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A jam-packed metaverse roundup 🔥
Our Weekly Wrap is bristling with metaverse news: JP Morgan (yes, Jamie Dimon's JP Morgan) called the metaverse a trillion-dollar market and is launching a lounge. Paris Hilton launched a virtual Fashion Week and Manchester City is constructing the first metaverse football stadium. And there's also news from Monster Energy, L'Oréal, Shiba Inu and others. Read the entire Weekly Wrap here.
Russian banks removed from SWIFT ✔️
The military conflict in Ukraine overshadowed crypto markets on the weekend, with the EU Commission banning several Russian banks from SWIFT. EU leaders also decided to "paralyze the assets of Russia's central bank" and vowed to take measures to limit the sale of citizenship in an effort to punish the Russian Federation for its military aggression against its neighbor. Ukraine has been soliciting financial aid for the war in both Bitcoin and Ethereum.
USDT peaks against the Russian ruble 📉
Due to the financial hammer blow dealt to Russia, the Russian ruble tanked, falling to an all-time low against USDT. Tether surged over 30% in five days against the ruble, stabilizing just below 100 after Russia's central bank doubled interest rates from 9.5% to 20%. Russia also instructed domestic companies to sell 80% of their forex reserves in order to cushion the blow.
South Korea investing in the metaverse ✨
In other news from the metaverse, the South Korean government decided to invest $187 million in a metaverse ecosystem to support the growth of digital content in the country. The project will focus on growing virtual cities, education and media, as well as support creators and developers through contests and hackathons. The country's Ministry of ICT foresees a global reach of the metaverse and wants to support corporate growth with the initiative.
EBay eyeing crypto payment options 👀
Yet another Web2 giant, eBay, is looking to add crypto as a payment option. CEO Jamie Iannone said the company is trying to pivot towards Gen Z and millennials, and new payment options like crypto will be a part of that transition. He also expressed interest in NFTs in light of their rise in popularity. However, eBay is not looking to incorporate NFTs as of today.
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