News updates January 30, 2022
1. Russians Aware of Bitcoin Divided on Proposed Crypto Ban, Poll Finds
A new survey has indicated that Russians who have heard about cryptocurrency are deeply divided in their opinions on the recently suggested ban on operations with digital assets. A third of the respondents support the central bank’s proposal while an equal number of participants in the survey oppose it.
Bank of Russia’s Call to Prohibit Cryptocurrencies Backed by 32% of Russians Who Know Bitcoin
Amid ongoing discussions on the future of digital currencies, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (Vtsiom) has published a new study measuring the attitudes of Russian citizens towards crypto assets and operations with them. It comes as officials are trying to put the country’s crypto space in order, not without disagreements between regulators.
According to the poll, the majority of Russians (64%) have heard about bitcoin and 17% have good knowledge of the cryptocurrency, an increase of four percentage points in comparison with the data from a 2017 survey. The share of those who are totally unaware of its existence has shrunk by 11 points to just 19%.
2. Here’s How the Ukraine Crisis Might Impact Bitcoin and the Crypto Market
The downturn we’ve seen over the past few weeks is largely the result of things other than Russia-Ukraine tensions.
Analysts tend to think that direct armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine (and perhaps their allies) will definitely make its impact felt.
However, while potentially substantial, most impacts might be relatively short-term in their scope.
The threat of armed conflict is a possibility, but it at least shouldn’t be feared by BTC holders, per analysts.
A crisis is brewing. As we type these words, Russia is conducting military exercises along its border with Ukraine, while the United States has put some 8,500 of its own troops on alert, just in case an eastern European war erupts.
3. Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Is 'Here to Stay and Impossible to Regulate at Large' — CEO of a United Arab Emirates Based Bank
According to the chief executive officer (CEO) of the United Arab Emirates-based financial institution, Bank of Sharjah, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are not only difficult to regulate but are also here to stay. Despite this prediction, the CEO admits that many in the banking industry still do not fully understand this technology.
A Revolutionary Technology
The CEO of Bank of Sharjah, Varouj Nerguizian, has said the blockchain and cryptocurrencies are not going away but are likely to become a significant part of the banking system. Nerguizian, however, said banks can only fully benefit from technology when they deploy non-public or enterprise blockchains.
In comments made during an interview with Emirates News, the CEO also explained how the blockchain can potentially be a double-edged sword to financial institutions that are attempting to adapt to the post-pandemic landscape. He said:
Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that is not yet fully understood by the banking industry at large. While its application is easy to grasp in certain areas like Know Your Customer [KYC] or the real estate title deed verification, blockchain supposedly allows parties to transact with each other without the need for an intermediary. This raises the concerns of the authorities that would like to monitor the activity.
4. Report: Nvidia’s Lite Hash Rate Tech to Stop Crypto Miners 'Was Pointless'
In mid-May 2021, the American multinational technology company Nvidia Corporation revealed that it added a hashrate limiter to curb the use of cryptocurrency mining with its graphics processing units (GPUs). However, crypto miners now say the move was pointless, and the mining organization Nicehash details that the hashrate limiter scheme introduced by Nvidia “did not discourage miners at all.”
Nvidia’s Hashrate Limiter Didn’t Stop Crypto Miners From Using the Products
Last year News reported on Nvidia’s “Lite Hash Rate” (LHR) technology, when the graphics cards manufacturer attempted to stop crypto miners from leveraging its GPUs to mine digital assets. Nvidia applied LHR to three specific GPU products, and the company said the motivation was to get its card back into the hands of gamers. Eight months later, reports say that the LHR tech did very little to stop crypto miners from utilizing these specific Nvidia devices
The cryptocurrency mining Platform Nicehash told pcmag.com that LHR technology “did not discourage miners at all.” Moreover, a crypto miner named Blake Teeter from Colorado told pcmag Michael Kan that the LHR tech did not stop him from purchasing the GPUs and leveraging them for crypto mining purposes. Teeter said he added LHR-based Nvidia GPUs to his GPU farm, which gets $4.5K per month in ethereum (ETH) profits.
“Yes, I feel LHR was pointless,” Teeter remarked and further noted that LHR-based Nvidia GPUs “isn’t a deal-breaker for miners.”
5. Visa Partners With Over 65 Crypto Platforms — Crypto-Linked Card Usage Soars Despite Price Volatility
Visa has now partnered with more than 65 crypto platforms and exchanges. In addition, the payments giant revealed that crypto-linked card usage exceeded $2.5 billion in the first fiscal quarter, “which is already 70% of the payments volume for all of fiscal 2021.”
Visa Outlines Crypto Strategy and Achievements
Visa Inc. discussed its crypto strategy and achievements during the company’s earnings call Thursday. Visa CEO Al Kelly said: “Many current trends in payments, including … crypto, and wallets, are enabling new ways to pay. These represent opportunities for Visa.”
Regarding his company’s efforts in the crypto space, the executive highlighted:
We’re also providing on-ramps for crypto players creating connectivity with fiat economies. There are over 65 crypto platforms and exchanges that have partnered to issue Visa credentials.
6. Cyber vigilante hunts down DeFi scammers running away with $25M rug pull
The StableMagnet platform lured unwary investors under the pretext of high returns against stablecoin deposits. In a typical rug pull event, StableMagnet managed to run away with the $25 million that was invested by over 1000 users.
Right before the rug pull, the cyber vigilante (anonymous for obvious reasons) examined the code to ensure the legitimacy of the project prior to investing himself. However, what he missed out on were a number of messages on Twitter alerting him on the possible exploits and vulnerabilities in the system.
7. The Unhosted Crypto Wallet Rule Is Back
A controversial proposed rule that would enforce know-your-customer rules on unhosted or self-hosted crypto wallets may again be under consideration by the U.S. federal government.
The Treasury Department, which is now overseen by Secretary Janet Yellen, revealed that the rule might be considered in this semiannual agenda of regulations, set to be formally published in the Federal Register on Jan. 31. The agenda outlines priorities for the Treasury Department, but it does not indicate that the rules will for sure be implemented, or that they will be implemented as-is. Rather, the agenda is a tool that signals things Treasury will work on over the next six months.
