Crypto NFT Today: The latest news in blockchain, cryptocurrency and NFT: 18-24 January 2022
Welcome to another edition of Crypto NFT Today! If you like cryptocurrency, NFTs and riding emotional roller coasters, this is the place to be.
Are you ready for the crunch? Let’s get started.
Russia and Iran are collaborating on the Stablecoin initiative
Russia and Iran are reportedly working together to create a stable currency backed by gold.
According to the Russian news agency Vedomosti, Iran is working with Russia to create a “token of the Persian Gulf region” that will serve as a means of payment in foreign trade.
Russia recently began accepting Iranian cargo shipments in a special economic zone called Astrakhan, and the proposed cryptocurrency would help facilitate transactions in the region.
Russia and Iran are among the countries that banned cryptocurrency transactions including Bitcoin and Tether, but Russia’s lower house recently announced a pledge to start regulating crypto again in 2023.
Russian lawmaker Anton Tkachev, a member of the Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, emphasized that a joint stablecoin project will be possible only when the digital asset market is fully regulated in Russia.
Bitcoin back in business?
Bitcoin rose above $21,000 on January 13 and pushed past the $21,500 mark on Wednesday. The steep gains now demand the attention of Butcoin skeptics, begging the question: where will Bitcoin go from here?
While technically we are still in a bear market, investor sentiment is improving. According to the Fear and Greed Index, a crypto-specific metric that measures sentiment using five weighted sources, investor sentiment about the market hit a monthly high.
However, many analysts stress that Bitcoin must continue to hover above the 21K mark in the previous weeks before sentiment turns bullish.
Coinbase to stop operations in Japan
Due to a trade slowdown in the country, Coinbase is halting its operations in Japan.
The crypto exchange originally began planning its Japanese expansion during the bear market of 2018. Now, with the FTX fallout still affecting the overall market, Coinbase has decided to regroup and pause its Japanese operations.
Coinbase officially announced on January 18 that the firm would end operations in Japan and conduct a full review of operations in the country due to market conditions.
All Coinbase Japan customers will have until February 16 to withdraw their fiat and crypto holdings from the platform. After February 17, the remaining crypto assets held by Coinbase Japan customers will be converted to Japanese yen. Fiat currency deposits will not be available starting January 20, according to CoinTelegraph.
New report names ‘Crypto Valley’ most mature blockchain hub
The CV VC Top 50 Report 2022 was presented in Davos today and shows that the Crypto Valley, which includes Switzerland and Liechtenstein, is the most mature blockchain hub.
It continued to expand steadily in 2022 due to its regulatory jurisdiction and a certain decentralized mindset exhibited by the 1,135 entities building from there.
The CV VC Top 50 Report 2022 shows that blockchain is developing into a multi-billion dollar industry in Crypto Valley.
