Date: 11/22/2021
“We believe in the potential of blockchain and digital assets including the benefits of efficiency, instant processing, fractionalization, programmability, and transparency.” — Emily Turner
Weekly News Report:
1. Mercado Libre, the largest e-commerce company in Latin America by market value, will enable users in Brazil to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies. Mercado Pago’s digital wallet has 16.8 million unique users, according to information provided by Mercado Libre in its third-quarter report of 2021.
2. The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) plans to launch a pilot of a digital currency (CBDC) by 2022, BCB President Roberto Campos Neto said on Friday. The monetary authority of Brazil has said it expects to launch a final version of its central bank digital currency by 2024.
3. A $2.3 million private token sale by NFT marketplace Talis could expand NFT offerings on the Terra blockchain in the coming year. The company announced the sale Monday, which was led by ParaFi Capital and Arrington Capital and included investment from Benson Oak Ventures, GCW Capital and Blocbits.
4. The 118-year-old newspaper, The South China Morning Post (SCMP), has released a white paper detailing its new NFT metadata standard called Artifact. The standard will be used to mint historical NFTs, including the SCMP’s own inaugural NFT collection.
5. In a Monday announcement, the White House announced President Biden will be nominating Powell as his pick to lead the Federal Reserve once his current term ends in February. During his time as Fed chair, Powell has said the agency was “working proactively to issue a CBDC” but was unlikely to support a blanket ban on crypto.
6. The Bitcoin mining industry in Texas currently consumes around 500 to 1,000 MW of power. As Texas faces a rapid influx of Bitcoin mining operations, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) anticipates that power demands could increase as much as fivefold by 2023 and has planned an additional 3,000 to 5,000 MW.
7. American multinational investment bank Citi announced it had appointed Puneet Singhvi to lead the digital asset division of its Institutional Clients Group (ICG) starting on Dec. 1. In addition to appointing Singhvi on Nov. 22, Citi is hiring 100 additional personnel for its digital asset division. The move indicates a concerted effort to beef up the financial group’s understanding of digital assets.
8. Sotheby’s, the world’s oldest art and luxury auction house, announced its collaboration with the public health care advocate and nonprofit organization Sostento to auction off its latest NFT collection via the Sotheby’s Metaverse. The auction titled Gifted: The 140 Collection is considered to be Sotheby’s “biggest NFT charity auction ever,” with all of its proceeds going towards Sostento.
9. Odell Beckham Jr., wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams football team, has said he will be taking all of his $4.25 million National Football League salary in Bitcoin. Reports suggest the Los Angeles Rams player’s total salary for the 2021 season would be worth roughly 75.66 BTC at an average price of $56,103.
10. Bullish sentiment surrounding crypto has not wavered despite the recent market correction that saw Bitcoin fall to sub-$57,000 levels. Institutional investors were unfazed by the recent correction in the cryptocurrency markets, as digital asset funds dedicated to BTC and ETH continued to grow, according to data from CoinShares. Crypto investment products, which include ETFs, saw weekly inflows totaling $154 million for the week ending Nov. 20.
11. The total value locked (TVL) on Ethereum layer-two networks has surged to a new peak as gas fees continue to steadily rise driving further adoption. Layer-two analytics platform L2beat currently reports that the TVL across various layer-two protocols and networks has reached an all-time high of $5.64 billion.
12. A gubernatorial candidate from Venezuela has promised to offer scholarships for citizens interested to join the Technical Training Center for Mining and Administration of Digital Crypto Assets. José Alejandro Terán, the aspiring governor who represents the country’s ruling party, started the initiative as a part of the La Guaira Digital program, which aims to fast-track growth and induce economic stability in the country.
