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- El Salvador Launches New ‘Freedom Visa’ for High-Net-Worth Individuals Powered by Bitcoin or USDT 🇸🇻🪙
El Salvador Launches New ‘Freedom Visa’ for High-Net-Worth Individuals Powered by Bitcoin or USDT 🇸🇻🪙
PLUS: U.S., South Korea, Japan Discuss North Korean Crypto Thefts in Trilateral Meeting. Blockchain is fueling this emerging tech hub in Portugal: Madeira Blockchain 2023.
Manan Vora
December 11, 2023
Snapshot Web3
December 11, 2023
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Regulatory and Legal News
El Salvador has launched the "Freedom Visa Program," inviting high-net-worth individuals to invest $1 million in Bitcoin (BTC) or USDT for citizenship. The program, promoting an "accelerated path" to citizenship for 1,000 individuals, requires applicants to pay a nonrefundable $999 application fee in BTC or USDT. Chosen candidates must contribute a total of $1 million in BTC or USDT, described as an "investment" for building a new Bitcoin-based economy. This fee is ten times larger than similar programs in the Caribbean. El Salvador, led by President Nayib Bukele, remains committed to Bitcoin, holding over $130 million worth of BTC in reserves.
U.S., South Korean, and Japanese national security officials discussed North Korea's cryptocurrency thefts and its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in a trilateral meeting. The officials, including U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Republic of Korea National Security Advisor Cho Tae-Yong, and Japan National Security Advisor Takeo Akiba, met in Seoul to review progress on various trilateral initiatives. They addressed concerns about North Korea's use of cryptocurrency to generate revenue for its weapons of mass destruction programs. The meeting also covered North Korea's relationship with Russia. The country's hacking activities, including the theft of billions in crypto, have drawn international attention and sanctions.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is using recently unsealed court records to support its case against Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ). The SEC argues that admissions made by Binance and CZ in their plea deals with other agencies, now revealed in unsealed documents, strengthen the SEC's case. The documents disclose willful violations of laws and intentional service to millions of U.S. customers. The SEC seeks to use these admissions to counter Binance's motion to dismiss the case. Additionally, the plea agreement reveals unprecedented monitoring and oversight measures imposed on Binance, potentially impacting the exchange's operations.
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Innovation and Launches
The Madeira Blockchain Conference 2023 in Portugal highlighted the emergence of a tech hub focusing on blockchain and AI. The local tech community, representing about 30% of the island's businesses, organized the event to promote startup networking and discuss blockchain solutions for real-world problems. Traditional gaming studios, such as Redcatpig, are cautiously exploring blockchain but avoiding Web3-related buzzwords. Startups seeking funds were advised to carefully choose investors and consider factors like lockup, vesting, and carry. Madeira is actively supporting startups with incentives, including a free trade zone with low corporate tax rates, aiming to strengthen its economy through technological innovation.
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NFT, Gaming and Metaverse
Pudgy Penguins, the NFT-linked toys, will launch "Pudgy World," an interactive digital playground for NFT holders and toy owners. The platform is set to debut in alpha mode before April, offering players narrative-driven and open-ended gameplay options. Each Pudgy Penguins toy will include a scannable code with a birth certificate for a digital 'Forever Pudgy,' a unique character in Pudgy World. The virtual world will feature customizable characters and "Hero Characters" such as Pudgy and Peaches. The Pudgy Penguins NFT collection, launched in July 2021, has grown to 8,888 NFTs held by over 4,000 people, with a market cap of nearly $250 million.
The web3 gaming sector has experienced substantial growth in recent weeks, with gaming tokens outperforming other crypto market sectors, showing an 800% increase in value over the past months. A VanEck research report on Immutable's IMX token and the launch of Illuvium (ILV) on a mainstream gaming platform contributed to notable price surges for these tokens. The gaming sector is considered a key narrative in the upcoming bull run, with many projects preparing for launch. Immutable's IMX token and Illuvium's ILV token have surged more than 2x in recent weeks, driven by positive forecasts and the anticipation of high-budget blockchain-based video games. The trend is also evident in other gaming tokens and projects connected to gaming ecosystems, showcasing the sector's potential for further growth and innovation.
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Scams and Hacks
Crypto exchange HTX (formerly Huobi) experienced outflows exceeding $258 million following a $30 million exploit on November 22. From November 25 to December 10, HTX saw significant net outflows. DefiLlama data reveals that HTX's reserves consist of 32.3% Bitcoin (BTC) and 31.8% Tron (TRX). TRX is the native currency of the Tron network, founded by Justin Sun in 2017. Despite the outflows, HTX remains the 16th largest crypto exchange by daily trading volume, with $1.6 billion in the last 24 hours. HTX and other Sun-linked entities have faced four hacks in the past two months, leading to significant losses.
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Funding and Acquisitions
Decrypt Media Inc. and Rug Radio are merging to create the world's largest decentralized publishing company, codenamed [REDACTED]. The merger aims to revolutionize tech-media by combining content creation and consumption forces. Rug's community members will create editorial content with Decrypt's editors, gaining access to Rug's videocasting tools. The entities plan to build an ad-tech network with Arbitrum's support. The merger, set for completion by January's end, will introduce a token for a media ecosystem benefiting consumers, creators, and advertisers. The collaboration will exclusively use Arbitrum as the backbone for the new media ecosystem.
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Interesting Reads
Ordinals, a relatively new project in the crypto space, has achieved the capability to inscribe entire websites on Bitcoin. The Ordinals project involves a dual-layer structure with Ordinals as the base layer and inscriptions as the top layer. Ordinals represent arbitrary data stored within one Satoshi (Sat), which is 1 over 100,000,000 of 1 BTC. Inscriptions allow users to add data to a Sat, making it unique and akin to an NFT. The recent upgrade (Ord v0.12.0) introduces recursive endpoints, namely /r/children and /r/sat, enabling parent inscriptions to view or pull data from child inscriptions. This advancement opens the door for permanent and dynamic data, such as websites, on Bitcoin through Ordinals.
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Resource of the Day
Discovering and managing airdrops becomes easier with the help of these top 5 Twitter accounts. Chase, an influential figure with over 136k followers, provides in-depth airdrop strategies and explores Decentralized Applications (dApps). Olimpio, boasting a massive following of 177.2k, covers news, airdrop strategies, DeFi, and yield farming. Ardizor, with 117,600 followers, focuses on current trends and popular projects for efficient airdrop hunting. Mingo Airdrop, concentrating solely on airdrops, advises on a wide range of projects to help investors complement their portfolios. Leshka, with 51,700 followers, offers all-rounded content covering airdrops, DeFi, NFTs, and crypto Venture Capitalist (VC) space, providing alpha in various crypto areas.
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Miscellaneous
Thailand has become a prominent player in the Asian cryptocurrency scene, with growing adoption rates, increased digital asset trading volume, favorable regulatory conditions, and a thriving ecosystem of digital services. Major exchanges in Thailand, including Bitkub, Bitazza, and Satang, recorded a cumulative trading volume of $116.43 million from January to October 2023. Bitkub emerged as the market leader, capturing 77.04% of the total trading volume for the year. The country ranks tenth on Chainalysis' Crypto Adoption Index, with over 2.94 million user accounts on digital asset exchanges, surpassing the number of accounts on the stock market. The adoption of Web3 technologies by financial institutions is further propelling Thailand into a prominent position in the global crypto and blockchain arena.
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The information provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as investment advice, endorsement, or recommendation. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk due to their volatility. You should consider your financial situation, investment goals, and risk tolerance before making any investments. We strongly recommend consulting a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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