USDT issuer Tether says it is happy to work with policy makers.
Metaverse linked tokens on a roll.
Soccer star gets yellow card for Binance promo tweet.
We’ll have more on those stories — and other news shaping the cryptocurrency and blockchain world — in this episode of The Daily Forkast November 26.
Transcript
Metaverse market moves have grabbed our attention today.
Welcome to The Daily Forkast November 26 2021. I’m Megha Chaddah for Forkast News, covering all things blockchain.
Tokens linked to the metaverse are on a tear with Decentraland leapfrogging Axie Infinity to the top of the play-to-earn CryptoMarketCap chart and sportswear maker Adidas getting in on the game. We’ll take a look at that story and a whole lot more coming up.
Let’s get you up to speed from Asia to the world.
Let’s kick off with some of the top stories out of Asia today.
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee sent several stablecoin issuers a letter earlier this week inquiring about their operational features.
Tether responded in a series of tweets, saying collaboration is critical for building the industry and that it is dedicated to ensuring customers are properly protected.
Ron Hammond of the Blockchain Association has said the letters are likely the sign of an upcoming hearing on stablecoins.
Meanwhile, according to The Australian Financial Review, the Reserve Bank of Australia says it is considering the creation of a CBDC for use in wholesale markets.
Earlier this week, the bank’s assistant governor, Michele Bullock, said CBDCs could reduce the cost of cross-border payments and that institutional interest in the technology is growing.
The RBA is already part of an international group of central banks participating in Project Dunbar, testing the use of CBDC for international settlements.
You can find out more at Forkast.News.
Over in the markets, metaverse related tokens are on a roll.
However, while a partnership to push the metaverse with Adidas Originals has helped the SAND token so it’s proved more of a damp squib for Coinbase.
Forkast.News, Lachlan Keller has more.
The metaverse has been the hottest trend in tech of late, and tokens attached to metaverse projects are reflecting just that.
One expert told Forkast.News that a lot of projects that have been years in the making are finally coming to market alongside a wave of interest in the sector.
“We’re getting a lot of attention from the media around the metaverse. As we all know Facebook and Zuckerberg, they’re wanting to launch their own metaverse, they’ve rebranded to Meta, and that’s just bringing more attention to the space and people starting to say, well, maybe this is the future. And then of course, you get the speculators coming in looking at already what’s already in existence and participating in those ecosystems.”
According to CoinMarketCap, both Sandbox’s SAND and Decentraland’s MANA have gained over 600% in the past month, reaching all time highs of US$8.51 and US$5.90 respectively on Thursday.
Decentraland growth has seen its market cap hit US$9 billion, overtaking the Axie Infinity Governance Token AXS, to become the number one play-to-earn token.
The Sandbox, which is a platform built on the Ethereum chain, allows users to explore virtual world using non-fungible tokens is one of a suite of games offered by Hong Kong-based unicorn Animoca Brands. Its SAND token got a booster when sportswear giant Adidas said it was developing an “Adiverse” with the platform.
Adidas has also announced another crypto related partnership with the exchange Coinbase. While details are scarce so far, some have speculated this could be a step towards the company accepting cryptocurrency payments for its goods.
However, its sarcastic tweet saying the deal was “probably nothing” doesn’t seem to have helped Coinbase’s share price, having fallen around 12% since early in the month, according to MarketWatch.
Elsewhere on the market, some industry watchers are expecting a rise in Bitcoin’s price volatility, with major exchanges due to settle monthly options totaling nearly US$3 billion on Friday, with Deribit settling US$2.6 billion of that alone.
For Forkast.News I’m Lachlan Keller.
Meanwhile, the love of crypto has landed a soccer superstar in hot water.
A tweet by Andres Iniesta promoting the crypto exchange Binance has resulted in a yellow card from the Spanish markets regulator. It’s unclear whether it was a paid promotion. However, the Japanese J1 League player is no stranger to blockchain technology.
Forkast.News Danny Park has more.
Iniesta tweeted “I’m learning how to get started with crypto with Binance” alongside pictures of himself using Binance on his laptop and mobile.
The former FC Barcelona and current midfielder for Japan’s Vissel Kobe has more than 25 million followers on Twitter. Iniesta’s tweet was retweeted more than a thousand times, while the same post garnered over 340,000 likes on Instagram.
This prompted a response from the National Securities Market Commission of Spain, warning readers that crypto assets being unregulated products carry some significant risks.
However, this isn’t Iniesta’s first encounter with blockchain, along with two other former Barcelona stars, Carles Puyol and Ivan de la Pena, Iniesta co-founded Olyseum, a blockchain powered networking platform for sports fans.
Meanwhile, other teams and players are experimenting with NFTs. Back in September, major soccer team Paris Saint-Germain partnered with Crypto.com to launch NFTs for its fans.
And over in China, Nasdaq listed internet company The9 Limited signed an exclusive agreement with Korean soccer players Son Heung Min, currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur FC in the Premier League, to release premium NFT collectibles.
While some may be playing it a little close to the edge, seems the blockchain arena is fast becoming soccer’s new playing field.
For Forkast.News, I’m Danny Park.
And finally, just a little something to leave all you crypto fans away at the end of the week.
It may come as no surprise to find that the subject of a huge number of our stories over the past few months has been named “Word of the Year” for 2021.
While Collins Dictionaries shortlist featured both crypto and metaverse, the outright winner proved to be NFT, which it defines as “a digital certificate of ownership of a unique asset such as an artwork or a collectible.”
And that’s The Daily Forkast from our vantage point right here in Asia. Hit like, hit subscribe. Appreciate it always. Help us reach our goal to reach more of you. For more, visit Forkast.News. I’m Megha Chaddah. Until next time.