Crypto
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75% of investors in emerging markets want more crypto: survey
A recent survey has revealed that a whopping 75% of investors in Asia-Pacific and Latin American emerging markets are looking to increase their exposure to cryptocurrency investments. Researchers from consumer sentiments firm Toluna surveyed 9,000 people from 17 countries to complete the report released in February which found that more investors in APAC and LATAM emerging markets believe cryptocurrency investments are on a long-term upward trend. This is contrasted with developed markets that tend to believe crypto is in the midst of another hype cycle. Emerging markets appear to be the most lucrative markets for growth in the cryptocurrency industry as 32% of consumers surveyed have trust in cryptocurrency compared to just 14% in developed markets such as the U.S. and E.U. The data sugge...
NFT infrastructure startup Rarify raises $10M from Pantera Capital
NFT infrastructure startup Rarify has raised $10 million in Series A funding from Pantera Capital at a valuation of $100 million. The backing from Pantera Capital appears significant as the company is one of the top venture capital firms in crypto. One of Rarify’s primary offerings is an NFT-commerce-focused application programming interface (APIs) that enables firms to launch and integrate user-friendly marketplaces in their platforms. The API also allows minting and porting NFTs between different blockchains. Speaking with Forbes on March 3, Rarify co-founder Revas Tsivtsivadze stated that the company aims to simplify NFT buying and selling similarly to “how Square made it super easy to accept payments.” Tsivtsivadze highlighted the check-out process of marketplaces such as OpenSea, whic...
Russian crypto volume across major exchanges plunges by 50%
Data from blockchain-analysis firms show that Russian denominated crypto purchasing and trading on major exchanges have faltered, debunking theories that the country will pivot to digital assets to circumvent sanctions. When Bitcoin rallied over 15% last week, some industry experts attributed the surge to Russians buying cryptocurrency in the face of increasing economic sanctions. This theory seems to be proved false, however, as data from Chainalysis showed that ruble-denominated crypto trading volume was just $34.1 million on March 3, around half of a recent peak of $70.7 million a week ago on Feb. 24. Speaking on the matter of sanctions-fueled crypto purchasing to Bloomberg, Citigroup analyst Alexander Saunders said, “Russian volumes have been relatively small so far, suggesting t...
New York Bitcoin mining moratorium bill garners more support
A New York State proposal to suspend fossil fuel-powered proof-of-work mining for three years across the state has gained support from two more Assembly members. Members Amy Paulin and Ken Zebrowski have thrown their names in along with 43 other cosponsors for bill A7389B. In addition to the three-year suspension of mining at former fossil fuel power plants, the bill would require the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to assess the state’s crypto mining industry. The assessment would determine the impact on water and air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. @annakelles is touting a build of of support in the assembly for her proposed bitcoin mining moratorium bill, where it stalled due to the union opposition. pic.twitter.com/YoRaN8r0sK — Jimmy Jordan (@jmmy...
US SEC is probing possible violations in NFT offerings
The SEC is particularly interested in fractional NFTs The regulator has, over the last few months, reportedly demanded information on the matter from certain entities Enjoying a breakout onto the scene in 2021, the NFT sector grew to become a $40 billion market. However, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, has taken note of the digital collectables and is now exploring whether they have been used in ways that violate securities laws. According to a recently published report by Bloomberg, the Commission has initiated a probe into whether NFT offerings are securities in the last few months. The news outlet said that the SEC has been sending subpoenas to creators behind some NFTs and crypto exchanges to provide information on the said product offerings. Bloomberg, citing people fa...
Ukraine DAO raises over $6M via NFT sale to aid Ukrainian citizens
UkraineDAO, the decentralized autonomous organization created by Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova, Trippy Labs and PleasrDAO members, crowdfunded 2188 ETH, or $6.1 million, for a 1/1 Ukrainian flag NFT. Proceeds will go to nonprofit organizations in Ukraine that are helping those affected by the Russian invasion. The NFT sale was hosted as a PartyBid auction, allowing people to pool resources and bid collectively for fractionalized ownership of the digital Ukrainian flag. Contributors will receive ERC-20 tokens in the form of LOVE tokens depending on the donation amount. At the time of writing, the NFT has not been fractionalized and the funds have not yet been distributed. 1- $LOVE TLDR (and thread) ✅ Funds (over $6M / 2100ETH) safu in the ukrainedao.eth multisig...
Crypto Biz: Another billionaire admits he was wrong about Bitcoin, Feb. 25–Mar. 3
After spending years ridiculing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, Wall Street’s billionaire class is finally warming up to the idea of virtual assets powering the digital economy. This week, Citadel founder and billionaire Ken Griffin formally backtracked on his anti-crypto stance as he announced that his firm would begin offering digital assets to its clients. Of course, Griffin isn’t the only wealthy investor to have a change of heart, so we’re not going to bust his chops too much. So, while crypto analysts continue to debate about whether we are in a bull or bear market, institutions, venture capitalists and ordinary people continue to adopt digital assets. As we see in Eastern Europe, trustless money like Bitcoin offers a unique value proposition in times of geopolitical uncertainty and conf...
How behavioral tokenomics could facilitate the creation of a circular economy
The Iota Foundation and Imperial College London recently announced the launch of a four-year distributed ledger technology, or DLT, initiative designed to research and develop solutions to foster socially conscious, circular economic models and businesses around servitization. The Imperial-Iota-Infrastructures Lab, known as the I3-Lab, will operate within the Dyson School of Design Engineering and has adopted the tagline “infrastructure powered by Iota; analytics powered by Imperial; use-cases powered by the community; and impact powered by partnerships.” Expected to commence this summer, the I3-Lab has been initially funded by a $1 million philanthropic grant from the Iota Foundation and will soon become a co-funded project following an undisclosed contribution from ICL describe...
Andreessen Horowitz invests $70M in Ethereum staking protocol Lido
Ethereum staking solution Lido Finance has raised $70 million from venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, marking the protocol’s first funding round since May 2021. Andreessen Horowitz’s investment in Lido is intended to further support the adoption of decentralized staking solutions for Ethereum 2.0, a spokesperson for the venture capital firm said. Ethereum 2.0 marks a significant shift in the network’s consensus algorithm by ushering in the adoption of proof-of-stake (PoS) and other upgrades that could enhance scalability and reduce fees. The transition to Ethereum 2.0, which began in November 2020, is still ongoing. Excited to share that @a16z has invested $70M in @LidoFinance, one of the easiest ways to stake ETH and other PoS assets, and we used Lido to stake a portion of o...
Here is why deVere Group CEO expects Bitcoin to clock $50k this month
Nigel Green believes the Ukraine crisis and institutional investor interest could spur a price surge He explained that the recent developments have paraded Bitcoin’s key traits Since hitting an all-time peak, Bitcoin has been the epitome of fluctuating currencies, but CEO of Financial services firm deVere Group Nigel Green believes that the asset is likely to rise (in the coming months) from its 14th place among the most valuable currencies in the world today. Pointing to its current momentum, the CEO has predicted that Bitcoin could hit $50k before the end of March. Green backed his projection citing the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and a growing appetite for institutional investment as the impetus that will sustain the push to the predicted price. The financial services mogul held tha...
Ukraine scraps token airdrop plans but will soon mint NFTs
Ukraine has cancelled the planned airdrop and will instead release NFTs to support the country’s armed forces Earlier today, spoofing spams appeared to show Ukraine had initiated the now-cancelled airdrop Amidst the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, people from various ends of the world have set up initiatives to support Ukraine and the citizens caught in this humanitarian crisis. Notably, a sizeable chunk of the donations have been completed in cryptocurrencies. The Ukrainian government had planned to airdrop a token to donators, but these arrangements have been squashed. Just hours ago, Ukraine’s vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, announced that “after careful consideration,” the government has scrapped the plans and indi...
Decentralized Finance tokens you can buy right now under $1: GRT, AMP, LRC, ZRX and KEEP
GRT, AMP, LRC, ZRX, and KEEP are all DeFi-related tokens. Each token is currently at a solid price point under $1, which makes it a solid purchase option. We analyzed each token as a means of indicating how far their value can increase by the end of March. The Graph (GRT), Amp (AMP), Loopring (LRC), 0x (ZRX), and Keep Network (KEEP) are all solid decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens you can buy on March 3 under $1. Should you buy The Graph (GRT)? On March 3, 2022, The Graph (GRT) had a value of $0.3721. The all-time high value of The Graph (GRT) was on February 12, 2021, when the token reached a value of $2.84. Going over January’s performance, The Graph (GRT) had its highest point of value on February 8 at $0.5196. Its lowest point of value was on February 24 at $0.3092. Here, we can see t...
