Cryptocurrencies have seen a stellar year as their prices continue to surge, despite events like the recent FTX crash. The blockchain-based assets have garnered traction over the past few years as more investors realized their potential for income generation. Plus, as these assets aren’t regulated by a third-party financial institution like a bank or a brokerage firm, investors don’t have to worry about regulatory restrictions.

If you are new to the world of cryptocurrencies and are confused about how to choose cryptocurrencies for investment, you can always start with research. Just select some of the leading names like Big Eyes Coin (BIG), Avalanche (AVAX), and Monero (XMR), weigh their pros and cons, and then make an informed decision. To help get started, let’s dive into the key features of these three cryptocurrencies.

Big Eyes Coin: Helping more investors access DeFi tools

Big Eyes Coin is a meme coin that has been designed with the express goal of encouraging more investors to switch to decentralized finance for wealth generation. With the platform, the team aims to make DeFi protocols more understandable and accessible for investors.

The meme coin is based on the story of a cat with big eyes and how he found his life’s purpose by travelling around the world. The platform has also rolled out a native token called BIG which is the primary cryptocurrency on the network. With a total supply of 200,000,000,000 units, the token can be used for transactional purposes like staking, liquidity management, voting, and funding marketing activities, among others. The BIG Token is available on presale for interested users; around 70% of the token supply was set aside for public presale.

Of the remaining token supply, 20% of the tokens will be sold via private sale. Lastly, the rest of the token supply will be utilized for funding marketing activities (5%) and Big Eyes’ charitable donations (5%). Moreover, no taxes will be levied on the sale or purchase of these tokens. The platform will also be rolling out an NFT series and will conduct regular events to facilitate their sale. Users should know that all NFT-related transactions would be subject to a 10% tax. The tax proceeds would be divided into different categories – 4% among original NFT sellers, 5% among BIG token holders, and 1% for charitable donations. Moreover, the platform has a policy of incentivizing participation, hence, it will be awarding NFTs and BIG Tokens as rewards to its users for their engagement. Users will be able to track all charitable donations made by the platform via the charity wallet.

Avalanche launches DeFi rewards programme

Avalanche is a smart contracts platform for deploying and scaling Ethereum-friendly dApps. Apart from building dApps, developers can also create customized blockchains and virtual machines for their requirements. Its key offerings include its premier scaling solution subnets which can support a robust ecosystem of app-specific and scalable blockchains. Its native token is called AVAX and it can be used for staking and other similar transactional purposes. In a recent development, Avalanche announced the launch of its DeFi rewards programme ‘Avalanche Rush’ for trading platform GMX. GMX will receive AVAX Tokens worth $4 million to fund growth incentives. The grant is a part of the Avalanche Rush Incentive programme – an initiative for developing Avalanche’s DeFi ecosystem.

Monero launches online campaign donation tracker

Monero is a decentralized cryptocurrency that focuses on keeping the users’ financial details secure. It uses next-generation technologies like Ring signatures, RingCT, and Stealth Address to safeguard users’ details. At Monero, every user is anonymous and each transaction is private, which makes it impossible for these details to be traced. Its native token is XMR which comes in handy while dealing with transactional purposes like staking and payments. In a recent development, the network launched its open-source crowdfunding website to raise funds for its Magic Monero Fund. The website serves as a tracker for donations made towards the campaign and accepts Bitcoin and the XMR Token as donations. Users also have the option of using their credit or debit cards for donations.

While these three cryptocurrencies have left their mark on investors, for cryptocurrency analysts Big Eyes is the number one crypto asset that has their attention. Of the analysts who have reviewed it, many have claimed that it will be outperforming the other two cryptocurrencies because of its higher growth potential and efforts to bolster the DeFi ecosystem.

Learn more about the Big Eyes Token:

Presale: https://buy.bigeyes.space

Website: https://bigeyes.space/

Telegram: https://t.me/BIGEYESOFFICIAL

Use code SUSHI890 to get bonus tokens with your Big Eyes purchase

Credit Guarantee companies are institutions licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the primary objective of providing guarantees to banks and other lending financial institutions licensed by the CBN as well (otherwise known as “Participating FIs/Financial Institutions”)  against the risk of default by credit facility obligors.

This article will be focused on the topics of :-

– The regulatory framework governing credit guarantee companies in Nigeria.

– The permissible and non-permissible activities of licensed credit guarantee companies in Nigeria.

– Licensing/Registration requirements for credit guarantee companies in Nigeria.

What are the components of the regulatory framework governing credit guarantee companies in Nigeria?

The Central Bank of Nigeria is in charge of the licensing and operation of credit guarantee companies in Nigeria by virtue of the CBN Guidelines For the Regulation & Supervision of Credit Guarantee Companies 2022 made pursuant to the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007.

What are the permissible and non-permissible activities of credit guarantee companies?

Permissible Activities

– The provision of guarantees for risk assets of participating FIs.

– Renderings advisory services for financial and business development.

– Investing surplus funds in government securities.

– The maintenance and operation of various types of accounts with banks in Nigeria.

– Partaking in other investments as may be approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Non-permissible Activities

– Trading in foreign exchange.

– Managing Pension funds or schemes.

– Trading in derivatives and swaps.

– Providing credit to customers.

– The provision of guarantees to entities outside Nigeria.

What are the registration/licensing requirements for a credit guarantee company in Nigeria?

Credit Guarantee company licensing in Nigeria is in 2 stages :-

– The Approval-in-Principle (AIP) stage.

– The Final Licensing stage.

The Approval-in-Principle stage

To commence the process for setting up a credit guarantee company, you are to send the following to the CBN :-

1. A written application.

2. Proof of an application fee of 100,000.00 Naira (non-refundable) payment to the CBN.

3. Evidence of a deposit of the specified minimum paid-up capital requirement of 10 Billion Naira (refundable upon the license grant).

4.Evidence of capital contributions made by each shareholder.

5. Evidence of name reservation with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

6. A detailed business plan/feasibility report.

7. A Certified True Copy CTC of a Certificate of Incorporation  and a board resolution signifying an intention to  invest in the proposed credit guarantee company where any of the investors or shareholders of the proposed credit guarantee company is a company.

The AIP stage takes a total of 90 days and the proposed credit guarantee company shall not incorporate its name with the CAC until an AIP has been obtained from the CBN.

The Final Licensing stage

Not later than 6 months after the after the AIP grant, the promoters of a proposed credit guarantee company shall submit an application for the grant of a final license to the CBN along with the following:-

– Evidence of payment of a non-refundable 1 Million Naira licensing fee to the CBN.

– A Certified True Copy (CTC) of the credit guarantee company’s Certificate of Incorporation.

– Certified True Copies(CTCs) of the credit guarantee company’s MEMART Memorandum/ Articles of Association and the CAC Form 1.

– Stamp Duty payment evidence.

– Evidence of head office location.

– A schedule of changes in the board of directors and schedule of charges in the company after an AIP grant if any.

– The conduct of a Pre-licensing inspection of the credit guarantee company’s office by the CBN.

As criticism continues to trail the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to limit the amount of money that can be withdrawn over the bank counter and on ATMs to N100,000 per week for individuals and N500,000 for corporations, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has weighed in on the issue.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said the new withdrawal policy contradicts the law and therefore is illegal.

On December 6, the CBN announced the new policy, which also allows only N20,000 withdrawal from POS per day, as part of its broader monetary policy – directing financial institutions to start the implementation from Jan. 9, 2023.

The new policy was announced on the heels of the redesign of N200, N500 and N1,000 notes that the apex bank rescheduled their circulation to take effect from November 23.

Both moves by the central bank have elicited both commendation and condemnation. While a section of Nigerians applaud the new CBN initiatives as possible means to curb insecurity and inflation, others, including Falana have said that the new withdrawal limit contravenes the law.

In a statement on Monday, Falana described the policy as “illegal and null” as it contravenes provisions of section 2 of the money laundering Act, 2022. He argued that section 2 of the Act, limits cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities to N5 million and N10 million, respectively.

According to him, the new CBN policy is “null and void” as long as section 2 of the money laundering Act is not amended to accommodate it.

“Since the money laundering act, 2022 (which has fixed maximum cash withdrawal to N5 million) has not been amended, the limitation of cash withdrawal of not more than N20,000 per day and N100,000 per week fixed by the Central Bank of Nigeria is illegal, null and void in every material,” Falana said.

“We urge the Nigerian people to ignore the illegal announcement.

“However, we are compelled to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the management of the CBN to withdraw the illegal guideline and stop announcing more policies that are designed to sentence poor citizens to more excruciating economic hardship,” he added.

Meanwhile, the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele had said he has the backing of Buhari to implement the controversial policies.

Last week, the House of Representatives summoned the governor as concern grows that the new withdrawal limit may create economic headwinds for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country, particularly those in the rural areas.

However, Emefiele assured that the central bank has put adequate amenities in place to ensure that the concerns are addressed.