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According to a recent report from sources familiar with the matter, Mastercard and Visa, the credit card and payment services giants, are halting new partnerships with cryptocurrency firms. This news comes after the collapse of several cryptocurrency ventures that offered crypto debit cards and failed due to financial difficulties last year. After the report published, Visa’s head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, criticized the story as “inaccurate as it pertains to Visa.” Visa and Mastercard Clarify Their Stance on Cryptocurrency Despite Alleged Partnership Halt A report published by Reuters on Tuesday states that Visa and Mastercard, two payments firms, are suspending their involvement in cryptocurrency ventures, according to unnamed sources. The sources cited “high-profile collapses” as the reason for the companies’ decision, and noted that discussions about the subject had taken place. Manya Saini, a Reuters reporter, spoke with a spokesperson for both Visa and Mastercard, and each p

Wallbit, a crypto-enabled neobank, announced it would stop serving users in Venezuela after its banking partner in the U.S. called on it to do so. The platform announced this move was the direct result of the economic sanctions that the country is currently facing, and that Venezuelans outside the country would continue to be served. Wallbit to Cut Service to Venezuelan Users Wallbit, a cryptocurrency-enabled neobank, that advertised itself as being able to open bank accounts for its users in the U.S., announced it will stop service to users who reside in Venezuela. The platform issued a press release on February 24, clarifying that its banking associates were calling for the closing of all accounts opened by Venezuelan users residing in Venezuela, telling these users to withdraw their funds as quickly as possible, even as Wallbit did not indicate a date at which these accounts would be terminated. The company clarified that Venezuelan users living abroad would be still able to us

Web3 gaming platform Iskra breaks into the Top 10 Games ranking list on DappRadar , the world’s leading directory for decentralized apps or dApps, in a promising start for the project in 2023. Iskra also reached another milestone as the #1 app on the Klaytn blockchain after seeing an impressive increase in their user activity that reached a new high of 19.49K UAW (unique active wallets) per day. The successful launch of several highly anticipated platform features earlier this year contributed to Iskra’s rise through the ranks and placed it on the map as one of the most promising projects in the Web3 gaming space. “We are very excited to see the engagement from our community with the launch of our most recent platform features,” Iskra’s Chief Operating Officer Spike Ryu explained. “We hope that this momentum continues as we launch our games and offer early access to them in the second quarter. This is a promising start to 2023.” Iskra started 2023 by unveiling its multi-year Plat

Several Japanese tech and finance giants have signed a document to create the Japan Metaverse Economic Zone, a multipurpose virtual universe that will have its base in a platform called Ryugukoku. The virtual world will allow these companies to share their technology with users as it lets them roam this role-playing-game-like world as online avatars. Japan Goes Big on Metaverse With Japan Metaverse Economic Zone Several Japanese tech and finance companies have kickstarted the launch of one of the biggest metaverse initiatives in Japan. On Feb. 16, JCB, Mizuho Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Resona Holdings, Sompo Japan Insurance, Toppan, Fujitsu, and TBT Lab signed an agreement to create what they called the Japan Metaverse Economic Zone, an open multipurpose metaverse platform in a virtual world called Ryugukoku, which will be operated by JP Games, the company that will be in charge of the design of the experience. The idea behin

Neal Stephenson, ostensibly the first to coin the term “metaverse,” issued his opinion about the future of the adoption of virtual worlds. The sci-fi writer and co-founder of Lamina1, a blockchain metaverse company, believes that building experiences that millions of people consider worth having in virtual worlds is quite difficult, hampering the adoption process of the tech. Neal Stephenson on the Future of Metaverse Adoption Neal Stephenson, believed to be the creator of the general concept and term “metaverse” — popularized recently by Meta — believes that mainstream adoption of this tech might be very far away. The writer, who coined the term as part of his novel Snow Crash, published in 1992, stated that the growth of the metaverse will depend on the quality of the experiences offered in the virtual world. As part of an interview offered to the Financial Times , Stephenson stated: There won’t be a metaverse that is used by millions of people until it contains experiences th

Trezor, the manufacturer of crypto hardware wallets, has announced that it will take control of its wallet chip production process by producing its own silicon chips. The company states that the newly designed “chip wrapper” will enhance device security and considerably shorten lead times for mass production. Trezor ‘Unpacks Process’ and Produces Its Own Silicon Chip On Feb. 27, 2023, the Prague-based cryptocurrency hardware wallet company Trezor announced that it is now responsible for its own silicon chip-making process. According to Trezor CFO Štěpán Uherik, the new “chip wrapper” enables the company to have more design freedom for future products. Last year, Trezor’s parent company Satoshi Labs revealed its support for a startup called Tropic Square to produce an open-source silicon chip called “ TROPIC01 ” for use in crypto hardware wallets. The new chip-making process enhances security significantly by eliminating third-party chipmakers and associated vulnerabilities. Trezo

Following a brief downturn in mid-February 2023, artificial intelligence (AI) crypto assets have continued to see gains over the last 30 days. Currently, out of 74 listed AI-focused cryptocurrencies, the net value of all these tokens has risen to more than $4 billion, which accounts for 0.37% of the entire crypto economy’s value. Majority of Listed AI Cryptocurrencies See Positive Gains Over Last Month Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a dominant theme in 2023, resulting in a significant surge in the value of AI-focused tokens this year. Bitcoin.com News reported on the rise of these cryptocurrencies at the end of January, and despite a brief pullback in mid-February, AI crypto assets have continued to see gains throughout the month. According to data from cryptoslate.com, 74 AI-centric digital currencies are now worth $4.03 billion, accounting for 0.37% of the overall crypto market and 1.19% of the smart contract token market. Moreover, the majority of the 74 listed cryptocu

The Canadian rapper and singer Drake lost $400,000 in bitcoin after betting that the YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul would beat Tommy Fury by knockout. Drake could have potentially raked in a $1.44 million bitcoin payout, but Fury won the fight in a split-decision victory. Drake Loses $400K Bitcoin Bet on Jake Paul’s Bout On Feb. 26, 2023, in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul’s winning streak was stopped by Tommy Fury, the half-brother of Mike Tyson. The fight was a close bout, with Fury winning by split decision (74-75, 76-73, 76-73), despite Paul knocking Fury down in the eighth round. Paul had six straight wins under his belt before losing to Fury on Sunday. Before the fight, the rap star and actor Drake placed a $400,000 bitcoin wager, or roughly 17 BTC , on Paul winning the fight by knockout (KO). Drake took to Instagram and showed off his bet, which was placed on the crypto betting platform Stake. “Knock knock,” Drake said, with a door emoji. The screen

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says “it is critical to put in place a strong regulatory framework” for crypto on the sidelines of the G20 meeting for finance ministers and central bank governors. “We haven’t suggested outright banning of crypto activities,” Yellen added. Janet Yellen on ‘Strong’ Crypto Regulation U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen talked about crypto regulation in an interview with Reuters Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 meeting for finance ministers and central bank governors under India’s presidency in Bengaluru. Yellen emphasized the importance of establishing a robust regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies while clarifying that the U.S. has not proposed an outright ban. The treasury secretary said: We haven’t suggested outright banning of crypto activities, but it is critical to put in place a strong regulatory framework … We’re working with other governments. Crypto regulation was among the key topics discussed by the G20 finance ministers

Billionaire Jeffrey Gundlach, aka the “Bond King,” has warned of “painful outcomes that are coming in the next recession.” Commenting on the Federal Reserve’s attempt to curb inflation, he cautioned: “The more you try to reduce the severity of problems, you’re going to end up ultimately having a very high severity problem.” ‘Bond King’ Jeffrey Gundlach on the Next Recession Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of investment management firm Doubleline, shared his outlook on the U.S. economy in an interview with Yahoo Finance last week. Gundlach is nicknamed “the Bond King” after he appeared on the cover of Barron’s as “The New Bond King” in 2011. According to Forbes, his net worth is currently $2.2 billion. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a soft landing or a hard landing,” he began. “People are always asking me this question: ‘How bad is the recession going to be?’ It doesn’t matter, as long as we’re going into a recession, you have to have a certain deg

The two sides in the bitter conflict in Ukraine have been relying on crypto assets and technology to support their military and humanitarian activities, Elliptic says in a report. According to the blockchain forensics company, the targeted nation has attracted more digital asset donations than the invading power. Ukraine Supporters Sent Over $212 Million in Cryptocurrency Both Russia and Ukraine have employed blockchain technology to secure funding for their war efforts since Russian forces attacked on Feb. 24, 2022, Elliptic revealed in a report exploring the evolving role of cryptocurrencies in the conflict. The study is based on data compiled by the crypto analytics firm over the past year. On the anniversary of the invasion, the company said that “many campaigns have sought to harness core developments in the crypto ecosystem to aid their fundraising – from decentralized finance (defi) to crypto pre-paid cards.” The digital cash was used for various purposes, from humanitarian

While several market strategists and analysts expect U.S. inflation to drop considerably in 2023 compared with last year, Michael Wilkerson, founder of Stormwall Advisors, thinks the inflation rate could climb as high as 12% by the end of this year. The country’s inflation rate has cooled down over the past seven months, but Wilkerson insists that the U.S. Federal Reserve “is going to run out of firepower.” Stormwall Advisors’ Michael Wilkerson Believes U.S. Will ‘See Another Spike up’ in Inflation Over the last two months, many reports have stated that inflation has peaked, and in the U.S., the consumer price index (CPI) has dropped for seven consecutive months since its high in June 2022. In a recent interview between Kitco News anchor Michelle Makori and Michael Wilkerson, founder of Stormwall Advisors, Wilkerson expressed his expectation of another surge in U.S. inflation. While acknowledging that his view is in the minority, Wilkerson emphasized that “inflation doesn’t move i

On Saturday, the liquid staking protocol Lido tweeted about the largest daily stake inflow to date as 150,000 ethereum was staked. Reports indicate that the ethereum, worth more than $240 million, belongs to Justin Sun, founder of Tron. Liquid Staking Protocol Lido Records 150,000 Ether Inflow Lido, the liquid staking platform with the highest amount of ethereum ( ETH ) value locked, noted that it received the largest daily stake inflow to date, with 150,000 ether worth $240 million. “Lido protocol has registered its largest daily stake inflow so far with over 150,000 ETH staked,” Lido said . “Upon reaching this number, a curious (but important) protocol safety feature called Staking Rate Limit was activated.” Lido stated that the Staking Rate Limit is a dynamic mechanism that manages large inflow spikes by reducing the chance of diluting value without explicitly pausing stake deposits. In the last 24 hours, Lido’s total value locked (TVL) experienced a 2.09% spike, according to s

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) says delegates from over 200 jurisdictions have agreed on “an action plan to drive timely global implementation of FATF standards” on crypto assets. The standard-setting body said many countries have failed to implement its previous requirements on crypto, including the “travel rule.” Countries Agree to Implement FATF Crypto Standards The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization established to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, announced Friday the outcome of its plenary which took place on Feb. 22-24. “Delegates from over 200 jurisdictions of the Global Network participated” in a number of discussions at its headquarters in Paris, the FATF said. A number of issues, including those relating to crypto assets, were discussed, the FATF noted, elaborating: Delegates further agreed on an action plan to drive timely global implementation of FATF standards relating to virtual assets (also termed cr

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva says crypto needs “more regulation.” She added, “We should not take off the table banning those assets,” if regulation fails or is too slow to implement. IMF’s Chief Calls for More Crypto Regulation IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva talked about crypto regulation Saturday on the sidelines of G20 meetings for finance ministers and central bank governors under India’s presidency in Bengaluru. Commenting on crypto oversight, she told reporters: There has to be more regulation. Her statement followed a roundtable discussion she co-chaired with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The IMF chief and India’s finance minister agreed that besides debt restructuring, regulating cryptocurrencies is a priority area for India. Georgieva explained that the IMF, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) are committed to establishing a foundation for the regulati

The Solana smart contract token network experienced a technical glitch on Saturday, February 25, 2023, known as a “large forking event,” causing transaction failures for some users. Solana’s incident report referred to it as “cluster instability” and indicated that a coordinated restart was launched to accelerate block finalization. Solana Blockchain Deals With ‘Large Forking Event’ On Saturday at about 6:37 UTC, the Solana blockchain experienced reduced functionality, and users reported a significant slowdown in block finalization, along with some transaction failures. Solblaze, the liquid staking pool, reported that while Solana did not completely stop block production, it did experience a slowdown due to a forking event. Solblaze stated that “Solana is currently operational” despite a large forking event on mainnet-beta that has caused validators to slow down as they attempt to resolve forks. The account said the network was confirming blocks at a rate of about 16 transactions

After Paxos announced that it would no longer mint the stablecoin BUSD, 4.98 billion BUSD stablecoins have been removed from circulation to date. The Paxos-managed stablecoin has also fallen out of the top ten crypto assets by market capitalization, slipping below dogecoin’s valuation with a market cap of around $11.12 billion, compared to the meme coin’s $11.24 billion. BUSD Redemption: Almost $5 Billion Worth of Stablecoins Removed from Circulation in 12 Days Since Paxos announced on Feb. 13, 2023, that it would no longer issue the dollar-pegged crypto asset BUSD, nearly $5 billion worth of BUSD stablecoins have been redeemed. At the time of the announcement, there were approximately 16.1 billion BUSD coins in circulation, but today there are around 11,129,348,406 BUSD circulating. Throughout the past 12 days and the redemption of 4.98 billion BUSD, the dollar-pegged crypto asset has remained at parity with the U.S. dollar. On Feb. 25, 2023, Binance’s reserve portfolio showed t

The value of the crypto market has started to slide again after a bullish run-up over the last seven weeks. The total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) has slipped below the $50 billion mark to $49.8 billion. The TVL in defi has fallen by 2.24% over the last 24 hours. During that same timeframe, the top smart contract token economy lost 3.7% against the U.S. dollar. Smart Contract Token Economy and Value Locked in Defi Dip Cryptocurrency prices are down this weekend, affecting the values of smart contract tokens and the total value locked in defi. At the time of writing, the smart contract token economy is valued at $326.11 billion, but has dropped 3.7% during the last day. Over the last week, ethereum (ETH) has lost 5.6% against the greenback, and polygon (MATIC) has dropped 17.6% in value. Currently, the TVL in defi today is $49.8 billion, with 18.03% of that value residing in the Lido liquid staking protocol. The value locked in Lido today is around $8.75 bill

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty reached an all-time high (ATH) on Feb. 24, 2023, at block height #778,176, reaching 43.05 trillion hashes and surpassing the 40 trillion mark for the first time ever. The network’s difficulty increased by 9.95%, which is the second-largest rise this year, as Bitcoin recorded a combined 24.89% increase during the last 60 days. Network Participants Face Longer Block Times Following Recent Difficulty Change It has never been harder to mine bitcoin (BTC) than it is today, as miners have experienced a 9.95% difficulty increase at block height #778,176. Now and for the next two weeks, or approximately 2,016 blocks, the difficulty will be 43.05 trillion. The network’s average hashrate over the last 2,016 blocks was roughly 305.8 exahash per second (EH/s). The 9.95% increase on Friday was the second-largest jump in difficulty this year, as the largest was recorded on Jan. 15, 2023, at block height #772,128. At that time, the difficulty rose 10.26% higher than

U.S. regulators and the Federal Reserve have issued a joint warning about key liquidity risks associated with crypto assets. However, the regulators clarified that banks “are neither prohibited nor discouraged from providing banking services to customers of any specific class or type, as permitted by law or regulation.” US Regulators Issue Joint Statement on Crypto The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) jointly issued a statement regarding crypto on Thursday. The Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the OCC explained that their statement “highlights key liquidity risks associated with crypto assets and crypto-asset sector participants that banking organizations should be aware of.” They warned: In particular, certain sources of funding from crypto asset-related entities may pose heightened liquidity risks to banking organizations due to the unpredictability of the s

On Friday, the cryptocurrency firm and stablecoin issuer Circle announced that the financial institution Citizens Trust Bank will hold $65 million in usd coin cash reserves. Circle said the move is part of the company’s plan to allocate shares of the stablecoin’s denominated reserves to minority-owned depository institutions (MDIs) and community banks across the United States. Circle Partners With Atlanta-Based Citizens Trust Bank The digital currency firm Circle has announced that Atlanta-based Citizens Trust Bank , founded in 1947, will hold $65 million in usd coin (USDC) reserves. This move follows a series of announcements where Circle allocated funds to various U.S.-based financial institutions over the past year. For example, Circle stated on April 1, 2022, that BNY Mellon would hold USDC reserves, and in June, the Boston-based company announced that New York Community Bancorp would hold USDC reserves. Additionally, Circle announced last November that it is working with B

This week, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Macro Strategist Mike McGlone shared his March outlook and noted that the “top catalyst” that could push gold above the $2,000-per-ounce range is a recession. McGlone further explained in an update about bitcoin and the Nasdaq that a key ingredient to force the U.S. Federal Reserve to pivot its stance is “a sharp drop in the stock market.” Mike McGlone Shares March Outlook for Precious Metals and Cryptocurrencies Gold and silver prices were lower this past week, with gold close to dropping below the $1,800-per-ounce range and silver clinging just above the $20-per-ounce range. The global cryptocurrency market capitalization today is $1.08 trillion, a decrease of around 1.57% over the last day. Earlier this week, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Macro Strategist Mike McGlone shared his March predictions concerning assets like commodities, precious metals, equities, and bitcoin. Regarding bitcoin, McGlone questions whether the recent rally was h