Elon Musk says Neuralink is better than Metaverse

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk showed no support for the metaverse and Web 3.0 ecosystems as he dismissed the terms for being used as buzzwords and marketing tactics. He said that he favours Neuralink over Metaverse in the long term. Speaking around metaverse and virtual reality (VR), Musk said that he does not see a future where one would have to leave the physical world to live in a virtual one.

El Salvador buys 21 Bitcoin to celebrate 21/12/21

Buying Bitcoin is becoming a way of celebrating different occasions or playing around with meaningful figures by El Salvador. The government has bought 21 Bitcoins yesterday. Before the purchase, El Salvador held 1,120 bitcoins in its treasury.

Bank of Russia to allow crypto investment via foreign firms

Russia continues to send mixed signals to the cryptocurrency markets as more reports provide details on the country’s upcoming crypto regulation. Shortly after Bank of Russia governor Elvira Nabiullina announced the bank’s intentions to prevent the local financial system from using crypto, another executive at the central bank clarified that crypto investment will remain legal in Russia. Crypto investors are confused seeing Russia’s mixed actions.

Crypto exchange Kraken acquires non-custodial staking platform Staked

Major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has announced that it purchased blockchain infrastructure company and investment manager Staked for an undisclosed amount. Stake’s non-custodial staking service enables users to earn yield from staking without giving up custody of their assets. Kraken referred to the deal as “one of the largest crypto industry acquisitions to date”.

Bitpanda launches Exchange-Traded Note backed by physical Bitcoin on Deutsche Borse

Austrian fintech firm Bitpanda launched a fully collateralized exchange-traded cryptocurrency note that tracks the price of Bitcoin. The Bitpanda Bitcoin ETC (YBTC) is listed on Deutsche Boerse and Frankfurt Boerse with a total expense ratio (TER) of 2%. YBTC is physically backed, fully collateralized, and centrally cleared.

Mauricio Macri considers Ethereum as among the most innovative technologies

Mauricio Macri, the former President of Argentian said that Ethereum was one of the most innovative technologies during an interview with Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum.

Reports say 0.01% Bitcoin holders control 27% of the asset in control

According to a study, a large portion of Bitcoin is concentrated in the hands of a few. 0.01% of the bitcoin holders have 27% of the total Bitcoins in the world.

Jackson city to start cryptocurrency payroll conversion

Jackson, one of the largest cities in Tennesee is making preparations to provide crypto payroll conversion options for residents.

Regal teams up with Flexa to provide Digital Currency payments for movies

Regal, a subsidiary of Cineworld Group revealed its partnership deal program with Flexa, a leading digital payments network to provide digital currency payments.

Terra has become the second biggest De-Fi platform

Terra has become the second biggest smart contract platform just behind Ethereum. It has surpassed the popular Binance Smart Chain.

 

RBI asks Central Board to ban Crypto

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has conveyed to its central board that it favours a complete ban on cryptocurrencies. A detailed presentation made to the board highlighted serious concerns related to macroeconomic and financial stability as well as exchange management. 

Telangana to accredit Web2 and Web3 blockchain startups

Telangana will launch the blockchain accelerator program in partnership with CoinSwitch Kuber and Lumos Labs.

Dubai World Trade Centre to create a new crypto hub

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to emerge as one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency-friendly jurisdictions as the government of Dubai has a new initiative to support local crypto development and regulation.

Crypto Bill Deferred, No Cabinet Approval Yet

The Cryptocurrency Bill is unlikely to be presented in the ongoing winter session as the Centre is yet to finalise details of the legislation

World invested $30 billion in crypto in 2021

A report said that the crypto market has become more popular and a $30 billion worth of investment has been made in the last year.

 

SEC postpones decision on Grayscale and Bitwise Bitcoin Spot ETF to early February

The US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to delay the physically-backed Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) from trading. The SEC has extended its review of NYSE Arca’s Bitcoin ETF, named Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust, and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s Bitcoin ETF. The new deadlines to review two proposals have been shifted to February 2022, as the agency needs more time to review the potential rule change further.

ConsenSys And Mastercard Partner To Release Ethereum Scaling Solution

Consensys and Mastercard have announced the launch of ConsenSys Rollups. The new solution will provide leading financial organizations enterprise-grade scalability, helping them address the key issues and provide “scalability and privacy” capabilities to applications connected to any blockchain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine.

Vkyraire Launches Innovative Balance Sheet Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund For Investors

The Valkyrie Funds launched a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) yesterday which manages public firms with bitcoin on the balance sheet. This Balance Sheet ETF aims to give investors exposure to bitcoin by holding firms that directly or indirectly invest in, transact in or hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets.

Ray Dalio Says Bitcoin is Alternative to Gold for younger Generations

In a recent interview with MarketWatch, Dalio, the former crypto-skeptic said “he believes in blockchain technology because it has earned credibility. Regarding investment wallets, Dalio also mentioned that “Bitcoin is almost an alternative to gold for a younger generation”.

NBA Star Kevin Durant Goes Crypto With Coinbase Deal

NBA player Kevin Durant inked a fresh deal with crypto exchange Coinbase to appear as “a face of the brand.” Sequentially, Coinbase will run cryptocurrency ads and sponsored content on Boardroom, Durant’s sports website, and donate to Durant’s charitable foundation to support the youth.

RBI board discusses CBDC, private cryptocurrencies

The central board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) discussed issues related to Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and private cryptocurrencies, the RBI said in a press release. This development assumes significance as the Indian government is currently in the process of finalising a national law to regulate cryptocurrencies. The RBI is in the process of rolling out a CDBC, which is a digital form of fiat currency. 

Revenue from crypto scams surges 81% in 2021: Report

As per the Chainalysis’ 2022 Crypto Crime Report, the money collected from crypto-related scams and crimes worldwide touched almost $7.7 billion, surging ~81% over the previous year.  Nearly 37% of the total amount (or $2.8 billion) belonged to “rug pulls” scams taking place in the Defi ecosystem. A rug pull is a type of scam where developers abandon a project and run away with investors’ money.

Australian government gives nod to 6 world-leading crypto reforms

According to the Australian Financial Review, the government is in favour of six out of nine reforms proposed by the Senate Committee, including a licensing regime for crypto exchanges, laws to govern decentralized autonomous organizations and a common access regime for new payments platforms.

The Central bank tells Thai banks not to offer crypto trading

The Bank of Thailand has stated that it does not want commercial banks to be directly involved in the trading of crypto assets.

Iceland cuts power to new Bitcoin miners

National Iceland electrical company Landsvirkjun has cut the amount of power it will provide for some industries, including aluminium smelters and Bitcoin miners.

Tezos blockchain records a 70% increase in energy efficiency in 2021

Tezos, a privacy-focused blockchain network, released its carbon footprint report from PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory SAS, a French member firm of the PwC network. The PwC report reflects drastic improvements in energy efficiency for Tezos both in terms of reduced carbon footprint and lower energy consumption.

Russia’s largest bank struggles to register its digital asset platform

Sber, Russia’s largest bank, is struggling to obtain regulatory approval for its digital asset issuance platform as the company continues delaying registration plans.

Coinbase launches open-source cryptography library Kryptology

Coinbase announced the creation of a novel cryptographic library, Kryptology, a collection of tools for blockchain developers. These include secure, audited, and easy-to-use application programming interfaces (APIs) as well as a repository of common issues and lessons learned throughout the history of crypto.

Kotak to start business with WazirX, bets on crypto exchanges

Kotak Mahindra Bank has emerged as the first major bank to welcome the cryptocurrency community back, after being on a payment freeze by banking giants for about 8 months. The bank will start business with one of the country’s largest crypto exchanges, WazirX. The crypto exchange has opened an account with Kotak, while necessary paperwork, KYC, and other tests are ongoing.

Crypto prices today: Bitcoin hits $51,000; Ethereum, Binance coin jumps up to 8%

The crypto market was back in the green on Tuesday as investors picked quality tokens at lower prices. Bitcoin surged past the $50,000 mark as concerns over the Omicron variant eased across the globe and investors lapped up riskier assets. Binance Coin led the gainers with an 8% rally, followed by Ethereum and Cardano which gained 5% each.

Jury in Satoshi Nakamoto suit finds no evidence of partnership to create Bitcoin

A Florida jury rejected claims that Craig Wright and David Kleiman formed a partnership to launch Bitcoin, ending a high-profile case that revolved around the identity of the crypto’s anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto and the disposition of a multibillion-dollar fortune. The civil suit, filed by the family of Mr. Kleiman (now deceased) alleged that he and Mr. Wright formed a partnership to create and launch Bitcoin in 2008-’09 using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.

Bitcoin crash puts a dent into crypto fund inflows: Report

As per a report from asset manager CoinShares, digital asset investment products or crypto funds saw total inflows of $184 million last week (till 3 December), although sharp price weakness at the end week did lead to $40 million outflows last Friday. However, overall inflows suggest that investors continued to see recent price weakness as a buying opportunity.

Crypto investment firm Stacked bags $35 million in funding round

In a fresh funding round, crypto investment platform Stacked has raised $35 million (~Rs 263 crore). The investment round was led by quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research and crypto-start-up investment firm, Mirana Ventures. Launched in 2020, Stacked allows customers to access pre-built investment bundles from hedge funds, asset managers, and indices.

Ethereum’s market cap now exceeds that of the world’s biggest banks

The market capitalisation of the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency Ether has hit a milestone. It has surpassed the market cap of every global bank, including JP Morgan. The Ethereum blockchain has only existed for less than a decade, while JP Morgan has been a prominent bank for the last 40 years! The increasing market cap of top cryptos like Bitcoin and Ether shows the extent of the growth in the digital asset industry and the massive adoption from both retail and institutional investors.