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Stock And Crypto Markets Feeling The Heat As Russia Prepares To Invade Ukraine

Mark Brennan
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Stock And Crypto Markets Feeling The Heat As Russia Prepares To Invade Ukraine

Bitcoin is falling with rumors of an impending war between Russia and Ukraine. The tension also involves the United States and NATO against the Russian invasion.



The problems between the countries have escalated again in recent months, but this Friday reached its peak. A US secretary has declared that Russia could invade Ukraine at any time after the country sends F-15 fighter jets to the region. Neighboring countries have seen Russia reinforce their borders with troops, despite Putin’s thoughts about not overrunning his neighbor.

Embassies have begun banning travel to the region, Japan and US have asked citizens to leave Ukraine immediately. South Korea has also issued a warning not to visit both countries and other European nations like England.

The spark came as Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, warned Friday afternoon that Russia could attack Ukraine “any day now,” with Russia’s military prepared to begin an invasion if ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

U.S. stocks extended a selloff to end sharply lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, down -1.43% dropping more than 500 points and the S&P 500, sinking 1.9%; oil futures, +4.47% surged to a seven-year high that has crude within hailing distance of $100 a barrel; and a round of buying interest in traditional safe-haven assets pulled down Treasury yields while lifting gold, the U.S. dollar, and the Japanese yen.

The Bitcoin reacted with a drop of 4% in the last 24 hours and is again trading at $42K. BNB down 3%, XRP down 4.79%, ADA down 5.91%, and SOL down 7.51% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum falls below 3K, currently trading at $2930.

It’s unclear whether a war will break out in the region or how large it will be, but that assumption has led investors to look for store-of-value assets.

With Bitcoin falling amid rumors of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, Peter Schiff said that only gold is a haven. According to him, whoever buys US treasury bonds will melt their assets as inflation increases even more.

“Investors buying U.S. Treasuries as a safe haven given heightened geopolitical risk are making a big mistake. Inflation pressures will intensify if Russia invades Ukraine, which will further erode the value of bonds. The real safe haven from both threats is gold.”

 

Leaving behind Bitcoin out of safe haven does not appear appropriate; it is worth remembering that at the beginning of the pandemic, a significant drop occurred in the price of the Bitcoin, which quickly recovered and ended up surpassing gold, dollar, and other assets both in 2020 and in 2021.

The market is following the new Bitcoin market drop closely; however, this may be a simple price correction after days of bullishness.

 

 

Uber CEO: “Uber Will Accept Bitcoin As Payment One Day”

Mark Brennan
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Uber CEO: “Uber Will Accept Bitcoin As Payment One Day”

Uber Technologies Inc will one day accept Bitcoin as the payment method in its app.



Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive officer of Uber cited the cost of exchanges incur high transaction fees, and the environmental impact of digital mining are the reasons why Uber has yet to implement the technology.

“We are having conversations all the time about crypto, I think right now bitcoin is quite valuable as a store of value, but the exchange mechanism is expensive and not environmentally friendly, but as the exchange mechanism becomes less expensive, becomes more environmentally friendly, I think you will see that we are leaning a bit more towards crypto.”

Khosrowshahi said that Uber will accept cryptocurrencies “at some point” in the future. “That is not the right point,” he told Bloomberg Television.

 

 

Dogecoin (DOGE) Price To Surge As Major Businesses Support It As Payment

Mark Brennan
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Dogecoin (DOGE) Price To Surge As Major Businesses Support It As Payment

Major Businesses support dogecoin (DOGE) as a Payment option.



Dogecoin (DOGE) enthusiasts were in high spirits after the token peaked at $0.73 in March 2021. However, their hopes were dashed after the cryptocurrency encountered a massive bloodbath that has seen it shred over 73% of its value since its all-time high of $0.73.

Doge Price Dip

Like other cryptocurrencies, the popular meme coin Dogecoin (DOGE) has had its fair share of the market crash that wrecked the crypto market last month. 

DOGE, which started trading around $0.17 at the beginning of the year, fell to $0.12 on January 22, 2021, before recovering up to $0.13. 

Since then, the price of the dog-themed cryptocurrency has become increasingly volatile as traders have to endure the negative price movement of the token.

Hope for Dogecoin Holders 

Fortunately, things are about to change for DOGE supporters as the token looks set to reclaim its glory days after popular brands have started accepting the token as a payment method. 

Elon Musk, who has been a significant proponent of digital currency, is gradually enabling clients of his business to make payments using DOGE. 

After announcing in May 2021 that SpaceX would accept DOGE payments for its first-ever commercial lunar payload, Musk proceeded with another exciting move that saw Tesla clients pay for some of its merchandise using Dogecoin. 

Musk also urged McDonald’s to accept Doge payments for its sandwiches in late January. 

While many believe these developments could be the biggest for the dog-themed cryptocurrency, American movie theater AMC Entertainment announced last month that users would pay for its online store items using Dogecoin and Shiba Inu (SHIB) in March 2022. 

According to SoFi Learn, other major brands like The Dallas Maverick, Air Baltic, Newegg, and The Kessler Collection accept DOGE as a payment method for their merchandise. 

Earlier today, Crypto Basic reported that Izea, a Nasdaq-listed marketing company, announced that it would be accepting Dogecoin and Shiba Inu for various influencer campaigns. 

With the growing rate of dogecoin adoption in payments, it is only a matter of time before the digital currency picks up steam and reclaims its spot as a valuable cryptocurrency.

Valentine Day Coming, Americans Already Lost $547 Million in Bitcoin And Ethereum To Online Dating Scammers

Mark Brennan
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Valentine Day Coming, Americans Already Lost $547 Million in Bitcoin And Ethereum To Online Dating Scammers

Americans Losing millions in Bitcoin and Ethereum to Online Dating Scammers.



In a recent report published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Americans lost a whopping amount of cryptocurrency in online romance scams last year, the highest since 2017. 

2021 Losses Surpass Previous Years

The FTC stated that last year alone unsuspecting victims lost $547 million to online dating scammers, up from $307 million reported in 2020, as well as $202 million in 2019. 

The commission disclosed that of the $547 million recorded in 2021, $139 million were paid in cryptocurrency, representing nearly five times of 2020 report and over 25 times of those reported in 2019. 

Per the report, from 2017 to 2021, Americans have lost a combined $1.29 billion to online dating scammers. 

“A growing trend in 2021 was scammers using romance as a hook to lure people into bogus investments, especially cryptocurrency. People are led to believe their new online companion is a successful investor who, before long, casually offers investment advice,” excerpt from the report read. 

Traditional Payment Methods Mostly Used

Despite the growth in cryptocurrency payments in online dating scams, which accounted for 18% of the total losses, the report noted that gift or reload cards were the frequently used payment method by these scammers, which represents 28%. 

Similarly, bank transfer and wire fraud payments followed suit, representing 25% of the total $547 million losses. 

According to the FTC, the commission only collated data on scams reported to its Consumer Sentinel Network, as authorities believed that the total losses Americans suffered last year could be more than what was published.  

FTC said the median cryptocurrency loss is $9,770. Notably, since most scammers are aware of the pseudonymous nature of digital currencies like bitcoin and ethereum, they trick their victims into investing in fake cryptocurrency investment schemes. 

Romance scams were reported for every age group, with the highest number of cases reported for Americans between the ages of 18 and 29. 

However, older people suffered huge losses, as their median loss for people at the age of 70 and above stood at $9,000. 

Increase in Cryptocurrency Scams

The rate of crypto-related scams is gradually on the rise, as scammers take advantage of the pseudonymous nature of cryptocurrencies. 

Scammers usually devise means to trick people into investing in bogus projects in a bid to get mouthwatering returns.

Aside from online dating, several reports have emerged of hackers luring people into different projects and subsequently pulling the rug on investors. 

Last week, a YouTube streamer ripped investors of $500,000 in a fake token and in less than a week developers behind the Baby Musk Coin (BABYMUSK) stole over $2 million from investors via a rug pull scam. 

While these trends have continued to be on the increase, it is advisable that people conduct adequate research before investing in any cryptocurrency scheme. 

Who Will Be The Next DAO Miracle After AssangeDAO？

Mark Brennan
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Who Will Be The Next DAO Miracle After AssangeDAO？

A Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) called AssangeDAO is raising funds to free WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. A big enough goal is to free WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a controversial figure wanted for information leaks in a US government scandal who was locked up in London nearly seven years after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy there. On December 10 last year, the British High Court issued a judgment to extradite him to the United States of America. On the day of the sentence, AssangeDAO, named after Assange, was established, aimed to raise ETH to buy 1/1 dynamic NFT made by digital artist Pak in collaboration with Assange. AssangeDAO raised over 16,593 ETH, about $52.26M in just one week.

How do DAOs function?

DAOs are the ultimate form of decentralized investments, pooling in capital from interested users who are keen on backing the blockchain projects, funding them and sometimes, even going an extra mile by managing the promising startups. DAOs can have different structures, rules and governance, all based on their respective communities and goals. They leverage on the power of smart contracts to enforce rules and assign voting power to participating members for governance purposes.

A DAO cannot be perfect and all-encompassing, and each DAO has its own positioning. Therefore, DAO has to accurately grasp the driving force behind the community and to anchor its own mission and vision in order to better build the community.

How can I participate in DAOs?

Pay attention to DAO as soon as it rises, understand its mission and vision, observe its popularity, and find ways to contribute.

Many DAOs have grown extremely rapidly, with a steady stream of new members, projects, architectures, and tools. Thoroughly combine this information and process will help new members find their place in the community and understand how to participate and contribute.

What other DAOs deserve the attention of ordinary investors？

Point 1：

The community culture is important to DAOs because in the absence of traditional leadership structures, the community culture would be the most enduring and pervasive force.

Based on this focus, we have discovered a DAO that stands out from the crowd – FreedomDAO, an organization dedicated to realizing the freedom of retail investors’ wealth. The mission of Freedom Of Wealth DAO is to become a decentralized project that truly belongs to everyone, bringing opportunities for any crypto user or ordinary participants to true wealth freedom.

It’s so different! Think about it, if you would choose to fight for others (AssangeDAO). Why not choose to fight for your own financial freedom? (FreedomDAO）

Point 2：

It is critical to be cautious in choosing the right assets and to have reasonable parameters for them.

Freedom Of Wealth DAO aims to create a 100% decentralized community experiment and no project parties or teams can control this project, and the initial token issuance is carried out by donation. Groundbreaking proposed IDO (initial donate offering), and the concept of Donate to Earn. The early token issuance is completely issued by user donations, without any project party or share offerings to any team, all donations are used for user redemption, increasing the liquidity and project developments.

Let’s take a look at the tokenomics of FreedomDAO

Token Name: $FREE

Token Issuance: The supply of FREE will be determined by the total value of donated dollars. Therefore no one knows what the final issuance amount of FREE will be, and the total amount of it is entirely up to the community. All FOWD will be minted to the donor. No developer allocation, no funding, no allocation to any project party or insider. The ratio of donation to project issuance is 1:100, that is, for every 1 USDT donated by the user, 100 FREE will be issued (if the user donates other currencies, the issuance of FOWD will be converted into USDT-denominated issuance).

If the total donation amount of the community is 100 million US dollars, then the final issuance of FREE will be 10 billion.

After the end of the donation, the user’s donation amount x 100 is the final issuance of FOWD, and it will be locked forever and will never be reissued.

Point 3：

Learn how to compare advantages

Let’s compare the situations between AssangeDAO and FreedomDAO.

In this chart we can clearly see the various advantages of FreedomDAO compared to AssangeDAO, such as token advantage: The Contributor of FreedomDAO will receive 50% upfront, the remaining 50% in 30 days And 50% of $FREE permanently placed in the donated pot, 50% locked in the liquidity pool. $FREE always has a reserve price, which will never be reduced to zero, but the $JUSTIC confidence crisis has occurred, inevitably severe selling pressure.

We expect that FreedomDAO will create new surprises for DAOs supporters, and we believe that the DAOs craze will continue.

FreedomDAO is now officially open for donations on www.freedomdao.app, if you haven’t jumped on the DAO train yet, you may consider adding it to your viewing schedule!

Learn more about Freedom of Wealth：

Website – https://www.freedomdao.app

Twitter – https://twitter.com/Freedomofdao

Telegram- https://t.me/FreedomofDaoEnglish

MetaShooter Launches First Decentralized Blockchain-Based Hunting Metaverse On Cardano

Mark Brennan
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MetaShooter Launches First Decentralized Blockchain-Based Hunting Metaverse On Cardano

Metashooter is built on meaningful gameplay, making the game even more exciting and exciting. Nowadays, real hunting is not acceptable in many countries. Most crypto games have forced the crypto aspect with no logical business model. Metashooter offers a new type of monetization opportunities not only for market suppliers but also for players. Hunting hobby owners will be able to interact with their hobby even more. Metshooter ecosystem has a logical business plan and natural usage of each nft asset or service, and it doesn’t force the crypto aspect into the game. Metashooter is built on meaningful gameplay, making the game even more exciting and interesting.



NFTs represent a range of digital files such as audio, images, videos, etc., which can be used to generate and sell virtual collectibles. Metashooter is the only realistic hunting game that offers hunting business development and hosting experience. The game will occur in Metaverse island, which will be the primary Metashooter users’ playground. Every world object will be connected to give an open-world experience.

Metaverse

The world is becoming more digital, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing many traditional social interactions online. With this, it’s entirely reasonable to believe that the future is, indeed, digital. The Metaverse, a buzzword in the IT sector, means various things. Imagination is the sole restriction in a virtual world. It may also be a less magical location for business meetings.

Essentially, the Metaverse is an interconnected system of virtual and real-world entities. The Metaverse is a network of virtual universes, including our physical one. Many people think of it as just a gigantic virtual world, but it’s an extension of the interoperable internet that’s now spatial.

It’s only reasonable that we begin with avatars and virtual places, of which there are many presently available and many more on the way.

Play 2 Earn All the Hype

In the world of e-sports, it is now possible to earn money by participating in video games. For several gamers this year, playing games like Decentraland, Metashooter has been a better way to make money than working.

Players in Metashooter are rewarded with money for fulfilling the game’s goal. A card-based game, like Metashooter, can pit players against one other and their monsters against each other. In most games, players may earn more money as they progress.
In most situations, participants are compensated in the game’s native token, typically drawn from the game’s treasury. In actuality, they may have to go through a series of stages before paying out their earnings in their native currency. However, the prize is what matters most.

Metaverse Is the Future

Do not only consider the current state of affairs while planning for the future. Observe what you’re losing from your human existence when you communicate from a distance. Just how near can we get to see the event in person? There have been significant advancements in holographic projection, sans glasses, movement sensing and biosignals, haptic feedback, olfactory production, and brain interfaces, and the list continues.

Play 2 Earn

Game Structure Is The Future Of Gaming

Many believe that blockchain gaming is the future of the e-gaming industry, and it’s not that hard to see plenty of merits supporting that narrative. Play-to-earn is turning into a viable business model that allows game developers and players to monetize their time on something they enjoy doing.

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Cardano Development Team Proposes CIP-35 To Enhance Smart Contract Speed 

Albert Brown
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Cardano Development Team Proposes CIP-35 To Enhance Smart Contract Speed 

Cardano is slowly but surely developing on a daily basis.



The Cardano network has come a long way in its quest to become a favorite choice for decentralized finance (DeFi) developers and the development team behind the project does not seem to be slowing down in releasing significant upgrades. 

In recent times, the Cardano Improvement Proposal (CIP) team has continued to share useful ideas that will foster the growth of the network in order to see it rival Ethereum and other decentralized networks like Solana and Polygon. 

The CIP-35 Proposal 

Earlier this week, Tim Harrison, director of IOHK Communications, disclosed that the core developers’ team has made a new proposal dubbed CIP-35 for the Plutus smart contract platform. 

The proposed upgrade will usher in the improvement of Plutus core and interface pages. 

According to the CIP-35 proposal, a clearer structure will enable smart contract developers building on Cardano to change and upgrade their codes in time. 

With CIP-35, shortcuts will be added to the system to enable developers to make changes and upgrades to their codes by taking shorter routes. 

Furthermore, the CIP-35 proposal will also bolster speed for new updates in the Plutus smart contract, which could further enhance transaction processing time for all protocols connected to the network. 

Cardano Criticized for Slowly Launching Upgrades

Cardano has come under heavy scrutiny from crypto enthusiasts because of its slow approach in launching significant upgrades for the network, especially its smart contract functionality. 

In response to these criticisms, the IOHK team stated in November 2021 that it only releases updates after carefully evaluating their impact on its system, as it is not prepared to jeopardize the Cardano network’s long-term security. 

Cardano Grows Amid Criticism 

Despite these criticisms, the project’s team believes it is doing a good job in releasing key upgrades for the network, which would help it remain competitive in the long run. 

So far, Cardano has continued to gain traction amid the constant criticism, with lots of increased user activity reported. 

With decentralized exchanges like SundaeSwap launched on Cardano, the number of transactions carried out on the network has surpassed 30 million, while the total value locked (TVL) has also exceeded $99 million. 

Digital Yuan Surpassed Visa in Number Of Transactions On Opening Day of 2022 China Winter Olympics

Mark Brennan
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Digital Yuan Surpassed Visa in Number Of Transactions On Opening Day of 2022 China Winter Olympics

The digital Yuan surpasses Visa in the number of transactions at the Winter Olympics.



The number of digital Yuan transactions at the Winter Olympics exceeded Visa. On the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, held at Beijing’s National Stadium, also known as the “Bird’s Nest,” more transactions were made in the Chinese central bank’s digital currency Digital Yuan or e-CNY than the Visa, according to Wall Street Journal.

Visa has an exclusive deal with Chinese authorities that made Visa the only payment processor at the Winter Olympics. The competition will not accept payments via Alipay, WeChat Pay, and other popular payment systems. But still, China Digital Yuan surpassed Visa in the number of transactions.

Visa is also looking to integrate Digital Yuan payments. Visa has not discontinued e-CNY payment options, possibly because it is awaiting its application for a license to operate in China.

According to the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Games, replacing cash with digital currency will significantly reduce people-to-people contact and reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19. Inside the “quarantine zone,” visitors can exchange fiat currency for digital yuan using cryptomats.

Recall that in July 2021, Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn, Cynthia Lummis, and Roger Wicker sent a letter to US Olympic Committee Chair Susan Lyons demanding that athletes be banned from using e-CNY.

US Senate Banking Committee member Pat Toomey urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to look into China’s use of the digital yuan at the Olympics.

The Chinese authorities expect that the launch of the CBDC will help strengthen the yuan’s position in the international arena and break the dominance of the dollar.

YouTube Looking To Monetize Content Using NFTs

Mark Brennan
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YouTube Looking To Monetize Content Using NFTs

Video hosting YouTube is considering integrating NFT to monetize content on the platform.



YouTube’s Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan said:

“Web3 also opens up new opportunities for creators. We believe new technologies like blockchain and NFTs can allow creators to build deeper relationships with their fans. Together, they’ll be able to collaborate on new projects and make money in ways not previously possible. For example, giving a verifiable way for fans to own unique videos, photos, art, and even experiences from their favorite creators could be a compelling prospect for creators and their audiences. There’s a lot to consider in making sure we approach these new technologies responsibly, but we think there’s incredible potential as well.”

Mohan cited verifiable ownership of unique videos, photographs, and other works as an example of how the technology could be used.

According to the publication, over 2 million users joined the YouTube Partner Program in 2021.

Earlier, CEO Susan Wojcicki announced plans in a letter to Video creators, the video-sharing platform YouTube’s CEO Susan Wojcicki suggested the company is discovering the ways for NFT integration on its website.

In January 2022, Twitter integrated NFTs as user profile avatars. In February, a similar option was added by the content subscription service OnlyFans.

Flare Partners Ola Finance to Offer Customizable Lending Network Using Ripple (XRP) 

Albert Brown
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Flare Partners Ola Finance to Offer Customizable Lending Network Using Ripple (XRP) 

Flare Network, an upcoming project that plans to offer smart contract functionality for Ripple and Dogecoin, has announced a partnership with Ola Finance, in a bid to bolster its presence in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. 



The initiative will allow developers building on Flare’s canary network Songbird to deploy a suite of lending networks through Ola Finance, Flare said in an announcement today. 

Under the partnership, Ola Finance, which supports customized programmable lending products, will support all Flare-based mainstream assets, including Ripple (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), as well as Algorand (ALGO). 

David Yakira, Co-Founder & CEO, Ola Finance, said: 

“We at Ola are thrilled to partner with a rising Layer-1 network as promising as Flare. Their F-Asset system that aims to incorporate non-Turing complete assets into DeFi aligns with Ola’s goal to increase the number of tokens that offer DeFi Lending services to their communities.” 

Ola’s Cryptocurrency Lending Program

Ola provides its partners with a lending-as-a-service solution. Once the protocol is used to establish the loan network, the partners are given control after the service is fully implemented. 

Since its launch, it has partnered with Fantom-based SpiritSwap and Binance Smart Chain ApeSwap, among others, giving their communities access to lending and borrowing services that will be fully controlled by the firms without them having to build their own lending networks. 

Ola’s partners can order and integrate their own customized lending protocols at will.  

“With TVL on Songbird reaching $120m in January, we are delighted that Ola’s lending-as-as-service solution is primed to attract even more liquidity into the Flare ecosystem,” Hugo Philion, co-founder and CEO of Flare, said. 

Philion added that Ola’s differentiator in DeFi lending will allow developers to create their own branded lending network on Songbird. 

Songbird Still Under Development

It is worth noting that Songbird is still under upgrade and will be fully unveiled before the end of March. 

Meanwhile, once the Songbird upgrade is complete, Flare Network disclosed that it will commence the airdrop of its native token, Spark (FLR) token for Ripple (XRP) holders.  

At the moment, Flare supports ALGO, XRP, DOGE, and LTC, with further plans to add Cardano (ADA) in the near future. 

 

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