Schlagwort: crypto business

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India can help make Web3 a reality, says Antler Global’s Nitin Sharma

  • Indian Web3 developers could be behind the next ‘Facebook or Google of Web3’, said Antler Global General Partner Nitin Sharma.
  • He says despite the crypto winter and hostile government regulations (tax rules), India’s developer community is vibrant with over 20,000 in Web3.
  • The next five or ten years could see a trillion-dollar Web3 company emerge out of India, he told Bloomberg.

India did not play a big role in the Web1 and Web2 space, Nitin Sharma, General Partner at Antler Global says. 

However, that is likely to change dramatically when it comes to the latest iteration of the internet – Web3 – he told Bloomberg Markets: Asia on Monday.

While he identifies the Indian government’s crypto industry tax rules as a hit on investors, he says blockchain-based technological developments and the infrastructure from within that country could in a big way, contribute to making “Web3 a reality.”

Crypto winter is the time to build

According to Sharma, who is also the Global Web3 Lead at the global venture capital firm, this is because growth within the Indian developer community continues to pick speed. This, he said, is despite the “mixed bag” the sector got from the government’s crypto tax regulation and the bear market crash that’s impacted investors.

But what does this mean for crypto entrepreneurs?

“This is the best time to build,” he told Bloomberg, referring to what developers and other Web3 entrepreneurs should do amid the crypto winter. “We saw this in the last few cycles, all the great value that was being created really the founders got started in downturns or crypto winters like these,” he added.

He sees Ethereum scaling solution Polygon (MATIC) as “the big success story from India” when it comes to entrepreneurship. So many projects are being built on top of this layer 2 blockchain, many of which are likely to play a major role in advancing Web3.

“Our belief is that India remains a place, given the breadth of the base of technical talent and entrepreneurship that the future of this new Internet, – right beyond the asset class itself, beyond crypto assets – the technology, the infrastructure that has to be built to make Web3 a reality, could in large part be built out of India,” he explained.

Next Facebook or Google of Web 3

Although Sharma doesn’t think India will provide any positive news on the regulatory front, not in the next 12 to 18 months at least, he is bullish on the technology front. India, he notes, did not have such a footprint in Web1 and Web2 as did Silicon Valley and so had no such success stories as Facebook (now Meta) or Google.

But he says the next five to ten years could be totally different, suggesting that the world could see the emergence of a trillion-dollar Web3 company from India. As for specific verticals, obvious choices are the “application or services side of things.”

India has about 20,000 developers currently engaged in efforts in the sector, accounting for a third of global numbers.

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Australia plans mapping of crypto tokens as part of regulatory push

  • Australia’s crypto mapping exercise seeks to help authorities know about which crypto assets are used in the country. 
  • The review is also meant to offer insights into how to better protect investors amid potentially harmful crypto advertisements.
  • The government will soon introduce a consultation paper.

Australia is looking to map all crypto tokens in the country as one of the steps towards proper regulation of the crypto sector.

The review exercise looks to identify every token – from the flagship Bitcoin to the meme-inspired Dogecoin and so forth, with the aim of understanding what cryptocurrencies are used in the country.

Why map all crypto assets?

On Monday, Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chambers revealed that the country was prioritising token mapping to identify what cryptocurrencies were being used in the country.

The exercise is expected to help authorities and other stakeholders better understand the industry, with the goal being consumer protection via a broader framework. Per Chambers, the public will soon be able to participate in the activity, noting that a consultation paper over the same is imminent.

Caroline Bowler, CEO of Australia-based crypto exchange BTC Markets noted that “token mapping is a good step forward,” stating in a tweet that this is an opportunity for the country to ramp up crypto registrations.

Among things authorities are looking to bring under control include the regulatory and licensing mechanisms and undertakings. The government will also look at crypto custody offerings and obligations of third-party providers.

Also important to regulators is the need to ensure investors enjoy safeguards against potential harm related to the proliferation of crypto adverts. 

Earlier this year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, a competitions market watchdog, filed a case against Meta (formerly Facebook) over its role in promoting fraudulent crypto promotions, citing several adverts that were largely scams.  

The Australian government’s move comes at a time the country’s central bank is working on efforts to roll out a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The Reserve Bank recently announced the digital currency plan, revealing it would first have a pilot.

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World’s biggest social token GARI gets listed on Bitrue

The world’s biggest Social Token GARI has announced its listing on one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges Bitrue.

After listing the social token, the Chief Marketing Officer at Bitrue, Adam O’Neil, said:

“We’re always looking for exciting new projects to join our platform, allowing our user base of almost 9 million traders to find the next great project that will bring benefits for them. We are confident that our cooperation with GARI will be warmly received by our traders and community.”

GARI token

GARI is the native token of Chingari, a short-video social app that has become very popular around the world. Chingari allows short-video creators to monetize their content on the blockchain through its mining program.

Besides content monetization, the GARI token has several other in-app utilities and it is also the governance token of the GARI DAO.

Chingari’s main objective is to institutionalize the short-video space and promote its growth and advancement and the technology behind digital assets and blockchain. GARI provides a short-form tool for newcomers to seamlessly onboard the crypto space.

Following the listing of GARI on Bitrue, Chingari’s CEO and co-founder Sumit Ghosh said:

“Partnering with Bitrue is a great opportunity for us and is a key milestone for achieving our market penetration goals. Our ideal of seamlessly bringing crypto to the interested audience through an introduction of GARI via simple and easy granular in-app mechanics is now closer to reality.”

GARI price

At press time, the GARI token was trading at $0.07423 with a 0.12% rise over the past 24 hours. GARI price has largely been on a bearish trend since August 18. 

However, the news of its new listing is expected to cause a significant price hike though.   

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Lyra launches platform allowing users to spend crypto in any online merchant

Lyra, a secure online and in-store payment solution has launched a new platform that allows users to spend their cryptocurrencies in any of the many online merchants across the world.

Users will be able to pay using cryptocurrencies on online merchants like Netflix, DoorDash, Airbnb, Walmart and Instacart among others. Users can make both subscriptions and one-time purchases.

The new Lyra platform has an intuitive dashboard and Chrome extension that allow users to create virtual Visa cards depending on their demands. The cards are instantly activated and available for immediate spending.

Create virtual visa cards on Lyra

The process is streamlined and does not require users to reveal their personal data or private keys. Instead, users only choose from the major cryptocurrencies supported on the platform, load a balance and generate a virtual Visa card. At the moment, the platform supports BTC, LTC, ETH, ADA, MATIC, SOL, USDC, USDT, and BSC.

Crypto users with any of the supported cryptocurrencies can therefore buy the Lyra Visa Prepaid Cards and set their spending limits. They can then add the Lyra Chrome extension t their browsers.

The extension allows for the creation of cards and auto-filling of card details at checkouts on major retailers without having to go back and forth between different websites.

The platform’s intuitive checkout system allows users to auto-fill their virtual Visa card details at checkouts by simply injecting Lyra’s logo into the online retailers’ credit card fields. This allows for faster one-click checkouts.

Lyra is aiming at making it easier for people to use their crypto holdings for everyday transactions and helping bridge the gap between cryptocurrency and the traditional finance industry.

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Hodlnaut reports nearly $200 million financial shortfall as it seeks court protection

Singapore-based crypto lender Hodlnaut has revealed a financial shortfall of $200 million as it seeks court protection.

Embattled crypto lender Hodlnaut revealed in a court affidavit filed earlier this month that it has suffered a financial shortfall of $193 million. This is according to a report by The Block earlier on Monday. 

The affidavit revealed the situations that led the company to freeze withdrawals on its platform on August 8.

The court documents were made available to customers after the crypto lender published a blog post on August 19 confirming that it is facing police proceedings in Singapore.

The company also laid off 80% of its staff in a bid to conserve cash. The affidavit revealed that Hodlnaut has an outstanding liability of SGD 391 million (around $281 million). 

Meanwhile, the company’s asset was SGD 122 million ($88 million), resulting in a financial shortfall of roughly $193 million. The company said;

“As of 8 August 2022, the Hodlnaut Group has an outstanding liability balance of SGD 391M and estimated realisable assets of SGD 122M in cryptocurrency. This financial position gives the Hodlnaut Group a realisable cryptocurrency Asset to Debt ratio of about 0.31 (i.e. 31 cents on the dollar).”

Hodlnaut already filed for creditor protection in Singapore on August 16 as it seeks time to resolve its financial issues.

The cryptocurrency lender’s financial struggles began following the Terra crash. The company held around  $317 million in UST, the failed stablecoin, in Anchor Protocol on Terra.

The UST stablecoin lost its peg against the US Dollar in May, resulting in a $189.7 million loss for Hodlnaut. 

The company suffered further financial afflictions between June 14 and July 15 as panicked customers sought to recover their funds. Hodlnaught lost around $150 million at the time, the affidavit added. 

Hodlnaut also said its bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) holdings were affected by the bear market currently affecting the broader market. 

The court affidavit also revealed that the number of potential creditors of Hodlnaut currently stands at 17,513. 

The document said the company is looking at the option of allowing “limited exits” for users at 25 cents on the dollar. Hodlnaut is in talks with the FTX crypto exchanges about the feasibility of the proposal, the company added. Hodlnaut said;

“This would likely be a better option than liquidation as the latter would take a longer period of time, and likely result in a lower return than 25 cents on the dollar given the fees involved in a liquidation situation and given the present cryptocurrency asset to debt ratio of the Hodlnaut Group.”

A few cryptocurrency lenders, including Celsius and Voyager Digital, have already filed for bankruptcy following Terra’s collapse and the ongoing bear market.

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