Bitcoin, after getting rejected near $39,000 this week, has been trying to gather momentum to get back above $38,000 on account of a weakening dollar. Even though Bitcoin continues to exhibit volatility to the downside, there has been a general uptick in the interest shown towards the adoption of blockchain technology. India has introduced a new tax regime for crypto assets hinting at regulations down the road while a Nigerian crypto startup Nestcoin has received funding from tennis star Serena Williams and other venture capitalists. In this article, we will briefly discuss the interesting crypto stories from the past week.
Ukraine, which boasts of crypto transactions worth $150 million (exceeding interbank exchanges volume) on a daily basis, has seen a remarkable growth in the decentralized finance market given a dearth of investment opportunities in the country apart from real estate. From before the Russia crisis, Ukraine has been aspiring for a while to become a crypto hub of the world with its low tax, light paperwork and burgeoning tech economy.
With more than 100,000 Russian troops stationed near the border, the Ukrainian cofounder of NEAR Protocol (NEAR) has voiced concerns that people will likely move their capital into safer options. However, Ukraine’s deputy minister of digital transformation, reaffirmed that the country will remain crypto friendly and expressed that the adoption of specialized legislation is going to stimulate the attraction of foreign exchanges to the Ukrainian market.
Web3, as we know it, means different things to different people. Broadly speaking, Web3 is the evolution of the internet that promotes decentralised protocols that are built on blockchain technology. According to crypto VC firm Electric Capital, the year 2021 saw more than 34,000 developers - highest in history - join the Web3 space.
Ethereum continues to have the largest ecosystem of tools, apps, protocols and has retained 30% of full-time developers who joined after 2017. One out of every five new developers coming into Web3 works on Ethereum with Polkadot, Cosmos, Solana, and Bitcoin forming the top 5 developer ecosystems. The growth of developers in Web3 is staggering yet it represents only a small fraction of software engineers globally. And with new decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols emerging, we are still in the early stages.
Nestcoin, a Nigerian crypto startup, has announced the raise of $6.45 million in a pre-seed funding round led by venture capital firms Distributed Global and Alter Global. Serena Ventures (founded by Serena Williams), Alameda Research, A&T Capital, MSA Capital, 4DX Ventures and a few others participated in the funding round.
Grammy winning artist John Legend is the next celebrity in line to get involved with the crypto community and has announced plans to launch a non fungible token (NFT) marketplace focussing on music called OurSong. The app allows users to create NFTs (called “Vibes”) and monetize superfan communities through access to private chat rooms and unreleased music. OurSong doesn’t require users to have external cryptocurrency wallets and enables users to create NFTs directly from their phone.
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Disclaimer:This article was authored by Giottus Cryptocurrency Exchange as a part of a paid partnership with The News Minute. Crypto-asset or cryptocurrency investments are subject to market risks such as volatility and have no guaranteed returns. Please do your own research before investing and seek independent legal/financial advice if you are unsure about the investments.