| Here is a quick look at the hits from the week's latest Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter: - Coinbase's registration as a virtual asset service provider in France,
- El Salvador's new migration law that offers expedited citizenship to foreigners who donate Bitcoin in the country,
- Argentina's economic decree legalizing the use of Bitcoin as a settlement method in official contracts, and more.
Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, has recently been registered with the French financial market regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), as a virtual asset service provider as part of its global expansion plans. The registration will allow the platform to offer its full suite of crypto services to retail and institutional customers in France. More: - Coinbase's services in the French market will include digital asset custody, digital asset sales and purchases in official currency, and crypto trading against other digital assets.
- Within the past year, the company also obtained registrations in several other European countries, such as Spain, Italy, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
- The latest approval came more than three months after Coinbase listed some regions as its priority to establish or strengthen its operations in the near term.
- The list included the European Union (EU), the U.K., Canada, Brazil, Singapore, and Australia.
- At the time, the firm cited clearer crypto regulations in these regions while explaining its choices and criticized its home country, stating that every major economy in the world made progress toward regulatory clarity for crypto except for the U.S.
Zoom Out: - Coinbase had to accelerate its global expansion efforts after it entered a legal conflict with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the U.S.
- Still, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong reiterated their commitment to the U.S. market several times this year.
- Over the past few months, many other crypto exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, Gemini, and Bittrex, have also come under increased crackdown by the SEC.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: A recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Grayscale Investments has indicated that adult U.S. citizens would take financial problems into account while voting in the 2024 presidential election. 26% of the respondents said the most pressing problem in America is inflation, making the option the most popular answer ahead of gun violence and the state of the economy. In the poll, the respondents also selected financial stability and being able to pay the bills as the second most important value for them. Besides, 46% of participants stated that they are waiting for additional policies before investing in crypto, while 73% pointed out that presidential candidates should have an informed perspective on innovative technologies like crypto and AI. Relevance: Crypto has become an important material for election campaigns in the U.S. over the last several years due to its rising popularity and the lack of a regulatory framework for the market in the country. Some presidential candidates, including Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have made digital assets one of the key issues in their campaigns to receive support from the industry. However, some lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, declared war against the crypto market because of the sudden collapses of high-profile firms and projects, such as FTX and Terraform Labs, in 2022. Brands that should care: Amid the political binary towards crypto, some crypto firms have launched initiatives to influence digital asset policies. Most recently, crypto exchange Coinbase established Stand With Crypto, a nonprofit organization aimed at crypto advocacy. The organization allows users to reach out to policymakers and learn about politicians' views toward crypto through its website, organizes presidential forums to let users hear from candidates, and raises donations to improve its website's functions. Some leading venture capital firms, such as ARK Invest and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and crypto companies like Ripple, Circle, Coinbase, Kraken, and Messari also back Fairshake, a pro-crypto political action committee (PAC). The committee similarly raises millions of dollars from its backers to support crypto- and blockchain-friendly candidates in the presidential election. | | | |
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| 3 | | Argentina's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and Worship, Diana Mondino, has announced that the country legalized the use of Bitcoin (BTC) as currency in official contracts for settlements under a new economic decree. In her post, Mondino pointed out that the new decree also covers other digital assets. More: - The government has ratified the decree as part of a broader economic reform amid its ongoing battle with hyperinflation and devaluation.
- The decree does not directly include a provision naming Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies.
- However, the order gives individuals and businesses the freedom to choose their preferred payment instrument for settlements, even if it is not recognized as legal tender in Argentina.
- This freedom paves the way for digital assets to be legally used as a payment method in commercial transactions and contract settlements.
Zoom Out: - The new economic decree came a month after Bitcoin-advocate libertarian candidate Javier Milei won the presidential election in Argentina, becoming the country's new president.
- The move is expected to be a first step toward the Argentinian government's plans to adopt crypto on a larger scale as a tool that would help it deal with a weakened economy.
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| 4 | | Crypto custody infrastructure provider Qredo's co-founder and CEO, Anthony Foy, has been asked to leave and removed from the company during a recent investment-led management overhaul. Foy was replaced by the firm's chief financial officer, Duncan Payne-Shelley. More: - The overhaul was led by 10T Holdings, Qredo's Series A lead investor and a large shareholder with representation on the board, which gives it the power to ask for a change in leadership.
- In a statement, Payne-Shelley reiterated Qredo's new strategy to refocus on its core business of Web3 wallets and custody solutions.
- Qredo's chief operating officer, Josh Goodbody, was also replaced by the firm's chief people officer, Becky Mifsud, and started a new position in Qredo Foundation as director.
- Besides, the company appointed former Sotheby's president and CEO, Tad Smith, and 10T Holdings' principal, Raizada Bhavin Vaid, to its board.
- Meanwhile, 10T Holdings co-founder Stan Miroshnik has left Qredo's board of directors.
- Besides, the company has secured new debt financing to be able to continue its operations without disclosing the deal's details.
- Last month, a report pointed out that Qredo had just six months of lifespan left on its horizon and was seeking fresh funding and exploring potential acquisitions.
Zoom Out: - Qredo raised $80M in a Series A funding round at a valuation of $460M in February 2022.
- However, the firm has come under significant financial pressure in recent months due to its aggressive expansion.
- The company had to conduct two mass layoffs and shut down its hybrid crypto derivatives exchange Ankex this fall, citing its tight financial situation.
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| 5 | | El Salvador's Congress has approved a new migration law that offers expedited citizenship to foreigners who invest Bitcoin (BTC) in the government's social and economic development programs. The law is expected to take effect in the coming days. More: - The Congress pointed out that foreigners would support the economic, social, and cultural development of El Salvador by donating Bitcoin.
- The law currently does not specify any minimum investment requirement.
- The move will see foreign Bitcoin investors skipping the standard naturalization process for obtaining El Salvadoran citizenship.
- Under the law, the term is currently five years of permanent residence for individuals from a country with a non-Spanish native language or two years for foreigners with an El Salvadoran spouse.
- The new migration law came around ten days after El Salvador launched a visa program dubbed Freedom Visa in partnership with the stablecoin issuer Tether.
- The program will similarly offer residency and citizenship to individuals investing $1M of Bitcoin or Tether (USDT) in the Central American country.
Zoom Out: - El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender in September 2021 under the leadership of crypto-advocate Nayib Bukele.
- Bukele recently stepped down as the El Salvador President to focus on his re-election campaign and prepare for the country's presidential election on Feb. 4.
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| 6 | | Speaking at a recent Spaces conversation on X, formerly known as Twitter, Elon Musk stated that he no longer spends a lot of time thinking about crypto. The Spaces conversation also featured the investment management firm ARK Invest's crypto-friendly CEO, Cathie Wood. More: - The statement came in response to Wood's question on Bitcoin's potential impact on the financial system.
- Musk also defined money as a database for resource allocation during the conversation.
- The famous CEO and his companies were once quite famous for their influence on the crypto market.
- Musk-led companies, including Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, and X, supported especially the dog-themed cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE) many times by accepting it as a payment method for several commercial products and services.
- Electric vehicle (EV) giant Tesla still holds a significant amount of Bitcoin (BTC) in its portfolio as the third-largest Bitcoin-holder company behind MicroStrategy and Marathon Digital, though it halted accepting the token as a payment method in car purchases due to its adverse environmental impact.
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- Stablecoin issuer Circle has obtained conditional registration as a digital asset service provider from France's financial market regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).
- The Ethereum blockchain's developers have recently announced that they decided to launch the long-awaited Dencun upgrade on Jan. 17, 2024.
- Crypto payment service provider MoonPay has released a new no-code tool dubbed MoonPay Checkout that can be added to websites to allow customers to purchase NFTs across different blockchains using debit and credit cards.
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 | 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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