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2022-01-10 13:38:08 ​​UAE regulators pave way for crypto and blockchain adoption, says legal expert

Legal expert Kokila Alagh shared insights regarding crypto and blockchain regulations in the United Arab Emirates.

While many countries are inclined to simply ban the use of Bitcoin (BTC) and virtual assets, regulators in the United Arab Emirates are taking a different approach.

The country has been consistently enacting its vision of becoming a blockchain capital by providing frameworks to guide crypto businesses on how to operate in accordance with the laws.

Jurisdictions in the country are divided between the mainland, where the regulator is the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), and free zones i.e. geographically-specified areas within the UAE with relaxed taxation and regulatory regimes.

Such free zones include the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), which is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) which is regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), and the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) which falls under regulatory remit of the SCA.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Kokila Alagh, the founder and CEO of Karm Legal Consultants, shared a brief overview of the regulatory situation in the country. According to Alagh, the SCA, the mainland regulator, provides certainty and opportunities for crypto and blockchain businesses:

“The regulations provided certainty and have opened new opportunities in the UAE, which makes SCA a progressive regulator in the global landscape, as they haven’t ignored this vital growing sector and are continuously working on developing the frameworks to adjust as per these emerging sectors like DLT, blockchain.”

The FSRA, ADGM’s financial services regulator, was the first to introduce digital asset regulations in the country back in 2018. Alagh said that ADGM was also one of the first regulators globally to introduce digital securities regulations and guidance on virtual assets, adding that ADGM is “one of the topmost jurisdictions for established blockchain companies.”

Alagh also discussed regulations in the DIFC. According to Alagh, the DFSA, DIFC’s regulator, “is one of the first regulators from a major financial free zone to bring regulations in regard to security tokens.”

Current DFSA regulations cover the tokenization of securities through blockchain and distributed ledger technology, including the tokenization of shares, derivatives, bonds, debentures, certificates or units of a fund. However, consultation papers for stablecoins, fungible cryptos and nonfungible tokens are still in the process of being drafted. Open / Comment

2022-01-07 14:51:39 ​​Samsung launches metaverse store in Decentraland

The Samsung metaverse store is a replica of a real-world shop situated at 837 Washington Street in New York City's Meatpacking District.

Samsung is the latest megacorporation to announce a metaventure project, opting for Decentraland for its metaverse project.

On Jan. 6, 2021, the consumer electronics giant announced the opening of a virtual replica of its iconic New York physical store in order to enhance customer interaction at a time when COVID-19 is keeping people away from physical shops.

The Samsung metaverse store is a replica of a real-world shop situated at 837 Washington Street in New York City's Meatpacking District in Manhattan. The Samsung 837X shop will now be accessible on the metaverse for a limited time. The company claims that it is one of the largest brand land takeovers in Decentraland, a blockchain-powered metaverse.

Customers must first enter Decentraland using a web browser to access the store. After logging in, their avatar will be sent outside Samsung's metaverse structure. When the avatar enters the lobby, a virtual guide will lead the avatar to one of three interior rooms: sustainability, customization and connection.

The Samsung 837X store will feature "Connectivity Theater and Sustainability Forest" as well as a musical event at the "Customization Stage," according to Samsung.

The South Korean technology giant recently announced the release of a new smart TV range with an integrated NFT platform. Micro LED, Neo QLED, and The Frame are just a few of Samsung's 2022 smart TVs that will have an NFT Platform app for discovering, purchasing and trading digital art. Open / Comment

2022-01-03 14:25:23 Samsung announces NFT platform for smart TVs

Upcoming Samsung smart TVs will have a built-in platform where users can browse, buy and sell NFTs.

South Korean tech giant Samsung revealed a new smart TV lineup with an integrated nonfungible token (NFT) platform. Samsung’s 2022 smart TVs such as Micro LED, Neo QLED and The Frame will have an NFT Platform app that can be used “for discovering, purchasing and trading digital artwork,” according to an announcement on Monday.

“With demand for NFTs on the rise, the need for a solution to today’s fragmented viewing and purchasing landscape has never been greater,” the company noted.

In 2022, the company aims to introduce the first smart TV NFT explorer and marketplace aggregator. The upcoming platform will enable viewers to browse and also trade NFTs without leaving the couch. While it’s unclear exactly which NFT platforms or marketplaces will be included for aggregation, Samsung promised its smart TVs will not tamper with the image quality, keeping the NFT creator’s pre-set values.

Other than integrating NFTs in its products, the South Korean multinational conglomerate has been actively investing in NFT and metaverse projects through its venture capital arm, Samsung Next. On Wednesday, the firm participated in an investment round for a metaverse gaming platform.

Aside from Samsung, other big companies have also boarded the NFT train. Back in July 2021, Coca-Cola got into NFTs for charitable purposes. A month later, Visa purchased a “CryptoPunk” NFT for $150,000. Open / Comment

2021-12-31 12:11:05 ​​Fractal: 110K join Discord of Twitch founder’s new NFT gaming marketplace

After launching the Fractal NFT gaming marketplace, Twitch co-founder Justin Kan labeled NFTs as the "future of gaming."

Twitch co-founder Justin Kan launched a new blockchain gaming-focused NFT marketplace yesterday dubbed Fractal.

Fractal’s Discord group has since amassed more than 111,000 members, despite only being announced two weeks ago. At the time of writing, it appears that the most significant sale on the platform so far was for a Baby Scoot NFT that went for 4 Solana (SOL) worth roughly $680.

The Solana-based marketplace enables users to buy, trade and hold NFTs used in blockchain games. In an announcement made yesterday, the firm unveiled its first partnered blockchain games, including The Sandbox, Nyan Heroes, Caveworld and Genopets, to name a few.

As part of the announcement, Kan labeled the 111,000 strong Fractal community as one of the “fastest-growing” in crypto and added that:

"Durable digital assets through NFTs are the future of gaming. We've partnered with some of the most innovative gaming companies on the Solana blockchain to bring that future forward."

"Players are excited about blockchain games and we're excited about all the new experiences that will be enabled by them," he added.

In a separate blog post, Fractal also revealed that it would be airdropping 100,000 Fractal NFTs to its members, teasing that they may hold governance rights over the marketplace and in-game provide in-game benefits in the future.

“Fractals will come with benefits both on the Fractal marketplace and within our community. Mysterious and powerful, their full potential is yet to be discovered. Perhaps in the future, they may grant special powers and abilities in your favorite blockchain-based games, or unlock the doors to exciting new worlds ripe for exploring,” the post reads.

Fractal also hinted that it would eventually expand support to other blockchains, with Ethereum likely to be the next in line considering that The Sandbox metaverse project is built on the network.

As it stands, users are currently able to connect Solana-friendly wallets such as Phantom and buy and sell any of the NFTs from Solana-based gaming projects. Open / Comment

2021-12-29 12:24:37 ​​New ProShares Metaverse ETF to track Apple, Meta, Nvidia

In late November, two Canadian metaverse ETFs started trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on the same day.

ProShares, the first company in the United States to launch a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF), is diving into metaverse as it now plans to launch a new metaverse-focused ETF.

ProShares on Tuesday filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an ETF focused on metaverse, called the ProShares Metaverse Theme ETF.

Subject to approval by the SEC, the proposed ETF will track the performance of the Solactive Metaverse Theme Index (SOMETAV), consisting of firms providing or using metaverse-related technologies, including data processing and metaverse devices, the ETF prospectus reads.

The index includes U.S. companies that are listed on the New York Stock Exchange or The Nasdaq Stock Market and meets certain market capitalization and liquidity requirements, ProShares said. Electronics giants like Apple and Nvidia as well as social media like ​​Meta Platforms, or former Facebook, are reportedly among the index’s top components.

ProShares’ metaverse ETF filing comes amid global companies increasingly venturing into the metaverse and nonfungible tokens (NFT) industry.

On Nov. 29, two Canadian companies, Evolve Funds Group and Horizons ETFs Management, started trading their metaverse ETFs on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Similar to the ProShares Metaverse Theme ETF, the Horizons Global Metaverse Index ETF is tracking SOMETAV.

Metaverse has been increasingly emerging as one of the biggest technology trends in 2021 amid Facebook officially announcing its metaverse strategy by rebranding its product to Meta in October. The concept of the Metaverse is based on an online virtual environment featuring a broad range of functions like communicating, gaming, trading digital collectibles and NFTs, attending events and others, facilitated via common devices or virtual and augmented reality headsets.

According to a study by Reports and Data, the global metaverse market was worth $48 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $872 billion in 2028, posting a revenue at the compound annual growth rate of 44%. Open / Comment

2021-12-27 13:19:17 ​​Iran halts authorized crypto mining to save energy for winter

Iran previously put a temporary blanket ban on crypto mining amid historically peak periods for power demand in summer.

Amid Iran’s energy consumption increasing during the winter, local energy authorities have decided to halt operations of authorized cryptocurrency mining centers.

Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, chairman of the board and managing director of Iran Grid Management Company (Tavanir), announced that Iran is shutting down crypto mining centers again to reduce liquid fuel consumption in power plants amid decreasing temperatures.

Mashhadi said that Iranian authorities took this action to reduce energy consumption last month, The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported on Dec. 25.

“The Energy Ministry has been implementing measures since last month to reduce the use of liquid fuels in power plants, including cutting licensed crypto farms’ power supply, turning off lampposts in less risky areas and stringent supervision of consumption,” he said.

The executive emphasized the importance of saving energy in the country, calling on citizens to reduce their electricity and gas consumption as much as possible as well. According to local reports, 70% of the fuel consumed in Iran is used for heating buildings. The new energy-saving measures are reportedly expected to cut energy consumption by at least 40%.

While enforcing restrictions on authorized crypto mining operators, the Iranian government has also been working to combat illegal crypto miners. In late November, local energy authorities announced that they had in total seized 222,000 mining devices used for illicit mining crypto since the industry regulations were established.

Iran is one of the world’s biggest crypto mining countries, accounting for an estimated 4.5% to 7% of the global Bitcoin (BTC) hash rate. The country previously put a temporary blanket ban on crypto mining in summer, citing historically peak periods for power demand due to hot temperatures. The ban was subsequently lifted in September as the Iranian power grid became more stable. Open / Comment

2021-12-24 13:21:48 President Bukele fires back at critics on ‘Bitcoin experiment’

The adoption of Bitcoin is changing El Salvador’s economic landscape, according to the Salvadoran president.

On Thursday, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele reaffirmed his belief for Bitcoin (BTC) supremacy on Twitter once again, this time stating that after widespread adoption occurs, “it’s game over for fiat.”

The Salvadoran president has been a mainstay in news headlines due to his government’s regular BTC purchases and absolute pro-Bitcoin stance. He has made frequent statements and comments to support the original cryptocurrency while refusing to budge in the face of criticism that Bitcoin is a bad idea for the nation.

President Bukele’s recent tweet comes as the international community launches a barrage against El Salvador for its “Bitcoin experiment.”

The International Monetary Fund criticized El Salvador’s move to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in June, but the country nevertheless passed it and began accepting BTC as legal money in September. Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, is a known critic of Bitcoin. More recently, while speaking at the University of Cambridge Students’ Union, Bailey expressed his concerns over El Salvador’s decision to use Bitcoin as a currency due to its extreme volatility.

However, Bukele fired back at his critics, pointing out that while the rest of the world regarded El Salvador as a “Bitcoin experiment,” it was transforming its economy with Bitcoin mass adoption. Bukele also claimed that when fiat is no longer a factor compared to BTC’s dominance, El Salvador will be regarded as the spark that starts the real revolution.

Since adopting Bitcoin as legal currency, El Salvador has used Bitcoin profits or the “surplus” from its Bitcoin Trust account to finance the construction of 20 schools. In mid-October, Bukele announced that the government would spend $4 million from the Bitcoin Trust to build a new veterinary hospital in San Salvador.

Bukele’s latest riff comes as El Salvador recently bought 21 BTC on Tuesday to celebrate the “last 21st day of the year 21 of the 21st century” and commemorate the scarcity of Bitcoin as its supply is limited to 21 million BTC. Open / Comment

2021-12-22 12:39:36 El Salvador buys 21 Bitcoin to celebrate Dec. 21, 2021

Buying Bitcoin is becoming a way of celebrating different occasions or playing around with meaningful figures by El Salvador.

The government of El Salvador continues celebrating significant days by buying more Bitcoin (BTC), with President Nayib Bukele announcing a new purchase of 21 BTC on Tuesday.

Worth around $1,036,000 at the time of writing, El Salvador’s latest BTC investment is to celebrate the “last 21st day of the year 21 of the 21st century” and commemorate the scarcity of Bitcoin as its supply is limited by 21 million BTC, Bukele said.

The president also noticed that El Salvador’s entire size is reportedly around 21,041 square kilometers, which, according to Bukele, is not a coincidence as El Salvador is the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.At the time of purchase, BTC was trading slightly above $49,000, according to data from CoinGecko.

Buying Bitcoin is steadily becoming a way of celebrating different occasions and playing around meaningful dates or figures by El Salvador after the government bought its first 200 BTC in early September amid adopting Bitcoin as legal tender on Sept. 7.

On Nov. 26, El Salvador celebrated Black Friday by buying 100 BTC at around $54,000 per BTC, accumulating a total of 1,220 BTC. Open / Comment

2021-12-20 14:11:24 ​​DeFi protocol Grim Finance lost $30M in 5x reentrancy hack

An apparent security flaw in the Grim Finance protocol allowed the attacker to fake five additional deposits.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Grim Finance reported $30 million in losses due to a reentrancy exploit of the platform’s deposits.

Grim Finance officially announced on Dec. 18 that an “external attacker” had exploited the DeFi platform, stealing “over $30 million” worth of cryptocurrencies.

According to Grim Finance, the hack was an “advanced attack,” with the attacker exploiting the protocol’s vault contract through five reentrancy loops, which allowed them to fake five additional deposits into a vault while the platform is processing the first deposit.

Grim paused all vaults after the attack to minimize the risk for future funds: “We have paused all of the vaults to prevent any future funds from being placed at risk, please withdraw all of your funds immediately.”

Grim noted that they also notified entities involved in operating major cryptocurrencies like Circle (USDC), DAI, and the cross-chain protocol AnySwap regarding the attacker address to freeze further fund transfers.

Grim Finance positions itself as a “compounding yield optimizer” built on DeFi-focused blockchain protocol, Fantom, allowing users to stake liquidity provider tokens by employing complex vault strategies.

According to the Fantom (FTM) Blockchain Explorer data, Grim Finance Exploiter continued transacting on Dec. 19. One of the addresses associated with the exploit holds $1.2 million in Bitcoin (BTC), $1.7 million in SpookyToken (BOO) alongside $13,700 in FTM tokens.

Some in the crypto community suggested that Grim Finance should hold responsibility for the exploit due to failing to adopt proper reentrancy protection tools. DeFi security platform Rugdoc io also argued that the protocol gave the user “more privilege than is necessary.”

The rising popularity of DeFi has triggered a number of new challenges for the cryptocurrency industry as hackers were rushing to exploit the flaws of the emerging industry. In early December, DeFi protocol BadgerDAO was reportedly exploited to the tune of $120 million. Open / Comment

2021-12-17 12:57:16 ​​Social network Reddit reveals plans to go public

After months of speculation, the popular social media site Reddit has finally announced that it is filing for an initial public offering (IPO).

On late Wednesday night, the popular social platform Reddit announced that it has started the process of making the company public. The company filed a confidential S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) informing them of their intentions for going public.

Per SEC regulations, they cannot provide any details about shares or prices until after a quiet period is over to protect trade secrets from being leaked before an IPO date is set. The SEC filing confirmed long-running rumors about Reddit's plans for a public offering.

Back in August, Reddit raised $700 million in fresh funding, making it worth more than $10 billion. In a recent update, Reddit stated that it had made $100 million in ad revenue for the second quarter of 2021, which represents a nearly 200 percent increase over the previous year.

"The initial public offering is expected to occur after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions," Reddit stated in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Reddit competes with ad-supported social media platforms such as Meta and Twitter. According to Huffman, the firm has grown up in the shadow of Facebook, now Meta, and Google, and every dollar they make is a struggle. On the other hand, Reddit has already established its cryptocurrency in the form of Reddit Community Points, or RCPs.

As of August, Reddit boasted about 52 million daily users and more than 100,000 active subreddits. Reddit is a forum where seasoned traders congregate to share their expertise, as well as a popular gathering spot for notorious meme stock r/wallstreetbets, which has had a big influence on stock markets and cryptocurrency markets this year with its retail trading and pumping tactics. The group's popularity prompted the creation of crypto counterpart r/SatoshiStreetB which now has 509,000 members. Open / Comment