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MLB Team Washington Nationals Partners With Terra Blockchain Community, Ballpark Plans to Accept UST

On February 9, the American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C., the Washington Nationals, announced the team has partnered with Terra, the open-source blockchain platform and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The Washington Nationals detail that the team is a “leading innovator” and is “consistently introducing new technologies to enhance the fan experience.” Washington Nationals Ink Long-Term Deal With Terra Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Washington Nationals has partnered with the blockchain platform and DAO Terra, according to an announcement published by the team on Wednesday. The deal with Terra follows a slew of sports-related deals with crypto firms, but the MLB team will be the first to partner with an open-source blockchain project. In addition to the partnership, the algorithmic stablecoin UST that’s issued on the Terra blockchain will be “accepted as a payment method at Nationals Park as early as next season.” “The Nationals continue t...
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Bank of Ghana Urged to Resist Developing a CBDC Based on ‘Old Traditional Siloed Financial Thinking’

A Ghanaian blockchain and crypto association, Afroblocks, has warned the Bank of Ghana (BOG) to resist the urge to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that is based on the “old traditional siloed financial thinking.” Afroblocks Not Consulted Afroblocks (formerly Blockchain Society Ghana) instead wants the central bank to emulate “financial projects that are borderless and decentralized like modern-day cryptocurrencies.” According to Omar Majdoub, one of the association’s co-founders, doing this will increase the likelihood of the CBDC’s success. These remarks by Afroblocks’ Majdoub follow the BOG’s recent release of a press statement in which it reaffirms the central bank’s desire to be one of the first countries in Africa to launch a CBDC. As reported recently by Bitcoin.com News, the BOG has selected a Germany-based firm as its technology partner for its CBDC project. The firm, Giesecke Devrient, is tasked with the job of providing “the technology and a solution that ...
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Fitch Ratings warns El Salvador’s ‘Bitcoin Law’ will pose risk to local insurers

Fitch warned that mainstreaming Bitcoin without clarity can introduce volatility and operational risks for Salvadorans. Fitch Ratings has become the latest global credit rating agency to warn El Salvador against adopting Bitcoin ( BTC ) as legal tender, expressing concerns that crypto assets could cause systemic risks for the Latin American nation. Citing the country’s lack of clarity in Bitcoin’s implementation in mainstream markets, Fitch Ratings warned about the inherent volatility and operational risks for citizens associated with the crypto ecosystem. In addition, the agency pointed out El Salvador’s ongoing exposure to low credit quality securities, stating that “additional holdings of high-risk assets will only compound this risk.” In early June, the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly passed President Nayib Bukele’s controversial “Bitcoin Law,” paving the way for BTC to be recognized as legal tender alongside United States dollars starting Sept. 7, 2021. As such, all Salvador...
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Thiel's Valar Ventures leads 3rd raise for Bitpanda, at $4.1B valuation

Vienna-based Bitpanda's valuation has shot up to $4.1 billion, three times its value during the crypto broker's last private funding round in March. Vienna-based cryptocurrency broker Bitpanda has closed its third major private financing round led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures.  Raising $263 million, and drawing in new investments from British billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard and REDO Ventures, the company is now valued at $4.1 billion. That’s three times its last valuation at $1.2 billion for its $170 million raise in March of this year.  Bitpanda has now raised close to $500 million through various private financing rounds, counting three-time backer Valar Ventures alongside repeat investors that include LeadBlock Partners and Jump Capital. Since 2014, the company’s offerings have centered on cryptocurrency and precious metals brokerage. The platform is currently trialing a stock trading service that would be live 24/7. In an interview with CNBC, Bitpanda ...
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3 ways this Bitcoin bull run is different than late 2020

There's no doubting the BTC price upside, but under the hood, all is not what it seems, one analyst highlights. Bitcoin ( BTC ) is getting compared to late 2020, but this rally in fact has several major differences which make it “not normal.” According to Pete Humiston , manager of Kraken Intelligence Research, Bitcoin in Q3 2021 is a different beast when compared to Q4 2020. GBTC keeps its steep discount Despite going from $29,000 to $48,000 in just one month, Bitcoin is still not seeing a frenzy of interest and buying. Higher price levels have seen solid support , but there is little evidence of the kind of demand that characterzied the start of this year or the end of the last. A case in point is the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which continues to trade at a discount of around 13% to spot price this week. Even though Bitcoin has increased in price, GBTC demand has not entirely increased in step, and even the discounted rate is not being treated as a steal by many inst...
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Spanish officials issue warning on Huobi and Bybit crypto exchanges

The National Securities Market Commission in Spain issued warnings on 12 entities for not being registered for investment services. Regulators around the world continue to keep the pressure fresh on crypto businesses. Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) is the latest to issue a warning on several crypto- and financial market-related businesses for unregistered services. According to the official document , CNMV has issued warnings on 12 entities on Aug. 16 for not being registered in the corresponding registry of the commission. The listed entities, which include major crypto trading platforms such as Huobi and Bybit, are not authorized to provide investment services within Spain. CNMV’s consulting page states that only registered companies have the authorization to provide services related to securities. While the securities watchdog does not have the authority to directly ban an entity from operating in the country, CNMV can appeal to the court. A November report...
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Venezuelan Buys Apartment Using Tether as Real Estate Market Warms Up to Crypto

A Venezuelan individual has reportedly purchased an apartment using cryptocurrency, specifically Tether, in the coastal state of Anzoategui last month. This is one of the first purchases of real estate with crypto that has been recorded in the country, but more properties are listed as accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment option in several real estate businesses across Venezuela. Venezuelan Buys Real Estate Property Using Tether An unidentified Venezuelan citizen bought a property with usdt, the stablecoin issued by Tether, last month in Anzoategui, a coastal state of the country. The citizen purchased the property using the stablecoin due to how easy transactions are, according to Carlos Grau, manager of Grau Real Estate, the company that assisted with the sale. Grau told Criptonoticias that the transaction was completed instantly, a big improvement on how these sales are usually handled using traditional finance tools. Grau stated: An operation of this kind takes between ei...
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Former Zcash Developer to Lead Twitter’s Decentralized Social Media Project Bluesky

On December 11, 2019, the CEO of Twitter announced the company was funding a project aimed at creating a decentralized social media standard. Jack Dorsey said that the ultimate goal of the project dubbed “Bluesky” is for Twitter to be a client of the standard. A year and eight months later, Bluesky announced that a former software engineer from the Zcash project, Jay Graber, will be leading the Bluesky initiative. Crypto Dev Jay Graber Will Lead the Bluesky Project The Twitter initiative to decentralize social media called Bluesky will be led by someone involved with cryptocurrency development. On August 16, 2021, the former Zcash software developer Jay Graber announced that she will be leading the project going forward. “I’m excited to announce that I’ll be leading Bluesky,” Graber tweeted on Monday. “An initiative started by Twitter to decentralize social media.” The CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey , also welcomed Graber to the project on Monday. “Jay will be leading Bluesky,” Do...
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