Category: Crypto News

Categories
Bitcoin Crypto News Russia

Sanctions-Hit Russia Considers Accepting Bitcoin for Oil

According to Russia’s chairman of the Congressional Energy Committee, Pavel Zavalny, the federation is open to accepting bitcoin for its natural resources exports.

Russia Pressured to Find Alternative Solutions

Amid global economic sanctions and a rapidly depreciating national currency, Russia has found itself under significant economic pressure, requiring it to consider creative solutions to keep its economy afloat.

Since Russia exports around 10 percent of the world’s oil and about 40 percent of Europe’s natural gas, the sanctions imposed have dealt a blow to both the federation and global citizens alike. As Russia’s critical revenue source has all but dried up, everyday people are feeling the pain as global energy prices have skyrocketed. In response, Russia has resorted to accepting different currencies for its natural resources.

Russia Retaliates

According to a press conference translation, Zavalny suggested that Russia was open to accepting different currencies for its exports, though the method would depend largely on the preference of the buyer and the importing country’s relationship with Russia:

When it comes to our ‘friendly’ countries, like China or Turkey, which don’t pressure us, then we have been offering them for a while to switch payments to national currencies, like rubles and yuan. With Turkey, it can be lira and rubles. So there can be a variety of currencies, and that’s a standard practice. If they want bitcoin, we will trade in bitcoin.

Pavel Zavalny, chairman, Russian Congressional Energy Committee

The news comes after President Vladimir Putin announced earlier this week that so-called “unfriendly” countries would need to pay for Russian gas in rubles.

Harsh Measures Call For Hard Money

In his press conference, Zavalny echoed these sentiments in relation to “unfriendly countries”, saying: “When we exchange with Western countries … they should pay in hard money. And hard money is gold, or they must pay in currencies which are convenient for us, and that is the national currency – rubles.”

It’s been argued that when the G7 nations confiscated Russia’s US$700 billion in reserves, it marked the beginning of a “new monetary world order“. Whether you agree with that assessment or not, geopolitics quite clearly has had an impact. We may conceivably be witnessing the demise of the petrodollar in real-time and simultaneous emergence of a world where commodities are priced in hard assets.

While it may have been viewed as somewhat fanciful in years gone by, it is not entirely improbable that bitcoin will emerge in the coming decade as a pristine global reserve asset. At least, that’s what Bitcoiners such as Greg Foss think:

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Mining Crypto News

US Energy Giant ExxonMobil is Mining Bitcoin With Natural Gas 

ExxonMobil is diverting some of the natural gas it has no use for to power cryptocurrency mining operations in North Dakota. The oil and gas behemoth has partnered with Crusoe Energy Systems to convert the gas into mobile generators used for mining operations onsite:

It’s a Win-Win Situation

Launched in January 2021, the joint company is already looking to set up similar operations in Alaska, Nigeria, Argentina, Guyana and Germany, according to Bloomberg. In October last year, Texas led the way in using natural gas flares for mining bitcoin.

The project uses excess natural gas that would have been burned off via the flaring process and is now being put to use to help energy-intensive crypto mining operations find a source of power that would otherwise be wasted. Flared gas will be provided to bitcoin miners at other sites across the globe:

Crusoe Energy Systems is the pioneer of using wasted gas to power bitcoin mining operations and is now taking gas from an oil well pad in the Bakken shale basin of the northern US to power mobile generators used for bitcoin mining operations.

Crusoe Energy is now globally recognised for its “innovative” solution to flaring, which has become standard industry practice due to a lack of transportation infrastructure.

Twitterverse Goes Off in Response

According to ExxonMobil spokeswoman Sarag Nordin, “[We] continuously evaluate emerging technologies aimed at reducing flaring volumes across our operations.” She added that the company’s emissions reduction plan was expected to achieve World Bank Zero Routine Flaring by 2030.

The Twitterverse went crazy when the news was published:

Categories
Crypto News Cryptocurrency Law NFTs Real Estate

‘Satoshi Island’ Crypto Utopia Receives 50K Citizenship NFT Applications

The four-man team of entrepreneurs behind the ‘Satoshi Island’ project in the South Pacific claims to have already fielded 50,000 NFT visa applications to become permanent residents of the mooted crypto paradise.

The team’s declared vision is of a fiat-free, true crypto-economy where everything will be paid for in cryptocurrencies and all land ownership on the island represented by non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

As first reported by Crypto News Australia in January, it’s intended that Satoshi Island – so named for the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto – will host events year round, house and headquarter crypto projects, as well as being a gathering place and residence for crypto enthusiasts worldwide.

The Satoshi Five-Year Plan

The Satoshi Island vision took flight during the 2017 bull run, though a tight checklist of objectives had to be met over ensuing years before it could become a reality:

  • the island had to be remote enough for privacy but not so remote that development would be too difficult;
  • it should ideally not be at risk of climate change and be protected from natural disasters; and
  • the slog to find an adequate location was compounded by the knowledge that the team “had to be realistic”.

Options Narrowed Down to Vanuatu

Most importantly, the government managing the territory where the island was located had to be open to the idea of a “crypto city”. After years of searching, the team settled on Vanuatu: “The government showed a willingness to innovate and were open to discussions right away.”

Pacific island nations in general are building a reputation for being crypto-friendly. Nearby, in Tonga, the prospect of Bitcoin becoming legal tender could happen as soon as November this year, while the neighbouring Marshall Islands are open to decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs).

Proposed waterfront prefab villas on Satoshi Island. Source: satoshi-island.com

However, as with any proposed utopia, there are hurdles ahead for the developers of Satoshi Island. Vanuatu passed a law last year that allows companies to gain a special licence to deal with crypto assets. The Vanuatu Financial Services Commission, which provides those licences, recently issued a media release stating that Satoshi Island has not been granted one, and that it “could be a scam”.

Vanuatu’s Finance Minister has said that “proper policies” around cryptocurrency and blockchain still needed to be worked out:

It’s a new form of doing things and from our perspective it’s something Vanuatu will have to think seriously about. We need to have legislations updated so they can absorb the implementation of the cryptocurrencies.

Johnny Koanapo Rasou, Minister of Finance, Vanuatu

Moreover, NFT residency does not automatically confer citizenship of Vanuatu, where the government stipulates that actual citizenship costs US$130,000 for each aficionado who wishes to bid farewell to fiat and say hello to a crypto life in the sun.

Categories
Australia Crypto News Decentraland Metaverse

Indigenous Australians Making an Embassy in the Metaverse

Indigenous Australians are consolidating their presence in the digital landscape by establishing the First Nations Cultural Embassy in the metaverse.

Oldest Culture Explores Emerging Technologies

Last month, the Sovereign Yidindji Nation from the rainforest region of far north Queensland launched its own digital currency, making it the first indigenous enclave in Australia to enter the cryptosphere.

Now, Dr Vanessa Lee-Ah Met and Bibi Barba – representatives of the Yupungathi Meriam Nation and the Darumbal and Yuin Nations, respectively – have issued a discussion paper seeking support to run the first operations of this pilot project, which aims to position the first peoples of Australia in the metaverse.

Dr Vanessa Lee-Ah Mat, Australian scholar from the Yupungathiand Meriam Nation. Source: Griffiths University

Crypto Can Help to Avoid Past Mistakes

One of the reasons to create a cultural embassy in the metaverse is to impart a sense of sovereignty to indigenous people. So far, Australia is the only Western country that abides by the term Terra Nullius, a legal concept that means “land of no one”, and used by the erstwhile British Empire to colonise Aboriginal lands without treaty or payment.

Blockchain is about transparency and trust […] With no recognition of cultural significance, land or indigenous culture, there is a risk of repeating the mistakes of the past.

Dr Vanessa Lee-Ah Mat

“Crypto allows us to be part of the conversation again by adopting the newest digital tech,” added Dr Lee-Ah Mat.

The First Nations Cultural Embassy is now in the design phase. It plans to expand across numerous metaverse platforms, such as Decentraland and Sandbox, and the project has already received offers to donate plots of land.

Using Blockchain to Preserve Australian Indigenous Art

Indigenous Australians are not only using crypto to make their voices heard; it’s also about preserving their art and culture with blockchain. This week, Crypto News Australia reported that artists from the Yolngu nation are digitising their work as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in an attempt to create a new source of revenue and also preserve their art for future generations.

Categories
Australia Banking CBDCs Crypto News

Australia Explores Multi-CBDC Platform For International Settlements

The central banks of Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa, in conjunction with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), have released a report outlining the results of a project to create two prototype multi-CBDC platforms.

Project Dunbar, which was launched in September 2021, concluded that multi-CBDCs are technically viable but significant coordination, governance and jurisdictional challenges will need to be overcome before they can be fully implemented in real-world situations. 

What Did Project Dunbar Involve?

Project Dunbar involved the creation of two multi-CBDC platforms shared by multiple central banks to transact with each other using different digital currencies. The use of such systems could potentially reduce reliance on intermediaries and lead to significant reductions in the cost and time taken to complete international transactions between financial institutions.

Diagram illustrating multi-CBDC platform. Source: Project Dunbar report

The prototypes were built using two different technology platforms – one developed primarily by R3 on the Corda platform, the second developed on the Quorum platform.

The report found that financial institutions could successfully use these shared multi-CBDCs to directly transact with each other, stating that:

This initial phase of the project successfully developed working prototypes and demonstrated practicable solutions, achieving its aim of proving that the concept of multi-CBDCs was technically viable.

Project Dunbar report

Technically Viable But Hurdles Ahead

While the report found that shared multi-CBDCs are technically viable, it also identified governance, jurisdictional and trust issues that need to be solved before the tech can become truly viable.

The report identified three key questions that need to be addressed:

  1. Which entities should be allowed to hold the digital currencies and access the shared platform?
  2. How can cross-border payments be simplified while respecting regulatory differences across different jurisdictions?
  3. What kind of governance arrangement would make countries comfortable sharing access to critical infrastructure such as payment systems?

Michele Bullock, assistant governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), echoed these concerns, explaining:

Project Dunbar has provided valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges associated with developing a shared platform for multiple CBDCs to enhance cross-border payments. Allowing entities to directly hold and transact in CBDCs from different jurisdictions could reduce the need for intermediaries in cross-border payments, but it would need to be done in a way that preserves the security and resilience of these payments.

Michele Bullock, assistant governor, RBA

Australia’s involvement in Project Dunbar is another indication of the Reserve Bank’s growing interest in CBDCs, having last year sought to hire cryptocurrency experts to work in its Central Bank Digital Currency research team.

Categories
Australia Crypto News Industries NFTs

Qantas Launches NFTs Despite Environmental Pushback

Australian airline Qantas is one of the newest major ASX-listed companies to include a non-fungible token (NFT) offering. The offering, however, has since seen considerable pushback from the community, citing environmental concerns with NFTs and other issues.

World First for Australian Airline

Qantas’s digital collection of memorabilia is a first for any airline to allow users to buy, sell, and collect NFTs and also enable buyers to earn Qantas Points. Holders might also have something extra to look forward to with Qantas stating, “exciting future benefits for Qantas NFT holders [are] under way”.

Chief customer officer Stephanie Tully said customers have been collecting physical Qantas memorabilia for years and NFTs would be the newest iteration. According to its post, the ‘Flying Kangaroo’ will allow cash transactions as well as crypto when it launches the NFT collection mid-year.

A Qantas NFT collection allows us to engage the next generation of aviation and digital art enthusiasts, leveraging blockchain technology to celebrate our heritage and future.

Stephanie Tully, chief customer officer, Qantas

Qantas Customers Take to Twitter

However, very few commentators on Twitter seemed to be as excited as Qantas about its new offering:

NFTs have become popularised as a way for audiences to have a new way of engaging with their favourite brands. On the other hand, some see them as a money grab scheme implemented by businesses to create a new revenue stream:

NFTs have boomed in the past year – according to Chainalysis, in 2021 a minimum of US$44.2 billion was sent to NFT contracts – though they have also come under fire for facilitating greater carbon emissions and running on unsustainable blockchains.

In February, Salesforce employees protested the company’s plan to implement the novel technology. And according to recent statements from WWF and Uber, Bitcoin and NFTs are both still too power-hungry and neither organisation will accept them until they’re greener.

Categories
Crypto News ICP Market Analysis Shiba Inu Smooth Love Potion Trading

Top 3 Coins to Watch Today: SLP, SHIB, ICP – March 25 Trading Analysis

Let’s take a closer look at today’s altcoins showing breakout signals. We’ll explain what the coin is, then dive into the trading charts and provide some analysis to help you decide.

1. Smooth Love Potion (SLP)

Smooth Love Potion SLP tokens are earned by playing the Axie Infinity game. This digital asset serves as a replacement for experience points. SLP are ERC-20 tokens, and they can be used to breed new digital pets known as Axies. The cost of breeding begins at 100 SLP but increases gradually, rising to 200 SLP for the second breed, 300 for the third, 500 for the fourth, 800 for the fifth, and 1,300 for the sixth. Axies can be bred a maximum of seven times, and the seventh breed costs 2,100 SLP. This limit exists in order to prevent hyperinflation in the marketplace.

SLP Price Analysis

At the time of writing, SLP is ranked the 370th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is US$0.02127. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

SLP‘s 120% rally during February ran into 48% retracement near $0.01715. Since then, the price has been consolidating in a 40% range between $0.02124 and $0.02562.

Just below the late-December low, $0.01724 is the first level likely to provide substantial support. If the price breaks down through this level, overlapping levels near $0.01658 might cap a run on the lows near $0.01532 and $0.01475.

The higher-timeframe analysis points to the area near $0.02851 as the next substantial resistance. Significant selling has been occurring here on the daily chart. If this level breaks, the swing highs near $0.03127 and $0.03460 may be the next targets.

2. Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Shiba Inu SHIB coin was created anonymously in August 2020 under the pseudonym “Ryoshi”. The meme coin quickly gained traction and value as a community of investors was drawn in by the cute charm of the coin, paired with headlines and tweets from personalities including Elon Musk and Vitalik Buterin.

SHIB Price Analysis

At the time of writing, SHIB is ranked the 15th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is US$0.00002474. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

SHIB performed well during February, reaching over 60% from the first week of the month into the resistance near $0.00003542.

For the past several days, the price has been moving in a falling wedge and appears to be flipping old support near $0.00002342 to resistance. If this level breaks – perhaps due to the tempting daily equal lows below – the next support begins near $0.00002129.

Bulls entering at these levels could set their first target near the previous resistance near $0.00002980. Beyond this level, probable targets include the new monthly highs near $0.00003324 and the resistance above near $0.00003652.

A break of this resistance later this month could continue to the new highs near $0.00003782 and $0.00003824.

3. Internet Computer (ICP)

The Internet Computer ICP is the world’s first blockchain that runs at web speed with unbounded capacity. It also represents the third major blockchain innovation, alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum – a blockchain computer that scales smart contract computation and data, runs them at web speed, processes and stores data efficiently, and provides powerful software frameworks to developers. By making this possible, the Internet Computer enables the complete reimagination of software, providing a revolutionary new way to build tokenised internet services, pan-industry platforms, decentralised financial systems, and even traditional enterprise systems and websites.

ICP Price Analysis

At the time of writing, ICP is ranked the 35th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is US$19.17. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

During March, ICP also turned the corner, breaking a key swing high. This move could suggest a longer-term bullish trend.

The swing high near $25.24 stands out as a bullish target and marks an area of probable resistance. Further continuation could reach into possible resistance starting near $29.35.

Even if the bearish trend continues, a stop run at the recent swing low near $17.00 into possible support beginning near $16.47 is reasonable. If the price reaches further down, the swing low and possible support near $15.97 might provide another downside target. 

The area near $14.25 could also provide support. However, a drop this far could suggest a stop run below the higher-timeframe relatively equal lows near $13.82 into possible support beginning around $13.00.

Learn How to Trade Live!

Join Dave and The Crypto Den Crew and they’ll show you live on a webinar how to take your crypto trading to the next level.

Where to Buy or Trade Altcoins?

These coins have high liquidity on Binance Exchange, so that could help with trading on AUD/USDT/BTC pairs. And if you’re looking at buying and HODLing cryptos, then Swyftx Exchange is an easy-to-use popular choice in Australia.

Categories
Australia Banking Crypto News Stablecoins

ANZ Becomes First Bank to Mint Aussie Dollar Stablecoin A$DC

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) has concluded a historic transaction in which its newly created stablecoin pegged to the Aussie dollar has been used in a real world transaction:

A First for Australia

According to a press release, ANZ minted 30 million of A$DC using an ANZ-built Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible smart contract deployed through the Fireblocks platform. These coins were then transferred between the parties and later redeemed back into fiat.

ANZ worked closely with leading providers in the digital asset domain including Fireblocks, Chainalysis and OpenZeppelin to create an in-house purpose-built stablecoin smart contract.

The historic transaction was concluded between one of Australia’s best-known investment companies, the Victor Smorgon Group (VMG), and a digital asset fund manger, Zerocap. VMG wanted to invest A$30 million into Zerocap’s digital asset fund and turned to ANZ to streamline the process and reduce costs.

By using ANZ’s stablecoin, VMG managed to avoid the costly conversion of Aussie dollars into US dollars, before then buying USDC, which Zerocap uses to access cryptocurrency markets. Instead, using ANZ’s stablecoin (A$DC), it was able to buy digital assets directly, avoiding a host of friction costs in the process. In addition, the transaction took just over 10 minutes, compared to several days had the legacy financial system been used.

ANZ services lead Nigel Dobson commented that “an ANZ-issued Australian dollar stablecoin is a first and important step in enabling our customers to find a safe and secure gateway to the digital economy”.

We’re excited to continue to trial our capability and explore how this use case can be applied in other industries and customers in the future.

Nigel Dobson, ANZ services lead

Recognising the role that stablecoins play in creating efficiencies, Dobson commented further on the transaction:

Stablecoins are a new way for customers to transact and in this case was an efficient and direct way for Victor Smorgon Group to access Zerocap’s digital asset exchange and move funds across a decentralised network.

Nigel Dobson, ANZ

Zerocap co-founder and CEO Ryan McCall remarked on how his company had taken a different approach by focusing on serving institutional clients:

Most of the crypto industry has been focused on directly servicing the retail market, whereas we’ve invested from the outset in establishing the product, technology, compliance and team to properly service private and institutional clients.

Ryan McCall, Zerocap co-founder and CEO

He concluded on a bullish note, saying: “Digital assets are going mainstream; we’re thrilled to be at the forefront of driving adoption and bringing that vision to life.”

ANZ Making Bold Moves

One of the oft-repeated phrases in crypto is how Ernest Hemingway spoke of going bankrupt: “gradually, then suddenly”.

ANZ’s “gradually” moment was late last year, when it indicated that there was a “weight of money behind crypto that you can’t ignore“. No doubt this was in response to rival Commonwealth Bank’s move to become the first local bank to offer crypto trading services to its clients.

Arguably, ANZ’s “suddenly” moment came earlier this week at the Australian Blockchain Week 2022 when it announced its entrance into the world of DeFi (decentralised finance).

Coupled with its move creating its own stablecoin, it seems reasonable to conclude that ANZ has determined that in order to remain relevant in the rapidly evolving financial industry, embracing crypto is no longer optional, it’s a prerequisite.

Categories
Bitcoin Crypto News Terra TerraUSD

Terra Founder Outlines Plans to Buy $10 Billion in BTC

Three weeks ago, the Luna Foundation Guard announced it would be buying US$1 billion in bitcoin to help restore “peg parity” between its decentralised stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) and the US dollar.

Terra’s founder has now decided to go one step further and declared his intention to acquire up to US$10 billion in bitcoin:

Refresher on UST and BTC

For those unclear as to how bitcoin fits within the context of a decentralised stablecoin such as UST, it’s worth going back to an earlier statement by the LFG Foundation:

As an algorithmic stablecoin, UST’s peg is maintained by a series of open market operations, arbitrage incentives, and countercyclical levers within the Terra protocol to offset market forces pushing the UST peg above or below one USD. LUNA, Terra’s reserve, staking and governance asset, retains an elastic supply to help neutralise directional market pressures impacting the peg.

LFG Foundation announcement

In short, bitcoin is used to restore the UST’s peg parity to the US dollar at times when there are protracted market sell-offs.

Terra Founder Reveals Plan Details

In a Twitter Spaces conversation with renowned crypto troll, Udi Wertheimer, Terra co-founder Do Kwon revealed plans to back UST with bitcoin:

Haven’t been following up with the exact numbers ’cause transactions we generally do this over OTC, but the current clip that we have to buy big coin is about $3 billion [referring to bitcoin] and we will add to that.

Do Kwon, Terra co-founder

He added that “out of that 3 billion, most of it we haven’t bought yet”. Do Kwon went on to describe the move as a “new monetary era of the Bitcoin standard”:

Naturally, there was a lot of excitement across crypto Twitter:

However, some of the more experienced market participants, including Bitcoiner Adam Back, had more questions. He asked, “Where is the $10 bil coming from?”, to which Do Kwon responded:

It’s not 10B today – as UST money supply grows, a portion of the seigniorage will go to build BTC reserves bridged to the Terra chain. We have 3B funds ready to seed this reserve, but technical infrastructure (bridges etc) is still not ready yet.

Do Kwon, co-founder of Terra

Details remain somewhat muddied and it’s not clear whether even Do Kwon has all his proverbial ducks in a row, having conceded at the end of the Twitter Spaces conversation: “I said more than I shoulda”.

Initial Acquisition More Like $3 Billion

While plans are to acquire US$10 billion in total, as noted by Do Kwon the initial acquisition will be US$3 billion. Eagle-eyed on-chain analysts have already seen evidence of buying with US$125 million already bought, and another tranche of US$125 million imminent:

If Terra’s plans go through as intended, it would become one of the largest bitcoin holders, more so than every corporate outside of MicroStrategy with its 125,051 BTC stash.

Whatever one’s thoughts are on algorithmic stablecoins such as UST, or Terra itself, it’s undeniable that using bitcoin as a tool to maintain peg parity is a unique approach that remains untested. At the very least, it introduces some excitement at a time when the market appears to be in a sideways consolidation phase.

Categories
Crypto News Crypto.com Sports

Crypto.com is Official Crypto Sponsor for 2022 FIFA World Cup

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com will become an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, both organisations announced in a joint statement this week.

While trading cryptocurrencies in Qatar is illegal – it’s banned by the country’s central bank – Crypto.com said the partnership would help drive further awareness of the exchange globally, as the FIFA World Cup is football’s largest governing body and brings over a billion views in each tournament.

The deal also highly benefits FIFA as it will help it grow on a global scale, said its chief commercial officer Kay Madati, citing Crypto.com’s recent related moves in the world of sports:

We are delighted to have a global brand like Crypto.com join us as a sponsor of the exciting and groundbreaking FIFA World Cup in Qatar, ultimately helping to grow our beautiful game on a global scale.

As part of the sponsorship deal, Crypto.com users will be able to attend matches and win exclusive merchandise.

Big Moves by Crypto Companies

Of course, the crypto community viewed the sponsorship as a major move by the exchange. Several crypto institutions are actively gaining ground in the mainstream media, signing partnerships with major organisations and becoming official sponsors of international tournaments:

Last month, Brisbane-based exchange Swyftx made sporting history by inking a three-year partnership with Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) to become its exclusive crypto partner.

In addition, the Australian Football League (AFL) recently signed an A$25 million sponsorship deal with Crypto.com, eclipsing its current deal with Toyota (worth A$18.5 million.)

Crypto.com has been actively working in expanding its reach worldwide with numerous partnerships in the sports industry. In July 2021 it became the first crypto sponsor of the largest mixed martial arts promoter, the UFC, in a US$175 million deal.