#26 Burgers for Bitcoin?🍔
EU's regulatory framework, Mastercard fights fraud, Twitter: Here we go again!
By Muskaan Sethi and Jayesh Singh
gm guys!
It was the second consecutive week of flat crypto prices. Not much movement on the market. However, we do have a lot to discuss as web3 made several headlines over the past few days.
Let’s dive into it.
This week in the cryptic land🤔
Big Macs for Burgers?😋
Lugano, a picturesque city in Switzerland, has begun accepting Bitcoin as payment for various city services and is inviting more businesses to join the party. Among the earliest to board the bandwagon was our favourite - McDonalds. McD will now accept bitcoins as a medium of payment.
With its strong financial sector and accessibility from all parts of Europe, Lugano can be instrumental in making Switzerland the Bitcoin capital of Europe.
To expedite the adoption of bitcoin technology and revamp the city's financial infrastructure, the city of Lugano and Tether announced a cooperative project named Plan B.
What's Plan B though?
Tether is establishing a 100 million plus Swiss franc investment pool for companies to develop blockchain and bitcoin technologies as well as to encourage the relocation of current enterprises that will bring knowledge, expertise, and talent to Lugano.
Grant more than 500 students and young employees the tools they need to be prepared to meet the enormous needs of blockchain-related employment and help Lugano develop a new and innovative sector.
Construct a center to accommodate 300+ blockchain specialists and enthusiasts as a sign of our dedication to fostering blockchain technology concepts and start-ups.
In addition to all other public municipal services, people and businesses will be able to pay their whole annual taxes in cryptocurrency.
About a year ago, El Salvador took the first major step in adopting crypto by accepting bitcoin as a legal tender. The move was majorly dismissed on the world stage under the narrative of it being a risky gamble by a dictatorship.
This move from Lugano bears significance as this is the first credible step taken toward mass crypto adoption.
Decentralizing Web3 gaming: Mythos Foundation
Mythical Games, the blockchain gaming company behind games like Blankos Block Party has announced the launch of the Mythos Foundation. The foundation will work to decentralize the web3 gaming ecosystem and help it reach its full potential.
The foundation will be tasked with developing new standards and protocols for web3 gaming, as well as working with developers and publishers to promote the adoption of these standards. Additionally, it will work to educate the public about web3 gaming and its benefits, and will also support research and development efforts in the space.
Mythical Games is committed to making web3 gaming a reality, and the launch of the Mythos Foundation is a major step in that direction. With the foundation in place, the company is confident that the web3 gaming ecosystem will reach its full potential and become a major force in the gaming industry. The Mythos DAO and the $MYTH governance token assist the gaming technology firm to grow its network.
EU settles on new regulations
EU has finally approved its landmark crypto rules that will give firms building in crypto some clarity and predictability. It will also safeguard consumers from scams and potential attacks.
The regulations will require any project looking to issue crypto to publish a crypto assset whitepaper, detailing all information about the project. On the other hand, stablecoin-based projects will need to hold reserves to back up the value of their tokens in an amount proportional to how much is issued.
They also address taxation, potential money laundering, and create a new structure for initial coin offerings. The rules are set to take effect in 2024.
50 shades of Yuga
Seven Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT holders who are engaged in the community have been assembled into a council by Web3 giant Yuga Labs. The council members, who are referred to as "Long-standing proactive community members," will gather and curate community feedback and lead charitable initiatives.
One owner of a Mutant Ape said, "this is precisely what Web3 is all about." Others have pointed out that Yuga "Personally decided who will represent the community, as opposed to a vote among holders." It is unknown what standards Yuga Labs employed in assessing possible council members or how the final members were chosen.
Mastercard made the master key?🛡️
Mastercard has announced the launch of a new cryptocurrency anti-fraud tool for card issuers. The tool will help issuers to identify and prevent fraudulent activity related to cryptocurrency transactions. The tool will be available to all Mastercard card issuers. This is a significant development, as it shows that Mastercard is taking the threat of cryptocurrency fraud seriously.
The launch of the Cryptocurrency Risk Management tool is just the latest in a series of steps that Mastercard has taken to combat fraud. In recent years, the company has introduced a number of innovative security features, such as 3D Secure and EMV 3-D Secure.
With the launch of this new tool, Mastercard is once again demonstrating its commitment to providing a safe and secure payment experience for all of its customers.
Musk trying to make lemonade?
Dogecoin, the popular cryptocurrency that started as a meme, has once again surged in value after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted a picture of how Dogecoin is going to take over the world.
According to Bloomberg, Musk's attorneys wrote a letter to Twitter seeking to purchase the social media business for his initial offer price of $54.20 per share. Musk and Dogecoin have a lengthy and intricately entwined history. As of this writing, DOGE has increased 8.1% within moments of the event being public.
Also, this is not the first time Musk has mentioned Dogecoin on Twitter, and each time he does, the price of the cryptocurrency spikes. Some have even accused Musk of manipulating the market, but he has denied those claims.
Regardless of the reason, Dogecoin is once again on the rise, and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down.
What else are we nibbling on?
Crypto giants expand to the land down under. Coinbase has entered the Australian market, the hotbed of fintech innovation, extending its services to retail customers, making it easier to buy, sell, and trade digital assets. On the other hand, Binance has registered with New Zealand’s Ministry of Business and opened local offices in the country.
FTX to Push Past the US. After debuting in the US, FTX is now rolling out its Visa crypto debit card abroad. According to FTX, the initial growth would mostly target Latin American nations, with Europe and Asia also on the agenda.
Rob the robbers. Security experts found another spyware that exploits cryptocurrency wallets. But this one steals money from fraudsters. The person responsible tracks down crypto-criminals in order to steal their fraudulently obtained money.
Binance was attacked. Transactions on the Binance smart chain were halted after a potential exploit in the network was detected due to irregular activity. The timely halt in activity brought down the magnitude of the attack from what would have been a whopping $581 Mn loss to a lower $110 Mn.
Juno - Project of the week🤔
One of the most pressing challenges in web3 today is to bridge the gap of accessibility between tradfi and defi. The neobank Juno has been making headlines about the solution.
Juno provides checking accounts to crypto enthusiasts and allows them to take their paychecks in digital tokens. 75,000 Juno customers take their salaries, either in entirety or in portions, in cryptocurrency. They also invest consistently in digital assets each month.
Juno enables its customers to make bill payments and move funds to and from tradfi banks, while also offering onramps to customers from a checking account to layer 2 blockchains such as Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism for zero fees.
Their latest play is to launch an optional loyalty program. They are introducing an ERC20 token, JCOIN, which will be rewarded to customers, if they so choose, based on their usage. Juno is an Indian project that resonates with a winning bet, with its experienced team, stellar product, and thoughtful approach toward strategy.
Tweet of the week
This a tweet everyone in web3 needs to hear. Incentives should not be built for the sake of it, or just to ride the web3 bandwagon. What startups in web3 need today are strong fundamentals that sustain them, without necessarily relying on token-based loyalty programs.
That’s it for this week folks. We’ll see you next week with more interesting content. We’ve also been revamping our structure, so, you can expect to enjoy richer content in the forthcoming weeks.👋