The Indonesian cryptocurrency industry and market experienced notable growth in 2021.

From Bolivia to China, governments sought to restrict crypto-related activity for various reasons and with different tools.

Newly-elected New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed his first paycheck will be converted to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) on Friday via Coinbase cryptocurrency platform. The news comes after Adams vowed to take his first three paychecks in Bitcoin after engaging in a friendly twitter challenge with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez in November. Both Suarez and Adams are pushing to make their respective cities a centre for cryptocurrency hubs. In New York we always go big, so I’m going to take my first THREE paychecks in Bitcoin when I become mayor. NYC is going to be the center of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast-growing, innovative industries! Just wait! — Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) November 4, 2021 The recently-elected NYC Mayor will be paid in US dollars, which will be then converted into cryptocurrencies before being deposited into his account. The extra step of converting comes as the U.S. Department of Labor prohibits employees from being paid directly in cryptocurrency, but can have their funds converted before being deposited in their accounts. It remains unclear as to how long Adams plans to hold the cryptocurrencies or how they will be taxed. “New York is the center of the world, and we want it to be the center of cryptocurrency and other financial innovations. Being on the forefront of such innovation will help us create jobs, improve our economy, and continue to be a magnet for talent from all over the globe,” said Adams in a statement earlier on Thursday. Adams has been vocal about wanting to transform New York into a global crypto hub. In fact, cryptocurrencies were a big part of his election campaign last year. He even made sure that New York had its own CityCoin, a token that allows people to invest in the city. At the time, he said, “We’re going to become the centre of life science, the centre of cybersecurity, the centre of self-driving cars, drones, the centre of Bitcoins.”

The post NYC Mayor to Convert His First Paycheck to BTC and ETH via Coinbase appeared first on Cryptoknowmics-Crypto News and Media Platform.

Bitcoin, the top asset in the industry has noted a sharp fall in prices over the last 24 hours. At press time, the king-coin depreciated by almost over 9.7%. Bitcoin dropped its value by almost $7,000 and was exchanging hands at $38,233.95. This marked an almost six-month low for the coin. This price level is the lowest ever since the first week of August last year. Following Bitcoin’s price action, altcoins followed suit as a majority of them were seen trading in the red at the time of writing. The global cryptocurrency market cap was at $1.95 trillion after a considerable fall of about 7.7% over the past day. The global crypto cap hadn’t dipped below the $2.11 Trillion mark in over 3 months now. This major plunge in value across the broader cryptocurrency market had caused roughly $200 Billion to leave the market. Ethereum, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency in regards to market capitalisation also registered a tumble of about 8% in the last 24 hours. Related Reading |TA: Bitcoin Dives Below $40K, Why Bulls Could Struggle In Near Term What Could Have Potentially Caused This Big Dump The bears had taken over the market, however, it isn’t safe to assume that the market would continue with a bearish outlook just yet. This could also be a price correction from which Bitcoin and major altcoins might recover over the upcoming trading sessions. This retracement in Bitcoin’s prices from $43,000 could have happened for a number of reasons. Needless to say, crypto markets are volatile, however, current price movements of the major cryptocurrencies can be tied to a couple of recent developments in the crypto space. This sudden substantial sell-off in prices could have been caused due to stock market weakness after the US Federal Reserve introduced high-interest rates and tapered the stimulus. The Fed hiking the interest rates in the form of tightening the overall monetary policy has, in turn, affected the unregulated market of cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrency industry has also suffered the pangs of other recent regulatory measures. The most recent one is Russia’s blanket ban which has rocked the global cryptocurrency market. Other regulatory measures which have been set in motion to curb the rapid growth of digital asset has also had negative effects on the prices. Securities and Exchange Commission has signaled at scrutinising cryptocurrency exchanges. Environmental factors have also raised eyebrows of regulatory bodies, European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) wishes for the EU to ban the proof-of-work model. All of the above-cited reasons have sent shock waves across the crypto industry causing the fear index to point at 19, a number that corresponds to “Extreme Fear” in the market. Related Reading | TA: Ethereum Nosedives, Indicators Show Signs of Larger Downtrend Bitcoin Price Analysis: Crucial Trading Levels to Watch Out For Bitcoin was priced at $38,233.95 after the coin nosedived close to 9% at press time. The asset flashed a death cross, which is considered to be extremely bearish in nature. The prices were beneath the 20-SMA line, indicating that sellers were responsible for driving the price momentum in the market. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com The Relative Strength Index hurtled as it reflected the excessive selling pressure in the market. Currently, Bitcoin’s RSI was hovering beneath the 25-mark which meant that the asset was oversold and undervalued. The support level for the coin stood at $37,982.40 and a push from the bears could make BTC trade at that aforementioned level. The Average Directional Index was near the 50-mark, implying a strengthening of the current price trend in the market. The resistance price level for the coin was $39,829.16. Featured image from The Motley Fool, chart from TradingView.com

Bank of Russia Proposes Ban on Crypto Mining & Trading | Robinhood’s Crypto Wallet Beta Is Live | Solo Ethereum Miner Receives 168 ETH Block Reward

Wallet Street Venture Capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is rallying investors for a $4.5 billion dual fund targeted at making strategic investments in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. (Read More)

New York City's new mayor Eric Adams said that his first paycheck will be converted into Bitcoin and Ethereum via Coinbase Global. (Read More)

One SEC Commissioner says that the watchdog's regulatory policy is enough to oversee the cryptocurrency industry.

Continue reading at Coinspeaker

-- AlphaPoint (https://alphapoint.com/), a white label crypto marketplace software company enabling global access to cryptocurrencies and digital assets, is expanding their team. By onboarding key hires into critical roles, targeting personnel with diverse backgrounds in fintech and capital markets, AlphaPoint looks to meet the rapidly evolving demands of the cryptocurrency industry. In a year where personnel doubled, notable senior hires added to the team include Matthew Moss as Director of Product, Sabine Wisnioski as Director of People, and Tristan Thomas as Product Manager - Government Applications.

As AlphaPoint's new Director of Product, former Liquidnet and DTCC product director Matthew Moss will drive development across the product suite, ensuring customers are able to meet unique market needs. Prior to AlphaPoint, Matt held a wide variety of roles across more than 20 years of experience in traditional financial services: Technical Writer, C++ Engineer, Algo Trading Development Lead, Business Analyst, Technology/Product Division Head, and Product Manager. He joined Liquidnet, the electronic trading venue catering to institutional investors, in its early startup days back in 2002, attending Columbia University to learn C++ and Java programming. He left Liquidnet after 17 years and joined DTCC's ITP business unit (formerly Omgeo) as Product Management Director in Digital Strategy & Platform Management. "I couldn't be more excited to join AlphaPoint and contribute to their mission of providing innovative products and leadership in the fast-growing digital asset ecosystem," said Matthew Moss. 

Sabine Wisnioski, AlphaPoint's new Director of People, delivers a uniquely global perspective to the company. Having grown up in Singapore and studied Chinese and Japanese Language and Literature in Seattle at the University of Washington, Sabine started her career at Google in recruiting. She then moved onto Barclays Investment Bank supporting the FX Settlements office, Japan desk, and soon after completed a Masters of Science in Knowledge Management at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Her first professional exposure to crypto was in 2018, as she helped her firm launch a new cryptocurrency entity – Binfinity – based in Barcelona, Spain. Currently operating out of Tokyo, Sabine specializes in global talent acquisition and as a stand-alone HR Business Partner for tech startups covering APAC and other regions. “It is such an exciting time to join AlphaPoint right now! As we scale our product offering and global services across regions and additional countries, we need to follow through with developing existing talent, diversifying and streamlining our internal processes while understanding what hiring exceptional talent actually means to us at AlphaPoint in order for our teams to help carry AlphaPoint forward with the highest form of engagement possible,” said Sabine Wisnioski, Director of People.

Tristan Thomas, AlphaPoint's Product Manager - Government Applications, has a wealth of experience leading product innovation and strategic solutions for corporations, governments, and startups implementing blockchain and advanced tech solutions. Working throughout US, Europe, Asia and Africa, he has led strategic executive blockchain consulting for Salesforce, GE, SwissRe and Hyperloop, as well as with startup innovators in industries including Asset Management, Supply Chain, IOT, Biotech, Transportation, Gaming, Sports, Real Estate, and Trading. With a background in organizational psychology and IT systems management, Tristan specializes in assessing, developing and implementing new business models that leverage transformative technology.

With a wide array of international placements from different nationalities in 2021, Danielle Humphreys, Operations Associate based in Spain, anticipates further global expansion in 2022, “AlphaPoint has undergone exponential growth in Q4 2021 with many new employees coming in to support the US and APAC teams, along with our newly dedicated Chivo team in El Salvador,” said Danielle. “In Q1 2022, we are actively recruiting across various functions and expertise including the Development Team and People Team, with the goal of doubling company size again by the end of Q4 2022. AlphaPoint currently has 22 remote positions open to candidates across the globe. In the People Team specifically, it is important to transcend geographical hiring boundaries as it enables us to obtain world-class talent who contribute a diverse mix of different cultures and experiences to our company. Come join us!”

About AlphaPoint

AlphaPoint is a white label software company powering crypto exchanges worldwide. Through our secure, scalable, and customizable digital asset trading platform, AlphaPoint has enabled over 150 customers in 35 countries to launch and operate crypto markets, as well as digitize assets. AlphaPoint and its award winning blockchain technology have helped startups and institutions discover and execute their blockchain strategies since 2013. Learn more at AlphaPoint.com

Media Contact: AlphaPoint, [email protected]

Twelve Russian banks are preparing for the first phase of testing the digital ruble. The CBDC will be available for payments between private individuals.

LONDON – January 19, 2022 – vEmpire DDAO (https://v-empire.io/), the world's largest decentralized Metaverse, NFT and GameFi investment organization, today published their Q4 investor report and overall 2021 performance results to showcase their protocol's growth and successes. In a year of immense Metaverse and NFT vertical growth, vEmpire became a frontrunner in early adoption of new Web3 technologies geared towards the Metaverse and Metaverse property investments, while exhibiting significant gains and accomplishments beyond the expected 2021 performance roadmap. 

The year-end report, compiled by vEmpire, discloses it's staking strategies carried out across Ethereum, Decentraland, Sandbox, Axie Infinity, and Starlink, leading to unrealized profits surpassing $4 million in the final quarter of 2021 alone. As early adopters of the Metaverse, vEmpire's NFT sales amounted to an additional $500,000 and supplemented with newly acquired valuable investments, at roughly ninety percent below current market value, concluding vEmpire's 2021 annualized profits at more than $18.5 million and a price-earnings ratio of 1.44, 20 times lower than the average company in the S&P 500 today. For 2022, vEmpire's objective will remain spurring growth and decentralization of Metaverses.

“Our users have contributed to staking tens of millions of dollars worth of Metaverse tokens on our platform, which has enabled us to build a decentralized Metaverse investment portfolio that represents the largest in the industry.” said Dom Ryder, founder of vEmpire. 

“Overall we are extremely pleased with the performance and the quality assets we have acquired over the past quarter. I am pleased to say we are very much on track for the remainder of our roadmap. We are still incredibly early to the Metaverse.”

 

vEmpire's staking strategies have seen success through all of 2021. Their ETH pool allows access for more individuals to the expensive, but profitable, blue chip NFT protocols like Bored Ape Yacht Club. vEmpire's ETH staking pool was incepted with 518.7 ETH and it's value, as measured by lowest equivalent asset floor, is now 1,021.5 ETH, almost doubling in value.

Meanwhile, vEmpire's Metaverse staking options in Metaverses like Decentraland, Sandbox, Starlink and others allow investors to partake in early allocation and investment of valuable plots within Metaverses. vEmpire's Metaverse staking strategies provided opportunity for investors to earn passive income from their investment at high rates through in-Metaverse opportunities such as play-to-earn gaming, event planning, and hosting. They will soon be adding real estate resales as an additional feature of the Metaverse to be enjoyed by all users.

At vEmpire, 2021 was spent on portfolio creation through acquisition of properties and NFTs, their goals for Q1 of 2022 will focus on building liquidity for the protocols staking pools. Emerging from a successful 2021 and looking ahead to 2022, vEmpire is positioned to increase opportunities for long-term investment through newly added staking pools, blockchain-agnostic utility and more partnerships. 

To learn more about vEmpire, please visit https://v-empire.io/. To read the full 2021 Performance Results Report and 2021 Q4 Reports please see here. 

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About vEmpire

vEmpire is focused on achieving true decentralization in the cryptocurrency industry. The official vEmpire platform incorporates different staking strategies to incentivize metaversal token staking to fund the battle against centralization. The protocol financially rewards stakers with the native VEMP token alongside rewards in the token originally staked. This enables vEmpire to financially reward those bold enough to stand up against centralized powers. vEmpire has also developed a blockchain-based trading card game, where users can battle each other, in engaging and exciting ways, to earn better rewards.

Media Contact: Transform Group, [email protected]

vEmpire DDAO Ltd, [email protected]