SEC’s denial of application

by Blockchain News

Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments, stated in a recent interview that he “can’t imagine” why the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “wouldn’t want” to protect Grayscale investors and return the true asset value to them. Sonnenshein made this statement in response to a question regarding why the SEC “wouldn’t want” to protect Grayscale investors.

Sonnenshein explained that the SEC “violated the administrative procedures act” by denying approval for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to be a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF), in June 2022, during an interview that took place on February 25 on What Bitcoin Did, a popular podcast that is hosted by Peter McCormack. The podcast is called What Bitcoin Did.

He stated that this act ensures that the regulator does not show “favoritism” or act “arbitrarily,” adding that the SEC acted “arbitrarily” by approving Bitcoin Futures ETFs while rejecting “GBTC’s conversion.” He explained that this act ensures that the regulator does not show “favoritism” or act “arbitrarily.”

Grayscale Investments saw the SEC’s approval of the first Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as “a indication” that the SEC was “changing its approach about Bitcoin,” according to Sonnenshein’s observation.

He stated that there is a “couple billion dollars” of capital that would immediately go back into investors’ pockets, on a “overnight basis,” if GBTC was approved as a spot Bitcoin ETF, and that this capital would “bleed back” up to the fund’s net asset value. He said this would occur if the fund was approved as a spot Bitcoin ETF (NAV).

Sonnenshein noted that this is because GBTC is now trading at a discount to its NAV. However, if it were to convert to an ETF, there would “no longer” be a discount or a premium; instead, there would be a “arbitraged mechanism” incorporated in the product.

He reaffirmed that Grayscale is now “suing the SEC now,” and that the company may have a ruling appealing the SEC’s rejection of its original application as early as “fall 2023.”

In addition to this, he said that Grayscale has more than “a million investor accounts,” and that investors from all around the globe trust on the company to “do the right thing for them.”

Sonnenshein “can’t fathom” a scenario in which the SEC would have no interest in “protecting investors” or “returning that value” to those investors.

He continued by saying that Grayscale isn’t going “to shy” away from the fact that it has a “commercial interest” in this approval, noting that if the application to challenge the SEC is denied, Grayscale may be able to appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court. He said that Grayscale isn’t going “to shy” away from the fact that it has a “commercial interest” in this approval.

This comes as a result of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing a 73-page brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in December 2022, outlining its reasons for denying Grayscale’s request to convert its $12 billion Bitcoin Trust into a spot-based Bitcoin ETF in June 2022. The brief was submitted in response to Grayscale’s request to convert its Bitcoin Trust into a spot-based Bitcoin ETF.

The conclusions that Grayscale’s approach did not adequately safeguard against fraud and manipulation were the primary considerations that led to the SEC’s determination.

The regulator has arrived at a same conclusion in a number of past applications for the creation of spot-based Bitcoin ETFs.

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G20 Discusses Crypto Regulations Under India Presidency

by Blockchain News

During the time that India presided over the G20, the first meeting of its kind for the group’s Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) was conducted. At this meeting, key issues pertaining to financial stability and regulatory oversight were discussed. India has urged the other member nations to acknowledge the macro-financial consequences of crypto assets and has advocated the development of a coordinated worldwide strategy. In addition, India has proposed the formation of a global strategy coordination group.

In light of the fact that cryptographic assets are traded all over the globe, Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Finance Minister, has in the past voiced her support for the establishment of crypto regulations in collaboration with other countries. This story is now being told as part of the discussions that are being held in the mainstream while India holds the presidency of the G20.

During the 24th and 25th of February, members of the G20 gathered with the FMCBG to discuss the prospects of technological advances while placing a focus on finding a balance between the risks associated with such developments. Among the most significant subjects that were discussed during the G20 meeting were the significance of financial stability and regulatory goals, policy measures for boosting financial inclusion, and productivity increases.

Sitharaman expressed appreciation to individuals who supported efforts to modify rules pertaining to crypto assets in her closing remarks. To be more specific, the Minister of Finance asked for a concerted effort “for creating and comprehending the macro-financial ramifications,” which could be used to change crypto legislation on a global scale. Specifically, the Minister of Finance asked for a concerted effort “for creating and comprehending the macro-financial ramifications.”

She then continued by expressing her appreciation to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for producing a thorough paper on the implications that crypto assets will have on the overall macroeconomic system. In her final comments, Sitharaman underlined the need of cooperation between the nations that are members of the G20 “to foster responsible technological breakthroughs and protect the stability of the financial system.”

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2022 was a tough year for crypto with a decline in venture

by Blockchain News

The year 2022 will go down in history as a challenging one for cryptocurrencies, as the gloomy market circumstances were reflected by a decrease in the amount of venture capital (VC) financing pouring into the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries.

A analysis by Blockdata reveals that there would be consistent decreases in financing on a quarterly basis through the year 2022. This comes after a period of growing venture capital investing into the larger Web3 field through 2021.

Blockdata closed out the final quarter of 2022’s analysis of the value of venture capital financing by noting a 34% decrease from the previous quarter’s total. The data was obtained from CB Insights. When compared to the first and second quarters of the year, the third quarter’s results were much worse, falling by 67% and 53%, respectively.

After reaching a record high of $11 billion in investments and 692 agreements in the first four months of 2022, the ensuing decline in venture capital investment occurred quarterly after that point.

Blockdata identifies a number of reasons for the decrease in venture capital financing for cryptocurrency and blockchain-related projects in 2017. The collapse of the Terra ecosystem, which cost $60 billion and occurred in May 2022, is noted as a trigger event that led to the eventual insolvency of bitcoin lending businesses Three Arrows Capital and Celsius.

The implosion of FTX in November 2022 contributed further to the volatility that permeated throughout the space, while the global macro conditions in capital markets, which were affected by rising interest rates and inflation, also played a role in the decline of investments made by venture capitalists.

As a direct consequence of this, venture capitalists only contributed $3.7 billion to financing during the fourth quarter of 2022. This is a 61% decrease compared to the $9.6 billion that was contributed during the same period in 2021. The overall capital received by blockchain and cryptocurrency firms fell by 11% annually, from $32 billion to $29 billion, bringing the total to $29 billion.

A good conclusion that Blockdata notes is the fact that the number of trades in 2022 is expected to increase by 35% compared to 2021. According to the company, there has been a slowdown in venture capital expenditure, but investors are still eager to fund blockchain-based technology, apps, and businesses. This is despite the fact that venture capital spending has been on the down.

According to the findings of the research, investments in venture capital are gradually moving toward “non-volatile ideas.” These innovations include cross-chain bridges, payments and remittances, loans, decentralized autonomous organizations, asset management, and digital identity management.

The fourth quarter saw a number of significant venture capital investments. Amber Group was successful in obtaining the most money, bringing in $300 million during a Series C round in December 2022. This was done in order to combat drawdowns of certain goods that were impacted by the FTX scandal.

During the fourth quarter, there were a total of nine “blockchain mega-rounds,” each of which resulted in the receiving of more than $100 million in investment. Only Uniswap and Celestia, with respective market values of $1.7 billion and $1 billion, were able to achieve the coveted “unicorn” designation during the fourth quarter of the previous year.

Due to their participation in thirteen separate fundraising rounds for blockchain and cryptocurrency businesses, Coinbase Ventures has been recognized as one of the most active corporate venture capital investors until 2022.

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Coinbase Layer 2 Network

by Blockchain News

The Ethereum community appears to have a bullish view of Coinbase’s newly announced layer-2 network, Base, which has been described as a “massive confidence vote” and a “watershed moment” for the blockchain network. This has been described as a “massive confidence vote” and a “watershed moment” for the blockchain network.

Protected by Ethereum and driven by Optimism’s layer-2 network, Base’s long-term objective is to evolve into a network that facilitates the development of decentralized applications (DApps) for use on blockchains. According to the chief executive officer of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, the layer-2 network is now in the testnet phase.

Members of the cryptocurrency community such as Ryan Sean Adams, host of the Bankless Show, are of the opinion that the move “is a massive vote of confidence for Ethereum.” If this is proven to be the case, it could set a precedent for cryptocurrency companies and financial institutions to use Ethereum as their preferred settlement layer.

Since its founding in 2012, Coinbase has amassed roughly 110 million verified users and has worked with 245,000 businesses across more than 100 countries. According to CoinGecko, its cryptocurrency exchange is the second biggest in the world in terms of trading volume. The first place goes to Binance.

“This alone will 10x the overall number of crypto native users,” Adams said, adding that “if Coinbase converts 20% of its 110 million verified users to Layer 2 users in the future years,” this alone will 10x the entire number of verified users.

Adam also praised Coinbase for its decision to open-source Base, and he is of the opinion that the newly introduced layer-2 network would result in an increased demand for block space on Ethereum.

In the meantime, Sebastien Guillemot, co-founder of blockchain infrastructure company dcSpark, suggested that Coinbase made a wise decision to go with a layer 2 as opposed to an independent sidechain, noting that “almost all” cryptocurrency transactions and value locked on Ethereum resides on layer 2s these days. Guillemot was referring to the fact that “almost all” cryptocurrency transactions and value locked on Ethereum resides on layer 2s.

In a tweet dated February 23, Ryan Watkins, co-founder of the cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund Syncracy Capital, referred to the announcement as a “watershed moment” in the ecosystem of Ethereum rollups. He went on to say that there was “probably no one better” positioned than Coinbase to get Ethereum’s next 10 million consumers and institutions on board.

However, there were some bears among the bulls.

Gabriel Shapiro, general counsel of investment firm Delphi Labs, explained in a Twitter post dated February 23 that launching a centralized layer-2 network “opens the door” to unwarranted scrutiny from the SEC. He was referring to the fact that the SEC has the authority to investigate investment firms.

“A centralized L2 that trades lots of tokens any number of which could be alleged securities, or does lots of DeFi transactions that arguably might alleged to be regulated (security swaps etc), opens the door to the SEC making new kinds of secondary market claims,” wrote Shapiro, adding that “imo, this will accelerate the SEC’s “secondary market” agenda re: blockchain securities issues, because they can’t let an SEC registrant “get away with” potential violations and

Concerns raised by Shapiro come at a time when the SEC has lately ramped up its enforcement operations against a number of stablecoin issuers and service providers of staking services.

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Original Snow Crash Manuscript Goes Up for Auction

by Blockchain News

According to a page that can be found on the official website of Sotheby’s, the original manuscript of Neil Stephenson’s Snow Crash, the novel that is credited with coining the phrase “metaverse,” will be put up for sale. The auction is a part of a series dubbed “Infocalypse” that will take place on February 23. The series will feature both physical and digital goods linked to the well-known novel.

Lot 2 of the series contains the original manuscript that was written. It is “wrapped in original Xerox 4200 Paper,” it is sealed with masking tape, and it has “corrections and notations throughout written in blue ink by Neal Stephenson in his hand.” Additionally, the author has inscribed the title of the book on the spine of the book using a sharpie marker.

In addition, there is a “updated typesetting document” up for auction in Lot 4 of the sale. This is a later version that was revised and supplemented by the author with extra handwritten notations and alterations.

Other real-world items are also being sold at auction as part of this series. These include the original painting that was used as the cover art for the 1993 mass-market paperback edition of the book; a leather jacket that was going to be used in a video promotion for the graphic novel; slides that were used for the concept of the graphic novel; and a real sword that was inspired by the one that the book’s protagonist wielded.

In addition to these tangible artifacts, the series will also include non-fiction tales (NFTs) of digital art that were created in response to the graphic book idea that came before Snow Crash.

The dystopian novel Snow Crash was first released in 1992 and takes place in a world where the majority of people reside in cramped storage facilities. The main character, Hiro, is a pizza delivery worker who needs to battle robbers in order to deliver pizzas to customers. The story chronicles his adventures. Hiro doesn’t have much of a social life since he spends all of his free time in a virtual world known as “the Metaverse,” which is a place where people go to get away from the stress of ordinary life. The inhabitants of the Metaverse, however, are transformed into “nothing more than a jittering cloud of negative digital karma” due to a computer virus. The journey that Hiro takes through the book to discover a cure for the virus is the driving force behind the story’s action.

According to the Washington Post, the book has racked up sales of more than one million copies on the continent of North America alone. Since the publication of the book, enthusiasts of virtual reality have been increasingly using Stephenson’s term “metaverse” to describe the developing virtual world that is being created by virtual reality technology. In recent years, the term has become a buzzword that is frequently searched for online.

The growth of the metaverse has provided some people with new job prospects and has contributed to the transformation of Web3 gaming.

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