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MasterCard to incubate NFT-focused startups bitsCrunch through its “Start Path” startup engagement program

bitsCrunch, the India and Germany-based blockchain analytics company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to secure and secure the NFT ecosystem, has revealed that it has been selected to participate in the pledge program. MasterCard called The MasterCard Home Path.

Designed to help post-escalation startups, the Start Path Program offers an extended suite of products that help startups reach a global consumer base. With MasterCard rapidly expanding into the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the Start Path program focuses beyond payment solutions, covering diverse areas such as fintech, blockchain, e-commerce, AI, fraud prevention, financial inclusion and more.

In the Start Path program, all selected projects gain full access to MasterCard’s ready-to-integrate fintech APIs, tools and solutions, as well as the opportunity to present their ideas to MasterCard’s global network of consumers, merchants and partners.

According to Vijay Pravin Maharajan, CEO of bitsCrunch, “With advanced technology tools, an incredible team and industry experience, bitsCrunch ensures consistent quality and security in digital asset startups. Collaborating with MasterCard Start Path helps us provide best-in-class solutions for emerging customers in the cryptocurrency industry and transform business landscapes. In addition, we are pleased that bitsCrunch will be joining the MasterCard Start Path program soon.”

BitCrunch’s main goals align with MasterCard’s goals of fraud prevention, financial inclusion and several other areas. BitCrunch currently offers a wide range of products, each designed to address the persistent challenges of the NFT ecosystem, including laundering trading, counterfeiting, and inefficient asset valuation, among others. By leveraging MasterCard’s infrastructure and global reach, bitsCrunch will be able to further expand its presence in the mainstream economy.

At the same time, MasterCard can leverage bitsCrunch to give its users direct access to the NFT ecosystem. The platform’s range of products will help non-crypto MasterCard users easily find, value and invest in NFTs and other digital assets. Using bitsCrunch’s trio of NFT security services (Scour, Liquify and Crunch DaVinci) along with its fast, accurate and reliable analytics services, MasterCard can ensure its global customers can make well-informed business decisions across a wide range of asset.

bitsCrunch analytics products and services run on some of today’s top blockchain ecosystems, including Ethereum, Avalanche, Polkadot, and Polygon. The platform recently raised $3.6 million from leading investment firms like Polygon Studios, Coinbase Ventures, Crypto.com Capital, Spark Digital, Bison Funds and Gravity X, to name a few. According to the bitsCrunch team’s tweet, these funds will help secure a presence on other prominent blockchains like Algorand, Solana, and others.

Emphasizing the need for credibility for widespread adoption of digital assets, a spokesperson for the MasterCard Start Path Program team notes, “With MasterCard, startups around the world can build platforms on open banking, predictive finance models for small businesses, more. Partnering with bitsCrunch allows companies to access MasterCard’s global ecosystem and reach new audiences through MasterCard customers. The collaboration will provide safe and secure transactions, which will increase brand credibility.”

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Japan Central Bank Wants Urgent Crypto Regulation, Warns Global Settlement System Could Be Overthrown

A senior Bank of Japan (BoJ) official said the group of 7 nations urgently needs a common framework to regulate cryptocurrencies before they “destroy” the global settlement system.

One of the main reasons given for this was the possibility that Russia used cryptocurrencies to avoid the sanctions that were imposed on it after the invasion of Ukraine.

According to a Reuters report, the BoJ believes that the cryptocurrency is under the spotlight due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and that a loophole could be created that would allow Russia to avoid international sanctions by using it.

In fact, Kazushige Kamiyama, head of the BOJ’s Payment and Settlement Systems Department, says it would not be difficult to create an individual global settlement system using stablecoins, which could include the yen, the US dollar or the euro.

Kamiyama urges the group of seven advanced economies to move quickly to update current rules that will take digital currencies into account. kamiyama said:

“The G7 nations are now working together on this front, while sharing information on current developments,”

However, Kamiyama’s comments run counter to expert opinion on Russia’s ability to use cryptocurrencies with any degree of success. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) stated that the use of cryptocurrencies by the Russian government was “not necessarily practicable.”

It can probably be said that the BoJ is much more interested in designing and rolling out its own central bank digital currency (CBDC). Any development in crypto regulation could have knock-on effects for a central bank digital yen.

Kamiyama noted that the BoJ was keen to keep up with developments and did not want to be left behind.

“Given the number of advanced nation central banks collectively, dramatically and simultaneously moving into CBDC, this could cause major changes to the settlement system in the future,” he said. “Japan needs to make sure it’s not left behind.”

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Rio de Janeiro Permits BTC Payments for Real Estate Taxes

If you’re a bitcoin lover and you own real estate in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, there’s a good chance you’re feeling pretty lucky right about now. The city government has announced that those who own real estate in Rio de Janeiro can pay their real estate taxes with bitcoin and other forms of crypto.
Rio de Janeiro Is Pushing Crypto Forward

The move is proof, once again, that Latin America and crypto appear to go hand in hand. Several countries in that neck of the woods, over the past few years, have done quite a bit to not only legalize crypto but push for higher usage, and now Rio de Janeiro is taking a huge step forward in making the initial goals of digital currency become realities.

While bitcoin and many of its altcoin cousins have taken on very speculative shapes over the past few years, it’s easy to forget that a lot of these assets were initially designed to be used for purchasing goods and services. They were designed to serve as payment methods that would push checks, credit cards, and fiat currencies to the side, but this has been a slow journey given how volatile they are. Many businesses and institutions, as a result, are reluctant to say “yes” when it comes to accepting crypto payments, and to a certain extent, we can understand why.

Consider the following scenario: a person walks into a business and purchases $50 worth of items with bitcoin. For one reason or another, the organization does not convert the BTC into fiat right away. 24 hours go by, and the price of bitcoin drops, causing that $50 to turn into $40. While the customer gets to keep everything they bought, the company has lost money. Is this fair? Not everyone thinks so.

Thanks to Rio de Janeiro and its regulators, the push for crypto payments just got a lot stronger. The acceptance of crypto for real estate taxes is occurring through a joint effort between Binance – the largest and most popular digital currency exchange in the world – and Eduardo Paes, the mayor of the city. In an interview, the chief executive officer of Binance Changpeng Zhao explained:

He (Mayor Paes) has done his share and we are doing ours.

Binance Will Help Out

City officials also took the time to chime in, claiming:

To facilitate the operation, the municipality will contract with firms that specialize in converting cryptocurrency to reais. In this manner, city hall will receive the whole amount in money.

Rio de Janeiro, despite its good intentions, still has quite a way to go if it’s going to compete with other Latin American nations such as El Salvador, which has done all it can to put bitcoin on the map. The country declared BTC legal tender last September and hasn’t looked back.

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Binance Launches Binance Bridge 2.0 to integrate CEFI and Defi

The service would allow users asset bridges of any block block to the BNB chain.

On March 29, the Centralized Cryptocurrence Exchange Bnance announced the Binance Bridge 2.0 impulse. The feature allows active users to tarnate any block block, even tokens that are not listed in the Binance application for the BNB chain. The bridges listed in billions will be stored in funding or in the portfolio to detect, while the not listed binding tokens will be transferred to the funding portfolio only.

Users can fill or bridge tokens between their native blocks of blocks and BNB chain through regular tank functions and removal. In the future, Binance also plans to create a better version of your mobile application to allow users to provide this conversion to facilitate through a single click. With regard to development, Mayur Kamat, Binance Manager, said:

"With Binance Bridge 2.0, we can make decentralized finances accessible to a larger public worldwide, while providing user-free user experience offered by centralized finance offerings. We are already seeing this through tremendous adoption of the Mini Pancheckap application.

Binance has also implemented a new automated token control system in Binance Bridge 2.0. The exchange will not maintain a surplus of fixed chips, also known as enveloped assets, except for a buffer size in hot portfolios. Instead, you will print additional tokens when users will remove fallen tokens into the BNB intelligent chain.

The company indicated that all other circulations will be supported by the native tokens deposited by the users of the original block tables. When users want to change the tokens glued to the original tokens, they can deposit the fixed sheets in the binave and remove the original tokens. Simultaneously, excessive tokens will be swept to the cold portfolio and will burn automatically.

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Russia may accept Bitcoin for gas export

Russia is moving away from the dollar and euro as payment options for its energy exports, and Bitcoin has been mentioned as a possible replacement alongside the ruble and national currencies of partner countries. A high-ranking lawmaker has indicated that Moscow may accept cryptocurrencies for natural gas and other resources.

Russian official mentions Bitcoin among alternative settlement methods for his gas

The Russian Federation has taken action in response to unprecedented Western sanctions imposed by the invasion of Ukraine. The energy-rich nation is now looking for other currencies to replace the US dollar and euro in its gas trade.

On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will ask “enemy” nations to pay in rubles for the natural gas they buy. EU member states, many of which rely heavily on Russian gas supplies for heating and power generation, fall into this category.

US and European sanctions are hurting Russia’s economy and fiat currency. Some of the measures target access to the global financial market and foreign exchange reserves. The ruble gained some lost ground after Putin’s announcement, as gasoline prices in Europe soared.

“If we can’t store a coin, acquire it, pay with it, why should we exchange it?” Pavel Zavalny, head of the Energy Committee of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, commented to Russian media on Thursday.

“Gas is just the beginning, it will affect other resources as well. If they want to buy what they pay for either in hard currency, for us that is gold, or in currencies that suit us, which is the national currency”, said the legislator.

Zavalny explained that agreements with friendly countries like China and Turkey can be made with the ruble or its currencies, the yuan and the lira. Serbia may pay in convertible foreign currency or Russian rubles. He further explained:

The set of currencies may vary and this is normal practice. If there are bitcoins, we will exchange bitcoins.

The official added that several European countries are now ready to buy Russian fuel with rubles. “For that, we just need to solve some organizational problems and sign additional agreements. Nothing changes in our obligations under the contracts. If they don’t pay for gas, there will simply be no gas,” said the parliamentarian.

Russia has been trying to reduce its dependence on the dollar even before the military crisis in Ukraine. In October, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told Interfax that Moscow could partially replace the dollar in its foreign exchange reserves and negotiate deals with other fiat currencies and potentially digital assets such as bitcoin. His comments came shortly after Putin himself said in an interview with CNBC that the cryptocurrency could be used for future oil trade deals.