Inside the Crypto Dimension #14
NFT-flipping fantasy sports 🏅 | Uzbekistan to tax cryptocurrency projects 🧾 | Lack of qualified people in blockchain ⛏️ | Russia to supply electricity to Kazakhstan's crypto miners ⚡
Our stories at the start of the week are mainly on blockchain and how countries are dealing with them. Uzbekistan is adding new regulatory aspects the cryptocurrencies, requiring cryptocurrency companies to provide monthly “contributions” depending on their line of work. Kazakhstan has become one of the main cryptocurrency mining hubs but it is struggling with the grown electricity consumption. They have made a deal to purchase electricity from Russia. Considering the current war in Ukraine, this does not sound good. Meanwhile, China, Hong Kong, UAE, and Thailand have trialed cross-border transactions based on ledger technology. This seems to be another step towards central bank digital currencies and how they could be used efficiently between countries.
Even though we are in crypto winter, it doesn’t mean we could do something fun! An NFT-flipping fantasy league is starting, enabling you to create a virtual NFT portfolio and test your skills as an NFT shark. No need to worry about purchasing that wrong 200 ETH NFT just to find it going out of style.
Cryptocurrency markets are just dull. This week opens with all the cryptocurrencies doing the same as before - nothing special. Bitcoin is just a little over 19 000 USD and Ethereum is just a bit under 1 300 USD.
The numbers are the same as before. So just try to hang on even though the cold breeze is blowing in the crypto world 🥶.
Let’s dive into the news. Keep on scrolling! 👇
News and Stories from the World of Cryptos
Beleaguered NFT Traders Can Now Relive Mania With Fantasy League Game
NFTs are going through the same crypto winter as cryptocurrencies are. The trading volumes are down by more than 90% and prices are rather low. To combat this situation, a new fantasy sports has appeared. Now NFT enthusiasts can participate in a new NFT fantasy league, where we can pretend to buy NFTs and compete with the best simulated portfolios. Sounds like a fun way to deal with the stress of bear market - especially if you have an expensive Bored Ape or two in your crypto wallet.
Uzbekistan Introduces Monthly Fees for Cryptocurrency Companies
The country of Uzbekistan has decided to charge monthly fees from cryptocurrency companies. “Entities working with cryptocurrencies have to make a special contribution to state budget”. The amount of contribution varies between different categories. A crypto exchange has to pay 11 000 USD per month, a mining pool 2 700 USD per month and an individual miner roughly 270 USD per month. Failure to pay will result in suspension and later to cancellation of operating license. Could this be something that other countries will follow?
Lack of ‘qualified people’ without more Web3 education, say academics
Australian blockchain academics and educators are calling for more web3 education in schools. The educators argue that “there are at least 60 different industries using blockchain tech”. Binance Australia as plans to form partnerships with Australian universities to create blockchain master’s degree programs and to help people “get into the Metaverse or build that out for the future.”. According to the story, the blockchain industry is a lucrative one, offering very good salaries inAustralia.
China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and UAE Trial Cross-Border Transactions With Digital Currencies
20 commercial banks carried out a trial of settling different kinds of cross-border payments for corporate customers via distributed ledger called Mbridge. The projects was initiated in 2019 and now contains members from countries such as Hong Kong, Thailand, China and United Arab Emirates. This is a truly interesting step towards digitising cross-border transactions and goes hand-in-hand with the advances of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) developements. A detailed progress report will be released in October, covering technical, legal, policy and other regulatory information.
Russia to Supply Electricity to Kazakhstan’s Cryptocurrency Miners
Kazakhstan is one of the countries with a large amount of cryptocurrency miners. The country saw a number of new miners appearing after China banned cryptomining last year. The increased energy consumption has lead into problems with the Kazakhstan’s energy infrastructure, causing power shortages and breakdowns. Now, Kazakhstan has made a deal with Russia, Kazakhstan to get more electricity from Russia. With the current state of affairs between Ukraine and Russia, this seems dubious at least. Is mining cryptocurrencies currently helping Russia’s war efforts?