Highlights of the week
$SHIB enters the Metaverse with ‘Shiba Lands’
$AAVE launches Web 3 social media platform
$GALA invest $5B for NFT expansion efforts
ZoidPay integrates $EGLD into their virtual cards payments solution
Man United onboards $XTZ as its official Web3 and training kit partner
Allbridge announced the integration of $NEAR with $LUNA, $SOL, and $CELO
EU considering Digital Euro legislation for 2023
The bill establishing the framework under which a digital euro would operate is not planned to be delivered in until late 2023, according to Mairead McGuinness, EU Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union.
The legislation will be used by the European Central Bank as the legal foundation for establishing a central bank digital currency.
Large SHIBA INU transactions rise to almost $390 million
According to the data provided by analytics firm IntoTheBlock , the volume of large SHIBA INU transactions that exceed $100,000 has reached almost $390 million, which constitutes 81% of the total on-chain volume.
At the same time, as noted by WhaleStats, SHIB returned to the top 10 most purchased tokens and most used smart contracts among the 1,000 biggest ETH wallets.
Hungary’s Central Bank Head calls on EU to ban crypto mining and trading
In a press conference on February 11th, the chief of Hungary’s national bank György Matolcsy said he supports banning crypto trading and mining in the European Union (EU) on the grounds that it could “service illegal activities and tend to build up financial pyramids.”
Ripple partners with Digital Euro Think Tank
Ripple has joined the Digital Euro Association (DEA) to provide input on the design of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Digital Euro Association Chairman Jonas Gross suggested that the partnership will largely involve the exchange of knowledge and joint educational efforts around digital currencies.
Dogecoin profitability returns back above 50%
The profitability of Dogecoin, the top meme currency, has jumped above 50% following the recovery of the cryptocurrency market.
According to IntoTheBlock data, at least 52% of all Dogecoin holders are currently in profit while 42% of investors remain “out of the money”.
Exchange stablecoin reserve hits $27B
Cryptocurrency exchanges now have more stablecoins on their books than ever before in a fresh sign investors are waiting to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins.
Data from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant shows that this week, exchanges’ total stablecoin reserves passed $27 billion for the first time.
Crypto whales are buying MANA
In the past 24 hours, 1,000 wealthiest Ethereum whales have bought on average 1,500 tokens for an average total purchase price of $4,980.
MANA has also cracked the top-10 of total holdings, sitting at the ninth slot with an average quantity of 100,905 for a valuation of $331,227.
Samsung unveils crypto wallet and storage on new S22 Smartphone
South Korean electronics giant Samsung has unveiled the Samsung Wallet on its latest flagship smartphone Galaxy S22 Ultra. The wallet was touted to be able to “access and explore complex digital products” such as cryptocurrencies.
The secure payment wallet will work with the firm’s payments platform, Samsung Pay. The security is provided by Samsung’s Knox Vault platform.
Man United onboards Tezos as its official Web3 and training kit partner
Manchester United, one of the oldest soccer clubs in the world, has confirmed its partnership with blockchain firm Tezos as the official training kit and technology partner.
Manchester United aims to build a fan ecosystem expected to be based on the concept of a metaverse on the Tezos blockchain to offer personalized experiences to the fans, with the platform planning to use the native token of Tezos, XTZ.