March 14, 2022

March 14, 2022

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EmergingCrypto.io Weekly Update March 6 - March 12

Eastern Europe

Image Credit: Russia / UAE Flags via Wikimedia Commons

Rich Russians are liquidating their crypto and buying property in the UAE

Russians are flocking to the UAE, crypto in-hand, to either buy property as a safe haven investment or convert their crypto to hard currency fearing that their assets will be frozen, according to executives of UAE-based crypto firms. Dubai has become an emerging crypto-hub and the UAE's refusal to take sides between their Western-allies and Moscow has telegraphed to Russians that they can park their money in the Gulf's financial and business center. Although cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinbase and Binance, have been blocking Russian-sanctioned accounts due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, UAE financial sources have confirmed that Russians, and Belarussians, are finding ways around sanctions to buy property in Dubai with their crypto. (Read on EmeringCrypto.io; Read on UNLOCK Blockchain) 

Crypto donations to Ukraine exceed $108 million

Cointelegraph tracked crypto donations to Ukraine's government, charities, and relief efforts reached $108 million last week, with the bulk of the donations going to the Bitcoin and Ethereum wallets of the Ukrainian government and the Bitcoin wallet for the Come Back Alive NGO that supports the Ukrainian military. Last week Kraken and Bored Ape Yacht Club announced participating in relief efforts. Kraken promised to distribute over $10 million in aid to Ukraine-based Kraken users who created an account before March 9, 2022. Account holders will be eligible to receive $1,000 in bitcoin that can be immediately withdrawn from Kraken and currency conversion fees up to $1,000 will be waived. Bored Ape Yacht Club announced on Twitter that they raised nearly $1 million in ether and that they'll be matching donations with $1 million of their own ether. (Read on EmergingCrypto.io; Read on Cointelegraph)

Africa

Image Credit: Canza logo via Canza.io, Basqet logo via Basqet.com

Technological innovation and funding in Africa continue to make headlines last week and we're spotlighting two African-based tech companies making the crypto ecosystem accessible.

African Neobank, Canza, secures $3.27 million in seed funding

First up, Canza, "an African Open Finance Portal enabling access to financial services through Local Money Market Agents [and] building the world’s largest non-institutional-based financial system", secured $3.27 million in seed funding. Founded by Telecom experts Pascal Ntsama and Oyedeji Oluwoye, Canza is "addressing a crucial problem of providing financial services to a historically underserved population." Their key products include stablecoin high-yield deposit vaults, access to decentralized exchanges, a mobile wallet, a lending protocol, and broader access to DeFi services by acting as an on/off ramp. (Read on EmergingCrypto.io; Read on BitKE) 

African crypto-native startup, Basqet, launches payment gateway to enable crypto payments

Meanwhile, Basqet has launched its crypto payment gateway to enable business to be able to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment. 118 businesses have already signed up for the service as the company begins its beta launch. Basqet's service will also allow its customers to settle their crypto-based payments in US dollar, other cryptos, and five different African currencies in order to mitigate volatility from cryptocurrencies. For its beta launch merchants will be able to accept USDT, Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin via a payment link, payment button, and API. (Read on EmergingCrypto.io; Read on BitKE)

Latin America

Image Credit: Jamaica flag via Wikimedia Commons

Jamaica is next in line to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency

In advance of the April 1st launch date of Jamaica's very own CBDC, the Official Jamaican Information Service announced that the first 100,000 Jamaicans to sign up for the country's CBDC wallet will receive a J$2,500 deposit, or roughly $16 USD, to promote everyday transactions. Called the Jamaica Digital Exchange (JAM-DEX), the CBDC will adopt elements of both a retail and wholesale CBDC and will be intended to be used solely in Jamaica. Their Central Bank, the Bank of Jamaica, worked with Irish startup eCurrency Mint and opted NOT to use blockchain technology to ease the integration with the country's existing real-time gross settlement system. (Read on EmergingCrypto.io; Read on Ledger Insights) 

Stellar, Moneygram and Techstars to launch accelerator focused on blockchain, cross border payments, and financial inclusion

Latin America is becoming the testing grounds for the Stellar, Moneygram and Techstars-run accelerator focused on blockchain, cross border payments, and financial inclusion. Each year for the next three years up to 12 fintech startups will be able to participate in the 13-week program and receive a customized program to develop their value proposition and market fit, access to capital, and one-on-one mentorship. At the end of the 13-weeks participants will pitch their progress and vision to investors and stakeholders on Demo Day. The application for the first class will open up on July 25, 2022. (Read on EmergingCrypto.io; Read on UNLOCK Blockchain)

Asia

Image Credit: Christian Lue via Unsplah

The hammer, sickle, and iron fist continue to come down on crypto in China

Last week in the Guangdong province in China, a coastal province near Hong Kong and Macau, it's Development and Reform commission uncovered a covert crypto mining farm operating in an electric vehicle charging station. The clever operation was able to remain hidden in plain sight given the already high electricity consumption of the charging station. Law enforcement in the city of Guangzhou, where the mining operation was located, have been regularly making inspections in order to crack down on any crypto mining. Observing discrepancies in the charging station's electricity consumption lead police to investigate the location further where they seized more than 190 crypto mining machines worth over 5 million yuan, or roughly $789K USD. At the time of the bust, the mining farm consumed more than 90,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity and operated for over a thousand hours. (Read of EmergingCrypto.io; Read on Cointelegraph) 

Paxos approved to provide blockchain and crypto services in Singapore

Rounding off this week's newsletter, New York-based Paxos is the latest company to receive regulatory approval to provide blockchain and crypto services in Singapore. A significant victory for Paxos given how challenging it is for blockchain and crypto companies to obtain regulatory approval in Singapore under its Payment Services Act. At the end of 2021 Nikkei reported that over 100 out of 170 crypto companies were denied regulatory approval by the the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The regulator's blessing clears the path for Paxos to continue to expand in Asia. (Read on EmeringCrypto.io; Read on Cointelegraph)

Thanks for reading and have a great week ahead!