A Digital Artist Made a Lamborghini Valued at 7 BTC Explode in Protest against greed around Digital Currencies

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The parts from a burnt-out car would get auctioned off among Lambo’s haters. Previously, Shl0ms made a sanitary item explode and raised at least $500K with his NFTs.

A digital artist, known under the pseudonym Shl0ms, hired a team of explosive experts and detonated a Lamborghini Huracán to show his protest against bitcoin’s greed. He firmly disagrees with the way users get seduced to set their investments in digital currencies with the sole intention of getting rich instantly.

After making the vehicle explode, which is currently valued at seven bitcoins (at least $259,000 at today’s cryptocurrency price), Shl0ms and his team took every burnt-out remains of the Lamborghini and made a series of videos that they turned into 999 non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The artist’s primary goal is to sell the tokens at an auction already planned for February 25 and on the artist’s website. As explained on the network, 888 NFTs will get launched exclusively for sale, and the remaining 111 will still be under Shl0ms and his team’s control. According to the artist, he invested at least USD 1 million in creating the project.

In September 2021, Shl0ms let the world know about his idea to make a Lamborghini explode, at which point he clarified that he doesn’t have sympathy for these cars. After that, he purchased a used one for at least USD 250,000 and took it to an unrevealed deserted zone, where he detonated it.

With the currencies collected from his NFTs, the artist wants to create a Decentralized Autonomous Organization to organize and lead his project. He currently desires to awaken other people who also hate cars like Lambos.

This project has raised an immense swarm of heated debates revolving around digital currencies on social networks like Twitter. Among these is a user who suggested burning cash instead of cars.

What Does Lambo Mean?

Lambo is a term portrayed in many memes and jokes around the internet. The abbreviation for Lamborghini arrived at the digital environment, referring to the first entities that dared to accept payments in digital currencies. It is also a term used by the wealthy people of the crypto environment.

Shl0ms clarifies the concept of his artwork and shares a fragment from a book that mentions destruction as a vital feature in the creative process. According to him, destruction drastically changes the perceived integrity of solid structures and institutions; many contemporary artists have been using this destruction to modify the spectator’s view about something already established.

There is too Much Greed around NFTs

Shl0ms decided to make a car such as Lamborghini explode to show rejection against how many users get into digital currencies today, and the same thing occurs in the world of NFTs.

There is also a Wash Trading technique that remains hidden in the non-fungible tokens ecosystem; it is known as a form of manipulation in the market by purchasing, selling, and buying back the same financial instruments or NFTs.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Canadian Regulators Raised Warning Advises for Coinbase and Kraken to Stop Encouraging Self-Custodial Wallets

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Amid trucker protests, Canadian authorities are keeping track of tweets coming from Coinbase and Kraken CEOs as they could disrupt the current government-imposed sanctions.

Authorities in Canada raised warnings for two cryptocurrency entities about promoting self-custody wallets amid trucker protests.

The Ontario Securities Commission, the top financial regulator in the North American country, entered into contact with law enforcement agencies due to recent Tweets made by the CEOs of Coinbase and Kraken about the active ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests that occur in Ottawa.

According to a Leader-Post report, the regulatory agency showed the tweets to the Canadian authorities because it appears that the executives were bringing alternatives to avoid the sanctions the Canadian government implemented.

Kraken and Coinbase Stand Up for Self-Custody

Last week, Canadian authorities commanded all entities complying with regulation policies in the North American nation, including cryptocurrency exchanges, to stop carrying out activities and obstruct the funds of designated users that might be involved in the trucker protesting activities.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police filed an order to shut down at least 34 cryptocurrency wallets linked to protesters as one of the strategies implemented to set up restrictive measures.

Various leaders of the crypto world opened up about this event, showing a critical stance and discontent with the government’s current procedures. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong used Twitter to express how vital self-custody wallets are at times like this.

The CEO stressed that the procedure is concerning on various points. According to the Emergencies Law, financial entities like banks can obstruct or suspend funds in bank accounts without a decision made by the court.

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell also expressed his warning calls for cryptocurrency users not to house their digital currencies on centralized platforms, where third parties could manage the wallets.

Powell further explained that his entity would not be capable of protecting its users in case of prohibitions like these because the company must comply with the legal policies imposed by the country.

Self-custody wallets are storage devices or platforms where the user has total power rather than a third party, opening doors for laws and policies created to freeze the funds stored in them.

Canadian Authorities put a Magnifying glass Over Twitter

According to various weekly reports, regulators have already checked both CEOs’ posts on Twitter. The local media quoted multiple statements made by Kristen Rose, manager of public affairs for the OSC, who highlighted that the security forces found interesting the tweets due to the critics they imply about Canada’s current situation.

There is no further information on whether Canadian authorities have issued any warrants to the exchanges or their executives that posted the tweets. However, an expert who spoke to the Leader-Post highlighted that Powell and Armstrong are not disruptive and got well attached to legality.

Representatives from Kraken and Coinbase want to work following the current Canadian law; however, both entities have taken a public stance to support non-censorship and autonomy for users and individuals in general.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Bitcoin Law Helped Raise 30% Growth in Tourism in El Salvador

According to official numbers, Bitcoin attracted at least one million and a half visitors; 60% of these tourists came from the US. Nayib Bukele revealed new reforms to make private investment in El Salvador easier for international investors.

El Salvador received with arms wide open almost a million and a half visitors with arms wide open since Bitcoin became legal tender in that Latin American nation. This information got confirmed this Monday by the Minister of Tourism, Morena Valdez.

In an official publication, Valdez highlighted expectations regarding the economic and visitor impact that Bitcoin would attract for the tourism sector in El Salvador got surpassed. According to the information, the country hoped for at least 1.1 million tourists, but the figure approached almost 1.4 million between November and December 2021. More than half of the tourists (60%) came from the United States of America.

Currently, the growth surpasses 30%. In addition, and according to the official, the tourist movement in these months brought at least USD 1,462 million in income.

The official note, which got revealed on the Presidency of El Salvador’s official webpage, explained that the implementation of Bitcoin as legal currency in that nation takes a vital part of a strategy developed to boost the economy sustainably. Tourism would be the first sector to show an improvement.

According Journalists, the GDP of El Salvador Could be the One that Increases the Most in 2022

Journalists Max Kaiser and his wife Stacy Herbert, who carry out their activities in El Salvador, reflected the growth of tourist activities in the country due to Bitcoin getting received as legal tender.

Stacy Herbert said that El Salvador receives visits from many foreign tourists, who previously only arrived at the country because of its popular surfing competitions. Now, the visits increased, and people come into the country because they want to see with their own eyes what is currently happening with Bitcoin.

According to Keiser, the projections highlighting that tourism in El Salvador will increase another 50% in 2022 fall short. He believes those calculations are conservative and that growth returns to a significant 100%. In addition, the journalist thinks that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the Central American nation can become the fastest at the end of this year.

Bukele is Planning More Reforms to Create a field for Private Investment

Meanwhile, President Nayib Bukele showed himself via Twitter and highlighted that he would launch 52 legal reforms to Congress to reduce bureaucracy and generate better tax incentives to prepare the field for private investment. The bills seek to cover sectors like new and more efficient securities laws and stability contracts.

The Latin American leader explained that the reforms include a policy that offers foreign investors Salvadoran citizenship in exchange for investments.

Bukele first mentioned the initiative to bring immediate permanent residence to Bitcoin entrepreneurs in June 2021. He also noted that there would be no capital gains tax for Bitcoin, among others incentives.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Arrival in Peru of First Virtual Cryptocurrency Bank Authorized by the SBS

Fluyez is the name of the cryptobank, and it works with more than 60 cryptocurrencies. It has more than 5,000 verified users, according to reports.

Back in 2019, Stefan Krautwald, Member of the Board of Directors of LATAM, had already announced that Peru is the third country with the highest number of cryptoactive transactions (digital medium of exchange that uses cryptography) in Latin America, only behind Colombia and Venezuela.

Krautwald noted that, “Peruvians are third in transition volumes in the region and Peru also has a dynamic, growing economy with political stability. Certain online sources indicate that Peru is a country with strong interest and growth in the exchange of crypto assets and our commitment is to be part of the formalization of the sector in the Peruvian market.”

Cryptocurrencies are rising as the new gold rush when it comes to investment, both for small and large capitals. It is a modern and safe way to safeguard savings, as well as to grow personal and business funds thanks to technology.

In Peru, this type of economy is at the forefront, holding fourth place globally in the adoption of digital assets, according to the German online statistics portal, Statista. The same study indicates that in Peru, 13% of the population claims to own and manage cryptocurrencies.

To serve this growing market and offer support to investments by means of a state-of-the-art ecosystem, the startup Fluyez launches the new Crypto Bank of Peru, which has more than 60 cryptocurrencies available on its platform and more than US$150,000 in trading quarterly transactions.

“Fluyez is a digital ecosystem based on cryptocurrencies that offers new products and services to all its users. Our goal is to be a new and better option for the traditional banking system”, commented the founding partner of Startup Fluyez, Luis Berrospi.

It is important to highlight that the Peruvian firm works with the most popular cryptocurrencies, including: Bitcoin, Ether, Doge, and ADA, in addition to other stable coins.

A Startup with International Backing

The Peruvian startup began operations in March 2021 and to date has more than 5,000 verified users, in less than a year it managed its registration with the Superintendence of Banking & Insurance of Peru as an exchange house. The platform is also part of the Fintech Association of Peru and has the support of various national and international investment funds.

Among its partners, the Spanish financial technology company Bit2Me stands out, which decided to bet on the Peruvian startup to go hand in hand in its entry into the Latin American market. This exchange, which even has its own token, the B2M, is an unavoidable reference in the crypto universe in Europe and now acts as an investment partner of Fluyez.

Bit2me has a top-tier team in the crypto universe, including Zeeshan Feroz as Growth Advisor, Former CEO of Coinbase Europe, and Baldomero Falcones as Payments Advisor, Former CEO of MasterCard International.

Available on the Web

The Fluyez platform is available on the web and from an app for mobile devices, among its main products are the following: Wallet, a virtual wallet for the custody of cryptocurrencies. Rewards, Fluyez offers compensation to users who stake their digital assets from its platform, thus enabling the user to accumulate profits by saving in cryptocurrencies. Loans, an option to be available in the coming months, is also related to the quality of Fluyez as a cryptobank. On the platform, the users can request a loan, leaving their savings in crypto as collateral.

As for its advantages, it has various characteristics that make it a competitive platform, such as secure, fast, and unlimited transactions, constant monitoring, no inflation, as well as more profitable and constant advice.

By Audy Castaneda

Bitcoin, Stablecoins, and DeFi Need Tighter Supervision, According to the Bank of Spain

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The head of the Spanish bank considers that cryptocurrencies can destabilize the financial sector as they are decentralized. In Europe, legislators are currently working on a regulation for crypto assets known as MiCA.

Pablo Hernández de Cos recently urged the Spanish public authorities to regulate, monitor, and supervise the crypto market more tightly. The governor of the Bank of Spain considers it is necessary to contain the risk posed by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). He also mentioned stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and other decentralized services like the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector.

According to local media, Hernández called for close cooperation at the domestic, international, and inter-institutional levels. He thinks that the Spanish authorities can thus ensure surveillance and delve into the regulation of the cryptocurrency industry.

Hernández recognized that cryptocurrencies could help benefit banking by improving payment systems or catalyzing new functionalities. However, he stressed the risks they represent for the financial system and the clients of the banking system.

The official warned about some risks that the Financial Stability Board (FSB) had reported last week. The latter is concerned that those decentralized services are only online, and no centralized agency regulates them.

Concerning risks, Hernández stated that crypto-assets represent a new factor of competition for the financial sector. He talked about the increase in direct and indirect exposure of banks to cryptocurrencies. He believes that is dangerous for those institutions regarding both ownership and reputation.

European Authorities Get Ready to Contain the Reach of Bitcoinization

Hernández de Cos thinks that bitcoinization (or cryptoization) threatens to create parallel value transfer circuits. He argued that they are not subject to control by central banks, which limits their ability to keep possible systemic risks from occurring.

Those reasons have led him to consider relevant the initiative recently developed by the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). That regulation, entering into force on February 17th, controls the advertising of crypto assets. He said it underlines the risks related to those markets, including the possible total loss of the amount invested.

Hernández considers that the Spanish public authorities must monitor crypto assets more tightly. He added that their work agendas already contemplate granting a privileged space to some types of crypto assets in the coming months.

In addition, European legislators are currently working on a regulation known as MiCA (Markets in Crypto Assets). The upcoming law will establish a standard supervisory architecture that will apply to cryptocurrency issuers and service providers.

The new regulatory framework will seek to include crypto assets not assimilable to other financial products already regulated. In addition, the monetary authorities could not apply it, said Hernández Col.

Cryptocurrencies play a relevant role in the economy, but the regulatory authorities from several countries want to control their use. They consider that those assets pose a risk to financial institutions, as no central agency regulates how people use them. However, they are aware that crypto-assets can improve payment systems and catalyze new functionalities in banking institutions.

By Alexander Salazar

The President of El Salvador Would Offer Citizenship to Investors from other Countries

Bukele highlighted that he established at least 52 legal reforms that generated tax incentives to convert El Salvador into one of the nations with the most freedom.

The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, continues his quest to raise the interest of investors and attract them to his nation. The president decided to apply a series of legal changes to offer citizenship to those investors outside the country that might show interest in the Central American country.

A similar strategy got applied to crypto investors by offering them permanent residence in their country. But this time is not just an informal invitation, but there will be a legal bill to apply this policy if it passes the approval test. The Salvadoran leader is giving residence and citizenship to the country.

Bukele has become a popular figure for Bitcoin adoption, and he also got surrounded by a controversial halo in international politics for the same reasons. Recently, a bipartisan group of senators in the United States of America applied a new bill with the sole intention to avoid the risks El Salvador’s adoption of BTC as legal tender poses for the world economy.

On the other hand, El Salvador got ready to release at least $1 billion volcanic-based Bitcoin bonds in March. The funds that come from the bonds would serve to build the world’s first Bitcoin city.

What are the Bitcoin Bonds, and What do they Represent for the Project?

One of the most concerning factors that a project like Bitcoin City has is funding. Cities worldwide support their financial structure through various taxation procedures, including property tax and different rates along with fiat-b state debt.

Nayib Bukele highlighted that he expects to boost the city finances with the surplus income that the cryptocurrency could produce, especially when it comes to a currency like Bitcoin.

El Salvador will also provide $1 billion in tokenized 10-year bonds in Liquid Network through entities like Blockstream, which will give at least 6.5% annual interest. After five years, this bond would provide a dividend when half the total capital gets sold. It is a crowdlending model mainly backed by BTC’s constant growth expectations.

This strategy still needs approval from international, financial, or monetary entities, and it has only set a reduction on the execution of the traditional Salvadorian bonds. The IMF warned about many risks of adopting the BTC as a currency; This adoption could disintegrate a country’s financial stability.

The IMF also spoke about a high risk of contagion that relies on a particular concern given the correlations with the stock market.

By: Jenson Nuñez