Dubai, UAE, February 27th, 2024, Chainwire
Zent, a pioneering software provider for financial institutions, has unveiled its all-in-one platform for high-speed crypto trading across popular exchanges. The “ultimate tool tailored to institutional teams and trading volumes” offers distinct advantages, eliminating hurdles like delays and market impact.
According to a Goldman Sachs report, 2023 was the year when crypto markets became institutionalized. As the legal context evolves and spot Bitcoin ETFs signal regulatory approval, crypto appears on more organizational portfolios. Institutional allocations are growing, as evidenced by Coinbase’s recent survey.
Zent addresses the biggest challenges of institutional trading: hindered execution, slippage, fragmented liquidity, and the influence of open positions in public order books. Its unique benefits target three categories of corporate users — token issuers, funds, and traders.
CEO Ilia Stadnik describes Zent’s strengths: “Zent is a game-changer for crypto projects, supporting growth through quick and easy liquidity management. For crypto and traditional funds, Zent simplifies market entry, scaling, and portfolio and team management, bringing the utmost confidence. Lastly, for traders and their employers seeking seamless transactions across markets, Zent minimizes typical obstacles like market impact.”
Revolutionary feature: Order Rules
At the forefront is a unique feature for smooth, delay-free execution: Order Rules. It splits large volumes into chunks of customizable size, executed at customizable intervals and going live at a price match.
Thereby, institutional-grade trades remain essentially undetectable in public order books, eliminating market impact. Furthermore, all Order Rules are created and managed via a single user-centric dashboard.
Zent empowers traders with user-friendly tools, while giving workspace owners an unrivaled agility of control with reassignable rights and limits, along with in-depth performance assessment in real-time and retrospect. According to Stadnik, “These benefits, alongside many other features, position Zent as the definitive one-stop-shop for institutional trading.”
Institutions may use Zent as a standalone product or leverage its capabilities through their existing workspaces. Zent API brings law latency Order Rule functionality to any in-house trading platform.
To celebrate its official launch, Zent offers a free annual subscription for the first 3 clients onboard. Due diligence procedures apply. 30-day full access to all features free of charge is also available. Users can contact the team via the official website — zent.pro.
About Zent
Established in 2023, Zent unites seasoned professionals with diverse backgrounds in crypto and blockchain, IT, and conventional and hybrid finance. It is led by CEO Ilya Stadnik, an accomplished executive leading tech and marketing teams for 10+ years, and Product Owner Michael Sapenyuk, who has headed trading education and software development projects for just as long.
For more information and updates users can visit Zent’s Linkedin.
Contact
PR Manager
Alisa Pargentanyan
Zent
[email protected]
Dubai, UAE, February 26th, 2024, Chainwire
The Layer-1 Received the Top Honor at the Eurasia Awards While Experiencing a Period of Unprecedented Growth and Recognition
Sui, the layer 1 blockchain that has experienced explosive growth since its mainnet launch in 2023, has emerged as the winner at the Eurasia Awards held during the second edition of AIBC Eurasia in Dubai. The gala event, renowned for its world-class attendance and previous winners such as Animoca Brands and Crypto.com, witnessed the Sui Foundation being honored for the leading position the blockchain has achieved during the past months. Other nominees for the 2024 award included Near Protocol and 1inch Network.
Sui’s recognition comes amidst its significant growth and influence in the blockchain space. The Sui ecosystem has gained significant traction during the past months. The layer 1 recently surpassed $600M in Total Value Locked (TVL) and secured a spot in the top 10 of DeFi ecosystems. Likewise, examination of token flows via Wormhole—a leading cross-chain protocol that supports Sui—shows that, of the almost $500M worth of funds that left Ethereum through Wormhole in the last 30 days, over 64% of it was moved to Sui.
The award decision was made on February 11, while the ceremony and the announcement took place on February 25, at the Festival Arena in Dubai. Sui’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of blockchain technology, as evidenced by its recent partnerships and expansions, has solidified its position as a leader in the industry.
Greg Siourounis, Managing Director of the Sui Foundation, said, “It’s truly an honor for Sui to receive this important recognition from AIBC. Winning the Eurasia Award for best blockchain solution speaks to the hard work and impactful contributions of the entire Sui community including our local partners like Ghaf Labs. This award should inspire builders on Sui to continue leveraging the network’s unique advantages and also encourage new or existing projects to opt into the fast-growing Sui ecosystem.”
The AIBC Eurasia Awards featured a diverse array of categories, each shining a spotlight on exceptional contributions within the blockchain and gaming industry. Other notable categories included “Web3 Gaming Leader of the Year,” “Crypto/Web3 Media of the Year,” and “Best Metaverse Project 2024.”
This distinguished panel that selected Sui as the Blockchain of the Year included industry veterans and business leaders such as Olga Yaroshevsky (Ph.D. and AIBC’s Lead Producer), Pavel Matveev (CEO at Wirex), and Giacomo Arcaro (renowned seed investor and Ethereum evangelist).
Contact
Sui Foundation
[email protected]
Singapore, Singapore, February 26th, 2024, Chainwire
Aethir, a leader in decentralized GPU cloud infrastructure, has announced its highly anticipated Node Sale. Aethir is an enterprise-grade, AI and Gaming-focused GPU-as-a-service provider. Aethir’s decentralized cloud computing infrastructure enables GPU providers to connect with enterprise clients who need the raw power of NVIDIA’s H100 chips for sophisticated AI/ML tasks.
In addition, Aethir’s infrastructure supports cloud gaming clients and has contracts with the world’s largest gaming and telecom companies, taking advantage of its flexibility and coverage across technological and operational expertise.
$ATH token is the native token for the Aethir network, to reward node providers and checkers for maintaining the Aethir Decentralized Cloud Infrastructure network. This decentralization starts first with the Checker Nodes, the validator of our ecosystem, equal opportunity to participate, equal opportunity to validate, and equal opportunity to earn an additional bonus for catching bad actors and slashing their rewards.
Aethir aims to be an enterprise-first infrastructure partner leveraging the Arbitrum ecosystem for DePIN and AI, as it will host its node infrastructure in the ecosystem and prepare for its own node sale on Arbitrum.
Why Run a Node on Aethir?
Running a node on Aethir contributes to the decentralization of cloud compute and earn rewards from being a network participant. The first type of node in the Aethir network that will be made available is the checker node, a node for any user to operate to help in the verification of the uptime, latency, quality of service, and computational power provided by other node participants in the future. Aethir’s team always strives to ensure a decentralized approach in every aspect of the project. The team’s commitment to decentralization and community ownership starts with opening up the decentralization of the checker nodes licenses, which play a critical role in the ecosystem in validating service provision within the Aethir infrastructure.
The Node Sale details are as follows:
- 100,000 nodes available in a tiered pricing system.
- Nodes will be sold on Arbitrum via a public sale.
- Nodes are transferable one year post-sale.
- Rewards will be accrued and earned upon a vesting logic for each user
- No cap on the number of nodes one can purchase.
- Special allotment for the Aethir community, partners, and KOLs for whitelists for early adopters of the network
Exclusive Revenue Opportunities for Node Operators
As a node operator in Aethir’s ecosystem, users stand to earn up to a total of 15% of the total supply of the Aethir ecosystem (over the course of the next four years) set aside for checker Node Operators specifically. Other rewards will be set aside for other mining and technical participation roles within the network. Nodes earn rewards for helping verify the data and service provision within the network, serving as checks and balances for the future mining throughput of AI-enabled processing chips and other computational power.
This checker node sale gives the opportunity for anyone to be a part of the network to support in the build up of a decentralized ecosystem for the largest collection of decentralized AI computational power, without forcing every regular user to be ready on day one to participate in heavy duty computational work.
Tiered Public Node Sale – A Chance for Everyone to Participate
With nodes starting at $500 per checker node, and then increasing at each tier, and whitelists set aside for different participants amongst Aethir community, partner communities, KOLs, and venture capital teams, this sale has been designed to involve all types of participants.
Users will be participating with wrapped ETH (WETH) on Arbitrum network, and full details of the sale will be available at this link: http://checker.aethir.com The details of running the node will be made available at the time of testnet launch.
Aethir is excited to announce the first ever tiered decentralized AI public node sale, ensuring fair and broad access to its burgeoning network. While a select number of nodes have been reserved for whitelists, including KOLs and members of the Aethir and partner communities, the majority of the nodes are open to the public to purchase on a first come first serve basis. This structure guarantees that everyone has the opportunity to join Aethir’s revolutionary journey towards decentralization.
KOLs will receive a unique referral code to share with their community, earning a referral fee for each node sale made using their code.
Node Sale Timeline
- Node sale announcement: February 26, 2024, 12 PM UTC
- Impossible Whitelist campaign: Feb 27 2024, 10AM UTC to 14 March 10AM UTC
- Node sale launch: March 20, 2024, 10 AM UTC
- Network launch: Q2 2024
For more details on how to purchase and run a node, stay tuned to Aethir’s official channels.
Aethir’s Ecosystem and Your Role
As node operators, you’re an integral part of Aethir’s ecosystem, earning rewards for your crucial computing contributions once the network goes fully live. Aethir is on a mission to accelerate the world’s transition to universal cloud computing—and you’re invited to join this journey through our Initial Node Offering.
More on Aethir
- Aethir’s Unprecedented Product Traction
- Secured a mid 7-figure annual contract with the world’s largest telco, scaling to 8-figures by Q2 2024.
- On track to sign three more enterprise contracts in Q1 2024.
- Signed three contracts for cloud gaming, with over ten more anticipated in Q1 2024, including partnerships with the world’s largest gaming company boasting 150M+ MAU and a 22% conversion rate.
- Grown to over 170k+ community members.
- Proud members of NVIDIA’s Inception Program, equipped with a strong lineup of H100 chips that even Meta (Facebook) is acquiring in billions.
- Backed by the Best
- Our mission is supported by an impressive roster of committed investors, including Maelstrom, Mirana Ventures, Animoca Brands, Sanctor Capital, Hashkey, Merit Circle and CitizenX, IVC, Framework Ventures, and Infinity Ventures Crypto.
- Meet the Team Behind the Mission
- Mark Rydon – Co-founder and CEO – Mark has held key roles at NOTA Platform, Flux Capital, Gaas LTD, Kulture Athletics, Inc., and Bechtel Corporation.
- Daniel Wang – Co-founder and CBO – roles at Mythos Venture Partners (GP), Prior at IVC (Venture Partner), YGG SEA (CIO), Riot Games (Head of International Publishing Mgmt), Riot Games – China (Head of Operations).
- Kyle Okamoto – CTO – Kyle has served as the CEO & General Manager at Ericsson’s IoT, Automotive, and Security businesses, CEO of Edge Gravity, and Chief Network Officer at Verizon Media.
- Paul Thind – CRO – Paul, currently the CRO at Aethir, previously co-founded and served as CEO at Triggerspot Inc and was an advisor at Creadits and Trick Studio.
About Aethir
Aethir is revolutionizing DePIN with its advanced, distributed enterprise-grade GPU-based compute infrastructure tailored for AI and gaming. Backed by leading Web3 investors like Framework Ventures, Merit Circle, Hashkey, Animoca Brands, Sanctor Capital, Infinity Ventures Crypto (IVC), and others, with over $32 M in funds raised for the ecosystem, Aethir is paving the way for the future of decentralized computing.
Users who want to be a part of the node sale and help shape the future of AI and gaming can check Aethir’s official node sale link to learn how to participate in the sale.
Contact
Marketing Director
David Costello
Aethir
[email protected]
The United States Attorney’s Office has petitioned a federal judge to endorse additional travel constraints for former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
In a filing dated Feb. 23 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman urged Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida to ratify a motion outlining the terms for CZ to remain at liberty on bail.
Prosecutors requested that Zhao confine his travels to within the contiguous U.S. until his sentencing hearing on April 30 and furnish three days’ notice for any excursions to enable the government to lodge objections.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also sought CZ’s surrender of his Canadian passport and “all other current and expired passports and travel documents” to his legal representatives.
Zhao, who also holds citizenship in the United Arab Emirates, had sought permission to journey there to visit relatives prior to his sentencing — a plea the judge dismissed.
As per the filing, “Zhao’s counsel object to this motion as written,” indicating that his legal team may persist in seeking a means for the former Binance CEO to depart the country.
In November 2023, CZ pleaded guilty to one felony count for failure to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering program at Binance.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Struggles Amidst Institutional Investment Slowdown
Since the indictment, he has remained at liberty on a $175 million bond.
Zhao resigned as Binance CEO as part of a $4.3 billion settlement between the crypto exchange and U.S. authorities.
On Feb. 23, Judge Richard Jones approved the $1.8 billion fine and forfeiture of $2.5 billion.
CZ, Binance, and Binance.US still face a civil case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a lawsuit in June 2023.
“This truly is a case where the ethics of the company were compromised by greed,” remarked Judge Jones during the Feb. 23 hearing.
Following CZ’s departure, Richard Teng, former Binance head of regional markets, assumed the role of CEO.
In a December 2023 interview with Cointelegraph, Teng portrayed the exchange as “completely different” compared to its operations six years prior.
London, United Kingdom, February 26th, 2024, Chainwire
Launching on OpenSea.io 1st March at 9AM PT
ElmonX is proud to announced of the upcoming release of ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch.
ElmonX, the digital collectibles platform, has unveiled a collaboration to launch one unique drop licensed by Bridgeman Images.
The Scream, 1895 (litho), Munch, Edvard (1863–1944) / The Art Institute of Chicago, IL, USA / Bridgeman Images.
Key Information on Medium:
Public Sale: Friday, 1st March 9AM PT Price: 0.075 Eth (Purchase limit 3 per wallet) Editions: 780 (36 Reserved) License: Bridgeman Images Available: Globally at OpenSea.io
Previous NFTs released through ElmonX feature iconic artworks such as: Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (1503), Van Gogh’s Starry Night (1889), Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker (1904), and Claude Monet’s Nymphéas 1907, among others.
Edvard Munch is universally renowned for his series of creations entitled “The Scream”. This 1895 lithograph rendition is produced using a unique printmaking technique, captures a haunting scene of existential despair against swirling skies. Interpreted as a powerful symbol of anxiety and human turmoil, it showcases Munch’s expressionist style. Licensed by Bridgeman Images and housed in The Art Institute of Chicago, this artwork’s inscriptions add depth to its historical significance.
This is the first opportunity to own ‘The Scream 1895 (litho) digital collectible as a premium digital artwork in 3D by ElmonX. Holders can view and interact with the NFT in Augmented Reality.
There will be a limited-edition release, with only 780 collectibles available. Collectors can acquire these limited digital collectibles using either credit card or ETH via OpenSea.io.
The sale will commence on Friday, 1st March at 9AM PT on OpenSea.io, operating on a first-come, first-served basis.
About ElmonX
ElmonX specializes in the creation of licensed NFT (non-fungible token) art. Their team of skilled artists and designers create pieces that are not only visually stunning, but also technologically advanced. By utilizing blockchain technology, ElmonX is able to offer next-generation collectibles and artifacts that are aesthetically pleasing and verified through a unique and transparent way for art collectors to invest in and showcase their collections.
The company’s focus on art, next-gen collectibles and artifacts reflects their dedication to staying at the forefront of the art world and their commitment to pushing boundaries and breaking new ground. ElmonX’s NFT art represents a new era in art collecting. As blockchain technology continues to gain traction, the demand for digital assets and collectibles is on the rise.
By creating licensed NFT art, ElmonX offers collectors a new way to appreciate and showcase their love of art. Whether you’re a seasoned art collector or a newcomer to the world of NFTs, ElmonX’s pieces are sure to captivate and inspire.
About Bridgeman Images
ElmonX have partnered with Bridgeman Images to bring the “The Scream, 1895 (litho)” into the digital collectible world. Bridgeman are the world’s leading specialists in the distribution of art, cultural and historical images, and footage for reproduction. With 50 years’ experience providing images from the most prestigious museums, collections, and artists. Their collection of assets spans centuries, specialisms, geographies, and mediums including contemporary and fine art, photography, textiles, sculpture, maps, documentary footage and more.
To stay up to date,users can follow ElmonX on social media: https://linktr.ee/elmonx
For complete information, users can visit: https://elmonx.com/
Contact
CEO
Jacob Elmon
ElmonX
[email protected]
Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms has reported a 19% increase in its Bitcoin production for 2023, mining a total of 6,626 BTC.
The surge in production contributed to a rise in annual revenue, primarily attributed to the higher average price of Bitcoin throughout 2023 compared to the bear market witnessed in 2022.
According to a report published by Riot Platforms on February 22, the average cost for the firm to mine a single Bitcoin in 2023 decreased by approximately $3,686 compared to the previous year.
“Riot’s cost to mine Bitcoin for 2023, net of power credits allocated to self-mining, averaged $7,539 per Bitcoin versus $11,225 in 2022, a decrease of 33% year-over-year,” the report highlights.
Moreover, the average value of Bitcoin in 2023 exceeded that of 2022, leading to a revenue increase for the year, totalling $280.7 million, compared to $259.2 million in the previous year.
“The increase in Bitcoin Mining revenue was driven by slightly higher values of Bitcoin mined in 2023, which averaged $28,859 per Bitcoin as compared to an average price of $28,245 per Bitcoin in 2022.”
The crypto market faced a severe downturn in 2022, marked by the collapse of several crypto firms, including major exchange FTX.
Riot’s share price witnessed a significant surge of 47.47% over the past month.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Struggles Amidst Institutional Investment Slowdown
However, it experienced a decline of approximately 10.65% over the five-day trading period last week, with its current share price standing at $14.85.
In December 2023, Cointelegraph reported Riot’s acquisition of 66,560 mining rigs from manufacturer MicroBT, marking one of the largest expansions of hash rate in the firm’s history ahead of the Bitcoin halving scheduled for April.
Other Bitcoin mining firms also reported varying production results in 2023. Core Scientific produced 19,274 Bitcoin, while CleanSpark experienced a 60% surge compared to 2022, mining over 7,300 Bitcoin during the year.
Marathon Digital mined 12,852 Bitcoin in 2023, with a notable increase of 1,853 Bitcoin in December alone, representing a 56% surge from November and a remarkable 290% increase over December 2022.
In more recent developments, Riot, alongside the Texas Blockchain Council, filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, and the Office of Management and Budget for demanding invasive data from crypto miners.
Potential inertia in the price of Bitcoin following the Bitcoin halving could destabilise the share prices of high-cost public miners in the United States, potentially compelling some to relocate overseas.
“We might see a mining stock bloodbath as investors realise these companies are barely making money,” says Jaran Mellerud, founder and chief mining strategist of Hashlabs Mining, alluding to the potential outcome if the Bitcoin price fails to experience a significant rise after the halving.
Mellerud is currently observing the three to four-month period post-halving to gauge the impact on miner profitability due to the reduction in block rewards.
The upcoming Bitcoin halving is anticipated to take place on April 24, according to CoinMarketCap.
It will decrease Bitcoin miner rewards from 6.25 BTC (£234,750) to 3.125 BTC (£117,375), although historical trends suggest a subsequent surge in the Bitcoin price.
During the last halving event on May 11, 2020, Bitcoin was valued at $8,750 and experienced a staggering 430% increase five months later in October, soaring from $11,500 to $61,300 by mid-March 2021.
However, if Bitcoin fails to rally significantly within that three to four-month timeframe, “a significant portion of the network might need to power down their machines, particularly those paying hosting rates of $0.07 per kWh or more,” Mellerud noted, highlighting a notable concentration of these inefficient miners in the United States.
Consequently, Mellerud anticipates a shift in some of Bitcoin’s hash rate from the U.S. to countries with lower electricity rates, particularly in Africa and Latin America.
“My company, Hashlabs, is currently witnessing substantial demand from US-based miners who wish to relocate their machines to Ethiopia, where hosting rates are 30-40% lower than in the United States.”
Concerns regarding profitability surfaced in late January when Cantor Fitzgerald reported that 11 publicly listed Bitcoin miners would not be profitable post-halving if Bitcoin’s price remained around $40,000 (the price of Bitcoin at the time).
Cantor Fitzgerald’s “all in per coin” metric encompasses the total costs a Bitcoin miner would incur in producing a single Bitcoin, encompassing electricity costs, hosting fees, and other expenses.
READ MORE: Solana NFT Sales Skyrocket to Over £5 Billion, Setting New Record High
Nonetheless, with Bitcoin’s price currently standing at $51,000, only four of the 13 mining firms fall below the profitability threshold.
However, head analyst at Bitcoin mining firm Blockware Solutions, Mitchell Askew, informed Cointelegraph that most U.S. public miners would maintain profitability, especially those that invested in more efficient machines during the bear market.
Askew refuted Mellerud’s claim that most inefficient miners are based in the U.S., asserting that they constitute only a small fraction of Bitcoin’s total hash rate, making any hash rate loss negligible.
Nevertheless, even in the event of unprofitability, Askew outlined several reasons preventing U.S. miners from relocating overseas.
“[Many of them] are bound by fixed hosting contracts and must continue mining regardless of profitability,” while others mine primarily to accumulate non-Know Your Customer Bitcoin and are less concerned with profitability, according to Askew.
Mellerud identified Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Kenya as the most promising African countries to attract a larger share of the hash rate in the event of a mining migration.
Mellerud particularly highlighted Ethiopia’s “massive hydropower surplus” and the influx of Chinese miners as factors contributing to its appeal, projecting the African nation to capture 5–10% of Bitcoin’s total hash rate over the next few years.
Meanwhile, Mellerud identified Argentina and Paraguay as the most promising mining destinations in South America.
The decentralised application (DApp) platform Avalanche encountered a significant technical disruption affecting the block production of its proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain.
At 12:02:27 pm UTC on February 23rd, Avalanche’s primary network experienced block production issues, seemingly bringing the network to a halt.
Avalanche’s blockchain explorer indicated that the last block on Avalanche’s P-Chain, X-Chain, and C-chain subnets was produced over an hour earlier.
An official alert concerning the block finalisation stall was also issued by Avalanche. In a status update, Avalanche stated:
“Developers across the community are presently investigating a stall in block finalisation that is preventing blocks from being accepted on the Primary Network.”
Block production is a crucial process for the stability and continuity of blockchain networks, involving the creation of new blocks that validate and record transactions.
Disruptions in this process lead to transaction processing delays, impacting the network’s overall functionality.
In a post on X, Kevin Sekniqi, co-founder of Ava Labs, mentioned that the team is already looking into the issue.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Prepares for Pre-Halving Pullback Amidst Uncertain Timing
According to Sekniqi, the block production halt might be linked to a “new inscription wave” launched an hour before the issues arose.
The Ava Labs executive suggested that the problem could be an “esoteric bug from some edge case” and noted that it likely involves a mempool handling issue with inscriptions.
Sekniqi assured the community that this would be “dealt with swiftly.”
Nearly an hour later, Sekniqi clarified that the issue was a code-related bug unrelated to performance handling.
He explained that while inscriptions may have encountered an edge case, they did not affect performance.
Similar reports of Avalanche’s block production halting emerged on March 23rd, 2023.
At that time, the Avalanche blockchain explorer revealed that the C-chain had ceased producing blocks.
However, Sekniqi clarified that the network had been unstable due to a bug with its v1.9.12 and the team had deployed a fix to stabilise the network.
Solana-based nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have soared to a remarkable all-time sales volume surpassing £5 billion following a surge in NFT trading activity on the blockchain over the past four months.
As of February 23, data compiled by CryptoSlam revealed that the cumulative sales volume for NFTs operating on the Solana network has reached an impressive £5,013,847,972.
The data also highlights the substantial user base within the blockchain, boasting over 2.2 million buyers and 1.6 million sellers, resulting in nearly 43 million NFT transactions overall.
The performance of Solana NFTs experienced a noticeable turnaround after a relatively lacklustre period preceding November 2023.
From July 2023 onwards, monthly sales struggled to surpass £40 million. However, a significant shift occurred from October 2023 onwards.
READ: Bitcoin Prepares for Pre-Halving Pullback Amidst Uncertain Timing
The sales volume for Solana-based NFTs began to exhibit signs of resurgence, surging to approximately £82 million in November 2023—an impressive 192% increase compared to the preceding month’s £28 million in sales.
This momentum carried forward in subsequent months, with December 2023 witnessing Solana NFTs generating around £365 million in monthly sales, marking its second-highest monthly sales volume after the £373 million record set in October 2021.
Despite a slight slowdown in January, Solana NFTs still achieved sales exceeding £239 million for the month.
As of the latest data, February’s monthly sales volume stands at £161 million, underscoring the consistent growth trajectory in Solana NFT sales, amassing over £1 billion in sales volume over the last nine months.
The surge in Solana NFT sales observed in December 2023 coincided with a bullish price trend for Solana’s native token.
On December 26, 2023, SOL reached a peak of £121.45, with a trading volume reaching £5.7 billion, as reported by the cryptocurrency data tracker CoinGecko.
The European Union’s freshly minted Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) is set to make its home in Frankfurt, the financial hub of Germany, with operations commencing by mid-2025.
The AMLA will wield the power to oversee “high-risk and cross-border financial entities” – including crypto firms – should they traverse borders or carry a high-risk tag.
It will collaborate on its supervisory endeavours with financial intelligence units and regulators across other EU nations.
According to a press release dated Feb. 22 from the Council of the EU and the European Council, Frankfurt emerged triumphant as the chosen city for the agency’s headquarters.
Notably, the city is also home to the European Central Bank. Brussels, Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Riga, Vilnius, and Vienna had also vied for the spot.
The AMLA’s general board will feature representatives from regulators and financial intelligence units hailing from all EU member states. Meanwhile, the executive board, its governing body, will consist of the chair and five independent full-time members.
The inaugural comprehensive EU crypto framework, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), took effect in June 2023.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Prepares for Pre-Halving Pullback Amidst Uncertain Timing
However, the enforcement of regulations governing “asset-referenced tokens” and “e-money tokens,” primarily encapsulated under stablecoins, is slated to kick in by June 2024.
Regulations pertaining to “crypto-asset service providers,” encompassing trading platforms, wallet providers, and cryptocurrency exchanges and services, are earmarked for implementation by December 2024.
Simultaneously, the EU has been diligently formulating regulations concerning artificial intelligence (AI).
On Feb. 13, the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Civil Liberties Committees gave their nod to the preliminary agreement on the European AI Act, marking the world’s first legislation squarely focused on AI.
The EU AI Act aims to instate safeguards, inclusive of copyright protection for creators, in response to generative AI models.
Furthermore, it prohibits AI applications that jeopardise citizens’ rights, such as biometric categorisation and social scoring. The maiden parliamentary vote on the AI Act is scheduled for April 2024.