Canadian place, 99 Lees Avenue, Ottawa, ON (2026)

02/16/2022

Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have surged as the global crypto market hovers on the green side of the chart, with tensions surrounding Ukraine alleviating, prompting renewed interest for digital assets from investors.

For the first time since the end of last week, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, Bitcoin, saw an increase of as much as 5.2%.

The surge also affected other digital tokens, with Ether spiking to 7% to over $3,108.17 and Aave about 7%. At one point, XRP had an increase by 4.58% at $0.8331, while Solana shot up to 8.39% at $102.20.

Polygon’s price went up by 9.63% at $1.79. More altcoins, particularly Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, were up by 2.79% at $0.15 and 2.79% at $0.00003129, respectively.

On Tuesday, Russia announced that some troops are returning to their regular bases after concluding their drills, resulting in US equity round-up and stocks spikes. However, US warnings of a possible Russian attack on Ukraine have been magnified this week.

In other news, cryptocurrency lending platform, BlockFi, will pay $100 million in penalties to settle legal actions against its business scheme, as announced on Monday by US securities regulators.

According to Cornerstone Research, this is the highest penalty since it tracked lawsuits in 2013.

This case came just in time as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks to initiate a regulatory authority governing digital currency services that would treat them as investments rather than a form of money.

02/16/2022

The Financial Stability Board (FSB), a global financial authority funded by the Bank for International Settlements, has released a new report on the financial stability risks associated with cryptocurrencies.

Published on Wednesday, the 30-page study details a number of financial risks related to various types of cryptocurrencies as well as the industry sectors, including private digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC), stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and decentralized finance (DeFi).

02/16/2022

SEC probes Binance US for its alleged link to market makers.
Sigma Chain AG and Merit Peak Ltd are the two affiliated companies under surveillance with Binance US.
The SEC is also investigating many other crypto firms for illegal proceedings.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of the US has been scanning the crypto industry for any false proceedings. Following this, a few crypto platforms like BlockFi, Ripple, and now, Binance US are under its microscope.

Among the new cases, the crypto exchange Binance US makes it to the list of SEC’s crypto irregularities. Binance and its affiliates — Sigma Chain AG and Merit Peak Ltd are under investigation for alleged connection of the company with the two market makers.

The two companies are reported to have been buying and selling crypto on the Binance US to ease price volatility and gain profit from small differences. However, SEC is requesting information from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao about the market makers to ascertain whether the company disclosed the link to the users.

The news comes in light of the supposed ties the two entities have with CZ. Despite the ongoing investigation, the commission did not disclose to the public how it intends to proceed with the enforcement procedures.

02/16/2022

The Super Bowl advertisements by crypto companies, including Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), FTX and several others, ruled social media and news headlines for their out-of-the-box approach. However, United States Senate Banking Committee Chief Sherrod Brown was not impressed and blasted the ad-makers for not including appropriate warnings and risks involved.

Brown, during the Tuesday Senate hearing on stablecoins, brought in the topic of popular crypto advertisements that aired during the Super Bowl. He said most of these ads failed to tell people about the downsides of investing in cryptocurrencies. The companies failed to mention the wild price swings and prevalent scams that occur in the market or the fact that the crypto market is not as well regulated as the traditional ones.

02/15/2022

The Russian government moves to legalize cryptocurrencies.
The Central bank of Russia opposes the move.
Experts believe the move could attract foreign investment.
The Russian government is moving toward regulating the use of cryptocurrencies in the country. According to Bloomberg, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov in a letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, says that legalizing crypto would help eliminate grey market crypto trading. He considers that it would help the government monitor the industry. Siluanov also states that allowing trade would possibly lead to a surge in foreign investors.

The government later published an outline of how it plans to regulate the market. Furthermore, the Deputy Finance Minister of Russia, Alexey Moiseev said:

We need to create clear and transparent rules for the participation of citizens and businesses in the financial instruments of the crypto market. Clear regulation excludes the possibility of a parallel financial system appearing.
However, Russia’s central bank opposes this move citing several reasons. Firstly, the bank believes that cryptocurrencies appear to be similar to the structure and functioning of a pyramid scheme. Additionally, it stated that crypto could be used for illegal transactions.

“The approaches proposed by the government do not yet allow neutralizing the risks that we see, and at the same time they create new threats,” says Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina.

Russia has been witnessing a foreign investment slump since the Kremlin annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. “Legalizing cryptocurrency could help Russia’s investment case, which suffers from a lack of venture capital due to the conflict with the West,” says Andrey Mikhailishin. Mikhailishin is the chief executive of Joys Digital payment service in Moscow. He believes that transparency could attract $3.5 billion in investment in 2022. President Vladimir Putin in January called on the authorities to reach a compromise.

02/15/2022

Animoca Brands has partnered with Brinc, a leading global venture accelerator, to launch the Guild Accelerator Program to build and grow the play-to-earn (P2E) guild ecosystem globally. The new acceleration program offers a total investment capital of up to US$30 million over two years.

The Guild Accelerator Program aims to enable millions of people around the world to generate income by participating in P2E gaming via crypto gaming guilds. Admission to the program is prioritised for guilds with a commitment to sustainability. This includes projects that support and give back to player/scholar communities, place emphasis on energy-efficient proof-of-stake protocols and side chains, and have lower overall physical footprints.

The Guild Accelerator Program will operate as a dedicated track within Launchpad Luna, the accelerator launched in mid-2021 as a partnership between Brinc and Animoca Brands. Online applications are open at brinc.io/guild until 27 February 2022, and the first cohort is scheduled to start in May.

Led by Richard Robinson, entrepreneur-in-residence at Animoca Brands, the Guild Accelerator Program will fund up to US$500,000 per guild. To optimise each guild’s performance and help scale growth, the program will foster innovation, set up management and operational systems, share best-in-class learnings from world-class mentors, expand each platform’s user base and assets, and help raise funds beyond the startup phase.

Mentors and experts supporting the Guild Accelerator Program include Brendan Wong (founder of Avocado Guild), Saruboti Sasuke (head of partnerships for YGG), and Howard Xu (co-founder of the Vietnam-based guild Ancient8).

02/14/2022

Bigger Entertainment will burn 240 million SHIB coins.
The mobile game Bricks Buster will also burn 500 million coins tomorrow.
Bigger Entertainment had launched the SHIB Burner playlist last year, to burn the coins.
Meme coin Shiba Inu has taken a divergent turn where 131 million SHIB coins were directly sent to a dead wallet this week. Crypto entertainment firm Bigger Entertainment CEO Steven Cooper has tweeted a post announcing 240 million SHIB burning tomorrow.

Great job ! Over 131 Mil sent direct to dead wallet this week. We’ll burn 240 Mil tomorrow during the burn party. Bricks Buster will burn 500 Mil on the 15th. Right around 1 BILLION for the week. Some said that was impossible. Let’s go for 2 BILLION next!
— Steven Cooper () February 14, 2022

Following that, mobile game Bricks Buster will also burn 500 million coins on February 15. This will amount to a total of nearly 1 billion burnt SHIB coins for the week by both companies. Meanwhile, Cooper is pushing for 2 billion for the next milestone.

SHIB has had a 0.53% surge in the past 24 hours, with a market capitalization of over $16 billion. Moreover, it ranks 14th among the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

After the successful release of the SHIB Burner playlist last year, Bigger Entertainment rebranded itself as ‘The First Crypto Record Label’. In December 2021, Bricks Buster had burned 120 million SHIB coins.

02/13/2022

György Matolcsy, Governor of the Hungarian National Bank, has proposed a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency trading and mining operations across the European Union.

Governor Matolcsy cited the recent crypto ban imposed by China in a blog post shared by the Hungarian central bank a.k.a. Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) titled “Time has come to ban crypto trading and mining in the EU.”

02/09/2022

have a nice day

02/09/2022

Many religious denominations now offer interactive digital locations to supplement traditional services, but unique to COVID-19 is the opportunity to experience spirituality in an immersive 3D environment through virtual reality (VR) technology.

As per a report by NZ Herald, Garret Bernal and his family were reportedly absent from a recent Sunday service during their quarantine for COVID-19 exposure. So, he donned a VR headset and tried praying in the metaverse

02/08/2022

While a bullish backdrop emerges in February, spare a thought for the traders trying to time the market. One savvy trader by the name of u/Samjhill on Reddit has built a trading tool that outperforms dollar-cost averaging (DCA) for buying Bitcoin (BTC).

DCA is the strategy in which investors buy a small amount regularly regardless of price fluctuations. It works in contrast to traders keen to get the lowest entry, timing the dip to perfection and avoiding “catching a falling knife.”

02/08/2022

Wirex, a leading digital payments platform, has launched its services in the US, giving millions of people more affordable, easy and secure access to crypto and fiat currencies in everyday life.

After partnering with Zero Hash, Checkout.com, Visa (NYSE:V) and Sutton Bank, distribution has begun on its hugely popular debit card across America. Wirex already provides cutting-edge services to over 4.5 million users across the EEA and APAC regions, earning itself a reputation for its commitment to innovation and security, and a US launch is the next step for the London-based company in introducing this financial alternative to a mainstream audience.

Wirex seeks to revolutionize payments in the US, offering the ability to buy, hold, exchange and sell US dollars as well as 37 different cryptocurrencies from a single intuitive app, as well as seamlessly send and receive crypto from external wallets. State-of-the-art technology links the app to a contactless Visa debit card, allowing customers to spend their cryptocurrency* online and in-store at over 61 million locations globally. Additional features include free domestic and international ATM withdrawals**, no annual fee, zero exchange fees, near instant crypto transactions, and live transaction notifications. Following an impressive collaboration with Checkout.com, customers can also instantly top up with zero fees by linking their debit cards.

Since launching in 2014, Wirex has become famous within the fintech community for developing the first crypto-enabled debit card, as well as the world’s first crypto rewards scheme, Cryptoback. The program rewards users with up to 8% in X-points for every purchase which can be exchanged for any other crypto in-app. Continuing its quest for the mass adoption of the digital economy, they released an upgraded rewards scheme, X-tras, as well as a DeFi-powered interest-earning product, as X-Accounts, which will both be available in the US shortly.

"We're excited to be able to empower American consumers, whether a hardcore crypto-enthusiast or a novice fintech fan, to experience the benefits of a digital economy," commented Harold Montgomery, Managing Director of Wirex USA.

"US users have been demanding an alternative to traditional forms of payments that are antiquated, slow and non-transparent, and that's where Wirex steps in. We're known for upholding regulatory and licensing standards where required, and applying industry-best practices where regulations don't yet exist. American customers can expect the same level of compliance." Edward Woodford, the CEO of Zero Hash and the crypto trading infrastructure platform powering the Wirex’s crypto launch, commented that, “This is an excellent time to enter the US market and Wirex is primed for success as cryptocurrencies gain momentum as a payment option. Recent studies confirm this with nearly 60 percent of US consumers wanting to pay with crypto to make everyday purchases.1Our deep expertise in US regulations and our API-first approach makes us consistently the chosen partner for fintechs such as Wirex to expand to the US.”

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