Crypto News Updates

A draft law devoted to the digital ruble has been filed with the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament. The legislation introduces rules determining how the new form of national fiat will be issued and amends a series of legal acts to facilitate its implementation. Bank of Russia to Be the Sole Operator of the Digital Ruble Platform A group of Russian lawmakers, led by the Chairman of the Financial Market Committee Anatoly Aksakov, have submitted draft legislation on the digital ruble, the central bank digital currency ( CBDC ) minted by Russia’s monetary authority. The document suggests legislative changes meant to create the conditions for its introduction. According to the explanatory notes to the bill, quoted by the crypto page of the Russian business news portal RBC, its main purpose is to develop the necessary payment infrastructure for the digital ruble. This, the sponsors believe, would provide Russian citizens, businesses, and the state with access to fast, con

Bitcoin miners have had a challenging year as the network’s mining difficulty reached an all-time high and the spot market price of bitcoin dropped below the cost of production. Currently, with electricity costs at $0.07 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), only 18 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin mining rigs are able to turn a profit at current prices. Current SHA256 ASIC Models Unprofitable at $0.12 per kWh, Only Two Devices Profitable at $0.10 per kWh On December 31, 2022, statistics show that bitcoin’s hash rate is hovering above the 300 exahash per second (EH/s) range after reaching a low on December 30 at 235 EH/s. Additionally, data from macromicro.me indicates that the current cost of production ($16,577) is nearly equal to bitcoin’s current spot market value ($16,572). Macromicro.me calculates the cost of production by “observing consumption of electricity and daily issuance of bitcoin, as provided by Cambridge University.” The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Con

According to Mark Moss, the CEO of Market Disruptor, significant regulation is coming to the cryptocurrency industry following the aftermath of FTX’s collapse. He believes that future cryptocurrency bull runs probably won’t happen. However, Moss says that bitcoin will continue to see demand as it is “solving a problem that has plagued humanity from Day One.” Market Disruptor CEO Predicts Regulatory Shift in Wake of FTX Collapse, Sees Most Cryptocurrency Assets Regulated as Securities in Future On Dec. 29, 2022, Mark Moss, the CEO of Market Disruptor, spoke with Michelle Makori, the lead anchor of Kitco News and the company’s editor-in-chief, about the cryptocurrency industry and bitcoin ( BTC ). Moss believes that the recent FTX collapse has accelerated regulation, and he thinks that most cryptocurrency assets will be regulated as securities in the future. As an example, the recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) charges against FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried defi

Trials of the digital yuan have produced disappointing results, according to a report quoting the former head of research at the Chinese central bank. The new form of national fiat has brought no benefits to the banks and should expand beyond being employed only as a substitute for cash, the banker believes. Common People Used to Cash and Cards, Ex-PBOC Executive Notes Usage of China’s central bank digital currency ( CBDC ) has been “low, highly inactive,” according to Xie Ping, former director-general of research at the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). Ping made this observation at a conference devoted to digital finance. “The cumulative circulation of the digital yuan in the two years of the trial has been only 100 billion yuan” ($14 billion), he detailed, quoted by the financial news outlet Caixin and Reuters. In his view, the application of the digital yuan needed to be widened. “The results are not ideal,” Xie concluded during the forum which was organized by the Tsinghua Unive

Tokio Marine, the biggest property/casualty insurance group in Japan, is taking its services and operations into the metaverse. The group, which has more than 39,000 employees all over the world, will allow its users to review and purchase insurance products on a metaverse platform, using real employees as clerks in the virtual world. Tokio Marine to Offer Insurance in Metaverse While gaming, social, and tech companies have been the first in embracing the metaverse as a concept, other companies are now also entering available metaverse platforms. Tokio Marine, the biggest property and casualty insurance group in Japan, has announced that it will start offering insurance services in the metaverse. The company will offer insurance and other kinds of policies in the digital world in January, employing real clerks that will be represented as avatars. Interested users will be able to interact with the clerks and inquire about the details of each one of the products offered, as well as s

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has conducted the first payment transactions on the test network of the digital lira. The monetary authority intends to proceed with more testing in 2023 and plans to invite banks and fintech companies to join the trials. Turkey to Widen Participation in Digital Lira Project, Focus on Studying Economic and Legal Aspects Turkey’s monetary authority has successfully carried out the first payment transactions on the Digital Turkish Lira Network, according to an announcement on Thursday. The operations were executed as part of studies during the first phase of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) project. The CBRT also said it will continue to perform pilot tests with technology stakeholders in the first quarter of next year, on a limited scale and in a closed-circuit environment. The findings from these tests will be revealed to the public in a comprehensive evaluation report, it promised. Also in 2023, the Turkish central bank i

BMW, the luxury car manufacturer, has partnered with Coinweb, a decentralized blockchain layer 2-based company, to introduce blockchain-based tools to its operations. The company will develop blockchain-based automation for vehicle financing processes, and also a rewards program for customers of the automotive company adapted to compliance processes in Thailand. BMW to Introduce Blockchain to Its Operations More companies are introducing blockchain processes as part of their operations due to the ostensible reliability of the tech and how it can help save on costs. On Dec. 29, BMW, the German car manufacturer, announced a partnership with Coinweb, a layer 2 (L2) blockchain interoperability protocol, to introduce blockchain-based processes to its operations. This alliance contemplates two different tasks. The first includes the development of a smart contracts platform with the objective of streamlining different processes that need to be completed for the financing of BMW-branded

The Securities Commission of the Bahamas has revealed that it seized digital assets worth more than $3.5 billion from the collapsed crypto exchange FTX. The regulator explained that the cryptocurrencies were transferred to its wallets “for safekeeping” and “are being held by the Commission on a temporary basis.” Bahamas Regulator Seizes FTX’s Cryptocurrencies The Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB) said Thursday that it has obtained a court order to transfer the digital assets owned by, or under the custody or control of, FTX Digital Markets Ltd. (FTXDM) to its secure wallets. FTX Digital Markets is the Bahamian subsidiary of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX Trading Ltd., which owned and operated the crypto trading platform FTX.com. The regulator wrote that on Nov. 12: The Commission … took the action of directing the transfer of all digital assets under the custody or control of FTXDM or its principals, valued at more than US$3.5 billion, based on market pricing at the time of tra

After FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was released on bail and traveled to his parent’s home in California, it has been reported that SBF was visited by the crypto advocate Tiffany Fong, and also the “Big Short” author Michael Lewis while he’s been on house arrest. Fong detailed she managed to interview SBF, while Lewis visited to presumably get information on the downfall of the FTX empire for the writer’s upcoming book. SBF Gets 2 Visitors While on House Arrest and Before His Jan. 3 Arraignment in New York Since SBF was released on bail, reports note that two people have been granted access to visit the disgraced former FTX CEO while he’s on house arrest. Tiffany Fong disclosed that she met with SBF and noted that she had not written anything yet when she tweeted about her discussion with SBF on Dec. 28. The following day, The New York Post published an article about Fong’s visit, and the article’s authors Selim Algar, Andy Tillett, and Patrick Reilly decided to call Fon

At the end of 2021, a myriad of people thought a handful of smart contract platform tokens, often referred to as ‘Ethereum killers,’ would flip the second-largest crypto asset in terms of market capitalization in 2022. As 2022 comes to an end, statistics show that none of the so-called ‘Ethereum killers’ have surpassed the leading smart contract platform token, and a number of these tokens have lost considerable amounts of value during the crypto winter. Ethereum Outperformed Its Competitors in terms of Market Cap, Decentralized Finance Action, and Non-Fungible Token Sales On Dec. 23, 2021, the top smart contract platform coins held an overall valuation of around $823 billion and at that time, ethereum’s ( ETH ) market capitalization represented 59.42% of the aggregate. Today, on Dec. 30, 2022 , the crypto economy’s top smart contract platform coins are valued at $239 billion, and ETH ’s market cap is roughly $144 billion. Data indicates that ETH ’s market cap equates to 60.25% of

Sudeban, the Venezuelan banking watchdog, is currently working on a mechanism to review crypto-related transactions in real-time to control the influence these have on the stability of the exchange market. Analysts have recently linked the situation in peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto markets to the recent drop in the value of the bolivar. Venezuelan Government to Monitor Crypto Transactions The Venezuelan government is aiming to monitor the the movements of crypto-based P2P exchanges to protect the value of the bolivar. On Dec. 20, the Venezuelan banking watchdog Sudeban explained that it is in the process of designing a system to monitor banking transactions in real-time, with the help of Sunacrip, the national cryptocurrency regulator. While no more details were offered, the organization explained the objective is to “fight the irregular practices that attack our currency and the stability of the exchange market.” This means that the government looks to be examining the link between t

Digital fiat currencies will spread next year while the U.S. dollar will be losing its status of global reserve currency, according to Russia’s former head of state. In a string of tweets, Dmitry Medvedev gave his two cents on what the future holds for the world, a “humble contribution,” as he put it, to the “wildest predictions” ahead of New Year’s Eve. Medvedev Sees World Bank Crashing, Musk in the White House and Expensive Oil The Bretton Woods monetary system will collapse next year causing the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to crash, according to the man who was at the helm of Russia for four years between two of Vladimir Putin’s presidential terms. “Euro and dollar will stop circulating as the global reserve currencies. Digital fiat currencies will be actively used instead” while “all the largest stock markets and financial activity will leave the U.S. and Europe and move to Asia,” Dmitry Medvedev stated on social media. Through a series of posts in a humoro

During her appearance before Nigerian lawmakers, Aisha Ahmad, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), told lawmakers that out of the nearly $1.8 billion used to manage the local currency, over 90% of this total was reportedly used to fund expenses associated with the production of banknotes. The Growing Cost of Maintaining the Naira According to Aisha Ahmad, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), between the years 2017 and 2021, the apex bank spent an equivalent of nearly $1.8 billion, or 800 billion naira, managing the local currency. The production of new banknotes alone accounted for more than 90% of this figure. As per remarks published by the Punch, Ahmad, in her recent appearance before Nigerian lawmakers, also claimed that the cost of maintaining the local currency has been increasing by over $22 million annually. Before Ahmad’s disclosure, Kingsley Moghalu, a former CBN deputy governor, had also told lawmakers that the central bank uses

Bitcoin’s hashrate has jumped from the low 170 exahash per second (EH/s) recorded this week, to above the 300 exahash range after a number of bitcoin mining operations from Texas temporarily went offline on Dec. 25, 2022. Furthermore, three-day hashrate distribution statistics recorded on Dec. 29, 2022 indicate that two mining pools command more than 50% of the global hashrate. 2 Mining Entities Currently Produce More Than 50% of the Global Hashrate, Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Expected to Decline Significantly in 5 Days The computational processing power behind the Bitcoin ( BTC ) network ramped up to the 300 EH/s range on the evening of Dec. 28, 2022. Three days before the rise, BTC ’s hashrate slid to a low of 170 EH/s on Dec. 28, 2022, when bitcoin miners from Texas curtailed their hashpower to relieve the grid from any excess load. Most of the SHA256 hashpower returned the same day, as Bitcoin.com News reported on it climbing back to 240 EH/s by 12:00 p.m. (ET). Following Wedn

A marketplace for digital assets is soon going to open in China under a public-private partnership, local media revealed. According to the report, the goal is to establish a regulated trading platform for digital collectibles as part of government efforts to curb market speculation with such assets. National Marketplace to Support Trading of Digital Collectibles and Copyrights in China Chinese authorities are preparing to launch a state-controlled platform allowing the trading of non-fungible tokens ( NFTs ) and other digital assets, local media announced. The initiative is a joint project between government organizations and a private company. The “China Digital Asset Trading Platform,” built in partnership by the China Technology Exchange, China Cultural Relics Exchange Center, and Huaban Digital Copyright Service Center Co. Limited, will launch on Jan. 1, 2023, the report by Sina Finance detailed on Wednesday. The marketplace will operate under the license of the China Digital

The U.S dollar-Argentine peso exchange rate escalated during December, with the Argentine fiat currency reaching new historic lows as citizens ran to exchange their holiday payments for dollars. The U.S. dollar reached a value of 356 pesos on December 28, losing almost 10% during just one week, and threatening to spur a more significant inflationary jump. Argentine Peso Sinks to Lowest Level in History Argentina, one of the countries in Latam with active exchange control for foreign currencies, is facing difficulties maintaining the value of its fiat currency. The exchange between U.S. dollars and Argentine pesos reached historic levels, with the peso sinking to its lowest level ever on Dec. 28. The dollar reached a price of 356 pesos in its parallel cash denomination, also called “blue,” having closed November with a value of 314 pesos per U.S. dollar. The Argentine peso plummet accelerated last week when it lost more than 10% of its value. Since the start of 2022, the Argentine

The Central African Republic’s plan to list the sango coin in the last quarter of 2022 has been put on hold, while the scheduled unlocking of 5% of token holders’ portfolios has similarly been postponed, a statement from the team promoting the token has reportedly said. The decision to delay the listing of the coin was prompted by what the team terms “current market conditions.” Scheduled Token Unlocking Postponed Nearly eight months after becoming the first country in Africa to adopt bitcoin, the Central African Republic (CAR) recently said it will not proceed with the listing of its “Sango” crypto token as planned. In a statement reportedly posted in a sango coin Telegram group, the team promoting the token claimed that “current market conditions” had necessitated this decision. Besides the listing delay, the CAR team said the planned unlocking of up to 5% of sango holders’ portfolios had been postponed as well. According to the token information available on the official Sango

A blockchain platform built by Russia’s largest banking institution, Sber, has been used to issue digital assets based on gold. The value of the tokenized precious metal will depend on the prices of physical gold, the bank said, emphasizing that the operation is a first. Russia’s Sber Bank Mints Gold-Backed Coins Sber, Russia’s largest bank, has reported issuing gold-based digital financial assets (DFAs) on its proprietary blockchain. The coins were minted for Solfer, a holding specialized in the processing and trading of metals and making products from precious metals. The Russian law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which entered into force in January, 2021, allows companies to tokenize various assets. Sber Bank is one of three “information system operators” authorized by the Bank of Russia to issue DFAs, alongside Atomyze and Lighthouse . The latter conducted Russia’s first DFA issue in June of this year. The DFA issued for gold represents a monetary claim on the asset, Sber ex

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is shutting down services in Japan. The company explained that the current Japanese market conditions and a weak global crypto market do not justify the resources needed to further grow its business in Japan at this time. Kraken Exiting Japan Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced Wednesday that it has decided to “cease its operations in Japan and deregister from the Financial Services Agency (JFSA) as of January 31, 2023.” The company explained that the decision to exit the Japanese crypto market is part of its “efforts to prioritize resources and investments” in the areas that align with the company’s strategy and “will best position Kraken for long-term success.” The announcement details: Current market conditions in Japan in combination with a weak crypto market globally mean the resources needed to further grow our business in Japan aren’t justified at this time. “As a result, Kraken will no longer service clients in Japan through Payward A

According to court documents, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is set to be arraigned by the federal court in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) on Jan. 3, 2023. The disgraced FTX co-founder plans to enter a plea in his fraud case in front of U.S. judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, according to a report published by Reuters. Report Claims FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried ‘Expected to Enter a Plea Next Week,’ Criminal Defense Attorney Says Feds Have a Case With ‘Very Few Holes’ Just recently, the judge that was presiding over Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) fraud case, judge Ronnie Abrams, withdrew from the case citing a conflict of interest. It seems Abrams husband, Greg Andres, was reportedly an FTX adviser last year. Andres is a partner at the white-shoe, international law firm headquartered in New York City, Davis Polk & Wardwell. Following Abrams’s withdrawal from SBF’s case, the judge has been replaced by judge Lewis Kaplan. The 78-year-old Kaplan has been called a “ no-nonsense ” j

On Dec. 27, 2022, a number of onchain researchers noticed that funds connected to Alameda Research and FTX have moved and have been swapped for other tokens. Reports show the hacker known as the ‘FTX Accounts Drainer,’ traded large sums of ERC20 tokens for digital assets like tether, ethereum, and bitcoin. Funds Tied to Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research Traded for Ethereum, Tether, and Bitcoin It seems whoever controls the funds that once were connected to Alameda and FTX is starting to move a large handful of ERC20 tokens. According to the OXT onchain researcher Ergo , on Twitter, Alameda-linked addresses started to swap ERC20s for ETH and USDT . “Alameda ETH addresses are digging around in the sofa for spare change and swapping bits ERC20s for ETH / USDT ,” Ergo tweeted . “ ETH and USDT then funneled through instant exchangers. Rings some major alarm bells,” the onchain researcher added. In response to Ergo’s tweet, the onchain sleuth Zachxbt replied and said : “the funds