In a Cointelegraph interview, William Pete, the CEO of Energy Ledger explained that by integrating blockchain technology, their team was able to develop applications that allow tracking and tracing supply chain logistics for products like crude oil.Continue Reading on Coin Telegraph More
The White House is seeking $10 billion in emergency military and humanitarian aid to assist Ukraine after Russia invaded last week, the Washington Post reported. Those funds would help train Ukraine’s military, protect its electrical grid, boost its cyberdefenses and enforce sanctions, it said, citing two people familiar with the matter.That is $3.6 billion more that the White House sought on Feb. 25, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded neighboring Ukraine.Another $22.5 billion would go toward shoring up the nation’s pandemic response as part of the shift toward managing COVID-19 long-term and preparing for any potential new variants and spikes in cases, the Post said, also citing a letter from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget sent to U.S. lawmakers it had obtained.The White House will officially ask Congress for the additional funding later on Thursday, it added. The Punchbowl News media outlet also reported on the planned funding request.Representatives for the White House did not respond to a request for comment on the reports.OMB Acting Director Shalanda Young cited “an immediate need” for the aid to assist Ukraine and other Central European allies, and asked that the total $32.5 billion request be included in Congress’ larger spending bill to fund the U.S. government expected to come by March 11, the letter posted online by Punchbowl showed. Lawmakers had passed a so-called stopgap spending bill to fund federal agencies through next Friday and must pass another measure by then to avert to government shutdown. Biden’s fellow Democrats control both chamber of Congress.While there has been large bipartisan support for the Ukrainian aid, Republicans have balked at additional funds to fight the novel coronavirus, with 36 conservative U.S. senators on Wednesday demanding a full accounting of the money authorized so far before considering any more federal funds. More
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Casino companies in Macau will have their licences extended by six months, the city’s Economy and Finance Secretary said on Thursday, allowing more time for a highly anticipated rebidding process in the world’s biggest casino hub.Lei Wai Nong said Macau’s casino licences that were due to expire on June 26 will be extended to Dec. 31, according to a government statement.Authorities would start the rebidding process once the city’s legislature had passed a revised law, he said.Macau’s six operators, Wynn Macau (OTC:WYNMF), Sands China (OTC:SCHYY), MGM China (OTC:MCHVY), SJM Holdings (OTC:SJMHF), Galaxy Entertainment and Melco Resorts, all have to reapply to maintain operations in the Chinese-ruled former Portuguese colony.Legislators in the Chinese special administrative region need to first approve changes to the city’s gaming law which are the biggest reforms in two decades.The law will lay the groundwork for what is required from the multibillion dollar casino operators ahead of their license expiration.In 2019, Macau raked in $36.5 billion from its casinos, more than six times that of the Las Vegas strip. Since 2020, however, Macau’s casinos have been slammed by coronavirus travel restrictions, which have curbed visitors, and crackdowns on the opaque junket industry.Beijing, increasingly wary of Macau’s acute reliance on gambling, has not yet indicated how the licence rebidding process will be conducted.It is clear, however, that authorities want far greater control over the casino operators’ activities. Beijing and Macau massively tightened scrutiny of casinos in recent years, with authorities clamping down on illicit capital flows from the mainland and targeting underground lending and illegal cash transfers. More
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Cryptocurrency exchange Binance on Thursday said cardholders of sanctioned Russian banks would not be able to use them on their platform and confirmed that sanctioned individuals have had their access restricted. Some of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges are staying put in Russia, breaking ranks with mainstream finance in a decision that experts say weakens Western attempts to isolate Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine. More
LONDON (Reuters) – Some of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges are staying put in Russia, breaking ranks with mainstream finance in a decision that experts say weakens Western attempts to isolate Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine.Western sanctions, which aim to squeeze Russia’s economy and sever it from the global financial system, have forced companies and financial firms in their droves to halt business in the country.But many of the world’s largest crypto exchanges – including Binance and U.S.-based Kraken and Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) – have stopped short of a blanket ban on Russian clients, despite a plea from the Ukrainian government for one. They said they would screen users and block anyone targeted by sanctions.The standoff illustrates the ideological gulf between the traditional financial sector and the world of cryptocurrencies, whose roots lie in libertarian ideals and distrust of governments. The crypto exchanges argued that cutting off a whole nation would run counter to bitcoin’s ethos of offering access to payments free of government oversight.Yet some anti-money laundering specialists warned the exchanges could be keeping a route open for Russians to move money abroad, thus undermining Western efforts to pressure Russia to back away from war.”There’s no question sanctions are diminished,” said Ross Delston, a U.S. lawyer and former banking regulator, adding that cryptocurrencies “allow an avenue for a flight to safety that would not have existed otherwise”.While most exchanges do require ID checks, the rigour of “know-you-customer” rules differs across the industry, worrying regulators who see crypto as a vehicle for illicit cash. Anti-money laundering and crypto experts said people targeted by sanctions may try to move funds via so-called privacy coins – a class of cryptocurrencies that obscures the identity of users more than bitcoin. Supporters say they offer users greater protection from intrusive monitoring by governments.RUSH OUT OF ROUBLESRussian households and businesses have rushed to convert roubles into foreign currency, as the rouble hit a record low of 110 versus the dollar on Wednesday.[ There are signs too that suggesting that people are scrambling to covert savings to crypto – trading volumes between the rouble and cryptocurrencies hit 15.3 billion roubles ($140.7 million) on Monday, a three-fold jump from a week earlier, according to researcher CryptoCompare.The spike has worried regulators, with the European Commission looking at whether crypto is being used to get around sanctions, an EU official said on Wednesday.The U.S. Treasury said Russia businesses or individuals would not be able to use crypto to skirt sanctions, citing problems converting digital currencies to traditional money via financial firms that are subject to anti-money laundering rules. “Even at the level of individual elites, laundering billions of dollars through digital wallets would expose themselves to those tracking flows within virtual currency markets,” a spokesperson said, adding that anti-money laundering rules and sanctions also apply to crypto exchanges. Britain’s financial watchdog did not respond to requests for comment for this story.The crypto exchanges’ stance goes against that of several traditional payment companies and fintech firms that have responded to sanctions by restricting services in Russia. Payments company Wise and remittance processor Remitly have, for instance, suspended money-transfer services in Russia, while Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) limited use of Apple Pay. U.S. payment card giants Visa Inc (NYSE:V) and Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) also blocked multiple Russian financial firms from their networks. ‘LIBERTARIAN VALUES’Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov on Sunday asked crypto exchanges to block the digital wallet addresses of Russian users, a move that would effectively stamp out their ability to trade crypto. Kraken CEO Jesse Powell said he would not acquiesce, calling bitcoin the “embodiment of libertarian values.”Blocking users from an entire country “does not necessarily punish those who are actually responsible and who may have already prepared for the possibility of blanket sanctions,” a Kraken spokesperson said. Kraken complies with legal and regulatory requirements of all jurisdictions where it operates, they added. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, also refused to ban all Russian users but says it is blocking the accounts of any clients targeted by sanctions. “Crypto was meant to provide greater financial freedom for people across the globe,” it said on Monday.Binance accounts for over 40% of all crypto trades in roubles, CryptoCompare said. A Binance spokesperson declined to comment on the figure, or give details of any sanctioned users it had blocked. U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc too said it would not impose a blanket ban on transactions involving Russians, though it would block accounts of those targeted by sanctions.Yet continuing to operate in Russia likely poses risks for exchanges themselves, warned Joby Carpenter, a specialist in crypto and illicit finance at the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists.”Exchanges and, ultimately, banks where cryptoassets off-ramp will need to be alert to these efforts to avoid breaching sanctions or terrorism legislation,” Carpenter said. ($1 = 108.7200 roubles) More
The famous meme token is now among the Top 10 most on-demand tokens for Ethereum whales.According to data shared on an on-chain tracking website WhaleStats, SHIB was the 7th most purchased crypto among the 1000 major capital investors. SHIB transaction volume increased by nearly 34% during the past 24 trading hours.The Ethereum whales on average spent $123,223 to buy SHIB tokens, with an average amount of purchases lingering around 4,7 billion SHIB tokens.
The so-called “DOGE killer” currently ranks as the third most held crypto among the Ethereum whales. As stated by WhaleStats, top 100 ETH wallets hold over 58,8 trillion SHIB coins worth more than $1,55 billion. The concentration of SHIB holders among the top wallets is also one of the highest (17,42%), surpassed only by the FTX token holders (18,77%). Shiba Inu (SHIB) is currently more than 70% down from its all-time high of $0.00008616 price of October 28, 2021. The token has been steadily going down since then, reaching the lows of $0.00002069 on February 3rd and testing similar levels on the day, when Russia started a full-scale military invasion into Ukraine on February 24th. SHIB has recovered by nearly 24% since then and trades at around $0.00002554 at the time of writing.EMAIL NEWSLETTERJoin to get the flipside of cryptoUpgrade your inbox and get our DailyCoin editors’ picks 1x a week delivered straight to your inbox.[contact-form-7]
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Investing.com — Commodity prices surged again and the ruble hit new lows as Western sanctions made it ever harder to deal with Russia. The Kremlin’s forces continue to make battlefield gains. Jobless claims and factory orders data are due, while Eurozone producer price inflation hits a massive 30.6%. Snowflake stock tanks after weak guidance, while Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Costco (NASDAQ:COST) report after the bell. Here’s what you need to know in financial markets on Thursday, 3rd March.1. Commodity prices surge againCommodity prices surged again as the threat to Russian supplies of oil, gas, wheat and industrial metals continued to stoke panic buying of alternatives. U.S. crude futures surged to as high as $116.50 a barrel, their highest since 2008, before retreating to $113.31 by 6:15 AM ET (1115 GMT), a gain of 2.5% on the day. Brent rose 1.9%% to $115.08 a barrel.In a stark illustration of what is a de facto tightening of the global market, Russian oil major Surgutneftegaz found no buyers for April exports averaging over 200,000 barrels a day at a tender on Wednesday. At the same time, U.S. inventory data showed that stockpiles at the Cushing hub fell to their lowest since 2018, while the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to its lowest level since 2002 – even before the measures announced earlier this week to release more oil in the coming days.Elsewhere, Asian coal and European natural gas futures hit fresh highs, while U.S. wheat futures rose another 4.2%. They’ve now risen over 90% since July. Russia and Ukraine account for some 28% of world wheat exports, an even greater weight than Russia has in world energy markets.2. Ruble hits new lows; Russian debt cut to junk; battlefield gains continueThe Russian ruble plumbed new depths after the central bank asked foreign exchange brokerages to charge a 30% commission on any sales of dollars, the latest in an increasingly desperate suite of measures to stabilize the local economy. On Wednesday, it had forbidden the payment of interest on domestic government debt held by foreigners.Overnight, ratings agencies Moody’s and Fitch cut their Russian sovereign debt rating to junk status, while MSCI and Russell said they will cut Russian equities from all of their indices.EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU is willing to consider tighter sanctions if the situation deteriorates. That reflects a growing awareness that the loopholes left by the first round of sanctions last week still allows massive hard currency flows to Russia on a daily basis.In Ukraine, Russian forces appear to have captured the southern city of Kherson and continue to pound Kharkiv, the country’s second city, with indiscriminate rocket attacks. Russia’s Foreign Ministry talked up the possibility of peace talks with Ukraine later today.3. Stocks set to open a little lower; Powell to continue testimonyU.S. stock markets are set to open lower later, giving up some of the gains they made on Wednesday on hints from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell that the central bank may not raise interest rates as far as previously thought, given the likely hit to global growth from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Powell continues his semiannual Congressional testimony in the Senate from 10 AM ET.By 6:15 AM ET, Dow Jones futures were down 39 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures were down 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.4%. The three cash indices had gained between 1.6% and 1.9% each on Wednesday.Stocks likely to be in focus later include software company Snowflake, which fell over 20% after hours on Wednesday after predicting a slowdown in growth this year, and Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK), which announced a new CEO late Wednesday.4. Flight from Russia continues; VW, H&M stop operations; Yachts seizedInternational companies continue to distance themselves from Russia in the wake of the invasion, which was condemned by a large majority in a non-binding motion by the UN General Assembly on Wednesday (albeit China and India abstained).Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) became the latest to say it will stop production in Russia, while fast-fashion giant H&M and IKEA also said they would suspend operations there. Toyota and GM, which don’t produce in Russia, have said they will stop exports there, as has Mercedes-Benz.Moves to seize the assets of oligarchs linked to the Russian regime are also gathering pace: French authorities seized a yacht belonging to Igor Sechin, the CEO of oil giant Rosneft, while their German counterparts seized a yacht belonging to metals and telecoms billionaire Alisher Usmanov. The U.K. government instructed one of its senior ministers, Michael Gove, to accelerate efforts to freeze Russian assets in Britain.5. Jobless claims, Challenger job cuts due; euro sinks as PPI rips higherAway from the war, the regular rhythms of the economic calendar throw up the weekly U.S. jobless claims numbers and the monthly Challenger Job Cuts survey. There are also data due on factory orders and the final version of the ISM’s non-manufacturing survey for February.Parallel surveys in the Eurozone led to a slight downward revision of flash estimates earlier. Meanwhile, the Eurozone’s annual rate of producer price inflation soared even more than expected to 30.6% after a 5.2% rise in prices in February. That sits ill with ECB comments about the possible need to normalize policy more slowly due to the invasion of Ukraine. The euro fell to a 22-month low of $1.1071. More
“The power and composability of Algorand’s smart contract platform has transformed in recent months. Developers are building versatile decentralized applications that have and will continue to disrupt a wide variety of industries,”
said Paul Riegle, Chief Product Officer at Algorand.”With this latest upgrade, Algorand continues its leadership position when it comes to ongoing delivery of highly sophisticated blockchain technology. We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from developers during the beta testing and are excited to roll out these enhancements to the broader blockchain developer ecosystem.”
Core components of this release include:Smart contract compatibility with contract to contract calls. This allows complex dApps to be built that can efficiently and trustlessly interact with other smart contract based dApps to extend functionality and usability. Additional details and background on this tech can be found here.Post-quantum secure Falcon Keys, Algorand’s first major milestone on its path towards trustless cross-chain interoperability. These keys will, in the near future, be used to generate State Proofs, a new blockchain infrastructure that will allow Algorand to be trustlessly accessed in low-power environments like mobile phones, smart watches, and on other blockchains. For more background on State Proofs, please see an overview here.These features add to Algorand’s already advanced tech, high performance and robust developer resources. Smart contracts on Algorand can be written in Python or Reach, making it accessible for developers of all skillsets.Algorand has experienced zero downtime since launch, helping it become the blockchain of choice for hundreds of organizations launching DeFi protocols, NFTs, payment solutions, regulated digital assets, and more. The network supports applications that can scale to billions of participants, all on a high-speed, carbon-negative, secure and stable blockchain.EMAIL NEWSLETTERJoin to get the flipside of cryptoUpgrade your inbox and get our DailyCoin editors’ picks 1x a week delivered straight to your inbox.[contact-form-7]
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