Aurelia Butler

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Sales of Virtual Real Estate Reached $500 Million in 2021 and Are Expected to Double in 2022

    Virtual real estate has been received as an innovative and promising investment, similar to NFTs and cryptocurrency. Although metaverse investments can be risky, they can also prove to be very rewarding.“[It’s] highly, highly risky. You should only invest capital that you’re prepared to lose. It’s highly speculative. It’s also blockchain-based. And as we all know, crypto is highly volatile. But it can also be massively rewarding,”
    Janine Yorio, the CEO of virtual estate development company Republic Realm, told CNBC.According to Yorio, Republic Realm sold 100 virtual private islands for $15,000. Now they’re sell for $300,000 each, the price of an average home in the U.S.The steady increase in sales really soared when Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) rebranded to Meta and announced its intention to focus operations on the metaverse. Covid-19 restrictions may also have played a part to spark global interest of virtual life. In the metaverse, there are many things users cane do: you can visit museums and themed attraction parks, go to a beach party, or nightclub, and even attend concerts of famous performers.As reported by CNBC, BrandEssence Market Research found that the metaverse real estate market could seen an increase of 31% per year from 2022 to 2028.Currently, the top metaverses are The Sandbox, Decentraland, Cryptovoxels, and Somnium.On the FlipsideMajor tech companies, such as Meta and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), are putting millions into the metaverse, and the future of the internet seems to be leaning towards the metaverse’s development. Yet the investment is risky. “You’re buying something that isn’t tied to reality,” said Mark Stapp, professor of real estate theory and practice at Arizona State University.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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  • 150 Shares139 Views

    in Economy

    Food prices rise in Jan., led by vegetable oils, U.N. agency says

    The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 135.7 points last month against an upwardly revised 134.1 in December. That figure was previously given as 133.7.Higher food prices have contributed to a broader surge in inflation as economies recover from the coronavirus crisis and the FAO has warned that the higher costs are putting poorer populations at risk in countries reliant on imports.Rome-based FAO also raised its projection of global cereal production in 2021 to 2.793 billion tonnes from a previous estimate of 2.791 billion tonnes, according to its cereal supply and demand outlook.FAO said its vegetable oils index rose 4.2% month-on-month in January to reach record levels, shunted higher by reduced export availabilities and other supply-side constraints, especially labour shortages and unfavourable weather. “There is a concern the impacts of these constraints will not ease quickly,” Boubaker Ben-Belhassen, head of FAO’s Markets and Trade Division, said in a statement.The FAO dairy price index increased 2.4%, its fifth consecutive monthly rise, with the steepest gains registered by skim milk powder and butter. The cereal price index rose just 0.1%, with maize posting a 3.8% gain on the month, spurred by worries about persistent drought conditions in South America, FAO said. By contrast, world wheat prices fell 3.1% on the back of large harvests in Australia and Argentina. [GRA/]Meat prices edged up in January, while sugar was the sole index to post a decrease, shedding 3.1% from the previous month due partly to favourable production prospects in major exporters India and Thailand, FAO said. FAO said it raised its projection of global cereal production in 2021 because of larger-than-previously estimated wheat outputs in Argentina and Australia, along with slightly higher production estimates in Russia and Ukraine. “For 2022, global wheat plantings are expected to expand, buoyed by mostly conducive weather conditions in the northern hemisphere, although high input costs could deter a larger expansion,” FAO said.World cereal utilization in 2021/22 was forecast to rise 1.6% above the 2020/21 level, hitting 2.805 billion tonnes. FAO’s forecast for world cereal stocks by the close of seasons in 2022 stood at 824 million tonnes, up 2.2 million tonnes since November and only slightly lower than their opening levels. More

  • 125 Shares189 Views

    in Economy

    Spanish lender Unicaja Q4 books loss on falling lending income

    MADRID (Reuters) -Lower lending income and one-off charges were responsible for a loss of 18 million euros ($20.33 million) at Spanish lender Unicaja in the fourth quarter, despite an increase in fees.In a defensive deal closed at the end of July to protect itself from the pressure of ultra low interest rates and the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, Unicaja bought rival Liberbank to create Spain’s fifth-largest bank in terms of assets..The bottom line did not include extraordinary items related to the merger. In the same quarter of 2020, Unicaja reported a loss of 17 million euros when combining Liberbank’s business on a pro forma basis.Net interest income, or earnings on loans minus deposit costs, fell 17.8% year-on-year to 235 million euros in the fourth quarter. Analysts expected it to be 240 million euros.For the whole of 2021, and taking into account a bad will gain – a paper profit that occurs when an asset is bought below its book value – of around 1.3 billion euros in the third quarter and restructuring costs of 368 million euros, Unicaja reported a net profit of 1.1 billion euros.Excluding extraordinary costs related to the merger, net profit on a pro forma basis rose 47% to 137 million euros in 2021 partly lifted by an increase in fees.Unicaja shares were 0.5% down in morning trading, while Spain’s blue-chip index Ibex-35 fell 0.4%. Broker Caixabank said the loss was driven by lower NII and higher provisions, while fees costs and trading beat expectations.Banks across Europe are under growing pressure from rising bad debts and record low interest rates, which is driving lenders to look for other areas of growth, such as commissions generated in private banking.At Unicaja, total fees rose 19.5% in 2021 compared to 2020 and 20.7% year-on-year in the fourth quarter.As part of a recently announced new three-year strategic plan, the lender is counting on fee income, cost savings and a push towards consumer lending to drive profitability.($1 = 0.8855 euros) More

  • 125 Shares189 Views

    in Cryptocurrency

    NFT Market is Being Used for Money Laundering, Say Chainalysis

    Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are being used in criminal activities by individuals and businesses around the world, just like cryptocurrencies, according to the latest report by global industry data, research and analytics firm Chainalysis. .The report mentions two activities in which it has detected illegal movements related to this type of digital assets. One is the so-called laundering trade and the other is money laundering itself.NFTs are products developed under blockchain technology that, as their name indicates, are not substitutable. Its purpose is to create tokens with a unique design, unlike traditional cryptocurrencies whose purpose is to serve as units of exchange and store of value.These assets, which are generally bought and sold on specialized markets, serve to store data on the blockchain. Likewise, they grant the owner full ownership of the stored data or the means with which the token is associated.Such data can be associated with various projects that involve physical objects, videos, images, videos, audio, memberships, among others and are mostly built on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains.NFTs have a high potential for abuseThe company reported tracking “a minimum $44.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency sent to ERC-721 and ERC-1155 contracts — the two types of Ethereum smart contracts associated with NFT marketplaces and collections — up from just $106 million in 2020”.
    Chainalysis notes that due to the recent popularity of NFTs, the potential of these assets for abuse and criminal activity is increasing and believes that the industry should make investments in NFTs as safe as possible.The two illicit ways of operating with NFTs are the laundering of NFT trade with the aim of artificially increasing its value, and money laundering, through the purchase of this type of digital asset.Wash trading means that NFTs are bought by the same sellers in order to inflate their value. In this way they try to present a misleading financial profile of the asset in the market in terms of real value and liquidity.It is possible to trace the wash tradeThis type of illegal activity has often been a source of concern for the crypto industry. Some crypto exchanges use this practice to make believe that their cryptocurrency trading volumes are higher.In the case of NFTs, fictitious sales of a given token seek to trick users into appearing more valuable than they really are. The NFT is sold over and over again to wallets that the same seller also controls.An unsuspecting buyer may believe that the asset has passed from one collector to another and be misled by the supposed value and interest the NFT has garnered in the market, Chainalysis explains.These deceptive trading practices are relatively easy to execute because there are “NFT trading platforms that allow users to trade simply by connecting their wallet to the platform, without the need to identify themselves”.
    But Chainalysis claims with blockchain analytics, it can “track NFT wash trading by analyzing sales of NFTs to addresses that were self-financed, meaning they were funded either by the selling address or by the address that initially funded the selling address”.On the Flipside“While wash trading is prohibited in conventional securities and futures, wash trading involving NFTs has yet to be the subject of an enforcement action” the firm states.Why You Should CareFortunately, money laundering in the sale of works of art through the blockchain is easier to detect than in the physical art market (paintings, sculptures and others), where it is more difficult to quantify its volume. In contrast, with NFTs it is possible to make “more reliable estimates”, says the company.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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  • 138 Shares99 Views

    in Economy

    ING shares dip 4% after earnings; provisions rise on inflation worries

    AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -ING Groep NV reported higher-than-expected provisions in its fourth quarter earnings report on Thursday, as the largest Dutch bank braced for the impact of higher inflation on customers.ING reported a 27% rise in fourth-quarter pretax profit to 1.33 billion euros ($1.50 billion), slightly below analyst forecasts of 1.47 billion euros, according to Refinitiv data. Pretax profit was 1.05 billion euros in the same period of 2020.”The slight miss is driven by higher costs and provisions, partly offset by higher revenues,” said analysts from Jefferies in a note on earnings.Shares, which have nearly doubled over the past year, were down 4.0% at 12.97 euros at 0823 GMT.Provisions for bad loans in the quarter increased to 356 million euros from 208 million euros, with most of the increase due to the expectation that rising inflation and energy costs could hurt mortgage customers’ ability to pay.While property values are currently rising in ING’s core German and Dutch markets, and actual defaults have been limited, Van Rijswijk said the company thought it was prudent to take the provisions.The value of commercial loan collateral is also tied to inflation and interest rates, CEO Stephen van Rijswijk said.”Inflation we have now seen moving up quite steeply — then there is a potential risk that the collateral value goes down, so in case then of a default at a client it also means that our recovery rate would go down,” he said.Van Rijswijk said positives in the quarter included higher lending volumes and strong fee growth.Among key bank profitability measures, ING’s net interest margin shrank slightly from a year earlier to 1.37% from 1.41%. The bank has been under pressure from low interest rates, although it softened the blow by charging negative rates on larger customer deposits.Fee and commission income rose 20% to 925 million euros as the bank charged retail customers more for banking packages, for payments, and for investment products.Customer loans climbed 4.8% or by 13.4 billion euros to 632 billion euros, with good growth seen among wholesale banking customers and more mortgage loans to German customers.($1 = 0.8850 euros) More

  • 138 Shares199 Views

    in Cryptocurrency

    El Salvador Seeks to Overcome Flaws in Its Chivo Bitcoin Wallet

    The government of El Salvador is seeking to solve the serious technical flaws of the Chivo Wallet. Since the installation of Bitcoin as legal tender in the country, the states smartphone application for Bitcoin has experienced an array of technical problems.Users have reported phishing, download failures, and even the disappearance of funds. In an attempt to try and correct these flaws in the digital wallet, the Salvadoran government has contracted the technological support services of American company ‘Alphapoint.’The company “is adding its experience to offer financial services and access to bitcoin for millions of Salvadorans who are active using the Chivo wallet,” the government of Nayib Bukele revealed in an official press release.The Chivo Wallet was an initiative to “provide millions of Salvadorans the opportunity to learn about the advantages of using bitcoin, access financial services, pay for goods and services, as well as the possibility of receiving and sending remittances without charging commissions,” the bulletin explained. However, operational failures with the Chivo Wallet have been reported since as early as September 8th, just one day after the Bitcoin Law came into force. Among them, was lack of interoperability with other wallets, since transactions made were facing extreme delays, or failed to materialize at all.Likewise, operational failures were detected with some bank accounts, which forced the government to try to intervene by carrying out periodic maintenance. Despite this, problems with the Chivo Wallet have persisted, as the local press has since reported.On the FlipsidePresident Bukele has not given up and continues to encourage Salvadorans to use the wallet. Recently the Salvadoran leader predicted on his Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) account that Bitcoin will soon have “a gigantic price increase.”He also remains unperturbed by repeated calls from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the government to revoke the law recognizing BTC as legal tender, due to its inherent financial destabilization risks.In addition to Alphapoint, which provides asset trading, brokerage and tokenization services, El Salvador is being assisted by the Athena Bitcoin company which originally developed the Chivo Wallet and manufactures BTC ATMs.It is unclear whether the Salvadoran government will retain Athena’s services or not. The company was in charge of developing the salary payment project in BTC Vanguard 1, for the workers who prefer it. The software allows the automatic exchange of dollars to BTC.Tax Payments with BTCMeanwhile, the Ilopango mayor’s office has invited citizens and residents to pay their taxes using bitcoin. The mayor of the city close to capital city San Salvador, José Chicas, a supporter of Bukele, wrote on Twitter:“Ilopango, welcome to the future. Now you can make your payments with the @ChivoWallet without paying fines or commissions. The taxes you pay are the work that we need.”
    The mayor has not offered any precise details regarding the BTC tax payment program.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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  • 113 Shares99 Views

    in Cryptocurrency

    Wormhole Network Faces Exploit, Loses $216 Million to Hackers

    Wormhole network has been hacked for 80,000 ETH. The estimated amount of the ETH in USD is said to be equal to $216 million. Blockchain security analytic firm, CertiK Security Leaderboard announced the Wormhole’s network security flaw incident.However, to clear any fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) among traders, the Wormhole team has officially confirmed the exploit a few minutes after the CertiK Security Leaderboard announcement. The company apologized for the incident and any inconveniences that the exploit may have caused.As it’s impossible to determine how the hackers breach the network, the Wormhole network team expressed that they’re doing all that they possibly can to back up the network anytime soon. Apart from the network maintenance, the company mentioned that it will soon add Ethereum (ETH) to make sure that wETH is backed 1:1 on the network.Meanwhile, the Wormhole network team hasn’t yet addressed the users whether their stolen funds will be refundable or not, at the time of writing. On the other hand, Cardano (ADA) CEO Charles Hoskinson teased his stance on the exploit and said that “I’ve heard of ghost chain, but now there is ghost wrapped ether.”Continue reading on CoinQuora More

  • 113 Shares139 Views

    in Economy

    Nokia resumes dividend, share buybacks as turnaround gathers pace

    The company also forecast annual revenue largely ahead of projections and set a long-term target for operating margins of at least 14%, replacing its earlier 2023 target of between 11% and 13%.A slew of technology missteps in the early stages of 5G rollout pushed Nokia behind its rivals, prompting a change in management. Since Pekka Lundmark took over as CEO in 2020, he found ways to cut costs and increase spending on research.”We have now largely caught up competition in 5G,” Lundmark said in an interview. “We have created a foundation for growth acceleration, the year of reset is behind us, now we are accelerating.”While the ban of rival Huawei in some markets had helped Nokia to claw back market share, it faced a setback when long-time U.S. customer Verizon (NYSE:VZ) chose to give a multi-billion-dollar contract to Samsung (KS:005930).That contract loss still hurt fourth-quarter revenue that fell 2% to 6.41 billion, missing expectations of 6.47 billion, a Refinitiv poll showed.”We have established a new baseline in North America and we do see growth opportunities there,” Lundmark said, adding the upcoming 5G auctions in countries such as India would present further growth avenues.Nokia’s fourth-quarter adjusted operating profit of 908 million euros beat the 822 million euros expected by analysts.Lundmark said he was keeping options open when it came to the question of acquiring companies to strengthen its technology position just like rival Ericsson (BS:ERICAs), which has splurged billions of dollars in acquiring companies.Nokia also proposed a dividend, suspended since 2019, of 8 euro cents per share for 2021, and start a share buyback scheme of 600 million euros.Nokia predicted its 2022 revenue will amount to between 22.6 billion euros and 23.8 billion euros ($25.5 billion-$26.9 billion), up from 22.2 billion last year. Analysts on average expected revenue of 23.06 billion, a Refinitiv poll showed.For 2021, the company reported revenue of 22.2 billion – a growth of 3% in constant currency.”At least there was growth, which has not always been the case in the past few years,” Lundmark said. ($1 = 0.8850 euros) More