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Binance obtains regulatory approval to offer services in Poland

Global regulators have undoubtedly become more interested in cryptocurrencies as their popularity has risen. International cryptocurrency exchanges are securing operating permits from regulatory bodies in a number of nations. Regulatory approval is also being given for these exchanges by forward-thinking nations so they can flourish there. For example, crypto exchange, Binance is swiftly establishing its name and user base around the world. 2023 is proving to be a great beginning for Binance, as it recently obtained regulatory approval in Sweden on January 11. Now, according to the details of a new official announcement, the global exchange has been granted a virtual asset provider license in Poland.

“Binance is pleased to announce that it’s enhancing its local presence in Poland, alongside a continued commitment to full regulatory compliance. As always, Binance’s priority is on providing users with the best and safest experience possible. For Binancians in Poland that comes with the knowledge that the services being offered to them are fully compliant with local regulatory standards for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) thanks to Binance Poland sp. z o.o. — Binance’s Polish entity,” the exchange stated in a blog post.

“We welcome the initiatives of the Polish government towards regulation. Working together with regulators globally, we can ensure that consumers are protected while continuing to cultivate innovation and progress. And we at Binance continue improving our security systems and following the strictest KYC requirements in the industry, which enhances the safety of all our users,” the crypto exchange further stated.

With the new approval, Poland has been added to the list of the growing number of EU member states that have provided approval for the exchange. The registration in Poland is additionally followed by the exchange’s registration in Sweden, France, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Cyprus, and Poland.

Kyrylo Khomiakov, Binance’s Head of Ukraine and Eastern Europe, commented on the new business decision saying, “The crypto industry needs effective and appropriate regulation to help with the mainstream adoption of digital assets. We strongly believe that a stable regulatory environment can support innovation and is essential to establishing trust in the industry and long-term growth.

Katarzyna Wabik, Binance’s Country Manager for Poland, added, “We fully comply with Polish standards for VASPs and make this step to ensure that Binance Poland sp. z o.o. has adopted risk and AML policies to match these exacting standards. Our current focus is the successful user migration to the Polish entity and the development of local operations. We’re also prioritizing local recruitment and talent scouting to help us strengthen our regional presence, organizing more events and delivering crypto education in Poland.”

Binance also emphasized that there are already roles available dedicated solely to the Polish entity, as part of its commitment to expanding local operations within the country. Specifically, within compliance, finance, and operations.

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WEF predicts metaverse technology will change industry first and move to consumer space later

The World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts that rather than being embraced by consumers initially, the metaverse will first be used in industrial environments. This prediction was made in an article that was published on January 13. 

The organization predicts that the metaverse will be implemented at an industrial level first, assisting various organizations to carry out designing and monitoring duties more effectively.

According to the WEF, two of the metaverse technologies that will become integral for the industry in this new phase are digital twins and extended reality. Implementing digital twins, the digitalization of a group of elements coming from the real world, will allow testing the functionality of an element, examining the possible inefficiencies of an assembly line, or simply prototyping a model without having to build it physically.

Another technology discussed in the article is extended reality. This will enable designers to combine real-world and digital elements and study how they interact.

The institution emphasizes that these technologies are already being adopted by several companies, including automaker Renault, which launched its industrial metaverse in November, aiming to save $330 million by 2025 with the implementation.

While there is significant focus on the consumer metaverse from companies like Meta, which have been investing billions in the sector, the WEF believes that industries will be the ones pushing innovation.

The article states,

“We will develop many technologies for the industrial metaverse that will make their way into the consumer metaverse – from micro-optics and advanced haptic interfaces to AI sensing awareness.”

The organization also believes that, once these two different metaverses are established, one will be able to improve the other and vice versa. However, it recommends shifting the focus from putting resources into the consumer metaverse, to putting them into the industrial metaverse, which is already happening in various sectors.

The WEF has referred to the metaverse before, issuing recommendations for maintaining safety and privacy in metaverse worlds in May 2022, especially when including children as part of these environments.

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Seoul Government officially launches its first metaverse project

2022 was not the best year for metaverse developments and adoption. Many have even considered that the metaverse hype was dead. Nonetheless, during its peak, top companies from various ecosystems began filing for metaverse trademarks. However, the prolonged bear market in 2022 proved not to be the best year for the metaverse and the general crypto market.

The metaverse community is opening up to positive news in 2023 with the Seoul Metropolitan Government launching its Metaverse Seoul project which will allow residents of the South Korean capital city to access city services in a virtual environment.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced the launch of the first phase of Metaverse Seoul following beta testing of the project at a press briefing that happened on 16th January. 

The mayor emphasized that the online environment will be a place of communication for citizens of the capital city, allowing them to virtually visit many of Seoul’s attractions, access official documents, file certain complaints, and receive answers to questions on filing municipal taxes.

Approximately 2 billion won ($1.6 million) was reportedly spent on the initial stage of the metaverse project by the city’s Government. According to Oh, the second phase will involve making Metaverse Seoul more accessible to senior citizens, who may have trouble commuting to city offices in person. More than 17% of South Korea’s population was over 65 years old as of 2022, according to data from Statistica. 

With 52 million people and one of the fastest internet speeds in the world, South Korea has taken the helm of some of the projects surrounding the adoption of blockchain technology as the metaverse expands. In August, the city of Busan announced plans to build a crypto exchange in collaboration with FTX. After FTX collapsed in November, the local government subsequently dropped many of its global centralized exchange partners.

Following Facebook’s change of name to Meta in October 2021, there has apparently been an increase in interest in the metaverse, with numerous businesses announcing plans to establish virtual offices. However, it’s possible that the collapse of the cryptocurrency market and the demise of important platforms like FTX, Voyager Digital, and Celsius Network may have delayed adoption in 2022.

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Business

Tanzania plans cautious central bank digital currency launch

Tanzania’s central bank said that it is still considering the introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) but will be a taking phased, cautious and risk-based approach after identifying several challenges that could impact its implementation.

The Bank of Tanzania organized a multidisciplinary technical team to investigate the risks and advantages of CBDCs after making a 2021 announcement about a potential CBDC rollout, according to a public notice issued on January 14 by the institution.

The bank also revealed that its team has conducted research looking into different types of CBDCs, models for issuance and management, and whether its CBDC should be token-based or account-based.

The bank stated, “The outcome of the research at this point revealed that more than 100 countries in the world are at different stages of the CBDC adoption journey with 88 at research, 20 proof of concept, 13 pilot, and 3 at launch.” 

The central bank also noted that at least four countries that is to say, Denmark, Japan, Ecuador, and Finland have publicly canceled CBDC adoption plans, while another six have moved away from digital currencies due to structural and technological challenges in the implementation phase.

According to the Central bank of Tanzania, some of these challenges impeding successful CBDC launches around the world, include high implementation costs, the dominance of cash, inefficient payment systems, and the risk of disrupting the existing ecosystem.

The central bank team is also focusing on the risks and controls related to the creation, distribution, counterfeiting, and use of currencies.

“Analysis of these findings indicate that majority of central bankers across the world have taken a cautionary approach in the CBDC implementation roadmap, in order to avoid any potential risks that can disrupt financial stability of their economies,” it added.

The bank says it will continue to monitor, research, and work with stakeholders, including other central banks, in the efforts to find a suitable and appropriate use and technology for the issuance of Tanzanian shillings in digital form. At this point, the bank has not provided a clear timeline for when it will make a decision on CBDCs in Tanzania.

Following neighboring countries’ efforts to introduce CBDCs, Bank of Tanzania Governor Florens Luoga made a November 26, 2021, announcement that plans were underway in Tanzania to expand research into digital currencies and strengthen the capacity of central bank officials.

However, cryptocurrencies are still largely banned in Tanzania following a November 2019 directive from the Bank of Tanzania saying the digital assets were not recognized by local law.

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Opinions

India’s Central Bank Governor Calls For An Outright Crypto Ban

India has never been particularly welcoming of cryptocurrencies. Even when the rest of the world was embracing the idea of cryptocurrency adoption, India was taking the opposite stance.

Even though blockchain technology has received a warm welcome in India, the central bank has tried to suppress cryptocurrency in the nation. With a 30% tax and 1% TDS, the Indian Government had pushed almost $3.8 billion worth of cryptocurrencies to foreign exchanges.

The hope that India will adopt a favorable cryptocurrency position is fading as the days go by. Shaktikanta Das, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), recently discussed cryptocurrency at a Business Today event. Das reiterated his position on cryptocurrency emphasizing the need for an outright ban.

While India recently launched its CBDC in an effort to minimize the monopoly of cryptocurrency in the country, Das stressed that cryptocurrencies are, nothing but gambling and that their value is nothing but a make-believe.

Das also stated that there is no underlying value in cryptocurrencies. 

“Every asset, every financial product has to have some underlying (value) but in the case of crypto, there is no underlying… not even a tulip…and the increase in the market price of cryptos, is based on make-believe. So anything without any underlying, whose value is dependent entirely on make-believe, is nothing but 100 percent speculation or to put it very bluntly, it is gambling,” the Governor said.

Das also believes that legalizing cryptocurrencies will increase the dollarization of the economy, citing the loss of central bank control. He also cited the recent downfall of the FTX exchange as an alarming event and however, noted that CBDC is the future of money.

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Bitcoin rises above $20K

2023 began positively as the market displayed a banger rally with Bitcoin and other altcoins displaying double-digit gains. 2022 was collectively one of the most challenging crypto winters in history. The falling prices and the fall of two cryptocurrency giants made things even worse for the market. While the community anticipated a positive rally in 2023, the market has delivered as expected.

Over the weekend, Bitcoin briefly reached $21,075 after previously trading in the $16,000 to $17,000 region. Bitcoin has increased by 22.39% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap. It is currently trading at $20,732, down 0.77% from its 24-hour high as of the time of publication.

Around the past seven days, Ethereum and other significant altcoins have both seen gains of over 21.4%. ETH reached a high of $1,563 from a monthly low of $1,160 before dropping to its current price of $1,532.

The market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies worldwide has reportedly surpassed 41 trillion dollars and is presently $1.02 trillion, according to Coingecko data. Solana, a significant altcoin, showed the most gain over the past seven days, increasing by 71%.

The overall cryptocurrency market is experiencing a green surge. It is not yet obvious whether this signals the conclusion of the year-long bear market and the start of a strong bullish recovery.

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SEC Chairman warns that most crypto will fail

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler gave some advice on cryptocurrency investing Wednesday during a Twitter spaces discussion hosted by the U.S. Army.

Calling crypto a “highly speculative, volatile asset class,” Gensler stressed that most cryptocurrencies “are not complying with securities laws, but they should be.” Noting that crypto is “the Wild West,” he also questioned the use cases of most tokens.

The SEC chief warned, “Most of these 10,000 or 15,000 tokens will fail.”

“That’s because venture capital fails, new startups fail, but also because history tells us that there’s not much room for micro currencies, meaning, you know, we have the U.S. dollar and Europe has the euro and the like,” he explained.

Emphasizing that crypto is “non-compliant generally,” Gensler proceeded to advise investors, “Don’t get caught up in the FOMO, the fear of missing out. Please don’t get caught up in that.

This was not the first time Gensler has cautioned about crypto tokens failing. In May last year, following the collapse of the terra/luna ecosystem, he similarly warned that a lot of crypto tokens will fail.

The SEC chief has been criticized by lawmakers and industry participants for taking an enforcement-centric approach to regulating the crypto industry. In November last year, Gensler affirmed that the securities regulator’s enforcement division will remain focused on crypto.

This week, the SEC charged two prominent crypto firms,  Gemini and Genesis,  for the unregistered offer and sale of securities to retail investors through the Gemini Earn crypto asset lending program.

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Business

Nigerian innovator launches first active Bitcoin Lightning Node in the country

This week, Lagos, Nigeria’s capital, welcomed a new Bitcoin Lightning Network (LN) node, an important step toward better tying the continent to the layer-2 payments network that sits atop Bitcoin. Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa.

The node is powered by an outdated laptop running on a diesel generator because Lagos frequently experiences energy and electricity blackouts.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Megasley, who runs the first Nigerian Lightning node of 2023 and the only one that is currently operating, discussed his plans to use the Lightning Network to bring low-cost, instant payments to Africa.

”Light takes 50 milliseconds to cross the earth. This is quick, but with many hops, these milliseconds can add up. And when you’re standing at a point of sale waiting for your payment to clear, it can be frustrating.”

Megasley explained his wish for Africans to have payments that are instant and as close to free as possible. “If a Nigerian Bitcoiner and a Nigerian retailer are both connected to a node in Nigeria, it will give them the best Lightning experience,” Megasley added.

The operator is the only active node on the map of Nigeria at the moment, according to the explorer services Mempool and Amboss. The operator hopes to increase Africans’ access to Lightning payments by spinning up the node.

The node runner responded when asked why it was crucial to establish a vast global network of nodes to enable Bitcoin transactions: “If Bitcoin is to succeed, it must become a better, easier, faster medium of exchange than the incumbents. We need to create a vast global network of nodes to make these payments in order to get there,” Megasley stated.

Megasley also addressed the volatility of the Bitcoin price and how it is perceived in Africa, saying that it is nothing compared to living somewhere where your money could easily lose half its value in a single year. He noted, “Africa has rotten money controlled by rotten people, and this is why we need Bitcoin. We will take the power of money away from them so that the enormous potential of the African people can thrive.”

Indeed, the Central African franc-using nations have been adopting Bitcoin more frequently, helped by conferences and forums held in Senegal and Ghana. Despite discussions about making Bitcoin legal tender and other encouraging signs of adoption in Nigeria, the legacy financial system will impose more restrictions starting in 2023. 

For instance, as part of the government’s efforts to phase out cash, Nigerians will only be permitted to withdraw $44 per week per individual and a maximum of $11,000 for businesses in 2023. As a reminder, there are no restrictions or limitations on the use of Bitcoin. Users only need a phone and an internet connection to conduct free transactions on the Bitcoin network.

The establishment of a Bitcoin Lightning node in Nigeria is a significant step toward boosting the currency’s usability and acceptance in the nation and across the continent. Megasley’s ultimate goal is to enable African people and companies to take charge of their financial future.

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Cryptocurrency exchange to sponsor Ukraine’s national soccer team

A long-term partnership has been reached between the Ukrainian national soccer team and Whitebit, a European cryptocurrency exchange with Ukrainian roots. According to the agreement, the company’s logo will appear during the team’s games, according to a report from the cryptocurrency news website Forklog.

“We are on the same field with football fans, so we are simply delighted, because we have just entered into a partnership with the National Football Team of Ukraine. With this, we will support Ukrainian sports and expand the Ukrainian crypto community,” the trading platform said in a blog post.

Until 2026, Whitebit will serve as the team’s official cryptocurrency partner. The exchange will host competitions for fans in Kyiv’s House of Football during that time, as well as a variety of fun and educational events for those who want to learn more about blockchain technology.

In order to promote the widespread use of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine’s sports industry and throughout the nation, it is intended to involve soccer fans in collaborative projects. The country in Eastern Europe has made a name for itself as a leader in the adoption of cryptocurrencies over the last few years.

Ukraine has relied on donations in a variety of coins to support its humanitarian and defense efforts ever since Russia began its invasion.  Whitebit and Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, were two of the businesses that offered support from the crypto sector.

“We are confident that as a result of our partnership, even more people will discover cryptocurrencies, their convenience and accessibility,” commented Volodymyr Nosov, Chief executive of the Lithuania-based Whitebit.

Whitebit has prior experience in the football industry. The exchange officially joined forces with Spain’s soccer juggernaut Barcelona in December 2022. It then emphasized that while its partners’ main objective is to draw their supporters to cutting-edge technologies, its efforts are focused on spreading cryptocurrency and blockchain.

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El Salvador passes law on cryptocurrency transfers

El Salvador continues to adopt digital assets broadly even as it recently approved a law creating a regulatory framework for all cryptocurrencies. The National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador (ONBTC) announced the news, revealing that the law had been passed on Thursday.

The announcement specifically states, “the county has built on its first-mover advantage by passing landmark legislation establishing a legal framework for all digital assets that are not bitcoin.” 

It further states that the implementation of this legislation paves the way for volcano bonds, which will reportedly begin to be issued soon.

In the country, well known for its commitment to the growth and adoption of digital assets, Bitcoin is already legal tender. Now, a commitment to wider cryptocurrency adoption in the country has a path forward due to the passing of this brand-new law.

Additionally, the ONBTC stated that the passing of this digital securities law offers unprecedented consumer protection from bad actors in the crypto space while also firmly establishing that we are open for business to all those who wish to build the future with us on bitcoin.

Additionally, the law establishes what the ONBTC refers to in a series of Tweets as the “National Digital Assets Commission.”

This new commission is defined by the legislation as a regulating agency in charge of applying the securities law and protecting the fights of digital asset purchasers as well as issuers in El Salvador, and of deterring fraudsters from operating here.

Conclusively, the statement ends by assuring the law plants another flag in history for El Salvador. Where there is a clear and consistent commitment to not only widening the usage and adoption of digital assets but protecting those who do.