Adoption news
Google has partnered up with BitPay and Coinbase Global to store cryptoassets on digital cards while still allowing users to pay in traditional currencies. Bloomberg reported this, citing Bill Ready (Google’s president of commerce). He said that “crypto is something that we pay a lot attention to” and that the company is keen to expand its partnerships. According to the same report, Google also hired Arnold Goldberg, a former PayPal Executive, to manage its payments division. This is after the company abandoned a push into banks.
Rob Nichols, president American Bankers Association stated in blog post that US banks are seeking ways to provide services that allow customers to purchase and sell cryptocurrency. He argued that token platforms operate in a similar way to traditional lenders and should therefore be regulated.
UFCheavyweight champion Francis Ngannou stated that he will receive half of the UFC 270 prize money in Bitcoin (BTC). Cash app. On January 23, the French-Cameroonian MMA champion will face Ciryl Gane, who is undefeated. He will earn a guaranteed USD 750,000.
Stablecoins news
USD coin supply on ETH (ETH) has exceeded tether supply for the first time since 2019. This was reported by on-chain analytics firm Coin Metrics. USDC supply for Ethereum has risen 10x to 40B from 4B at the start of 2021. Tether remains the largest stablecoin in terms of total supply, but there is an additional USDT 39bn worth of Tron.
Economic news
The UK’s inflation rate has reached a record high of 5.4%. This is due to rising food, clothing, and housing prices, reported the Guardian. This increases the country’s living costs and puts pressure on the Bank of England, which will raise interest rates at its February meeting, after December’s unexpected hike.
Regulation news
Social Finance Inc. was approved by the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a full-service bank. However, the entity must not engage in cryptoasset activities.
As part of a city-state’s efforts to restrict consumer marketing of crypto, per Google, Singapore has closed down all crypto ATMs. Daenerys & Co. was Singapore’s largest operator of ATMs and has ceased operations to comply with the Monetary Authority of Singapore request.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is planning tightening its rules for how cryptoassets should be marketed. The FCA will allow the government to promote these “high-risk investment” schemes. This regulator will classify qualifying cryptoassets under ‘Restricted Market Investments’, meaning that consumers won’t be able respond to financial promotions for cryptoassets unless they are restricted, high-net worth, or sophisticated investors. The FCA invites feedback about its proposals by March 23.
CBDC news
According to the Iranian Labour News Agency , the Central Bank of Iran plans to launch a digital currency central bank ( CBDC ) “in the near-future”. Mehran Moharamian, the CBI Vice Governor of IT Affairs, stated that the bank views “cryptocurrencies” as a way to resolve inconsistencies and decentralize resources.
News from the Exchanges
has announced it will be the exclusive crypto exchange partner for Guild Esports. This global team organization and lifestyle brand is co-owned by David Beckham (an English ex-professional footballer). The deal includes a three-year global sponsorship deal worth GBP 4.5m ($USD 6.14m).
Binance stated it joined the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance, a non-profit corporation that focuses on identifying and validating cybercrime threats, as well as mitigating and neutralizing them. Binance claims that it is the first blockchain- and crypto-industry organization to join the alliance.
Gemini has announced that it acquired Omniex trading technology platform, which will enable the exchange to launch Gemini Prime. Gemini Prime is a crypto prime brokerage offering, which has been supported by a small client base for the past year. Gemini Prime will be fully operational in Q2 2022. Omniex’s integration with Gemini’s existing custody clearing and over-the counter (OTC trading capabilities) will make trading easier for institutional investors, providing them with a single point to access multiple exchanges and OTC liquidity sources.
Digital asset platform Bakkt Holdings announced that it has partnered with the crypto lender Neo ( O), in order to custody crypto assets at the Bakkt Warehouse. This is the company’s regulated custodian, which allows storage of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
News about Blockchain and DLT
Privacy infrastructure startup Nym Technology announced that it generated the first block on its Nym mainnet’s blockchain ‘Nyx, which is the next step to its fully functional mainnet. Dokia Capital, Chorus One, Telco giant Swisscom and Figment are some of the validators that Nym is currently onboarding. The pilot initiative was launched by Swisscom’s Digital Asset division.
The Hedera Governing Council (HBAR) voted to buy intellectual property rights to hashgraph consensus algorithm from Swirlds, Inc., founder member of the Council and original creator. Members also made a commitment that the code would be open-sourced under an Apache 2.0 license by 2022. Council members announced that the network code would be removed from beta in the next mainnet update.
News about NFTs
AMC distributed the exclusive “I Own AMC”, non-fungible tokens ( NFTs) for the 580,000+ shareholders who registered through AMC’s Investor Connect portal before the December 31 deadline. NFTs can be traded, but holders also get perks such as discounts and other benefits.
British artist Damien Hirst has created his first NFT collection. This is receiving a price index. His NFT series, The Currency, consists of 10,000 images. There are slight variations.
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