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Are Regulations and Sanctions Driving Change in the Crypto Industry?

Are Regulations and Sanctions Driving Change in the Crypto Industry?

The powerful combination of incoming crypto regulation in the US, and the immediate global impact of Russian sanctions, mean the crypto exchange market looks to be in for a serious shake up in 2022. Just this week US Senator Elizabeth Warren announced a new piece of legislation to stop crypto businesses outside the US from working with sanctioned companies. It also authorizes the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to force US citizens with crypto transactions of $10,000 or more to report them.

Clearly global sanctions against Russia have moved crypto exchanges firmly into the center of geo-politics for the first time. Coinbase announced it was banning 25,000 Russian accounts. While Binance declared that: “To unilaterally decide to ban people’s access to their crypto would fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists.” But just as revealing was the news from Wasabi Wallet that it will start introducing censorship methods into its mixing procedures, showing that fear of regulation was starting to impact beyond mainstream exchanges even before Warren’s planned legislative action.

What this means in all probability is that the advantage the exchanges outside the US had in largely ignoring regulations, benefiting from lower overheads and restrictions to their business activity is well and truly over. It’s not all bad news, as the positive response to the US administration’s crypto executive order shows, but it certainly means the industry needs to consider what this means for the long term, and what this means for crypto investors and traders looking for the best deal or the most secure transactions.

The US executive order underlines the seismic changes in the administration’s approach to crypto by seeking “to establish the first-ever comprehensive federal digital assets strategy for the United States” and by directing the Depart of Commerce to create a framework that “drives U.S. competitiveness and leadership in, and leveraging of, digital asset technologies.” In summary the administration’s six key priorities, according to the fact sheet, are to protect US interests, protect global financial stability, prevent illegal uses, promote responsible innovation, financial inclusion, and US leadership. As confirmed in a CoinDesk report, the order does not lay out specific positions the administration wants agencies to adopt, or impose new regulations on the sector. Indeed, it was welcomed by many in the industry who see it as a positive step forward. According to Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, which runs stablecoin USDC, “this is a watershed moment for crypto, digital assets, and Web 3 akin to 1996/1997 entire government wakeup to the commercial internet.”

Circle CEO Jeremey Allaire in a Twitter thread responding to the news.

But as the legislative moves by Senator Warren demonstrate, its actions and not words that count. The recent news of action to reign in the SEC by the US Congress after its enforcement arm chased “information from unregulated cryptocurrency and blockchain industry participants in a manner inconsistent with the Commission’s standards for initiating investigations” shows that significant risks for crypto exchanges remain while the US decides its crypto policy.

Despite the understandable focus on the US crypto regulation in recent weeks this sea change hasn’t appeared overnight, for example the China ban on crypto trading and mining took place in 2021, after the ICO ban in 2017. In contrast in Singapore, a leading location for the crypto industry, as late as July 2021, while the rest of the world was hellbent on cracking down on crypto, “crypto players like Binance have found Singapore to be a paradise of opportunity, even while a regulations storm looms over the industry in other parts of the globe.” As recently as last October following the latest crypto crackdown in China, the city-state of Singapore was seen as a chief beneficiary of fleeing businesses.

But then in December 2021 Binance, with a daily turnover of US$76 billion, no doubt fed up with the delays and opaqueness of the MAS licensing system, withdrew its Singapore application. In 2022 how Binance responded is also revealing, with its move to partner with Paysafe in the UK, providing the exchange with access to the UK payments network despite concerns from the UK financial regulator the FCA. While this week Binance’s CEO CZ has been meeting Brazilian regulators after signing an MOU to buy a securities brokerage and secured a virtual asset license in Dubai in a series of moves underling its look to secure its future in a more regulated crypto marketplace.

All these moves, along with competitors such as FTX and Coinbase, are to establish a future in the more regulated global environment in crypto. Anndy Lian, chairman of BigONE Exchange said, “I believe these twin forces of policy regulation led by the US, and even tighter Russian sanctions on crypto transactions, will in the near future in the next 12 – 18 months result in an expanded more regulated sector with greater competition particularly between exchanges and tighter profit margins than in the past.” Speaking after his expert contribution to Crypto Expo Dubai, Lian suggested this meant that decentralized exchanges, and privacy platforms, will be more clearly separated from the mainstream than in the past. “What does this mean for mainstream exchange service and offerings? The bottom line is that it’s got to be led by the needs of the community, by the exchange’s users,” he added.

How best to accomplish this community involvement is clearly still up for grabs. Notable are the remarks by Ethereum’s co-founder Joseph Lubin who has questioned the longer term viability of Solana, which in his eyes pays overly generous rewards to users validating transactions on the network, all backed up by generous VC cash. Solana needs to “figure out a more sustainable business model for the network”, Lubin said. In response to Lubin’s criticism, Solana Labs, said that “simply looking at protocol revenue doesn’t tell the full story of the long-term performance” of a blockchain’s economic model. Figuring out the economic model for crypto businesses, faced with new regulation and Russian sanctions, whether decentralized or centralized, is key to the future of the long term future of the crypto sector.

Speaking on the panel ‘Why are crypto exchanges still flourishing?’ at Crypto Expo Dubai on March 16 Lian warned: “I believe being regulated is a very good thing, it’s the reason I invested my time in giving cryptocurrency and blockchain advice to government over the years. But the thing is we also have to understand the other side of the crypto startup equation which is innovation; if we kept ourselves solely in the sandbox environment, in a closed regulated environment it the real risk is the innovative decentralized aspect will be lost and we’ll end up with a centralized world.”

 

Original Source: https://www.securities.io/are-regulations-and-sanctions-driving-change-in-the-crypto-industry/

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
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GameFi Is Driving the Future of the Metaverse: Here’s Why

GameFi Is Driving the Future of the Metaverse: Here’s Why

The gaming industry is worth billions of dollars, predicted to generate $179.7 billion in 2020, with by comparison the global film industry reaching $100 billion in revenue for the first time in 2019.

 

According to Statista, over 2.7 billion people in the world actively or passively play video games, with China ranked first as the biggest gaming market just ahead of the US. In this dynamic market, the latest innovation, a crossover genre between crypto and gaming is a new breed of play-to-earn games or GameFi. GameFi is a concept that provides monetary incentives to gamers through a play-to-earn model, as opposed to the traditional “play-to-win” model that has been popular in the gaming industry.

 

How is the metaverse taking shape?

The Metaverse concept has also recently gained popularity, thanks in part to incorporating blockchain technology into GameFi, but also clearly driven by the growth of the gaming market. Not surprisingly tech titans dominated by gaming including Microsoft, Samsung, and Sony are joining forces to form the XR Association, which is aimed at bringing this concept of an ‘experiential reality to life.

 

Not to be outdone at the end of June Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a big bold play, basically laying out the future for Facebook in the metaverse, before changing the company’s name to Meta, reflecting the company’s growing ambitions beyond social media. Zuckerberg declared that “the metaverse will not be created by one company. It will be built by creators and developers making new experiences and digital items that are interoperable and unlock a massively larger creative economy.” Microsoft, worth $2.5 trillion, and $731 billion Nvidia, quickly followed suit with their own metaverse visions, reported Forbes.

 

Of course, anyone who’s seen the movie The Social Network, or has seen recent evidence on how Facebook can do harm through manipulating its online users’ behavior, is certainly going to wonder if the metaverse is going to be safe with a giant like Facebook. As Tim Sweeney, the CEO of leading gaming company Epic, which has raised $1 billion to support their long-term vision of the metaverse, remarked:

 

“This Metaverse is going to be far more pervasive and powerful than anything else. If one central company gains control of this, they will become more powerful than any government, and be a god on Earth.” And as UK-based blockchain startup Outlier Ventures pointed out, the need to have a crypto decentralized core is therefore paramount: “The defining characteristic of a true Metaverse is that it needs its own economy and currencies native to it, where value can be earnt, spent, lent, borrowed or invested interchangeably in both a physical or virtual sense and most importantly without the need for a government.”

 

According to metaverse proponents, the success of GameFi coupled with the growth of NFTs may provide the solution required to make a more inter-operable metaverse which is free from domination by the likes of Facebook a reality. It’s also worth noting that China has itself started to take the metaverse seriously, presenting China with

 

“great opportunities and revolutionary effects,”

 

Zuo Pengfei, a researcher at the state-affiliated Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, argued in a September article. It’s interesting that more recently Zuo, agreed that the metaverse has “an inherent monopoly gene,” and that care must be taken to “avoid the metaverse being monopolized by a few forces”, according to a report in Quartz.

 

What’s also worth considering is that both Facebook, with its Novi wallet and cryptocurrency in the shape of Diem, and the Chinese central bank the PBOC, with its digital yuan, both have the DeFi capacity to monetize gaming in the metaverse to the tune of billions of dollars. So, any more decentralized version of the metaverse, reliant on using cryptocurrencies to power the virtual economy, needs to be aware of that reality from the get-go.

GameFi: Disrupting the online gaming industry

The play-to-earn model has shaken the online gaming industry, with traditional players looking to switch to GameFi projects like Axie Infinity. Cryptocurrencies have already been successfully integrated recently into virtual worlds created by companies such as Decentraland and Sandbox. For example, users in Decentraland can purchase virtual real estate such as theme parks and monetize them using cryptocurrencies.

 

BigONE believes that the rise in popularity of GameFi projects such as Axie Infinity played a significant role in GameFi’s mainstreaming. GameFi has been in the works since 2017, with the introduction of CryptoKitties. Still, it did not go mainstream until this year, with the popular game Axie Infinity reaching a market cap of over $1 billion in 2021. Before “play-to-earn,” gaming assets and tokens could not be used outside the gaming environment and had no real-world value. With GameFi, in-game purchases can now have real value and have applications outside of the gaming environment.

 

A key factor contributing to the disruptive power of GameFi is that it is built upon blockchain technology rather than traditional gaming apps built using Java and Unity frameworks. Plus, from a technical perspective, GameFi is generally easier to implement and develop. Such is the threat from GameFi that traditional gaming publishers such as Ubisoft and Epic Games have suggested that GameFi is the future of their blockchain-based games strategy.

 

BigONE believes that this is yet another indicator of GameFi’s meteoric rise and why it is the future of gaming. According to reports from the Philippines, Axie Infinity, the largest GameFi project, is a huge source of income for the people of the Philippines, paying some of the citizens more than the country’s average salary. In addition, reputable investment firms are beginning to invest more in GameFi initiatives, with Solana Ventures, FTX, and Lightspeed announcing a $100 million GameFi fund recently.

 

GameFi and the future of the metaverse

What’s clear is that whoever wins the battle to control the metaverse will need to use some kind of digital currency to power the virtual economy. The more monopolistic the approach the more likely this will result in something like a Novi, a dollar-based stablecoin as the de facto default currency.

 

Despite Zuckerberg’s awareness that by its nature the metaverse is inter-operable, rather than a ‘walled garden’, the amount of money and effort put into this virtual space shows that first-mover advantage will make a difference in the web3 world just as much as the current web 2.0 digital economy, where the likes of Amazon and Google reign supreme.

 

It’s up to the leading GameFi companies like Axie Infinity to show that the more choices there are for users to earn money from gaming or creating, the stronger the metaverse will be for all participants.

 

A more decentralized vision of the metaverse inspired by the likes of GameFi startups such as Axie Infinity would support the kind of metaverse that gamers, DeFi traders would welcome.

 

“While there is room for many different visions of the metaverse I believe GameFi is showing the way, with a decentralized model for gaming and earning money based on trading tokens and NFTs. This is the metaverse where people have greater choice and opportunity, to come together to form their own communities and economies.”

 

 

 

 

 

Original Source: https://hackernoon.com/gamefi-is-driving-the-future-of-the-metaverse-heres-why

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
j j j

[Github.com] Anndy Lian, Blockchain Advisor to Asian Productivity Organization: Driving Blockchain to 20 Economies

[Github.com] Anndy Lian, Blockchain Advisor to Asian Productivity Organization: Driving Blockchain to 20 Economies

Mr. Anndy Lian is the Blockchain Advisor for The Asian Productivity Organization (APO). The appointment ceremony was held in May 2019 in Bangkok and Dr. Santhi Kanoktanaporn, Secretary-General of APO, hosted the ceremony and personally presented the appointment.

The Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) is an intergovernmental regional organisation established by Convention in 1961 by several governments in Asia to hasten their economic development. The current membership is 20 economies, comprising Bangladesh, Cambodia, Republic of China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. These countries/economies pledge to assist each other in their productivity drives in a spirit of mutual cooperation by sharing knowledge, information, and experience. Exploration of future technology such as Blockchain is part of their roadmap.

Mr. Lian is an all-rounded business strategist with more than 15 years of experience in Asia. He has provided advisory across a variety of industries for local, international and public listed companies. Mr. Lian is also the founder, advisor and board member of several other companies in Asia and Europe. He currently plays a pivotal role at the Gyeongsangbuk-do Blockchain Special Committee, under the Gyeongsangbuk-do provincial government (Republic of Korea), helping the city to grow using blockchain technologies together with Blockchain Experts like Brock Pierce from Bitcoin Foundation and Alexis Sirkia from Yellow.com.

He is also involved in a blockchain based supply chain solution provider based in Singapore and has strong foothold in South Korea, China and ASEAN. Prior to his blockchain stint, Mr. Lian played a leadership role in not for profit and quasi government linked organisations such as Singapore Business Federation and Singapore Institute of International Affairs where he worked alongside with policy makers, private sector decision makers and experts to create impacts for different industries.

“I have kept a low profile on this appointment. Thank you for interviewing me and covering this story. This appointment marks recognition not only for myself, but also for those who worked closely together with the same vision,” Mr. Lian stated during the interview. “Blockchain has evolved from its roots as a niche science to become a significant concept in the public eye, and the power that it has will be both subversive and revolutionary to all areas of the industry. It is a great honor to work with APO to improve the innovative usage of blockchain technology, to accelerate blockchain entrepreneurship. Dr Santhi and his team are true futurists. I believe what I am doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionize and redefine traditional businesses. I am also proud to be a Singaporean and doing international work, putting Singapore on the map of blockchain advances.”

According to the appointment, Mr. Lian will perform his advisory role to advise the Secretariat on the latest concepts and applications of blockchain technologies in cybersecurity and IoT network data integrity across smart factories and upskill the Secretariat staff in blockchain technologies as applicable to productivity – through knowledge sessions, roundtable discussions and workshops. Mr. Lian will also be piloting blockchain-based information on-chaining and cybersecurity in IoT-enabled smart factories across selected APO members in the first phase and then eventually across APO’s 20-members and incubating a supportive blockchain eco-system for smart industries by crowdsourcing for promising blockchain business ideas; piloting projects which deploy innovative blockchain solutions across industries; and accelerating blockchain start-ups by giving technical, financial and consultancy support from various stakeholders and partners.

This appointment allows Mr. Lian to work closely with APO’s 20 members and help them move into a blockchainised industrial revolution, enhancing their productivity and competitiveness.

# Media Contact Company Name: Blockcast.ccContact Person: Joann Park Email: contact@blockcast.cc Phone: +65 98832707Country: Singapore Website: https://www.blockcast.cc

 

Source:

https://github.com/Greensael/greensael/wiki/Anndy-Lian,-Blockchain-Advisor-to-Asian-Productivity-Organization:-Driving-Blockchain-to-20-Economies?fbclid=IwAR1pbSl49wvOxdEjWa48EP-WjPkM1WrUUH7oedPcZUFN1y-Fj-XhDO7d1vE

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
j j j