News updates January 28, 2022
1. Turkey's President Erdogan Instructs Ruling Party to Study Cryptocurrency, Metaverse
The president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has reportedly instructed the country’s ruling party to conduct a study on cryptocurrency and the metaverse. “It is a sensitive subject, a good and meticulous study should be done,” said President Erdoğan.
Turkish President Wants the Ruling Party to Study Crypto and the Metaverse
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly discussed cryptocurrency and the metaverse at the Justice and Development Party’s central executive board meeting held Tuesday under his chairmanship.
The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is the largest party in Turkey, and President Erdoğan is its current leader.
During the meeting, President Erdoğan directed the AK Party to analyze new developments, including cryptocurrency and the metaverse, local media reported Wednesday. He also instructed the party members to organize a forum to focus on these areas. President Erdoğan reportedly said at the meeting:
It is a sensitive subject. A good and meticulous study should be done.
2. US Sentences Bitcoin Seller to 1 Year in Jail for Defrauding Investors
A bitcoin seller has been sentenced to one year and one day in jail for defrauding customers, according to a notice by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The man took money from customers but did not provide them with the agreed-upon bitcoin.
Fraudulent Bitcoin Seller Going to Jail
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week that Michael Yusko has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison “for defrauding customers through unlicensed bitcoin business.”
The 47-year-old resident of New Orleans sold bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to customers in May 2018. “Yusko would promise customers any amount of bitcoin in exchange for U.S. dollars at five percent above market price for a five percent fee,” the DOJ detailed, emphasizing that he failed to follow through on transactions.
According to the Justice Department, customers subsequently complained about their bitcoin purchases, stating:
Yusko had defrauded them by not providing them with the agreed-upon bitcoin after taking their money.
3. Putin Urges Government, Central Bank to Reach Consensus on Crypto, Highlights Russia’s Mining Potential.
President Vladimir Putin has joined the debate on the future of cryptocurrencies in Russia, calling on the government and central bank to work out a common position on their regulation. The Russian leader also emphasized Russia’s strengths as a crypto mining destination.
Putin Asks Ministers and Bankers to Report Back With Consensus on Cryptocurrencies
.Russian President Vladimir Putin has added his comments to the ongoing discussion on how to put Russia’s growing crypto space in order. At the start of a video conference with the members of the Russian government, Putin gave his take on “an issue that is currently in the spotlight – the regulation of cryptocurrencies.”
4. UAE Based Money Transfer Firm Announces Partnership With Ripplenet
Al Fardan Exchange, a money transfer firm, has joined up with Ripplenet in a deal that will see the company use the Ripplenet blockchain when sending funds across national borders.
Al Fardan’s Reasons for Joining Ripple
A United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based money transfer platform, Al Fardan Exchange, has partnered with Ripple in a deal in which the remittances firm will use the latter’s blockchain to send funds across borders in real-time.
According to a report in The National News, Al Fardan will become part of the Ripplenet Cloud, the blockchain firm’s cloud-based global financial network. In his comments following an announcement of the agreement, the money transfer firm’s chief executive, Hasan Al Fardan, explained why his company went into this partnership. He said
We are well into a digital future and payments powered by technology, which is becoming key in the region. This partnership underscores our commitment to offering new channels and opportunities for people to remit money more securely, with more flexibility and convenience.
5. America’s Five Star Bank Is Now Allowing Its Clients to Buy, Sell, and Hold Bitcoin
On Tuesday, Five Star Bank, which is a subsidiary of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI), announced a new partnership with NYDIG, through which it will “become one of the first financial institutions in the U.S. to enable its banking clients to securely buy, sell and hold bitcoin.”
Five Star Bank is “a $5 billion community bank offering a wide range of consumer and commercial banking and lending services to individuals, municipalities, and businesses through a network of approximately 50 locations.”
6. After Twitter, Reddit Looks To Soon Add NFT Profile Picture Feature
Add Reddit to the growing list of big brands jumping on the non-fungible token (NFT) bandwagon. The popular social media platform is reportedly working on a feature that would allow users to add non-fungible tokens to their profile pictures. This comes just a week after Twitter launched a similar feature.
7. Ban less likely? Putin says crypto mining has its advantages in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given crypto enthusiasts a glimmer of hope for the future of digital assets in the country, which have been under threat from a recent push to ban cryptocurrencies and mining.
He also called on the country’s central bank to meet with his government in the near future so that they might come to a consensus on the use of crypto.
