Square stated that it plans to become net-zero carbon for operations by 2030 and launched its Bitcoin Clean Energy Investment Initiative. It has invested USD 10m in supporting companies that help drive adoption and efficiency of renewables within the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem.
Ethereum News
Major Ethereum (ETH) wallet interface MyEtherWallet (MEW) has combined Staked, a non-custodial crypto staking service, which supports investors compound crypto through staking, as it allows Android users to stake on ETH 2.0, said the emailed press release. MEW users can begin ETH 2.0 staking to earn rewards via the MEW web interface and MEW wallet app, with validators being run and managed through Staked, while no further action is required on the part of the user.
Exchanges News
Last November, the total trading volume on crypto exchanges exceeded USD 900bn, as claimed by the latest report by CryptoCompare, a provider of the crypto market data. Nevertheless, it’s still lower than during the first months of this year, when this volume was above USD 1 trillion. The trading volume on the top-tier exchanges increased by 78.2% to USD 619bn, and they now represent 68% of total volume (vs. 61% in October). Meanwhile, lower-tier volumes increased by 30% to USD 287.4bn.
Top-tier exchanges traded a daily maximum of USD 45bn on November 24 – almost double the previous record for this year of USD 23.4bn recorded on March 13. Volume from the 15 largest top-tier exchanges increased 114% on average. Binance was the largest Top-Tier exchange by volume in November, trading USD 176.2bn (up 133%), followed by Huobi Global (USD 72.1bn, +73%), OKEx (USD 45.9bn, +43%), Coinbase (USD 30bn, +166%), Kraken (USD 16.6bn, +156%), and Bitfinex (USD 12.8bn, + 198%).
Crypto Adoption News
SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) and SBI Digital Asset Holdings, an SBI Group firm, have stated their plans to work on a joint venture to drive institutional digital asset liquidity through a Singapore-based digital issuance platform, exchange, and CSD venue that is set to go live by 2022 subject to regulatory approvals from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. This joint venture will immediately target the expanding demand for public and private institutional digital assets, including regulated digital asset securities and cryptoassets. It will market directly to regulated institutional clients, utilizing technologies from both companies.
The popular creation, rollout, and adoption of digital currencies are “absolutely inevitable” as the global payments system rapidly evolves, according to Bill Winters, the CEO of British multinational banking and financial services company Standard Chartered, as quoted by CNBC. “I think there is absolutely a role for central bank digital currencies as well as non-central bank-sponsored digital currencies,” said Winters at the Singapore FinTech Festival. At the same time, the company is set to announce further news “along these lines” in the coming days.
IOVLabs, the RSK Bitcoin Smart Contract platform’s creator, began Powpeg, an upgrade to the existing peg technology on the RSK platform. Powpeg is a proof-of-work secured two-way peg used to interact between the RSK side chain and the Bitcoin blockchain, they said in an emailed press release.
NFTs News
A trading card in Ethereum-based fantasy football game Sorare, a non-fungible token (NFT) representing Paris Saint-Germain’s forward Kylian Mbappé, has been auctioned off in late November for EUR 55,105 (USD 66,740). The new owner has set the minimum bid at ETH 250 (currently USD 144,235) – more than double what they paid – if somebody else wants to buy it.
Blockchain News
The Ant Group, the blockchain and fintech arm of the Alibaba business empire, has published a white paper on blockchain technology in government affairs. According to China Email, the white paper’s authors claimed that Chinese Communist Party offices and government agencies “at all levels and localities” should focus on launching blockchain-powered pilot applications for government affairs, as well as tourism, medical care, legal and smart city-related projects.
The Japanese government has signed a blockchain-powered clinical trials platform. According to Nikkei, the solution has been developed by a medical startup named Susmed. The platform, said its masterminds, will help eliminate the possibility of data tampering and could cut costs by up to 70% if it is used to trial new drugs and medical treatment programs. With a decentralized data organization model, researchers will no longer need to depend on costly, time-consuming in-person checkups and visits for trial subjects, said the firm.
A Thai tax agency is set to use blockchain technology to boost its tax collection efforts. As reported by the Bangkok Post, the Excise Department, an agency of Thailand’s Ministry of Finance that collects taxes on the sales of products and services manufactured and traded domestically, wants to use blockchain-powered solutions to help it collect some USD 17.7m in taxes. The media outlet quoted the agency’s Director-General Lavaron Sangsnit as stating that his organization would “incorporate blockchain technology to administer revenue collection for [the] fiscal [year] 2021.” Lavaron added that the Revenue and Customs departments are also “planning to adopt this technology for their operations.”
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