Date: 12/03/2021
“The future of the financial industry is built on blockchain technology.” — NBX CEO Stig Kjos-Mathisen
Weekly News Report:
1. Digital payments company Square announced that it has changed its company name to Block, seemingly in a shift towards blockchain technology. Square said the rebrand will bring the payments firm together with Cash App, the decentralized Bitcoin exchange project tbDEX, and music and video streaming platform Tidal. The cryptocurrency-focused branch of the payment firm will also be changing its name to Spiral and joining the Block family.
2. Social media and metaverse marketplace Meta has expanded eligibility requirements for running cryptocurrency advertisements on Facebook, giving companies more leeway to market digital asset product offerings. Meta announced Wednesday that, effective immediately, it will recognize 27 regulatory licenses from advertisers, up from just three previously. This means many more applications for running cryptocurrency ads will be accepted.
3. On Dec. 3, the Norwegian Block Exchange (NBX) announced it would become the first cryptocurrency platform among the Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland) to list its shares on the pan-European Euronext stock exchange.NBX has eight cryptocurrencies listed and about 20 trading pairs available. The exchange is approved and supervised by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway.
4. Polygon has ramped up its NFT gaming plans with GameOn partnership, Irishman producer launches NFT firm to fund movies, and the Silk Road founder‘s NFT drop has fetched bids higher than 261 Ether (ETH), $1.17 million.
5. Decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch Network has concluded a sizable Series B investment round, raising $175 million as part of a broader effort to expand protocol utility and increase access to liquidity within the decentralized finance, or DeFi, market. The funding round had backing from some of crypto’s biggest venture funds, which continue to bet big on the future of DeFi.
6. Major cryptocurrency wallet and data service Blockchain.com is expanding in Latin America by acquiring SeSocio, a major crypto company based in Argentina. One of the biggest investment platforms in Latin America, SeSocio will now merge with Blockchain.com to help them scale operations across the region, the firm announced officially on Nov. 30.
7. Canada-based investment firm Fidelity is reportedly launching a spot ETF in the country, subject to regulatory approval. According to a tweet shared by Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Erick Balchunas, the fund “Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF” is currently pending listing on a Canadian exchange. Balchunas also pointed out that if the new fund succeeds, it would become the largest asset management firm that offers Bitcoin services.
8. The metaverse and NFTs are in the crosshairs of the People’s Bank of China, which wants to track them with Anti-Money Laundering tools. China’s crackdown on crypto is expanding into the metaverse and nonfungible tokens (NFT), an executive at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) recently implied.
9. Major American electronics retailer Newegg continues diving is enabling payments in major cryptocurrency and mem, Shiba Inu (SHIB). Newegg officially announced on Nov. 29 that it will start accepting SHIB as part of its holiday promotional campaign, starting “by early December.”
10. Crypto.com aims to offer derivatives and futures products to its U.S. customers by acquiring Nadex and the Small Exchange. Global crypto exchange Crypto.com is looking to strengthen its foothold in the United States by acquiring IG Group’s stakes in two exchange platforms.
11. The play-to-earn game’s soft launch is planned for Q1 2022, with 400,000 users already pre-registered. Upcoming NFT-based mobile role-playing game Guild of Guardians has sold out two tranches of its native token, GEMS, totaling $5.3 million. The token sale, held on CoinList on Tuesday, was oversubscribed by 82 times, with around 808,000 users registering. More than 10,700 new GEMS holders from over 100 countries purchased a maximum of $500 worth of tokens.
12. In a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, Adit EdTech Acquisition Corp, announced it would merge with Cincinnati-based Bitcoin miner Griid at a $3.3 billion enterprise valuation. SPACs are blank check companies created for the sole purpose of acquiring other firms. After the deal consummates, Griid will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GRDI. The deal is expected to close by the first quarter of next year.
13. Crypto exchange and digital wallet provider Blockchain.com is developing a marketplace for NFTs. The Luxembourg-headquartered company has opened a waiting list for the new platform, which will allow users to buy, sell and store NFTs.
14. While Bitcoin remains in a cool-off period after thrusting to its all-time high in early November and gaming tokens seem to have taken the spotlight as massive gains are seen across the industry. Overall, most of the tokens in the gaming sectors have appreciated by more than 100% against Bitcoin in the last month.
15. Konzum, the largest supermarket chain in Croatia, is keeping up with the times by debuting payments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The company officially announced on Monday that it now accepts nine cryptocurrencies for payment in its online store.
