Home Blog Page 33

President of Argentina Indicates Support for Bitcoin

By
admin
-
0

The president of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, has shown his support for digital assets. In an interview with Caja Negra from a local media outlet, the president was asked whether he was open to the idea of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and whether he recognized bitcoin as a legal tender as had been done by El Salvador. Fernando said he saw no reason for a pushback.

Fernandez added that an advantage of recognizing the currency was that inflation would be nullified. The country’s data indicates that inflation has become a major problem. For instance, 100 Argentinian pesos from 2019 are the equivalent of 661 pesos today.

Despite cryptocurrency being viewed as a protection against inflation, Fernandez noted that there is still caution to invest in it. People still don’t understand how it works or how it materializes hence it has seen limited expansion.

CBDC to place tighter regulations on cryptocurrency

Miguel Pesce, the head of the central bank of Argentina does not share the president’s optimism. Peace has promised to crack down on the industry.

Pesce described cryptocurrency as a threat to economic stability in a speech during the Argentine Institute of Executive of Finance’s Digital Finance Forum on August 10. He threatened to add tighter regulations to the sector. Pesce plans to prevent the intersection of crypto assets with the exchange markets and payment systems.

Concerned that cryptocurrencies make an illegal profit on people, the central bank plans to find ways to prevent small investors from adding money to cryptocurrency.

Pesce compared Bitcoin to a commodity rather than a financial asset as the country’s National Securities Commission has defined. He added that other than short-term profits, bitcoin does not yield value for investors. He dismissed the president’s suggestion that the country would consider a CBDC.

Cryptocurrency flourishing in Argentina 

In May, cryptocurrency in Argentina was on the rise as citizens took advantage of soaring cryptocurrency prices and cheap electricity. The central bank responded by educating its citizens on the risks associated with cryptocurrency.

In May, Bitfarms, a Canadian mining firm made plans for expansion in Argentina. The company estimated that the expansion would reduce the cost of production by 45%.

Venezuela Sets to Launch CBDC in October and Cut Six Zeros from its Currency

By
Adam Barry
-
0

Venezuela’s Central Bank plans to launch a CBDC, including a financial redenomination in October. This readjustment will eliminate six zeros from the money due to exploding inflation. As a result, the Venezuelan bolivar will commence as of October 1 in the economy. Its currency equivalent will get banknotes varying from 5 to 100 bolivars, also will get a new 1-bolivar coin as the basis of the six-zero currency regulation. 

On August 6, Venezuela’s Central Bank asserted the announcement. It said that central bank digital currency and redenomination of the money would not affect the bolivar’s value, and it is a step to facilitate the use of the currency. Moreover, an SMS-based exchange system can access the CBDC for the payments and transfers among its users. 

Venezuelan President’s Commands

Back in February, Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelan President, annoyed the impression of a digital bolivar. He said that the implementation of CBDC was one of the efforts the government was carrying out to rebuild and update the economy. In 2018, Mr. Maduro already initiated the oil-pegged Petro coin as a weapon to evade United States sanctions. However, the president is no stranger to state-issued digital currencies. Moreover, this is the second step that Venezuela readjusted the bolivar three years after Maduro eliminated five zeros from the money as inflation was as massive as 1.8 million percent in 2018. According to the annual inflation of 2020, the estimated rate was 2,300%. 

Luis Vicente Leon’s Statement

On Thursday, President and economist Luis Vicente Leon said that eliminating those zeros does not solve any problem until finding the reason originated. He also adds that without settling the root of the problem, the problem will last for months. 

In addition to that, Venezuela has been facing a long-term economic problem as the economy suffers from U.S. penalties. Furthermore, Maduro proposed an anti-sanctions bill in September 2020 that strived to utilize crypto as a weapon to avoid the sanctions assessed on the country. 

Xiaomi’s Portuguese outlet now accepts Bitcoin, And BioNTech Vaccine to Provide German Economy Extraordinary Boost

By
Adam Barry
-
0

Xiaomi (OTC: XIACF) is the recent global firm to accept crypto payments to purchase gadgets such as smartphones, watches, and other devices with a wide range of digital tokens, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, Tether, Dash. 

The Chinese company’s Mi Store located in Portugal has recently accepted bitcoin payments upon checkout. Furthermore, the Portuguese outlet has announced the plans on the social media platform, stating that: “Shopping at Mi Store Portugal is more broad and all-inclusive as now onwards you’ll be able to buy your favorite and Beloved gadgets using your cryptocurrency payment option like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Dash, or Token Utrust.”

Xiaomi has coordinated with UTrust to take on its native token accepted by Mi Store Portugal to extend its support for digital assets.

Pedro Maia’s Statement

Pedro Maia, Mi Store’s head of marketing, stated that Xiaomi aims to succeed in its motto, “Innovation for everyone.” He further elaborated that :

“We are a technological, advanced, innovative, and disruptive brand. That’s the reason we always prefer to be one step ahead. We want to expose all the possibilities of advanced technology and help people buy their favorite gadgets with “the most technological payment option.”

It’s better to note that Portugal has preferred to become the most crypto-friendly European country because of its crypto-friendly tax laws. It is the main reason Xiaomi has selected Portugal as a testing ground for digital asset crypto payments. On the other hand, China’s government continued to tighten its rules on crypto activities. 

BioNTech Vaccine to Provide German Economy Extraordinary Boost

Germany’s economy is to receive a tremendous boost from a single start-up after BioNTech SE raised its forecast for Covid-19 vaccine sales to 15.9 billion euros this year. According to Sebastian Dullien, a professor of International Economics at HTW Berlin, the german drugmaker partnered with Pfizer Inc. could witness revenue leading about half a percentage point to German gross domestic product growth. He said that this is because a large part of the Mainz, Germany-based firm’s production is in Germany. In addition, although some of its revenue may include inputs from other countries, its profit-sharing agreement with Pfizer counts towards German GDP. 

Tokenplay Sets to Change the Game World and Bring a Whole New Realm of Entertainment to the Players

By
Adam Barry
-
0

Nowadays, most online games follow a centralized model, which stores all related data of the users on a server, and is controlled overall by the game administrators. This data includes account information, server history, which stores and records all events and in-game assets collected by the players, such as virtual money, collectibles, and items. However, the players don’t own their accounts as a single company owns the database. Moreover, centralized servers have many limitations and vulnerabilities, including server malfunction, system infiltration, the game shut down, manipulation of the game economy by game administrators and developers. Simply the power is in the hands of games firms. 

Blockchain and Tokenplay

However, blockchain technology eliminates these issues. Their main aim is to provide the game’s full access to players from the gaming companies. By this, players can control their accounts, digital assets and free to trade assets anytime. There are various methods of developing and maintaining a blockchain game. The transition to making money from blockchain games is appearing and growing strongly. In addition to that, players can earn more income by playing games and trading their gaming assets. 

Tokenplay, an NFTs and gaming platform built on multi-chain, to create an ecosystem with several games, particularly Tokenplay points, gaming fees are converted by TOP coin so that users can sell it. Moreover, Tokenply is a game store and developing a robust social network and passionate community. 

Features

In terms of security, it can easily trade digital game items in primary and secondary markets, managed by blockchain technology. Also, players can purchase assets and land in the game by Tokenplay currency. Furthermore, by completing quests in the game, players can acquire TOP Tokens; also, there are proportions of the tokens reserved for player incentives. Finally, token holders can participate in staking and earn rewards with a certain percentage of revenues. 

On August 7, Tokenplay IDO launched PolyLaunch, the PolyDex launchpad. It looks forward to their valued community members who can invest with freedom, safety, and equal chances through PolyLaunch.  

Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN) Announces New Chief Finance Officer and a Purchase Order of 4000 Bitcoin Mining Machines

By
Adam Barry
-
0

Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN) received a purchase order from HIVE Blockchains Technology Limited for 4000 bitcoin mining machines. The machines should meet the 272 petahash per second (“PH/s”) operating hash power requirement.

According to the order, the machines will be delivered in two tranches in the next 60 days, namely, August 2021 and September 2021. This will be done in batches of 2000 mining machines with each delivery.

Canaan has been on the front row news with the announcement of their new Chief Finance Officer. This announcement was made a day before the bitcoin purchase order was announced. Mr. James Jin Cheng is to take up this position with immediate effect. Although Mr. Tong, the previous acting Chief Finance Officer, will no longer hold this position, he will remain in his previous role as the company’s Finance Director.

Mr. Cheng’s experience in management and financial planning spans over 20 years. He served as the Vice President of Zhaopin.com before joining Canaan. Zhaopin.com is a career platform located in China that has been named on the NYSE since September 2015.

Mr. Cheng was hired as the Finance Director for the Asia Pacific and China Division of Lenovo between September 2013 to September 2015. Mr. Cheng also held numerous managerial roles for Nokia’s division in China from February 2005 and August 2013. One of the roles being Senior Sales Financial Controller. Prior to that, Mr. Cheng was the Demand Planning Manager for the Mars company Effem Foods in Beijing from March 2003 to January 2005.

In 2000, Mr. Cheng graduated with his bachelor’s in accounting degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He obtained an MBA degree from Peking University’s BiMBA program in 2014, and a Master of Science in Global Finance obtained from Fordham University in New York. He has been a member of the Institute of Public Accountants since 2019.

Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN) is a well-established technology company focused on developing chip design, research, and technology. Canaan is also well known for its revolutionary progress in the ASIC high-performance computing chip design and software services.

Okcoin Sets Feet In Crypto Traders Market In The Netherlands And Malta After Regulatory Nod

By
admin
-
0

Okcoin, the Cryptocurrency exchange, has decided to set its feet in the broader crypto traders market in the Netherlands and Malta. Okcoin has received regulatory approval, after which the decision came in. The company, on Thursday, said that it received formal registration from the Netherlands’ central bank seeking an “in principle” nod for a license of virtual financial assets from Malta Financial Services Authority. Additionally, Okcoin has also obtained a U.S. territory-based money transmitter license for Puerto Rico. 

Okcoin’s grand plans

The company receiving European regulatory benchmarks is a part of the company’s plans to join hands with the payment providers and local banks for minimizing regulation risks. At the same time, the company hopes to make it simpler for the customers to buy crypto with the euro. Okcoin facilitates purchases for the Dutch residents with a trading format of crypto-to-crypto since 2018. It is also registered with the country’s central bank since May 2020, where it serves as the crypto service provider. 

Aggressive Growth in Europe Targeted 

The licenses obtained will enable Okcoin to continue its growth story aggressively in the European market. The company aspires to add banking partnerships and payment rails too. The CEO of the company, Hong Fang, stated that Europe is seen as the most significant focus in the larger scheme of global growth. The company has so far added as many as 25 team members this year to serve its customers in the region. 

About Okcoin

The company was set up as a crypto exchange in 2013 and is the oldest one in the world. It has now steadily expanded its reach to customers in over 185 countries. Okcoin is based out of the United States, and in 2020, the company moved to Singapore after seeking regulatory approval in Japan. 

A range of other blockchain and crypt firms are targeting Malta for operations in anticipation of favorable regulations from EU members. In the Netherlands, the officials have completed called off trading, mining, and holding of Bitcoin. 

MicroStrategy To Infuse More Into Digital Asset Strategy; Pledges Investment In Bitcoin

By
Adam Barry
-
0

Till the end of June, MicroStrategy had around 105,085 BTC with an approximate value of $2.051 billion. As a result, it had a $689.6 million total impairment loss. Despite the impairment losses in the second quarter, which round off to about $424.8 million, the company pledged to purchase more Bitcoin. MicroStrategy is a mobile software and business intelligence firm. 

MicroStrategy making over a billion from Bitcoin

It seems that the loss is visible only on papers since the company has made about an additional billion-dollar from Bitcoin. The company CEO, Michael Saylor, is a firm believer in Bitcoin and is resolved to add more of these in the reserves as the company moved forward. 

A part of the digital asset strategy 

The company said that implementation of the digital asset strategy had fetched positive results. There has been a recent rise in the capital, which has enabled the company is expanding its digital holdings. The company exceeds 105,000 bitcoins. In the future, the company is aiming to add more capital to the digital asset strategy. 

The Q2 Report

Until June 30, the company had about 105,085 BTC. The average amount of each Bitcoin is estimated to be about $19,518.

Tesla, too, had published its Q2 earlier in the week. The impairment loss of Elon Musk’s firm was $23 million in the Bitcoin holdings. 

As mandated by the law, the two firms need to report impairment losses if the asset price drops, considering that both Tesla and MicroStrategy have categorized Bitcoin as their “intangible asset.” Therefore, the figures for digital assets were calculated with the mechanism of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). 

MicroStrategy’s Q2-2021 revenue totaled $125.4 million, reflecting a 13.4% jump from the previous year. On the other hand, the gross profit came in at $102.3 million, representing 81.6% of gross margin, indicating a minor jump of 4.2% when seen against the previous year. Overall, there has been a loss of $299.3 million in Q2-21 against the profit of $3 million in the corresponding period in 2020. 

Xeris Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: XERS) Announces Changes at Leadership Position for Sustainable Success

By
Adam Barry
-
0

Xeris Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: XERS), a leading player in the pharmaceutical industry, leverages its formulation and announces the executive position changes for its long-term succession planning. In addition, the company share capital, excluding treasury shares, comprising 6.6497 million shares at a par value of $0.0001 per share, will be traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Changes at the leadership position

As a part of the company strategy to achieve its long-term success, the company has announced specific executive changes. Xeris’s CFO (Chief Financial Officer), Barry Deutsch, has decided to step down from its position with an immediate effect. In addition, they also indicated the closure of the Strongbridge Biopharma plc acquisition. All these factors will help the company to evolve as more commercially driven. Mr. Barry is expected to be in a transition role until the closure of the Strongbridge acquisition, i.e. till the fourth quarter of 2021.

The company has elevated Mr. Steven Pieper, Vice President of Finance as Mr. Deutsch’s successor. Mr. Steven will be responsible for accounting, tax, financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, treasury, and information systems. The company believes that Steven’s experience will drive the company’s growth for the branded pharmaceutical markets, both with the distributors and retailers. In addition, his guidance will be an excellent asset for the company to achieve its desired objectives.

Shares traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market

In line with the rules and regulations of the SEC, the company in the last week announced that its share capital, including treasury shares, comprised of 6.6497 million shares at a par value of $0.0001 per share, will be traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. As the close of July 28, 2021, there were 5.081 million outstanding options to purchase shares, around 2 million restricted stock units, 94,012 warrants, and a principal amount of $47.17 million of 5% senior convertible notes. Each stock option entitles the holder to buy one common share at an applicable exercise price upon exercising the option.

Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) Set to Unveil Crypto Trading for British Customers and Might Adopt DeFi

By
Adam Barry
-
0

On Wednesday, Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) held its second-quarter earnings call, and CEO Dan Schulman had a few observations to make. The leader said that it was rather exciting for them to witness the impressive Crypto momentum. 

Schulman speaks out

Schulman disclosed that he would lead the company to enable British customers to engage in Crypto Trading. He believes the UK to be a rather lucrative opportunity for the company, outlining that they will be moving in soon with their crypto trading services. In other words, eth UK is probably PayPal’s next significant market for the payment Services Company. PayPal seems quite proud of its “super app” and its effectiveness in facilitating crypto trading. 

It is interesting to note the changes PayPal intends to make to its crypto trading platform. The payments platform says it intends to increase the trading platform’s functionality remarkably. In addition, it considers the increase in the purchasing limits to $100,000 per week to be a progressive move in favor of customers that need to trade on its diverse platform. 

The company’s CEO reveals details about their focus on open banking integration and the integration into ACH. He looks forward to brighter times ahead where they succeed in delivering faster payments services that simplify matters for merchants.

DeFi integration

Schulman also spoke about the decentralized finance (DeFi), speculating mainly on the outlook of the next generation of the financial system. The leader reveals that they are figuring out how they can successfully integrate decentralized apps and smart contracts into their platform.

Schulman stated, “How can we use smart contracts more efficiently? How can we digitize assets and open those up to consumers that may not have had access to that before? There are some interesting DeFi applications as well. And so we are working really hard.”

Ethernity Prepares to Grace the 20th Anniversary of the End of Apartheid by Dropping NAS’s Performance in South Africa

By
Adam Barry
-
0

Ethernity is pretty excited to pronounce the new boost to its ecosystem, and that happens to be the addition of a unique NFT collection. It describes it as ANFT, which in full stands for Authenticated NFT.

The interesting footage

One of the most outstanding aspects of it happens because it contains never-seen-before footage of Nas in South Africa. Together with his orchestra, the artist performed Illmatic as a way to mark the anniversary of the end of Apartheid in South Africa. The drop is set to be unveiled in July, and one of the big names that have made everything a success happens to be Audio Up.

Most people might find the connection between Nas and the end of the apartheid era rather intriguing. The end of Apartheid in South Africa is one of the most memorable events in the country. It was a new era that spelled out freedom for blacks in the country. The prolonged era of discrimination against blacks came to an end. Discrimination and segregation had given rise to inhuman conditions that grouped in classes in terms of the paces they shopped, schooled, and much more.

The coincidence

The coincidence, in this case, is that Nas unveiled Illmatic in the United States at the same time Apartheid came to a stop in South Africa. The performance by Nas on the 20th anniversary of the country’s end to apartheid anniversary causes a lot of speculations. However, most people see the performance as pretty relevant to the celebrations. 

It is essential to state that the crossover anniversary focused significantly on why the end of the apartheid regime needed to grind to a halt or end altogether.

The situation in South Africa before the end of Apartheid was wanting! It wouldn’t have been possible for a black-American artist such as Nas to perform in front of a massive audience as he did in 2014.

1...323334...66Page 33 of 66

EDITOR PICKS

POPULAR POSTS

POPULAR CATEGORY

©