Biden’s executive order to review the state of cryptocurrencies

Biden’s executive order to review the state of cryptocurrencies

It’s welcome news that Bitcoin has risen in price by close to 9% after Joe Biden has signed an executive order “to establish the first-ever comprehensive federal digital assets strategy for the United States” which appears to show a constructive engagement with cryptocurrencies.

It’s also good news that the White House wants measures to protect American consumers on the one hand, while also directing the Depart of Commerce to create a framework that “drives U.S. competitiveness and leadership in, and leveraging of, digital asset technologies.”

In a similarly balanced approach, which seeks to safeguard against the risks while benefiting from the opportunities crypto provides, the order sees their utility in opening up financial provision, certainly a positive step. Indeed, the prematurely published statement from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen aligns with this sentiment, suggesting these measures “could result in substantial benefits for the nation, consumers, and businesses.”

In 2021, many lawmakers failed to take additional steps in the cryptocurrency space, owing to a lack of critical legislative fundamentals and poor opinion polls.

Part of the problem is simply lack of legislative tools to do the job for such innovative assets. This has meant the SEC has been slow to crack down on rogue ICOs, using legislation designed for a pre-crypto era, while threatening to widen its scope based on its interpretation of how securities law applies to even new assets such as NFTs.

As a result, since Bitcoin launched in 2008 the US government has had to play catch up, for example in last December executives of eight major cryptocurrency firms were called to testify before the House Financial Services Committee, a US congressional committee. That was the first time crypto companies in the US have been questioned in that way and was well overdue considering the hype and scams around the ICO boom took place back in 2017/18.

Whether the regulatory policy in the field of crypto assets can be implemented in 2022 will also necessitate close collaboration among governments from across the world to develop a practical regulatory policy plan agreed by the majority of them. Indeed, the international aspect is mentioned in Yellen’s abortive reference to promoting international standards and “a level playing field”. What such a field means in practice is quite another thing, especially if the US gets to call the tune to the detriment of emerging crypto economies from Dubai to Gibraltar.

This point was also recently underlined with the economic sanctions against Russia, which were in part resisted by crypto exchanges. However, it’s noticeable that US exchanges such as Coinbase have started to fall into line by banning 25,000 Russian accounts. However, Coinbase is treading a fine line with the Biden administration by confirming it would not ban accounts for ordinary Russians.

The use of the SWIFT payments system to take down the Russian economy, which has pushed the Russian central bank into closer cooperation with the Chinese government’s own financial system has also reminded US lawmakers of the importance of work to create a US digital currency. The executive order is well timed therefore in tasking the Treasury Department in this respect, along with the Justice Department’s role in deciding on what new law would be required as a result.

What will be interesting too is how this plays out in the battles over privacy rights, in deciding what a digital US currency will look like, in the months and years to come.

 

Author: 

Anndy Lian, Chairman of BigONE Exchange

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Sandbox (SAND) coin price prediction: What’s next for the token?

Sandbox (SAND) coin price prediction: What’s next for the token?

SAND, the coin of blockchain-based play-to-earn metaverse Sandbox, is back on the slide losing 6% of its value today (10 March) down to $2.8.

In February it set off on a modest bull run after gaining the support of global fashion brand Gucci, which has bought a plot of land in its world. But the turrmoil caused by the outbreak of war in eastern Europe piushed it backed downwards.

What is the outlook for the coin? What is a realistic future price target? What factors could shape any Sandbox coin price prediction for 2022, 2025 and 2030?

In this article we look at the latest analyst Sandbox crypto price predictions, news and analysis to help you decide if you shoud make SAND part of your portfolio.

What is a Sandbox coin?

Sandbox is a play-to-earn game that combines blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a three-dimensional (3D) metaverse. It focuses on user-generated content which helps further develop the platform.

The game was initially known as two separate mobile hits: The Sandbox, which was launched in 2011, and The Sandbox Evolution, which was launched in 2016. Together, the two games generated around 40 million downloads across the Android and iOS platforms.

In 2018, the games’ developer, Pixowl, was acquired by Hong Kong-based game software company Animoca Brands which integrated the popular games into the blockchain ecosystem.

Sandbox is hosted on the Ethereum network and is powered by SAND, an ERC-20-based token.

Inspired by major game-creation systems such as Minecraft and Roblox, Sandbox allows players not just to create their own worlds and games, but also to have true ownership of their creations as NFTs. In exchange for participating and playing, players earn SAND tokens.

According to the metaverse’s whitepaper, the current game market limits creator rights and ownership, an issue which Sandbox aims to overcome “while accelerating blockchain adoption to grow the blockchain gaming market”.

The game itself is split into three parts:

  • VoxEdit, where players can create and animate 3D objects such as people, animals, tools and foliage. These are then exported into The Sandbox marketplace, where they become game ASSETS and are sold as NFTs.
  • The Sandbox marketplace where users can upload, publish and sell their ASSETS as ERC-721 and ERC-1155 tokens. The Marketplace launched on 30 March 2021.
  • GAMEMAKER, where players who own ASSETS can use them to play the game itself. Players can place their ASSETS within a piece of LAND (an ERC-721 token) that they own within the Sandbox metaverse. This LAND can be decorated with a number of ASSETS which can be given predefined behaviours through visual scripting nodes. Thus, players are able to turn their LAND into a potential full game experience. Several LANDS can be combined by players to form an ESTATE.

The SAND token fuels the platform and can be earned by selling ASSETS, by owning LAND which can be rented or populated with content to increase its value, and/or by building and monetising games through the GAME MAKER function on the LANDS that are owned by players.

The token also:

  • Gives players access to the platform. Players use SAND tokens to play games, make in-game purchases and customise their avatars. SAND is also charged to upload ASSETS on the marketplace and purchase Gems that define an ASSET’s rarity and scarcity.
  • SAND holders are granted governance and can exercise voting rights on key features within the project’s roadmap.
  • Players can stake their SAND tokens in order to earn more. This is also the only way that players can earn the Gems and Catalysts that are needed for ASSET creation.

Players get to keep 95% of their SAND revenue.

The total supply of SAND coins stands at three billion, with 1.12 billion in circulation. The token reached over $3.15bn in market capitalisation and is ranked the 37th largest cryptocurrency by CoinMarketCap as of 10 March 2022.

SAND price driven by partnership & investor news

The Sandbox token’s outlook started to look much more positive at the start of February 2021, following Sandbox’s partnership with cryptocurrency price-tracking website CoinMarketCap for the latter to release an NFT collection on the metaverse.

In the following months, the token’s price kept moving sideways before it reached $3.22 on 3 November 2021, after the metaverse announced on 2 November that it had gained $93m from Softbank Vision Fund 2 investors, which would help the platform scale up its growth strategy, operations and player acquisition.

By then, Sandbox already had over 165 partners, including popular US rapper Snoop Dogg, and famous TV series The Walking Dead and the Smurfs. The project had also partnered up with Liberty City Ventures, Galaxy Interactive and Adidas Originals.

On 25 November 2021, the token had reached its all-time high of $8.4022 – a 16,387.83% surge since its launch at $0.05096 on 15 August 2020.

On 1 December 2021 Sandbox announced that players could purchase plots next to the one where Snoop Dogg was building his mansion, Snoopverse. This led the SAND token to grow by just 2.02% from $6.5781 on 1 December to $6.7114 the following day.

Following an overall drop in bitcoin and ether prices at the start of December, SAND also fell by 28.8% to $4.7785 by mid-month, despite having secured partnerships with 10 exchanges, as well as a MAUER NFT collection memorialising the Berlin wall.

On 21 December 2021, the metaverse’s partner, Canadian electronic music producer deadmau5, announced the launch of his NFT collection on the Sandbox marketplace which pushed the SAND token’s price up to $6.73 on 26 December, an increase of by 40.81% from its 14 December low.

Bank of America strategist Haim Israel said on 1 December that the metaverse will make cryptocurrencies even more popular than they already were, thus boosting price targets for many metaverse-based crypto tokens including SAND. On 18 January 2022, investment firm JP Morgan Chase agreed with BoA’s bullish predicament by publishing a report saying that the metaverse industry could possibly reach over $1t in yearly revenues. The firm’s report mentioned Sandbox as one of the “main metaverse platforms”.

However, the token’s value line on the chart started to decline once again, amid a general dip in the crypto market at the start of 2022 due to the possibility of tightening monetary policy and geopolitical tensions.

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At time of writing, 10 March, the token is trading at $2.8.

What’s next for the metaverse?

One silver lining for the SAND token price was Snoop Dogg’s announcement on 27 January 2022 that he would be launching a series of Snoop Dogg metaverse avatars on the platform. The news pushed the token’s price by 61.28% from $2.99 on 22 January to $4.81 on 8 February 2022. The NFTs were minted on 22 February and have the potential to hike the token’s price once again.

In more recent SAND coin news, partnerships with Gucci and Ubisoft  were unable to offset the overall bearish forecast in the markets, with the token reaching $3.11 on 22 February – a 35.4% drop since 8 February.

The platform also partnered with Warner Music Group which will create a music-themed world in the metaverse as the platform plans to launch its first virtual concerts in the third quarter of 2022.

A mobile version of the metaverse is anticipated for some time in the fourth quarter of 2022.

BigOne Exchange chair Anndy Lian told Capita.com that Sandbox heavily relies on Ethereum’s performance, making the token quite volatile.

“Personally, I do like the developments of the project. But I do want to point out some angles for improvement. Firstly, the project relies heavily on Ethereum’s performance. I do think that, given the right situation, they should look at building on another blockchain or even their own chain.

“Secondly, their game needs to be attractive enough to draw in more users while retaining the old ones. I hope to see more game enhancement and token utility that comes along with it.”

Sandbox coin price prediction 2022-2030:

Algorithm-based forecasting service WalletInvestor gave a bullish SAND crypto price prediction at the time of writing (10 March), calling it an “awesome long-term investment”.

Based on its analysis of the cryptocurrency’s past performance, the forecasting service’s SAND price prediction was it could trade at $8.04 by March 2023 and reach $28.75 in five years.

DigitalCoinPrice supported the bullish SAND crypto price prediction but at a much slower pace, seeing the coin reach $3.61 by the end of 2022 and $5.49 by 2025.

The site’s SAND prediction was that the token was expected to surpass its all-time high in 2027 at $8.36. In 2030, the token’s price could reach $14.55.

Please note that price predictions can be wrong. Forecasts shouldn’t be used as a substitute for your own research. Always conduct your own due diligence before investing. And never invest or trade money you cannot afford to lose.

Analyst views on SAND

Bitbank crypto market analyst Yuya Hasegawa told Capital.com that upbeat comments on the Sandbox metaverse from financial institutions like Bank of America and JP Morgan, as well as sales of collaborative items with celebrities and popular brands, are attracting investors to the platform.

Hasegawa was interviewed before Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

“However, although SAND and some other metaverse-related tokens have outperformed bitcoin in the last quarter, the current market environment – not limiting to the crypto market – is heavily affected by the situation at the Russia-Ukraine border and investors are being quite defensive,” she noted.

“So, even though SAND has a lot of growth potential in the long run, as the industry itself is still in a sort of ‘experimental’ or ‘developmental’ phase, the financial market as a whole has to wait and see how the situation at the Russia-Ukraine border rolls out.”

Invezz data analyst Dan Ashmore added that the token managed to piggyback off the wider boom in the metaverse caused by Facebook rebranding to Meta in October.

“Further fuel was provided via high-profile partnerships, including Gucci, Warner Music Group and Snoop Dogg (offering shopping experiences, virtual concerts and playable avatars respectively). Particularly exciting going forward is the focus on user-generated content.

“Objects and interactive games can be created and sold on the marketplace. With the internet increasingly focused on content creation (YouTube, TikTok etc), ATH above $8 could be achievable in the next year or two, although that will depend on the wider crypto market,” he concluded.

 

Original Source: https://capital.com/sandbox-sand-coin-price-prediction

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Analysis of Blockchain Technology Adoption for ESG Initiatives in Business

Analysis of Blockchain Technology Adoption for ESG Initiatives in Business

In today’s world, environmental, social, and governance initiatives are accelerating, becoming a criterion for businesses seeking investments from socially conscious investors. As a result, companies have begun to invest billions of dollars in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives to address wider societal concerns than simply bottom-line profitability. The importance of ESG in these times cannot be overstated, as there is a need to raise awareness of global social and economic inequality and develop effective governance frameworks to address these issues.

 

Adoption of blockchain technology can be very beneficial in promoting ESG initiatives by improving overall decentralized infrastructure and, in the long run, making these initiatives digitized and automated. For example, a recent report from Banking America with predictions for 2022, confirmed that one of the biggest trends in corporate America is ESG: “Nine in ten banks are paying attention to ESG and one in two would change parts or all of their business in response to new regulations. But nearly one in five, or 17%, says regulations won’t ever be put forth, a dangerous assumption given SEC chair Gensler’s public comments to the contrary.” It seems so-called ‘ESG risk’ is a real concern, and not just for corporate America.

 

In this article, the aim is to look at various pain points surrounding emerging ESG initiatives that blockchain technology can help solve. While at the same time aware of the fact there’s no unified definition, which means the ESG label is used in a variety of ways. The second layer of complexity to this whole discussion is that the leading blockchain technology, Bitcoin has itself been criticized on ESG criteria, particularly regarding its high energy use. Indeed, a joint letter to leading US congressional representatives, from a whole host of national and international organizations, pointed to the importance of considering ESG when looking at the regulation for crypto to address “the real negative climate and environmental justice effects, which merit close attention by policymakers.”

 

The role of Bitcoin in energy consumption

Bitcoin as the first blockchain employs a proof-of-work consensus that necessitates a significant amount of energy. According to reports, bitcoin mining consumes more than 100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity per year, enough to power an entire country. For example, Scotland has a population of just over five million and requires 25 TWh of electrical energy each year. It’s argued that the energy requirements of bitcoin mining have hampered the adoption of blockchain technology, as skeptics believe Bitcoin pollutes the environment, generating high carbon emissions year after year. While this is partially correct, BigONE believes these figures have been misinterpreted.

 

According to a Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance (CCAF) report, 76% of proof-of-work miners worldwide use renewable energy, and renewable energy powers 39% of total proof-of-work mining. Looking at these statistics, it is clear that over time, Bitcoin miners will increasingly resort to using renewable energy that has much less impact on the environment when mining Bitcoins. In addition, current estimates show that Bitcoin’s energy consumption will reduce over time, after peaking in the next decade. As crypto guru Nic Carter said in a Twitter reply thread to the October 2021 protest letter to US politicians: “Miners also participate in demand response, meaning they aren’t online when the grid is overburdened. Their presence dramatically improves economics for renewables and does not compete with households during scarcity events.” Furthermore, given the recent crackdown on miners in China, experts believe that energy consumption in Bitcoin mining will be significantly reduced, allowing for the adoption of blockchain technology in ESG initiatives.

 

ESG initiatives helped by blockchain technology

Blockchain technology can be a valuable tool in mitigating environmental issues such as climate change and carbon emissions. BigONE would look at some aspects of ESG initiatives that can be improved further by blockchain technology, such as:

 

  • Improving supply chain traceability and efficiency: Blockchain technology has the potential to improve supply chain traceability, an issue that has come to the fore with the global impact of COVID-19 on logistics. At another level blockchain technology is a distributed ledger technology that can protect important company data from hacking because data is stored in a decentralized manner. This has a significant application in the food industry. Consumers’ demand for ethically sourced products has increased, particularly in the food industry. Users can use blockchain technology to trace the supply chain of these products and determine whether they are safe for consumption.

    As a result, blockchain technology improves the environment for suppliers, distributors, transporters, and retailers by making supply chains more efficient. In 2018 a report on ‘The Economic Impact Of Smart Ledgers On Word Trade’ estimated the potential impact of blockchain technology worldwide to be “anything from a ‘modest’ rise in global trade of $35 billion per annum to perhaps as much as $140 billion.” Indeed, as global logistics has been hit by a squeeze in the supply of containers, the report estimated that using blockchain could be reduced by $46 per container. Meanwhile, BMW is using blockchain to “ensure the traceability of components and raw materials in multi-stage international supply chains.”

 

  • Combating climate change: With the introduction of blockchain technology, the use of renewable energy can be expanded, potentially leading to a reduction in carbon emissions. Additionally, blockchain technology can be used to enable carbon offset, a way to compensate for emissions by funding an equivalent carbon dioxide saving elsewhere. Companies can use blockchain to offset their carbon footprint by investing in sustainable environmental projects.

    To put this in context, the Carbon Offsets to Alleviate Poverty organization has begun accepting cryptocurrency donations to increase the availability of carbon offsets. When asked about the impact of blockchain technology in combating climate change, Adelyn Zhou, the chief marketing officer of Chainlink Labs, said, “While many people are voluntarily altering their consumption habits to combat climate change, a global shift in consumption will likely require significant incentive changes to drive sustainable behavior.

    Self-executing contracts enabled by a combination of blockchains and oracle networks that pull data from the real world can automate incentive systems to directly reward practices that help our environment.” Zhou points to the Green World Campaign and Cornell University who in partnership are developing smart contracts that will reward people who successfully regenerate tracts of land by increasing tree cover, improving soil, and implementing other restorative agricultural practices. “When Chainlink oracles pull-proof of land improvement (via satellite imagery) onto the blockchain, it triggers the smart contract to release a payout. With this system, land stewards can quickly and efficiently receive their rewards,” Zhou confirmed.

 

  • Standardized ESG reporting: BigONE also believes that blockchain technology can improve the current reporting standards for ESG initiatives. One of the most severe issues with ESG initiatives is a lack of accountability, as no mandated reporting standards exist. This can be addressed by implementing blockchain technology, which increases transparency and consistency associated with blockchain reporting frameworks and standards. According to Alberto Saavedra, in an article in Advance ESG, precise and timely information is required to allow for periodic adjustments to assure the company’s ESG goals are being met.  “The verification of the accuracy of this information is crucial. And it is exceedingly complex when the supply chains cross multiple geopolitical boundaries. Blockchain, a relatively new technology known best for cryptocurrency, can play a key role,” Saavedra confirmed.

 

BigONE’s support for ESG

We also believe it would be counter-productive to focus on the narrow argument about Bitcoin’s energy consumption while overlooking the numerous benefits this integration can provide. Instead, we should focus on the fact that blockchain technology has already played a critical business role, particularly in the finance and gaming industries. As a proponent of ESG initiatives BigONE believes more sustainable infrastructure can be put in place with the incorporation of blockchain technology, improving the overall positive outcomes of such initiatives. In addition, blockchain technology can enhance governance frameworks and sustain value by providing much-needed transparency and verification processes.

As a testament to its ESG credentials on January 7 BigONE Exchange listed an exciting new crypto project aiming to grow solar power using its innovative tokenomics. It’s making use of the exchange’s new automated market maker (AMM) service to give a share of dividends to each user who contributes to the liquidity pool, to ensure a successful listing. The liquidity mining-based system will place the funds in the funding pool according to the AMM’s algorithm to provide greater liquidity for each market. The Light DeFi’s own crypto network fee is financing the development of a new solar power plant in northeast Brazil.

 

With an estimated annual revenue of $500,000, and around 80 jobs in the first part of the project, work has already started on building the solar power plant in São Luis do Curu, using local labor as part of their wider commitment to sustainability. BigONE chairman Anndy Lian joined Light DeFi as an investor and advisor to help lead their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) and blockchain efforts. It was Light DeFi’s community that was crucial to bringing him to the sustainable project in blockchain technology. Through a tweet in which blockchain expert Anndy Lian wrote that to save the planet, the first step would be to join in the clean energy space, Light DeFi’s community responded with many of the community replied by writing about Light DeFi’s revolutionary project. BigONE chairman Anndy Lian said: “To deliver on the ambitious targets to reduce emissions, to deliver on social justice and governance, we need to use blockchain solutions in order to provide data accuracy and transparency. Individuals, and the public and private sector need to work together to meet climate goals, and cryptocurrency and smart contracts running on the blockchain provide necessary infrastructure from micro incentives through to macro tracking.”

 

Original Source: https://hackernoon.com/analysis-of-blockchain-technology-adoption-for-esg-initiatives-in-business

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