Home Blog Page 411

Government Estimates Show That Russian Citizens Own Over $200B Worth of Crypto

By
Aletheia
-
0
pexels-rodnae-productions-8369654
Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels

According to a recent government estimates report, it appears that Russian citizens own cryptocurrency that amounts to a total of 16.5 rubles ($214 billion). A report by Bloomberg states there that Russians own approximately 12% of the global crypto holdings overall. Two people from Kremlin said that they got to calculate this figure by analyzing the IP addresses of major crypto exchange users in the country, among other things.

This analysis aims to give the government a better overview of the crypto market, which will help them create new regulations. However, the proposals for this haven’t been finalized just yet. They expect that the figure still doesn’t show the full estimate, especially since Russia has yet to finalize its crypto regulations, leading many users to use tools that cover their identity.

However, this recent estimate is a massive jump from the data that Anatoly Aksakov, the head of the lower house of parliament’s financial markets committee, shared in December. According to that report, Russian citizens had crypto worth only 5 trillion rubles.

green red and yellow christmas tree and two round gold coins

Over the past month, the finance ministry and the central bank submitted proposals and arguments back and forth. Initially, the central bank wanted to impose a blanket ban on crypto trading and mining. On the other hand, the finance ministry offered a counter-proposal to impose a crypto regulatory framework instead.

President Putin himself supported the finance ministry’s proposal, as he was also an advocate for having market regulations. With regards to Bitcoin network mining, Russia ranks third. Putin acknowledges that the country should use surplus energy for crypto mining purposes. Lmpwomg that the Russian president himself and the finance ministry both support crypto regulations, it’s possible that the government will soon regulate trading and mining.

McDonald’s Hosts Chinese New Year Celebration Within the Metaverse

By
Aletheia
-
0
screenshot-www-youtube-com-2022-02-02-15_35_46

Most companies typically celebrate the Lunar New Year annually. McDonald’s started its yearly tradition by collaborating with Humberto Leon, the fashion brand Opening Ceremony co-founder. With this newfound partnership, the two parties have created an exclusive line of clothing based on zodiac animal signs. Interestingly, the global fast-food chain celebrates the Lunar New Year on the metaverse.

This year is all about the Tiger, which exudes strong characteristics like courage, charm, and confidence. The “McDonald’s Hall of Zodiacs: 2022 Lunar New Year with Humberto Leon” event offers an immersive VR experience to everyone who enjoys fashion and fast food.

For those who couldn’t join on Lunar New Year itself, the event will run until February 15, so there’s still ample time to hop into the metaverse and check out what the event has to offer. Visitors will be directed to the McDonald’s gallery, where they’ll find Leon’s work.

screenshot-www-youtube-com-2022-02-02-15_58_39

Not only that, but visitors will also get to have horoscope readings based on their zodiac animal and birth year. Along with this, they can also receive a future prediction for 2022. According to the event’s description:

screenshot-www-canva-com-2022-02-02-16_00_34

Chinese-Peruvian American fashion designer Leon also had some things to say about the event:

screenshot-www-canva-com-2022-02-02-16_01_30

Binance Ukraine Makes Crypto Payment Card Its “Top Priority” in 2022

By
Aletheia
-
0

Binance, a leading crypto exchange, is still going strong in Ukraine. It’s even prepping to launch a brand-new crypto payment card for crypto supporters who live in the country. Binance plans on having a more dominant position in Ukraine’s crypto market by offering its users a more expansive selection of local crypto-related services. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Binance Ukraine’s new general manager Kirill Khomyakov stated the following:

screenshot-www-canva-com-2022-02-02-14_23_14

Besides its current plans to launch a crypto payment card, Binance Ukraine is also seeking to develop local NFT-related services. According to Khomyakov, the platform plans on launching a fan token dedicated to Ukraine’s major sports team, as this can help improve fan interactions.

Ukraine’s current crypto legislation doesn’t support direct crypto payments, as digital assets like these still aren’t legally recognized. However, crypto transactions aren’t banned in any way.

screenshot-www-canva-com-2022-02-02-14_54_25

black and white lenovo laptopUkrainian government officials like Oleksandr Bornyakov, the Digital Transformation Deputy, pointed out the loophole in the current regulations, stating that local laws allow crypto payments as long as they’re converted into fiat.

Other countries like Russia have gone ahead and banned crypto-related payments. However, many institutions continue to accept such payments, including the state-backed State Hermitage Museum, during an online NFT auction.

Binance planned on launching the same crypto payment card in Russia even though the country had a blanket ban on crypto payments. However, the platform still hasn’t launched the product since its announcement in 2020. According to Gleb Kostarev, Binance’s Eastern European director, releasing the crypto payment card in Russia isn’t a priority right now.

The Central Bank of Jordan Is Looking Into Issuing a CBDC

By
Aletheia
-
0

According to a recent announcement, the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) revealed that it’s currently looking into issuing a digital currency. If a central bank digital currency (CBDC) does get launched, it would not only be linked to the Jordanian dinar, but it would also have legal standing.

CBJ’s governor, Adel Al Sharkas, said that the financial institution is doing thorough research on the possibility of creating a legal digital currency. Once the proper legislation is proposed and imposed, he predicts that Jordan might accept crypto trading.

screenshot-www-canva-com-2022-02-02-13_11_50

According to the report, the CBJ governor’s comments were stated during a meeting where attendees talked about digital currencies. His comments came after Jordan’s Lower House Economic and Investment Committee chairman Khair Abu Salik, who warned them against the risks and dangers involved in crypto trading. The meeting also reported had officials discussing the regulations needed to ensure that investors are safe and protected from such risks and dangers.

pexels-monstera-5849585
Photo by Monstera from Pexels

They also talked about the possibility of creating and launching a licensed crypto trading platform. The CBJ governor argues that Jordan decided to ban crypto trading to protect investors from deceitful crypto investments. He noted that five other countries, China included, also have similar bans.

Jordan is now one of the few countries that are beginning to dip its toes into the world of CBDC. According to Atlantic Council’s data, 91 nations have begun to create a sovereign digital currency as of June 2019. Fourteen of these countries have already reached the digital currency’s pilot phase. Meanwhile, nine nations have already launched a CBDC.

Solana Pay Has Officially Launched

By
Aletheia
-
0
people walking on street during night time

Solana Pay is a peer-to-peer payments infrastructure made possible through a joint collaboration with different platforms, namely Solana Labs, Checkout.com, Circle, and Citcon. It was created to give online merchants and point-of-sale providers across the globe the opportunity to accept and settle payments using digital assets.

Solana Pay has a built-in software development kit that mediates between crypto and traditional fiat businesses. It revealed in an exclusive statement that it considers the “most prevalent use-case to be with digital dollar currencies,” much like the stablecoin USDC from Circle. But not only that, but Solana Pay also enables the option to choose Solana-related assets, such as Solana’s SOL, Serum’s SRM, FTX’s FTT, and others.

Solana Pay is built on the Solana blockchain, which was launched in April 2019 and quickly rose to the top of the ranks as the network with affordable transaction fees and high transaction speeds. As such, Solana Pay is looking to offer a low barrier-to-entry payment option. In addition, it also intends to integrate other up-and-coming asset classes into its infrastructure, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

online shopping, credit card, ecommerce
mohamed_hassan (CC0), Pixabay

Cointelegraph reached out to Sheraz Shere, Solana Labs’ head of payments, who also co-created the Google Wallet. During the interview, Shere discussed his expectations regarding Solana Pay’s capabilities in supporting the Solana ecosystem’s wider growth in 2022.

screenshot-www-canva-com-2022-02-02-12_04_03

Cointelegraph also interviewed Austin Federa, Solana Labs’ head of communication, on December 22, 2021. In the interview, they discussed the recent network outages that Solana has been experiencing, centralization, scalability, and more.

Shere also said that Solana Pay would be helping all merchants throughout the onboarding process this year, no matter their prior education.

screenshot-www-canva-com-2022-02-02-12_37_24

Among other things, Solana Pay also plans on launching several payments-centric hacking events within the year to try and connect developers and whitehats globally.

10 important factors to consider when selecting a new electricity provider

By
PVP Team
-
0
banner_1

Australia has so many electricity providers to choose from – and it can sometimes be challenging to choose the right plan for you.

However, there are some essential factors to consider when you compare electricity providers.

To help you make your decision, we’ve compiled a list of key elements that you should consider before signing on with a new provider.

1) The price of your bills

This is always important – especially if you have ever struggled to pay your bills before. A great way to save on your energy bills is to compare electricity rates at Econnex.

This will show you which electricity plans can give you the cheapest deal.

And best of all, it’s 100% free.

Find out how much you will be paying per kWh, so you know what to expect.

2) The customer support available to you

Does the company have a good consumer support team? This may be over the phone, via a chatbot, messaging, email, or even face-to-face (if your provider offers this).

This is important, especially when you have a problem with your bill or service.

That way you can speak to someone and work through the issue with them.

Quickly getting things resolved will also minimize any energy usage and mean that you don’t get an expensive energy bill!

3) The company’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)

This refers to how ethically the company operates. This may be in terms of reducing emissions or improving the environment.

Some companies even donate part of their profits to charity – so you can do some good just by paying for your electricity!

4) How much energy they produce

It is better to consider how much energy your supplier produces. If they use renewable energy, then this is better for the environment.

However, even if they don’t, you should still consider them – as some will offset their carbon emission by donating part of their profits to green projects.

5) The length of contract and its terms and conditions

This refers to how long you’ll be tied into a contract. Some suppliers offer flexible contracts, while others force you to commit for an extended period.

banner_2

Generally, longer isn’t necessarily better. If you could switch to another provider in the next few years, then it may be worth paying for your electricity month-to-month so you can get out of the contract if you need to.

6) The company’s experience in the market

A company’s history in the energy industry indicates how long they’ve been around. It doesn’t tell you about their services but means that they are not new to this market and therefore should be made up of seasoned professionals.

New companies may struggle to provide good customer service, so try sticking with reliable companies with several years of experience.

7) The discount options

Some electricity suppliers offer lots of ways to get discounts on your energy bill – whether that be through amazing deals or special offers.

However, you must ensure that these are worth it. For example, if they save you money but only over a short period, you might be better off with another provider.

8) The company’s complaints record

This refers to how many complaints the company receives each year.

Some companies are more popular than others, so there could be an issue if they have too many complaints.

However, don’t just take this negatively as good companies who receive many complaints may have more customers as they are so popular!

Read customer reviews before signing up with them to ensure they have good customer service and won’t charge too much for late payments or other penalties.

9) The types of tariffs available to you

The electricity provider’s number and type of tariffs matter too.  It would be discouraging to continue receiving huge bills unexpectedly, which means it’s essential to consider the difference between ‘standard tariff,’ ‘variable tariff,’ and ‘fixed tariff.’

10) The price of electricity

Finally, consider the cost of your energy. You can confirm this at a comparison site, which will tell you the average electricity price in your area over a year.

You can use this as a starting guide when you look for your new provider.

Just remember – cheaper doesn’t always mean better!

Conclusion

Deciding on a new electricity provider for your home can seem like an overwhelming task, but it doesn’t need to be. Everything becomes much more straightforward when you know what factors are the most important to consider as you compare electricity providers.

These ten points should help get you started on your way to finding a great company that will provide a reliable service and competitive rates in the future.

How the Pandemic Has Made Wedding Live Streaming Popular

By
PVP Team
-
0
woman wearing wedding dress smiling inside car

Remember the days when a bride may wonder, “This is how I’ve dreamed of my big day every time, and it has to be precisely like that, really.” Many organizers and partners began to learn from the pandemic that uncertainty is absolutely inescapable and must be embraced rather than dreaded. When it comes to being receptive to the prospect of switching preparations, we all are becoming more and more innovative, inventive, and adaptable. One path to victory learned from the pandemic is to become more flexible, and there’s plenty more to come.

As the pandemic has driven us to appreciate the beauty of nature of the great spaces, the prevalence of open-air celebrations, beverage breaks, and evening receptions has expanded enormously. Fresh flowers, gentle waves, lush meadows, the murmur of birds, and ocean waves of these natural components stimulate, delight, and soothe. Even after the pandemic, I believe that venue areas with patios, balconies, and fields for camp setups will endure being the top option for partners organizing wedding festivities.

If this pandemic has forced us to learn something (apart from spirituality), it is the possession of advanced technologies. We are blessed to exist in a digital realm where knowledge is at our palm, video calling is available on our displays, and celebration planning can be done from the comfort of our sofas!

Many upcoming couples are not allowing a worldwide pandemic or social distance to hinder the process of their wedding plans. Since love is always victorious, rather, they’re coming up with creative and innovative ways to make their wedding ideas a reality, from Skype dealer meetings to Zoom bachelorette parties. There’s a way where there’s a tech-savvy willingness!

Blow the Rulebook to Ashes

Virtual weddings are a relatively new concept, so there’s a lot of ground to cover. Cus  toms don’t have to be followed to the letter; you certainly experiment with new thoughts and have a little joy with the overall thing. It’s possible to get swept with events and wind up adopting something that you think is customary what others might anticipate from a wedding. We could rip up the rule book and do whatever we wanted.

This is how individuals arrange every detail of your special occasion electronically. And you can even enjoy the actual day live on the internet!

Virtual Meetings and Visits

Virtual site visits have been known for quite some time. On the events location sites, 360-degree virtual tour movies give you a holistic picture of the various occasion areas.

Many wedding sites are going a mile further amid the COVID-19 quarantine, delivering individual site visits through Skype and FaceTime! You can digitally “tour” through the celebration rooms with the venue’s on-site organizer, discuss what your event might sound like there, and discuss issues as they pop up. What other method to know your fantasy land location from the comfort of your own place than with a personalized digital site visit? This is an excellent opportunity to meet the site manager and share your plans.

You can even record or capture critical points of the site visit because it’s running on your phone! Consider this like any other location visit, and don’t be reluctant to voice to explore anything you’re interested in. Your people are likely to see and enjoy all celebrations from a safe space.

Arrange a Skype or FaceTime meeting with potential organizers, videographers, photographers, flower artists, and other vendors. They may display you examples of their best achievement, provide you referrals to previous wedding portfolios, then go through the finer points of their pricing and agreements with you. Arrange a digital visit with them if they already have a store. During your e-consultations, ensure to follow the key questions to address your wedding providers.

Wedding Live Stream

London live stream weddings are perfect for those who are technologically advanced, forward-thinking couple who prefers to wrap the band immediately, irrespective of whatever is happening at the time. Everything you need now is high-speed internet connectivity and some essential tech to get started. Here’s how you can put it all around each other:

Select A Video Streaming Provider

There are plenty of ideal unrestricted streaming providers available. Imagine Zoom, Facebook Live, or YouTube Live as options. Love cast, a free program that delivers a user-friendly yet participatory environment for your viewers, is another unrestricted choice for live stream weddings. If you can’t pick, why not stream to various sites so your audience will have a say in the matter?

Vendor Coordination

Your celebrant can always execute the wedding ceremony totally electronically, though all non-essential companies are currently inactive. There’s no need to acquire anything! You’ll need to get your marriage contract notarized and sent in as fast as could be expected it legal.

Invite your contractors digitally if you still want images or film to commemorate this creative + wonderful party. They might use the help right already to maintain their businesses surviving, and they’ll most likely be open to changing things up! They can use streaming technology to document your event for a perfect memento electronically.

Guests Should Be Invited

Why not just go electronically with your greeting cards, too, considering you’re getting hitched virtually? Digitalized Mail and Greenvelope, for example, create attractive electronic invites that mimic the feel of receiving a “conventional” printable invite.

Organize

Place your phone or laptop on a stand, open the drapes for some ambient daylight, surround the event with flower pots, and play the tunes to laid the basis. You might also wish to prepare a wine toast to blow bottles after the wedding!

If you were considering putting the wedding day gear in the hands of a trustworthy friend, family member, or wedding provider, you don’t have to stress about that now.

The Benefits of Having a Live-Streamed Wedding

Dinner arrangements, flying plans, visitors’ accommodations, anxiety over not being free to devote enough time with all, and the sensation that you have far too many guests to serve might just be too much for you. A feeling of satisfaction might come from simply letting go of some of these items. Consequently, the entire occasion is streamlined for your guests as well. There is no need to deal with time differences, jet lag, expenses, babysitting, or job commitments.

They may virtually still be with you and experience your big day, magically. It makes no difference where they are or what their present circumstances are. In so many respects, this is the cream of the crop for both you and your visitors. You get to concentrate on one another. Just be a little more open.

Zuckerberg Pulls Plug On Facebook Crypto Project Diem After Recent Collapse

By
Christian Allen Tandoc
-
0
facebook-diem-gid_1

Last week, rumors arose that Facebook’s parent firm and its partners are considering exiting their struggling cryptocurrency project. The grapevines were correct, it turns out. Diem, Mark Zuckerberg’s cryptocurrency, will never see the light of day.

Diem, a Meta-backed cryptocurrency, is shutting operations following a series of rebrandings, public hearings, and high-profile personnel departures.

Diem revealed on Monday that it was selling its technology to Silvergate, a California-based crypto-focused lender, for $182 million, capping a multi-year endeavor that had frightened regulators.

Bloomberg reported earlier this week that the Diem Association, the organization in charge of digital money, is considering selling some of its holdings in order to restore capital to investors.

a0eb7df5-2358-4207-9f8e-9294ed611bf1_169-2863558

According to Bloomberg, conversations regarding how to “auction” its intellectual property and where the software engineers who designed Diem might go to find another source of income are still in their early stages.

Following an almost three-year campaign, Facebook and its partners have launched Diem, an exclusive digital currency previously known as Libra in 2019.

Despite their efforts, Diem’s supporters were unable to make an impact on their campaign, even when they went about patching a new identity to the project, downplaying Facebook’s role, and lowering their aspirations for a unified digital currency.

Many people feared something horrible would happen once David Marcus, Meta’s spokesman, and other important figures in the picture left the project late last year.

According to Diem CEO Stuart Levey in a news release, “the project could not proceed further” following recent discussions with federal officials therefore, the decision was made to dispose of it. The US Federal Reserve was already known to prevent Diem from flying.

Facebook-backed Diem Association may be close to dissolving - NewsBreak

The announcement by Facebook in 2019 of plans to establish a cryptocurrency sounded the early alarm bells for global banking titans, many of whom expressed concerns about the privacy and security of virtual money shrouded in mystery.

According to Enderle Group analyst Rob Enderle, the concept of Facebook developing its cryptocurrency and payment system was “too far” for authorities. After Meta created a cryptocurrency wallet called Novi, five Democratic MPs asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to cancel the Diem project.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) have begun examining the launch of their digital currencies, work that has been accelerated in part because of concerns about Diem.

Binance has barred 281 Nigerian users

By
Christian Allen Tandoc
-
0
61f3c0db8a4ce9a7f537c361_4ncpn1b9j3ordzzas22uyvstsmstx5ja7pj-ca0zjzo6bb3lw2tibl-6thj52ep2dyccfrayqmu3jrqkmm0kwi540ic9f6weobawubfy63d88h0j_uc7g8f5pw0jumooj7s0vyo

The CEO of Binance has declared that the company has limited the 281 personal accounts of Nigerian customers in order to comply with international money laundering rules.

The rise of cryptocurrency crimes has been a major motivation for using and enforcing securities regulations.

On Saturday, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, published an open letter in response to user worries regarding security. He mentioned anti-money laundering procedures and account limits before declaring their primary priority: protecting users from hacker threats.

Zhao highlighted Binance’s efforts to re-establish confidence among Nigerian users.

nigerian-users-5456445

First and foremost, CZ stated that Binance is “making sure we get directly to the heart of the issue as soon as possible and solve it externally,” saying;

“At the moment, we have resolved 79 cases and are working on others.” All non-law enforcement-related cases will be resolved within two weeks.”

Zhao declared that they would be raising manpower by hiring additional customer support agents to serve their clients in the region better. These new personnel must have a thorough awareness of the Nigerian market and respond quickly when needed.

Binance has issued a statement in response to recent events in which limited users abandoned their site due to account freezing. According to the firm, “if an account needs to be restricted, it will only be done if asked by law enforcement or aggressively shutting down newly registered users’ access without warning.”

binance-nigeria-8611268

Exchanges of cryptocurrencies Binance’s regulatory standing in many nations is continuously reviewed. The United States, Pakistan, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Norway, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, India, Malaysia, Turkey, Lithuania, and Singapore are the most recent countries to join.

Binance has stated that it is moving from an open-source software firm to one focused on serving financial needs, which would significantly alter its economic model. The cryptocurrency exchange company claims that this adjustment reflects regulatory compliance and security standards required for legally handling customer assets in numerous locations across the world – something that was previously lacking in their old structure as originally established.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has previously prohibited the use of bitcoin. People in Nigeria continue to use crypto firms to preserve their gains as the Naira currency has lost value. Because it is difficult to obtain money locally, they frequently send payments abroad.

Hacker Assists in the Recovery of Millions of Dollars in Cryptocurrency Locked in Hardware Wallet

By
Christian Allen Tandoc
-
0
maxresdefault-2022-02-02t102541-676

A hacker assisted two cryptocurrency investors in recovering millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. The hacker, who has a sizable YouTube following, put this on his channel, documenting how he was able to assist someone in reclaiming their money. Over the course of three months, hacker Joe Grand gained access to a Trezor hardware wallet.

The wallet is reported to be the property of two buddies. They had purchased the fast-growing digital asset Theta in 2018 and had stored it in a Trezor hardware wallet. However, when they returned to retrieve their valuables, they discovered that they had forgotten the password and pin to access the device. After 16 failed tries to re-enter the device, the Trezor wallet was reset to factory settings. This meant that the investors could no longer obtain their cryptocurrency because it had been locked.

joegrandselfie-crop-8999963

Dan Reich, one of the wallet’s owners, met up with Joe Grand, planning to hack into the gadget. Grand said that he had worked with the previous design aspects of Trezor wallets to alter them in order to learn how a device like this functioned. Essentially, the private key or PIN is usually temporarily relocated to RAM in these versions. Grand had to determine out where they were kept in RAM.

Grand was able to effectively carry out the hack and gain access to the device, which had more than $2 million in Theta. The YouTuber claimed that the hack occurred last year but was only recently made public via YouTube.

The video Grand shared sparked discussion in the community. Users were mostly concerned about whether the hacker’s vulnerability to recover the encryption was still present in the gadget and others like it.

Trezor moved to Twitter to dispel any notions that the vulnerability was still active, stating that it was addressed in 2017, as Grand himself stated in his video.

106837357_gettyimages-902191710-9702734

So far, the cryptocurrency Theta has been one of the strongest performers in the business. When Dan Reich and his friend purchased the digital asset, it was still selling at $0.21 per unit.

Not only has the project increased in popularity since then, but the value of the tokens has surged. It consistently grew up to $2 in the first quarter of 2021. However, the coin’s popularity and the price skyrocketed in April. It has risen to a new all-time high of $15.

Grand revealed in May of last year that he had successfully hacked the device, potentially allowing the investors to sell at a higher price. Since then, Theta’s price has plummeted to $2.92, representing a loss of more than 86 percent of its ATH value.

1...410411412...863Page 411 of 863

Recent Posts