Daily Digest - 31 January 2023

Headlines

▌Financial Times: Twitter plans to support cryptocurrency payments

According to the Financial Times citing people familiar with the matter, Twitter is applying for a regulatory license to enter the payment business and is designing the software required to introduce payment functions into the Twitter platform. Part of the "Super App" program. Twitter is reportedly focusing “first” on fiat payment options, but will also support cryptocurrency payments in the future. Esther Crawford and a small team oversee the program. Since taking over Twitter, Musk has said that he wants Twitter to provide such features because he wants to diversify the company's revenue streams.

Policies

▌The Central Bank of Montenegro cooperates with Ripple to carry out a digital currency pilot project

Jinse Finance reported that Montenegro Prime Minister Dritan Abazović announced on Twitter that his country is working with Ripple to implement a digital currency. Abazovié met Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Vice President James Wallis in Davos.

Cryptocurrency

▌Sandbox’s SAND has risen by 90% since the beginning of the year before token unlocking

According to Kaiko Research’s report, the Sandbox project will release 12% of the token supply to seed and strategic investors, equivalent to about $273 million worth of SAND, and half of this 12% will be given to investors. SAND is the utility token used on the Sandbox ecosystem as the basis for transactions and interactions. Its price has risen 90 percent since the start of the year and is now trading at $0.74, according to Messari data. But it’s worth noting that the token is still down 90% from its all-time high of $8 reached in November 2021.

▌Celsius faces backlash after unveiling dull recovery plan to exit bankruptcy

Amid the ongoing bankruptcy hearing, the now-collapsed crypto lender Celsius Network has unveiled a plan to exit the process by rebranding it into a publicly traded recovery corporation. Celsius lawyers shared that if the plan is approved, creditors with locked assets above an unspecified threshold will receive a token called the Asset Share Token (AST). Notably, the AST to be received will reflect the value of their assets, and holders would be entitled to earn dividends or sell them on the open market. However, the plan has received backlash from the crypto community, with commentators terming it a potential scam. In particular, a Twitter user and commentator by the pseudonym Crypto_Tolkien suggested that the reorganization is a scam while questioning the issuance of a new token instead of the users’ originally deposited cryptocurrencies.

▌Crypto Tracking System To Be Launched By South Korea In Q1 This Year

The South Korean Ministry of Justice disclosed intentions to create a crypto tracking system to combat the flow of dirty money and other related financial transactions and to reclaim cash associated with criminal conduct. Recently, the country’s Financial Supervisory Services Governor Lee Bok-hyun stated the government’s plan to establish a digital currency monitoring tool to secure data and counteract market dangers. It is believed that 2 million South Koreans, or approximately 4% of the population, presently possess cryptocurrencies. According to government data, bitcoin and other related currencies are involved in one-third of unlawful foreign exchange transactions in the country.