- Bitcoin Dips 7% to Near $40K; Pullback Will Be Short-Lived, Say Experts
Bitcoin (BTC) over the past roughly 24 hours has suffered its steepest daily drawdown in almost four months in a massive leverage wipe-out as traders were reminded of the crypto’s occasional steep bull market corrections.
Over the space of a few minutes Sunday evening, BTC plunged to near $40,500 from around $43,800 in what could be termed a “flash crash.” Prices quickly recovered to $42,400, but then started to slide again during U.S. afternoon hours to as low as $40,200, a level it broke through on the way up a week ago.
At press time, the largest crypto had bounced back above $41,000, still down nearly 7% over the past 24 hours, but on track to be the worst daily drawdown since BTC’s drop below $25,000 on August 17.
- UK asset manager M&G invests $20M in Bitcoin derivatives exchange
The investment arm of United Kingdom-based pension fund M&G has invested $20 million in the country’s first regulated Bitcoin tickers down $41,665 derivatives exchange, Global Futures & Options Holdings (GFO-X).
An announcement from M&G and GFO-X outlined the investment details, which form part of a $30-million Series B funding round for the derivatives exchange. The platform will initially offer clearing of Bitcoin index futures and options contracts.
The move provides a platform for traditional finance institutions to gain exposure to various cryptocurrency derivative investment products. GFO-X is set to become a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated and centrally cleared trading platform for crypto derivatives.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/uk-asset-manager-mg-invests-20-m-in-bitcoin-derivatives-exchange
- Google Cloud to Run Validator on Crypto Gaming Network XPLA
XPLA, a blockchain network founded by major South Korean game publisher Com2uS, has enlisted Google Cloud as its first “volunteer validator” for the network.
Blockchain validators verify and confirm transactions to support the network. In the case of XPLA, volunteer validators are not rewarded with tokens for supporting the network. Instead, the tokens are distributed to a community pool.
That’s the plan, at least. The XPLA network is currently voting on the proposal to institute the volunteer validator feature, and it has 100% votes in favor as of this writing.
https://decrypt.co/209336/google-cloud-run-validator-crypto-gaming-network-xpla
- Dubai’s VARA Grants License to Climate-Friendly Web3 Company Enjinstarter’s AYA Platform
According to Foresight News, Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) has granted a license to the climate-friendly Web3 company Enjinstarter’s AYA platform for providing cryptocurrency assets and investment services, subject to certain conditions being met before the commencement of services. AYA is a climate-focused Launchpad platform that supports innovation around sustainability, such as reforestation, natural credits, mangrove protection, and sustainable agriculture. In addition to serving as a financing platform for green initiatives, AYA also assists projects dedicated to climate action through blockchain and Web3 infrastructure.
- City of Basel Settles Tokenized Bonds Using Wholesale CBDC
The city of Basel in Switzerland has achieved a milestone by completing what might be the first regulated settlement of tokenized bonds in a production environment. As part of the Helvetia III wholesale central bank digital currency (WCBDC) pilot program, the city issued a tokenized bond via the Basel Cantonal Bank that was settled using a WCBDC.
The issuance, valued at almost $120 million, was managed by the Swiss National Bank and the SIX digital exchange, the entity in charge of tokenizing the Swiss francs for the transactions. Using on-chain money is said to make these transactions cheaper and more efficient, given that participants don’t have to wait for private bank redemptions in the settlement process.
https://news.bitcoin.com/city-of-basel-settles-tokenized-bonds-using-wholesale-cbdc/
- China to Verify Citizens’ Identities With New Blockchain-Based Platform
Blockchain technology will be used to verify the real-name identities of China’s 1.4 billion people, according to an announcement from the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), China’s national-level blockchain initiative – a move likely to spark concern among data-privacy advocates.
China’s Ministry of Public Security spearheaded the initiative, called RealDID, with help from BSN.
The RealDID service launch will enable users to register and log in to websites anonymously using DID addresses and private keys, ensuring that business data and transactions remain disconnected from personal information.
- El Salvador’s Bitcoin ‘Volcano Bonds’ Receive Regulatory Approval for Q1 2024 Issuance
El Salvador’s planned Bitcoin bonds have received regulatory approval from the country’s Digital Assets Commission (CNAD).
The country’s National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) announced the news in a tweet, stating that it expects the bond to be issued “during the first quarter of 2024.”
“This is just the beginning for new capital markets on #Bitcoin in El Salvador,” the ONBTC added.
El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, retweeted a number of posts confirming the news.
- ‘My Neighbor Alice’ Game Migrates From BNB Chain to Chromia With New Season
My Neighbor Alice, a long-running blockchain game launched in 2021, has migrated from BNB Chain to the new Chromia network in the run-up to Chromia’s mainnet launch.
Developed by Antler Interactive, My Neighbor Alice is a fully on-chain game in the spirit of big Web2 hits like Animal Crossing and Minecraft, letting players do things like farm, fish, and socialize in a colorful environment. The game has an ALICE token minted on Ethereum, as well as NFT land plots on BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain).
https://decrypt.co/209399/my-neighbor-alice-game-migrates-bnb-chain-chromia-new-season
- Bitcoin dev denies adding inscriptions to National Vulnerability Database
Bitcoin core developer Luke Dashjr has denied playing any part in adding Bitcoin inscriptions as a cybersecurity risk on the United States National Vulnerability Database’s (NVD) Common Vulnerabilities and Exposure (CVE) list.
Dashjr courted controversy in a Dec. 6 post to X (formerly Twitter) claiming that inscriptions — used by the Ordinals protocol and BRC-20 creators to embed data on satoshis — exploit a Bitcoin Core vulnerability to “spam the blockchain.”
Some observers then pointed to Dashjr days later, when Bitcoin inscriptions appeared on the U.S. vulnerability database as part of the CVE list on Dec. 9, which described it as a security flaw that enabled the development of the Ordinals protocol in 2022.
- Japan Crypto Asset Business Association Releases Regional Revitalization DAO Guidelines
According to Foresight News, the Japan Crypto Asset Business Association (JCBA) has released the ‘Regional Revitalization DAO Construction Guidelines’ aimed at promoting regional revitalization DAOs through Web3 technology and encouraging the use of NFTs and DAO organizations to disclose basic information and establish user protection mechanisms. The guidelines stipulate that operators of regional revitalization DAOs need to provide participants with information on the existence and legal entity type of the DAO, reasons for selection, and disclose the purpose and outline of activities, assets, accounting, and taxation.
