Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

South African Mobile Network Operator MTN Buys Land in the Metaverse

MTN Seeks to ‘Amplify Consumers’ Digital Experiences‘　　South Africa’s mobile network operator, MTN, recently bought 144 plots of digital land in the Ubuntuland metaverse, a report has said. The purchase reportedly makes MTN one of the first companies from South Africa to enter the metaverse.　　As the Mybroadband report explained, MTN now owns 144 plots with an area of 12 square meters.　　Commending the company‘s pivot to the metaverse, MTN’s group executive for marketing, Bernice Samuels, is quoted explaining how this dovetails with its Ambition 2025 strategy. The executive said:　　This is exactly what our Ambition 2025 strategy is premised on — leveraging trends that amplify consumers digital experiences and engagement. We have always been at the forefront of technological and digital changes and we remain alive to the exciting opportunities the metaverse presents for us and our customers.　　The mobile network operator added that its presence in the metaverse demonstrates its support for African innovation.　　Also, through this presence in the metaverse, MTN will attempt to increase what the report calls its customer attractiveness. This will be done via a series of experiences that are merged with consumer passion points like gaming and music, the report explained.

2022-03-03Deep Dive

Ukraine Adds Dogecoin to List of Accepted Cryptos, Prime Minister Asks DOGE Co-Founder and Elon Musk

Ukraine Vice Prime Minister: ‘Even Memes Can Support Our Army’　　Following the acceptance of polkadot (DOT) on March 1, the Ukrainian government is now poised to take dogecoin (DOGE) donations as well. Mykhailo Fedorov, the country‘s vice prime minister, announced the government would accept DOGE via the Ukrainian official’s Twitter account. Fedorov even gave a shout-out to the Dogecoin networks co-creator Billy Markus and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The Ukrainian official stated:　　[Dogecoin] exceeded [the] Russian ruble in value. We start to accept donations in meme coin. Now even [memes] can support our army and save lives from Russian invaders. DOGE owners of the world, [Elon Musk, Billy Markus], lets do it.　　The dogecoin acceptance follows the Ukrainian governments initial plea for bitcoin and ethereum donations which saw millions worth of BTC and ETH pour into the donation addresses. Furthermore, the crypto exchange Binance launched a crowdfunding initiative to support Ukraine, and Binance donated $10 million as well. After Fedorov announced the DOGE acceptance a number of dogecoin advocates replied.　　“Sent some,” DOGE‘s co-founder Billy Markus tweeted in response to Fedorov’s tweet. “Dogecoin folks arent usually rich and dogecoin itself is generally used for small transactions, but we are a caring and passionate bunch.

2022-03-03Deep Dive

This crypto firm wants to use DeFi loans to fund its trades

One of the biggest crypto trading firms, Alameda Research, is financing part of its daily trading activity with DeFi loans. 　　The leading crypto firm transacts around $5 billion worth of crypto daily and revealed that it would borrow $750 million from TrueFi and Maple Finance over the year.Alameda Research uses DeFi loans for trading　　Alameda Research is one of the crypto firms founded by Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX and is a major trader on the exchange. It was also one of the major investors in the $12.5 million funding round for TrustToken, TrueFis parent company.　　DeFi platforms like TrueFi were built to help solve one of the many problems crypto traders face: access to funds.　　Due to the industrys volatile nature and the cloak of anonymity surrounding players in the space, traditional financial institutions rarely provide access to funding. 　　This has left a gaping hole in the crypto industry that TrueFi, alongside a host of others, tries to fill.　　According to Sam Trabucco, a top executive at Alameda, he revealed that the firm already conducts a double-digit percentage of its trading using DeFi before adding that DeFi borrowing was also a significant part of its balance sheet.　　Trabuco also stated that the firm plans to

2022-03-03Deep Dive

EU Data Act Proposes Shutdown Function for Smart Contracts

The European Union has published its new Data Act, a law proposal that aims to regulate the generation and handling of data by the actors that harness it. The act, in its large scope, touches on the subject of smart contracts and proposes that every smart contract should have a termination function to stop the flow of transactions when required.　　Smart Contracts Might Be Stifled by EU Data Act　　The newly proposed EU Data Act, published on February 23, aims to regulate and control the ways in which data is being generated, bringing legal clarity to the data market in Europe. According to a press release, the new Data act seeks to “ensure fairness in the digital environment, stimulate a competitive data market, open opportunities for data-driven innovation and make data more accessible for all.”　　However, due to its large scope, this new act touches the subject of smart contracts, which are pieces of software designed to execute certain tasks based on data inputs. The document, in its article 30, titled “essential requirements regarding smart contracts for data sharing,” defines the requirements that smart contracts must fulfill to be deployed in conformity with EU laws.　　One of these requirements, called “safe termination and interruption,”

2022-03-03Deep Dive

Mike Novogratz: Russia-Ukraine War Will Boost Crypto Adoption and Dollar Marginalization

Mike Novogratz, CEO of digital assets company Galaxy Investment Partners, predicted that the Russia-Ukraine war will boost crypto adoption and lead to the marginalization of the dollar.　　“This is a big deal, in a lot of ways. This is starting the acceleration of de-dollarization of the world,” he commented.　　The billionaire American investment banker made it clear in a tweet on February 25 that he stood with Ukraine in this war. He also shared a picture with Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, saying, “I pity the Russian that runs into Klitschko.”　　Bitcoin prices witnessed a sudden spike, going well past $44,000 from the below $40,000 level in a matter of two days. Novogratz‘s forecast of the dollar’s importance to progressively decline vis-à-vis bitcoin and other digital assets after this war sounds true for the ruble, which saw its value fall by 25% in a day.　　Boost for Crypto, Marginalization of Dollar　　According to a Bloomberg report, Novogratz believes the war might “push more regular people toward crypto.” But, similar to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, he doesnt think that bitcoin is going to be used as a workaround against the hefty sanctions that the Western world imposed on Russia.　　It may simply be the case of people reaching

2022-03-03Deep Dive

UK Regulator Bans Floki Inu Ad for Being Irresponsible, Exploiting Investor FOMO

The U.K.‘s advertising authority has banned an ad for cryptocurrency floki inu (FLOKI). The authority says the ad’s “Missed Doge？ Get Floki” claim “exploited consumers‘ fears of missing out and trivialized investment in cryptocurrency.” The ad was also “irresponsible” and “took advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity,” the regulator said.　　 Floki Ad Banned in the UK　　The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the U.K.s regulator of advertising, published its “Ruling on Floki Inu” Wednesday.　　The advertising authority began investigating an ad campaign for floki inu (FLOKI), the cryptocurrency inspired by Elon Musks shiba inu dog, in November last year after the Floki ad was seen on public transport in London.　　The ad contains a floki inu logo and text that says, “Missed Doge？ Get Floki.” It also contains smaller text at the bottom that reads, “Your investment may go down as well as up in value. Cryptocurrency is not regulated in the UK.”　　After investigation, the ASA ruled:　　“The use of an image of a cartoon dog wearing a Viking helmet and the claim ‘Missed Doge. Get Floki,’ exploited consumers fears of missing out and trivialized investment in cryptocurrency.”　　In addition, the advertising watchdog ruled that “the ad was irresponsible” and “took advantage of consumers inexperience or

2022-03-03Deep Dive

Federal Reserve Chairman Says Russia-Ukraine Conflict Highlights Need For Crypto Regulation

Jerome Powell – Chairman of the Federal Reserve – recently testified in front of the House Financial Services Committee on the state of the economy, and future monetary policy. Given the various sanctions placed on Russia during its conflict with Ukraine, he said the conflict “underscores” the need for crypto regulation that hes advocated for months.　　Maintaining Effective Sanctions　　Following his testimony on Wednesday, Powell was asked whether Russia could potentially use cryptocurrencies to bypass the slew of sanctions recently placed on the nation.　　Following its announcement of “special military operations” in Ukraine, Western nations have taken major measures to damage Russias economy through a trade war. These include “export blocks on technology” from the US to Russia, alongside a massive cutoff of Russian banks from SWIFT.　　“[The Ukraine-Russia conflict] underscored the need for Congressional action on digital finance including cryptocurrencies,” Powell responded. “We have this burgeoning industry which has many parts to it, and there isnt in place the kind of regulatory framework that needs to be there.”　　Since cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin allow for peer-to-peer cross-border transactions, they are difficult for governments to enforce trade restrictions on. Western allies are already raising concerns over how Russians may take advantage of them during the conflict,

2022-03-03Deep Dive

Digital Ruble Likely To Help Russia Move Away From US Dollar, Economists Say

Under pressure from unprecedented Western sanctions, Russia‘s increased likelihood of defaulting on its foreign debt payments have economists eyeing the role of the digital ruble in reshaping the country’s economy.　　Western nations have launched unprecedented sanctions against Russia in recent days, leading to an increased likelihood that the country will default on its foreign debt obligations, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said Monday.　　In a report Monday, the institute said its economists expect “the cumulative effect of sanctions on the Russian economy to be strong, leading to a sizeable contraction of output this year.”　　Russia‘s central bank more than doubled interest rates to 20% Monday in an attempt to limit inflation and ruble depreciation. More than half of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves are held in countries that have imposed sanctions and frozen assets, limiting the central banks options.　　“If we stay here and [the situation] escalates, then default and restructuring is likely,” said Elina Ribakova, the IIFs deputy chief economist, told reporters Monday.　　Russia has been in the process of de-dollarization since 2014, the IIF said. The Bank of Russia has reduced the share of its reserve assets in US dollars and its holdings of US Treasurys significantly, with gold now surpassing US dollars

2022-03-02Deep Dive

Ukraine ‘Marked an Inflection Point’ for Bitcoin as an Asset, Analysts Say

Bitcoins price jump is an indication that the cryptoasset could be transitioning from a risk-on asset to a risk-off asset, according to market participants, though movements in the coming weeks will shed more light on whether or not this is a long-term trend.　　The price of a bitcoin was roughly $43,900 at 11:30 am ET, up 7% in the last 24 hours. The price had increased nearly 19% and 15% over the last seven days and 30 days, respectively, data showed at the time.　　“I see bitcoin transitioning from a risk-on to risk-off asset, and so far in 2022, the crypto has made good progress on this trajectory,” said Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence.　　Bitcoins price initially plummeted last week as Russian troops invaded Ukraine, suggesting a stronger correlation with tech stocks than it does with gold or other safe-haven assets.　　But industry watchers said the price rebound could prove a view by some investors that bitcoin remains a hedge against inflation or market uncertainty.　　“When freedom and individual liberty are threatened, the price of bitcoin goes up,” said Antoni Trenchev, co-founder and managing partner of Nexo.　　“Alongside the overselling in the market over the previous few weeks, a rebound was inevitable.”　　Bitcoin is

2022-03-02Deep Dive

Ukraine Now Takes Polkadot, Says It Will Accept Other Coins Soon

Ukraine Posts DOT Address, Receives First Polkadot Donations　　In the face of an ongoing military assault by the Russian army, Ukrainians have offered crypto users around the world another option to support their cause. Early on Tuesday, the Ukraine Twitter account published a DOT address along with a statement welcoming polkadot donations.　　The post expresses gratitude on behalf of the Ukrainian people for the funds donated by the global crypto community. It also reveals that support for more cryptocurrencies will be introduced in the near future.　　The people of Ukraine are grateful for the support and donations from the global crypto community as we protect our freedom. We are now accepting Polkadot donations too: $DOT: 1x8aa2N2Ar9SQweJv9vsuZn3WYDHu7gMQu1RePjZuBe33Hv.　　More cryptocurrencies to be accepted soon.　　— Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) March 1, 2022　　The announcement comes after Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum and creator of Polkadot, tweeted on Sunday that if Ukraine provided a DOT address, he would send $5 million in the cryptocurrency.　　If you post a DOT address Ill personally contribute $5m.　　— Gavin Wood (@gavofyork) February 27, 2022　　On Tuesday, he tweeted a transaction showing the transfer of 298,367 DOT to the wallet, bringing the total deposited amount to over $5,8 million. Prior to his donation, the balance was

2022-03-02Deep Dive

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