UK Government sets out a plan to recognise stablecoins as a valid form of payment

Edition #13 - 15 APR 2022

The parlament intends to bring stablecoins – where used as a means of payment – within the payments regulatory perimeter, creating conditions for stablecoins issuers and service providers to operate and invest in the UK. The legislation comes in as part of a broader plan to make Britain a global hub for cryptoassets.

gaming developments

• Alien Worlds marginally undertook Splinterlands as the most popular game this week, measured by unique active wallets totalling to 511,000 over the last seven days;

• Splinterlands announces plans to migrate to DPoS consensus nodes (dubbed Splintershards) in a major step towards decentralization;

• Following the hack of the Ronin chain, Sky Mavis introduces its own Bug Bounty program, offering up to $1 million for vulnerability disclosures in its products;

• CCP Games, the developer behind Eve Online, has no plans to integrate NFTs or cryptocurrencies into its complex in-game economy.

metaverses & Adoption

• Rarible has announced the integration of Solana-based NFTs this week, following the move by rival OpenSea;

• The Central Bank of China is tightening regulation of NFTs once more, introducing bans on centralised transactions and raising funds via NFTs;

• Vodka company Absolut is launching Absolut.Land, a virtual version of Coachella in Decentraland;

• Apple has posted another job listing for a crypto-related position, sparking speculations on native crypto wallet integration.

zen portfolio highlight

This week we highlight the collaboration between our portfolio company Mars4 and Fabula Rud Pedersen Group: a fundraising project aimed at supporting Ukrainian people in their current fight against Russian aggression – NFTs 4 Peace.

Ukraine's war damage tops $565 billion and is growing with every minute. Behind every destroyed city there are millions of tears shed, families broken, lives lost. It's time to act!

In the past weeks Mars4, along with Fabula Rud Pedersen Group, were contacting artists around the globe and collecting their Ukraine war associated art. Auction called “NFTs_4_Peace” is launched on OpenSea and we invite you to bid on it!

100% of collected funds will be donated to Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine government.

defi

• ICHI’s token has lost as much as 99% of its value on Monday, following a decision to increase the LTV ratio in its lending platform, causing cascading liquidations. The team has since released a detailed timeline of the events;

• Stablecoin Tether (USDT) is further reducing its commercial paper exposure, with plans to increase the reserves of U.S. Treasury bonds;

• Bank of Japan is reversing course on launching its own digital currency as a means to achieve negative interest rates;

• Fidelity Investments, the world’s fourth-largest asset manager, is launching two more crypto ETFs focusing on the Metaverse and digital payments.

funding rounds

• Circle, the issuer of USDC stablecoin, has raised $400 million in a round led by Fidelity Management, Marshall Wace LLP and Fin Capital;

• bloXruote, a blockchain distribution network, raised a $70 million Series B, with SoftBank’s Vision Fund leading the funding. The round has valued the company at $410 million;

• Genies, an NFT avatar company, has completed its $150 million Series C at a $1 billion valuation. The round was led by Silver Lake, with participation from Tamarack, BOND and NEA.

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