Zimbabwe’s De-Dollarization: Central Bank to Issue Gold-Backed Digital Currency in Early May

April 30, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Mastercard to allow crypto payments in Web3 via USDC settlements

February 21, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The Mastercard-Immersve partnership uses decentralized protocols to settle real-time cryptocurrency transactions on outlets accepting Mastercard payments online.

A partnership between Web3 payment protocol Immersve and payments giant Mastercard will allow users to make crypto payments on digital, physical and the Metaverse worlds. USD Coin (USDC) tokens — a US dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Circle — will be used to settle transactions on Mastercard’s network.

The Mastercard-Immersve partnership uses decentralized protocols to settle real-time cryptocurrency transactions on outlets accepting Mastercard payments online. Users will be able to use their existing Web3 wallets to make direct crypto payments without relying on a third party for collateral.

Instead, Immersve will partner with a third-party settlement provider and allow its users to use USDC for all purchases. Once the transaction is successful from the user’s end, USDC will get converted to fiat before settling on Mastercard’s network.

*Immersve-Mastercard partnership for crypto payments in the Metaverse. Source: immersve.com*

Users will be able to access the feature through popular Web3 wallets and use their private keys to approve payments. In this regard, Jerome Faury, CEO at Immersve, shared optimism toward crypto use cases, stating:

“Collaborating with a well-known and trusted brand like Mastercard is a big step towards mainstream adoption of web3 wallets.”

Moreover, Web3 wallets and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols can integrate into Immersve’s APIs and smart contracts to transact anywhere Mastercard is accepted.

Over several years, Mastercard has fostered numerous partnerships to stay relevant in the crypto ecosystem. One such initiative was Mastercard’s partnership with crypto exchange Binance to launch a prepaid card in Latin America.

Olá, Brasil! #Binance Card has just launched in Brazil - another step towards crypto adoption pic.twitter.com/UJRmpMhpbQ
— Binance (@binance) January 30, 2023

The card allows real-time crypto-fiat conversions for 14 tokens in Brazil. At the time of the launch, perks included up to 8% cash back in crypto on eligible purchases and zero fees on some ATM withdrawals.

The Easy Company secures $14.2M funding for new crypto wallet with social features

January 10, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The Easy Company secures .2M funding for new crypto wallet with social features

Coin Telegraph

The company says it wants to make it easier for users to engage with Web3 and use digital wallets.

The Easy Company, a startup focusing on building a consumer layer for the decentralized web, has raised $14.2 million in a seed round for its “social” crypto wallet, which seeks to help onboard more mainstream audiences into the Web3 ecosystem.

As reported by TechCrunch, the seed funding round was supported by a diverse group of investors, including venture capital firms Lobby Capital, Relay Ventures and 6th Man Ventures, as well as Tapestry, Upside and Scribble. Additionally, the round featured angel investors with backgrounds in traditional social media and Web3, including former executives from Instagram, Novi, Airbnb, Twitter, Uber, OpenTable and Eventbrite.

8/ Easy is backed by Lobby Capital, Relay Ventures, 6th Man Ventures, Tapestry VC, Upside Partnership, Scribble Ventures and other experienced social and web3 Investors.
— The Easy Company (@TheEasyCoHQ) January 10, 2023

The wallet is said to be available to the public on iOS and Android after completing a 30-day private testing phase. According to Easy’s CEO, Mike Dougherty, the company aims to combine user-curated profiles with engaging social features so that people can search, navigate and discover the world of Web3 on their own.

A lot of Web3 products and services today are too technical for the everyday person to use, Dougherty shared. The company aims to make it easier for users to engage with Web3 and use digital wallets. The platform reportedly has a similar layout to social media apps like Instagram, where users can swipe to view both their own NFTs or those of people they “watch,” like Instagram Stories.

Despite a long crypto winter, Web3 projects continue to receive substantial funding from Venture Capitalists. In 2022, billions of dollars poured into various projects in the ecosystem, including blockchain-based startups.

In the first two quarters of 2022, Venture Capital inflows were over $14 billion, and even though it receded to just under $5 billion in the third quarter, that was still a substantial amount given the negative impact of the sudden collapse of several prominent players in the industry, such as Celsius, Three Arrows Capital, BlockFi and FTX. Venture capitalist funding for the 2023 remains yet to be seen.

On Jan. 4, Cointelegraph reported that Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange MEXC plans to invest $20 million to support the growth and development of Sei Network, a layer-1 blockchain platform that is specifically tailored for trading.

Hong Kong Police Arrest Conman After He Vanished With Over $191K Belonging to a Crypto Trader

May 13, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Meta files 8 digital asset and Web 3 trademark applications

March 23, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

It appears the trademark applications cover just about every aspect of the Web3 metaverse.

Meta, formerly Facebook, has filed eight trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, relating to blockchain technology and its proposed metaverse. The applications and their fields of interest are as follows, organized by serial number:

97320155: Online social networking and dating services, including a specific branch tailored for networking between cryptocurrency investors.
97320153: Design and development of computer hardware and software relating to Web3, including gaming, e-commerce, blockchain transactions, etc.
97320149: Entertainment and electronic publishing services, partly within virtual reality.
97320147: Telecommunication services for electronic assets held on its platform.
97320146: Financial transaction processing services relating to tokens, blockchain assets, cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets.
97320144: Advertising services via virtual or augmented reality networks and the metaverse.
97320140: Wearable peripherals for video games connected to virtual reality.
97320136: Downloadable software in the nature of a mobile application, such as for user authentication, online charitable fundraising and most notably, for hardware or e-wallets.

It can take up to eight months for the USPTO to process trademark applications since their initial filing. Similarly, Monster Energy and the New York Stock Exchange have also recently filed trademark applications relating to digital assets and the metaverse.

Last week, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, said that Instagram would soon be integrating NFTs across its various products. But not all crypto ventures have turned out positively for the Web3 giant. Around the same time, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took Meta to court over allegations it engaged in “false, misleading or deceptive conduct” by publishing scam celebrity crypto ads on its platform that allegedly resulted in losses for investors.

Nigerians Optimistic CBDC Will Improve Payments and Help Promote Cryptocurrencies

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e-Wallet