BabelFish Ecosystem News Summary: Feb. 14- Feb 28, 2022
Bitcoin Updates:
Bitcoin Critic Charlie Munger Says Crypto Should Be Banned 👴🏻
The 98-year old billionaire said “I wish it had been banned immediately, and I admire the Chinese for banning it…I certainly didn’t invest in crypto. I’m proud of the fact I’ve avoided it. It’s like a venereal disease or something. I just regard it as beneath contempt.”
Bitcoin Wallet Nunchuk Scolds Ontario Court Over Order To Freeze Crypto Assets 🇨🇦
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice asked self-custody wallet provider nunchuk to disclose user information and freeze user’s bitcoin. Check out the team’s brave email response.
EU Delays Vote on Crypto Regulations Amid Bitcoin Energy Debate ✋
The European Parliament has delayed a vote on the Markets in Crypto Assets Directive (MiCA) — initially slated for a vote on February 29th — due to fears that it would be “misinterpreted as a de facto Bitcoin ban”.
Intel Unveils New Bitcoin Mining Chip and 3,600-Watt Mining Rig 👷♂️
Details on the BMZ2s are thin on the ground at present. But if they perform as well as they’ve been pitched, they could put a major dent in Bitcoin’s energy concerns. According to a blog post, engineers at Intel “…expect that our circuit innovations will deliver a blockchain accelerator that has over 1000x better performance per watt than mainstream GPUs for SHA-256 based mining,”
Russian Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies Could Be Part of Future Sanctions 🇷🇺
Russia is the third-largest country for bitcoin mining. A Russian government report estimates that there are more than 12 million cryptocurrency wallets from Russian citizens worth over $20 billion. Enacting sanctions would be difficult, analysts say.
RSK Ecosystem Updates
BabelFish’s DAO Commences DAO Governance 🗳️
Last week saw the first ceremonial vote on the governance platform, and BIPs under discussion on the forum are expected to be voted on throughout the coming weeks.
RSK Gas Fees are 15x Lower Than Ethereum ⛽
Check out this beautiful landing page to compare gas fees in real time
LetsBit Integrates MoneyOnChain’s DOC 🤝
Available to users in Argentina, Peru, Colombia & the euro-zone.
Earn >6% On Your XUSD By Lending On Tropykus 📈
Tropykus.Finance launched less than a month ago, learn how to use it here.
Sovryn Community Giveaways: Competitions, Rewards & More! 🎉
Sovryn is hosting competitions for the next 12 weeks, prizes include $SOV, hardware wallets and more!
Stablecoin Updates:
Circle Doubles Valuation To $9 Billion In Updated SPAC Deal 💰
The firm behind the stablecoin USDC has doubled its original valuation in the SPAC deal with blank-check company Concord Acquisition Corp. The two companies first revealed their plans to merge in July, and updated the terms of the deal to reflect improvements in the company’s financial outlook and competitive position.
Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) Raises $1 Billion for Terra’s UST Reserve 🌕
The $1B private token sale, one of the cryptocurrency industry’s largest sales to-date, will go toward building a bitcoin-denominated foreign-exchange reserve for UST — with plans to expand to other major non-correlated assets within the market moving forward.
Frax Finance Is Preparing to Airdrop a CPI-Linked Stablecoin 📊
The Frax Price Index (FPI) will be distributed to holders and stakers of its various tokens as of Feb. 20.The stablecoin would fluctuate in line with the US consumer price index (CPI) data sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly inflation report, tracked by a Chainlink oracle.
Crypto Custodian Fireblocks Acquires Stablecoin Firm First Digital 🤝
“The acquisition of First Digital gives us the opportunity to take stablecoins and crypto payments to the mass market,” said FireBlocks CEO Michael Shaulov, “It will allow all of our 900 clients — and many more that [First Digital is] bringing to the table — the ability to accept payments in stablecoins, both for business to business, but most importantly for consumers.”
Wyoming Lawmakers Want State to Launch Its Own Stablecoin 🦅
It’s not clear why Wyoming would need a state-sponsored stablecoin, but given the state’s increasing focus on crypto and related trends — as the first state to grant a charter to a crypto bank, as well as to legally recognize DAOs — it could play into Wyoming’s future crypto ambitions..Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Wyoming’s Avanti Bank & Trust, tweeted that she isn’t entirely sure of the stablecoin’s purpose.
