Your weekly Crypto, NFT & Metaverse readings 🚀
Vol 25–17th January — 23th January 2022
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🪙 Crypto Market News
Countries that secure some Bitcoin today will be better off than their Peers. Even if a country doesn’t agree with the fundamentals of bitcoin, it will be forced to acquire some as a form of insurance, Fidelity wrote in a recent report. The report contrasted China’s crackdown on bitcoin throughout 2021 to El Salvador taking the “opposite approach” by adopting the digital asset as legal tender. Even though many countries around the world are taking a strict approach to regulating crypto, Fidelity doesn’t believe that outright bans are on the table. 📰 Coindesk
Crypto.com expands venture fund. Crypto.com Capital is expanding its $200 million Web 3 fund, and it has appointed Jon Russell as an Asia-based general partner (GP). Crypto.com Capital initially launched the fund in March 2021 with $200 million in capital, targeting seed and Series A deals in decentralized finance, non-fungible tokens, blockchain gaming and the metaverse, among others. 📰 Youtube
Google hires PayPal vet to reset strategy after its Banking retreat. Alphabet Inc.’s Google has hired former PayPal Holdings Inc. executive Arnold Goldberg to run its payments division and set a new course for the business after it scrapped a push into banking. The move is part of a broader strategy to team up with a wider range of financial services, including cryptocurrencies, said Bill Ready, Google’s president of commerce. The business, known for the Google Pay system and mobile wallet, has largely avoided the crypto industry. 📰 Bloomberg
Intel will launch a Bitcoin-mining chip. Technology giant Intel is set to enter the Bitcoin mining business, starting with the reveal of a new Bitcoin mining “Bonanza Mine” chip at this year’s International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISCC) in February. For the conference itself, Intel reportedly has a presentation prepared to outline the new Bonanza Mine chip, which is described as an “ultra-low-voltage energy-efficient Bitcoin mining ASIC.” 📰 Decrypt
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🖼️ NFT & Metaverse News
Facebook owner Meta dives into NFT digital collectibles craze. Meta is working on plans to allow users to create and sell non-fungible tokens as Facebook’s parent company seeks to join the rush of companies trying to capitalise on the digital collectible craze. Teams at Facebook and Instagram are readying a feature that will allow users to display their NFTs on their social media profiles, as well as working on a prototype to help users create — or mint — the collectible tokens, according to several people familiar with the matter. Two of the people said that Meta has also discussed launching a marketplace for users to buy and sell NFTs — essentially a digital asset representing art or imagery that cannot be replicated. 📰 Financial Times
Web3 founders welcome Walmart and its NFTs to the Metaverse. On Sunday, CNBC reported that Walmart had “quietly” filed at least seven applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on December 30, clearing the way for it to issue its own cryptocurrency and NFTs within a metaverse — the hot term for an online network of worlds that mixes elements of physical, augmented, and virtual reality. “I’m pleased to see interest from many new players and would encourage them to embrace an open and community-driven approach,” said The Sandbox COO and co-founder Sébastian Borget, referring to a metaverse built upon public and permissionless blockchains such as Ethereum. 📰 Decrypt
An Instagram model launched a DAO to build Web3 social media. The popular crypto influencer Irene Zhao now has a dedicated DAO called IreneDAO. While some have dismissed the project as a fad, it hints at a possible future where NFTs, DAOs, and social media converge. IreneDAO launched Friday and has quickly taken off. NFT passes to enter the DAO are already trading at 1.25 Ethereum. It would appear that there’s more to DAOs than acquiring valuable NFTs, the U.S. Constitution, or the Blockbuster chain — now they’re starting to take the form of fan clubs. 📰 Cryptobriefing
Other articles that may interest you 🔥
Top crypto projects keep BUIDLING
Optimistic rollup vs. ZK rollup
The FAANG of WEB2 is the BESCA of WEB3
NFTs are emerging as a new asset class and why financial institutions should embrace it
What CBDC‘s are and why they matter
