Bitcoin Price: U$47,120.87 (+1.41%)
Ethereum Price: U$3,709.27(+2.18%)
Russian bank Sber launches blockchain ETF tracking Coinbase, Galaxy Digital
- Sber, the Russian government-backed company and the largest bank in the country, is launching a blockchain exchange-traded fund (ETF) to track the performance of major crypto companies, such as Coinbase and Galaxy Digital.
- Sber Asset Management officially announced the news on Thursday, stating that the new ETF is linked to various blockchain and crypto industry firms, including hardware and software providers for mining and issuing crypto assets.
- Called “Sber — Blockchain Economy,” the fund is set to trade under the ticker SBBE and will track the eponymous index developed by Sber’s investment subsidiary SberCIB.
Santo Blockchain to deliver 50 Bitcoin ATMs to Panama
- Panama is doing its best to keep up with El Salvador’s Bitcoinization with the installation of 50 Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs in 2022. Thanks to Santo Blockchain, 50 of the planned 300 ATMs will begin shipping to Latin America in early 2022.
- A vertically integrated blockchain and cryptocurrency company with offices in Saigon, Vietnam and Panama City, Santo Blockchain will invest a total of $1 million into Latin America in general next year as part of its 300 Bitcoin ATMs plan.
- Santo Blockchain announced Panama would be the first country to benefit from its newly purchased Bitcoin ATMs, while Colombia and Costa Rica are the next on its radar.
Mexico confirms plans to roll out CBDCs in 2024
- Mexico has announced that it would introduce a new national central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2024, according to a tweet posted on Thursday. The tweet by an account representing the Mexican presidency highlighted that “new technologies and next-generation payment infrastructure” will help Mexico become more financially inclusive.
- The plans for a CBDC follow the recent statement by Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that Mexico is unlikely to follow El Salvador’s footsteps and use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as legal currency.
MicroStrategy purchased another $94.2 million worth of bitcoin during December
- MicroStrategy added to its ever-growing hoard of bitcoin over the course of December, according to a Thursday disclosure.
- The publicly traded firm “purchased approximately 1,914 bitcoins for approximately $94.2 million in cash, at an average price of approximately $49,229 per bitcoin,” according to an SEC filing.
Gensler taps Senate aide to advise on crypto oversight
- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Thursday that senior Senate aide Corey Frayer will serve as a senior advisor on crypto-related issues.
- In a Thursday press release, the US securities regulator framed Frayer’s work as focused on “SEC policymaking and interagency work relating to the oversight of crypto assets.” Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Frayer had been tapped for the role.
- Before joining the SEC, Frayer worked as a senior staffer on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs under Sen. Sherrod Brown. Prior to that, he served as a senior advisor to Rep. Maxine Waters on the House Financial Services Committee.
The Alpha version of Rubic’s SDK is now live!
- Today, we are happy to announce that Rubic’s team has completed our creation of the SDK version of Rubic. After the success of our Rubic Relay Widget, Rubic’s SDK is the next step towards mass adoption of our ecosystem.
- The SDK will allow crypto projects and platforms of all kinds to integrate the unique functionalities of Rubic, without being tied to a specific user interface. dApps, wallets, and other platforms now have the opportunity to gain Multi-Chain operability without going through the process of working with various DEXs and blockchains. The integration of our SDK will be completely free.
- Binance announced to Ontario users this week that they no longer need to close their accounts at the end of the year, pending new registrations.
- The Ontario Securities Commission, which has been pushing crypto exchanges out of the province for much of 2021, denies that Binance has taken the necessary steps required.
OpenSea freezes $2.2M of stolen Bored Apes
- NFT marketplace OpenSea has frozen 16 Bored Ape and Mutant Ape nonfungible tokens (NFT) after they were reportedly stolen yesterday from a New York art gallery operator.
- In total, one Clonex, seven Mutant Ape Yacht Club, and eight Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs currently valued at about 615 ETH ($2.28 million) were stolen and are now not able to be traded on OpenSea.
- The toddkramer.eth account, which links to the Ross+Kramer Art Gallery in New York, fired off a series of tweets detailing the 16 NFTs that were stolen from his hot wallet and pleading with OpenSea and the NFT community for help. While the NFT community was often unsympathetic to the trader’s plight, OpenSea froze trading on the stolen items.
Eth2’s Rocket Pool reaches $350M TVL and 635 node operators in five weeks
- Rocket Pool, a decentralized Ethereum 2.0 staking platform has surpassed $350 million worth of total value locked (TVL) within five weeks of its official launch.
- The project aims to remove the barriers to entry for Eth2 stakers and node operators. It allows any user to run a node for 16 ETH ($59,000), which is half of the 32 ETH ($119,000) required in the Eth2 deposit contract. Users with as little as 0.01 ETH can also stake their funds and receive yield.
- According to data from DefiLlama, Rocket Pool has surged up the decentralized finance (DeFi) staking platform rankings to sit at third with a TVL of $355.64 million at the time of writing. The project is currently behind the Keep3r Network at $584.34 million, and Lido Finance in first place with $6.04 billion.
