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Crypto Market has Grown into a Sophisticated and Diverse Asset Class in the last Three Years

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
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0

The crypto market has undergone a remarkable transformation in the last three years. From being a niche and volatile sector dominated by Bitcoin, it has evolved into a sophisticated and diverse asset class that offers a range of opportunities for investors, traders, developers and entrepreneurs.

One of the main drivers of this change has been the emergence and adoption of decentralized finance (DeFi), which is a set of protocols and applications that aim to provide financial services without intermediaries, using blockchain technology and smart contracts. DeFi has enabled users to access lending, borrowing, trading, investing, insurance and more in a permissionless and transparent way, creating new possibilities for innovation and inclusion.

Another key factor has been the growth and diversification of the crypto ecosystem, which now includes thousands of different tokens, platforms and projects, each with its own value proposition, use case and community.

Some of the most prominent examples are Ethereum, which is the leading platform for smart contracts and decentralized applications; Binance Coin, which is the native token of the largest crypto exchange by volume; Cardano, which is a scalable and sustainable platform for smart contracts and governance; and Polkadot, which is a network that connects and secures different blockchains.

The crypto market has also attracted more attention and participation from institutional investors, regulators, media and mainstream audiences, as it has demonstrated its resilience, innovation and potential. The market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has increased from around $200 billion in March 2018 to over $2 trillion in March 2021, reaching new highs and lows along the way.

The crypto market has also witnessed some historic events, such as the launch of Bitcoin futures and options, the emergence of stablecoins and central bank digital currencies, the rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the adoption of crypto by major companies like Tesla, PayPal and MicroStrategy.

The crypto market is not without its challenges and risks, however. It still faces issues such as volatility, security breaches, regulatory uncertainty, scalability limitations and environmental concerns. Moreover, it is constantly evolving and changing, requiring constant learning and adaptation from its participants. The crypto market is not for the faint-hearted or the uninformed, but for those who are willing to embrace its opportunities and challenges with curiosity, creativity and courage.

One of the most interesting trends in the crypto space lately is the shift in attention from the big-picture narratives to the actual market dynamics. Instead of debating how DeFi or Web3 will disrupt the legacy financial system, many crypto enthusiasts are now more focused on the supply and demand factors that drive the price movements of various tokens and coins.

This is a sign of maturity and pragmatism, as well as a recognition that crypto is not just a theoretical concept, but a real and evolving market with its own rules and patterns.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority Announces New Wholesale CBDC Project

Meawnhile, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the central bank of Hong Kong, has announced a new project to explore the use of a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) for cross-border payments and tokenization of assets. The project, named e-HKD, aims to provide a fast, secure and efficient platform for financial institutions and corporates to conduct transactions using digital tokens backed by the Hong Kong dollar.

According to a press release issued by the HKMA on March 7, 2024, the e-HKD project will be conducted in two phases. The first phase will focus on the design and technical feasibility of the e-HKD system, while the second phase will involve testing and evaluation of the system with selected banks and payment service providers. The HKMA expects to complete the first phase by the end of 2024 and launch the second phase in early 2025.

The e-HKD will be issued by the HKMA and backed by its reserves, ensuring its stability and credibility. The e-HKD will be distributed through a network of authorized institutions, such as banks and payment service providers, who will provide digital wallets and other services to users.

The e-HKD will be interoperable with other payment systems, such as Faster Payment System (FPS) and Octopus, and can be used for various types of transactions, such as retail purchases, cross-border remittances and peer-to-peer transfers.

The e-HKD will also have several features that distinguish it from other forms of digital money, such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. For example, the e-HKD will be fully compliant with the legal and regulatory frameworks of Hong Kong, ensuring its safety and reliability.

The e-HKD will also respect the privacy and data protection rights of users, while adhering to the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards. Moreover, the e-HKD will be designed to minimize the environmental impact of its operation, by using energy-efficient technologies and processes.

The e-HKD project is part of the HKMA’s ongoing efforts to promote innovation and financial inclusion in Hong Kong, as well as to enhance its role as an international financial hub. The HKMA has been actively exploring the potential of CBDCs since 2017, when it launched a joint research project with the Bank of Thailand to study the application of CBDCs for cross-border payments.

The project, known as Project Inthanon-Lionrock, successfully demonstrated the feasibility and benefits of using CBDCs for cross-border fund transfers, foreign exchange transactions and regulatory compliance.

The e-HKD project will build on the findings and experience of Project Inthanon-LionRock, but will also extend its scope to cover the tokenization of assets. The HKMA believes that tokenization, which refers to the process of converting physical or digital assets into digital tokens that can be traded on a blockchain or distributed ledger platform, can offer significant advantages for the financial sector, such as improved liquidity, transparency and security.

The HKMA also hopes that the e-HKD project will foster collaboration and interoperability among different jurisdictions and platforms that are developing or adopting CBDCs or digital tokens. The HKMA plans to work closely with other central banks and international organizations, such as the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board, to ensure that the e-HKD system is aligned with global standards and best practices.

The HKMA’s Chief Executive, Mr Eddie Yue, said in a statement: “The e-HKD project is a strategic initiative that will position Hong Kong as a leader in the digital economy.

By leveraging our strengths in fintech and innovation, we aim to provide a cutting-edge solution for cross-border payments and tokenization that will enhance efficiency, security and convenience for our financial sector and our society. We look forward to working with our partners and stakeholders to make this vision a reality.”

The e-HKD project is a bold and visionary initiative that reflects the HKMA’s commitment to foster a more innovative, inclusive and sustainable financial system in Hong Kong. The e-HKD will not only offer a new choice of payment instrument for users, but also create new opportunities for businesses and society. The e-HKD will also enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center and a hub for digital finance in Asia.

Lessons from Geometric Power Aba and How Nations Rise With Project Continuity Across Governments

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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2

How nations rise, from one post of Dr Alex Otti, executive governor of Abia State.

Note 1: “I have also worked tirelessly with my team to resolve the gas supply challenge that impeded the project for almost a decade.” – Alex Otti. (When Dr Otti took over, he asked for the root cause on why this power plant had not taken off. He was told that it was largely due to gas supply, and right there, he set a timeline, and he delivered as he promised. I also thank the members of the State’s Council who did the foundational work).

Note 2: “I wish to express my gratitude and recognition to one of my predecessors, HE Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who granted the initial waivers to Geometric, thereby reducing the risks of the transaction. Without those waivers, it would have been impossible to finance the project. “ – Alex Otti. (Here, he acknowledged the leadership of Senator Kalu who provided waivers to the company.)

Note 3: “Special thanks to the Obi of Onitsha, HRM Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, CFR who was the Chairman of Diamond Bank at the time, and who contributed significantly to the resolution of the ownership dispute of the ring-fence island.” – Alex Otti. (when Geometric Power and Enugu DISCO were battling things in the courts, elders called them to think “igwebuike” and unity).

Of course, there are many players involved which cannot be listed in a tweet; for example, the last administration invested in the power plant.

Largely, the point is clear: if we begin projects in Nigeria and our leaders do not see them as “Governor A’s project, and President B’s project”, we will get things done. Under the “NOT MY OWN” project mindset, many projects have been abandoned in Nigeria after billions of Naira have been invested on them. I do expect to read a case study on Geometric Power from Abia State University on how Nigeria could sustain projects over different governments even within a public-private partnership framework.

MTN Nigeria Recovers N12.5 Billion Lost to Glitch in Its Mobile Money, as Active Users Grow

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Giant Telecommunications company MTN Nigeria, has reportedly recovered N12.5 billion lost due to a glitch in its mobile money system, as the company’s monthly active users continue to grow.

Recall that in 2022, MTN mobile money (MoMo) experienced a system glitch that cost the company over N10 billion in loss.

In a suit dated May 30, 2022, MoMo alleged that ?22.3 billion was transferred in error to 8,000 accounts maintained by the 18 banks’ customers using MoMo. The company referred to the loss as “customer-initiated transfers” and assured its customers that their funds were not lost and all their data was still secure.

Anthony Usoro Usoro, the CEO of MoMo, asserted in the lawsuit that the fraud spanned 700,000 transactions in the space of one month. To avoid further liabilities, MoMo shut down its service on May 25 after becoming aware of the fraud on May 24. The following day, service was quickly resumed.

In its latest 2023 financial report, MTN disclosed that while N12.5 Billion has been recovered to date, the balance of N9.5 billion will be absorbed by the company due to a shared services cost agreement between the telco and MoMo service.

MTN’s Fintech revenue increased by 2.4%, led by Xtratime (MTN airtime lending product), which rose by 2%. However, despite the challenges from the NIN requirement for KYC introduced in Q4 by the CBN, the company added 3.3 million active wallets in the year to 5.3 million. This helped to drive MoMo PSB revenue, which rose by 8.1%.

Commenting on the 2023 full year report, MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola expressed satisfaction with the progress in building the MoMo PSB wallet base, noting that monthly active users have increased from 3.3 million in the year to 5.3 million.

Part of his statement reads,

“The growing adoption and increased activity within our Fintech ecosystem spurred transaction volume growth of 49.2% YoY. We also now have over 326k MoMo agents, up 46.0% YoY, and over 324k merchants since we started to build out our merchant ecosystem in March 2023.

“While the overall development of fintech has been slower than anticipated, these milestones mark solid and important progress in scaling our business, particularly the advanced services within our MoMo ecosystem”.

Toriola further disclosed that the company expect 2024 to be a challenging year due to the rising inflation and devaluation of the nairo

In January 2024, the inflation rate reached 29.9%, while the exchange rate has Further, devalued to N1582/$ as at 26 February 2024. This is anticipated to put additional pressure on consumers, the cost of doing business and Further potential Forex losses.

Pullix: A Shot In The Dark? Enter BlockDAG’s $3M Ark!

By
TI Partners
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0

In the investment landscape of 2024, you’re either fully committed or completely on the sidelines; there’s no middle ground. Brace yourself for the forthcoming wave of news regarding Pullix’s investors.

Investors are on a never-ending search for that next big project with a clear vision and the potential for substantial returns. So, Pullix had a good thing going until it was listed. This is when it abruptly stopped being an exciting venture, offering compelling reasons to invest.

Did these investors just take off and leave the crypto world? Highly unlikely! They’ve moved to BlockDAG’s presale instead.

With these investors on the run, most discovered that BlockDAG’s ecosystem is stable and offers the potential for significant returns and a long-term vision. The drastically increasing numbers of the BlockDAG’s presale are also a proof that all those investors have now moved to the BlockDAG Network.

A Completed Presale

Pullix Crypto is on PancakeSwap as it successfully concluded its presale, and it is also on Bitmart, raising millions and gathering a dedicated community with a year-round roadmap outlining its ambitious plans.

From assembling a dream team and acquiring necessary licenses to actively developing the platform, Pullix grew taller and listed decentralised and centralised exchanges, launching a beta version for testing and developing mobile applications to reach the user base. The platform even launched a burn dashboard for token burning and targeted efforts to demonstrate commitment to building the ecosystem.

Then where did all go wrong?

A Presale with Big Plans

While Pullix has transitioned beyond its presale stage, BlockDAG is currently in batch 2 of the presale, presenting an opportunity for investors to get involved at an early stage, potentially reaping significant benefits when it launches.

BlockDAG has outlined a four-phase approach for its development and launch. The launch phase sets the stage for success and includes establishing the initial valuation, developing and auditing the smart contract, and initiating targeted marketing campaigns.

Moving on to the pre-launch phase, it’s all about maintaining presale momentum, refining the Mainnet through extensive testing, and engaging early adopters for beta testing, which are crucial steps before launch.

Then comes the development phase alongside continuous presale growth; BlockDAG is focused on developing and forging alliances and conducting market research to stay ahead of the curve.

Finally, concluding the presale on the 45th batch finalising the Mainnet and preparing for broad-scale mining operations mark the culmination of efforts, shortly followed by the official launch.

BlockDAG is currently in its presale phase: batch 2 has raised $3M and has a stable path ahead as it is well-prepared.

Investor Decisions and Market Dynamics

As the presale phase for Pullix concludes and BlockDAG presents an ongoing opportunity, investors find themselves at a crossroads. They must decide whether to adhere to Pullix’s established roadmap and plans or to seize the potential of BlockDAG’s presale, a path many are choosing for its promise of significant returns even before the project officially launches. This decision point highlights the dynamic nature of the cryptocurrency market, where the end of one opportunity often coincides with the beginning of another, offering investors new avenues for potential gains.

 

Invest in BlockDAG Presale:

Website: https://blockdag.network

Presale: https://purchase.blockdag.network

Telegram:https://t.me/blockDAGnetworkOfficial

Discord: https://discord.gg/Q7BxghMVyu

Funding of Debt Collectors Booming in Nigeria

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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0

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) noted that about 800 companies collapsed last year and about 300 are under stress. If that is the case, the implication is that non performing loans in banks will likely pick up. In other words, besides these vapour FX-anchored bank profits, they must plan on what happens when things return to near-stability.

Indeed, some companies are struggling to pay their debts as I have noticed that tech-enabled debt collection Nigerian startups are now being funded in Nigeria. Last month, that category picked the top prize.

When you see the little bird dancing on the roadside, check well because something is beating the drum. Those debt collectors will not be raising money from venture capital firms if debts are not growing! Shine ya eyes…

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