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| Here is a look at the hits from today's Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter: - Binance's halt for Visa card services in Europe,
- Base network's free training for software developers,
- The steady decline in NFT sales volumes, and more.
Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has announced that it would halt offering its Visa debit card services in the European Economic Area (EEA) as of Dec. 20. The announcement came nearly two months after payment processing giants Mastercard and Visa decided to withdraw from their card partnerships with Binance amid an increased crackdown by the regulators worldwide on the platform. More: - As part of the decision, Binance's card issuer, Contis Financial Services, will stop issuing the card, and users will lose access to the service after Dec. 20.
- However, Binance's exchange accounts in the area will not be affected by the decision.
- The Binance Visa debit card allowed users in the EEA to pay for goods and services with crypto in more than 60 million online and physical stores, converting the digital assets in users' Binance accounts into local currencies.
- The firm also offered cash-back bonuses to the card users.
- The service was introduced in the region in September 2020.
- A Binance spokesperson said only around 1% of the platform's users are impacted by the decision.
- The EEA covers all 27 member states of the European Union (EU), along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
Zoom Out: - On the other hand, Visa and Mastercard's decision to stop working with Binance came amid a time when the exchange faced heightened regulatory scrutiny in many countries, including the U.S., Australia, France, Belgium, and Brazil.
- The company also recently had to withdraw from several markets in the West, such as Canada, Austria, the Netherlands, Cyprus, the U.K., and Germany, mainly due to compliance issues.
Q: Do you think it is a smart move for the partners to cut their ties with Binance amid the increased regulatory crackdown? Join the conversation here. |     | |
| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: A recent Binance Research report has shown that Q3 became the worst quarter in terms of NFT sales volume since Q4 2020. Last month, the figure retreated to as low as $300M after reaching a year's peak of $1.2B in February. Following that peak, the volumes experienced a steady decline. The latest figure represents the lowest monthly volume since January 2021 and a 25% decline from the previous month. Relevance: The report attributed the drop in NFT sales volumes to a broader NFT market downturn, seeing that the floor prices of many high-profile NFT collections, including Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Azuki, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, and Pudgy Penguins, experienced a strong decline. The notable collections' floor prices recently fell more than 25%, impacting the average sale prices and the overall sales volume in the NFT market. Brands that should care: The downturn trend in the industry has further affected NFT firms negatively. Over the last several months alone, many NFT-related companies, including Yuga Labs, DapperLabs, OpenSea, Magic Eden, Candy, Metaplex, Autograph, and SuperRare, had to conduct mass layoffs, reducing their headcount. | | | |
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| 3 | | The U.S. state of California's governor, Gavin Newsom, has recently signed a new law to restrict the transactions conducted through crypto ATMs to $1,000 for each person a day. The new legislation will come into effect as of January 2024. More: - The move will see crypto ATM operators becoming unable to accept or offer more than $1,000 from or to a customer in a day through the kiosk as of next year.
- The new regulation will also prohibit operators from charging fees higher than $5 or 15% of the transaction value.
- Besides, crypto ATM operators will have to disclose the terms and conditions of each transaction, including the amount of crypto, amount of dollars, fees, and the difference between the operator's price and the price on a licensed crypto exchange, while giving a receipt about the transaction information to the customer.
- The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) will require operators to report a list of all ATM locations and update the list within 30 days of any changes.
- The law will aim to combat fraud and increase oversight and transparency around crypto ATM transactions in California.
- Currently, more than 3,200 crypto ATMs are operating in the state.
Zoom Out: - Earlier in October, Newsom approved another bill that would enforce stricter regulations on crypto-related companies.
- The legislation will make it mandatory for crypto firms seeking to engage in digital asset operations in the state to obtain a license from the DFPI as of July 2025.
- The law will also allow the DFPI to implement strict audit requirements on crypto companies and force them to maintain comprehensive financial records.
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| 4 | | Major U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase's Ethereum-powered Layer-2 blockchain network, Base, has launched an eight-week training program dubbed Base Bootcamp to turn traditional software developers into blockchain developers. The team behind the network will accept applications from potential students until Oct. 27. More: - Students must fill out an application form and be accepted to attend.
- The program will gather middle to senior-level software developers, and each cohort will comprise less than 20 students.
- The training will be free to attend, but the team will receive a deposit of 1 Ether (ETH) from each student to ensure their commitment to finishing the program, which will be returned after graduation.
- As part of the program, the network will match each student with a mentor who will meet them each week.
- The students will also have access to a group of Coinbase and Base engineers, who will be available during office hours to answer questions.
- Besides, a private Discord service will allow students to communicate with each other and get informed about the additional assignments given by the team to be graded.
- At the end of the program, the students will be required to create their own Web3 app and present it to other students.
Zoom Out: - On the other hand, Base pointed out that there are currently fewer than 30,000 blockchain developers compared to nearly 30 million software developers, which means only 0.1% of developers work in the Web3 space.
- Coinbase opened the Base network to the public in August, shortly after the network went live for developers.
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| 5 | | The Worldcoin Foundation, the organization behind Sam Altman's controversial crypto project, Worldcoin, has announced that it would soon start paying the operators of its scanning devices, Orbs, in its native token, WLD. The move will see the foundation dropping the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin for reward payments. More: - The Worldcoin Foundation expects the transition to be completed by November.
- Worldcoin scans the WLD token holders' irises through biometric imaging devices dubbed the Orb and verifies them in person to prove their identity, humanness, and uniqueness securely and privately.
- The operators of the Orb devices receive a payment as a reward, which was previously paid in USDC.
- The project has distributed 34 million WLD tokens to users and Orb operators as grants so far.
- The decision to switch to its native token for operator payments came nearly three months after Worldcoin officially launched WLD.
Zoom Out: - Sam Altman is most famous for his CEO position in OpenAI, the AI research lab behind the popular AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT.
- The worldwide-known CEO recently faced strong backlash from regulators over Worldcoin's potential violations of data protection and privacy laws.
- The project has already come under scrutiny by data watchdogs in several countries, including the U.K., Argentina, France, Germany, and Kenya.
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| 6 | | Chinese oil and gas company PetroChina has recently used China's central bank digital currency (CBDC), e-CNY, to settle an international crude oil transaction. Through the move, the company purchased 1 million barrels of crude oil, marking a first in e-CNY's history. More: - The transaction was conducted on the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange (SHPGX).
- The SHPGX has yet to disclose the seller's identity or the transaction's financial details.
- The reports pointed out that the trade is a part of the SHPGX's efforts to use the e-CNY in cross-border trade under government instruction.
- The move came amid a time when the Bank of China (BOC), the country's central bank, pushed for mass adoption of e-CNY.
- In July, the bank also launched a hard wallet that connects users' mobile phones to their centrally-controlled e-CNY wallets.
- China launched e-CNY, also known as the digital yuan, in 2019 and has offered many use cases for its CBDC so far, including payments for public transport, salaries to public sector employees, medical expenses, groceries, gas, and water.
Zoom Out: - CBDCs are issued and controlled by a country's government or central bank and backed by the local currency.
- The Chinese Communist Party, the ruling political party of the country, pushes for CBDC adoption mainly because it is subject to the direct control of the state.
- Cryptocurrencies, any kind of crypto transactions, and all crypto mining activities have been forbidden in China since 2021.
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- London's Metropolitan Police has announced that it established a 40-member team specializing in crypto investigations to combat the use of virtual assets in criminal activities.
- Israel-based Web3 security startup Blockaid has raised $33M in funding to expand its product offerings, customer base, and team.
- The ongoing trial against the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has moved to its final stages after the examination of nearly 20 testimonies in the case.
- Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy's long-term Bitcoin (BTC) investment has turned profitable again after the leading cryptocurrency reached the highest level since July.
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Term of the Day Industrial property: Industrial property, often referred to as industrial real estate, is an umbrella term that encompasses real estate used for industrial purposes. Question of the Week What's one tool or app that has significantly made your life easier at work? Join the conversation |
INSIDE CRYPTOCURRENCY LEADERBOARD (30 DAYS) |
 | Staff Writer | | Doga is a tech and science editor who has been writing news for nearly 10 years. She worked for leading tech platforms and mainstrem media channels as an editor and presenter throughout his career. Then, she carried her know-how to more than one platform. She is a part-time cat lover and binge-watcher, and also fond of science, space, and emerging tech. She always has a story to tell. She is a bit addict to the laughter and -unfortunately- the '90s culture. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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