by Fintech Express | May 9, 2023 | Blockchain
Binance has announced that it will enable the trading of Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs in its marketplace via a recent announcement. It has stated that it will allow investors to trade their Ordinals NFTs using the already existing wallets. This news comes when the total number of generated Ordinals hits over 5M.
Binance NFT Marketplace to allow the trading of BTC Ordinals
Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs have been a hot topic in the crypto space this year, and by now, 5M inscriptions have been hosted on the network. By now, they have been supported by major NFT exchanges like Magic Eden.
On May 9, 2023, Binance announced it would support Bitcoin Ordinals on its NFT Marketplace in May. The NFT Marketplace will now expand its NFT ecosystem to offer Bitcoin products. Previously, the marketplace integrated with decentralized networks like BNB Chain, Ethereum, and Polygon.
Keep watching FinTech Express for updates on this and other Finance related stories.
by Fintech Express | May 8, 2023 | Regulation
Coinbase Executives have visited the United Arab Emirates to see if the country would be favorable to setting up their global presence. Due to regulatory uncertainties, the crypto exchange has been looking for alternatives to the U.S. and now is weighing whether the UAE could be a perfect match for it.
Coinbase actively searching for a way out from U.S. legal battles
The exchange’s Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong has taken another shot at the U.S. regarding its crypto treatment claiming that they are trailing behind. He made these comments at the Dubai FinTech Summit on May 8, 2023.
In a May 7 blog post, Coinbase stated that its CEO Brian Armstrong and some of its Executive team were discussing the feasibility of using UAE as a strategic hub for the exchange. According to the company, it was working closely with the regulators in the Abudhabi Global Marlet and DUbai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority as part of efforts to expand into the region potentially.
“The UAE is exciting for us as a potential hub to build as well, an international hub for Coinbase that could serve not only in the Middle East but parts of Africa or other countries in Asia,” said Armstrong at the Dubai Fintech Summit on May 8. “I think the U.S. right now is a little bit behind in regulatory clarity and some of the rhetoric from the top.”
UAE has become a leader in promoting crypto adoption, allowing VASPs like Binance to thrive and operate there. It does not have laws barring these exchanges from offering their services and does not have a ‘dirty’ history of charging organizations.
As such, many Web 3 and crypto organizations are turning to the country to set up their premises to go international. Now Coinbase seeks to follow suit following its announcement on March 2 that it was launching the Coinbase International Exchange.
These efforts by the exchange follow when a battle with the US SEC is in the cards. The exchange’s CEO has repeatedly hit the regulator for not encouraging crypto technology in the country. He also shot at the SEC for using enforcement measures rather than harmonizing regulatory efforts.
The SEC has already issued a Wells Notice to the exchange showing intent to charge it for operating ‘against’ U.S. laws. Keep watching FinTech Express for updates on the story as it unfolds.
by Fintech Express | May 4, 2023 | Banking
As most market analysts expected, European Central Bank(ECB) has raised its interest rates again by another 25 basis points. Its President, Christine Lagarde, has announced this decision saying that they are rallying to maintain their battle against inflation.
ECB hikes rates again to hit 3.25%
The main policy rates have been hiked by 25 basis points bringing the total interest rates up by 3.25% in this economic shake-up. The decision by the ECB follows suit Yesterday’s U.S. Federal Reserve decision to hike the rates by another 25 basis points bringing its tally to 5%, the highest range since August 2007.
The European markets reacted to the news from the U.S. financial policymakers earlier today, dipping across almost all sectors as market analysts from the region also expected ECB to do the same.
Central banks have been hiking rates to bring down high inflation that most countries are battling with due to COVID economic disruption. The massive global lockdowns to battle the epidemic disrupted major supply chains, which have caused a crunch in global economics.
Currently, inflation stands at an average of 7% in the 20 countries that use the Euro for trade. That number is more than ECB’s 2% inflation rate target. However, today’s rate hike was lower than the previous ones, which foreshadows plans by the ECB to slow down the program of hikes. The same steps are expected from the U.S. Federal Reserve as it gave hints of pausing the hikes soon in its official statement.
The rising interest rates have resulted in higher profits for lenders, but on the other hand, it’s putting pressure on banks as some government bonds are losing value. However, the E.U. has been experiencing a stronger banking system resilience, unlike the U.S., which has seen the collapse of around 3 major banks collapse.
However, only time will tell how long the battle against inflation will take. Keep watching Fintech Express for updates on Macro-finance and other fintech-related stories.
by Fintech Express | May 3, 2023 | Blockchain
Solve.Care, a Web 3 health services company, has tapped into the expertise of OMRON Healthcare to integrate it with its systems. OMRON offers blood pressure monitoring and cardiovascular disease management solution.
Now, OMRON’s devices can send and receive data directly from Solve.Care platform. The Web 3 solutions provider said the measurement data will be stored directly in its decentralized user data nodes via OMRON’s Evolv® BP7000 Blood Pressure Monitor.
In a press release, the company said that Evolve by OMRON will allow users of its platform to share their readings peer-to-peer with health services providers or within their Care.Circle. Care.Circle is a personalized healthcare support group comprising family and friends or other care providers.
The press release explained that the integration of OMRON devices is part of Solve.Care’s strategy of creating an entire healthcare ecosystem for patients, physicians, and all healthcare stakeholders.
“We admire OMRON Healthcare’s goal for developing life-saving cardiovascular health technologies and sharing a like-minded vision of enabling consumers to access their real-time healthcare data,” said Pradeep Goel, CEO of Solve.Care.
“While accelerating the expansion of OMRON devices to reach more consumers and new markets, we are creating a more holistic approach to healthcare on the Solve.Care platform. We’re thrilled to integrate our innovative Care.Wallet technology with one of the most reputable blood pressure devices worldwide.”
Pradeep Goel, CEO of Solve.Care.
The deal between OMRON and Solve.Care is expected to impact many people as OMRON is the world’s largest blood pressure monitoring device manufacturer, with over 300 sold units. It will also make Solve.Care an authorized reseller of its devices which will harmonize their joint efforts further. Keep watching Fintech Express for updates on Web 3 and other Fintech-related stories.
by Fintech Express | May 2, 2023 | Cryptocurrencies
Coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchanges by trading volume, has launched an international platform following tensions with US SEC. The exchange will roll out Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures trading to commence trading.
Coinbase takes a giant step following unfriendly US regulations
Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO, is guiding his company to fight back against US SEC regulations after the authority threatened to take legal action against his company. The SEC issued a wells notice earlier in the year after it charged Kraken for offering crypto staking services in the US without its knowledge.
Armstrong strongly condemned the authority for its method of administration, saying that it sought to charge companies rather than formulate workable regulatory frameworks first. He said the exchange would seek to go offshore as other crypto companies could follow suit.
He added that his company was not scared of starting a legal battle with the SEC for what it considered an ‘unfavourable’ regulation style for their business. On May 2, 2023, the exchange announced the launch of Coinbase International Exchange (CIE), a new institutional platform designed and optimized for crypto derivatives trading.
The exchange will start by listing Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures later in the week. It will operate by settling all trading in Coinbase-backed stablecoin USD Coin, requiring no fiat on-ramps. The exchange has stressed that direct access trading on the new platform will be available to institutional traders via application programming and eligible to non-U.S. jurisdictions. As such, those products won’t be available to retail investors initially.
According to the exchange’s announcement, the new international platform has been launched with the help of Bermuda regulators. The exchange received a license from the Bermuda regulators in Mid-April. The Class F license issued by the regulators will allow the exchange to operate as a digital asset exchange and a digital asset derivatives exchange provider. It will also grant the platform permission to operate activities like token sales and issuance.
Keep watching Fintech Express for updates on the developments surrounding CIE, Coinbase vs SEC and other crypto-related news.
