Payment Expert’s Blockchain Bulletin analyses how the world of blockchain is constantly evolving and having a major impact on the payment industry, with cryptocurrencies, NFTs and the metaverse revolutionising the space.
This week, a recent report by dappGambl revealed that since their initial peak in 2021, NFT prices and popularity have plummeted with a large majority now deemed as worthless.
Can NFTs make a comeback?
Research from dappGambl revealed that 95% of NFTs surveyed are now deemed worthless in a dramatic fall off from their initial period of growth 2020-2021.
The report outlined that 23 million NFT owners have lost out on making any form of return on investment as four out of five digital collectibles yet to be sold and 69,795 holding a market cap of 0 ETH.
The height of NFT popularity was brought about by celebrity endorsement, with the likes of Justin Bieber and Eminem spending millions of dollars on NFTs in a bid to help create a new cultural craze that maintained 100% ownership.
However, despite the drastic and damning dappGambl findings, NFTs may hold a second shelflife and be used not only for cultural and aesthetic purposes, with many organisations in many sectors tapping into the technology to enhance fan engagement and offer unique benefits.
Nexdesk CEO: MiCA is EU’s ‘sweet spot between innovation and security’
Nexdesk CEO, Sofian Berrahal, spoke to Payment Expert this week on his views on how the upcoming Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation in Europe will help foster innovation and provide a secure blanket for consumer adoption.
He shared: “MiCA is their (EU’s) way of trying to find the sweet spot between fostering innovation and ensuring the public stays safe. The goal here is to have a holistic game plan for anyone in the crypto service game, OTC desks included.”
Berrahal also spoke at length on the potential of OTC crypto trading in an evolving crypto environment, as well as the potentially significant role AI can play in the evolution of its trajectory.
SBF branded a “total fake” as BBC documents the FTX’s downfall
As Sam Bankman-Fried awaits trial for the collapse of FTX in October, he was the subject of the latest episode of BBC’s documentary series Panorama, where it detailed the former crypto kingpin’s rise to prominence and ultimate downfall.
Marc Cohodes described SBF as a “total fake” as well as bashing his clean-cut mainstream image, branded as a ‘political power play’ as he donated large investments to the Democratic Party during the run-in of the 2020 US election.
The Panorama episode also goes in-depth on SBF’s commitment to driving FTX as a mainstream player grabbing the likes of Larry David for its Super Bowl ad, uncovering the instability behind the scenes of the crypto exchange and how it ultimately blew up in their faces.
PYUSD finds a home at Crypto.com
PayPal has chosen Crypto.com as the preferred exchange for its recently released PYUSD stablecoin, already listed on the crypto exchange for both retail and institutional users.
The partnership builds on the pair’s pre-existing relationship which has seen PayPal integrate its services for Crypto.com Visa Card users to top-up their accounts seamlessly, and will continue to explore avenues to enhance the market.
Ethereum the most popular non-Bitcoin cryptocurrency
Whilst we all know Bitcoin is undisputedly the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, Marketplace Fairness revealed that Ethereum is comfortably the most popular alternative with 3.26 million monthly searches.
Dogecoin is second with 1.66 million searches, Ripple Labs’ XRP is third with 1.25 million, Shiba Inu is fourth with 678,000 and Cardano falls shortly behind with 677,000 monthly searches.
Coinbase expands European presence
In a bid to enhance and expand its European growth strategy, Coinbase has recently been granted clearance by the Bank of Spain to become a fully licensed crypto exchange in Spain.
Coinbase products and services will now become available to all Spanish investors and institutional users in the country.
