More than 80% of Londoners prefer cryptocurrencies as investment alternatives over gold, oil or stocks, OnePoll said. This and more news in this handy daily roundup so you're always up to date with the latest events happening within the crypto world.
Bitcoin and Blockchain Adoption
📍Londoners have the biggest appetite for investing in cryptocurrencies and digital assets, OnePoll noted. More than 80% of Londoners prefer cryptocurrencies as investment alternatives, reported Market research firm OnePoll. The company published the results results A survey of 2.000 people in the UK found that participants preferred cryptocurrencies as safer alternative investment assets rather than gold, oil or stocks.
Regarding NFTs, the company noted that 41% of Londoners are willing to trade in this asset class this year. Cryptocurrencies and NFT tokens have captured the attention of millions of people around the world, as well as hundreds of technology companies, financial institutions and others. For OnePoll, the boom that the crypto industry has had in recent years demonstrates the potential that crypto assets have to grow more widely around the world.
📍El Salvador delays the launch of the Bitcoin Bonus. Alejandro Zelaya, El Salvador’s finance minister, has indicated that the issuance of the Bitcoin Bond, initially worth $1.000 billion, could be delayed until the middle of next month. The current tension caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine seems to be the reason behind the delay. Minister Zelaya assured that the Salvadoran government is prepared for the issuance of the bonds, but will wait for the right time to do so.
Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, presented 20 bills supporting the issuance and negotiation of the Bitcoin Bond at the beginning of this year. In addition, Zelaya specified that the interest of investors could exceed the initial offer for this bond by up to 50%. According to his statements, the total issuance of the Bitcoin Bond could reach $1.500 billion.
NFT and DeFi Markets
📍Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) leads Yuga Labs' $450M round. The developer of NFT Yuga Labs has raised $450 million in its first round of funding, which was led by US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). With the capital raised, Yuga Labs has raised its current valuation to $4.000 billion, the venture firm said.
The Financial Times reported earlier last month that the NFT company, developer of the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, was discussing a capital round with a16z. The venture capital firm is betting on building the Web3 space to define the future of culture and innovation.
CBDC and Central Banks
📍India sees CBDCs as the next innovation in payments. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India's minister for skill development and entrepreneurship, said that central bank digital currencies (CBDC) are a natural progression of the digital payments ecosystem. The Indian government plans to launch a digital rupee early next month, when the 2022-2023 fiscal year begins.
India's CBDC, designed for retail payments, will give a major boost to the digital economy and lead to a more efficient and cost-effective currency management system, India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in mid-February this year.
Development and Technology
📍Multi-tool DeFi protocol Equilibrium arrives on the Polkadot blockchain. Equilibrium, a protocol DeFi Cross-chain blockchain offering lending, swaps, staking, trading and more has won the 12th parachain auction in the blockchain Polkadot. The developers of this chain shared Equilibrium’s victory on Twitter. Its CEO, Alex Melikhov, said that the protocol will soon launch its first DEX order book with margin trading on Polkadot.
Cybersecurity
📍DeFiance Capital founder Arthur_0x loses over $1,5 million in NFT wallet exploit On Twitter, DeFiance Capital founder Arthur_0x reported that he has lost nearly $1,5 million worth of NFT tokens, after his online NFT wallet was hacked. The attacker reportedly used social engineering to gain access to his account and sell his NFTs on the Opensea marketplace.
The crypto community has shown great support for Arthur in helping him recover his stolen NFTs. An investor named Cirrus, told Arthur that he had purchased two of his NFTs from the Azuki collection and would return them to him at the purchase price.
Rules and Regulations
📍Japan's virtual asset regulator could give the green light to new cryptocurrency exchanges later this month. Nikkei, a Japanese news agency, has informed that the Japan Cryptocurrency and Virtual Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA) is drawing up a list of 18 exchanges and cryptocurrency exchanges that could be given the green light to operate in the country, with the aim of increasing cryptocurrency trading and catching up with the rest of the world in this innovation.
In February, the JVCEA reported that it was looking into the possibility of smooth its rules and regulations to ensure the healthy growth and development of the crypto industry in Japan.
Continue reading: Malaysia and Honduras could be the next countries to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender
